Another below par year comes to an end..

With less than a week of 2015 left and the last long run for the year done here is a look back at what has been a second consecutive 'below par'  year running wise. At this time last year, due to continued injury woes,  I was unsure as to what events I would run in 2015. And it turned out to be a low in terms of number of races in a calendar year - for the first time in  last 10 years(since 2005)  I completed just one FM in  a year. That is, I have not any marathon in 2015 after  my slowish SCMM in January !!

Here's a summary of the year:

• Struggled to squeak  through with a sub 4 at SCMM in January 2015
• Skipped the TCS 10K in May due to injury  - thereby ending my  7 year streak - having run it from 2008 to 2014
• Ran KTM after a long time and managed a decent HM time
• Enjoyed 2nd consecutive year of pacing experience ( 2:15 HM ) at SPBM 2015
• DNF at Bangalore Ultra - again ending a 8 year streak - having completed a 50KM+ in every edition since the 1st one 2007

Having ended the year with a total of just 43 marathons/ultras it is going to be impossible to meet my goal of completing 60 marathons/ultras by 2018, that is, another 17 in less than 3 years. Which means I am reassessing my long term goals. Comrades is postponed from 2015 to 2017 and now considering a 100K(60 miler+) in 2018. Would ideally like to get a BQ again in 2017 and run Boston and Big Sur in 2018. Of course, all these are too far away. I need to , for now, take ione year and even one event at a time. I have not given much thought to the goals for 2016. Having ended a couple of my streaks my thought is to explore a couple of new marathon races and try and get my timing back to close to 3:40 by SCMM 2017. So the 3 FM races I am looking at are:

• SCMM on 17th January 2016 - sub 3:50
• Green Europe Marathon in Trieste, Italy on 8th May 2016 - sub 3:50
• Bangalore marathon in October or Spice coast Marathon in November 2016

Two HM events that I may consider running are The Wipro Chennai marathon on 31st January(postponed from 13th December 2015 due to the floods) and Auroville marathon on 14th February

The year started with continued strain in the left glutes and hamstring and numbness in the sole specially when running  beyond 20Km at faster pace. While the pain in the glutes went away after a period of strengthening the hamstring and sole continued to bother me for longer period. Other injuries this year:

- Pain in the right abdomen/hip when running

- Pain in the inside left knee just below the knuckle

- Injury to left wrist after falling from a cycle

- Lower back pull just before the ultra

- Right ribs/chest pain due to the fall in the ultra

- bruises in the left palm, elbow and left knee and hamstring from a fall in Koramangla at the start of a 29 KM training run

Fortunately the body seems to have  recovered now enabling me to manage a 3:18/ 37Km on 25th December running the last 3 Kms at 5:07,5:10,5:06 pace and the injury woes of 2014 and 2015 are behind me at least for a while. If I can keep my weight to below 54 Kgs(in spite of the inevitable eating and drinking during the vacation of next 10 days) and stay injury free I am fairly confident of  a good start to year 2016 at SCMM in 3 weeks. . And post that I hope to resume interval training after a break of 2 years to get to target a 3:40 finish by January 2017!!

DNF at Bangalore Ultra 2015

I was unsure of making it to the start line of the 9th Bangalore ultra on 7th November till late previous evening. While I managed to avoid a DNS,  it was disappointing to   end  up with my 2nd ever DNF (the other one was my first FM attempt in Pune in December 2002). And very very sad that my streak at the Bangalore Ultra  (seven 50Kms and one 75Km)  came to an involuntary end . Having been part of a team involved with the planning and execution of the first ultra this event had a special place for me and  I was keen on running it  for ten consecutive years;  now that is not going to happen , at least for a while.

It has been a terrible running season jinxed with one injury after another. The LHS glutes/hamstring/numb sole issue morphed into stress in the hamstring/ITB. Then right hip/abdomen pain for which I underwent ultrasound. Soon after that a pain just below LHS knee .I had not done anything beyond 32Km since SCMM in January 2015- the one 32Km run was at the end of June. A few days  after the HM at SPBM 2015 I did a 3:45/35Km run - this is approximate as I could not use my Garmin - it having been completely discharged. Nevertheless, this run gave me the confidence to register for the ultra which I did just about a week prior to race day - probably a day before registrations closed.

