2009 Year End musings..

This post is about the usual year end activity : looking back at what was probably one of the best years running wise and also looking ahead to the plans for 2010.

Highs of 2009

1. Completion of the 12th full marathon in 12 months – the day was made special with the company of so many fellow runners specially from the BHUKMP and Red Dragon gang. The achievement of the goal that I set in May 2008 gave immense satisfaction – the T-shirt and plaque given by fellow runners made it truly memorable!

2. Cracking the sub 4 hr marathon at the Suntrust National marathon in Washington DC in March 2009

3. PB timings in 50K, HM and 10K distances at the Bangalore Ultra, Bangalore Midnight marathon and Sunfeast World 10K respectively

4. Being able to clock 2000Km of running during the year - up from 1800Km in 2008

5. Numerous new running mates specially in the BHUKMP group

Lows of 2009

1. Not being able to hit my PB in 5K distance at the 2nd Urban Stampede
2. Missing out on the 2nd Hyderabad marathon due to sickness - my first ever DNS

2010 Goals

1. Run at least 5 Full marathons/Ultras

• Mumbai Marathon  - 17th Jan 2010
• Auroville Marathon  - 14th Feb 2010
• Hyderabad Marathon - August 2010
• Athens Marathon - 31st October 2010
• Bangalore Ultra - 14th November 2010 

2. Sub 4:05 finish at Mumbai marathon 2010 in 2 weeks from now
3. Sub 4 Hr at Hyderabad marathon 2010
4. 75K at Bangalore Ultra? - it is tempting to go beyond 50K
5. Invest in a better cycle and do a few trail rides with Tandem Trails

I intend to start the year with a 12K-15K  run on January 1 - I have been   running on January 1 pretty much every year since 2003.  A good run on the 1st day of the year is a fantastic way to start the year.  And I intend to follow this up with a 32K - 35K  run on January 3rd - the last long run before the Mumbai marathon on 17th Jan .

Here is wishing everyone a Great Year ahead personally, professionally and of course running wise!!!

Countdown to Mumbai 2010

With just about 20 days to go for the 2010 edition of Mumbai marathon most runners registered to run either the HM or FM there are in the final stages of their preparation. They would have done their last long run either the alst weekend(26th/27th Dec) or would be planning to do so the coming weekend ie 1st, 2nd or 3rd of January 2010. I fall into the latter category. I was away from Bangalore(at Jungle Lodges and resorts in BR hills) for 4 days and have done little runnig sicne Wednesday 23rd December.  Rather I have been pigging out with 3 heavy meals a day with some deep fried snacks thrown in between lunch and dinner.  Fortunately, for me I have not added too much weight due to this.(I guess by now my metabolism helps me burn off high calorie intake quite efficiently!)  I hope to do a fair amount of running this week: a 9-10K tomorrow, followed by a 12-15K run on 1st of January and then a 32K+ run on Sunday 3rd Jan exactly 2 weeks before the big day in Mumbai.

To hit my target of a sub 4:05 finish and shave 8 minutes from my last year's timing I need to maintain an averge pace of 5:48. Based on my experience of recent training runs in Bangalore this should be quite possible; however I know the weather in Mumbai will be quite a challenge. Also, this year's change in route will bring in a new unknown. While running over the recently opened sealink should be fun I am a bit apprehensive of the effect of the wind on my pace. I am hoping to do the first half in under 2 hours and then push for the second half in about 2:05. This week's runs are crucial to build and maintain the confidence to achieve this.

HM at Bengaluru Midnight Marathon 2009

The 3rd edition of Bengaluru Midnight marathon on 12th/13th December 2009 was definitely much better organised than the last two editions.However, the participation seemed to be lower. Though I did not reach the venue in time to see the 5K run happen I heard that it had far fewer runners compared to last year when a couple of thousand people ran. I rode to the venue with Vinay Chaurasia and Shumit Vatsal after having an ‘early’ dinner around 8PM -we got there by 1030 PM. The bib and timing chip pick up process was quick and smooth. Inside the Sigma Tech Park RFL had setup a stall manned by Arvind Bharati and Nikhil. In that area I met up with a number of RFL runners – several of whom were running the Half.There was a baggage counter conveniently located in the holding area. About 15 minutes to midnight, runners moved over from the holding area to the start line on the road outside the Tech Park. After a couple of announcements including one regarding the run lap having reduced from 2.64K to 2.1xK the run started off exactly at midnight.

About 400 runners must have started the race. While I started with Shumit and Chandra , who like me were planning to do a fast HM, within a few minutes they pulled ahead. I ran a steady pace with the goal of keeping my average pace around 5 mins per Km. Traffic was completely blocked on one side of the road.There were 3 aid stations in the 2.1K stretch which had water and juice.There were adequate volunteers and cops patrolling the area. The route itself had a couple of slight gradients. The chilly night made it a perfect weather for running. I was able to able to keep my target pace in the first half and completed 10.5 Km in about 52 minutes. One had to necessarily slow down at the turn around point. At the far point some volunteers wanted to mark the bib for each loop for which one had to almost stop – this was a bit frustrating and after the second loop I refused as this was upsetting my rhythm. One big advantage of the up and down route was one was able to see and cheer other runners quite often. This resulted in more than usual comraderie amongst the runners energizing them further. I stayed pretty focused on the run and my target time – talking very little with other runners. I managed to sprint the last 500 meters and finish in 1:46:03 as per my Garmin. Though I feel I could have pushed a little bit more and done a sub 1:45 I am quite satisfied that I shaved 3 minutes off my previous PB set over 3 years ago. Official chip timings are still awaited. It should be available here.

The single biggest contingent of runners was from RFL and they all did very well in the race with many of them clocking their PB HM or FM times. Like last year Arvind and Nikhil cheered the runners, took photographs and setup an additional aid station with electral which was definitely helpful for the FM runners. Shumit did an amazing 1:38 Half while Chandra clocked 1:42. Among the FM runners Ashok and Honda San led the pack with Ashok clocking a very impressive 3:13. Several RFL runners had podium finishes including RGI team in the women’s relay, Meher in women’s HM and Amrita in Women’s FM! We left the venue at about 3am just as Ashok and Honda San were on their last lap of the FM. Everyone seems to have had a good run and also lots of fun at this year’s Midnight marathon. So hopefully this event will go from strength to strength as the premier long distance road race in Bangalore!