Sunfeast 10K 2010: Race Report

The Sunfeast 10K 2010 went mostly according to plan. I finished the race in 48:48 which translates to an average pace of 4:51/KM.

My goals were as follows:

1. Finish -- Pass
2. Get a personal best (beat 50:36) -- Pass
3. Finish Sub-50 min -- Pass
4. Finish Sub-48 min -- Fail

I was there at the race venue (Kanteerava Stadium) at around 7:30 AM. The Open 10K was scheduled to start at 8:10 AM, shortly after the elite women's start. By that time I had managed to get myself very close to the holding area gate. This was essential because last time I was far back in the holding area and it took me quite a bit of time to get to the start line, due to which I was dodging the crowd for most of the run.

When the gate opened there was a lot of pushing and shoving. Like last year, people did jump the fencing and come on to the track. When the race was officially started, there were a bunch of people who, with the pushing and shoving going on, fell on the track. Although, I don't think any of them got seriously hurt.

The weather was cloudy before the start of the race. It seemed that we will be racing in ideal conditions. But as soon as the gates were opened and the race started, the sun came out and it remained hot for the entire duration of the race.

I stuck to my target pace for the initial stage of the race and didn't take water for the first 5 KM. Things started getting a bit tough between the 5 and 6 K mark, where we had to deal with a slight gradual incline. When I started getting side-stitches, I decided to try what Paula Radcliffe does when the pain starts: count backwards from 100. 

I kept the counting going till the last stretch. I was pretty drained out towards the end and couldn't manage a final sprint.

Regardless, a good race.

Sunfeast 10K 2010: Prologue

Another edition of Sunfeast 10K is staring at us. This might very well be my last Sunfeast 10K for a long time to come.

1. Race Details

Like last year, the open 10K is scheduled to start at 8:10 AM. The route has been changed a bit.

Figure 1: Sunfeast Open 10K 2010 Race Route

Also, the race cut-off time is 2 hours --10:10 AM.

This year the race organizers have made the timing chip compulsory and due to that the registration costs were more. This means that everyone will be in one big holding area. Last year the people with the timing chips were allowed first on the course. I hope we don't see last year's chaos and commotion, when people started jumping the fence.

2. Controversy

A controversy regarding the Indian elite runners participating in Sunfeast 10K and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) seems to be brewing. The AFI looks to be discouraging the Indian athletes from participating. An IAF official states:

“All affiliated units, boards, clubs, athletes and officials taking part or associating themselves in any manner with the event will be liable to face disciplinary action, including suspension, as provided for in the AFI constitution.”

Of course, the fact that the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) has recognized and given Sunfeast 10K the gold label doesn't seem to hold much value for the AFI people.

To know more read this article from RunInfinity.

3. Goals

Unlike last year, I haven't been training specifically for the Sunfeast 10K. The training plan which I have been following (Jack Daniel's Blue Plan), is something which is not specifically for the 10K. Regardless, I do have goals. 

1. Finish
2. Get a personal best (beat 50:36)
3. Finish Sub-50 min
4. Finish Sub-48 min

These goals, I'm ashamed to say, look exactly like my last year's. But at the same time I feel that I'm in better shape than last year to achieve them. In fact the IISc SNT run proves that.

I'm planning to maintain a hard 4:50/KM pace from the very beginning. One thing which is certainly a deterrent to my goals is the huge crowd. I can only hope that I don't have to zig-zag too much.

Let's RUN!

IISc Science and Technology Run (SNT run) -- Race Report

Today I ran the 2nd edition of the IISc Science and Technology run or the SNT run, as it's being called. The event had a 10K, 5K, a corporate relay and bunch of other events which I didn't pay attention to. This report is for the 10K.


1. Course Profile

Figure 1: SNT Run 10K Map

The 10K run was a single loop within the IISc campus. The loop was mostly road, with a little bit of trail in the 1st half. It was not a flat course and had enough ups and downs. If you look at the map, you will see that the route crisscrosses itself at multiple places. In spite of that, I don't know of anyone who got lost.

2. Race Report

I decided to run this race on Friday (9/4/2010). It was a last minute thing. My goal for the race was to maintain a sub 5:00/KM pace and get a personal best (my 10K personal best is 50:36). Given that I have been running at paces faster than that, though for shorter distances, I thought the goal to be achievable. 

The 10K was supposed to start at 7:30 AM, but then it was announced that it will start at 8 AM. Given the recent increase in heat and humidity in Bangalore, that was not good news. The runners started assembling near the start line at around about 7:40 AM. The race got flagged off 10 minutes from then, at 7:50 AM -- 10 minutes before the announced start time. 

