How are you all?????????????
At my end, i just could not be feeling any better......for many reasons.....
28th November 2010 - 1 of those days, where my mind conquered over the body and i understood the real meaning of Running with a STRATEGY and keeping the emotions in control......
For many of you who dont know, Last Sunday on 28th November, 15 regular members of our TOPGEAR Running Group had decided to run around 38-40 kms @ Lonavala and the run was to start from Bushy dam at the base going all the way upto AMBY Valley Dead-end which is about 19kms and back to the base of the Dam making the total distance of 38kms...
THIS IS A LITTLE LONGER MAIL THAN USUAL...DISTANCE IN INCREASING, SO WILL THE MAIL LENGTH ;-)
MY GARMIN RUN DETAILS AS UNDER:
This run was planned well in advance and all of 15 members had locked in their dates and promised to be there and complete the distance NO MATTER What...
and hence, LAST SUNDAY we did not run to keep our legs fresh....
also we loaded a lot of carbs by eating rice, pasta and specially NO DRINKS!!!!
i stuck to the above plan...
i did not drink even a single beer at a friends COCKTAIL Party...and trust it....it paid off in the end when i finished 38km..
Anyways, back to the run.....
In the elite list of 15 members, I was the youngest at 30 years & happy to be a part of it..
All others being between 45 - 53 yrs...
Mind you the oldest member of our group Mr. Dilip Patil ( 53 yrs) is the fastest of our group...who clocked the MUNICH MARATHON with a timing of 4 hours and 12 minutes....
We decided lonavala as a place mainly for 2 reasons..
1. its a nearby place to get to on a Saturday night and sleep early
2. the climate which would support us and help us run more than normal.....
We left from Bombay at around 5pm from MIG Club and reached to the MSEB Guesthouse at around 730pm....
all of us kept our clothes and other gear ready for the morning and made our beds and met for Dinner where we exchanged many ideas as how to pace the run, where are the waterpoints going to be located, what time we start the race, do's and dont's etc.....
After many of such discussions, all of us hit the bed at around 930 - 1000 pm as we planned to get up by 430am and get ready by 515 am to meet at the reception for a small warm up session as it was very cold in the morning...
we did the same....prayed before running and then headed to Bushy dam in our cars....
It was Pitch Dark and we could not see a single thing there with temparature being 17 Degrees and it was Windy as well..
meaning we had to run against the Breeze and on a slope...
YES, the point where we started, just 500 metres into our run, and we realised that there will be continous Upward slope for 3 - 4 kms nonstop...
i immediately decided to run VERY SLOWLY on the slopes as if i do run in excitement, i was sure of cramping later...
All my last runs, i have cramped badly in the last 3 - 5kms of my decided distance and have ended up walking the same.....
if you have read my 27k and 30 k runs, you will realise the same...
This time i had decided that i wanted to run to the finish line and end on a HIGH.....
hence, i decided to go very slowly, and not speeding myself on the downslopes also......
i decided, that i would run in my normal speed when i take a U-Turn and thus in a ways it would ensure that i finish strong...
The only good race pace is suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die
I said to myself....
The 1st thing i did was i did not run with our normal members who run much faster then Me...
yes, most of the guys, actually, 5 of them are much faster than I am....
these 5 guys are: Dilip Patil, Ramdas ( they ran munich marathon under 4.30 hours); Pradeep Kadu, Vaiju & Samson Sequeira..
All these 5 guys are also training for COMRADES MARATHON in SOUTH AFRICA IN MAY running a distance of 89 kms. (www.comrades.com for more details on Comrades).
I let them pass so that i can keep my emotions in control and ran the entire distance alone with my music player....
The going was very very smooth....
i was having a feeling of a little strain on my right Hamstring as usual...but this time since i was very cautious, i did not continue running, but keept stretching after finishing every 3 -4 kms....which helped me BIG TIME..........
my 1st 25 kms were without any problem, in perfect rhythm and i was hydrating myself perfectly with drinking Lucozade & gatorade at regular intervals..
also as 10km, there was a waterpoint kept along with dates and oranges..i ate a lot of oranges and dates at that point...and started running ahead for Glory, which was still 28kms away.....
the entire route was very beautiful and i saw such a lonavala for the 1st time..without any cars, without any noise...
there was complete silence and on my left i could see a perfect Sunrise....1 of my most beautiful mornings ever....
