My Odyssey with La Ultra (55km Journey)

The experience of a lifetime!

The irony of life is that you get the best high after an ultimate low. This journey to the mountain makes you respect life and humbles you down. I have always wondered the purpose of life, sometimes it makes you wander places, other times it comes to your place.

So far, I have deduced the purpose of life to satisfaction in our tasks and calmness irrespective of the situation. A bad thought can take life out of a human being while a good thought can protect one. This reminds me of a verse from Bhagavad Gita.

2.62 “While contemplating the objective of senses, a person develops attachment to them, from such attachment lust develops, from lust anger arises”

2.63 “From anger complete delusion arises and from delusion, confusion in memory occurs, with this intelligence is lost and man becomes immoral”

My tryst with running is since 4~5 years. Of late having prioritized other things, I have been running without targets, just going with the flow. Running long and slow has helped ditch PB’s and injuries. Most of the runs are with the groups practicing for ultra-marathons. We have developed a good camaraderie and hang out often.

During these hangouts, they constantly discussed about La Ultra. I wasn't interested in these conversations and remained aloof. This continued for few months. However a month ago, I’m not sure what bit me or if it was the subconscious mind which woke me up. I remember the day; it was a Sunday evening and they were discussing about the hotel stay. I suddenly decided to register! I checked with the organizer and he said he can allot a slot to me. My wife felt I was insane.

Once a thought is planted in your mind, nothing can stop you from converting it into action. We decided in the next few days to go ahead with the plan. This is when I started researching about the La Ultra and its history. It felt like digging your own grave, at the same time there was a bit of excitement about running in the hills. I discussed with the group about gear required and did the necessary shopping.  Having done a few long runs, we decided to pace our friends at the TRORT 50K ultra for 6.5Hrs, this went as per plan.

If you want to listen from an amateur on how to train for an ultra, my answer is there’s no good training plan as such. It’s all about how long you can stand on your legs. If you can run for 3hrs, spending 4hrs on the road. It’s good. Irrespective of the distance or speed, more the time you spend on the road doing easy Zone 2- Zone 3 runs, better it makes you prepare for an ultra.

All that we did during training was hold a water bottle in hand, stop at the roadside shops to eat and just do the walk-run till we reach our destination. My body has adopted well to both speed and slow runs, thanks to Maffetone’s method.   

We were six of us from RunAddicts going to Ladakh. Unfortunately, my wife (Divya) had injured her leg in an accident and is still recovering, so she would be crewing with us. Rest of them are Srini, Ravi, Mahesh and Saritha who will be running alongside me.

Srini and Ravi had traveled to high altitude regions multiple times, their experience came handy to us. We just listened and followed their acclimatization plan.

Having spent all my life in low altitude, I had no idea how less oxygen would impact my body. Acclimatization might sound funny for many of us but dying isn’t funny. 
Respect the hills, Always!

Race day – 7 days

We landed in Leh on 12^th Aug’19. Our stay was just 20min travel from the airport. It was quite chilly but nothing else. Don’t fall for the bait, it’s a trap. Bangalore is at 3000 feet above sea level while Leh is at 10500 feet above sea level. In simple words, the higher you go- lower is the oxygen and humidity. Therefore, it will be difficult to breath and you are directly exposed to UV rays of sun. We stayed in the hotel all day and strolled in the market in the evening. I could feel my nose acting cranky already.  

Race day – 6 days

My team decided to go to South Pullu, which is at a little higher altitude and is on the way to Kardungla. We had planned for a walk-run of 8km. 1km uphill walk and 3km downhill, again a repeat of this. It felt good during the practice. As the day progressed, my head literally burst. Had a terrible headache, maybe I should have just skipped this. I underestimated the hills, even a walk wasn’t necessary. Remember, each of our bodies behave differently to nature. Kindly rest even if you’re comfortable, you won’t lose anything but if you risk it, you’ll lose everything. I took a tablet and slept, having decided not to run the next day.

Race day – 5 days

I had a good sleep however when I woke up, my nose had bled in the night and this continued everyday till I was back in Bangalore. Today was drive to Kardungla (17,582 feet). The scene had completely changed to what we saw yesterday. Warm weather gave way to rain and then snow. I saw snow for the first time in my life, it was crazy!! Few of them who had earlier planned to run had to skip and all of us were flabbergasted by the turn of events and were confused of the gear to choose for race day. We had a briefing by the race director in the evening and we also met our fellow runners. It was a good day of recovery with sumptuous lunch and dinner.

Race day – 4&3 days

We recced the race route. It was worse than what we had anticipated. A climb of 31Km and a big drop of 24K. So, it is tough either way. Weather was good in Wari La; there was no snow, just chilliness in the air. Thereafter we traveled to the beautiful Pangong lake. The journey was rough, however huge respect to our Border Road Organization. They have done a marvelous job in these inhabitable conditions. It was a delight to see so many bullet riders.

          

We crossed the Chang La pass (17,590 feet) en route; I could feel the dizziness in my head. The evening was very cold, I had to wear 4 layers and sleep. Next day was again strolling around the lake. We returned to Leh by evening.

Race day- 2 days

It rained and rained and rained! That's the day’s summary. We couldn’t venture out at all. I learnt how to play rummy and of course, lose money too.

Race day- 1 day

Nervousness finally kicked in and our faces conveyed a million stories. The 111K runners would finish at the Shanti Stupa soon. We went and cheered for the runners. Some of them could finish while others couldn’t. Each of them is a winner.

We received some useful tips from Taher and other runners. We were eager to know what to do but they explained more about what not to do. It was good to learn what to avoid. Most important of all was to respect the cut offs, they are set technically and to plan our runs as easy as possible and not seize the engine revving up in the initial few km’s. We made a few changes to our earlier strategy. Deciding the race gear drained our brains, we concluded to carry everything.

