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!!

9th FM at Mumbai done and dusted...

After 8 consecutive years of timing improvement in the FM at SCMM the trend changed this year -not unexpectedly as I was not strong enough either physically or mentally being  under prepared due to  injuries in the last 7 weeks leading up to the race.I completed my 9th FM in Mumbai( and 40th FM+ finish overall)   in 3:46:23,  nine minutes slower then my PB in 2013. Though this was my 2nd best time at Mumbai and 4rth best overall ( being pretty much same as the time in AHM 2013) I felt a little disappointed in not being able to do a sub 3:40 and sad that the upward trend in timing improvement had ended.  With age catching up and so many variables in training for a race and on race day it had to happen sooner or later. I am hoping it is a blip this year and can reverse it again in 2015 - of course that will not be easy at all.

The race itself was well organised as usual with traffic control, clear Km markers, good spectator support and well stocked aid stations(though runners who finished after 5.5 hours had a different experience). Over the years the event has grown in stature and size. The numbers in the picture above show that it is by far the largest race in India. And an amazing growth in the number of FM registrations going up from 2500+ in 2013 to 3500+!! The growing running community in India looks forward to this race and it fills up quickly. The organizers have already announced the registration dates for the 2015 edition!!

As has been my practice I reached Mumbai on Friday 17th January night. However, unlike the past 10 years when I stayed with a relative in Govandi near Chembur station, this year I stayed with a nephew in his PG accommodation at Nariman point. After eating a Domino's pizza I went to bed around 1130PM on 17th and woke up around 7am on Saturday. I collected my bib(and that of my brother Chandru running is 1st HM in Mumbai) from WTC by 1130am. The expo was buzzing with the high energy of outstation runners(Mumbai based runners collect their bibs the previous weekend). I hung around for over an hour chatting with them before heading for lunch at Samrat near Churchgate station. The north Indian food was nice as ever though a bit heavy on the stomach. I relaxed in the room from about 4PM - laying out the gear for the morning , reading a bit and doing some light stretching. After a pasta dinner at Moshe's - about a km walk from where I was staying - I lay down to sleep by 10PM setting an alarm for 4am.

I had a decent sleep and woke up just before the alarm rang. After eating 2 large bananas and some pecans and almonds I left the room at 4:55am. The holding area in azad maidan was less then 2 Kms away. However, I did not get a taxi for several minutes. And when I did get one I realised that due to traffic barricades along the route of the race the taxi could not get close to Azad maidan. So I had to walk briskly (gobbling my 3rd banana on the way)  for about a Km reaching Azad maidan around 5:25am - 10-15 minutes later than I usually get there when taking the train from Chembur. By the time I checked in my bag, used the port-a-loo and headed towards the start point it was past 5:35. The area was crowded with runners and by the time I rushed through sections D,C and B the section A(for runners faster than 4 hrs) runner had started the race. So I started a minute late. That was not really an issue - I picked up pace soon and ran the first 4Kms in under 5 mins/Km pace going past several familiar runners(Pankaj, Shantanu, Vishy, Sridhar et al) . Focusing on my pacing strategy I completed  10K  in about 51 minutes. I ran the race pretty much alone not chit-chatting with fellow runners and not interacting with volunteers at all. The half way mark was reached in similar time as last year(see comparative splits below) - 1:48 at an average pace of about 5:08/Km. This was in spite of strong headwinds in the sealink stretch. I managed to sustain this pace till about Km 25 despite the growing discomfort in the left glutes, calf and sole. At this point the numbness in the front half of the left foot became quite severe and the foot started feel heavier and heavier. It became difficult to move the left foot quickly enough. My mind seemed to have also given up quite easily and I just could not dig deep and push myself. The pace dropped quite a bit. Having given up on sub 3:40 time I knew that even a  sub 3:45 was going to be challenging and reconciled myself to a sub 3:50.  In fact for the 1st time ever in Mumbai I walked for a minute or so around Km 36. However, soon after the Peddar road flyover  a  sudden spike in inner strength enabled me to push hard  through the last 4 Kms, weaving past slower runners/walkers  and finish comfortably in  sub 3:50 time . 

