40 days to TMM 2024

Started training in earnest for TMM 2024 post the Bangalore half marathon on 8th October. The training consisted of 2 runs and 2 cycling work outs along with 3-4 strength sessions per week. Loosely based on the 'Run Less Run Faster' program with alternate weeks of  interval and  tempo runs and a long run (>= 20Km) every weekend limited the total weekly run volume to 30 to 40Km. The training has been ok - with some good weeks and some terrible runs. Most of the runs till about 24K have been reasonably on target. Beyond that it has been a struggle more often than not. Surprisingly the two 25K runs that I did before the Bangalore marathon were at a faster pace than what I am able to sustain for that distance now. As a result I skipped the 30K+ run of Nov. 

Following are the long runs(25K+)  this year  - probably the lowest number in any season since 2003. 

27/08/23        27.11      2:54:07    6:25/Km

10/09/23        31.13     3:18:34     6:23/Km

14/10/23        26:08    2:54:02      6:31/Km

29/10/23        32:11    3:40:10      6:51/km

12/11/23        30:11     3:11:25      6:21/km

 The next two long  runs are key -  a 32Km  in a couple of days on 17th Dec and then a 34-35K run on 30th or 31st Dec . If all goes extremely well, I am hoping to comlete the FM in 4:28 at a pace of 6:20/Km. The worst case is 4:45 at a pace of 6:45/km . It would be real disappointing if  it takes more than the slowest ever FM finish of 4:57 in 2023 and would expedite the end of my FM running days!

Kaveri Trail Marathon 2023

 Ran the fabulous Kaveri Trail in Srirangapatnam for the 7th time (including the informal half in 2021) on 19th November 2023 . Enjoyed the experience comfortably completing the half in 2:12:02 without pushing too hard. After a 5m break , managed to clock an additional (albeit slow)  4K on the road going  to Ranganathittu bird sancturary and back to the state highway a couple of times.  The other years I have run here are :

18/11/2007   HM (1st edition - timing which was done manually must have been around 2:15)

19/10/2008   4:42:19 

18/9/2010     4:32:04  (went on to run/walk 58K in 6:57 as training for 75K at  Bangalore Ultra 

20/9/2015    1:53:33 (finished 1st in senior category) 

27/11/2016   1:56

20/11/2021 (unofficial)  2:48 (was just too slushy to run )

19/11/2023   2:12:02

Left home a little after 1 , after an early lunch, on Sat 18th November and parked the car at Medley . Rode in G's car from there. Caught the Mysore expressway at the flyover at about 2PM and reached Young Island resort by 3:35. After collecting the bibs being distributed in the lawn area checked into the room a little after 4. 

After tea/cofee and oil drenched veg bajji at the restaurant we walked to the stream running through the property where we bumped into A1. Another round of tea/coffee, close up of the moon and sighting of Jupiter's moons (thanks to G's tripod mounted telescopic lense) and a half an hour break in the room -  we were back in the restaurant by 730 for an early dinner with great company of veteran runners (phulka, Dal, Jeera Alu, dal kichdi, raita) .

Slept by 9:45 and woke up to the alarm at 4:45 after a fairly good sleep though I could sense onset of a throat infection . Left Young Island at 5:40 and after parking the car(1.5-2 Km)  drive reached the start point around 6.  There were probably 600+ HM and FM runners. 

All runners started at 6:15 . I started slowly - my 1st Km at 6:34 was the slowest and except for Km 5 all others were between 5: 8 and 6:20. Ran quite a bit with Y - an ultra runner from Medley and BHUKMP runner A. Had a better rhythm than at the Bangalore HM in early Oct and the quads also did not get as stressed. as always the 2nd half was warmer and more humid compared to the 1st one. Ran the last 5Km fairly strong to finish in about 2:12 - 94th out of 536 finishers.  Very few runners went back for the 2nd loop to run a FM . Given the challenging weather and the uneven albeit flat course I wondered how I ran an ultra for training here several years ago, 

The 4 of us from Medley went back to Young Island and had breakfast around 10 where I interacted with a bunch of other runners. 

