More on SCMM 2010

It is now two weeks since my 25h and fastest ever Full marathon finish in India at SCMM 2010 on 17th January – with a hectic schedule in the weeks following the race including travel to the Mformation  NJ office there has been a never-before delay in posting details of my race experience.

It is quite usual for runners to get tense during the week leading up to a big event and the week prior to SCMM 2010 was no different for me. I did my customary 9K and 6K runs on Tuesday and Thursday respectively. I felt a bit of a niggle in my left hamstring since Monday – though nothing serious it did cause me to worry. I resorted to salt water gargling as a precautionary measure. However I felt quite fine by the end of the week and left for Bangalore airport on 15th afternoon taking a Volvo bus from my office as prepared as I could be – a bit nervous but quite excited and expecting to run a good race.My Spicejet flight to Mumbai was delayed by over an hour . Did not see many runners at the airport – the only person I met at the time of boarding was Ananth - planning to do his first Mumbai FM.

For the 7th straight year I took a bus from Govandi to WTC on 16th morning after a reasonably good night’s sleep(Good sleep on the Friday night before the race on Sunday is very important –it is invariably difficult to sleep well the night before the race!). The traffic on Mumbai’s streets seemed very slow that morning and it was almost 1230 by the time I reached WTC. My brother Mahesh had already reached and collected his bib. The process of bib collection was very quick. Plus this time the timing chip was compulsory for all FM/HM runners(of course the cost was included in the registration)– so there was no separate form to fill to get the chip. Met quite a few runners from Bangalore at the expo . Had a brief chat with Dr. Ashish Roy who was running his 100th marathon and A1 and A2 at the RFL stall. Mahesh and I decided to save time by having lunch at Flamboyante in WTC itself while most other RFL runners went to Moshe’s in Colaba. We were joined by Sridhar and his colleague Ajay. After lunch I went back to the expo and bumped into a few more runner friends including MS Suresh (an ex-colleague from 15 years ago) and Vijay Ramakrishnan – an RFL runner who now lives in Pune. I got back to Govandi at about 530 probably an hour and a half later than what I had planned.

Slept reasonably well Saturday night waking up just after 4am a few minutes before the alarm was set to go. Took the 5:18am train from Chembur station reaching VT by 6am . Met Bhupesh, a Mumbaikar, who was running his first Full Marathon. The train and the VT station were much less crowded compared to previous years due to the Half Marathon start point being at Bandra instead of VST. I kind of missed the buzz at VT station. Met Mahesh at the station. We walked down to Azad maidan and reached the holding area by 6:15 or so. Again the maidan was much less crowded compared to the previous years as it had only Full Marathon runners. Met with a lot of fellow runners from Bangalore while stretching. This time there was a separate holding area for ‘veteran’ runners. Met Dan Zico and a few other runners there. The gate opened a few minutes before 6:45. I managed to get to the front of the crowd – which was quite low.Contrary to press reports it did not look like there were 3000+ full marathon runners at the starting line even discounting for the fact that a few hundred would have started at 7:45am.

