Tata Ultra 35 Km Run- 23rd-Feb-2020

Event name: TATA Ultra Marathon 2020

Event date: 23rd-Feb-2020

Event venue: Lonavala, Maharashtra
Run distance: 35 KM
Bib #: 35410
Overall time taken: 4:54:16
Time of run: The run started at 4:30 AM
Timing Certificate: https://www.sportstimingsolutions.in/share.php?event_id=57546&bib=35410 (Attached also)

My run experience:
(to be worded)
I had a dilemma going into this run i.e whether to run 35 km or 50 km ? Going by the way i approached my prior runs, I always defaulted in favor of longer distances. But somehow, this time, given my preparation and the track that was virtually unknown to me, I decided to for 35 km. And given the challenges faced in this run, it turned out to be a wise choice.

Me and Renjith reached the venue a day earlier. There are two routes to reach Lonavala- one via Mumbai and other via Pune. In our itinerary planning, we somehow chose arrival via Mumbai and departure via Pune. It was interesting to learn that Lonavala has't yet allowed Ola/Uber services, which meant that post run we had to figure out and book our own means of transportation to catch the flight from Pune. We left that decision as is and decided to focus on the the unknown first- the run, the route and the answer to this question- "how do we reach the finish line ?"

We reached Lonavala from Mumbai and checked-in to our modest hotel. When traveling for runs, we normally choose the places that are stayable, not too far from the start-line, not expensive and tend to get separate rooms as most runs start very early in the morning, which means that you need independent bathrooms quite early to get ready. bad experience in first mumbai marathon- Navy

Sweeper bus

Dry fruits, rich fruits at the start

Organizers giving headlights

Chikki shop everywhere in Lonavala but aid stations

Journey back from top, finish line...2 hours within the city

Running first time with cut off

Lack of preparation

Helping a stranger. Gave brufin to cramping lady asking crocin to everyone

Elevation- geared vehicles struggling to climb mountains at 1st gear while we were running

One either made it to the top of mountain or failed. Life is rarely so neatly defined. Goals are often ambiguous and elusive. Seldom do people know exactly what is required of them to succeed.

You will cross that finish line as a different person. You will be forever changed by the experience. You will learn more about yourself in the next day than you have previously known in an entire lifetime.

What counts in the battle is what you do when the pain sets in. - John Short

Pain is the body's way of getting rid of the weakness.

Adventure happens the moment you step out your front door. Get outside and get going.

Brought new glasses at INR 120 as I forgot mine at home.

Friendly committed staff at the aid station

Few people coming early and cheering

Almost cried at finish line...that feeling of giving it all....doesn't happen often with me

Stomach upset a weekend before

Could not sleep well on the race eve after knowing that there is a cutoff time at 25 km 3 hours 20 min

Wax museum

Elite runner in bus- Obstacle course run

Beautiful sunrise

Act of kindness: brufin to the fellow runner

Completion Certificate

Bib and medal

Ajmera Thump 10K run- June-2014

Event name: Ajmera Thump 10K run

Event date: June-2014
Event venue: Bangalore
Run distance: 10 KM
Bib #: 103*
Overall time taken: 62 minutes (exact time to be shared by the organizers)
Overall run Speed: ~9.5 KM per minutes
Time of run: The run started at 6:30 AM

Finally restarting my recording of running experiences after a while and just starting from I we left. The next run after the TCS 10K in 2014 that i ran was Ajmera Thump run in June 2014. I remember when i participated in this event, i had already started preparing for my first full marathon and this run was a part of one of the "early in the schedule" long runs. This run coincided with the Week-3 or 4 of the training plan.Overall, i had good memories from this run. This run happened majorly on the Electronic City flyover in Bangalore. In a sense, it was one of my first experiences running majorly on the flyover. When you drive on that flyover, it appears like one straight road without any slopes but upon running i got realized of many up and down elevations this road has. Slightly above the ground, it made for a good sight around the Bangalore. Though timing was never my goal, i think i completed the run in a decent timings.