Started driving back at around 11:15 and got home around 1 after a good weekend. 

Bangalore Half marathon 2023

Ran my 15th half marathon race on Sunday, 8th October at Bangalore - my 3rd time at the Bangalore event after 2014 and 2015. Overall it was a great experience - good weather, well oraganised , start and finish in the stadium, with about 10 Kms inside Cubbon park and a fairly flat course. The icing was spending time with my brothers , C and M, before and after the race in addition to  meeting lots of other running friends. 

C and I checked into Woodlands hotel around 4:45 and M(and D) joined around 5:30. After tea/coffee snacks we walked across to the race entry gates in  Kanteerva stadium to get a feel for the distance. Came back, had early dinner at the hotel and got back to the room by 8:45 and slept by 9:15.

Woke up at 4:15 and got ready by 5:10 - ate a banana, some raisins and almonds. Left the hotel at 5:15 and at the tracks inside the stadium via zone B by 5:25. 

Bumped into Amrita and T Ashok and many many other runners in the start area.  Got bumped to Zone A and started running less than a minute after start of the race. 

Despite there being close to 5000 runners it was not that congested in the 1st Km stretch from inside the stadium into cubbon park via Kasturba road towards corp circle. Averaged under 5:45 /Km the first 5K. 10K was done in just under an hour. Realised very early that I had not not hydrated sufficiently before the race and needed to stop at an aid station in the first half itself. Upto about 16K I was on track for around 2:05. However, the pace dropped fair bit in the last 5K specially  with another  aid station stop at 18K . I did not realise that one had to make a U turn before entering back into Kanteerva and though I pushed hard the last few hundred metres the event clock showed 8:08 when I crossed the finish line. 

The chip time was 2:07:21 ranking me 13th in the age group and overall 830 out of 48xx finishers. 

As always it was great mingling with fellow runners after the finish . Did a bit of stretching while waiting for M and C to finish. We had breakfast together and walked back to the hotel for a shower and lunch. Got home around 2:30 post lunch. 

Look back at HM races

 

On the eve of the HM in Bangalore on 8th OCtober  I collated the half marathon races I have run over the last 20 years  and realised I had done many more than I realsied  including 4 below sub 1:50 and 3 below sub 2 hrs. 

1. SCMM                                                         Feb 2004    2:19:40
2. SCMM                                                         Jan  2005    2:11:32
3. Bangalore Midnight marathon                13 Dec 2009    1:46:03
4. Bangalore Midnight marathon              12  Dec  2010    1:52:xx
5. Celebration Mysore Half                           9 Oct 2011    1:43:33
6. Auroville marathon                                  19 Feb 2012   2:15
7. Auroville marathon                                       Feb 2013   1:42:xx
8. 1st Bangalore marathon                            19 Oct 2014   2:30 pacer
9. KTM                                                         20 Sept 2015  1:53:3
10. 2nd Bangalore marathon                           18  Oct 2015  2:15 pacer
11. The Wipro Chennai marathon                    31 Jan 2016   2:15 pacer
12. KTM                                                          27 Nov 2016  1:55:xx
13. Auroville                                                   19 Feb  2017   1:46:28
14. Celebration Mysore Half                           22 Sept 2019  1:50:46
15.  Bangalore Halh marathon                          8 Oct 2023     2:07:21
16. Kaveri Trail Marathon                               19 Nov 2023  2:12:02

Though I did a solo sub 2 ,in training ,in August 2021 , I have been struggling to go below 2:05 this year. Given how the training has gone for the last few weeks,  I would be happy with a time below 2:10 and as close to 2:05 as possible. 

(though I wrote this on 7th Oct I formatted and published it on 14th Oct and updated it in Feb 2024 to include the two HM races of 2023) 

Checkboxed another TMM

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.