Given that I was at the head of the pack, I didn't have to jostle through the crowd too much. I consistently kept a pace between 4:30-5:00/KM. At the 3 KM, the heat started coming down and I had to utilize the water stops.

When my Garmin showed 8.4 KM, I saw a huge crowd under a banner cheering the runners on. My first instinct was, "Ah! Crowd support. Nice!" But then a couple of people, whom I had passed a few minutes back, were sprinting by me. And I wondered "Could the banner possibly be the finish line?" So, I asked the next runner, a woman, who was sprinting past me, "Is that the finish line?" She didn't seem to be in a mood to answer and by that time I was already under the banner. Yes, it was the finish line!

The 10K was only 8.7KM (42:19). Disappointing! I was on track for a personal best -- my average pace was 4:51 -- but it wasn't to be for no fault of my own. 

3. Pros and Cons

Pros

1. The registration process was pretty straightforward and they had the registrations open till the start of the race. 
2. There was no registration fee.
3. Even though there was no registration fee, all the runners got a t-shirt and a cap.
4. Adequate water stops.

Cons

1. This is a major one: the 10K run was 1.3 KM short! 
2. The race didn't start on time. Yes, it was only a 20 minute delay. But as runners we demand punctuality from ourselves and others. 
3. There were no distance markers anywhere in the course.

4. Conclusion

The race course was nice and challenging and if it weren't for the course being short, it would have been a really nice run.

Auroville Marathon: Post Race

The Auroville Half-Marathon would be my 2nd half-marathon which was executed flawlessly -- the first one being the Bangalore Midnight Marathon. I finished the race in 1:51:23. Which translates to an average pace of 5:20/KM. What more I even did a decent sprint in the last 400m. Everything went according to plan. My goals were as follows:

1. Get a personal best (beat 1:55:02) -- Pass (shaved off approximately 4 minutes)
2. Run a sub-2 hour race-- Pass
3. Finish -- Pass

I ran the race with quite a lot of focus (I believe that running without music has helped me in this). So much so that at the end, it didn't feel like I had been running for almost 2 hours. I stuck to my target-pace from the very start. Having the experience of many races, I managed to contain the feelings of going fast in the beginning. Many people who overtook me in the first half, were returned the favour by yours truly in the second half.

The conditions were hot and humid. The humidity was there from the beginning and I had a wet shirt within the 2 KM mark. Because of this, I made it a point to have electrolytes and water at each and every aid station. The heat didn't come into picture till around 7:30 AM (the race started at 6 AM), which was around the 17 KM mark. Wearing a cap helped.

As promised, in the last 400m, I sprinted. I had another runner in front of me, who, realizing that I was about to cross him, shifted into another gear. We were having a really competitive last minute sprint, when he managed to lose way in the last corner -- the finish line was after a left turn; the poor chappy ran straight -- and was left behind. I felt sorry for him, but I continued my dash and finished really strong.

And when I say strong, I mean I had enough energy left after the run to play a game of basketball with few kids.

 Figure 1: The author playing basketball with few kids. Notice the dangling finisher's medal. Sports is about participation.

Note 1: Well the kids beat my team in basketball, but let's not concentrate on who won and lost ... It's all about participation. Right?
Note 2: I have been advised, by my PR consultant (who was also my basketball team-mate, and because of whom we lost), to show-off in a more subtle and agreeable manner. This is so that people appreciate my achievements rather than label me as a braggart. I find that boring.

A good run!

Auroville Marathon: Race Preview, Controversy and Race Plan

The Auroville marathon is upon us. This time again it's on Sunday, Valentine's Day. Being a single-lonely-heart, I will be running the half-marathon there rather than visit expensive restaurants with bouquets.

On to the race related details, controversies and my race-plan (I always have one, even if I don't).

1. Race Preview

 The Auroville Marathon has 4 events: the full marathon, the half marathon, the quarter marathon and a 5K. I'm only going to talk about the full and the half marathons -- not because I don't respect the quarter marathon distance (10.5 KM) or the 5K, but because I don't know much about those events.

Figure 1: Auroville Map for Full and Half Marathons

Most of the Auroville marathon (approximately 83% of it) is a nice and easy flat trail. The full marathon is two loops of the trail and the half is one loop. There are aid stations at 4 KM intervals -- which is correctly placed for distance runners who have trained properly. These stations, at least last time, had water, electrolytes and things to eat. The trail has enough shade and it's pretty even as compared to other trails which I have run on -- RFL's Bellandur track, Bangalore Ultra, etc. Some parts of the trail are pretty narrow which make them really enjoyable to run, but hard to overtake (and you know ... I'm always ... like overtaking people and shit). Parts of the trail have loose red dirt, so get ready to get dirty. Also it's very easy to get lost in the trail, so be careful and watch out for the markers.