We had a drop bag facility, that could be accessed at 18K and 45K.  My plan was simple, not over burden myself by carrying a lot. I decided to run with my barefoot decathlon aqua shoes till the 18^th Km mark, even in case of rain, I wouldn’t have to worry about the wet socks. Thereafter I will change to Merrell Vibram shoes, as I will have to walk a lot and snow would be my company.

I carried 2 pair of socks; I wanted to change back to aqua shoes for the last 10Km. I chose top and bottom full-length inners, shorts, Full arm tee and my group tee on top of that. A windshield cum light weight raincoat on standby. Gloves, Goggles, Bandana, Cap, 500ml water bottle and a mask (I got this from market yesterday to avoid the cold hitting my nose as bandana was rendering me breathless) and a hanky (Of course, to wipe my running nose!).

A Pant, few tees, socks, Shoes, Jacket will be in my drop bag. Divya helped me with all the packing, without her I would’ve needed 2 bags to carry the same number of items. 

 I was all set!!

Race day

I woke up at 3:30am instead of 4:30am and found it hard to sleep thereafter. We had bread toast for breakfast and reached the venue at 7am, an hour’s drive from our hotel. The race would begin at 8am. We were having fun, deep down we knew we had to do this no matter what.

 

We had 4 cut offs. First one at the 8^th km (1hr 45min), 2^nd one at the 18^th km (3hr 45min), 3^rd one at the 31.5km (6hr 30min), 4^th one at the 44.75km (9hrs) and finally complete the 55km race within 11hrs.

0-8Km: (All that starts well….)

The race started at 12,514 feet and Ravi moved ahead as usual. I was with Srini and Mahesh. We did the run-walk as per terrain condition, It went smooth. It was in fact warm, I had to remove my jacket. We covered 8km in 1hr (45min before cut off). Divya was at the aid station, helped us with our need. Ravi was waiting and joined us now.

8-18Km: (A Bumpy ride)

It got cold and windy. Snow fell for a while. Ravi and Srini were in the front doing walk-run, followed by Mahesh steadily walking at a good pace. I was occasionally running and walking at an easy pace. I wasn’t interested in walking at brisk pace to conserve energy. I was behind them by 50mts. The distance became 100-200mts as we started moving up. I was feeling dizzy and a mild headache cropped up which increased as we moved up however it wasn’t bad. We reached the aid station at 18^th km (15,371 feet) in 3hrs, was surprised to see Divya here too.

She knew what I needed and helped me. I changed to shoes and wore a pant assuming things won’t be same moving up. All along I was sipping water every 2-3min and refilling at the aid stations. I complained of headache and took tea to make myself better. We started the Journey UPwards....

18-27Km: (Say Jullay to God!)

Jullay is a Ladakhi word. An all-purpose word for Hello, Please, Goodbye, Thank You. It is pronounced as Joo-Ley. We started together now. 0.5km into the run, I felt breathless, I ran again, and felt the same. This problem was unique, my legs and body felt fresh however there was no fuel (Oxygen) to move me. I looked behind, the aid station was in my sight. I informed Srini to move ahead and that I didn’t have any hope of continuing. He was surprised and didn’t tell anything. Maybe he thought I was joking. I had to tell him again, I will STOP now. He said walk and you will be better.

I walked and I wasn’t better, it only got worse. They moved ahead.

I looked back again, contemplating jogging down a few meters, meeting Divya and support the runners. It’s hard to determine the breaking threshold of a runner. Am I underestimating myself and stopping now? Or is it an excuse to escape from this ordeal? What if this was MY threshold and something adverse may happen if I continue? I was looking for a medic vehicle just to check on myself. There were none. I walked ahead, lost like a kid and sat on a stone pavement. I looked in the front and my friends were quite a distance ahead. I looked behind, another runner came and sat beside me. He was panting!

He complained of less oxygen; I realized the problem wasn’t only with me. If the problem is not unique to me and faced by many, I’m still normal and just had to overcome this. We started walking together now. It was difficult but we stopped every few meters, breathed and moved ahead. It felt like recharging dead phone, make a call and recharge again. This was bad and we were badass!

 I was chanting my prayers and moving at a snail’s pace. The snow fall was increasing. It’s fun to play in snow, not run.

By now, there were many runners around us. Most were facing the same difficulty while a few went ahead of us. The road was like zigzag drawing. For every two lines, third line was slightly flat or downhill and curve to next line was too steep. I kind of understood the game plan and walked with breaks on this uphill stretch and relaxed while I was on the third line.It was too tempting to run on this downhill stretch. I did not fall for the bait and just walked.

Well, this stretch was killing me and then giving me some life and killing me again. This went on and on as if there was no end.

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Really?

I had 1.5hrs for the next cutoff and 6km to go. My mind was working on the arithmetic. 15min per km would do. I was oscillating around 13min/km to 19min/km. I knew I can make it somehow in time to the cut off, just that I should HOLD ON for few more minutes with patience. As I was nearing the ‘4km to go’ mark and meanwhile, having saved 5-8 crucial minutes, they had blocked the route further due to heavy snow. We had to take a U turn here (and complete the remaining distance near the start point). So, the last 4K will be an uphill finish. I wasn’t sure if this is a blessing in disguise or another attempt for a kill in the end. I met my friends who were returning from the U turn, it was a happy sight to see them going strong.
5hr 15min had elapsed and I was at 27^th km (16200 feet). I took a mountain dew and could feel my taste buds waking up. I refilled my bottle with dew. The gas and sugar would help me deceive my mind.

27-36Km: (Purpose of this run?)

