After the Goa River marathon on 08 Dec 13, I could hardly participate in group runs , firstly due to my trip in December with family to a hill station, where I tried to run but could manage to run only twice and that too a measly distance of about 8 km. Then I got this cold and flu which really got the better of me. Normally, I don't take any medicines and just take care by warm saline gargling and green tea , turmeric milk etc. etc. . Antibiotics are a strict no-no for me. But this time, the cold wouldnt go away, in fact it worsened and I developed acute sinusitis with fully blocked nose and severe headaches everyday. I had to surrender myself to the doctor after about 15 days of struggle with a steamer and all above mentioned home remedies. I took an antibiotic dose for about 5 days and still no relief. This time I was told to take an X ray and then the ENT specialist pronounced the symptoms as "Allergic Rhinitis" and gave me another antibiotics for 07 days with a nasal spray to be used for a month, I was killed, this was the 11th of Jan and the race day was round the corner, no practice and this was really frustrating.
I decided that I was not going to give in, I decided to do my practice run on Thursday. I ran in the morning for about 40 minutes, I coughed and gagged and a lot of phlegm came out, but I was able to run. Great so I can do it, was the feeling in my mind. I decided to rest on Friday and Saturday and then give it a shot on Sunday the 19th Jan 2014. As luck would have it on Friday, I started to feel feverish again, it seemed like a sine wave, it becomes all right for sometime and then again comes back at you. I decided to take all precautions so out came the woolens, muffler and I took full rest on Friday and Saturday. I strictly followed a carbohydrate diet ( our normal diet is quite carbo loaded, so no problems at that end...) and had a mixed feeling in the evening, not knowing whether it would be OK to run in this condition or not. Come on, it is only a 21K and you have been running it so many times, how can you even think like that? Will the body breakdown, will I get a searing headache during the run and land up quitting in the middle of the race, all such thoughts were flowing in my mind.
Then came a saviour, a book called "FLOW" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi which I was reading on Saturday. It talked about "optimal experience" of enjoyment when energy flows in any activity. There was mention of a rock climber , painter, but no example of a long distance runner, which I felt was equally apt to quote as an example. The Book says that when the rock climber is climbing that precarious rock mountain, or the artist is making that creative painting, the entire energy is so invested in that task that it just flows smoothly and there the painter or the rock climber has an "optimal experience". I wondered whether all long distance runners also have the same experience when running in a rhythmic form and our entire energy is invested in that next step of ours. So I made up my mind that this race will be to experiment this "optimal experience" while running. Well, I was still feeling quite under the weather, but now there was a mission to feel the optimal experience when things are not OK. The real challenge lies in diverting the mind from the sickness feeling to the optimal experience of running.
I got up at 0300hrs feeling a bit feverish, so I gulped down a combiflam after a sandwich and banana breakfast. I finished about 1 litre of water from when I slept at night and the 0300hrs breakfast. I made a lovely hot cup of green tea for myself and that triggered the bowels.. Yeah, funny as it may sound, this is one of the greatest worries in the mind of a runner, as you want to be fully 'de-ballasted' when you leave home for the race. Well the urination is not that much of a problem for the male runner in India till date, so we can take care of that at the venue. So all is good for now and I am ready by 0400 hrs all rigged up for the run. The bus for the Navy contingent is scheduled to leave by 0430 but somebody mentioned that you must reach the bus stand by 0415. So I left home at 0410 and walked down to the bus stand about 800 m from my house. A gang of 20-30 navy guys ready for the run were standing at the bus stop waiting for the bus to arrive.
We reached the venue at about 0530 hrs and there was this huge crowd standing in line. I was in Enclosure C which was almost at the start point, a privilege given to runners who have completed previous races in less than 2 hrs. It took me quite a while to reach the enclosure and thankfully I could do my warming up dynamic stretches for about 05-07 minutes there in the cramped up enclosure. I met some of my group runners, but all my close friends from the group were doing the FM so I really missed them there.
Well the race started off well, and I trotted off at an easy pace. I could see the 1hr 45 flag of the pacer ahead of me, so I felt good that in my easy pace I was near that guy. Soon , as the sea link was crossed, I could no longer sight the guy, so I knew that I was slow, but I decided that I shall increase my pace , only after crossing the half mark or rather during the uphill climb after Cadbury junction/ Peddar road. I love uphill running and I am quite comfortable, and I enjoy making my rhythm ( i count 1-8 in my mind and shorten my steps and run easy but fast) there. So while running on sea link and then after crossing Worli sea face, I started my experiment when I felt my calf muscles tightening up( lack of practice was showing up..). I focussed on every step, my body posture and harmonized myself looking for that optimal experience. After a moment I realised I was running smoother and faster. Then again the pain started showing up, I again switched myself to the "flow" and felt better. This kept happening and everytime, I felt that my body was going to break down, I harmonized and the flow worked beautifully. At Peddar road, I was overtaking people easily, but suddenly near the last climb, i felt pain in my stomach and felt like stopping. I slowed down, harmonized and continued to run and again the flow worked. I knew that my body was weak from the illness and lack of practice but the flow was working beautifully, and I continued like this and near "Pizza by the Bay", I got a pleasant surprise, my wife and kids were there cheering me, I looked at them , and waved and smiled and dashed to the finish line, I knew that this was not going to be my PB but I managed to cross the finish line at about 1hr 52 min and some seconds, I don't remember, it may have been 1hr 53 too . How does it matter? I had succeeded to have an optimal experience and that was a great feeling. So with another HM down the belt, it will have to be a break for some time as I am undergoing a transition in my career and will restart running races once I settle down. One thing for sure, it will be very soon as running is for life and I cannot live without running.
Adios and see you soon.