Then barely four days before race day I sprained my lower back during a strengthening exercise at Manipal hospital(department of sports and exercise medicine). The pain was so severe that I was quite unsure whether I would be able to start the race or not.

Anyway with a combination of painkillers and complete rest the back sprain seemed to heal well enough for me to decide to do a slow 50Km . With a few hours to go before the start of the race I got a call about the pre-ponement of my flight to Mumbai that evening which again almost derailed my plan to participate in the race.

Anyway eventually I made it to the start line. Left in S's car along with SS at 4:30am and after picking up A at BEML gate reached King's county by 5:20am. It seemed like a longish walk to the holding area from the car parking. A quick visit to the port-a-potty  , a bit of warming up  and  then meeting and greeting of fellow ultra  runners till the count down to the race. 

Having not run or cycled for a few days I started the race very apprehensively. S took off ahead while SS and I ran together. Just after the 2Km mark I shouted out to  a Chennai runner who missed a turn and was heading in the wrong direction. A few minutes after that (maybe I was distracted by the banter around that, it's tough to recollect exactly) I went by the side of a bunch of sticks lying on the ground and hit a tree stump and fell on the ground with a loud thud. Though muddied considerably I was lucky to not injure either my hands or my legs . SS helped me wash  my hands and as I re-started running slowly I sensed  a not too severe pain in the ribs area of my chest.

This is the 3rd consecutive year that I have fallen in the ultra route- however the previous two years it was in the 2nd loop. This year's early fall shook me up and my already non too strong mind started worrying whether I  should run the whole race with the pain in chest if it lingers. As always it was good to see many familiar (and new runners) on the trail. Due to the rains in the days before the race the route was treacherous in portions and one had to make turns to circumvent these sections. So certainly not ideal for a PB. Which of course was not an issue for me. Till about the 10Km mark SS and I ran together trunversing on various topics including waste segregation and composting. SS turned back to pace N for his 75K race while I continued at a pace between 6:15 and 6:30. From then on I pretty much ran alone at a steady pace. While the pain in the ribs did not increase it bothered me and my resolve to complete the run started to weaken because of the long trip ahead. I completed the 1st loop in about 2:45 and went straight to the medical tent. The doctor iced my ribs and also sprayed it. He suggested that though unlikely to be a fracture I get it X-rayed anyway considering I was going to be away for a week.  I vacillated agonisingly for a while as to whether to complete the race albeit slowly with a run/walk combo. After about 500 m into the course I just lost in mentally and decided it was better to quit. Except for the dull pain in the ribs I was physically in very good shape - in fact the legs were not tired at all.  Just did not have the motivation to complete. It was not an easy decision for me to break my streak in the ultra. And this also meant that for the first time since 2006 I would complete just one FM in a calendar year.However, given my physical and mental state it was probably the right thing to do. 

Had a sumptuous breakfast while catching with fellow runner and old friend Gopal. Saw A completing his 50Km in just over 4 hours and D stopping after 50K due to gas in his chest. Rode back with D and his wife and got home a little after noon. X-ray showed no fracture in the ribs - which was good news that also evoked a twinge of regret for not having completed the race. The silver lining is that the emotional attachment of a streak at the ultra is now broken and I can look at other possible events in November.

Apparently the race timings have got delayed and messed up again which is disappointing and will likely impact  RFL's reputation. With high registration fees all aspects of the organisation(pre,during, post race) are expected to be done well specially for an experienced outfit. And runners do have lots of choices now.

8 days after the ultra I ran an easy 7.5Km on the treadmill -  had very dull pain in the ribs but felt quite fine a few hours after the run. Hope to fully recover in the next few days and looking forward to pacing for 2:00 HM at The Wipro Chennai Marathon  on 13th December  followed with  a sub 3:50 or so FM at SCMM in January. 