I started the downhill; it was nice to see a few 222K runners. They’re a different class apart. I was walking down, too steep to run. A few ahead of me, a few behind and some of them coming in the opposite direction. After a while, it was just me and the hills.

Breathing was better however sight of a slight uphill sent shivers. I would again lose breathe and slowdown. This was way better than the earlier trauma. Many questions ran in my mind, is this run worth it? What am I doing here, in the middle of nowhere? Lost in thoughts, I was still covering distance at a steady walk pace. After a while I jogged, I didn’t have the energy to continue. So, I walked and walked and then jogged and walked again to reach the camp at 15,371 feet.

Divya was happy to see me. I was shocked to see Srini there. He had completed the devilish part of the run and had decided to quit. He had a neck and shoulder pain. Knowing him quite well, he wouldn’t take this decision without thinking. I still persuaded him to join me till the next aid station. He didn’t want to risk. I respected his decision and decided to move.  I refilled mountain dew in my bottle, this was helping. I didn’t want to change any clothes or shoes. I had very less time. All that I had done so far was 36K in 7hrs. I had 4 Hrs to complete the remaining 20Km. Approx. 12min/km, same pace I had taken to cover the current distance.

36-55Km: (REDEMPTION)

I started to jog; I had to save time which is crucial in case of any cramps towards the end. This is the longest time on my feet; otherwise it was on my bike. There was no snow now but it started drizzling, I wondered what else I will have to experience today.

2km into the run, I bumped into a student volunteer.  He asked if he could pace me, I said sure. He was 16yrs old, Pattrick from Spain. We introduced and hit a conversation. I apprised him of the stats and time left to accomplish my task. He was more than happy to accompany me in this journey. This was his longest run; he had already covered 20 odd km and now here with me to run 18 more. He was running with his trekking shoes and it was hard. 

 I felt better now, so we increased the pace. We ran faster and walked every 600mts. We spoke during our walk and understood each other’s interests. Sailing and football were his hobbies. I was getting better and better now, without any breathing issues.

As we ran close to 8km together, he developed cramps. I requested him to rest and walk slowly. A km ahead and I saw him behind again. He wanted to run with me. We ran for a while and I forced him to stop. I assured him that I will meet at the finish line and continued my last part of the run. I reached the start line having covered 47km. We had to run 4km ahead and return to make up for the lost distance at the top.

It did start well; it didn’t kill me, and I was running strong now. I reached the 4km U turn and was continuing ahead; I was in a different high. The volunteer stationed there stopped me and guided to turn around.

I returned but there were a few uphills, last km was a killer, too steep. I was wondering if I was in the same route, doubts were cleared when I saw the finish line around 300mts away. I met Pattrick again, thanked him for his selfless support.

 I sprinted to the finish line. 
I completed the La Ultra 55K, toughest run of my life in 9:22Hrs. It was good to see Divya and my group, without whom I wouldn’t be here.

I want to congratulate all the participants of 55K, 111K, 222K, 333K and 555K categories. Each of you are very brave.

Big kudos to the volunteers, support crew and organizers for your selfless service.

Alone, one can achieve a little. Together, we can achieve a lot.

I would like to thank Divya for being my pillar and supporting in all my endeavors,

thank RunAddicts: The group is big and so are your hearts,

also thank Burners: The mother who teaches a kid to walk, always remains special.

finally Lord Krishna: For letting me serve him this way.

Dissecting the RR run route

Dissecting the RR run route

PB course with a caution.

Disclaimer: The below information is based on my experience and may or may not have co relation with the actual event (Route as well as the elevation profile). I am not related to the event team either. This is just a reference to plan your run which may or may not help in your run and these are completely my personal views and in particular for first timers/beginners.

About myself: Engineer by profession and a marathoner by passion. A newbie into running and having experience of 7 marathons, I just want to share my experience about this route.  This is specifically to guide/ help my running group- Runaddicts who are a bunch of passionate athletes who have chosen the fitness as a part of life.

Description about the route:

I did a half marathon on this route. Apart from a few hilly sections, it’s a downhill course, high probability of PB if you plan it smartly.

Half marathon is 2 loops of 10k, so let us understand km break ups with elevation.

1^st km: Elevation gain 4mts

Relatively flat, there is no award for the fastest km. hold your horses. I suggest drop down the pace a little, you will thank me later for this tip. Ex: If you are targeting 60min 10k finish. You should average 6min/ km. Try to keep the first km at 6:10-6:15 pace. This is inside global village, nice well lit wide roads.i

2^nd km: Elevation gain 22mts

Elevated road- there’s an uphill section, a small downhill and then around 200-300mts of hill. Keep calm, don’t pace fast at this section, it may screw up the whole run. If required, walk the last 100-150mts and keep breathing in control. Exit of global village and you will see BGS hospital.

3^rd km: Elevation gain 0 mts

First big task is behind you, now time to get back to rhythm, very slight elevation. Run at your target pace at this section. Now you are on the uttarahalli road, there might be slight traffic, watch out!

4^th km: Elevation gain -20 mts

Time to get back the lost time. Slightly increase the pace above target and the down will take you comfortably. Continuing on uttarahalli road and we take a left into Rajarajeshwari nagar.

5^th km: Elevation gain 25 mts

Second and the last big hill. Again a down followed by a hill. Slow down and keep tab on breathing. Watch out for pebbles on this section, a small portion of the road is under construction. You will see a petrol bunk on the right and Jnanakshi school on the left, now the ordeal is officially over.

6^th km: Elevation gain -6mts

It’s a roller coaster ride from now on as both the hills are behind you now. Relax a bit and get back to form. You’re entering into double road, our group run start point, thank Mohan for the group run he organizes and move on. We enter the beml complex road now and kaapi katte is on your right. 