At the AMBY VALLEY end, Dr. Ajay Kharat caught up with me and asked me to accompany him as he was getting tired and company helps a lot in running..
i ran with him from 16km to 22 kms with his speed which eventually slowed me down....but in the process my legs got the needed rest and they were fresh as the beginning...
I left Dr. Kharat behind and started running in my rhythm again....from 22km to 28km, i ran with perfect rhythm, speed and breathing...
1 more km to push and i would have my water point, where i could load my carbs back and hydrate myself with water, dates and oranges...
but due to some miscommunication, the car was not there....and i was shocked, as i had a little supply of water left with me...
also 2 more kms of running and i started experiencing a strange pain on the outer side of my LEFT FOOT....
Initially i ignored it but after few more steps of running, it became very stiff and it felt like i have sprained it and could not put the feet down...
i didnt knw wht to do as it was sunny as well...
the time was 10ish in the morning with the sun beating over the head.....but still windy enough to not have tht much sweat....
i started walking as i had decided....
if i couldnt run the distance, i would walk down the entire distance if needed.......
just 10 mins of walking and i was in bad pain again..just then Mr. Ramdas who had finished his distance took the car and came to provide water to every1 on the route....
i took 1 litre of bisleri with me and 1 more bottle of Lucozade with me....
i removed my left shoe and poured the water on my feet....thts when i realised that my body temperature was so warm that normal room temperature water was giving me a feeling of chilled water..
did few more stretches and started walking again...this time the pain was less..
A quote came to my mind under the above situation
I ran. I ran until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid. Then I ran some more.
I decided to walk for 2-3 kms so that the pain would ease..if you see the Garmin link, 22nd, 32nd and 33rd Kms were the most difficult patches for me...
then came the deadly slopes again...but this time they were downwards...my leg felt good, pain was a little less and i was feeling a little better....
just then from my playlist, 2 songs played back to back...
1. EYE OF THE TIGER.
2. ROCKY THEME....
as soon as the 1st song started, the balance water tht i had with me, i poured some on my head, some on legs and some on my neck and spine.....and decided that will run with a good speed till these 2 songs finish..
and it helped...
i was running like a determined person and looking quite a PRO in tht heat where every passing car and bike were checking it out that who is this tall man running in his tights, with sunglasses and with such an awesome speed at 1030 in the morning....
what a feeling it was....
As soon as i reached Bushy dam i was thrilled....i completed the distance and was elated....i was not bothered about the timing....
the only thing that mattered was 38KM....and yes i did it on slopes as well....
I saw my clock which showed a time of 1120...so i reverse calculated and assumed the timing of 5 hours and 25 mins...AND MY GARMIN SHOWED A TIME OF 5 HRS AND 1 MINS, WHICH IS THE MOVING TIME UNDER WHICH I CLOCKED THE DISTANCE.
IF I DID NOT HAVE ANY STOPPAGES LIKE I HAD WITH DR. KHARAT AND THE INJURY WHERE I WALKED 2 - 3 KMS, I COULD WELL DO THIS UNDER 4.45.
MY INITIAL TARGET WAS TO FINISH THE MARATHON UNDER 5 HOURS.....
I THINK I WILL BE ABLE TO DO IT AS THE MUMBAI MARATHON HAS ONLY 1 SLOPE @ PEDDER ROAD....
I SHALL KEEP THE TARGET SAME THIS YEAR..UNDER 5 HOURS ONLY...
HOWEVER, DEEP INSIDE, IN MY NEXT RUN, I WANT TO BEAT MYSELF WITH THIS TIMING AND ON MARATHON DAY, WANT TO DO BETTER THAN JUST UNDER 5 HOURS...LETS SEE IF I CAN DO IT.....AS I AM FINDING NEW WAYS TO IMPROVE MY SPEED...
I would just like to end saying the following:
People ask why I run.
I say "If you have to ask, you will never understand".
It is something only those select few know.
Those who put themselves through pain, but deep down know how good it feels
Do let me have your valueable feedback :-)
Regards
Pratik
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