Happy to have crossed the finish line at TMM 2023 on 15th January 2023 to keep the Mumbai streak going(16 and running now). I managed to do that in just under 4:57 (goal C) - taking about 9 minutes more than my previous slowest ever in London 2007 (goal B) and 15 minutes off my slowest Mumbai in 2006 (goal A). In general my marathon times have steadily gone downhill since the last sub 4 in TMM 2019 .However given the new cycle of injury woes since the beginning of 2022 , the dreadful start to this running season and the subsequent visits to Dr G and the Orthi which created doubt and apprehension in my ability to complete the FM at Mumbai (making me ,for a brief moment , even contemplate downgrading to a HM) I am extremely happy and grateful for another FM finish. From this low point the only way can be up - With less running and greater focus on strength training for the next few months, I am hoping to getting over the current issue of neural clodication (without a surgery ) and to be able run better FM times for some years to come!!
As always my better half has been very supportive bearing the brunt of my rants during the training cycle and my visits to the physio, Ortho etc. A surprise video call (orchastrated by my children and youngest sibling) , by all siblings and their chilrdren , to wish me luck on the eve of my travel to Mumbai, made me as determined as ever to avoid my 3rd DNF (FM Dec 2002 and Ultra 2015) .
A huge shoutout to SS and PR for running with me from start to finish and motivating me to keep going through my aches and pains and cramps. To run at a much slower pace than one's capability is as(if not more ) difficult than running at a faster than usual pace. The enthusiasm and cheer with which they ran with me was amazing. Nari joined us and provided wonderful company from the sealink (about Km 16) onward. In a great demonstration of the comaraderie ,which distance runners generally share, the 4 of us ran the last 300m together!!
Like the last 2 times (2019 and 2020) I took the morning morning flight to Mumbai though instead of driving and parking my car there I took the cab. As usual met tons of runners at the airport- the flight got delayed by over an hour. The expo (at the new location of Kalina University , Santa Cruz campus) was madly crowded on Saturday afternoon. So one did not pause to look at any of the stalls. The bib collection process was very smooth - took just 5 mins.
After a quick bite in the food court of the expo we took a cab to Hotel Adarsh Baug in Kalbadevi road. The approach to the hotel located in an extremely congested area elicited some doubt about the safety and quality of the hotel - this turned out to be quite unfounded. The room was decent and the staff courteous. After a vada pav, chai and brief rest we walked to gate 3A of Azad maidan via Kyani cafe and Metro theatre and then took a cab to the Crystal Eastern emporium , a well known veg dhaba, in Girgaon area near Wilson college. Post a nice dinner and some kulfi close by we were back in the room a little past 9.
Slept by 9:45 and woke up at 3:45 after a decent sleep. Left the hotel at 4:35 and entered Azad maidan thru gate 3A(about 1.5Km/20 mins walk). Met SS and PR at the baggage counter - for the first time I decided to run with my phone and did not checkin any bag. The weather was pleasant but not too cold.
from the no of runners milling about in the holding area it seemed like there were more number of runners for the FM than in the previous years(from the timing results data it looks like over 7200 runners finished) . We crossed the start line via coral B (which seemed very crowded) at 5:24 (9m after the race started) . With Satish moderating to esnure we did not start too fast we ran the first 10K in about 67mins. Taking advantage of running with the phone we(SS and PR) took some pictures on the sealink as the sun was rising.
Reached the half way point in just under 2:20 at a pace of 6:38/Km feeling reasonably ok. After about 25K the discomfort in the left glutes started and the pace started to drop. The left sole was anyway not feeling great and as has been the case in recent long runs there was little power generation/lift rom the left leg. It became much tougher both physically and mentally after 31K when my right quads cramped. This is another issue to address as I had been drinking water and also taking gels regularly thanks to SS and PR. The weather was also very pleasant with very little humidity - probably the best it has been on race day. Post 33K I ended up resorting to run/walk and realised that sub 4:48 was not going to be feasible. Took a few more photos in the marine drive stretch including a selfie of the 4 of us.
Managed to dig deep and mostly run the last Km or so after the Marine drive turn off. Quickly collected the medal and refreshment bag and slowly walked back to the hotel. Fortunately the hotel did not insist on its strict checkout by 10/10:30am. After a quick shower had lunch with at Nanumal Bhoj in fort area with nunch of runner and then visited a cousin in Kandivili. Stayed the night at an exTUL colleague's place in Borivili(another first as I have always returned to Bangalore Sunday night post the run) . He co-ordinated a lovely evening with a bunch of other ex-colleagues. Returned to Bangalore by Monday mornign flight reachinh home in time for a late lunch after a loong bys ride.