7^th km: Elevation gain -1mts

It’s a flat road and as you cross complex, road is slightly declining, can push a little here if required. A small uphill after you cross beml gate. Maintain same pace or slow down no harm.

8^th km: Elevation gain -16mts

Time to press the throttle, it’s almost a downhill from here. Last 3 to go, push yourself or run steady and save the energy for later. You’ll see monish corner on the left where Sudhir sir stays, End of the road and left, this is where I stay. Come home, if you need a potty break :P

9^th km: Elevation gain 10 mts

Very slight uphill but manageable, increase the pace as you’re nearing the finish. Now you’ve entered the main road which is from the arch. Take a right after Rajarajeshwari school. Downhill starts here.

10^th km: Elevation gain 2 mts

Ensure you had saved energy so far and this should be your fastest km. Rajarajeshwari temple is on your right. As you go ahead, one small uphill, don’t worry push yourself, take a right and it’s all downhill till global village. Enjoy this part of the run, wide road and downhill.

People doing half marathon, be cautious of the first loop. Negative splits is a nice idea.

Hydrate well, do the pre run and post run stretches. If you feel like walking a few mts, it’s totally fine and don’t forget to smile at the cameras!

Good luck and happy running!!!

Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/863305057

First SCMM

I registered for the event at a time when I hadn’t done my first FM yet. The aura of the event attracted me.

After my Bangalore marathon debut, I was a lazy pig. I had lost the enthusiasm to run for a while. As the time was nearing for SCMM, motivation found me and the epic journey started.

I concentrated more on my long runs and had little time for speeds, tempo or hill repeats. I regretted a bit for not getting back to training at the right time. 

Having said that, it’s better late than never. I was able to do 30km+ four times in my training runs. This boosted the confidence to a large extent.

1 week before the marathon, all was well and found it hard to plan my target. It was whether to go for same target as my Bangalore marathon (3:45 Hrs) or take a challenging target of 3:30 Hrs. It’s better to have a strong finish at an easier pace than to lose the momentum at 32^nd km and end up around 4 Hrs. 

I was very conscious about my target as Mumbai was untested waters for me. The last time I was here, which was 2 years back and perspiring at 6 in the morning! I set myself a target of 3:40 Hrs to finish.

3~4 days before the event, I could sense a light catch behind right knee. The thought wouldn’t go no matter what. I wasn’t sure if it was an injury or a minor niggle. This thought bothered me till the night before the run and thankfully I forgot about it on the event day.

2 days before the run, I met up with the guys joining me. Karthik and Prasad, from whom I’ve gained a lot of knowledge and are ever ready to help me. We had a short run and did some stretches.

1 day before the event we collected the bibs and took a taxi to our hotel. The roads were crowded and we casually asked our driver how the traffic would be managed during the event, will there be any issues. He was surprised at our question; I’ll quote his exact words.

“Mumbai Marathon is a festival for us, how can anyone disturb it”. We understood in detail how everyone supports for the run. I could imagine the crowd support and the event in a very big scale. 

The biggest disappointment came when we reached the hotel. A few days back our hotel booking was canceled and we were allocated to a different hotel. The attitude of the hotel guy and the cleanliness made us sick. We requested for a 1~ 2 Hr extension the next day so that we could freshen up and leave. He wouldn’t listen and asked us to vacate by 11:30am sharp. Even if we are late by a minute, he would charge us for the whole day. 

We realized it was pointless arguing with him and decided to take one room extension for another day. To our utter dismay he said either both the rooms would be extended or none of them. This was completely ridiculous. This is not how I expected the city to treat me. We spent the next 4 hrs searching for hotels and making calls, nothing materialized. 

We were tired of the whole process and decided to take a walk outside. We went to gateway of India and were at ease for a while. 

We had mouth watering food at a restaurant near CST and finally decided that whoever finishes soon will come and check out of the hotel before 11:30am. For the 4 of us who chose to stay here actually had the finish line 2 kms away from the finish line of SCMM! 

We laughed over it and slept. I had a good sleep after a tired week. We went to the start line and were overwhelmed by the huge mela of runners. 

Initially Me and Prasad had decided to run together as we were targeting around the same target time. Within a few meters we lost each other. It took me 1 km to get out of the crowd and another km to catch up my pace, this is when Prasad caught up with me. The humidity made me take water at the 2^nd km and was drenched in sweat within a few minutes. He went to take a leak and I continued running at my pace. 

The music en route kept the tempo going and the cheers made us instant celebrities. The crowd and the event exceeded my expectations by infinity. Every time there was a cheer, my speed would shoot up, I had to control hard.

Where on earth would people wake up early on a Sunday morning and come to cheer up people running on streets! Definitely not in Bangalore :P

 I saw a lot of them holding placards and motivating us to run. This killed the ego in me to a great extent. They had no reason to do this; I am not even related to any of them. Then I saw people supplying all kinds of fruits, water, juices and there was this guy who went to the extent of running at my speed and gave water. How could I say no, this brought tears of joy! 

I instantly fell in love with this city. Trust me, as I crossed the 12/13^th km mark I wondered why time was moving so fast…. I wanted to run longer, I didn’t want to miss these moments of joy.

As I entered the beautiful sea link, no matter what you hear about it, you need to run here to experience it. On the left, you see the sky kissing the sea and it’s a never ending bliss out there. What am I doing here, am I here for sightseeing and meeting the most benevolent people or run a marathon, I was confused. I saw my watch and was pacing it right (5:00 ~ 5:10min per km).

I completed 21km in 1:47 hrs. Even if I complete the rest of the run in 1:50 Hrs, I would end up at 3:37 Hrs which is a good time. 