Tata Consultancy Services World 10K run- 18th-May-2014

Event name: Tata Consultancy Services World 10K run

Event date: 18th-May-2014

Event venue: Bangalore

Run distance: 10 KM

Bib #: 29589

Overall time taken: 72 minutes (exact time to be shared by the organizers)

Overall run Speed: 8.96 KM per minutes

Time of run: The run started at 6:20 AM

This run was a bit emotional experience for me for various reasons. First and foremost was that this was my first run after my mother lost the battle with cancer in November last year. Somehow in the last six months i found myself staying away from running. It took a while to regroup myself bit-by-bit every day. But somehow i found a way to train a bit and get ready for the event. One of the motivations for me was to collect the blessings for the cancer patients.

Another reason why this event was an emotional experience for me was that the run day happened to be my son's 4th birthday. Given that it was a Sunday and the run this time was starting quite early, i just let him sleep at home but did resolve to finish it well for him.

Yet another reason why this event happened to be an emotional one for me was the pride associated with running my 7th consecutive TCS 10K run in last 7 years (since 2008). Earlier events were sponsored by Sunfeast. Though the sponsors changed the energy and vibrancy of this event remains unparalleled.

The days leading to run day were exciting with a few of the colleagues running their first 10K run. Running was a subject of discussion during breaks with topics ranging from whether to have time goals or not to how to manage injuries sparked-up the tea-time conversations. The build-up to run day was fantastic with heavy rains that happened the night before. More than anything, it cooled-off the morning for the runners.

The weather was perfect at the start and the atmosphere became electrifying with the presence of Olympics legend Carl Lewis who was the brand ambassador for the event. At the inauguration he offered a sane advice to all the runners to pace themselves well and not worry about going slow or fast.

The overall run experience was good given than i was feeling good at the beginning with some practice to back-up. I felt some pain below the shin at the start which caused me to slow down a bit but soon i found my rhythm and ran to my satisfaction. The best part about the TCS 10k run has always been the crowd surrounding the tracks and selflessly cheering each and every participant. The weather became a bit hot during the run but it was satisfying for me to hear some runners cheering me for the cause i was running.

Overall, a satisfying experience and apart from loads of memory that i picked-up, i did pick-up some quotes during the run that i liked-

"Pain is temporary. Pride is forever"

"Races end. Running is forever"

Results link: http://www.timingindia.com/beta/my-result-details/Mjk1ODk6dGltaW5nX3IxNDA1X2JlbncxMGtfZWxpdGU=#head

IIMB Community 10Km Run- TvaRun- 2nd-Oct-2013

Event name: IIMB Community Run- TvaRun
Event date: 2nd-Oct-2013
Event venue: Bangalore
Run distance: 10 KM
Bib #: 113
Overall time taken: 68 minutes
Time of run: The run started at 7:00 URL: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IIMB-Community-Run-TvaRun/508322475876259?ref=ts&fref=ts

IIMB runs are always special for me so is this one. Though i am blogging about this run a bit late but i do remember changing the stance in this run, dropped my speed and ran for completing the run. I was happy i did manage to do that as usual.

Tata Consultancy Services World 10K run- 19th-May-2013

Event name: Tata Consultancy Services World 10K run
Event date: 19th-May-2013
Event venue: Bangalore
Run distance: 10 KM
Bib #: 15220
Overall time taken: 66 minutes 59 seconds
Overall run Speed: 8.96 KM per minutes
Time of run: The run started at 7:22 AM

This was my 6th TCS (formerly Sunfeast) 10K run in 6 successive years. I dont know whether the event people keep any records but i did feel very proud to have competed in all the editions so far. I consider this as one of my achievements and see it as my commitment to consistency.
I probably wasn't best prepared for the run but had the quiet confidence that i will be able to finish the run. The basic principles that i followed included-

• Listening to the body at every step.
• Be flexible to change the running strategy based on how the body is responding.
• Maintain some pace but dont over-pressurize self with time goals. (i never have any time goals).
• Increase pace when there is a downward slope.
• Maintain pace (not reduce) when there is a upward slope.

With these in mind, i set out for my 6th run. All the past runs that i did, i was mostly alone but this time i was accompanied by few friends who ran. As expected there were literally 1000s of people in the run. Finding the way out of the stadium is especially tough when you have to walk through the narrow lanes, so the start of the run went in finding feet on the group with so many enthusiastic runners around. The best part about the TCS run is the festivities around. There is loud music, spectators encouraging you all through the course. I was steady throughout the run with the lap between 7th and 8th Km taking more than 7 minutes and rest other laps took less than 7 minutes. Some practice before the run always helps to maintain consistent speed.

