My first Half Marathon Saga: Dard Se Rishta, Part I

My good buddy Naveen tells me that he has signed up for a 200mile run. This is sometime in Feb. I am not sure if he is serious, I realized I was wrong when he would get up early morning when we were in Barbados & still go out for a morning run, when most of us are still recovering from the previous night's revelry. I was really impressed. Fast forward to April & Leena & I are driving to see Naveen finish the last leg of his 200mile relay. By now I am truly motivated to do something similar. I tell Leena that I should try running a Marathon & Leena is full of encouragement. I signed up with Asha, not sure what I have gotten myself into. I send a couple of emails to the Asha coaches/mentors asking them if a 200lb guy who has never run before can really make it. They assure me that they have seen worse & historically everybody who sticks with the program finishes it. Thats how it started.

First day with the running group

I didn't know what to expect. I went to the Baylands Park in Sunnyvale at sharp 6:30pm. There were 20 runners & all of them were very friendly & cheerful. It seemed more like a picnic than a run, which was awesome because it helped me cool my nerves. Our mentor Chakri came by & spoke to me, asked me my running history (none). I thought he was going to tell me to leave, but to my surprise he said that most of the folks in the group are like me & there is nothing to worry. We did a 1/2 mile warm-up run, I was still feeling good. Then we stretched for a bit (very important to do it before & after every run) & then were told to go for a 1mile run around the park. I barely managed the mile & was gasping for breath at the end of it, but for some reason I was really excited. The group was really friendly & we chatted while doing our cool down & went our merry ways. That was my first day..not bad I thought!

MTT (Mile time trial)

Chakri announced that the MTT is on Sunday @ Gunn High school. It sounded like some exam to me, I got nervous. After the announcement I went to him & whispered, "What is MTT"? He calmly told me that it’s a mile time trial & based on the pace they are going to divide us into groups for all our future runs. Phew, it still beats giving an exam..I thought :) Sunday arrived & I did the MTT in 8mins & 54secs. I am officially a beginner & my long run pace should be around 12mins, this is what I was told. I didn't ask too many questions..12mins that’s 5hrs & some for a full marathon..feck, that’s almost 1/3rd ways to Bangalore from Mysore. With these thoughts I left the track & went back home.

Practice runs

We have 2 weekday runs, Mondays & Thursdays. My group runs at Baylands around 6:30pm(IST), I have made a good few friends - Durgi Satish & Murali, to name a few. We run 2-3 miles on weekdays & then do some core strengthening. The whole exercise lasts about an hour & half. Oh..before I forget, this is a very time consuming hobby/passion..so, better have all the support from your partner before you sign up.

Tuesday Tracks

From the first week of June we have started track workouts in Gunn High School, Palo Alto. The main purpose is to improve our stamina & get into a crisp/clean rhythm while running. The first couple of weeks were tough because we were basically hurdling down the tracks like headless chickens not knowing the main aim of the workout & being dog tired by the end of it. From the third week I joined Rajiv Char's group as I could not handle the speed of the other group I was in. He is an awesome coach, he made it clear that the tracks are not aimed at making us run fast, which is exactly what I wanted to hear! He always says "its not about how fast you run, but how fast you recover from a long run" which tells you how good an athlete you are.

Weekend Long Runs

Every Saturday we have long runs starting exactly at 7am. The organizers choose the trails & send out an email in the middle of the week. We started of running a couple of miles & before the half marathon we did a couple of 10milers. Its a great feeling to get up on early on Saturday & go for a run. I didn't think I would ever say that..I truly enjoy the long runs. Feels like a perfect way to start a weekend. At first the long runs sounded boring because we would drive a good few miles to run a couple of miles & then drive back, but now we are at a point where we drive 15-20mins for a good hours run.

SF Half Marathon (July 29th 2007)

With all the training for the last 12 weeks, it was time for a reality check. I was running the SF half as a training run. The week before the marathon, the emails started pouring in from all the coaches & mentors. The emails were about the dos & don'ts during the week leading to our first long run. How we should hydrate ourselves(64oz everyday), add a banana(potassium) into your diet, no alcohol, eat carbs, don't take the stirs, no heavy lifting..etc.etc. Frankly, I was a bit overwhelmed. As the D day got closer it got a little nerve racking. I kept telling myself it was just a "training run", but then I would read one of the emails from the Asha members & get excited/anxious at the same time.