I spoke to a runner who was ahead of me for most of the time. He was Ashish from Delhi. We introduced ourselves and shared our running experiences. It is difficult to run alone, a running companion makes the task easier. We ran together for a while and then I moved ahead. I saw siddhi Vinayak temple on the left and prayed :) After 25^th km, I found it a little hard and pace was dropping below 5:15 for a few km. This is when I saw Sameer who ran alongside me in the 3:45 Hr bus in Bangalore. He asked me to join him but as I was struggling I asked him to carry on.

 After 29^th km, I found the rhythm back and slowly increased my speed. At 31^st km, I saw Prasad and was happy to have him back. I finally had somebody to run alongside till the finish line. However this was short lived.

At 32^nd km, my watch showed 2:45 Hrs. If I run at 5 pace, I should be able to complete in 3:35 Hrs. This excited me to a large extent. There was no way the energy of the crowd would subside and why should mine. I felt fresh and some new found energy kept me pushing at 4:45 pace for the next 3km and I moved ahead of Prasad.

It was last 7km to go and suddenly the glorious pain welcomed me. I got pain at the back of left thigh and slight pain in the right shin. Within a km, Prasad went ahead of me and he was going strong. If I push, high chances of a cramp and all the effort might go in vain. The plan was simple now, it was to keep Prasad in sight and finally go for the kill in the last km.

I kept him in sight for a km or so, after that I lost him. I was slowing down, drastically slowing down. Enduring the pain was difficult, was yet to learn the art of running through pain. I just wished to finish soon, it was getting tougher. Last 4km to go and I was running at 5:45 pace, the crowd support was still great. 

Then I decided to slowly increase the pace in the last 2km, I was able to keep sub 5:30 pace now. I sprinted the last 500 meters and I was home.

 Before I came here to run, I had this line as closing statement in my mind- 

MUMBAI CONQUERED. I was wrong, 

MUMBAI CONQUERED ME with its love and warmth.

I finished in 3:42:11 with zero regrets. I enjoyed 200%. I wish to come here again next year and every year, run stronger and try hard to reciprocate the joy.

We went back to hotel in time. Fortunately, there was somebody else in the hotel and he agreed to extend our stay a little while more for us to freshen up, finally some consolation. We went to Leopold, waited for 30min outside and savored the best drink in town.

 It was total relaxation and then we took local train to Karthik’s relative home. They were no less than the crowd who came to cheer us in the morning. They made us eat and when we said we were full, they parceled us the food to take home!

 I’m blessed to be born in this country. I returned back with joy and a bundle of beautiful memories. Thanks to my running friends from the bottom of my heart for introducing me to this beautiful life. I finally realized Marathon is neither about time nor distance; it’s about experiencing and living life to its fullest. It makes you humble and a better person than you were yesterday.

I finally thank Lord Krishna for letting me serve him this way.

Marathon Debut

I have been waiting for 13 months to write this post. I considered myself an amateur back then to write about it.

Today, I realized I will always be an amateur in running and there's always something new you can learn till your last run.

The wait is finally over!!

18^th October 2015 

This date will be remembered forever. As my good friend Pav put it, I was reborn again.

The high you get after you complete a Marathon is unmatched; it is indeed a Runner’s high :)

This is my story, the story about how running changed my life. Rather the outlook towards life.

The journey started little over a year ago.

Why did the journey start?

Every journey has a start, the little push, the little challenge, the tiny spark!

 Hear it from me.

There’s an annual relay running event at my work place.

 Back in 2012, I was part of the 8 member relay team to run 3.3km each. That was the first time I had ever run. All I did was sprint the first 100mts and then slowed down to gasp for breath. It was an ordeal to complete 3.3km for a 22 year old whereas people over 50 were doing it comfortably.

Immediately I registered for PUMA urban stampede 5K and was into practice. After around 3 months of practice, I completed the 5K in 24min 30sec. It felt good but I again lost interest.

Thereafter, the next 2 years I was a couch potato. The urge to run was there but could never put the thought into action.

And then last year (Aug-2014), I saw a charity event (10K) promotion on FB and decided to give it a try. My assumption was as I had already done a 5K, 10K should be easier 

(Simply going by the math behind it: P).

I had a good 3 months to prepare for it. Being an Engineer is sometimes a curse, we spend more time analyzing the logic rather than put ourselves into action and practice.

At last, it’s the way you use your brain for gain or pain.

I went with the simple logic of running for 20min every day, no matter what the distance was. I chose a 450 mtr park to train. Initially I could clock 3km in 20min and then I gradually improved. Speed was the only thing on my mind. I wish I had got injured much earlier than it actually happened. I would’ve been a matured runner much earlier and this post could’ve been written much earlier :P.

Back to the story, I trained alone. I had no contact with the outside world whatsoever. At the end of 3 months, I was able to run 4km in 20min. My target was to run a 5K within that much time.

3 Days before the event, as was my routine went for the 20min run again. At the end of 1^st km, I got horrible pain in the left leg calf muscle. I couldn’t run, I just walked back home and then I decided to rest for couple of days and go for the event. I revised my target from 40min to 50min owing to the last min injury and I knew there was no possible way to do a 40min 10K, as my fastest run in 20min was 4K.

 (Engineer at work: P).

 I can’t control my laughter looking at these numbers today.

Event day- 10K debut

I arrived at the venue 30min in advance. As a precaution, I had applied spray all over the leg. At the back of my mind, the thought was still there. What if it pains again? Is it all over?

I brushed away the thoughts and stood at the start line. 

The race began and I was running like a school kid as if the finish line is at the end of the road. I hung along with the fast runners initially :P. After 3Km I slowed down. It was my mind doing all the running, body was just listening to the mind. Every KM mark, I used to look at my stop watch and maintain the pace not allowing myself to slow down.