I crossed the start line in less than 20 seconds from the start of the race compared to several minutes last year. I ran with Prasad and Ananth(in the picture on the left) for the first few Kms. Soon Nitin also joined us. Priyankar was running a steady pace a few hundred Kms ahead of us. We got a bit of cheering and clapping from the crowds – as we had the company of celebrity runner Milind Soman for some distance doing his second FM. I covered the first 10Kms on target in 55 minutes and managed to sustain a 5:35 per Km pace till well after 20Km or so. We hit a wave of HM runners around the 19Km mark as we approached the exit of the sea link. In fact, the route became quite chaotic with a lot of the slower HM runners coming in the way despite best efforts of the volunteers to separate out the HM and FM runners. This was quite irritating and I am sure several of us FM runners lost a few seconds here. In the stretch on the way to Bandra the African runners zipped past us. Around this time I caught up with Dharam – much sooner this year than in the past. By the time Nitin and I reached the Bandra it became quite warm. As we entered the sea link we grabbed a bottle of water as Rajesh Vetcha who was running HM this year had warned us that there would be now water on the sealink. The sealink stretch was very tough – no shade, very few runners. The lack of breeze made it even more difficult. Personally, I thought the whole sealink thing was a bit hyped up. By the time we exited the sealink stretch I was quite dehydrated and desperately looking for water. Nitin slowed down at this point while I almost caught up with Priyankar. Maybe I missed a water point but I did not see any water till at least 3 Kms after the sealink stretch – running the 24Km to 32Km stretch with very little water was very difficult and definitely impacted a lot of runners including myself. The pace started to drop though I hit the 30Km mark in under 2:50. Then came the lonely last 10Km stretch – Peddar road flyover, Chowpatty and the marine drive on the way back. Priyankar seemed to be pushing along quite strongly. At this point I had to dig very deep both mentally and physically to try and hit my goal of a sub 4:05. Once I managed to cross the 37Km mark just after 3:30 I felt reasonably comfortable about a sub 4:05 and even started getting visions of a sub 4. Around this time Milind’s running buddy Colin and I ran met up again. Colin was targeting a sub 4 in his first FM. I started to fade at this time and found it extremely tough to sustain my pace. There also seemed to be fewer water stops this year in the last stretch of the race. I wanted to pick up pace in the last 1500m as we turned towards Churchgate station but was just not able to do so. With great effort I finished with my Garmin 305 showing 4:01:42 – I think I forgot to stop it for a few seconds after I finished. Colin finished a few seconds before me with a good sprint in the last few hundred meters while Priyankar finished strongly a couple of minutes earlier. I was quite thrilled to learn that my chip timing was 4:00:56 though a bit disappointed at missing the 4 hour mark by less than a minute. Detailed timings are available here. Click here for the official photos. I felt nauseous after I stopped running and had to sit down as soon as I finished – did not have the energy and motivation to walk into Azad maidan. At this time sighting Rajesh Vetcha was a godsend. He managed to get me an orange from some unknown runner passing by – I felt much much better once I had some of that. I think I lost much more salt during this run and the one usual power bar that I consumed during the run was not sufficient for me. To sustain higher pace I need to look at drinking electral or some sports drink – something I have avoided thus far.

Nevertheless, I was very satisfied with finishing in my fastest ever time in India in my silver jubilee(25th) FM+ finish. This was also my second fastest FM finish. Of course, the number of faster runners in India is increasing every year as I finished 10th in my agea category this year while last year I was 5th with a finish time of 4:13. I was so focused on the target time during this event that I did not talk too much with other fellow runners – usually I talk much more. Also, I did not waste any energy thanking the volunteers or the cops. The crowd support along the roads seemed much lower this eyar compared to the past. So I would say that I did not enjoy the race as much as I have in the past but I think that is the way it goes. Either I stay focused on a target time goal or enjoy all aspects of the run. I plan to do the latter at Auroville on Feb 14th. The organization was disappointing this year. Apart from the fiasco of lack of water on the sealink and thereafter the Kms markers also seemed to be messed up in the second half. I don’t understand why there cannot be clear markers every Km for the FM runners specifically stating what the distance is depending on whether it is the 1st or 2nd loop.

Maybe because I pushed myself more than ever before the recovery also seemed to be slower this year. My hamstrings were sore and stiff for 3-4 days after the race. It made me wonder once again how some people can run full marathons on consecutive days!!

First 4 hour marathon in India..

It was quite a warm Mumbai morning  on 17th January making this year's SCMM  very challenging specially from the sea link onwards when there was no water point for over 7Kms. In the last 3Kms it was a real tough physical and mental battle - but I am happy to report that I managed to push hard  and complete the run in the chip timing of 4 hours 56 seconds  shaving over 12 minutes off my last year's time and comfortably meeting my goal for this year. This is my fastest time for a FM in India and 2nd best time ever! The split timings are available here.

Will post complete details of the experience  by the weekend.

Mumbai marathon 2010: The Maths

Borrowing the title of this post from that of a post from Tanvir Kazmi - probably the most prolific running related blogger in the country. The tapering period before a big race in which one has a target time goal is often spent in working out the math of how one is going to get there. Referring back to my previous post on Average pace to achieve target  I need to do an average of 5:48 to complete in below 4:05.  I will try and do the first half between 1:55 and 2:00 and hope that I can still keep a below 6 minute per Km pace in the second half. The average pace this year will have to be 13 seconds per Km faster than last year's average pace which gave me a 4:13 finish. While the familiarity with the course will help the 5 Kms or so over the sealink on the return leg will be a new factor. Of course, by this time next Sunday I will know!

Start of a new decade of running..