2:14:18 at SPBM 2015

The 2nd year of HM pacing at Shriram Properties Bangalore Marathon 2015 on 18th October 2015 went well as I finished with a chip time of 2:14:18 vis-a-vis the target of 2:15. The timing of a pacer should not  exceed the target time by even one second and should be within a minute of the same. That is, the ideal completion time range for a 2:15 pacer is 2:14:01 to 2:14:59. During the run and post completion one debate that has been raging in my mind is should the pacer run as per chip time(that is, the time that he/she crosses the start line) or as per gun time(that is the time that the race starts). The night before the race I read in the pacer's  manual (written by Venkat of Youtoocanrun - an experienced pacer and involved in organising pacers for various races) that pacing should be done by gun time. I did not agree with this and ignored it for this race. However, during the run I realised the advantage of doing so. The gun time serves as a reference point irrespective of when runners cross the start line. This helps runners who do not start with a pacing bus and  rather join it during the course of the race. On the other hand if the difference between gun time and chip time is more than a couple of minutes then it could be a challenge for many runners in the bus. Ideally all the runners targeting a certain time should start from the same coral together in which case the chip time should be fine.  Based on what is being followed in other races it looks like either gun time or chip time is fine as long as it is communicated up front to runners.

I left home at about 4:35am with RK to pick up RV from 80 ft road in Indiranagar. Portions of the 100 ft road was already blocked for traffic and we had to take an alternate route. After parking the car in UB city we reached the stadium by 5:20 am. After belting up the pacer flagpole with the help of Venkat I entered the stadium 10 minutes later. The area was , of course, flooded with runners- apparently nearly 8000 runners had registered for the HM making it one of the largest races in the country (after Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon and Airtel Delhi Half marathon). Several runners - some familiar and most not known to me - expressed interest in running with the 2:15 pacing bus. Once the gates opened and runners rushed to the stadium tracks towards the start point I lost most of these runners. 

The race was flagged off just after 5:45am and I crossed the start line couple of minutes after that. It was quite slow going till we got out of the Kanteerva stadium. The route for this year's race was different from last year. The first 4 and the last 4 Kms of the race was inside Cubbon Park. Plus the MG road/Trinity circle/old airport road stretch was completely  avoided. This was done to optimise traffic control which was a huge challenge in 2014. 

Plus it is fantastic to run inside Cubbon anyway.Nice early morning weather, adrenaline of the race start and the ambiance in Cubbon Park meant that runners tend to have a faster first few Kms than they should.  I had factored this in. After a 6:30 1st Km, Kms 2 thru 4 were run at about 6:09/Km pace . Thereafter, the pace was steady between 6:20 and 6:35. Like last year I cheered every Km completed and struck up a conversation with some of the runners. Unlike last year this year's bus was less cohesive. That is, runners kept dropping off and new runners coming in. One reason was the aid stations. Up to the 15Km or so mark aid stations were very crowded and one time as well as some runners around them. Given the volume of runners there should have been more tables instead of just one or two. We reached the half way point in 1:06:49 at an average pace of 6:20/Km - about a minute slower than what I had targeted. On the way back we lost some momentum at the Kamraj Raod/Cubbon road intersection as traffic police stopped runners to let the traffic go.  The cops found it tough to hold the traffic- this is an area that has to improve - hopefully will do so over a period once the city becomes more aware and also the road blockages and alternate routes are well publicised. When we entered Cubbon park on the return stretch I realised that I had to accelerate a bit to finish within 2:15. Egging on runners around me I pressed the pedal and ran the last 3 Kms at under 6 mins/Km pace. This is not ideal and the lesson is to manage better and put more minutes in the bank in the first half. It had become quite warm after 730am. Another factor was the lack of clear Km markers towards the end. Anyway overall I was satisfied that I helped a few runners. 

I had intended to go back and run 10Km after a few minutes break like I did last year. I did start out to do that but abandoned the idea after about 500m. After hanging around the finish area for sometime I enjoyed the sumptuous hot breakfast. 

Ritika reached the stadium around 10am for the 5K Hope run. After some general entertainment and Zumba based warm up session the race kicked off a little after 10:50am. It took nearly 5 minutes for Ritika and me to reach the start point. The race was crowded and a lot of participants were walking rather than running. Ritika and I did run/walk and completed the 5Km in about 42 minutes. 