It was 5km, 2 loops. At the end of 5km, I had very little energy left as I had used all of it in the first 3km.  I also had a myth that if you drink water during running, you will get stomach pain. And so no water during the run. At 8^th km, the calf muscle pain was back but my zeal to complete the event was higher. I somehow made it to the finish line. How I got back home is a different story, I decided never to run a 10km, ever. Better I stick to 5K’s. This is my splits.

Km01: 4:09

Km02: 4:33

Km03: 4:25

Km04: 5:02

Km05: 5:02

Km06: 5:17

Km07: 5:17

Km08: 5:02

Km09: 5:12

Km10: 5:03

I completed my first 10K in 49min 03sec. I was over the moon as I achieved my target time. Took rest for a week and decided to run again. The bug hit me hard; remember the 40min target time is not yet achieved. Believe me, I couldn’t even run for a minute, let alone those 20 minutes.

This continued for 3 weeks, as soon as I ran a km or 2, the pain was back. I didn’t run for a full month, visited a general physician and he advised me to take vitamin D tablets and the pain would be gone in a month. I took it every day for a month.

The pain did go. I started my 20min workouts again.

Day1: Fine.

Day2: Fine.

Day3: Slight niggle.

Day4: Back to square 1.

For god sake, my body needed rest and I never heeded to it. I consulted many doctors and I couldn’t even explain what the problem was as I didn’t know myself what the problem was :D

By then I had joined a few running groups on Facebook and decided to post it in one of them to understand what my problem was.

 Right shoes, Warm up, stretches, warm down, nutrition, training plan- the causes were many. Sadly, I didn’t know that people do all this just to run :)

And this was the time one of the good souls- Guru pinged me personally and understood my history into running. He suggested me to see a physio. That’s when I understood that I had shin splints and it needed lot of rest and proper stretches to keep myself in shape.

Already 3 months down without running. Next 2 months was slowly getting back in to the running manifesto.

At the same time, he introduced me to a running group- Burners. There has been no looking back since I joined them. They have become my heart and soul. They are my closest friends too.

During this period, I restricted myself to running in the ground. 2 times a week. Of course no 20min runs :P. It was 3km, 2 times.Running on the mud had little impact helped me recover faster.

And then I registered for my second 10K, this was on a tougher course. I was not recovered completely yet.

I decided to give it a try and try to do a sub 49min which is equal to my debut run. It was complete disappointment; I took 57min 49sec. Sadly, I don’t have the splits to share. There was no way I could increase the speed. So getting back to 49min was a challenge, forget 40min.

The struggle was harder; I could slowly get back to form. i.e., pain free running but still time was a distant dream.

This was the turning point in my runner career. I decided to chuck timing and concentrate only on distance. To all the newbie out there reading this, this the golden rule of running. Conquer distance and time will follow through. 

6 months of almost no running. And then I’ve slowly transformed to a distance runner. I did a few 11K’s, 13, 15 and 17. This was the time I decided to try a half marathon. In 3 months time, I was ready for a half marathon. The time bug slowly started showing up, I had to subside it or compromise on lot more things. I took it easy. I did my first HM in 1:47:47. This time, it was not about time. I completely enjoyed my first half marathon. Immediately I registered for a full marathon at the advice of Guru.

And then within 2 months, there was a 10K run in the same course where I had managed 57min 49sec.

As I was more matured now, I thought I should try a sub 48min as my tempo runs were at around 50min.

To my surprise, I really enjoyed this run and also found that even pacing is the way to go. Positive or negative splits take a toll on me; I really like the even pacing stuff.

 45min 09sec was a shocker. This is what happens when you outweigh distance over time. Conquering time is just a matter of time. 

After this run, full marathon took priority and I started religiously following what my mentor had to say.

I split my week in to

Monday- Rest day

Tuesday- Speed intervals

Wednesday- Aerboic/ core exercises

Thursday- Tempo run

Friday- Hill repeats

Saturday- Cross train (Cycling)

Sunday- Long runs (Preferably LSD)

I’m yet to start my core exercises full-fledged; I tried to incorporate it here and there. For my marathon, the plan was to do distance training as mentioned below.

23K, 25K, 25K, 23K, 27K, 26K, 29K, 23K and finally a 32K over the weekends. So I should be ready within 2 months for the full marathon with one month time to taper down.

I couldn’t follow the training plan religiously and had to push my longer distances towards the end.

In order to simulate the race conditions, I decided to do my 32K on a tougher terrain in tougher conditions. I started at 7am hoping to hit some sun.

I chose a wrong time. It got very hot and for the first time during my running, I experienced cramps. After 27K, I could barely run. Did a jog+walk and finished the 32K. I realized the importance of fuel now.

Till now, my practice runs only included water and enerzol, occasionally I had bananas. Now, I realized the importance of bread jam, energy gels and salt tablets.

From drinking no water to having a full course meal during a run is itself a transition :).

The week thereafter I had registered for a trail run (Kaveri trail Half marathon) and I was 5 weeks away from my full marathon. 

The course was beautiful and I was planning a sub 1:40 which I thought was doable. As I started, it was completely flat, I was on a song. I completed the 10K in around 46min and then the return struck me hard, not sure if it was because of the previous week run in the sun or the present day run in the sun or the trail itself. After 17^th km, my right leg gave up. I walked a couple of time and finished my run in

1:46: 16. 

Had I stuck to the 1:40 Hrs timing pace, maybe it would’ve worked out but I just couldn’t resist running fast there. So I hit the throttle early and lesson learnt :P.

Now, the focus was back on full marathon. A month to go and there’s this exam feeling all over.

Mine being an amateur group, we had too many people debuting their full. So it was test of nerves. Couple of times, I got intimidated by others doing multiple 30K’s and was wondering if I was under-trained for the event.