Since many people from my current organization participated in the run, i wrote an article in the company newsletter. Listed below-

Oprah Winfrey once said, "Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it knowingly or unknowingly what you put into it." These are the words that describe values that we at Citrix have imbibed over the last few years. Running was almost like a sport of an elite few years ago at Citrix, but it has grown big with each year. TCS 10K (formerly Sun Feast) run has almost become a platform that has launched many runners. This year was no different with several Citrix employees taking to the road with their running shoes and steely determination early in the morning on Sunday, May 19th . As a part of this year’s run, Citrix supported Association for the Mentally Challenged (AMC) by contributing an amount of INR 150,000. About 20 employees signed up for this event as a part of their Global Day of Impact initiative.
Of all the runs that happen in Bangalore, the atmosphere and buzz around TCS 10K run is the most electrifying. With literally thousands of people on the road, and music and other festivities going, it is like a carnival. While being part of such a mega event and completing 10K run was grand in itself, the icing on the cake for all of us at Citrix was Rakesh Singh, GM, winning the CEO dash (400 m run), beating about a dozen CXOs running for the coveted top of the podium finish. It was really a proud moment for all of us at Citrix. Congratulations Rakesh!

Timing data:

Courtesy: http://www.timingindia.com/results_page.php?category=139

 

Results link:

http://www.timingindia.com/beta/my-result-details/MTUyMjA6dGltaW5nX3IxMzA1X2JlbncxMGtfbmlrZV9mYWNlX29mZl9fbWVu#head

Contour's Women's day run- 3rd-Mar-2013

Event name: Contour's Women's day run
Event date: 3rd-Mar-2013
Event venue: Bangalore
Run distance: 10 KM
Bib #: 3060
Overall time taken: 64 minutes
Overall run Speed: 6.31 minutes per KM
Time of run: The run started at 6:30 AM
URL:http://www.contoursindia.in/cwdr2013.html

This run was my third Contours Women's day run out of the 4 scheduled so far in last four years. It is always a pleasure to be able to come back and run the same event. The three that i had run were in different venues so that was something good about this run. New terrains do bring in unique challenges. But the terrain this time was not that new to me as i have run in/around Cubbon Park in Bangalore quite often in the various events. The best part about this run now and in the past have been the Start timings, which starts at 6:30 AM for 10Km runs. The weather and sun still not ripe at this time favors the runners to have less outside interferences. I enjoy the earlier start anytime. 

Due to some uncertainties around Parking, i reached at the venue before 5:30 AM only to find out that my fears about not getting parking if i dont reach early were not that real. I was comfortably the second car in the parking lot and was glad to know that there is someone else who thought like me. I spent sometime in the car reading (i do carry books for such occasion so that i could do whatever little justice i can to my other passion of reading) and also found time to doze off for 15 min before heading out to the venue. The Venue was full of energy and there were some good aerobics type warm up planned. I enjoyed soaking in the high energy environment.

For almost every run that i have participated in so far, i was rather unintentionally quite far from the start line. I never thought myself to be closer to the flag and speed off. This was partly because i never ran with the Speed goals in mind and was content standing wherever i got the space to stand. This time was different as i stood close to the flag and could see it go off and with it i too ran with so many other folks around me. The run was overall good considering i was coming off not much practice and i could finish the run in around 64 minutes, which was decent by my standards. Somethings about this run stood out, which i wanted to share-

- During the run, i saw the person pulling a wheelchair with an underprivileged , specially-abled kid. Everytime he passed him i was amazed on what we was doing and even though he was pulling the Wheel chair bound person, he was quite faster than me. I only had good things to say to him everytime he crossed me. Though i felt somewhere in my heart that the person sitting on the Wheelchair too was finding this all good, which i hope he was. But this was one sight i had seen in my runs for the first time.

- Cheering squad as usual was superb. They were doing all that the were supposed to do cheering loudly, making noise and keeping the environment charged up with Positive energy.