Before the 5K run/walk

Some photos from the 5K run/walk :

KTM 2015

Ran the Kaveri Trail Marathon   on 20th September after a gap of 5 years and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I have not been a regular at this race  - now in it's 9th edition - having run it only 3 times before : HM in the 1st edition in 2007, a FM in 2008 as part of my 12 marathon in 12 months and a 58K in 2010 as training for 75K at that year's Bangalore Ultra. So I excitedly looked forward to participating this year. Apart from the thrill of running the wonderful trail the anticipation was also due to this being my first race of the 2015-16 season and the first race since SCMM  in January 2015. Having been plagued with some injury/pain or other  since December 2013 I was looking to this race to regain self-confidence . However, having recently recovered from a pain in the right hip(lower abdomen, near the bone) and still having a dull pain just below the inner left knee I decided against racing hard.(Running too fast and/or too long too soon  increases the probability of injury and almost certainly was  the primary cause of my prolonged injury woes). My goal was to complete under 2 hrs. So I was extremely satisfied that  my left knee held up well during the run and I managed a time of 1:53:33 without pushing too hard  And to top it  I was pleasantly surprised when I learnt (after reaching home) that I ended up being 1st in my age  category. This was because the faster runners of my age group  did not run the race or ran the FM.  

Chandru (my brother) and I left Bangalore around 2:45 PM on Saturday afternoon and after a couple of stops enroute, to take care of some personal work, we reached Wild Orchids resort - our hotel by about 6:30PM. After  freshening up quickly we reached Greens Hotel for the RFL pasta party by about 7:30PM. It was nice to interact with runners and current and past RFL'ers. After a sumptuous pasta dinner (during which there was an interesting quiz) we returned back to the hotel by about 9PM. While I collected my bib at the dinner unfortunately RFL forgot to get my brother's bib to the dinner. We slept around 9:45PM with the plan of getting to the venue by 5:45am - well in time to collect the bib.

I slept quite well and woke up at 4:45 am just before my alarm was about to go off. Though the hotel was just 7 Kms from the race start point and we got there by 5:45am it took us time to walk up to the start point after parking our car. We reached there just in time to see the FM get flaggged off at 6am. Realising that the bib needed to be collected from the help desk in the holding area in Ozone resorts we quickly rushed there. It was a good 10 minutes walk away - so I jogged there which also served a a warm up for me. After collecting the bib we were back at the start point by 6:20am.

The race was flagged off  just after  6:30am - being in the middle of the pack of about 800 runners it took me about 40 seconds to cross the start line. After a couple of hundred meters I broke from the crowd of runners and for some reason took off.  After about a Km or so when crossing a couple of familiar runners I realised I was running too fast and slowed down a bit.  However, I felt quite good and quite comfortably maintained an average pace between 5:18 and 5:21 per Km.  The trail seemed to be a bit broader and less uneven from what I remembered from the previous years. Of course the Km leading up to the turnaround point was narrow and uneven - had to run quite carefully. As always the weather was pleasant when the race started - however as the sun came out it started to warm up. With the river flowing one one side and the fields on the other the shade cover is very sparse on the trail. However the trail was as beautiful as ever.

In the return lap it became quite warm but at no point I felt uncomfortable or dehydrated. In fact I felt so good that Kms 13 to 17 were my fastest with pace between 5:08 and 5:14. Knowing that I was comfortably on target to finish within 2 hours and would likely finish in sub 1:55 I eased of a bit and crossed the finish line in just under 1:54. It was great to see some of the other runners - Athreya(FM), Sid(FM), Rachel(FM), Dharam(HM) blazing the trail and finishing their races in amazing timings. Austin had a good race finishing about a minute behind me. Chandru though did not have best of races and finished in about 2:33 - one of his slower times.  

After hanging around in the finish area for some time we walked to the holding area and had breakfast which(IMHO) was quite decent. We then went back to the hotel had a quick shower and left for Bangalore around 11:30. After a break at Kamat for tea and snack reached home by about 3:45.