All these thoughts were dispelled at once by Guru, he said I was on the right track and not to compare with others. Some more gyaan from Karthik, he looked into my training log and advised me to run the FM much slower than my training runs. It was his experience speaking there, he knew I wouldn’t agree to it. He asked me to consider it. He spoke about it multiple times on multiple days. This time I listened to him. It was my last training run, initially was planning to do a 35K but I couldn’t push beyond 32.5K.

I had paced my run at 5:25~5.30 per km. His advice worked, after 25^th km, I was going strong because of the reduced pace. This is when I heard that Nagaraj is pacing the 3:45 Hr bus in the marathon. My initial target was 3:30hrs but this being my debut, I didn’t want to screw it up and make it a 4:00 Hr+. When I suggested this to Karthik, he said this would be the right choice to make.

Fortunately soon after that, Nagaraj had returned from his ironman event and was running in BU. Me, Karthik and Nagaraj had a good discussion about running, nutrition, training and their upbringing. They are both down to earth and keep ego at bay. This is what I like about people.

Believe me! I could sleep in peace. Neither school board exams nor my engineering exams could intimidate me so much.

A few times, the thought of 3:30 finish crossed my mind but decided not to gamble.

Event day- Full marathon debut.

Distance is just a number for runners. When you have a good day, you feel like running the next morning. When you had a bad day, you still want to run to burst out the stress.

Running is modern day yoga. The interactions you have with yourself, calmness of the nature, waving at fellow runners, the sickness you get when you miss your runs is a life in itself. 

I love the way people plan the runs. Remember this at 10K, this at 22K, don’t forget the last gel at 35~37K.

Oh, I really enjoyed it.

Waking up earlier than your normal training days and waking multiple times during sleep and realizing still on the bed and not at 27^th km sends shock waves. I had a troubled sleep although I had compensated for it by having a sound sleep the previous day. 

We decided to car pool for the event. We went there a little earlier. Karthik made us do dynamic stretches and a few warm up runs. Body was flexible and the heart rate went up- A good sign. With so many people around you at 4:00am in the morning, you know you’re not the only mad person out there.

Mind just went blank looking at so many people at the start line, adrenaline was rushing. I located my pacer- Nagaraj, he was a good 200m ahead of me at the start line. We waved at each other. There was already a big contingent around him. I decided to stay back and follow him. I didn’t want to get carried away.

Lot of people increased their pace initially I didn’t want to do it (Remember- Strong finish, not strong start). I could spot him after around a km and joined the bus. Things were going very smoothly, lot of people around. I was moving in front of the bus, it was hard to control the rush inside. He gently reminded me multiple times over the run not to move ahead but to stay with him. I thank him a lot for it.

We maintained an even pace all along. 5:10~5:20 per km. We relaxed in the down hills, put in a little extra energy during the climbs. The volunteers and the hospitality were too good. I took water at the 6^th km, not my sign but just wanted to be on the safer side. My plan of using the gels was first one at 8-10 km, second at 16-18km, third at 26-28km and the last one at 34-35km, have bananas at half way mark.

This almost went as per the plan. We could finally see daylight at around 18^th km, I could see the faces of the people in my bus now, till then was only hearing the voices. They were a motivated lot, too much of positivity around. We exchanged water, enerzol, bananas, it didn’t feel like a competition at all, more like another practice run and we were being led by a great leader. Nagaraj ensured we were all sticking together, he went back, he came forth and kept the momentum up. 

During this time, we could see the elite runners cross us.

 Wow! What a sight to watch them, maybe some day! :P

At 24^th km, we could see other buses going towards the half way mark and realized we had the maximum people compared to other buses (4:30Hr, 5:00 Hr).  I felt myself like a robot then, just running at a constant pace. 

At 32^nd km, looking at my energy Nagaraj asked me to go ahead and get a better timing. I listened and I moved ahead. This was the last 10Km, felt good initially but then I couldn’t get water at all. Aid stations were too crowded by the half marathon crowd. I regretted leaving the bus. I had to chew the last gel without water and I was stopped at a traffic signal, this irritated me. I could see the bus behind; I decided to move ahead rather than slowing. 

I finally met all of them at around 39^th km. I couldn’t pace with them as I was tired, I could barely hang on to them and finally at last km, they started increasing the pace while I couldn’t.

Anyway, can’t have everything your way right! I don’t regret going ahead of the group. Some hydration during the end could’ve definitely helped me. Last Km was tough but it is nothing when you’ve 41km behind your ass. Last 300m sign board was a bliss, I’m about to become a marathoner, the feel was great :).

I could see my running mates who had completed their half marathon, I got some instant energy and did a sprint in the last stretch to the finish line. Full marathon done and dusted. Oh!  It is hard to control emotions at the finish line. I was 30sec behind my bus, not bad. My overall time was 3:46:16 against a target of 3:45:00.

I was more than happy, it was not about time, it was about journey, it was a beautiful journey indeed.

I am always indebted to my running group- Burners, friends who always encourage me, fellow runners who are always motivating you, Bangalore runners Facebook page- lot of insights there and my parents and relatives who don’t understand why I run :).

Finally I would like thank My lord, Krishna for giving me a opportunity to serve him this way :) 

Nandi Betta conquered on my MTB… Second attempt though :P

It’s every Bangalore bikers’ dream to ride to Nandi. When I searched online for information, there were thousands of blog posts. This deterred me to write about it. It was a few months back, maybe 6 months back. I rode to Nandi with a friend of mine and was too optimistic to scale it. 0.5km done and my first pit stop, what followed was a series of stops and I pushed through it. 

It hurt my ego, it hurt me bad. This is when I realized failure takes you to greater heights in life than success ever will. 

These lines by Henry Ford are very much true and are close to my heart.