- Third thing that i wanted to share was more of a realization about how to improve one's timings in these runs. Though thats never been my prime focus area ever but somehow i felt that since last year due to practice my timings have been improving. Here i learnt that if you want to beat the guy in front, you cannot do that by focusing on the people chasing you. You got to be looking ahead. Thats what positive thinking is all about.

IIMB Community 10Km Run- TvaRun- 17th-Feb-2013

Event name: IIMB Community Run- TvaRun
Event date: 17h-Feb-2013
Event venue: Bangalore
Run distance: 10 KM
Bib #: 145
Overall time taken: 65 minutes (Exact to be shared by event organizers)
Overall run Speed: 6.31 minutes per KM
Time of run: The run started at 7:00 AM
URL: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IIMB-Community-Run-TvaRun/508322475876259?ref=ts&fref=ts

Having participated in many running events throughout India in last 5-6 years, i can really say that one thing about the IIMB Community run that really stood out and that thing is the name of the event. It was called as "TvaRun" which in Hindi means "ACCELERATION". I found this a very beautiful word. The precision used to select the name of the event itself is an indicator of the care that was chosen to organize the entire event.

IIMB has a beautiful campus and i had recently enrolled for a Management program there, i hadnt so far gotten a chance to see the entire campus. Its lush green and inside of the campus looks quite unlike Bangalore of today (which is fast becoming a concrete city losing its greenery). With parking of vehicle being a challenge and me not showing due diligence to collect the Running bib the day earlier meant that i had to reach the venue early in the morning. With the run start time of 7:00 PM, i probably was the first one to reach there by around 5:30 AM. Being an early riser, i didnt complain reaching at the venue earlier but there was just one glitch that i was at a get together at the friends place till about 1:00 AM last night. I tried as much to escape the offer to Saturday night drinks but not all excuses work to escape drinks when you are with your close friends. So i had to hold the glass with Single Malt waiting and pretending to take a sip once in a while (i never drink on race eve). Though my attempt to pretend was caught couple of times but friends being friends understood my take (knowing that i am a serious runner for as long as they know).

I got the comfortable parking and then went around for the walk till the Bib collection and the other stalls were put up. Ii patiently observed things happening around me and finally got my Bib number. But run was still around an hour away so i just roamed around and soaked in the beauty of the incredible campus.

Eventually the much awaited starting announcement was made. I set my Endomondo running app, which is my constant companion for all the runs. The feature i like it is that it tells the Distance, pace after every Km so one can make changes to running and pace on the fly. The announcement could have been louder as folks close to start line could only comprehend what was being said but i knew it was usual route information. One of the things that i could hear and found strange at the first go was the action to collect Rubber bands at the end or every loop (there were 4 loops of 2.5 Km). While the purpose of collecting Rubber bands was understood (its a way to ensure that everyone went through all the loops) but given that audience was either IIM alumni or current students or faculty, i thought people could just be trusted to run fair. But i am sure organizers would have had a better perspective than i have to come up with this rule in first place. Thats what i thought and geared up for the start of the run.

Before this run, the last i ran was on 16th-Dec on Bengaluru Midnight marathon and that completed my own version of hat-trick of half marathons i.e. 3 half marathons in 3 straight months. After that i thought i deserved rest and did run actively for couple of months. So before the start of this run, the thoughts specific low on practice were running in my mind. I actually acknowledged this fact and committed to myself that i wont run for better timing but just for the love of running, which is what i have always done.

So at the swing of the flag, i along with other enthusiasts started off. The start was nice as the route had downward slope and it assisted in the pace and i completed first Km in around 5 min+. After that i continued to go steadily as my pace remained around 6 min 30 sec on an average. I didnt complain given the lack of practice. I was just happy running and with some great weather along. Towards the later half of the run, the sun did come out fully but with the brilliant shade of the trees surrounding the route, it could hardly have a greater impact on me. The aid stations were good and having very active volunteers who passed on water, other stuff quite proactively. Near to the main entrance part of the route were the cheering squad beating drums and cheering the runners. They worked tirelessly to encourage the runners. A big Thanks to them, probably they dont realize enough even a single act of cheer in long runs help recharge the runners and i felt great everytime i passed them. I tried to do my bit to Thank them verbally and clapping in coordination every time i passed them.