Mumbai Marathon 2014 - Marathon 5:40 Start
Bib Number	2905
Name	BHASKER SHARMA
Gender	MALE
Category	SENIOR VETERAN
Overall Rank	149 (80)
Category Rank	4 (17 - in veteran category)
Gender Rank	143 (77)
Split@10.5 Km	00:53:15
Split@15 Km	01:16:10  (01:15:32)
Split@20.1 Km	01:42:02 (20Km/1:41:48)
Split@21.1 Km	01:47:14
Split@27 Km	02:18:14  (2:16:03)
Split@29.2 Km	02:30:38 (29.5Km/2:28:37)
Split@30.3 Km	02:36:44
Split@31.5 Km	02:43:49
Net Time	03:46:23  (3:37:20)
Gross Time	03:47:20 (3:39:07)

After hanging around with my brother Chandru and other runners for some time inside Azad maidan  I slowly walked back to my nephew's place  Nariman Point. Though my run was below par  I indulged in  a post run beer+lunch with runner friends at Leopold before heading to the airport. 

The numbness in the left forefoot disappeared a few minutes after the race. The slight  soreness in the calf and shin lasted for a day. The glutes was strained for several days after the race. Hopefully with renewed strengthening exercises over the next couple of months the issue will be addressed soon - And the 3rd and biggest race of the season in 11 weeks from now at Boston will  be better compared to the previous two in Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Counting down to the annual pilgrimage..

The week leading up to the 3rd Sunday of January has been a tense and nervous one for several years - as it ends with the premier road marathon in India - Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon. I have been making the annual pilgrimage to Mumbai since the first edition in 2004. After running the HM there in 2004 and 2005, it has been the full monty since 2006 making 2014 the 9th consecutive year. Despite  familiarity with the course as well as  the ambiance and organisation of the race the week leading up to the race has never been an easy one (not only for me but for other family members as well). This year should have been different as the key goal of qualifying for Boston marathon  was accomplished in SCMM 2013 and I am fortunate enough to have successfully registered to run in Boston in April 2014. However, it is no different -. there is a (self-imposed) mental pressure to do well in this event. And try and continue the following sequence of year-on-year improvement. 

1. 2006                   4:42:28
2. 2007                   4:37:16
3. 2008                   4:31:09
4. 2009                   4:13:16
5. 2010                   4:00:56
6. 2011                   3:52:46
7. 2012                   3:48:57
8. 2013                   3:37:20

Of course, I am well aware, that age will catch up sooner than later , the FM time will plateau and improving upon the 2013 timing will be challenging. Nevertheless, I started training for SCMM 2014 on 1st October 2013 with a target time of 3:35. Training went very well till 30th November including a good race at Bangalore ultra 2013 with a PB for a 50K inspite of a fall around 29K mark. I then got hit with injury woes in the 1st week of December and the training has been erratic ever since. Due to the strained left glutes/hamstring/calf I have not done any interval run since 4rth December. Have also missed or struggled through the long runs. The saving grace , hopefully, is that I have managed most of the tempo runs and the cycling cross training workouts. I am feeling reasonably positive after the 3 runs ( two tempo runs, a 16K run at MP) plus 2  cross training work outs  done this week  - the last time I had five satisfactory workouts in a week was 6 weeks ago. This has been possible thanks to the stretching advice from doc Gladson of AttitudePrime and soft tissue massage by sports physio Anitha Mathews. Things have been complicated by quite a bit of personal(rail) travel and eating out since mid November. Thankfully the weight has stayed in the  54-56 Kgs range since January 2013. My body fat% (as per the test at Snap fitness, Indiranager) has changed from 12% in Jan 2013 to 10.2% in Jan 2014 (it had dipped to 9.7% in August 2013 ). 