TMM 2023 - Targeting the slowest ever FM finish

Ending the year 2022 with mixed feelings and more than the usual share of anxiety leading upto TMM 2023. On the one hand,  looking forward to experiencing the buzz , energy and comraderie at India's largest marathon event in 3 weeks from now, after a break of 3 years. On the other hand ,for the first time in 20 years of long distance running,  I am apprehensive as to  whether I would be able to cross the FM finish line (for the 16th time  in Mumbai) or return with my 1st DNF at this event(2nd ever at a FM event).  The reason being  Neurogenic claudication (the loss of neural co-ordination between the brain,spine  and the leg ) that I have been diagnosed with , after 6 visits to the physio clinic , an MRI and a doppler test in consultation with an ortho and neurosurgeon. Due to these visits to Dr G, I am considerably under prepared for a marathon with just 2 runs of 32Km+ vis-a-vis the usual 4-5 in a training cycle. And neither of these runs went too well. One was a 3:36 min, 32K at the end of November and the other a 3:59 min, 34K yesterday. Both these runs went reasonably ok till about 25K (at average pace of 6:30/K). Post that the left glutes pain and the left foot heaviness resulted in significant drop in pace. Yesterday's run was compounded by severe cramps in the right quads  - something that rarely happens during my runs. 

I am hoping that the expereince of running so many marathons, the adrenaline of a big race and proper pacing (6:30/Km in the 1st half and around  7/Km thereafter ) should enable me to finish the race in about 5 hours - my slowest ever FM finish.

TMM 23 training in the doldrums

 A year ago this time I was training to run a sub 4:10 at Goa River marathon in Dec 2021. I ended up running it in a disappointing  4:27:43 though the training went reasonably well.  I ran a similar below par  time at the York marathon in May 2022 . Based on the way the training for TMM 23 is going ,  I would be super thrilled  to be able to run it in any  time close to 4:30 or even 5:00.  

The season did not start well.After start/stop training in August and September I managed my first 20K+ run in 3months on 8th Oct with a 2:17/21.1K at the end of which I felt quite good. This kindled hopes of being able to do 4 32K+ runs before Mumbai on 15th Jan 2023.  That looks impossible now -  the 20K+ runs of last weekend and today were unmitigated disasters - I had anyway given up on run pace and was focused only on increasing the distance of the long run. However, fell well short of the target distance(28K and 30K respectively  )  in both runs. Today's a 3:08/27.2Km  was a major struggle , physically with  pain in the left glutes, numbness/heaviness in the left foot and stress in both glutes while running up gradients  , and  mentally deflating (due to the  physical woes compounded by bad roads with puddles of water and traffic). So much so that for the first time ever  a self doubt has crept in as to whether I would be able to run/walk  the FM in Jan 2023 in the stipulated 6hrs time and that I may be better off downgrading to a HM or not going to Mumbai at all. 

Both these options would break my FM streak at Mumbai(15 and counting) and  are depressing. What baffles me is  the root cause of these issues despite my minimal running of not more than 40-50Km per week and significant investment in strength training . Rather than just a weak muscle or tendon I am beginning to suspect something deeper such as an issue with the spine(Dull pain and curvature in the lower back on getting up after sitting for a while could be a pointer to this). Despite the motivation being at the lowest ebb at the moment I hope to  soldier on after consultations with the Physio G and perhaps also a sports ortho. Keeping fingers crossed for the best case scenario of being able to get in two (quality?) 32K+ runs across November and December. 

Another dreadful start to the running season

 Some injury or the other has plagued me every year since 2013/2014 . Due to this there have been very few satisfactory full marathon runs in the last 8 years or so. In the 7 marathons since Jan 2017 I have managed only one sub 4(TMM 2019) , one sub 4:10 and all other being slower than 4:25 due to one injury or another . And the struggle to have an injury free running season continues. Rather have not even been able to start training this season . Ran the York marathon in May  with a right glutes issue(possibly piroformis) and right shoulder pain that have been hampering me since March 2022 . A hip/groin  strain got added soon after I started to re-build base mileage in June end .  Took all of July off from running and cycling and consulting G. With his exercises,  the right glutes got better . However, soon after I restarted running the left glutes started paining - varying between  acute pain when running and dull pain when not doing anything. Even brisk walking was not comfortable. Therefore based on G's advise I am off from running again and just focused on strength exercises.  Last year when I managed to run 63Km and cycle 126Km in a week I had decided to try and replicate something similar every year during the same period. Instead I ended up unable to do any cardio at all.