Think of it this way: There are two kinds of failure.

 The first comes from never trying out your ideas because you are afraid, or because you are waiting for the perfect time. This kind of failure you can never learn from and such timidity will destroy you. 

The second kind comes from a bold and venturesome spirit. If you fail in this way, the hit that you take to your reputation is greatly outweighed by what you learn. Repeated failure will toughen your spirit and show you with absolute clarity how things must be done.

In fact, it is a curse to have everything go right on your first attempt. You will fail to question the element of luck, making you think that you have the golden touch. When you do inevitably fail, it will confuse and demoralize you past the point of learning. 

In any case, to apprentice as an entrepreneur you must act on your ideas as early as possible, exposing them to the public, a part of you even hoping that you’ll fail. You have everything to gain.

Now I just couldn’t control myself from penning this down. Let this be the 1001^st blog post about Nandi betta, am still gonna write about it and feel proud about my accomplishment

.

After my first brevet (read here-Krishnagiri brevet ride), my trainings have been on and off. My sleep times are more than necessary. These 3 weeks of semi hibernation mode took a toll on my fitness. This is when I decided that I wanted a kick to restart my training regimen. 

What else will be a better time to conquer Nandi than now? This would definitely boost my morale. If I don’t, well I will work harder and achieve it.

It was 13^th of June 2015, Saturday, my planned date for the ride. A night before the ride, I gathered all my accessories and tuned my alarm to 3.30am. I had planned an early 4am start.

Oh, my bad! I overslept and woke up at 5. After gathering everything, I could only start at 6am.

I regretted initially for starting late, probably this is the problem with the solo rides 

(No sense of responsibility :P). 

Once I started, the nice weather blew me over. Maybe, the early start would’ve not let me enjoy this beautiful weather. 

At the 24^th km from my home, this was my first pit stop, reached here in an hour, which was a good mileage. Had my favorite breakfast (Idli + Kesari bath+ Coffee) at the favorite place which we had discovered earlier.  

The weather was splendid, probably one of the best rides. It was cloudy with some chances of rain. I soon reached the base. So far, so good. 

This was one of the coolest moments of my life! Very much ready to conquer the hill and I felt nervous. I felt goose bumps after a very long time. Can I do the climb?

I started; gear ratio was at 2-6. I decided to change after a few meters. The gear wouldn’t fall to 1. I just didn’t want to stop after just a few 100’s of meters. 2-1, 2-1, 2-1…. finally the gear fell to 1. Probably the last time I had used 1^st gear was in this climb only. 

Some relief and the climb started. Saw the 7km to go mark and felt good. Just 7 more boy!!

The only thing I learnt here was to be patient and that was the only thing needed for now. I started chanting my favorite mantra and felt relieved. 

Now, I saw an idiot riding down on his motor cycle. 

“Do you really want to do this?”

“Is it required?”

I felt like punching on his face. Probably he will never in his life understand how much blessed a biker is! A sincere request to motorists is we never expect help from you, at the same time, at least show some courtesy to runners/bikers/pedestrians by making way for them. All that we burn is our fat and not oil.

One off incident and the focus was back on the goal. 

6km to go

I had a sip of water and was still holding on to the 1-6 gear ratio. I wanted to hang on with 1-6 as much as possible, anything lesser than that might make me tired and I might have to stop. Initially I decided to drink water every 2km, so that I don’t over hydrate and get tired but later whenever I could make time for it. My hydration pack with a sipper was handy now. 

5km to go

Effectively, I had completed 2km of the hill. Now was the gradual uphill. It’s now or never. I thought that if I pass through this, I can conquer the hill. I passed but it was not end of the story.

4km to go

Small climb and a flat road for a good stretch, finally could relax. 1-7 combination for a while now. The uphill started again.

3km to go

1-6, 1-5, 1-4. Well, this was the moment I was waiting for. It was my mind Vs the hill, body wasn’t even in the picture. At times till now, I used to stand and peddle, just to relax but now during the curves, it was inevitable but stand and peddle. Never in my life had I stood and peddled in 1-4 gear ratio. Every 20 strokes and cycle moves a little distance and leaves you more tired.

2km to go

If you have made it this far, better make it to the end. I was toggling between 1-4 and 1-5, didn’t want to go to 1-3. 1-3, curve and I would be finished.

1km to go

There was a father and kid in the front, also a group of people taking snaps and me crawling up. What a sight for them! I could’ve been one of them but I chose to do this. Another curve but this time more challenging, felt like keeping the leg down but the heart wouldn’t agree. Stood, peddled, used the last ounce of energy and moved ahead. Sight of the arch was bliss. 

Pic courtesy: Indiamarks.com

The pain disappeared and I made it to the end. The satisfaction was immense.

It was tough, I was tougher.

Nandi betta conquered. Now, I know which one next. 

Total 70km completed in 4hrs. Probably last 8km took a lot of time. I refreshed, relaxed myself and started the downward journey. Initial plan was to rest for some time at the base but I decided against it and moved ahead. 

At 94^th km, I touched the main road. Pain started showing up. I stopped for coconut water and continued. The headwinds were high. Sun and the winds played around with me. I stopped again after 10 km or so for a few minutes and continued. 

120km completed and return was much slower than expected, I have to get stronger. My core strength should improve further. Now, I stopped and had rice bath+ lemon juice.

 It was a good carb loading. I hit the speed again only to be stopped by heavy traffic. Lost 30min on the way and finally made it to home. 

Apart from the return journey, everything else was very memorable. Now, I am in love with this solo rides :). You get to talk to yourself and satisfaction is a measure as defined by you.

Total distance covered: 139.88 km

Total time taken: 7:56: 09 (I know this is bad pace compared to my 200km ride :P)