Based on the recent injury woes, my coach Bill Pierce of FIRST has advised me to skip SCMM, take some time off from running and then focus on training for Boston marathon. Several other runner friends also feel that I should not risk running fast at SCMM and jeopardise the chance of doing well at Boston. However,  personally for me it is more important to do well in Mumbai than in Boston. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to run Boston and will certainly try and do well there. However, since it is once in a life time thing I would rather enjoy and soak in the atmosphere and the crowds instead of going all out and focusing on a stringent time goal. Besides the course is new and the weather unpredictable - it could be either too hot or too cold on race day. The race itself starts at 10am. The last time I did a big race (London 2006) - it started at 9am and it was one of my slowest finishes. Mumbai on the other hand is familiar territory with more predictable and palatable weather and I have improved my timing each of the last 8 years I have done a full marathon there - I am keen on continuing that trend as long as possible.

My race strategy is going to be the same as last year's : 21.1K in about 1:46, 30K by 2:30, 35K in under 3 hours and then push as hard as possible in the last 7K based on physical and mental state. Of course, it all depends on how the left glutes and calf hold up. If I feel very stressed during the race and sense a risk of not making it to the start line in Boston in good shape then I plan to take it easy and not worry about the timing. I will be thrilled if I can go below last year's time of 3:37:20. A sub 3:40 would still be great. In the worst case I will take anything around 4 hours. Finally a lot depends on all the different variables falling into place and the motivation to dig deep physically and mentally on race day. Here's wishing all runner friends a fantastic enjoyable race on 19th Jan!!

Seeking support for GKV Trust

The  two most important events of my 2013-14 running season are the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2014 on 19th  January 2014 and Boston marathon on 21st April 2014. SCMM is the marquee marathon event in India which I have enjoyed running every year since 2004. The Boston marathon is an aspiration for every marathon runner and I have been fortunate enough to be able to qualify and register for the 2014 edition. However, a key reason why these two marathons are critical to me is that I am running them this year to  raise funds for the children of  Gita Krishnamurthy Vidyalaya  - a school in Sankarnagar, Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu that provides English medium education to children of socially and economically backward families in the region with no cost to them. The school, which is administered jointly by Sri Jai Sankara Educational Trust and GKV Trust, was started in June 2009 and currently has 420 children from classes LKG to 5. 52% of the children are girls and over 75% of children come from families having income of less than Rs 40,000 per year. The goal is to add one class every year till class 10. 

The school is named after Mrs. Gita Kirshnamurthy - a dedicated teacher (who has taught at Mothers International School,Delhi,Cathedral School,Mumbai and La Martiniere, Calcutta) who passed away due to cancer in 2002.

The school currently operates from two rented buildings. Construction of a 11,000 sft permanent school building with all amenities comparable to any mainstream school has commenced in October 2013 and is planned to be completed by June 2014. So far the school is supported by endowments and donations from family and close friends. We are now seeking support from all well wishers to help us with the operating expenses and building construction expenses. My target is to raise Rs 3 Lakhs by April 2014. I am personally involved with GKV school as a trustee since 2010 and have seen first hand the tremendous progress that the school has enabled for numerous first generation school goers. The energy and enthusiasm of the children to learn is quite amazing. Being a zero overhead trust I guarantee that 100% of the contribution will be used towards the school expenses. Update of activities in the school is available here. 

Contributions in support of the school and the children can be made to GKV trust either via check or online bank transfer. Contributions in INR  are eligible for tax benefit under section 80G of the IT act. Donation of any amount is welcome and will help us tremendously. Details of amounts towards specific operating and building expenses as well as bank account details are available here.  As I train hard for the two races to meet my timing goals I  look forward to generous support from friends and family to help me achieve my fund raising target as well!!  

SCMM 2013 : Mission Accomplished!!

I was elated to cross the finish line of the FM at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon  for the 8th time on 20th Jan 2013 in 3:37:20 at an average pace of  5:09 per Km - pretty much at the mid-point of my target time of between 3:35:51(5:07 per Km) and 3:38:40 (5:11 per Km).  This is over two and half minutes faster than my previous best at the Mohawk Hudson River marathon in October 2012 and over 11 minutes faster than my time in SCMM 2012. Beating the qualification time for my age category by 2 minutes and forty seconds should hopefully seal my entry for the April 2014 edition of Boston marathon . Will know for sure only in September when the registrations happen - either way I am very satisfied with my timing and I don't think I am going to push any further to try and  better this. At least that is how I feel right now.