The race organisation was good as usual - the aid stations were well stocked and  the Km markers were clear and prominent. Parking of cars was also handled smoothly. The breakfast area should have had hand wash kiosks. However, the biggest mess up was with the timings. The release of timings was delayed almost a week and then too  it was incorrect or incomplete for several runners showing gun time and chip time to be same. Also there were no split timings which was a big disappointment for several runners specially relative new runners. Given that RFL has been doing this for many years now and there are lots of other choices for runners in terms of events RFL will need to work hard to recover the lost goodwill due to this mess up with the timings.

Random musings

Skipping TCS World 10K 

It has been over 3 months since the last post - the last one was the SCMM 2015 report. Normally at this time the post would have been a preview of the new running season's first big event, namely,TCS world 10K 2015  on 17th May 2015. However, after running the event every year (one of three events in which I had a streak going)since its inception  in 2008, in its earlier avatar as Sunfeast World 10K, I am giving it a miss this year.  It was not an easy decision - I went through the same dilemma last year.  Short distance (5K,10K) racing has never been my forte and despite a complete break of 7 weeks  when my niggles in the left leg continued even at slow paces I decided to skip the TCS 10K. I am not feeling too bad about it. 

Replanning this season's events 

Having done 3 weeks of 40-50 Kms mileage(albeit all moderate or slow paced runs) I am re-looking at the goals for this season. I will definitely run SCMM 2016 on 17th January the registrations for which open on 21st July. Most likely I will run either 50 or 75Km (most likely 50) at the Bangalore Ultra on 7th November though after last year my resolve to keep this streak going has reduced a bit. I was considering  running the Spice coast marathon in Cochin on 15th November in which case I would have skipped the ultra. Now I am veering towards doing the full at the Bangalore marathon on 18th October.  Which ever race I do I would like target a sub 3:50 and then if things go well target a sub 3:40 at SCMM 2016.  Of course, this is assuming that things continue to improve specially after I re-start interval and tempo training in June after a break of  15 months!!

Less events/slow finishes

Since achieving a FM PB of 3:37:20 at SCMM in January 2013 I have struggled to finish close to 3:45. My timings subsequently are :

•  3:46:20 at Hyderabad in August 2013
•  3: 46:23 at SCMM in January 2014
•  3:50:57 at Boston in April 2014
•  3:57:14 at SCMM in January 2015

Have been bothered with issues in the left leg since December 2013 resulting in reduced participation in events.  Earlier in 2011-2013 I had reduced my particiation n marathons in order to focus on gettign a BQ. In the 2014-15 season I did not race hard in any event and did just 2 long distance events  - 50Km  at the ultra and SCMM.  This means my goal of completing 17 more mrathon/ultras to hit my goal of 60 marathons/ultras by the time I turn 60 in August 2018 is unlikely to happen!

Injury Woes

The worst part is not being able to figure out exactly what the injury is.  Since February 2015, I have consulted two new sports physios(apart from Doc Gladson) and have started doing a bunch of additional stretches and strengthening exercises suggested by them. Both these physios  surmised that my issue is mainly due to poor posture and running form and prescribed exercises to improve the same. Two other items I have added to my repotoire are sitting in the Indian/Hindu squat position for 2-3 minutes and standing for extended periods of time (instead of sitting). To help correct running form I have added a fourth easy weekly barefoot run. Over the last 5 weeks I have increased the barefoot run from 2Km to 6Km(40 minutes).  Hopefully a combination of all this will help me get back to peak running form this season!!

Slowest SCMM in Five years

With no interval or tempo run since March 2014 and low number of runs beyond 21Km (several of which were a struggle) starting from October, I was aware that I was  in no shape to race hard in SCMM 2015. Nevertheless, (perhaps foolishly in hindsight)  I set myself a loose, albeit, aggressive goal of trying to finish between 3:45 and 3:50.  I ended up struggling to the finish line in just under 4 hours in 3:57:40 - my slowest finish since the 4:00:56 of 2010!! 

