MY First Marathon

Mawana Sugars Indian Open Marathon March 2011

Finish time : 3hrs 58 minutes

The preparation

In November last year , i had participated in airtel Delhi half marathon so i was in a good shape .
After the ADHM , i did not want to loose my form so i extended my weekly runs from minimum 10 Kms to 12 Kms at a go and since it was winters , it wasn't a problem .
Still it wasn't until January (thats when the dates of the mawana marathon were declared) that i actually decided to run for a marathon . Now here came the problem . I had read many articles on marathon preparation and almost all advised a 3 month schedule for a runner . So i prepared myself a crash course . The idea was simple , training the legs for longer runs so that they can withstand a marathon . So in the last 30 or so days leading up to the marathon , i would do 2-3 runs of 12 Kms and a Long run of 20 plus Kilometers on the weekend ( most of the 20 plus runs were in the morning on empty stomach) in a week . The longest run i think would have been of 25 kms.


The Race Day

Now i am no fool and i knew that to complete a marathon , my stamina should have been of running atleast 30 kms at a go . So without saying i was quite skeptical about finishing the marathon . But since in the last thirty or so days , i had already done 5 half-marathon plus runs . I was determined enough to block my skeptical view.
At the race starting point on India gate , i also ran into a running and living group , nice bunch of people.
Now shedding light on the actual run . The first lap was the easiest , no problems . I was going at above 12kmph . The race route was filled up with runners , half marathoners and full .
During the second lap , i felt that i was getting some tiredness so i dropped my speed a little though still going at 11 to 12 kph . By the second lap the route wasn't that dense , people were spread out across the 10 Km route .Also it was getting a bit hot . Now completing the second lap ( thus completing a half marathon ) , i was feeling tired . But in my mind i knew that i could complete the third lap since i had done 25 kms just a week ago. So i carried on though i decreased my speed and now i was running between 10 to 11 kmph . But into the 25th kilometer , i felt really drained of energy . I could see people running with their shoes off , some less caring individuals were down to their undies . But i wasn't in the mood to stretch my muscles for a grin .    Lucky for me i was at CP inner circle , so i stopped , bought a Slice (mango drink) from a shop , cooled down and continued . The Slice gave me enough energy to get me to complete the 3rd lap ( but i lost 5 to 10 minutes) .
Now the toughest challenge . The 4th lap . I always have believed that the legs do help but in the end its the mind that keeps you going . The legs had no energy . My feet were burning with the frictional heat that had accumulated during the last 3 laps . It was almost unbearable . But looking at the clock , i realized that i really had a shot at completing it in 4 hrs and knowing this the idea of giving up vanished. But even walking seemed difficult , let alone running . So a new strategy for the last lap had to be devised . The strategy was simple . The water booths were spaced 2.5 Kms apart . So now the strategy was to run booth to booth or crawl booth to booth. So i would stop at every booth , pour a bottle of water over myself , gulp another down my throat , walk some 50-100 meters and then slowly run towards the next booth . While going for the next booth i constantly reminded myself that its just 2.5 Kms , no biggy ..
Finally i could see India gate in sight where the finish line was . Mustered enough will to sprint towards the finish line . For a moment the sprint seemed like a bad choice as i felt like cramping for a split second but nothing bad happened and i crossed the finish line amongst the cheering crowd .
I couldn't believe it . Not only did i complete it but i did it in 4hrs. Words could not do justice to the feeling i felt at that moment. I must also mention the many runners at the marathon who cheered me and shared their supplies with me  during my run . Needless to say ill cherish this experience forever , not just because it was my first marathon , but also because of the struggle .