The full marathon starts at 5 AM and the half marathon folks start at 6 AM. The full marathon participants are provided with torches, but from what I have heard is that the torches won't be of too much help and you will be forced to run carefully -- which might not be too bad during the start of a full-marathon, where flying away early could be detrimental to your goals.

2. Controversy

The Auroville Marathon was announced publicly some time in November or December (I forget), with the deadline for registrations being set as January 20th. As it would happen, a number of runners didn't register till the deadline was past. Also, there were a number of runners who were dropping out of the race. So two things happened:

1. The late-to-register runners approached the organizers, wondering if there was any chance of getting into the race.
2. The drop-outs started to put up their bib numbers on the RFL Google Group, so that people who wanted to run the race could run on their behalf. 

 In the 1st case, the late-to-register runners were told by the organizers that late registration was not possible. Unfortunately, the email exchanges between the organizers and the runners weren't too pleasant.

In the 2nd case, the organizers decided not to allow any other person to run with somebody else's bib. They have announced that, during bib collection, the runners need to bring a government issued identity proof. Only if the ID proof is provided, will the bibs be given. The bib controversy is not new and it happened last year as well.

3. Race Plan

This is going to be my first half marathon this year. The last race which I ran was the Mumbai Marathon. The last half-marathon which I ran was the Bangalore Midnight Marathon, where I got a PB.

Although I haven't trained specifically for a half marathon, I have done decent distances over the past 3 weeks. I might be a bit ambitious here, but here are my race goals:

1. Get a personal best (beat 1:55:02). 
2. Run a sub-2 hour race.
3. Finish. 

Unlike the midnight marathon, I'm planning to set a hard (hard for me), even pace of around 5:20/KM and retain it till the end (well, I will hopefully sprint the last 200 m). 

To more personal bests, we run.

Mumbai Marathon 2010: Race Report

... And that number once made will be with me for the rest of my life. Maybe it should go on my tombstone. After all, two sets of numbers designating birth and death dates say little about a person. It is the in-between that matters. The number I am making now is pure. It will define the limits of my animal nature -- it will be the measure of my imagination, achieved by gut and spirit. It can't be bought, traded or achieved through leverage. All other honors are paltry in comparison.

-- Bernd Heinrich, "Why We Run"

Figure 1: Mumbai Marathon 2010 Timings

Yes, I finished it! It was a tough race, but I enjoyed every bit of it. It was my first full marathon and I ran it according to plan. My goals were as follows:

• Finish -- Pass
• Finish in 4 hr 40 min -- Fail
  

Although I ran for a 4 hr 40 min finish, I'm more than happy with my result of 4 hr 50 min -- off by 10 minutes.

On race day, I woke up at 4 AM; got ready and reached the holding area at 6:20 AM. The temperature forecast for the day was 32 C, but the real feel, I was told, would be around 39 C due to the humidity. While nearing the start line itself, I had started to sweat. The past 3 days I was in Mumbai it wasn't this hot. Taking that into account, I was pretty sure that I had to go with the 6:40/KM pace or maybe slower.

The race for the open category was flagged off sharp at 6:45 AM -- which you could see from the clock on the majestic gothic facade of CST. The starting 5 K was pretty uneventful, the pack of runners was going forward comfortably. When the inclines at Peddar Road came, at around the 7 KM mark, I slowed down, but was able to overcome them comfortably. It was at this point that the half marathon leaders crossed us -- the half marathon runners were running in the opposite direction; their start-point was Bandra and end-point CST.

Following Peddar road we reached the stretch along side Haji Ali. The sun had just started coming out, and its faint rays streamed through some gaps between buildings. More half marathon runners crossed us, amongst them was Gul Panag.

At around the 12 KM mark or so, a pack of elite male runners -- all from Africa -- crossed us. The elite runners had started 1 hour later than us.

Everything was going well till the 20 KM mark. The real test started after that -- when the sun started coming out. The first place where the sun really started to make its mark was near Bandra fire brigade. There was no cover, but there was crowd cheering us on. There were slum children who stood at the sides, asking for high-fives -- which I duly gave. The road from Bandra Fire Brigade lead us to the much awaited highlight of the race -- the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

During the race, I had made a policy of carrying two bottles always with me. One bottle would be plain water -- which I would sip or pour on myself -- the other was electrolyte. At the starting of the sea-link, both my water bottles had run out. Fortunately there were some people (Note: People, not race-volunteers) who were giving out electrolyte solutions. I grabbed one and ran. A few paces on, there was a water-stop from where I picked up a water bottle. And thank god I did!

The sea-link is a magnificent, imposing, majestic structure. It's huge, it's long and it's beautiful. When you run on it, towards your left you can see the entire Mumbai skyline. When you look down, you see fish trawlers and sparkling water. Ahead of you, there is the endless engineering marvel.