My pre-race schedule and routine was pretty much the same for the 10th consecutive year.  As this has worked for me and has enabled me to improve my timing every year I am reluctant to change it - though the temptation was there to enjoy the experience of SCMM with other Bangalore runners who typically stay at a hotel near the start point.  I reached Mumbai on Friday night and stayed with my relative in Govandi. On Saturday morning after collecting the bib at WTC I had a  lunch buffet of pasta,pizza, chocolate fudge cakes at Flamboyante  with my brother-in-law before returning home to rest from 4PM onwards. I skipped the interaction with Haile Gebrselassie organised by Procam as it was too early and I wanted to try and get some sleep Friday night. Saturday night as usual I went to bed around 10PM after a rava upma dinner. Woke up a little after 3am , took an auto to Chembur station at 345am and caught the 4:15am train to VT. Had the company of  fellow Bangalore runner Amit Joshi on the train ride. In addition to the 3 bananas at home I had some almonds and salted pecans on the train. Reached VT station at 4:55am , used the toilet there, changed into my shoes and then headed towards Azad maidan.  After eating my fourth banana of the morning and  checking in my bag after a short warm up I emptied my bladder again and  headed towards the holding area. During this period met a lot of runner friends both from Bangalore and Mumbai. The energy and buzz at the station as well as the Azad maidan is very much part of  the marvelous annual Mumbai marathon experience. For some strange reason the gate at the holding area did not open on time resulting in the waiting runners getting restless. When they did open a bit after  5:41am the runners headed briskly to the start-line expecting to pause there for a short time prior to the race start. In all this melee the start zones of A, B and C made no sense.  In any case the race had already started and the runners just continued running past the start line. As per my Garmin I crossed the start line a little after 5:43am. 

I  started running  alone focused on my pace - actually trying not to go too fast. Even then I ended up doing the 1st three Kms at under 5 mins per Km pace. I steadied myself at between 5 and 5:10 per Km for the new few Kms reaching 10Km in under 51 minutes. Around this time Pankaj Rai breezed past me. The weather was quite pleasant though it did not seem as cool as it was when in the holding area. Heading towards the sealink saw a few familiar runners among the half marathoners heading in the other direction. Surprisingly I went past Pankaj on the sealink stretch. Also crossed Sanjay Agarwal - another Bangalore runner . Towards the end of this stretch Udaya went past me - he was targeting a faster finish than me and was catching up on  time lost to a loo break. I reached the half way point pretty much as per plan in about 1:46:48 at an average pace of  under 5:04 feeling quite strong. I consumed my 2nd Gu gel around the 26Km point (had the first one just before entering the sea link around 14.5Km).

This time around there was no mixing up of the FM runners with the half marathoners.  I continued to stay focused on my pace interacting very little with fellow runners or with volunteers or with the crowd. In fact when runners called out to me I acknowledged them with a nod of the head or wave of the hand rather than by calling back.  I held at below or around my target pace till Km 29(29.5Km in 2:28:37 at 5:03 per Km pace)  and then the pace started to drop gradually to under 5:10 per Km. Around the 30Km mark I felt comfortable that I was on target for finishing around 3:38 and thought for a few seconds about pushing harder for a finish around 3:36. However, I decided against taking a chance of burning out and fading due to over trying.The 36th Km on the Peddar road flyover was my slowest at 5:40. However going down the flyover gave me some momentum that enabled me to do the last  few Kms in 5:04,5:15,5:17,5:24,5:22 and 5:23. The last 2 Kms was tough as usual - egged on by the cheering crowds  and helped by the separation of FM runners in a different lane I managed to avoid slowing down too much and went over the finish line as the race clock was crossing 3:39. 

Though sore all over, my glutes and calves held up quite well. However, I felt quite  weak and giddy after the finish  and so did not hang around for too long at the finish line with other runner friends who had finished before me. Felt much better after  fellow runner Navin Thangiah got some juice and glucose biscuits for me inside Azad maidan.  As I had an afternoon flight back to Bangalore  I headed back home soon after happy and satisfied.  The pleasant Mumbai weather(I did not feel hot or humid even on the marine drive stretch on the return), the discipline and rigour of  the FIRST  'Run Less,Run Faster' training regimen  and of course support and best wishes from family and friends enabled me to achieve my goal. My weight was about 55.5 Kgs the night before the race and right after the race it measured 54 Kgs. Of course within a couple of days after the race I was back to 56 Kgs or 123 Lbs. 

Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2013 - Marathon 5:40 Start            Back
Bib Number	218
Name	BHASKER SHARMA
Gender	MALE
Category	VETERAN
Overall Rank	79
Category Rank	17
Gender Rank	76
Split@3 Km	00:14:05 at an Avg Speed of 12.78 Kmph
Split@15 Km	01:15:32 at an Avg Speed of 11.92 Kmph
Split@20 Km	01:41:48 at an Avg Speed of 11.79 Kmph
Split@27 Km	02:16:03 at an Avg Speed of 11.91 Kmph
Split@28 Km	02:22:11 at an Avg Speed of 11.82 Kmph
Split@29.5 Km	02:28:37 at an Avg Speed of 11.91 Kmph
Net Time	03:37:20 at an Avg Speed of 11.65 Kmph
Gross Time

Average performance of the race
16 12 8 4 @3 @15 @20 @27 @28 @29.5 @21K  Speed   12.78     11.92     11.79     11.91     11.82     11.91     11.65

Overall Runners Statistics
1,000 750 500 250 3 3 - 4 4 - 5 5 - 6 >6 Total  Runners   6     216     858     928     108     2,116

Overall MALE Runners Statistics
1,000 750 500 250 <3 td=""> 3 - 4 4 - 5 5 - 6 >6 Total  Runners   6     207     791     857     99     1,960

Overall VETERAN Runners Statistics
200 150 100 50 <3 td=""> 3 - 4 4 - 5 5 - 6 >6 Total  Runners   1     44     168     187     20     420

Start of training for SCMM 2013

After a week's break post the 50Km run at the 6th Bangalore Ultra the training for SCMM 2013 on 20th January has started in right earnest. SCMM is the biggest road marathon in India and has been a fixture in my running calendar for the last nine years.  After running the HM in Mumbai in 2004 and 2005 I have been able to run a FM there every year since 2006. The last couple of years I have been striving to improve on my PB for the marathon at this race. And that is the goal for 2013 as well. My target is to better the PB of 3:39:57 I achieved at Mohawk Hudson River Marathon on 7th October by a couple of minutes and try and finish in as close to 3:38 as possible. 

Once again I am using the 'Run Less,Run Faster' training program from FIRST which is based on the philosophy of 3Plus2. That is 3 specific running workouts and 2 cross-training workouts per week for 16 weeks. Based on the time left for the event I re-started my training from week 9 of the program. Having recently gone through the full 16 weeks program I am comfortable tailoring the program a bit based on previous experience and to fit in with the  work and travel schedules over the next few weeks. I have also switched back to training in Kms instead of Miles.It was not bad to do the 2 x (6 x 400m) intervals at Kanteerva after a break of 2 months. In fact all the 3 runs went very well - with the 32K long run at 5:27 per Km(versus goal of 5:30) and the last Km at faster than target marathon pace at 5:08 per Km. Hoping to keep the momentum over the next 7 week in spite of  travel plans (personal) on 3 of those weekends!!

BQ'ed by the skin of my teeth!!

It was a suspenseful, nerve wrecking few minutes at the Albany riverfront after I crossed the finish line  in Mohawk Hudson River marathon on 7th October. The race clock had crossed 3:40 and the scrolling display monitor in the tent behind the finish line showed my 'gun time' as 3:40:11. Having started in the middle of the pack I was hoping and praying that my net time would be at least 12 seconds faster in order to be a sub 3:40 finisher. The printouts of the detailed race results including the splits were being pasted close by and the sheet with my time arrived in about 10 minutes after I completed the race. I was hugely hugely relieved that my 'chip time' was 3:39:57 - I had scraped through to a BQ by just 3 seconds. That is, as per the current Boston qualification standards I will be able to register for Boston 2014 in the 55-59 age group in the 2nd week of registration provided race spots are still left. However, this does not guarantee that I will be able to run Boston 2014 as it depends on the timings of others and if there are enough registrants who have beaten their qualifying time by over 3 seconds then I will not get a place in the race. Anyway it is too far away to worry about right now. While I am thrilled that I met my goal of BQ'ing and shaved 9 minutes off my previous best at SCMM 2012 I am a bit disappointed at not hitting 3:38 - the goal for which I had trained. However, after this training and race experience  I feel reasonably confident that 3:38 is very achievable - I am certainly going to give it a couple of more shots and try and nail it between now and September 2013 when registration for Boston 2014 will open.

