running

Over the weekend, I ran the Kaveri Trail Marathon,Ran the Half Marathon this time, 21k , in Srirangapatana, close to Mysore. The track was just wonderful running all along a water body through rich green paddy fields, running in this serene surroundings early in the morning watching farmers toiling their fields and local women washing clothes was quite an experience. There were more than 700 of us out there running and this has now become a yearly feature attracting a lot a long distance runner all over India.

The track is a bit uneven making your run a little more challenging, especially the uneven stones begin to hurt you later on in the race. But what was quite amusing  was loads of people carry all sorts of gadgets while running, for people who couldnt stand their own breath you had the i-pod, there was also a bunch taking calls while running, wonder how busy a person can get ?? and then you had those who carried so many water bottles around their waist belt. Crazy I tell you. Given a chance I would run almost naked (just the bare essentials though) because the lighter the better. Aint it ? plus you had hydration points at regular intervals. Its not like you running on Pluto. There was one great soul who asked me while running, “I think my blood pressure had dropped, What about yours? ”  I wanted to ask him, Surprising you haven’t carried your BP kit huh? People i tell you.

Anyways for me, after having done two 10k runs, A half marathon would be the obvious next transition but with less then 2 weeks of preparation it turned out to be much tougher than I imagined. The first stretch was all fine but the last 4 kms was a real stretch. But thanks to the spirits around, with fellow runners pulling you and your morale up it wonderful how it makes your journey so much easier And in the end it all feels worth it for having finished the race and then diving into water to soak into your personal achievement.

Guess now am an inch closer to run a full marathon and strike it off my “to-do list”. But I’ll look at it only after a lot of preparation because 42 kms I personally feel is quite a distance for an earthly mortal . And hopefully I should have reduced my weight so that my knees are in a much better position to take it. This time I was practically immobile after the race and navigating a bunch of stairs seemed like a huge ordeal.

As of now I’m in great shape for walking , so on Royal Mysore Walks, Keep Walking should be fun, A lot of fun

The Sunfeast Bangalore 10k run was a great way to showcase the spirit of the city.. Was planning on running and better my timing from last time. With little bit of preparation

Having gone to collect the Bib(running number), i must say it was a very well arranged. In fact it took more time for me to get a sandwich than to collect my running kit

Race day.. pumped up and charged we hit the ground running.. just seeing the sheer amount of people gathered in the stadium for participation was a spectacle by itself.. The race started off well.. The initial 2-3 kms there was a lot of crowding.. but by the time we hit the half mark it was more or less just the serious contender.. It was absolutely great the kind of cheering and encouragement we received from the public.. especially the bunch of kids wearing their Muslim caps with their hands out and shouting “doud re..daud re” definitely helped

The second half was more enjoyable.. once in the rhythm.. you feel you can just go on and on.. and finally when i saw the 9kms mark the feeling that you have almost made it crept it.. the last 100mts or so was a sprint.. and then we hit the finish line..

It was a great feeling.. when you get to experience the Runner’s high..words wouldn’t do justice.. you have to experience it for yourself.

Destination next.. kaveri trail half marathon  in Nov, supposedly by the river and people who have done it swear by the route.. and on the bucket list is to do a Full Marathon.. for now its just a bit a walking

Just got to know that I was among the top 1500 runner to finish,  so nike give me a T My only achievement in sports and athletics all my life