18K run on 07 Sep 13. I got up at 0420 am and sat down for my studies. I am preparing for my PMP certifcation exam on 24 Sep 13. I studied till abouyt 0515 A.m. and then started my preparations for the morning run. The morning routine starts with a fresh lime and hot water combination followed by a banana or two which sets the bowels in motion. Then I prepare my gatorade bottle for the run. I normally run with a bottle in my hand to hydrate myself in the return leg.
  I left for NCPA at around 0545 am and reahced there at 0555 am. Not many runners had arrived,. I just saw Rishi and  Rajesh Shah. Today happened to be our coach's birthday too. So a party is planned in the night at radio club. However, it is also my pop's birthday, so I may not be attending the party. Vidhi also arrived then and at around 0612 we started our run - target was 15-18 km to be finalized as we run. Generally when this is said, it means the larger distance only. I had mentally prepared for 15 K only. The group I ran with today consisted of Vidhi, Rishi, Kiran, Chetan and Sagar, led by the great Abbas Sheik. Abbas runs 7 days a week, has a FM timing somewhere around 3hrs and 20 minutes or maybe better than that. He has a great stride to emulate. Rishi is a strong built guy with bulky muscles and is an extremely strong runner. Kiran , I guess is older than all of us, but the best and fastest, because all were saying that he is running slow for us to keep pace with him. He has an amazing spring in his stride and runs very smoothly.  I normally go with a slower group, but today I decided to take up this challenge of trying and matching with these elite runners. So the run started and  though Vidhi was complaining of sleepiness and late night, her strides and pace did not show that at all. I started feeling in the first Km itself that maybe it was a bad idea to have started with this group and I am going to be left behind very soon. The mind started playing tricks. Somehow, I decided to overcome this mindset and hang on by staying close to the forerunners viz. Rishi and Vidhi. So I  mentally tried to copy the running strides of Abbas and tried to control my pace to get into a rhythm that i could sustain. It was really tough as I was not used to starting fast. Normally, the first 4-5 km for me is very slow and then i get my rhythm. Here I was stepping out in the 2-3Km mark itself just to keep in pace with this group.
Running in a group is a different experience. Your mind can be controlled easily as you are not thinking much and jsut following a leader, i.e if you are running with a group faster than your normal pace. So i played this game with my mind and built my rhythm to match up to the pace of the group and voila, I was comfortable at the 6Km mark. Just before the 6Km mark there is a small upclimb stretch, where I really felt that I was cracking, but as soon as that got over, I was charged up and able to smoothly move ahead. Then came the downslope near mahalakshmi, a favourite of mine to loosen up and I suddenly found myself campering loosely and very fast much ahead of the others. I continued the lead till the Haji Ali juice shop and went ahead till the 7.5 K mark and stopped to turn around. ( mentally prepared for 15K) when the group signalled to me to go ahead, so I slowed down and waited for the group who then told me that we would go upto "mela" which is the 9K point, so I again started out with them. Here I felt that i was exerting myself more and could cause an injury or would not be able to keep up with the group in the return leg. Again the devil of a mind was playing games. I told myself "Just hang on" and keep moving step by step till you reach at least Marine drive.  So I continued with the group, Chetan is also an ace runner(1st  FM: 3hrs 45 min) and he was being chided by Rishi to keep up. Now it was a real issue, I couldnt be left behind at any cost, it would be shameful if I couldnt use my will power to manage to stick on, so I gritted my teeth and continued with a  half confidence level. As we turned into the Peddar road climb, Rishi was cruising along easily and moving ahead, fortunately I had Vidhi alongside who was panting a bit, and that gave me some confidence that i could keep up. Abbas slowed down for Vidhi and matched steps with her and then both of them started going ahead. I was again getting left behind, and so I focused on my mind and maintined my rhythm with Vidhi and managed to hang on. Then there was a small pit stop for water which Abbas got and then as we started running, I found Vidhi and Abbas speeding to catch up with Rishi. Sagar was also alongside all this while and I also decided to follow them. I was panting badly by now but I didnt want to give up now. I was successful in catching up with them and managed to be with the group till we reached Marine Drive. This stretch is my bug-bear and I always find it tough to maintain my pace in this last stretch. But I  made up a resolve not to leave this group and I continued keeping close to the group. All of a sudden Rishi looked at the watch and said something about going home early and he just took off as if he was running very slowly. Amazing guy!. I continued with my pace and all of a sudden as we crossed the flyover on marine drive( about 3km left to reach NCPA), I found my pace increasing and i easily overtook the group and went ahead. I was panting a bit but was comfortable, this was a pleasant surprise to me. I managed to even sprint up the last 500 m. I finished the 18k at about 0745 AM. Sagar just finished seconds behind me. Vidhi and Abbas went for a longer stretch of 18.5-19.0 Km, i think so, as they came in much later. Phew! I made it! It was a great feeling to have kept up with the group and doing an 18K in 1hr 32min approx. My PB for an 18Km run. But I must mention that it would not have been possible if not for this elite runners group which motivated me to increase my pace and keep up with them, So thanks to Kiran, Rishi, Vidhi, Abbas , Sagar and Chetan. Great Running with all of you.