Unfortunately the sea-link ended up being a killer for most people.

The entire stretch from there to the end of the sea-link, around 4 KM or more, didn't have a single water-point. And imagine this was at a point when we were past the half-way mark and the sun was bearing all its energy on us. It was no surprise that from the very beginning of the sea-link, I started seeing people cramping, stretching, walking. Fortunately, I didn't.

The sea link ended somewhere near the 28 KM mark. The heat was still relentless. A helpful temperature gauge told me that it was somewhere near 31 C -- at least the weather forecast was right. The stretch of road from the end of the sea link, till Haji Ali was mostly without cover. It was not only physically exhausting but also a psychological damper. I took multiple walk breaks between the 30 - 35 KM mark.

The crowd was really helpful at this point. Cheering us, giving us water, feeding us fruits and biscuits. I'm so grateful to all those people who came out and helped us crazy runners.

Nearing the 35 KM mark, came the dreaded incline of Peddar road. But interestingly, I didn't really feel too bad. Peddar road was one stretch which had shade and I guess I was energized by eating all those oranges. I walked-jogged the first incline, but ran the whole of the second. I was really feeling good at this point.

That was until I reached the starting of Chowpatty beach. I was running comfortably in the shade provided by the buildings, when I hit a turn and lo behold in front of me was a near endless road bathed in the sun. A deep psychological blow. I muttered an expletive and strode on. It was getting really hard at this point -- the mind repeatedly asking me to start walking; to take a break. I had to fool myself telling me to run till the next signal and when I would hit that to run some more, and then some more.

Multiple milestones went by. People on both sides saying that it's only a little more. 3 KM to go, 2 KM to go and then finally 1 KM to go. That final 1 KM was the longest. 600 meters left and I see the finish line.

I had always dreamt of a sprint finish. I was physically exhausted. Both my head and feet were on fire -- something which I had only experienced in Delhi before, while playing basketball in peak summers. But I managed to dig something from deep within and increased my pace. Garmin read 4:00/KM (~ 15 KM/H).

I crossed the finish line.

****

Pain in the purest form is what you experience at the end of a marathon. Tim Noakes, of Lore or Running fame, says that it's just below child-birth. I was feeling all of that. At that moment I just wanted to get out of the heat.

When I didn't see any of my running buddies at the finish line, I just rushed into some shade. My logical brain wasn't working; it was all animal instinct taking over (you know, the Limbic System).  I was in need of water and food. I was more or less in a daze -- there was a guy munching something and I asked him for food. That kind-hearted soul offered me part of his sandwich. Sandwich-guy if you are reading this, if you ever come to Bangalore I owe you a treat. Following that I went into CST station and ended up finishing 4 bottles of flavoured milk, 1 500 ml slice. It took me around an hour or so to regain normalcy.

And being true to Mumbai, I took the local train back home.

***

Looking back it took me around an year and half to train and run my first full marathon. It would not have been possible without the support of my family and friends (includes my running circle, school and college circle, and work circle -- not taking names for the fear of missing someone) and most importantly all Mumbaikars!

P.S: Rakesh, I forgive you.

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!

Midnight Marathon -- Post Race

If there was a perfect race which I ever ran it has to be this one. It was just plain beautiful execution by me. I finished the half marathon in 1:55:02 -- which is sub 2 hour and a personal best.

My initial plan was to maintain a 5:40 pace till the half way mark and then see how I felt. In fact when I reached the half way mark I was a minute ahead. I reached the 10 mile mark within an hour and a half. I hovered around the 5:20 -- 5:30 pace for the next 4 KM and the last KM was run under 5:00.

The course was pretty good. A newly tarred well lit road. It was initially supposed to be 2.75 KM one way and back, but at the last moment the organizers had to cut it short and make it 2.1 KM. So the people running the HM had to go out-and-back 5 times. Mostly flat; a very minor decline/incline towards the U turn point.

The organizers had managed to rope in Bisleri as one of their sponsors, so there was bottled water all throughout. Which helped me because I didn't stop, not even for a bit, in the entire race. The only sad part was the lack of electrolytes. I didn't have much of a problem because of that, but spare a thought for the people running the full marathon. Kudos to RFL for setting up their own pit-stop which had electral.

Anyway, after I was done with my half marathon, I was happy with the time, but not really satisfied -- I felt I could have pushed harder. So I chatted with the guys for a bit and then decided to give company to Pankaj who was doing the full.

I did one loop with him, when I started having some cramps. So I had some salty pizza and then continued with Pankaj on Shantanu's cycle. I accompanied him on the cycle for 2 more loops, after which I gave back the cycle and I ran with him on the final loop.