Hoping to resume in a week or so. With TMM 2023 now 4.5 months away I need to build some mileage and target a at least one  32K+ run every month starting Sept. Only after the first such long run I can decide what time goal to target in TMM 2023, if any. 

York Marathon

 Three weeks ago, on 15th May, I crossed the finish line of an FM or Ultra for the 55th(*) time at the York, marathon and half marathon ,PA in 4:27:33. It was in line with my expectations based on the struggle of the 34K run in Bangalore 3 weeks prior to the event.  I started the training cycle in January with a target of 4:10 and quite stupidly switched to a plan for 4:00 in Feb and struggled to hit the goal in all 3 runs in any of the weeks. April was even worse probably caused by a sciatic nerve after the solo drive from Tirunelveli on 30th March. Due to this and the plans for travel and sightseeing in the 2 weeks prior to the event I abandoned any timing goal and decided to enjoy the race and complete it between 4:15 and 4:30.  I managed to get in some training runs during the week of 2nd May and 9th May in Arizona and NY respectively. Also did quite a bit of walking/hiking  in Bryce canyon national park, Grand Canyon , Sedona, and Flagstaff.   Fell a couple of times during these runs - tripping on the uneven footpath of Tempe, Arizona, and gathering some skin scrapes on the legs and hands, slipping on the pathway in  Bushmaster Park in Arizona. Did some of these runs without my Garmin 310XT device as it started taking an enormous amount of time to catch the GPS satellite. And just before the race the Garmin strap broke - so I hardly looked at it during the race. (normally during a long run or race I try and adjust my pace based on the cumulative average pace ). Though I turned on the Garmin and ran with it in my pocket the race data did not get recorded in the device(or maybe I inadvertently deleted it when fiddling with it to fix the data upload issue post the race). So I was glad that I carried my phone in the race and turned on the Racejoy application suggested by the race organiser . This is the first event that I ran with a headphone listening to the audio of an edition of The Economist magazine.

(* the 55 finishes include 6 RFL-supported runs during the 12 marathons in 12 months spree in 2008-09 and a solo self-supported marathon during Covid-19 in May 2021.  )

The 350Km drive from Brooklyn to York on Friday 14th, May took about 8 hours with a couple of breaks including  3 hours in Jim Thorpe enroute.  We checked into our Airbnb around 6PM. On 15th morning walked down to the YMCA building close by and collected the bib. There was hardly any buzz about the race in the area - just a handful of runners who had come to collect their bibs. 

Walked to the beginning of the Heritage railroad trail after collecting the bib. While the route was very green it did not look as flat as I had expected.  

After walking around downtown York and taking in the various plaques with nuggets of American history ,ate pizza on a bench along the trail and returned to the Airbnb. Decided not to do any sightseeing that afternoon and relaxed in the room. Had early'ish dinner at Hamir's Indian fusion restaurant. 

Went to bed around 10:15 and woke up at 5am after a reasonably restful night. After imbibing the usual banana(large one) , almonds, and pumpkin seeds left for the start point at 5:55am. The first of the runners were to start at 6am and my slot to start was 6:30. It was a partly cloudy morning with a  temperature of around 15c The start area was low-key with a bunch of runners warming up, few spectators, and not much other activity - the dullest I have experienced in an official event. After warming up and using the porto loo , turned on the racejoy app and started the race a little after 6:20am. 

