Raagaas to Running - 1/2 marathon 'notes'

Been tossing and turning for the last one hour now-- why the hell am I not able to sleep?? Ayushibum is fast asleep and seems to be having one of his good dream days, 'the smile on their face says it all' as one would put it. Manohar is a good sleeper in general-no dumpster trucks noises, other snoring pigs or any such thing seems to wake him-God bless your soul. And here is 'me', wondering why I am just not able to sleep. It's already 4, and my legs are a little sore. Then I hear that unmistakable sound, 'ammmmmaaaaaa' and I open my eyes to see Ayushibum fully awake. I look at the clock, the time reads a little past 4 PM on October 4th, 2009. I had finished my 2nd 1/2 marathon only a little more than 5 1/2 hours ago "smiles smiles"

To share my experiences of the 2nd 1/2 marathon I ran, I should first share a little about my first 1/2. A little late perhaps in sharing, but then you know how life is!?!

My last 1/2 marathon (which was my first incidentally) was more of an experiment. I was looking at ways to lose my pregnancy fat/weight and since running was something that I liked, and had decently experimented with in the last 4/5 years, decided to take up this goal and see if it did the magic. Ran the San Jose Rock N Roll last year and clocked 2.59. I still remember how I made it clear to myself right from the very beginning, that this was not a race for me. I was in it to see how I felt about it, and a couple of my goals were these: To stay injury free, to see if I had the stamina that it took to endure 13.1 miles, and not walk anytime during the course of that 13.1 and lastly, finish it sub 3 hours. I guess this is probably the first time anyone would have heard anyone saying " I want to do a sub 3 hour 1/2 marathon!!" LOL

I successfully managed to do all of the above, and I was pretty thrilled about it. I lost more weight than I could have hoped for. And when asked if I would attempt this running 13.1 or worse still, a full marathon, I vividly remember shaking my head with an emphatic no.

It was almost August by the time I 'decided' to run the San Jose Rock N Roll again. I tried real hard to imagine myself suffering from selective amnesia and not remember those times when I had said no to any good soul on the road who might have asked me about attempting another 1/2. I still remember sitting in my cube one fine Tuesday morning in August, the official site of SJRNR staring me in the face, and being lost in thought. I registered, and then knew that I just had to start running more than my usual 3 that I did about 4 times a week. My training got delayed due to several reasons, and I finally started my training full swing in the last week of August. I pushed my pace this time. A time came when I was able to comfortably maintain a pace of 11.15-11.30/mile. This was a big deal compared to the almost 13.50-14.00/mile pace that I maintained during my last 1/2. So I was thrilled to say the least. And, the best thing of all, I was blessed to have run all this injury free.

When I think back to the training schedule I have had this last 1 month or so, I am real happy to see that I have done my fastest 5, 7 and 10 miles this running season. I diligently did my short/medium runs without compromising on the mileage so my long runs would not suffer and my body would get used to whatever it had to. The medium runs, which varied anywhere between 4-7 miles depending on the long run mileage that week, especially made such a huge difference to the stamina and ability of my body to do it injury free, more importantly.

Morning of the race was good, woke up the rooster at 5 AM, then finished all my duties as one would put it. The banana and my usual cup of tea tasted the same, no different ( still perplexed as to what I expected *LOL*) and I was surprised to find that I had no anxiety this time. I knew what to expect, knew the drill-- water, cytomax, GU gels, salt tabs, and the likes. While Manu wished me good luck at our door, Ashwin and Sunitha, pals of mine dropped me about 1/4 mile from the start line and I heard someone yelling in the microphone. I phased out, and made a beeline to the port a potty, something I rarely do :)

At 7.45AM, the announcer invited someone to sing the national song of America. She had a amazing voice, I thought, and I went off into the singing mode for a bit and started humming Jana Gana Mana, very softly. A runner next to me had that look of confusion on her face, and I, as a proud Indian told her that it was 'my' national song. She mumbled something, by which time I had phased out again.