It was one of those runs where I never hit a rhythm;Within the first 5 Kms my legs - specially the left one - started to feel heavy and lethargic. While I started along with other runners who were targeting around 3:45 very early on I slowed down  and even started mentally revisiting my timing goal.I ran a fairly steady pace till the sea link (about 16Km) but from there on slowed down considerably. The legs just would not move fast enough. In addition to the dull pain in the left hamstring and calf and slight numbness in the left sole, I also felt pain in a toe of the right leg. Later I discovered a blister in that toe and realised that I had made the mistake of wearing the wrong socks for the race.  Wearing thick cotton socks (double layer in the left leg) - one that I had not raced in for a long time - was a very stupid and unconscionable error considering my running experience. 

Hitting the half way mark in about 1:52 I knew anywhere close to 3:45 was going to be impossible.  I was still hopeful of about 3:50. However, I did not manage a single sub 5:30 Km in the second half and logged over 6 min Kms in the last 7 Kms when several runners overtook me. Somewhere around 30Km I knew I would have to push harder to finish even under 3:55 which I was just unable to do so. There were just too many negative thoughts going through my mind and for the first time in 12 years I sensed I was not enjoying SCMM. I then knew I was beaten both physically and mentally and decided to make an effort to have fun and started acknowledging the  spectators, volunteers and Mumbai cops  along the way - they as usual did a fantastic job in supporting the race and the runners. This possibly gave me a bit of positive energy that enabled me to squeak through in just 4 hours. My Garmin showed that I had run 42.78Kms in 3:58 - over running the marathon distance even more than usual was another reflection of my state of mind. 

Cannot attribute any single reason to justify my below par run - the wrong pair of socks, about 10% more than optimal weight, inability to regain fitness level in 8 weeks training , work related stress , travel in the last 4 weeks leading up to the race and lack of  motivation to dig deep and push myself were all contributors. Though a bit warmer compared to the previous two years weather was not a factor as far a I was concerned. The dull pain in the hamstring and numbness in the sole disappeared soon after the race though soreness in the glutes stayed for a few days. 

The race itself was quite well organised. The additional security to enter the Azad maidan in the morning resulted in long queues and slow processing of runners with bags  - causing a bit of a nervousness among runners. The mass urinals in the maidan was a nice new addition - reducing the waiting time for the port-a-potties and also avoiding men from urinating in the open in the ground.

While the volunteers tried to create a clear path for FM runners in the last few Kms by moving the slow dream runners to one side the FM runners with stringent time target still had to weave through them. However, the handling of runners after crossing the finish line was very disappointing. There was no medals or water in the area after the finish line and insufficient number of volunteers directing the runners to the medals/refreshment counters. After collecting the same runners had to climb a bunch of steps to enter the maidan. Due to the large number of half marathon finishers this took me nearly 15 very irritating minutes !

As has been my practice I landed in Mumbai Friday 16th January evening and stayed again in Govandi this year (after the break of last year). The bib collection process on Saturday morning took just 5 minutes - the expo was shifted to Phoenix city market in Kurla for the first time making it convenient for runners in the suburbs. Hung around with runners for a couple of hours before returning home for lunch and putting up my feet. Co-ordinated with fellow Bangalore runner Amit to travel to the start point together on Sunday morning.  I managed a little over 5 hours sleep between 9:45 and 3 am. Amit picked me up from Govandi at 3:55am and he, myself and a 3rd runner called Umang took the 4:15 train from Chembur to reach VT station comfortably by 4:50am. As usual the train was filled with runners and VT station was abuzz with their energy.

After hanging around in Azad maidan for a couple of hours post the race I returned home. After a quick lunch I headed to the airport to catch a 5:15PM flight back to Bangalore pondering the need to re-evaluate my injury recovery progress and strategy  as well as the training plans and race distances for the year! Probably the topic for my next post. 

Looking forward to my 10th FM at SCMM

It is just about a week to go for the 2015 edition of SCMM where I will be running for  the 12th consecutive year - having done  HMs in 2004 and 2005 and FM  every year since 2006.  Due to niggles in my left leg that have been hampering me since December 2013 I have not trained well for the event. Nevertheless,I am looking forward to what will be my first FM since Boston in April 2014. SCMM is without argument the largest (and arguably the best) road race in India and with over 3000 runners, well organised including traffic control and with good crowd support. As has been the case for several years now it will see participation of runners from across the country including a large contingent from Bangalore.

