Preparing for the Ultra
Had been running hard this whole year , Doing a Marathon run every alternate week since April (Thanks to my partner in crime Param for that ) . The excitement of doing something that seemed impossible or very very tough excited me and i just love the pain you get after draining yourself out thus registered for the 100k category . I knew that doing even a 75 K is very tough but at the back of my mind , i knew i could manage it .
Faced my first setback in training for the 100k in September after completing Hyderabad Marathon , caught a very bad viral just after the marathon , weight dropped to 57 since i could not eat much.Felt dizzy even while standing and was not able to run for 3 weeks . Getting back to form was a challenge and i chose to run Sunita Godhra's golden jubilee Half marathon at Nehru Park for that . Did it somehow in 1hr 54 minutes , felt dead which was great since i needed to feel this way again so that i could start pushing hard again .
From September last weak to October , started following a simple schedule of 20K,30K,50K per week . The strategy for the weekday runs of 20k and 30k was to run them at a pace of 5:10 to 5:45 and for the long weekend run , i dropped pace to 6:10 to 6:40 .
Pushing myself harder , did a 63k run on 16th October in 6:22:12 , followed by 20k on 18th , 30k(2:52:10) on 20th and 48k(5:17) on 22nd(Bhatti Lakes Ultra ) .The body felt good so followed the bhatti ultra with a 20k(1:45) on 25th October , felt overconfident and ran a 31k (2:46) on 27th , running the last km at a 4:20 pace .
Then planned a 50k run for Sunday the 30th of October .However i had not realized that my body wasn't that strong , partially tore my right quadriceps muscle 22Km into the planned 50k run . Somehow managed to get back to Nehru park and was left limping . However the real horror of this , i dint realize until 2 days later , when i tried to run and was left with crippling pain after 3kms . That's when i got really scared and went to see Doc Rajat Chauhan who himself has run over 100 marathons , who confirmed the muscle tear and told me that " you have a very good excuse not to run the ultra " . Even the lady assisting him told me that its a very good chance that the pain will hit me at the race day.
The next 2 weeks leading up to the ultra , i searched the shit out of Google for quadriceps tear . I was limping and would feel sudden twinges in the right quadriceps even while walking . Mentally i was exhausted , i didn't feel like going to Bangalore anymore , i was almost broken . But i had to go having put in so much effort already , even if it meant only doing 12.5Km .
The Actual Race
Had a fever the night before the ultra , probably because of some inflammation (Did not take anti inflammatory as on internet it said , it slows healing process.So only resorted to icing ) . Everybody was discussing the course and the strategy to run it or their last year's experiences . I was still hung on my right right leg , constantly feeling the muscle for any pain .
When at the start people came up and wished me luck for the race , All i could think of was , that it won't do me any good . In the last 2 weeks , i had lost hope slowly and at the starting line did not feel any adrenalin pumping through my blood .
Finally the race began and i started walking , remaining the last ultra marathon participant on the loop till the first 3kms . Then i slowly started running , trying to keep all the pressure on my left leg . All i wanted at that time was to somehow manage to run till 25kms and then somehow walk till 50km , thus attaining a respectable distance . So for the first 2 loops though i ran , but not one minute passed when i wasn't still concentrating on my right leg for detection of pain . Twinges , i did feel , felt scared , slowed down and put more pressure on the left leg . There was no rhythm in my running , i was somehow managing to go forward . When people cheered me on , i did not give them a very warm thanks , instead just tried to make up a smile and nod (Really sorry for that) . I was totally tense and was struggling with the changed running style .
In the third loop however the twinges in between in my right legs muscle became less noticeable or maybe i just got too tired noticing them . So i ran more confidently though still trying to avoid putting my right leg with full force . But now i had become more comfortable with the forced adapted running style and completed the 3rd loop . In the fourth loop however , i could feel my left upper front thigh muscle getting stiff , it was getting hard lifting the left leg , but still carried on swinging my upper body sideways hard to gain momentum . Even the injury that i had suffered during the Bhatti lakes ultra through hitting a stone on my right ankle, cropped up again . And could now feel my right quadriceps paining .
Was really glad to walk jog 5th loop with shashank , it really helped taking my mind of the pain that was getting higher every step in my left thigh due to the pressure i was putting it in to compensate for my right quadriceps injury . Going in the 6th loop was a pain , problem being the left thigh which i really over strained . It was like trying to do a leg raise with 100kgs of weight . Other pains getting diminished in contrast . Somehow managed to complete the 6th loop , running the last 2kms and restraining from sprinting at the end , which i could have done but was scared to completely tear my quad muscle which was paining now too . So i finished the 75Kms in 11hrs . In all this the attention din't even go to the blistered left feet and the cramped up back which i was swinging throughout to compensate for my changed running style .
So at the end i was left dissapointed but at the same time grateful that i managed at least 75k . I was not happy , did not feel a sense of accomplishment . Even when all the awesome and ever so welcoming people from running and living group cheered and welcomed me at the finish with enthusiasm and joy . I somehow could not feel anything .
The route was tough , the sun was high , My t shirt and shorts got all white with salt . but compared to all above
attention did not go there much . In the end over training might have done me in , but it was the one which helped me go this distance .
Could i have gone for another loop ?
well yes . But then i would have required a stretcher to carry me .
Had this injury not happened , would i have been able to complete the 100 k ?
It still would have been tough , but i should have been able to made it .
Did i over-train ?
well it was more of in-experience . I wasn't able to make out the difference between the pain i felt between a stressed out muscle and a muscle that if i continued stressing would tear . All in the learning curve , i guess .
Having said that , I have come a long way from Running my first Half Marathon , November Last year to a 75K Ultra , November 2011 . According to the timing chip , i Did 81.25 Km .
Also Heena , without whose support , I don't think i would have come this far . Your support means a lot to me .
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