A decade in which I hope to be able qualify and run Boston marathon. And  run an average of 4 Full marathons/Ultras a year taking my count from the current 24 marathons to over 60! I have been running long distance for over 8 years now. From my paper running logs of yore , I dug up the following progression of  my training with the goal of running the first marathon by the end of 2002  :

23rd July 2001             51 minutes run
17th Dec 2001            120 minutes run
12th Jan 2002             150 minutes run
4th  May 2002            200 minutes run
3rd August 2002         235 minutes run (35Km)
24rth August 2002      267 minutes run (40Km)

Coming back to this year and decade,  it has been a decent first week of running. Starting with a 15K/90 minutes run on Jan 1 in Cubbon Park followed by a 36K/3:43 run at GKVK. And then a couple of 55minutes, 10K runs to round of the week!

Fund raising for Dream A Dream

One of my goals this year that is indirectly related to my running is raise more funds for Dream A Dream than I have ever done in the past.

 have been personally involved with Dream A Dream for over 4 years and have been raising funds for them through my runs. I am happy to state that since August 2009 I have been even more deeply engaged with them as a Board of Trustee trying to help them scale and reach out to larger number of under-privileged children more effectively. I have experienced first hand the amazing work that DAD is doing with vulnerable children in Bangalore. Thanks to DAD, over 1,500 such children in Bangalore are participating in programs such as team sports, mentoring, creative arts, learnIT and adventure camps – helping them develop crucial life skills such as confidence, problem-solving, communication and leadership .This will empower them to achieve their dreams and integrate with mainstream society!

This year I am raising funds for DAD by running two Full marathons in 1Q 2010. I will be participating in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon on 17th January 2010 for the 7th consecutive year and target to complete it faster than ever before in under 4 hrs 5 minutes. I will also be running Auroville marathon for the 2nd consecutive year on 14th February 2010. This year’s funds would go towards the construction of the Dream Life Skills Center. Dream Life Skills Center’s vision is to empower youth from vulnerable background in making a successful transition into adulthood; becoming fully functioning and productive members of society. The Center would provide services which develop employability skills and life skills. It would house a Resource Center & Library, Training & Skills Enhancement cell, Career Guidance and Mentoring cell.

By supporting me again this year , you can help build a promising tomorrow for these young adults and transition them away from life on the street.

My goal is to raise Rs 3 Lakhs this year - and I hope to get there with support from friends, family and colleagues. Any contribution small or big is most welcome. You can contribute by sendin a check in favour of ‘ Dream A Dream’ to 242, Ranka Heights, 4th Main, 7th Cross, Domlur Layout, Bangalore 560071 or online in INR through United Way or in International currencies using Ammado.

2009 Year End musings..

This post is about the usual year end activity : looking back at what was probably one of the best years running wise and also looking ahead to the plans for 2010.

Highs of 2009

1. Completion of the 12th full marathon in 12 months – the day was made special with the company of so many fellow runners specially from the BHUKMP and Red Dragon gang. The achievement of the goal that I set in May 2008 gave immense satisfaction – the T-shirt and plaque given by fellow runners made it truly memorable!

2. Cracking the sub 4 hr marathon at the Suntrust National marathon in Washington DC in March 2009

3. PB timings in 50K, HM and 10K distances at the Bangalore Ultra, Bangalore Midnight marathon and Sunfeast World 10K respectively

4. Being able to clock 2000Km of running during the year - up from 1800Km in 2008

5. Numerous new running mates specially in the BHUKMP group

Lows of 2009

1. Not being able to hit my PB in 5K distance at the 2nd Urban Stampede
2. Missing out on the 2nd Hyderabad marathon due to sickness - my first ever DNS

2010 Goals

1. Run at least 5 Full marathons/Ultras

• Mumbai Marathon  - 17th Jan 2010
• Auroville Marathon  - 14th Feb 2010
• Hyderabad Marathon - August 2010
• Athens Marathon - 31st October 2010
• Bangalore Ultra - 14th November 2010 

2. Sub 4:05 finish at Mumbai marathon 2010 in 2 weeks from now
3. Sub 4 Hr at Hyderabad marathon 2010
4. 75K at Bangalore Ultra? - it is tempting to go beyond 50K
5. Invest in a better cycle and do a few trail rides with Tandem Trails

I intend to start the year with a 12K-15K  run on January 1 - I have been   running on January 1 pretty much every year since 2003.  A good run on the 1st day of the year is a fantastic way to start the year.  And I intend to follow this up with a 32K - 35K  run on January 3rd - the last long run before the Mumbai marathon on 17th Jan .

Here is wishing everyone a Great Year ahead personally, professionally and of course running wise!!!