Towards the end of the run, especially the last 2 km, i put in more efforts to managed a decent time in the end. In the end, i sped past to the cheers of the people at the finish line. Very few things match the joy of crossing the finish line of a long distance run. I  have always run with 2 goals in my mind- i.e. to complete the run and secondly not being last in doing so :-) So i achieved both of them and completed the run in around 65 min.

Bengaluru Midnight run- 15th(16th)- Dec-2012

Event name: Bengaluru Midnight run

Event date: 16th-Dec-2012 (midnight)

Event venue: Bangalore

Run distance: 21 KM

Bib #: 718

Overall time taken: 163 minutes (Exact to be shared by event organizers)

Overall run Speed: 7.51 minutes per KM

Time of run: The run started at 12:00 AM

URL: http://www.midnightmarathon.in/

Running Experience:

This was quite a different run for me primarily because of it being in midnight and also i could not get a chance to practice enough for this one due to vacations (marriage function in family). I had earlier taken part in the midnight run but that was for a short distance of 7 Km i think and it was a different route then (3-4 years back). I happened to have the Office Annual party the very same day of this run so unfortunately i had to eat light and finish the dinner by around 8:30 PM. I reached the venue at around 10:45 PM in the evening and found a lot of hustle-bustle. I had heard that the venue expected the crowd of around 10000+ people, probably 6000+ runners that day running in various runs. The Half marathon and Full marathon was scheduled to start at 12:00 PM and while i stepped in, the runners were completing 10K runs. One of my close friends was running his first 10K and he finished with a great time of around 65 minutes. I met him briefly at the close of run and then had around 45 minutes to pass before my run began. It was not a difficult thing to as the whole place was glowing and there were participants from various sponsor companies and a lot of individual ones as well.

I reached near the start line 10 minutes before the start time. There were announcements being made from the stage but i couldnt hear an iota because of the poor sound systems. Apparently, all the speakers were kept near the stage making it difficult to hear. They do share the route information etc. at the start which i was keen to hear but thought to just go with the flow in absence of any good sound. The route consisted of 5 loops of 4.2 Km each so to ease out my goal setting, i divided the route logically into 10 segments and mentally checking the box each time i crossed a segment. Since i was low on practice, i didnt go with any time goals in mind. I just wanted to enjoy the route, the moon light with the sole goal of finishing the run. Though i divided the whole run into segments, it was quite difficult to control the mind to to go ahead of itself. It took a bit of effort to maintain the focus, which is important in a long run. I guess i struggled here because of lack of practice from last 2 weeks. Other thing that i found different in the midnight run was that there are less people cheering on the route obviously because its midnight but cheering does help add some steps to the pace as i have observed during the day runs. The close of every loop was the music band playing high energy music and it does have a positive impact when you hear "Gangnam Style" in full volume while running. There were some people playing the drums (local Indian) which added the local flavors.

There were some World athletes competing during the run from Kenya, Ethopia and other countries. They were escorted by a bike so that the whole route remained without any interruptions for them.

All in all it was a satisfying run as i completed around 2:43 AM and was having hunger pangs. Luckily could get something to eat at that hour from the one of the food stalls that was closing down.

Good fun, overall!

Detailed timing data (from the Timing chip results ):

ANUJ MAGAZINE
Bib Number:    708
Rank:    280
Gender:    Male
Gender Rank:    257
Split@1.9Km:    00:12:07
Split@4.2Km:    00:27:22
Split@6.1Km:    00:40:39
Split@8.4Km:    00:56:59
Split@10.9Km:    01:12:08
Split@12.6Km:    01:28:59
Split@14.9Km:    01:45:07
Split@16.8Km:    02:04:19
Split@18.7Km:    02:21:51
Net Time:    02:43:12
Gross Time:    02:43:21

Source: http://www.timingindia.com/results_page.php?category=113&keyword=6145

Bangalore Ultra run- 11th-Nov-2012

 Event name: Bangalore Ultra run

Event date: 11th-Nov-2012

Event venue: Bangalore

Run distance: 25 KM

Bib #: 2678

Overall time taken: 185 minutes (Exact to be shared by event organizers)