So in all I would have done around 30 KM of running and around 8 KM of cycling. Best part is, at the end of it I still had energy left to do more.

Midnight Marathon: Pre Race.

The Bangalore midnight marathon is 5 hours from now and I'm running the half-marathon. Few people whom I know are also running the Full Marathon -- I question their sanity, just like others question mine.

It's a pretty boring route -- an out and back measuring 5.275 KM to be done 4 times (yuck!). The FM guys need to do it 8 times!

Except for a bruise on my right-shin due to a bike accident, I don't have any major worries (the bike accident happened today afternoon, when an asshole biker -- who was violating the one way -- came right in front of me, from behind a car, resulting in a head-on collision).

A bit of pre-race nervousness; would like a sub 2 hour time.

Bangalore Ultra 2009: Race Report

The Bangalore Ultra 2009 was good experience. It was well organized and the weather couldn't have been better (cloudy with a bit of drizzle) -- what more do you need?

I finished the 25 KM race in 2:34:07. Which though not bad, I feel could have been better. I did the rookie mistake of going out too fast in the first lap and struggling a bit towards the end. I have been able to hold myself back and not get flustered by people passing me early in the race, but today that was not the case. Maybe I was expecting miracles.

Now, on to the race details -- which I know because I was there.

The first runners to go on track, at 5 AM, were the 100K, 75K and 50K (early starters) runners. They were provided with torches as it was still quite dark. There were two start times for the 50K runners: 5 AM (red bibs) and 6 AM (green bibs). Only the 6 AM 50 K starters were eligible for podium finishes.

Footnote: Talking of colour coded bibs the 100 K and 75 K runners were given purple bibs (royalty). The 25 K runners had yellow and the 12.5 K runners had blue bibs.

The next runners to be flagged off were the 50 K (late starters) and 37.5 K runners at 6 AM. Following this were the 25 K runners at 6:30 AM (which had me). The 12.5 K runners started shortly after that.

The track was a 12.5 KM out-and-back route with couple of gradual inclines. It's mostly trail with a little patch of road towards the middle of the out-and-back route. There were four aid-stations in total, spaced out at each 2 KM. There were enough things to eat -- chips, peanuts, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, bananas, oranges, Parle-G -- and, of course, electrolytes and water.

Few of the podium finishers whom I know:

1. Men's 50 K (Open) 1st -- Ashok Nath ( ~ 4 hours 30 minutes)
2. Women's 50 K (Open) 1st -- Dr Amrita Mitra
3. Women's 25 K (Open) 1st -- Meher D' Mello ( 2 hours 27 minutes)

Photos from the event.

On a separate note, I have never seen so many men with bleeding nipples.

Bangalore Ultra: Pre Race

The Bangalore Ultra is tomorrow. I have registered for the 25 KM run, but I'm starting at 5 AM just to keep my options open -- the 25 KM run starts at 6 AM. Tonight I cooked my own "Mutter-Paneer" pasta for dinner and watched "Sprit of the Marathon" (once again).

Hope I have a good run tomorrow.

Sunfeast 10K: Race Report

Before I bore you with the details, I failed to achieve my sub-50 min target. My time was 50:36. Personal best nonetheless.

On to the race report.

The Open 10K race was scheduled to start at 8:10 AM at Kanteerava Stadium. There were two holding areas, one for participants with the timing chip and one for the ones without. The people with the timing chips were to be let out on the circuit before the ones without. Although I wanted to get a timing chip for myself, I couldn't and I ended up in the general junta holding area.

When we reached the holding area, the elite men's race was just finishing and elite women were warming up. The elite men's finishers at that time were mostly laggards -- in fact I saw one guy vomit and then dry-heave in the last 400m. The elite women's race was flagged off precisely at 8:00 AM. They covered the first 400 m in 1:20 and proceeded out for rest of the race (there was one elite woman who actually pulled out in the first 300m itself!).

Once the elite women were off the track, the Open 10K participants with the timing chips were allowed to enter the track and shortly the Open 10K was flagged off. The holding areas were big, but the gate to enter the track was pretty small and was causing a lot of clogging. But given that this was India, people rose to the occassion and started jumping the stadium fence directly onto the track -- without going through the gate. The organizers first resorted to polite requests when all that went unheeded, the police started using their lathis -- that seemed to work, I wonder why? I, being the civilized gentleman, chose to go through the gate.

By the time I crossed the start line, it was already 10 minutes since the race had begun. I started my Garmin.

Due to the rains yesterday, the weather was really good. The sun was behind the clouds and a nice breeze was blowing. I managed to keep my 5:00/KM target pace for the first 3 KM. At the 4 KM mark, the road became narrow and there were a lot of walkers, stoppers, and slow runners; due to which I had to weave in and out quite a bit. Another thing which I noticed near the 4 KM mark, was there were a lot of people who resorted to taking short cuts -- part of the stretch from the 4 KM to 7 KM was out-and-back -- shame on them!