Countdown to Mumbai 2010

With just about 20 days to go for the 2010 edition of Mumbai marathon most runners registered to run either the HM or FM there are in the final stages of their preparation. They would have done their last long run either the alst weekend(26th/27th Dec) or would be planning to do so the coming weekend ie 1st, 2nd or 3rd of January 2010. I fall into the latter category. I was away from Bangalore(at Jungle Lodges and resorts in BR hills) for 4 days and have done little runnig sicne Wednesday 23rd December.  Rather I have been pigging out with 3 heavy meals a day with some deep fried snacks thrown in between lunch and dinner.  Fortunately, for me I have not added too much weight due to this.(I guess by now my metabolism helps me burn off high calorie intake quite efficiently!)  I hope to do a fair amount of running this week: a 9-10K tomorrow, followed by a 12-15K run on 1st of January and then a 32K+ run on Sunday 3rd Jan exactly 2 weeks before the big day in Mumbai.

To hit my target of a sub 4:05 finish and shave 8 minutes from my last year's timing I need to maintain an averge pace of 5:48. Based on my experience of recent training runs in Bangalore this should be quite possible; however I know the weather in Mumbai will be quite a challenge. Also, this year's change in route will bring in a new unknown. While running over the recently opened sealink should be fun I am a bit apprehensive of the effect of the wind on my pace. I am hoping to do the first half in under 2 hours and then push for the second half in about 2:05. This week's runs are crucial to build and maintain the confidence to achieve this.

HM at Bengaluru Midnight Marathon 2009

The 3rd edition of Bengaluru Midnight marathon on 12th/13th December 2009 was definitely much better organised than the last two editions.However, the participation seemed to be lower. Though I did not reach the venue in time to see the 5K run happen I heard that it had far fewer runners compared to last year when a couple of thousand people ran. I rode to the venue with Vinay Chaurasia and Shumit Vatsal after having an ‘early’ dinner around 8PM -we got there by 1030 PM. The bib and timing chip pick up process was quick and smooth. Inside the Sigma Tech Park RFL had setup a stall manned by Arvind Bharati and Nikhil. In that area I met up with a number of RFL runners – several of whom were running the Half.There was a baggage counter conveniently located in the holding area. About 15 minutes to midnight, runners moved over from the holding area to the start line on the road outside the Tech Park. After a couple of announcements including one regarding the run lap having reduced from 2.64K to 2.1xK the run started off exactly at midnight.

About 400 runners must have started the race. While I started with Shumit and Chandra , who like me were planning to do a fast HM, within a few minutes they pulled ahead. I ran a steady pace with the goal of keeping my average pace around 5 mins per Km. Traffic was completely blocked on one side of the road.There were 3 aid stations in the 2.1K stretch which had water and juice.There were adequate volunteers and cops patrolling the area. The route itself had a couple of slight gradients. The chilly night made it a perfect weather for running. I was able to able to keep my target pace in the first half and completed 10.5 Km in about 52 minutes. One had to necessarily slow down at the turn around point. At the far point some volunteers wanted to mark the bib for each loop for which one had to almost stop – this was a bit frustrating and after the second loop I refused as this was upsetting my rhythm. One big advantage of the up and down route was one was able to see and cheer other runners quite often. This resulted in more than usual comraderie amongst the runners energizing them further. I stayed pretty focused on the run and my target time – talking very little with other runners. I managed to sprint the last 500 meters and finish in 1:46:03 as per my Garmin. Though I feel I could have pushed a little bit more and done a sub 1:45 I am quite satisfied that I shaved 3 minutes off my previous PB set over 3 years ago. Official chip timings are still awaited. It should be available here.

The single biggest contingent of runners was from RFL and they all did very well in the race with many of them clocking their PB HM or FM times. Like last year Arvind and Nikhil cheered the runners, took photographs and setup an additional aid station with electral which was definitely helpful for the FM runners. Shumit did an amazing 1:38 Half while Chandra clocked 1:42. Among the FM runners Ashok and Honda San led the pack with Ashok clocking a very impressive 3:13. Several RFL runners had podium finishes including RGI team in the women’s relay, Meher in women’s HM and Amrita in Women’s FM! We left the venue at about 3am just as Ashok and Honda San were on their last lap of the FM. Everyone seems to have had a good run and also lots of fun at this year’s Midnight marathon. So hopefully this event will go from strength to strength as the premier long distance road race in Bangalore!

The next event is...Bengaluru Midnight Marathon

I have registered to run the HM at the Bengaluru Midnight marathon on 12th December 2009. This is the third edition of this event. I ran the FM in the first event in May 2007 , finishing in 4:44 - my third slowest FM finish. It was a tough run and got very lonely towards the end. Last year I did the 5K with my son as the event was postponed from Dec 2008 to January 2009 due to the Mumbai terrorist attacks and was held exactly one week before Mumbai marathon. I am hoping to run a fast HM this year and try and beat my best ever time of 1:49 that I did in Hyderabad HM in November 2006. If I get into a good rhythm I might even attempt a sub 1:45. While the weather should be nice for running it will still be a challenge for the body as it is not used to running in the night.

