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!!

Enjoyable experience of my slowest ever 50K at the 8th Bangalore ultra

After considerable dilly-dallying and much against the advice of coach Dharam I confirmed my entry for 50Km at the 8th Bangalore Ultra on the last date of registration. An easy pace 25Km on Oct 19th (HM at the Bangalore marathon  followed by a 4.7Km after a 10 min break) gave me the confidence to do a slowish 39Km(4:30) on 25th October - my first 25Km+ run since Boston 2014 in April. As my left leg seemed to be holding up I went with my heart to keep the streak at the Bangalore Ultra going.

My target was to run my slowest ever 50Km to finish between 6:15 and 6:30 - hoping that doing such a distance at a slow pace will reduce the risk of recovery from the niggle that been hampering my running since Dec 2013.  My performance at the ultras so far :

Year     Distance     Time

2007     52 Km         5:51

2008     50 Km         5:50

2009     50 Km         5:22:29

2010     75 Km         8:57

2011     50 Km         5:24:17

2012     50 Km         5:07:31

2013     50 Km         4:52:22

The lead up to the race on November 8th was not ideal with personal and official travel resulting in my sleeping in different places each night from 1st to 6th. Thankfully the stomach held up fine and given my goal of running slow I was not worried. Bobby picked up my bib and left it at my apartment security on 7th afternoon.  I coordinated with Pankaj Rai to ride in his Red dragon for yet another race. 

Pankaj picked me up from the Pizza Hut on IRR around 4:35am, Rishi and Amrita joined us from Kalyannagar a few minutes later and we were at the venue quite early by 5:20am in spite of the RFL banners en route giving directions not being very visible. Unfortunately a front wheel of the car went into the drainage pit. Deciding to retrieve it post the run we joined hundreds of other runners at the start area. As always met several familiar runners(and took a few pictures) and some new ones. 

After the usual announcements by Atul and A1 the race started at 6am sharp as daylight was breaking out.

I started at an easy pace  of about 6:30 per Km as planned chatting with a couple of runners doing their first 50Km. Between Km 4 and Km 5 I tripped on a stone and fell scraping my left elbow and knees - 2nd year in a row that this happened probably around the same spot though last year it was in the 2nd loop. I washed the bruises with water and dabbed some dettol using cotton at the next aid station and continued running at the planned pace. Ran alone most of the race running/walking with others in short stretches(should have probably taken my music -I normally do not take it to events).Completed the first half in under 2:54 at average pace of 6:50/km about 10 mins or so faster than planned and felt quite comfortable.  It was amazing to see so many runners doing 75Km, 100Km and 24 hours and many of the runners looked extremely strong.

The 2nd half took about 10 minutes longer as I crossed the finished line in just under 6 hours - about 15/20 minutes faster than I had planned. Felt strong enough at the finish line to have gone on and done another 25Km at similar pace. The left leg did not feel stressed. My official timing details   are below.  RFL report on this years's event is here. 

Bib Number	5233
Name	Bhasker Sharma
Gender	Male
Category	SENIOR MEN
Rank	27 / 105 Finishers
Category Rank	6 / 21 Finishers
Gender Rank	23 / 87 Finishers
Split@6.25 Km	00:33:20 Avg. Pace 05:20, Avg. Speed 11.25 Kmph Gender Rank : 65 / 87 Finishers , Category Rank : 15 / 21 Finishers
Split@12.5 Km	01:27:01 Avg. Pace 06:58, Avg. Speed 8.62 Kmph Gender Rank : 66 / 87 Finishers , Category Rank : 14 / 21 Finishers
Split@19 Km	02:20:17 Avg. Pace 07:23, Avg. Speed 8.13 Kmph Gender Rank : 63 / 87 Finishers , Category Rank : 12 / 21 Finishers
Split@25.5 Km	02:54:22 Avg. Pace 06:50, Avg. Speed 8.77 Kmph Gender Rank : 54 / 87 Finishers , Category Rank : 11 / 21 Finishers
Split@32 Km	03:30:41 Avg. Pace 06:35, Avg. Speed 9.11 Kmph Gender Rank : 50 / 87 Finishers , Category Rank : 11 / 21 Finishers
Split@38.5 Km	04:25:21 Avg. Pace 06:53, Avg. Speed 8.71 Kmph Gender Rank : 41 / 87 Finishers , Category Rank : 8 / 21 Finishers
Split@45 Km	05:23:42 Avg. Pace 07:11, Avg. Speed 8.34 Kmph Gender Rank : 26 / 87 Finishers , Category Rank : 7 / 21 Finishers
Net Time	05:57:41 Average Pace 07:09, Average Speed 8.39 kmph

For the first time in recent years I did not place in the top 3 in the ultra. By the time I completed Pankaj et al had finished their lunch. Soon after the prize distribution ceremony they went to retrieve the car. I joined them after my lunch. We left around 1PM and I was back home by 2PM after yet another ultra!!

