I put down my pen and scratched my head. This year’s running goals entailed attempting 21 kilometres within 90 minutes and 10 kilometres within 40 minutes.
This seems like an impossible and daunting task but I thought I would start my running journey this year with Auroville marathon. Hence in the quest for 1 hour 30 minutes half marathon, Auroville saw me attain a running time of 1 hour 38 minutes in the 21 kilometer race. (My previous PB being 1 hour 42 minutes)
I donned my Asics GT 2000 shoes and left my hotel room at Mango Hill at 5:30 a.m. I drove to the start point near Matri mandir where I met Joison, Venkat Sir, Albert, Dr. Vishnumohan and other members from the Trichy Endurance Team.
The start was exactly on time at 6:15 a.m. after a few fireworks and I sprinted ahead along with a few youngsters who were trying to maintain 4:10 to 4:15 pace/km.
As expected, the pace soon dropped to 4:40 and I gave up hope of finishing the half marathon in 90 minutes. I was however seemingly leading the pack and that was enough motivation to keep surging forward.
The two kids behind me kept catching up at aid stations and I decided to put some space between us, focusing on breathing, leaning forward and running with calm. The distance between us soon increased to 300 meters.
The volunteer who cycled ahead and paced me was very helpful, took photos and encouraged me to stop for fueling every once in a while.
The JBL Bluetooth headphones I use only on major events helped me keep my pace up, with rock, pop and trance hits. (I generally don’t recommend music unless you’re pushing really hard at a big event). The tracks from the movie ‘War’ soon had me pumping myself without realizing it.
Whenever I felt tired, I took deep breaths, focused on my posture including orienting my upper body. (Bad posture due to fatigue usually starts with tight upper body muscles) I loosened myself up and swung my arms in sync with my legs.
The aid stations were stocked with oranges, bananas, water, electrolytes and chikki. I started taking fruits after the tenth km and kept fueling with carbs every six km, using water and electrolytes and alternating between them every 2.5km.
Once I crossed the 17th km I became confident of finishing at sub 4:40 pace and i pushed harder. There was a moment of weakness at one aid station but I forced my body out of it though the pace was down to 5 for that km.
It was soon only two km to go and I was pumping harder. The last km saw me go back to 4:20 pace as I gave it everything I could. It was soon just 100 meters and I sprinted to the finish to record 1 hour 38 minutes and odd seconds. The kids behind me finished two minutes after.
Only then did I discover a foreigner had finished ahead of me by ten minutes with a blazing time of 1 hour 28 minutes – nevertheless it was great fun and an experience to cherish.
I took some photos at the finish point with a few of the volunteers and friends among the participants who finished over the next hour.
A short nap at Mango Hill soon followed after breakfast at the tent. Lunch was at the Promenade and things finally fell into place for a few of the Trichy Endurance Team members to meet.
The drive back home was fun, starting at 330pm with Sanju, Shruthi and Sharukh. The CM paid his respects to us en route too 😉 (there was a ten minute wait at Ulundurpet) but we got home by 630pm. Looking forward to more events this year!
Dr. Vinod Nathaniel 