The day before the race Durgi, Satish & I drove down to SF to get our Bibs, t-shirt & to get some free stuff at the expo. We started bright & early around 9am, reached the expo around 10. Picked up our bibs & t-shirt & headed straight for the goodies. To our disappointment other than a few samples of some anti-oxidant drink & cliff bars there was nothing worth our while. So, we decided to head out. The Asha members had organized a carbo-load event that afternoon, I decided to skip it. Durgi attended it to get last minute tips. I got back home & went out for lunch with my darling wife. We had some crappy Mexican food. I didn't want to sleep in the afternoon, for fear of not getting a good night's sleep. So, we watched some TV, I got my running gear ready & laid it out on the couch. The day went by really slowly. We had sinner around 9am..Leena wasn't very happy that I had missed the carbo-load, so she made me eat some home made pasta (desi style)..it was good. We watched some more TV & I finally decided to hit the bed at 10pm. Like I had said earlier, I was already a bit nervous & I for one cannot sleep when I get worked up. So, there I am tossing & turning in bed & waking Leena up with all the noise. She was trying to calm me down, but it wasn't helping. I would close my eyes & my thoughts started to wander & I think I must have tried to solve a lot of the world problemsthat night, because my mind was going crazy with varied thoughts. I looked at the watch, it was already 1am..I hadn't slept a wink! I got up from bed & yelled out "FECK!!"..this of course woke Leena up too.(she was like, what? sex??now??..don't you want to be taking rest?) ...OK, that didn’t happen..it was my fantasy! I had read somewhere that Yannick Noah once had sex in the locker room before going to play the best finals of his life, maybe it’ll work for me too! Sadly, that wasn’t meant to be. So, I got out of bed & went & slept in the living room..that way at least Leena would get a good nights sleep. I kept looking at the watch..finally it was 2:30am. I couldn't wait to get out of bed. I had a warm shower, wore my running gear & was ready to leave. I kissed my wife goodbye & drove to Durgi's place to carpool to the Sunnyvale caltrain station. Satish came by in a few minutes & we were headed to the bus which was picking us up from the caltrain station. All the while I kept complaining that I didn't get a good nights sleep & the last time this happened I had a bad long run. So, it wasn't going too well. We got to the caltrain around 3:25am. The bus was already waiting for the runners. As we were boarding the bus, I met Santosh one more of our baylands running buddy..& I told him the whole story about how I haven't slept & it doesn't seem right. He looked at me & said "C'mon don't be a sissy..how many times will you do this? Go give it your all & it'll be fun" I thought to myself..that dude is right, no point being negative & after that I really started feeling better..the birds started singing, roses started blooming(all in my crazy little head), but I had a smile which I just couldn't wipe off.

The bus ride was fun..it felt more like a high school trip. Raman & Vidya were serving us breakfast bars, bananas. Coach Raman was giving us last minute advise..in all it was awesome! Everybody was happy & cheerful..for some it was their last run, for others like me it would be a reality check. All of us were excited. Murali & I talked the whole way about how crazy this is..a few months back we couldn't do a mile before gasping for breath & now we were trying a half marathon! We reached SF around 4:45am. We still had an hour ir so before the start of our wave(5). The whole Asha team was there, some covered in trash liners, some in jackets to keep from freezing to death! It was freakin' cold! Some of them had their cameras with them & were clicking away.

At 5:30am, I went for a warm up run around the block. Came back & did some stretches. In the mean time I had lost sight of all my Asha buddies..now, I started panicking a bit. I started walking towards the wave 5 & in the chaos I spotted Coach Rajiv's fluorescent yellow jacket(did that come with sun glasses??). I was happy again..I went & joined the group. We were shooting shit for some time till we heard the PA system call out for our wave to start in exactly 5mins! Its amazing how we all got our game faces on & started walking towards the start line. The next thing I remember is I am running. Wow..I am running my first marathon..I am so cool! I buddy up with Vijay & Karthik. We are doing a 12min mile & are cruising. I am feeling really good about myself till I see this guy walks past me..he literally overtook me walking! I was shocked & wanted to race him..but better sense prevailed. I saw this guy with a prosthetic leg whiz past me..I knew then that what I was doing was nothing great! I was in awe of all the runners, some fast some slow..some young some really old..but they were all smiling & cheerful.

Now, I have been running for an hour & I can see the Golden Gate bridge. I am still feeling good. Time for the GU, I tell myself as per the coaches orders. I empty half a pack of GU & some water & start again. By now, Vijay & Karthik are 50mts ahead of me. I catch up to them. We walk a few hundred meters because the road is steep! We reach the parking lot just before the GG bridge. Just the sight of the bridge gets us all excited..with renewed energy we start running. Vijay & karthik are more excited than I am I guess, because they bolt through the crowd leaving me in their dust :) I decide not to chase them down, & instead decided to maintain the same pace. I have been running in the bridge for a good 20min when I look up & realize that the freakin' bridge is dome shaped & its like running up a hill. All my love for the GG bridge fades away & I am cussing at it like it had given me a low blow! I manage to run to the end of the bridge. Have another half a GU & some water & turn around By now, all the sweet smell of roses & singing birds are gone..I only brave a smile when I see the official photographer or a fellow Asha-ite! I didn't want to waste any extra energy by smiling at strangers!! Its been 2 hours & I have reached the 10 mile marker. The GG bridge is behind us & we have entered the Golden gate park. 3 more miles & I'll be done..I know Leena, Anjali, Amit, Chetan & Appu are going to be in the crowd. All I can think of is having a cold beer once this is all done! But alas, the last 3 miles are pure torture. It just doesn't seem to end. I manage to get to the 12 mile marker, now I am pretty sure my cheering squad is going to be somewhere between the 12 & finish line, so I decide to suck it up & run till I at least see them. Because I didn't want to look like a sissy walking past them..so, I walk a few steps & every time I see a big crowd start running again. Did this for the next 15mins & was really close to the finish line. I still didn't see them, now I am pissed, I am thinking they got stuck in traffic & all my efforts to please them went in vain. Just when I was about to stop I hear "DUMMA"...I look around & I spot the gang! Its amazing how it peps you up, I run slowly past them waving at them & I hear Chetan shouting for me to dash for the finish! I do it like a obedient dog..because by now my brain isn't working. Later I realized that the jerk wanted to see me finish & get the hell out of there because he had a brunch appointment! I finish the race, get the medal..give Leena & the gang a hug, then yell at them for being so close to the finish line, because of which I had to run the whole last mile!! Bastards..I thought..

Chet & Appu(who finished the same half in less than 2 hrs - for him it was like a walk in the park) left. We decided to go to Ella's for brunch. I downed 2 Bloody Maries...thats all I remember... Alls well that ends well!!