There are several details about my experience of the race that I want to put down including an analysis of my mile splits. I hope to write a detailed race report  as well blog my experience of training  for nearly 7 weeks in Southbury,Connecticut within the next  2-3 weeks or so.  

2011 Year End musings (of a runner)

With just a few more hours of 2011 left it is once again time to reflect on the year gone by and and look ahead at the goals for 2012(see here for 2011 goals and here for revised goals for running season 2011-12) . By and large it was another good year of running - I continued to make some fantastic new runner friends in addition to strengthening the bond with existing friends. It was the 3rd consecutive 2000Km+ year and I participated in all the events that I had targeted for the year doing one 10K, three Full Marathons, one Ultra, two half marathons and 63Km+ at Strides of Hope and achieving PB times for a 10K,HM and FM. I stopped the strengthening at Manipal Hospital since February 2011. However, I continued cycling twice a week for cross-training albeit this year all my cycling was on a stationary bicycle in the gymn - I did not cycle outdoors even once in 2011. Since April 2011 I have been training formally using the FIRST based 'Run Less, Run Faster' program. It has certainly given a structure to training for a specific time goal. However, I have realised that the program is very rigorous and in order to meet my goals it is absolutely essential to supplement the '3Plus2' cardio training with strengthening excercises specially for the glutes, hamstrings and core. I started and end the year with the same weight of just under 60Kgs.

2011 Highs

• 
  
  Going below 3:55 for the first time at SCMM 2011 with a time of 3:52:47


• 
  
  Sub 46 minutes 10K at TCS 10K 2011


• 
  
  The FIRST training retreat in Greenville,SC


• 
  
  The runners party to bid farewell to Richie and Honda-San

2011 Disappointments

• 
  
  Falling well short of my goal of 3:40 at Hyderabad marathon 2011


• 
  
  Stressed left glutes,calf and hamstrings hampering the push to improve my FM timings


• 
  
  'Running Buddy' not progressing as per plan


• 
  
  Having to stop after 63Km at Strides of Hope falling well short of the goal of 120Km+ in 24 hours

2012 Goals

• 
  
  A sub 3:45 at SCMM 2012 (looks very challenging as of now)


• 
  
  Boston Qualification at a fall marathon in the East Coast of the US in Sept-Oct


• 
  
  50Km at the Bangalore Ultra

I have not yet decided whether to do the HM or FM at Auroville 2012 - will probably register for the FM and make a call later after the Mumbai marathon. It is quite amazing to see the proliferation of running events around the country with at least one event happening pretty much every month of the year. There has also been considerable increase in media coverage on running in general and marathoning in particular. Including an(absurd) recent article quoting medical research that says that marathoning is bad for the heart and could actually kill. I do intend to research and post more on this topic in the future. Meanwhile, here is a nice counter from Dr. Rajat - an amazing sports doctor and an even more incredible runner!

On the professional marathoning front the world record for a FM got beaten by over 30 seconds in 2011 as the Kenyans continued to dominate. All five world marathoning majors had new course records this year!

As always I hope to start 2012 with a run on Janaury 1 - this year my goal is to do a 21K at target marathon pace ie 5:18 per Km. This is an important run to gauge the chances of acheiving my goal in SCMM 2012. Also I did very little running in the last week of 2011 - just one interval run- so all the more critical to start 2012 well. Here is wishing all my friends a very Healthy, Injury-Free and Safe 2012! May everyone achieve their goals whether in running or otherwise!!