42kms…

I am quite comfortable running a half marathon, read my post first half marathon on how I got started. So the next adventure in line was off course completing the full marathon. When I made it public that I was participating in a full marathon, it was wonderful to observe peoples reaction. Some believed in me, encouraged me saying I could do it. Some thought I was joking and I would run only a half marathon if at all I did. And my good friends just noticed me being more crazy than my usual.

To be honest I like running, but I am not a big fan of long arduous practice sessions. More than 10-15 rounds on a 400mtr track almost makes me giddy and is painfully boring. Even if I ran a new route in the city I would run a maximum of 6-7 kilometers. I also tried my best to be consistent, but I failed there too. Critical office project at the time meant more time spent in office and returning home totally exhausted. It was really difficult at times to harness enough will power to get myself wearing those pretty running shoes and start jogging. Whenever I did I knew it wasn’t hard as it seemed, but the beginning is always difficult. Until 3 weeks prior to the marathon, I wasn’t really in best shape to complete a marathon.

I knew I won’t be able to cover a lot of ground within 3 weeks although my work load had considerably gone down and I could really focus on my training. However I wanted to make sure that I did cross that finish line no matter what. One thing I had learnt from my previous experiences in long distance running and endurance trekking was that; you should always take a break whenever your body starts to give a signal that it’s breaking down. If you keep persistent by being foolishly confident of your endurance and will power, the only thing that will happen is, you being exposed to an injury which will most likely stop you from doing anything more. The old wisdom “slow and steady wins the race” does come handy here. So my plan was quite simple, to keep my body in as much optimal state as possible. My practice did not involve any long distance running at all. I had hardly run 5-6kms at a stretch during last 3 weeks of practice. Instead I focused on other areas too, I walked long distances after dinner like 2-3kms. Then I did a good deal of yoga in the morning. Also I completed a strenuous trek one weekend, staying in the sun the entire day, to test how much stress my body could take in.

Prior to the marathon, I happened to get a lot of interesting tips & tricks from an old school friend. He advised me to keep taking fluids throughout the run and always keep a water bottle ready in hand. To pour water at the back of my neck, when it felt hot, so that the coolness will spread to my head and keep my nerve steady. And some more genuine tips which I needn’t specify here. For me the marathon was going to be a tandem of walk and run until I reached the finish line. Although more prepared than ever, 42kms stood like the Mount Everest. I was still unsure if I could reach in one piece to the finish line in less than 6 hours. And like always even during this marathon’s previous night we had hardly 4 hours of sleep.

The run began at 6:40 am. The sun wasn’t up yet, and the weather was cooler. Running along the seaside felt like dream. Since the distance was long, I wasn’t really focused on the distance markers. I hardly looked at any of them. I didn’t put on my iPod as listening to it could have given me a sense of time. It was quite weird, I didn’t want to know the time. I wanted it to pass unnoticed when I kept persistent at my job. I enjoyed running like never before, not trying to hurry at all, not getting myself out of breath, but just smiling and running that’s all.

The enthusiastic Mumbai crowd was by the side on the streets cheering us. The small children raised their hands for HiFi and would feel very happy when the runner touched their hand. I could imagine myself in their place, I could imagine how wonderful I would have felt when a marathoner gave me a HiFi. I was in no hurry, soaking in the atmosphere, listening to every cheer, smiling and enjoying my run continued. I took my first break after reaching the half marathon marker. Stopped for a while, used some ice, stretched a little and then carried on.

Now the sun was making its presence felt. My speed was dropping and I required more walking breaks than before. The enthusiasm had not dropped one little bit, but body glucose level kept dropping and I could sense it. At 35kms I started to get little cramps in my calves while running. I could walk fine, and knew for certain that if I walked the rest of the distance I would easily complete the race in less than 6 hours. A volunteer along the way had offered me a small relief spray. I made a judicious use of the spray. Under no condition I wanted to expose myself to an injury which will cut short my progress in the run. I used plenty of ice. I would put small pieces in my shoes so that the foot muscles felt relaxed. Those muscles were in real pain and wouldn’t soothe by relief spray as it didn’t work on socks. The last 10 kms were long and hard but were in no way difficult.

Slowly and steadily I was nearing the finish line. I realized I could finish the race in under 5 hours, so I picked up the pace along last 2kms. The cramps however kept me from making any considerable progress. When it was about 600mtr before finish, I stopped. I wanted to have a photogenic finish 😛 . Didn’t want to cross the line with the obvious pain and limp. I used the remaining of relief spray to calm the muscles. Walked up 200 more metres and then finally when I could see the distant finish line and the cheering crowd I picked up my space. I ran as hard as I could, ran as if I just started the race, and was there in a flash. Could see the clock now that I saw at the start of the race. The time was back on my mind.