There are a couple of other events leading up to the main event on 12th December. A power mile for CXOs mainly to create some publicity about the event amongst senior professionals in Bangalore was held on 22nd November. I ran this  and managed to complete the 'power mile' in just under 6 minutes finishing second amongst about 100 runners. The second pre-event is the 'pet-a-thon' on 6th December wherein onwers are supposed to run with their pets!

Due to the experiences of the last two years ,serious runners in Bangalore have a very poor opinion of this event. In the past there have been issues like lack of traffic control, aid stations running out of water/electral, chaos with timings/certificates etc. Feedback has been given to the organisers, namely, Crossover and I sincerely hope these issues are taken care of this year. I would like this event to improve and attract more and more serious runners - after all this is the only long distance(>10Km) road  race that Bangalore has. Being a midnight run it is quite unique. Also, this is a good race for those  runners who are not able to or do not want to run the ultra distance in November or travel to Mumbai in January. Nevertheless, unless its reputation improves I suspect that a majority of serious runners will do the HM and the FM will have much fewer takers!

'Marathon streakers' and 'Mega-marathoners'

A lot of people(read non long distance runners) think I am crazy because I have been running  50K at the Bangalore Ultra  the last 3 years. Moreover, people are amazed that people actually run 75K and 100K! As I have said before running is addictive and has its fair share of crazies. The  articles below that  I came across the last few weeks talk about two kinds of running lunatics.

Marathon Streakers: 33 and Counting

“streaker,” as it relates to the running world, is  someone who has run a certain number of consecutive races. This article talks about runners who have done over 20 or even 30 straight marathons at Boston, NY or Chicago.  I am hoping to be a streaker at Mumbai marathon - having participated in all the 7 editions(2 HM, 5FMs) so far. Similary with the Bangalore ultra as I have run all the 3 editions todate.

For 'Mega Marathoners,' the Race Is On -- to Run More Races
 

Mega marathoners as this article explains are people who have run hundreds of marathons. Three Germans, a Finn and a Japanese woman are known to have clocked more than 1,000 marathons apiece -- that is 26,200 miles, about 1,300 miles more than the circumference of the earth. The record holder, 74-year-old Horst Preisler, has run 1,636 marathons. Living in India where marathon events are just picking up and having started running after the age of 40 I would be fortunate if I can touch a century of marathons. That would require me to run another 76 marathons(the Bangalore ultra on 15th November was my 24rth!) - an average of 4 per year(Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ultra, Auroville..) for the next 20 years should get me there! hmm..

Kicking off Fund raising for Dream A Dream

For the fourth year in a row I am  raising funds for Dream A Dream - an NGO that I have been personally involved with since 2007. Founded in 1999, Dream A Dream empowers children from vulnerable backgrounds by developing life skills while at the same time sensitizing the community through active volunteering leading to a non-discriminatory society where unique differences are appreciated.  

Dream A Dream provides children from vulnerable backgrounds with non-traditional educational opportunities designed to allow them to explore, innovate and build important life skills. These life skills are fundamental to child/youth development and to the successful transition into adulthood and becoming fully functioning and productive members of our society. Dream A Dream programs allow children to develop:

· Interpersonal skills including teamwork, communications, negotiation and coping skills
· Cognitive skills such as decision-making, problem solving and critical thinking
· Creativity, confidence, self-awareness and a passion for learning

As a volunteer in the IT program and as a mentor I  have experienced the tremendous impact of Dream A Dream's programs on vulnerable children. I am extremely impressed with the work done by them and the passion and sincerity of the employees and the co-founder Vishal. So when I got an opportunity in August 2009 to engage with them more deeply as a trustee on the board of directors I took it up gladly.

Like the past three years, I am raising funds for Dream A Dream via my runs and between the Ultra in November 2009, Mumbai marathon in January 2010 and Auroville marathon in February 2010 my target is  to better the Rs 2 Lakhs that I raised last year. For this I am banking on the goodwill and support of friends and family around the world.  Contributions can be made either via check or online(currently only for overseas contributors;  online payment gateway for contributions in INR is coming soon) - see the Right Hand Side of this blog for specific details. Go ahead and make a contribution and help make a difference to our society!!