Two Done, Ten to go!

With Nagaraj in the 3rd loop (approx 25K)


As planned, I had an easy week leading upto Sunday 21st September with 8K runs on Monday and Thursday and 10K cycling on Tuesday and Wednesday. Got a bit of a scare Friday evening/Saturday morning with a niggle in the hamstring. However, by Satuday evening I felt quite OK. Finalised the logistics of getting to the starting point by 530 . The plan was to drive with Deepak picking up Doc and Ashok along the way . Manoj and Athreya planned to come on their own. The idea was to start running latest by 545am so that one was done with the run by 1030 am or so. Manoj, Deepak, Doc and myself were planning to do the full 42.2Km while Ashok and Athreya were planning to do a Long one..

On Sunday morning when Doc sent an SMS to me around 3:45am dropping out, we changed our driving plans. Deepa, along with Amit, picked me up at Big Bazaar and we met Ashok in Koramangla. Ashok was then the navigator to get us to the starting point. Dharam joined us at Family Mart and followed us in his car. We got to the starting point a little after 530am. Amazingly there were at least 10 other runners already waiting there. So around 545am we took off. A2/Nikhil had talked about a loop of 10 or 10.5 Km. However, there was some confusion in the first loop and we had to do the lake bed twice to get 10Km loop which was not that much fun. At dawn the run across the lake bed was really great. Several runners started their run today between 545 and the actual RFL run start after 630am. So the RFL run got a bit disrupted. Having run the route a couple of times before I was well aware this would be a tough course with several fairly steep gradients. However, it turned out to be much tougher than I anticipated with the side loop also having steep, long gradients.So much so that I started wandering whether I made a mistake in attempting a full marathon at this location. Even though it was partly cloudy whenever the sun came out it was quite warm. The first 2 laps went off quite well. Was at the 22K mark around 2:10(compared to 1:59 in Hyderabad a month ago). Ran the first loop with Suresh and Chandra. In the second loop it was a pleasant surprise to see Nagaraj - he was coming back from an extended leg injury. It was great catching up with him over 15 K or so. Around the 26K mark was quite zapped by a fluroscent yellow T-shirt runner - there was doc sprinting by. He woke up late and decided to run after all! which was great for me as he kept pace with me pretty much till the end. Thanx a lot Doc! - I would have found it harder without your company. Doc was also very supportive when I tripped and almost fell when turning at the end of the lake bed in the 4rth loop. Doc, ofcourse, is an amazing runner - he had done a 45K the previous day at Cubbon Park - most of it running solo. The 4rth loop specially the last 2 Kms to the starting point was a really killer. Slowed down considerably in the gradient - 7:30 minutes per Km. Ended the run around 10:15 with a small stretch on Kanakpura road as each loop was 10K. . Manoj, Deepak and I finished together. Ashok and Athreya had completed earlier. I am pretty satsified with my just under 4:30 finish - just what I had targeted for. The support from RFL volunteers was good- the 2nd water point was a real boon! Also it was nice to be cheered and encouraged by several runners who knew me and were aware that I was doing the full 42K. Thank folks- really appreciated all the support!. It was also very heartening to note that a few runners ran their first 30K yesterday despite it being a very tough course. Click here for the RFL pictures of the run.

Had a quick breakfast of masala dosas and vadas at Vaishnavi before returning back home.

Though I felt really tired towards the end of the run , later in the day it felt that the muscles were less sore and fatigued compared to the previous marathons. Was able to climb up and down staircases much more easily than before. And thankfully there were no signifcant niggles in the left calf or hamstring. I am attributing this to the strength training that I have been doing at the Manipal hospital for the last 4 months or so. Even though I often wake up quite early on the morning of a marathon (it was 3:20am yesterday) I have never ever felt like sleeping or even lying down after finishing one. Au contraire, I normally feel quite energetic and good about myself after a nice long run. Now, onto the 3rd one at the Kaveri Trail Marathon on 19th October!!