The heavy crowd continued to the 6 KM mark, following which there was a slightly uphill stretch. All of that slowed me down. The uphill stretch went till 7 KM mark, after which it was familiar territory -- Cubbon Park. At the 9 KM mark, I was 30 s off pace. I wanted to increase my speed, but however hard I tried there were enough slow-movers ahead of me. In fact, towards the end, I couldn't even cut loose and manage a sprint.

At the end my Garmin told me that I finished the race in 50:36. More than a minute better than my previous personal best (which was on the treadmill by the way), but still short of my sub-50 min target time.

All said and done an overall good and well organized race. The route was well marked, there were enough water stops (although I didn't use any), and everything was on time. I enjoyed the race and hopefully next time I will do much better.

Race Goals:

1. Finish the distance -- PASS
   
2. Get a personal best -- PASS
   
3. Finish Sub-50 min -- FAIL
   
4. Finish Sub-48 min -- FAIL
   
5. Win the Open 10k -- FAIL
   

Sunfeast 10K: Prologue

The race is upon us. Two days from now, on Sunday, I will be running the Sunfeast 10K. The race start is at 8:10 AM. My bib has been collected and tomorrow is going to be a fun-filled rest day, with lots of carb-loading (read beer and pasta). Today was the last day of the training plan which I had been following for the past one month. I tapered off with an easy 5K run done at a 6:00/KM pace, followed by 3 x 100m sprints.

These are my goals for the race, in increasing order of difficulty:

1. Finish the distance (easy ... peezy).
2. Get a personal best (Current PB: 51:47)
3. Finish Sub-50 min (that's what all the training was for)
4. Finish Sub-48 min (only once have I gone below 24 mins for a 5k)
5. Win the Open 10k (assuming lightning strikes everyone else)

ONWARD!

First Athletic Victory?

Author's note: This post is almost a week late, but what the heck. It's not as if I have much of an audience waiting for posts.

Circa 2001.

I'm in 12th std and our annual inter-house sports meet is going on. I find myself participating in two events: the triple jump and the 400 m run. Not because I'm good at either, but because no one else in my house (which was called the Eklavya house, and invariably none in the house were good at sports) was ready to participate. Nobody wanted to go for the triple jump, because getting the footing right was not easy. The 400 m was considered more of a long distance run and nobody wanted to do it.

The 400 m run, was 2 rounds of our school ground. Ancient wisdom and folklore dictated that, the 1st round must be run at a slow jogging pace, whereas the second round should be all-out. At the race, I followed this strategy. And of course, it was stupid! Two of my competitors, zoomed away at the start, while I jogged along chuckling to myself that they will soon slow down. When I hit around the 150 m mark, they had finished the 1st round. "Surely they must be tired. Falter they shall ... any time now", I said to myself. But unfortunately and apparently they weren't. When I ended my 1st round, they were so far ahead, that it broke my spirit and I didn't even sprint in the final round. At the end of it I was disappointed, but also relieved that I didn't get lapped.

Needless to say I didn't win a thing in any of our annual sports meet -- don't make me recount my triple-jump disasters.

Last Week, May 2009.

Our company organized a bunch of fitness events and called it, for a lack of a better name, "The Gym Challenge". There were 5 events: 5k on the treadmill, 10k on the elliptical, 15k on the cycle, Iron man (maximum time), Pushups (maximum in 1 min). I decided to go for the treadmill, elliptical ,and cycling events -- all were time trials.

My best 5k till the time of the event was 24:39 at NGV, but given that I had been doing quite a bit of speed training for the Sunfeast 10k, I hoped to better it. My plan was to do a negative split: run the first 2.5 K at a 5:00/KM pace and the rest at a 4:36/KM pace. For cycling and the elliptical, I didn't have any strategy as I was just doing them to spread out the risk.

On the day of the race, although not a very important event, I had a bit of nervous energy going for me -- I was focussed. I warmed up for 5 minutes and finally got on the treadmill and set the pace to the planned 5:00/KM. At the end of 2 K, I was feeling good, so I said what the heck and increased the pace to 4:36/KM there itself. I managed to sustain that pace till the 4.6 K mark, after which I upped the pace to 4:17/KM.

At the end the clock read 23:44 -- a new PB, albeit on the treadmill.

The results were announced at the end of the day and lo behold, I was 1st! The person coming 2nd was more than a minute away, and 3rd was around 2 minutes away. I also came 1st in cycling and 3rd in the elliptical event.

Glazed in athletic glory, I stood proud.

