Mumbai Marathon -- Pre Race

The race is upon us and this time the shit gets serious! Jan 17th becomes the day of reckoning. I will be running all the 42.2 KM of what makes up the best marathon in India -- The Mumbai Marathon.

This will be my first full-marathon.

Figure 1: Mumbai Marathon Route.

The training leading up to the event has been good, but there are some gaps which I'm worried about: lack of training in heat and humidity; very little hill-training. The race contains 4 hills, with the last one coming approximately at the 37 KM mark.

My pacing strategy is to maintain an even pace in the 6:40 - 6:30 per KM bracket. Which gives an average of 6:35/KM. All the inclines, I'm going to drop the pace to as much as 7:00/KM. My target goals are as follows:

1. Finish.
2. Finish in 4 hr 40 min.
   

I hope to take water/electrolyte breaks as necessary but I will not go without water for more than 5 KM. I plan to take food/glucose from the 16 KM mark onwards. To cope with the heat, I'm going to be wearing a cap and plan to carry a kerchief to wipe the sweat. Also, I'm going to run without music.

Most importantly: I will not go out fast at the beginning!

When I had started running seriously, around an year and a half back, I came across the term: taper-madness. I thought that I would be immune to it. Apparently not! Past three days I have been quite anxious.

Hope for the best! All you runners: all the best and see you at the finish line!