My FM timings at SCMM have improved Y-o-Y starting with 4:42:28 in 2006 to 3:37:20 in 2013. I have not trained for any specific timing target this year- rather the training  for this year's edition has been quite limited -  just 9 weeks starting with the week after the Bangalore Ultra on 8th November. During this period I have managed three runs per week in most weeks  including 3 runs of 33Km, 29Km and 35Km. However, not all the runs have been good quality - have struggled towards the end of quite a few. Plus I have not done any interval  or tempo training since March 2014. Therefore, my current FM fitness level is far below that of its peak in Jan 2013 and fairly below that in Jan 2014.

However, based on the timings of some of my better long runs I feel sub 3:50 is still within the realm of possibility. I will be extremely thrilled if I manage to beat my 2014 time of 3:46:23. It will be quite disappointing if at least a  sub 4 is not achieved. The strategy will be to do the first 10Kms in about 52 minutes and the first half in under  1:49 at an average  pace of 5:13/Km.  Thereafter get to 32Km in 2:45 and then push hard to finish as close to 3:45 as possible. Eagerly looking forward to getting on the plane to Mumbai next Friday and have an enjoyable race weekend!!

2014 Year End musings

Delayed reflection on the year gone by - with hectic work schedule and vacation in Rajasthan was unable to make time for this in the last fortnight of the year as I usually do. Better late than never I guess. After 5 years of relatively injury free running and consistently improving performances, 2014 was a let down.  The injury that I picked up just over a year ago in December 2014 plagued me throughout the year and impacted my race performances. Due to the injury it was also a lean year in terms of events  : 2FMs,1HM, a 10K and 50K Ultra. The high point was of course being able to run Boston marathon - fulfilling a goal I had set myself in 2011 though the timing was nothing to write home about.   The other first in 2014 was the maiden experience of being a pacer at Bangalore marathon - albeit it was my slowest HM. The 50K at the Bangalore Ultra was also my slowest ever - over an hour slower than my best in 2013!!

The running mileage was the usual 1800Kms:

1.  157
   Jan '14
2.  176
   Feb '14
3. 224
   Mar '14
4. 151
   Apr '14
5. 98
   May '14
6. 81
   Jun '14
7. 36
   Jul '14
8. 105
   Aug '14
9. 136
   Sep '14
10.  186
    Oct '14
11.  262
    Nov '14
12. 175
    Dec '14

And  cycling mileage was 1300 Kms :

1.  143
   Jan '14
2. 142
   Feb '14
3. 165
   Mar '14
4.  52
   Apr '14
5. 159
   May '14
6.  216
   Jun '14
7. Jul '14
8. 30
   Aug '14
9. 63
   Sep '14
10. 156
    Oct '14
11. 62
    Nov '14
12. 65
    Dec '14

Update on 2014 goals set in Dec 2013:

1. Sub 3:37 at SCMM - this one may get changed to a sub 4 based on how the left glutes/hamstring/calf behaves in the next 3 weeks  - 3:46:23

2. Sub 3:40 at Boston 2014 - 3:50:57

3. Sub 45m 10K in TCS world 10K  - 47:30

4. Sub 3:45 at Hyderabad marathon in August - skipped due to injury

5. 75K at the Bangalore Ultra - downgraded to 50K - completed in 5:57:41

Additionally I ran  a 23:33 5K at Puma Urban Stampede in August as part of a team of my new employer, namely, Wadhwani Foundation.  This was faster than I should have given my left leg niggles and this further  exacerbated the injury . Since September my focus has been on strengthening  - I restarted sessions at the Manipal Hospital- Department of sports and exercise medicine.

For the first time in last 5 years I am unsure about what events I will do in the year  - in any case I am unlikely to race hard in any event till I fully recover from my injury.   For sure I will run (though not race) SCMM in January. And the TCS 10K in May and most likely the Bangalore Ultra in November. I will definitely NOT be doing Comrades in 2015. I plan to take stock of events in April based on my recovery status. in any case I am reconciled to enjoy running in 2015 with no time targets and focus on strengthening and come back strong(er) in 2016!!