Half Marathon: Last Sunday I partiicpated in the
Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon's Half Marathon run on 20th January. This time I significantly improved my timing and cut down about 20 minutes. I wasn't actually working on an improved timing, but with the first timer apprehension behind me, I was much more confident and aware of what happens later, so I ran much better and consistently.
Race day: It was a very beautiful route and I thoroughly enjoyed my run, the scenery and the atmosphere. I used the stopwatch on my phone this time, so here is an account.
04:30:00 - Get up, drink water, tea, some biscuits, get dressed, reach Andheri station, catch a Churchgate slow, and ride with loads of other runners
06:00:00 - Churchgate - visit the loo, and walk to the southern end of Azad Maidan gate no. 4.
06:25:00 - Azad Maidan - deposit backpack, reach holding area, do stretching routine for 15 minutes
06:45:00 - Start! - Just about sunrise time and it is still dark. The elite runners and the ones with the timing chip are let off. We are next.
06:50:00 - Outside V.T. - I reach the start line pretty much exactly at this time.
Next times are minutes gone for every kilometer. Relative to start at 6:50 am.
7:51 - 1 km - Past Flora Fountain - I have only managed to walk at various speeds and elbow myself through till now. I finally start jogging and quickly running
6:10 - 2 kms - Straight through Churchgate and left onto Marine Drive
6:05 - 3 kms - U-turn at Nariman point and the 3kms mark is roughly near Brabourne
6:00 - 4 kms - Past Princess street flyover - beautiful Marine drive and Malabar Hill scenery
5:53 - 5 kms - Outside Charni Road station - a very nice run along the see and a beautiful sun rising
5:45 - 6 kms - Girgaon Chowpatty
6:07 - 7 kms - Just before Peddar Road. Immediately after this I see the leaders returning ;-) - An improvement from Delhi where the leaders crossed me just after my 5km mark
7:08 - 8 kms - Walk and do the Flyover and start running again
5:51 - 9 kms - Utilize the gentle down slope and clock a good km to near Breach Candy
6:00 - 10 kms - Past Haji Ali - beautiful run along the sea - Milind Soman crosses in the other direction :-)
6:13 - 11 kms - Worli, past the science center and under the flyover. The U-turn is outside Mela restaurant. The full marathon route continues along Worli sea face again, to Siddhivinayak, Shivaji Park, Mahim, and Bandra Reclamation before their U-turn. A very beautiful running route along the sea!
6:31 - 12 kms - Start on the way back and reach the mark after the flyover
8:19 - 13 kms - First water break, some walking, looking around into the sea - and see the Marathon leaders whiz past!
6:45 - 14 kms - Back past Haji Ali
6:35 - 15 kms - On top of Peddar Road flyover, another water and walking break
6:25 - 16 kms - Near Girgaon chopatty - eat cereal bar
8:13 - 17 kms - Walking break along Marine drive - slight hamstring and back pain signal is attended to - slightly apprehensive about finishing state - hence a drop in speed - though breathing very well and confident of finishing well
7:23 - 18 kms - Near Princess street flyover
6:28 - 19 kms - About to turn to Churchgate
7:17 - 20 kms - Between Churchgate and Flora Fountain
7:21 - 21.097 kms - V.T. - Finished! - An exhilarating feeling! Missed the irritating Dream run rush!
3 photos hereRecovery: Called and told everyone, bumped into (saw) Milind Soman again, stretched for 15 minutes again, drank and ate the goodies, and headed back to Churchgate. End of a successful stint no doubt. I didn't stretch the next day because I took the early morning train to Pune - this led to an additional day's soreness - else I would have been back on my feet immediately. Knees hurt for a couple of days up and down the stairs, but no worries.
Analysis:Need to drink some water earlier.
Stretching before and after is paramount as I have realised during all the training runs.
The difference between training and not is not your timing, but the ease and enjoyment with which you run and recover :-).
I forgot to carry the Gajak and Til Ladoos to eat during the run; left it all in the fridge; the cereal bars were a last minute substitute.
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
arunshanbhag's tip to carry some high-carb thing has been invaluable in training and the races. Thanks saar :-)
Improving time - start running earlier, now I know how to end the race and what happens next, so probably no need to take it easy at 17 km or so. I am happy where I am right now - enjoying my running; depending on fitness and running the next few months I may try and improve timing with some intermediate speed training; then again I may not :-).
Health in general: The doctor is happy with the resting heart rate too so training and fitness in general is currently satisfactory. As discussed with
Rahul, who still hasn't healed and didn't run this one, I have put on some weight. It happens during regular training; it is known that long running isn't the best way to lose weight - you actually consume and need lots of carbohydrates. The next few months should see lesser running, a consistent 5-10 kms maybe, more cardio, and some weight loss.
As promised, winter in Delhi has been an eat-fest :-).
Tags: bombay, delhi, eating, fitness, half-marathon, health, marathon, mumbai, running
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