Overall run Speed: 7.23 minutes per KM

Time of run: The run started at 6:00 AM

URL: http://http://www.bangaloreultra.com/

Running Experience:

I got up at just before 4:00 AM to go at the venue for the run which was a good 30+ Km from where i stay. I was to report there by 5:00 AM and run was expected to start at 6:00 AM. I did wonder for a moment what will I do there so early but being an early morning person didn’t seem to be too bothered by that as I would anyway be in the company of the runners. I always find the pre-run environment quite inspiring. With all these thoughts I dropped in at the venue and was in for a treat for my eyes. It was still dark when I reached there but I found that felicitation for the runners who ran in 24 hour category was about to begin. Yes, it’s not a typo- I did mention 24-hour run. I had heard about it as a category but wished to see the people who actually do it. It was a treat for me to watch only a handful of people of the stage and one of which happened to be a lady. Took long time to believe that they actually had been running for 24 hours straight and some even completing 150 Km. This was an inspiration for me. As for my goals for this run, it was no different than the other runs i.e. to complete the run and not come last in doing so :-). But having got some shots of inspiration, a new goal starting conspiring in my mind and that was to better the time i did in the last Ultra 25 Km run and may be even try to do it in less than 3 hours.

I met a few colleagues of mine, one of which happened to be the VP and GM of my organization. He is a diabetic and runs regularly. He carries his own snack as usual stock at the aid station is usually have more sugary stuff. The run began and I took good strides forward. The first km was on the road and after that was a trail surrounded by the Japanese Bamboo forest. The trail was quite beautiful and surrounded by the trees so there was enough shade throughout the run. With the peripheral time goal in my mind, I began to push myself harder than what i usually do in the runs and i could see myself huffing at some instances. To me this was a bit if unusual experience as it try to keep things simple and not chase any time goals. This time i was clearly distracted.

However, i pushed on and completed my fastest 5Km in little above 29 minutes and then fastest 10Km in little over 60 min. I maintained the pace till about 16 Km and managing a bit of huffs but then a small incident happened between 16th and 17th Km that shook by body and muscles quite a bit. Being a trail, the ground was a bit uneven and i hit upon a stone half immersed in the ground. That strike made me go off-balance and i could feel the tension in my shin muscles and the back. The fellow runners who were at my pace advised me to walk a bit to recover, which I did. I walked for a minute or so and then started running. But the pain and heaviness in the muscles remained. But I chose to carry on. For my luck or may be lack of technique to run on this trail, I suffered couple of more such (but less impactful than the first) blows through which I could recover by slowing down my pace. I completed Half marathon in around 2 hours 25 minutes and after that slowed down considerably to complete the run. I think the Km from 22 to 24 were the slowest due to these minor incidents and eventually I completed the run in around 3 hours and 5 minutes or so.

I was happy to have completed and also learned some valuable lessons down the line. I had read about the distraction of Peripheral goals i.e. the goals that eventually get tagged along with your most important goals. e.g. when one starts running practice keeping in mind major goal of completing 42 Km irrespective of time taken. This goal remains active but the time goal (which was never in existence) gets tagged along just because fellow runners talk about it or some other reasons. The key learning was to always have a single focus on the major goal keeping the mind free from distractions.

One last thing, I had run in Bangalore Ultra for the first time in last year and with great effort completed the 25 km run. I was awarded a medal then, which i proudly displayed on my desk at office. The medal looked like sliver one (though it was made up of some plastic) and I was surprised to find one day it was no longer on my desk (i suspect somebody stole this thinking its silver :-( but I may be wrong). It was obviously not a good feeling and since that day I longed to complete this run again to regain that medal. And I did it this time. Only difference is that the medal won’t sit on my desk anymore. :-)

Timing data (shared by event organizers):
First split  (6.25 Km): 00:37:22
Second split (12.5 Km): 01:18:12
Third split (18.75 Km): 02:06:51
Fourth split (25 Km): 03:05:36

My Rank was 194/366 in 25 Km Category

Mysore Half marathon- 28th-Oct-2012

Event name: Mysore Marathon 2012

Event date: 28th-Oct-2012

Event venue: Mysore

Run distance: 21 KM

Bib #: 1113

Overall time taken: 140 minutes (Exact to be shared by event organizers)