Fun pacing experience at Bengaluru Marathon

In Cubbon Park during the 'run with Addidas pacers' promo run

It was a fun and satisfying experience of being a 2:30 pacer at the Bengaluru marathon on 19th October. Signing up to be a pacer ensured that I did not run too fast as I had the responsibility of steering a bunch of runners to the finish line in just under the goal time of 2:30. And I managed a 2:27:41 finish(bib # 26073) - a minute or so faster than planned. 

Met a bunch of runners targeting 2:30 at the Myntra sponsored promo run on 5th October. On that day about 10 of us ran 13.33 Km in Cubbon Park (photo above) in just under 1:34 at an average pace of 7:03/Km! Also interacted with some of the runners at the expo in Kantterva stadium on 18th October. 

Pacers interacting with runners at the expo at Kanteerva indoor stadium

As my goal pace was a comfortable one for me the day before the race was fairly relaxing with no nerves or phantom aches and pains. Due to traffic closure on old airport road  Rajesh Vetcha, Chandru, Ramakrishnan and myself left Ranka Heights at 4:50am on Sunday morning. As it turned out old airport road was still open for traffic. We parked in UB city around 5:20am, used the toilet there and were at Kanteerva by about 5:30am. After going in at 5:40 I collected my two pace balloons and pinned them to one corner of my bib. Met with a few of the runners targeting 2:30 in the holding area.  At 5:55am the runners were let into the tracks to line up at the start line. At this point I transferred the balloons to my collar. This made them more visible and also it looked like this position would interfere less with my running form. 

At 6:05 am the 4000 + runners took off slowly exiting the tracks and then the stadium to enter Cubbon park from Hudson circle side. The uber cool weather and the ambiance of Cubbon resulted in a  faster than target pace getting to 5Km in 33:16 at 6:39/Km pace.  We loudly cheered every completed Km. I  made conscious effort to slow down the average pace to 6:53 at the end of 10Km. Running around Ulsoor lake  reminded me of the  RFL fortnightly runs of 2005-06.  Traffic was very dense and at times quite close to the runners in the Kensington road stretch of Ulsoor lake. It got worse at Trinity Circle where drivers and traffic cops were having a shouting match. It was great to be cheered on by Raji and Latha while heading from Trinity circle to Old Airport road.  As we made the U turn at Domlur we were about 15 runners. The other 2:30 pacer was within a few meters of me - either ahead or behind.  Between 15 and 17Km  when we hit a slight gradient I lost a few of the runners as they fell behind.  During this period we also hit traffic as both sides of old airport road was opened to it. For a brief stretch we found ourselves running in the middle of the road with a bus on one side and two wheelers to the other side of us. I hit the 17Km  mark in just under 1 hrs 58 mins about a minute ahead of plan. At this point I asked the runners with me to push ahead based on the energy they had. Several of them pushed ahead. The traffic at Trinity circle had got worse- we were fortunate enough not to have been stopped to let the traffic go - which a some  runners experienced much to their frustration. I tried my best to push and motivate the runners to keep a steady pace during the last 3Kms asking them to dig into their physical and mental reserves of strength. Did not see any marker after km 18. It would have helped runners if there had been markers counting down the distance to the finish line. I ran the last Km in about 6:31 to finish in just under 2:28.  Several runners from my pace group finished in around 2:25 while a couple completed in 2:34. A large majority finished in around 2:27/2:28 and were extremely happy!

Entering Kanteerva for the finish

There was no race clock at the finish line which was a bit disappointing. Overall it was a good experience to pace and run through the heart of the city . There were ample aid stations though there was crowding of runners around a few of them. The organisers made special arrangements for waste management and minimized the litter. After about a ten minute break I went back on the course to meet a few FM runners doing another 4.7Km for a total of 26Km per my Garmin. 

The breakfast arrangement was smooth and the food itself quite nice.  With over 10K runners the race was  a great success. Hopefully it will become an annual fixture and the organisers will do better next year in certain areas specially traffic control and management.  I left the stadium around 10:15 and got back home by 11am.