Ran the first mile quite fast in less than 9 minutes - the half-mile road part was all downhill. The trail had several gradual gradients especially when crossing the railway track. I ran at a pace of between 6 and 6:15 per Km completing the first half in about 2:09 at a pace of 9:49/mile(6:05 per km). The trail was lush green, slushy in parts due to overnight rain. Encountered light drizzle on and off.   One or more runners were in sight most of the time though I ran alone throughout(again a first that I hardly chatted with any runner before, during or after the race) . There was a mile marker every mile and an aid station every 2 miles. Though there were volunteers at most turns/vantage points I did get baffled with the route at one point and almost made a wrong turn. The Racejoy application called out my mile splits , cumulative pace and expected finished time which started with 3:54 at the end of the first mile and then moved from  4:05 to  4:15 for the first half and then upwards of 4:20 on the last 10Km. The kudos sent thru the app by various family members and the 3 songs were welcome motivators.  As usual, the pace dropped quite steadily between 6:20 and 6:40  after 25Km. Managed the 2nd half in about 2:20 at an average pace of 10:36 per mile or 6:35/Km to finish at an overall pace of 6:20 per Km. Pretty much the same pace as the Goa river marathon in Dec 2021 which had a much tougher route and higher  humid conditions. 

The post-race snacks were nothing to write home about - chocolate milk, potato chips, pretzels, apple etc. Foam rolled and stretched on an exercise mat in the finish area for a few minutes before walking back to the room. Overall happy to have completed my 10th international full marathon - 8th one in the US (others: New Jersey marathon twice, Richmond marathon, Suntrust Washington marathon, Hartford marathon, Boston marathon, Western pacific marathon)  in spite of injury woes, below par training, and the travel/sightseeing before the race.  Based on the recovery runs so far, including the slow 21K on 4rth June will need to get my right hip/sciatic issue fixed before getting into the next training cycle to target a sub 4:15! 

Training woes continue

 There has barely been a week, in the last 6 weeks of training, when all 3 runs have gone as per plan. Intervals have always been a challenge. However, in the past I have usually comfortably met the timing goals of the tempo and long runs. However, now I am having trouble with all three runs . Probably the body is taking much longer to recover whether from a lower back strain(due to which I lost a week of training in March) or a run workout.  A 32Km run was planned for today at MP+9 pace. However by Km 10 my pace started slowing considerably and I just did not feel comfortable in the run and abandoned it after 25K at 6:31/km pace.  I have not done a 32Km run since 19th Feb - the longest such gap when training for a marathon. I managed a 30K on 6th March and 31K on 26th March. It looks like the long (550Km) drive back from Tirunelveli on 30th March has adversely affected my right glutes and right sciatic nerve.  My self confidence for the race on 15th May is very low - apprehensive  whether I would have the physical and mental energy to  be able to complete it . I need to ensure a reasonable 32-35K run on 24th April to build back the confidence . And bank on cooler weather and flat course to finish in a reasonable time!

Feb training struggles

 Lot of eating and drinking and several late nights , due to the visits of R and U and celebrations galore, derailed my marathon training quite a bit last month. While the weekly mileage was more or less ok, there was hardly any week in which all 3 training runs(interval, tempo and long run) went to plan. Switching from a goal of  4:10  to a more aggressive sub 4 , periodic GI issues and the couple of added kilos also contributed to this. The long runs went as per plan but the intervals and tempos were below par. Have always found intervals to be tough but the tempo runs have usually not been a problem.  My legs were just not moving fast enough resulting in mental weakness as well at times. Planning to make a couple of changes for the next few weeks:

- take  two days off between the run workouts - this may require converting some of the long runs to shorter easy runs

- do the intervals in the Ramohalli layout or the tracks in Bangalore university

The other option I considered is to do one of either intervals or tempo runs in a week, that is , alternate between these two. However,  the long runs being fairly on track with focus being to improve pace  decided on the above approach. If the above changes do not help then I may consider doing fartleks instead of intervals .  These and the tempo run all are supposed to help with speed and endurance.

Though training with  the 4 hr plan  for the York Marathon in York, PA on 15th May would be happy if I can finish in 4:10 or even 4:15. 

Meanwhile the Delhi marathon that was postponed from 27th February is now scheduled for 27th March. As it is supposed to be a flat, fast course where I am hoping to do a sub 4 in Feb 2023 I am tempted to run this year to get familiar with the route.  Will need to decide in the next couple of weeks.