Overall run Speed: 6.7 minutes per KM

Time of run: The run started at 6:45 AM

URL: http://www.lifeiscalling-sports.com/mysore/

Running experience:

One of the runs for which i had prepared really hard for last 2 months. Last year i did 25 km Bangalore Ultra run but i must admit i didn’t practice well for that run barring a few long walks and occasional run. For this time, i actually started to prepare following an overall marathon training schedule as prescribed in the book- The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer  . The practice of last 2 months helped a lot on this run in which i managed my best timings so far. If i remember, i completed 10 K mark in this run in 63 minutes and overall half marathon by 2 hour 20 minutes or so. Though i have never run with any time goal in mind but this run was quite satisfying. I often jokingly tell my friends- i run only for 2 goals- one is to complete the run and second is to not be last in doing so. So i achieved both this time :-)

Since this run was in Mysore, i along with my family reached Mysore a day earlier. My plan for to start back from Bangalore immediately after the run was over to i hired a driver, the move which will allow me to relax a bit. Spent the Saturday going around in Mysore vising places like Zoo, which my son liked a lot and the Palace in the evening which was looking as beautiful as any monument but it was overly crowded. So didn’t really get down. Other thing was that my run the next morning was expected to start at one of the gates of the Mysore palace called as "Balarama Gate" or "North Gate". Zoo visit was a good warm-up for me as it was a long walk of 3 Km or more. I was a bit cautious on what i was eating the day before and had some good intake of Gatorade and water.

The next day morning, i got up a bit early around 5:00 AM. Had Gatorade, freshened up and had half banana and set out towards the Palace. The atmosphere was electrifying as usual with loud music and lot of people around. There was a unique freshness in the air which one would find only with lot of energetic crowd around. I could spot Reeth Abraham , one of the premier former athletes from India. She was not surrounded by many people but i could not gather courage to go and speak with her at that time.

Eventually the run started. The route was tricky for me because i was running in Mysore for the first time. It involved going through a lot of turns around small roads. I realized that Mysore had lot of roads with elevations, something you don’t realize when you are driving on wheels. But while running you experience each and every slope. I did maintain a steady pace and starting setting small goals for myself. My basic approach, since this was a long run, was to make each and every kilometer important i.e. to say that i had goals to cover each Km and motivated myself to find something unique in each Km e.g. 7 Km mark is important because that will mark the 30% of run being over or if i was on a steep road on 9 km mark, i would say i got to focus on and complete this milestone because i will conquer the steep slope. While completing 15 Km, i said i need to reach 16 Km because then i could say only 5 km are remaining. I found this type of Self-talk helping a lot during the run and achieving each sub-goal gave confidence. I felt quite good on completing 10 Km at 63 minutes (which is my fastest 10K so far). One of the other things that i experienced was the beauty of Mysore. You got to be on the road to experience the same. The run went through the Mysore University campus, around the lake and lot of shade which made running a pleasure even though there were less than usual water stations. The last few Km were particularly tough not because i was tired but because the route was very steep at times, causing me to slow down. Eventually i beat all the demons and reached the finishing line with lot of satisfaction in the mind.

I could still spot Reeth Abraham post the run and now i gathered the courage to reach out to her and ask for a picture. I asked the person standing next to her to take a picture but he messed it up and did not take us at all. In my excitement to see her, i did not even check the picture. She did however ask, how was the run and how much time did i take to complete. Felt great, not only because i spoke to her but also that i gathered courage to approach her. One more interesting thing happened at the start of the run when one of the participants came over to me and said he recognizes me as he had heard me in many of the public talks that i have delivered. Felt good to get that mini-celebrity feeling (atleast for a moment :-))

On to the next run now!

Timing details shared by the Organizers:
Bib Number:    1113
Rank:    142/260
Gender:    Male
Gender Rank:    137
Category :    open
Category Rank:    122
Split@6Km:    00:39:45
Split@7.25Km:    00:46:38
Split@13.65Km:    01:27:33
Split@14.85Km:    01:34:21
Net Time:    02:22:50
Gross Time:    02:23:13icv

Certificate:

Image Source:

http://www.lifeiscalling-sports.com/mysore/

http://www.endomondo.com