My second half marathon-2009

After the first half marathon , which i barely managed to finish in 2 hrs 40 min, I had made up my mind to prepare and run next time properly.  I must say that every time we used to run  a cross country in our cadets time( cross-country was about 14 kms) , I remeber, we used to be dead tired at the end of the run and used to sleep all afternoon. I wanted to complete my run and still remain fresh and fit without any body aches and so on. In Delhi, staying at Moti bagh was an advantage as "Nehru park" was just 1.5 kms away and therefore, I used to run daily in the mornings from 0530 to 0615. On weekends , I practised running longer distances by taking more rounds of Nehru park. I had once taken my elder son, 7 yrs old, on his bicycle, and he cycled alongside me for three complete rounds of Nehru park on the road. The perimeter around Nehru park will be approximately 3 km as the track inside Nehru park is 2.8 km.
         Just one month left for the half marathon, I noticed a group of people practising daily in Nehru park. One of my course mates was also a part of the group. So I just joined the group and realised that the group was a part of the Reebok initiative for preparing people for the ADHM 2009. Ms Sheeba Mehra was the coach and I  started attending the sessions. These sessions were about performing stretching, warming up, cooling down, diet planing, carbo-loading etc.  Phew! I never knew things could be so scientific, after all, I have been running all these years. But it was good because I suddenly felt the change, I never had any aches after proper stretching exercises.
      D-Day... Pandemonium in Nehru park, huge crowd... searching for the loo to dump one last time before the run... My wife dropped me near the venue and then it started...  I was jostled madly by the crowd and it was 6 minuted by the time we reached the "Start" point. I started well and picked up pace. I was running with my course mate and we both kept pace with each other. At times, we realised that we were trying to go faster than we could and we used to slow down... At the return leg of India Gate, the sun was bearing down on us and we were mighty exhausted. I reached mid point in 52 minutes. Was very happy and thought that I would reach under 2 hrs. Then after that, when we reached the Safdarjung flyover, my friend wanted to take a leak, and went to the toilet booth. I continued to run and was feeling very tired and hungry too. Picked up bottles of water with lime and biscuits on the way. The last stretch near NCS Chankyapuri was extremely psyching as it was an uphill road and a long run before that with a U turn was most psyching. Speed had reduced a lot by now. Somehow, I mustered all my courage and gave a sprint in the last leg and reached finishing point. My timing was  "2hrs 06 min" . Phew... FInished much better than last time and ran continuously.  I searched for our reebok coach and went for a good stretching exercise.  I felt fresh after that and actually went for a party to a friend's house after this. so far so good!

My first half marathon

Place New Delhi
Event: ADHM 2008
I have been running since the age of 18-19 , that when I joined the Naval academy as a cadet. But somewhere, I was not the "athlete" kind and I was more an academics variety than an outdoor kinds. Nevertheless, we had to run 9-15 Kms every Sunday - we call it the cross-country race and it was a mad competition. I always managed to come somewhere in the last barely managing to complete the race.
So in 2008, I am posted at Delhi and thirty six years of age, and have managed to continue going for runs somewhat consistently say three - four times a week, but restricted to five kms and at the max 10 kms. Therefore, 21 kms will definitely be a first time. But I say to myself, as a cadet , I have done 15 comfortably... so another 6 will not be difficult... after all it is only a mind game.
So i prepared myself for running ... but just one month before the d-day, i observe a kind of black thorn in my leg ( sole of the feet just below the toes... exactly the place which impacts the ground .. and it is painful. I try to extract the thorn... and then I realise it is not a thorn but a corn.. basically my shoes were old and the continuous chafing has caused this problem. So i visit a doctor and she tells me to stop running and gives me a treatment of some lotion and corncaps and scrubbing everyday. The corn becomes worse and bigger and more painful. So I give up the idea of the half marathon. But I have already registered and collect my goodie bag and BIB . It was 300/= in 2008 for entry in ADHM. And we got a magnificent deal in the GOodie bag. Ther wer items in it worth at least 2000/= ... Things like face creams, shampoos, deodorant, chocolates... the bag was full.
On the marathon day, I woke up and since my house was close to Nehru park.. the starting point.. I could hear the noise of the crowd... that was the moment... I decided to go for it.. So i put on my socks and shoes and tried to run.. ouch... it was paining.. but then I said, I will get over the pain and get used to it once I start running.. So i left home with butterflies in my stomach not knowing what was going to happen.
At the site, there was pandemonium.... huge crowd, a lot of known faces and then the race started... I started off very well and very soon we were running on the roads towards the safdarjung airport and i was comfortable very soon.. I mean i got used to the pain in my foot. I slowed down my pace as i was not able to keep up with the guy who was running with me... I reached India gate and was psyched to see people in hordes already on their return leg. The distance seemed too long... I was feeling tired... and leg had started aching badly.. distance was about 13 km completed. So I did the most stupid thing ... I thought Ill stop anmd walk for some time.. and that was the point I got my thigh cramps... and calf muscle cramps... and toe cramps.. I was screwed... At this point I was overtaken by 100's of people... people in twenties... they are very young, so it was acceptable. But when I had an old man ( about late fifties or early sixties ) overtake me, I couldnt take it.. I strarted jogging again...but I could not keep up to his pace.. i spoke to him.. he says he normally does it in 2 hrs 10 min.. I was shocked... The horror of horrors i saw a verrrry old man running.. he was 83 years old... then i saw a man with an artificial leg running.. I have never in my life been more ashamed and humiliated than what happened here. I am a defence offcier who has undergone cadets training and today I am struggling to complete a mere 21 kms. What physical fitness are we talking about? So i managed to somehow limp and run and barely managed to reach the finishing point in 2hrs and 40 minutes. But I was elated and happy that i completed my first half marathon successfully... But I also understood that there is a long journey ahead of me and I needed to improve on my running tremendously...