Hi Friends!!!!!
By this time, all my muscle soreness, cramps, pains have gone but the excitement of finishing yet another 42.195km FINISH LINE is still there.
The excitement of achieving a new personal Best of 4 hours and 29 minutes.
It is rightly said, that irrespective of the conditions, timings, physical fitness and any other factor affecting a person, crossing the finish line always is Special…..
I can call myself a full time Marathoner now as I just proved that finishing the Mumbai Marathon exactly a month ago was NO FLUKE attempt.
I can say today that my legs are ready and if possible, would not mind running another Marathon in next month as well…
Not many know that I went to a place called “AUROVILLE” that is close to Pondicherry. This place is famous for the AUROBINDO ashram and the MATRIMANDIR and is a FRENCH COLONY.. The founders of Auroville believe in no particular religion and neither do they preach any.
As per them any new religion introduced would only further lead to more chaos…..
The place has a typical GOA Like feeling near the beaches and the Ashram and the Auroville Visitors Centre is a place 1 must visit……
The founders of Auroville started with this unique MARATHON @ Auroville in their TRAIL 4 years ago. In the 1st year the event only had localites and had not more than 200 people.
However in the 4th Edition which was on 13th Feb 2011, It had 240 Full Marathoners, 980 Half Marathoners and 260 10K Runners and around 30 5k runners…totaling close to 1500 people…
It is gaining popularity every year which is remarkable…..
From our Group (TOP GEAR GROUP) 9 members went to Auroville for a Marathon. 6 FM and 3 HM.
I had decided to go last year as soon as I had read a mail of a runner who ran there….
There are hardly any Trail Runs in India and with this event it gave me a chance to do something different and see if I was ready for it.
The best thing about running is setting new targets and achieving them. This run was much tougher than the Mumbai Marathon and more the toughness of the track and the run, the sweeter the feeling of victory at the finish line.
My friends who do not know much on running often ask me….” PD…Did you win?? “ to which I simply answer a “NO”
A NO because technically I have not won, but deep inside every Half Marathoner or a Full Marathoner on completion of the distance will always be a WINNER; no matter what.
At the finish line I thought vow….I DID IT….I was actually not sure if this was possible when I was at 12k when there was a slight pain in my left knee.
There is 1 thing that I have learned in this 2 instances that finishing a marathon isn’t just an athletic achievement. It’s a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible.
When we started the run, it was pitch dark…. So dark that we could not see our own hand without a torch or a headlamp. We were a group of 6 Full Marathoners from Bombay who bought Head Lamps for this very reason and it really did help us a lot…without the Headlamps it would have been very difficult to run.
For the 1st Hour the concentration was only on the ground to see and find any stones, tree branches or any such elements which would make our feet land on it and possibly end the race there and then…luckily none of it happen to me and I ran the first 85 – 90 minutes with total concentration…
Once the sunlight was out, the Headlamp was back in my pouch and I picked up speed…I ran faster than most of the runners in my immediate reach and covered quite a lot of distance.
The best thing about this Trail run was the surface. It had everything to offer. Mud, wet sand, dry sand, gravel, soil, and even roads….
I did not know how I was managing to run in all different surfaces but realized 1 thing while running..that the moment I decided its too tough, I felt like giving the race up.
That’s when I told to myself, that it is ALL IN THE MIND……and no matter what, I HAVE to FINISH STRONG!!!!
And it indeed happened.
I have no words to describe the beauty of the place, but it is a tremendous experience even to walk these Trails.
1 particular sight is still fresh in my mind where I can see Sun rays piercing within the tree and hitting the ground..
It was such a sight. Shall send pictures later for sure.
I do not want to write my run in detail as the experience of the pain is the same in every km..Every km you pass, the difficulty increases.
Upto 20 – 25km, all seems well and in tune with regards to the body, but from 25 to 35km the body starts playing with the mind and unless the Mind wins, 1 can’t finish the marathon. Hence the Mind has to be as strong as it can get.
If I can do a 4.30 hours on a Trail marathon which is full of uneven surface and full of uncertainties then running on a flat track, my timings would certainly be better.
If all goes well, I might able to clock a Sub 4 hours finish in SCMM 2012…
Lets hope that happens.
The next target is THANE HALF MARATHON (21km). I plan to do it under 1hour 55 mins..
Lets see how it goes. It is on 27th February 2011.
I would just like to end the mail with the below thought:
Running has been the great equalizer for me. It's given me some nice balance and perspective. You might assume I'm burning the candle at both ends by working fulltime in a 9 to 6 job and training for a marathon, but I would say it's quite the opposite.
Running lets me take a break and take a look at the scenery. It allows the problem-solving side of things to come into effect and gives me clarity when I'm out there on the road or the ground for a couple hours at a time.
Regards
Pratik
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