Time was 7.58 AM, 2 more mins and I thought I should be able to decently predict how this 13.1 might go. I was happy to be there, amidst those 12000 runners all geared up to run that cold morning. I had done two 10 milers this time around, but the tapering down week was not good on me. Had a temporary setback and wasn't sure even until the previous night if I would be able to run 1 mile, leave alone complete the 13.1 or reach my time goal. I stood there thinking...............................................

Before I knew it, everyone started moving, and it took a couple of minutes for corral 9 to reach the start line. Jogging patiently, I followed the "aattu mandhai" (aka goat herd) until the start line mat when I pressed start. "Beep", the watch sounded, it had begun. Mixed emotions in tow, I ran taking in all the sights and thinking about everything under the sun from my life in India, to my life here, my family, my work, my music which has always been a major part of my life and, ofcourse not to mention some mundane things. Allowed all the feelings to pass in front of my eyes as if it were a movie, enjoyed looking at what it had to offer me, left it right there, and knew I had a goal to accomplish.

Mile 1- 4 were okay, not too bad at all. My legs were paining, something that I have never experienced in any of my runs. Leg soreness- yes, but leg pain- no. So, tried to make sure I didn't get paranoid about it. I ran a little slower than my target pace to make sure that I got warmed up. And suddenly the 5th mile came up and I knew Manu, Ayush, Sunitha and Ashwin would be in the 7th mile marker. Down went one salt tab, oh and yes w/t water.... yuck !

Mile 5- 8 were good, my legs were warmed up although a little pain here and there kept me on my toes, literally :) Saw Ashwin first, followed by Sunitha, Ayushibum and Manu. Seeing my family fueled me on. I was a happy girl, but why did I have to run to be happy is something I didn't understand. I let it pass :D

Continued on and the 10 mile marker loomed large in front of me. I had clocked in 10 miles at 1.52, my best until now. Needless to say, I was thrilled. I hoped to push hard in the last 3 miles and see if I could do a 10.15-10.30 pace. Knew it was a tough thing to do, but still wanted to try. The 3 miles were by far the hardest since my body wanted to slow down, while my mind was constantly trying to focus on going fast. Well, apparently I did negative splits in this 1/2 marathon, which I heard is a good thing from trusted veteran marathoners like Suresh aka Mindframesand Manu :P I seemed to have done my fastest in the last couple of miles. Interesting, how your mind perceives things while your body is doing another. I seemed to think that I was running really slow compared to the pace I maintained in the 1st 10 miles, and was surprised to see the published results with the split ups.


Seeing Karthi & Suresh at mile 13 was a huge huge boost for me, it was like a vitamin to see someone you knew. Manu & Ayushibum waved to me a few 100 yards before i finished, and I knew I was there.. well almost :) And, here is my chance to say that I probably missed my manners while huffing and puffing away to glory, but then many thanks to all my pals who came in to encourage me. Seeing you all there, made my day :D

My running chip crossed the finish mat, my watch showed 2.29, and "beep", I clicked the stop button. My legs kept running for about a couple of seconds and I heard them announce my bib number, and that great feeling washed over me again. I turned and looked around me, at the 1000's of odd people who had run, cheered and walked those streets, and bid a silent adieu. I shall be back next year, hopefully will finish it faster, I heard myself whispering. I walked through the maze of people, smiling, while listening to all their excited banter. Grabbed my medal, that yucky tasting cytomax, water and made my way towards the family reunion area.

My smiles still seem to continue, even 2 days past D day, thinking of how it went. From being unsure of being able to run the 1/2, even as late as Saturday, I am happy I decided to, and even happier that I shaved 30 mins off my last years time. Injury free too!!!

I am looking at myself now, wearing the 1/2 marathon finishers dry wick tee, and watching a movie on TV while my legs recuperate from the 13.1 madness. Madness it is, for sure, but will I do this again? The answer is yes, and here's looking forward to another injury free, memorable running season :)

Adios amigos!!