Sunfeast 10k 2009: More news

For an event which once boasted of being the world's richest 10k (now, they say it's the world's premier 10k), the Sunfeast 10k organizers are putting up a poor show.

First off, their website is designed in such a convoluted way that you can't find the information which you are looking for. For example, say you want to find out what are the different race categories. How do you go about doing that? I clicked on "Race Profile" only to find two useless links pointing me to the "Race Director" and "Awards and Accolades". After a lot of curious mouse-clicks, I finally came to know that the race details were actually under the "Registrations" link! But even that page didn't outline the required details such as when will the race start? The "Sitemap" page shows nothing but whatever links which they already show on the left pane!! I mean come on! How lame is that?

Finally, I gave up and relied on Google to find out the race timings. And again, this year too, the Open 10k race is going to start at 9 AM. Bangalore is being blessed with some mild evening showers of late, but till now it has been one of the hottest summers. The late morning start for the race will most likely make it tough.

The route is the same as last year's. There is no baggage store being provided by the organizers. The timing chip has a one time non-refundable cost of Rs 200.

Upcoming race: Bangalore Sunfeast 10k

So after a lot of going back and forth, the Sunfeast 10k organizers finally settled on a date (May 31st) and opened up the registrations. I want to run it seriously and am aiming at a sub 50 minute target time -- pace of 5:00 min/KM or 12 KM/H. My current best 10k time stands at 54 minutes 40 seconds.

Now, I want to follow a training plan, but there is a problem. Most 10k training plans which I saw have a very short long run (oxymoron alert!). My conundrum is that I want to run a marathon in August. It will be my first marathon, but like an idiot, I'm not sticking to any training plan. Confident (arrogant?), that if I maintain (or increase) my current weekly mileage and manage to do a 20 miler before the marathon, I can cross the finish line.

So on the one hand I want to train for the 10k and finish with a fast time (well, at least according to my standards), but on the other hand I don't want to risk loosing out on my weekly mileage. Wonder what to do?

But apart from all that, I feel that a 10k would be an enjoyable event for beginner runners and others alike. If you have some running base, go google for some beginner 10k plans and see what fits you.

Auroville half marathon -- Number 4

I write this again half asleep. Yesterday I finished the Auroville half-marathon with a time of 2:07. I was aiming for a sub 2 hour timing and I would have gotten it, if I hadn't gotten lost in between and run another 1.7 KM extra. The time when I reached the 21.1 KM mark was 1:57:43, but I'm not considering the sub 2 hour goal complete till I have it on an official certificate -- of course I don't consider the midnight marathon certificate, listing my time as 1:06, official.

The race was overall well organized. The trail was scenic and well marked, except for the one place where I managed to go the opposite way. Aid stations were there at every 4 KM, with water, lemonade, biscuits, bananas etc. People running the full marathon started at 5 AM and were given torches. The half marathon started at 6 AM. The accommodation facilities provided by the organizers, for the out-station runners, at Auroville was rudimentary, but for Rs 200 it was fine. The pre-race pasta and the post-race breakfast was pretty good though.

The weird part is that I expected my race to go really bad, but it in fact it went really good. Here's a short course of events.

We reached Pondicherry by train at 10 AM on Saturday -- the race being the next day. One of the organizers came to pick us up, but he told us that the place we were supposed to stay won't be open till 4 PM and we therefore had to kill a lot of time. So we couldn't change, no shower, but ended up roaming around Pondicherry the entire afternoon. Even after reaching Auroville, and collecting the bibs, we were asked to stay for the pasta party (dinner at 6 PM) and then go to our accomodation.

It was 7:30 PM before we finally got a place to settle down -- note that I didn't say rest. We were put up in, what seemed to be one of their art galleries, called Kalakendra. The organizers had laid out portions of thin synthetic material on the floor, which was going to act as our mattress. There were three rest rooms and plenty of competition. Fortunately for me, as soon as we reached there was a power-cut and most guys decided to wait for the power, before the shower (ooh ... rhymes). I being impatient, went in the dark and got my deeds done (the power didn't come till morning). That night I didn't sleep well -- I had dreams that the race had started and I was still sleeping.

I woke up at 4 AM on race day. Everyone got ready by around 5 AM and were taken to the starting point by bus. On the way we could see the full marathon runners' torches bobbing along. There was a check-in counter at the starting point, where I deposited my wallet, cellphone and camera. I warmed up with a bit of walking and slow jogging. Finally it was go time.

I was exhausted and low on sleep, but once I started running all that went away.

Like the midnight marathon, I had planned for a negative split. I ran the first half of the race at a pace of 5:40/KM and the second half at 5:30/KM. Given that it wasn't too crowded I could easily stick to my plan and didn't spend too much time weaving around people.

Till the 12 KM mark everything was going according to plan. I was within my goal time and was feeling strong. I had passed many runners and I could just see one guy running in front of me. So I followed him. Then I crossed him. Then I reached a crossing where there were a couple of volunteers and they were looking at me quizzically: both me and the other runner had taken the wrong route. One volunteer decided to guide us to the correct turning. He got on his bike and lead. Frustrated I increased my pace and followed; hoping that I would still make the sub 2 hour cut. Finally, into the correct turn.

When I reached the 14 KM mark, my Garmin read 1hr 30 mins (15.8 KM on distance). There was still 7 KMs to the finish line. I had never done 7 KMs in half an hour. Although I was maintaining my 5:30 pace, I knew that I couldn't cross the finish line before 2 hours. Slowly and steadily I passed the remaining kilometers and many runners whom I had crossed once already. Finally when I saw the marker which read 21 KM, I sprinted. There were people cheering and I was running at full steam. I crossed the finish line. Just for that, the whole ordeal was worth it.

At the end it was again a personal best, a good race, and a good experience, but I was disappointed that I didn't get an official sub 2 hour time.

Number 3

I write this half asleep, cheerfully tired, bleary eyed and ready to take a shower at 4:56 AM in the morning. I just finished completing my third half marathon: The Bangalore midnight (half) marathon.

Less than a month ago, I was struggling to get back to running. Today, not only did I cover 21.1 KMs, but did it in my best time: 2h 9m 23s -- previous one being a 2h 10m the treadmill. That is from 12 AM - 2 AM. Of course, I wasn't the only crazy person doing it; in fact there were crazier: few people were running the full marathon (42.2 KM for the uninitiated).

Tomorrow Today is going to be a well earned Sunday.

Half marathon

I ran my first half marathon last Sunday and it seems to be a bit late to be blogging about it, but I guess I can't let my laziness ruin an account of, what I consider, one of my formidable achievements.

I had decided to run a half marathon around three months back. I had just managed to get my BMI in the normal bracket and needed a new challenge or, I knew, I would go back to being a cubicle potato (Webster's, hear me). I decided to run the Mumbai half marathon. My brother had run the dream run (6 KM) last year -- with me smirking at him that 6 KM was not a "real" distance -- and my good friend Addy had run the half marathon. I being an ambitious person chose to run the half marathon. I was one of the earliest to register. Of course, most people around me thought that I was crazy. With reactions from laughter (yes Rakesh, I'm looking at you) to asking questions like "Why would someone pay to run?"

I got a training schedule from the Mumbai marathon website and followed it religiously. Each week I would do three short runs on the office gym treadmill, on weekdays, and one long run on Saturday. Given the condition of my shoes, my doctor had advised me not to run outdoors. So, I would drive all the way to office (10 KM), on a Saturday, go to the gym, get on the treadmill and do my long run. And when I say long run, think an hour or over that.

This went on for a little less than three months and few weeks back I ran 17 KM in Cubbon Park. I knew it then that I would be able to finish the half marathon.

But, being an International Businessman, I had to go to Oregon, for international business meetings. I thought why not run a half marathon there itself -- the earlier, the better, I thought. I picked the Gresham Jazz Half Marathon.

Now on to the race.

That Sunday morning, I drove 40 miles to the place. It was cold with temperatures around 8 C. Fortunately for me, it was neither windy nor were there any chances of rain. I was wearing my dri-fit shirt, underneath the race tshirt, underneath my light jacket. I had gloves and a skull cap. In retrospect, I was a bit too heavily attired. In my defense I didn't want to catch a cold.

The race started at 8:50 A.M. I had expected to run comfortably the first 10 KM or so, but all that was ruined. The first 3 KMs were steep hills. I had rarely done any training on inclines and got caught unawares. I jogged the first hill, but by the time I reached the second one, I realized that if I take these hills lightly I may not have enough energy left. So, like a lot of others around me, I started walking the inclines and jogging the plateaus. Fortunately, the rest of the race didn't have any such terrain.

I was comfortable till the 7th mile (around 12 KM). I had to push a bit after that. I would fool my mind into believing that I would take a break at the next mile, but not do it. I kept on going and my finish time was 2 hours and 14 minutes. Which was a bit of a letdown, because I wanted to finish near 2 hours and 10 minutes. Yeah, I was sufficiently arrogant to believe that I would finish my first half marathon, so I set a target time and not just "wanted to finish".

So, how did I feel at the end? I was just glad it was over. It's a gruelling experience; physically and psychologically. I gained a lot of respect for people who run the full marathon (which I plan to do in another year's time or so). I also gained a t-shirt and a shiny medal, which I have been showing off everywhere and won't hesitate to show off here as well. There you go: