6th Gurgaon Running and Living Full Marathon (42.195 kms) - 4 hrs 28 mins........ I have run a few full and ultra marathons before. Let me confess, every time the night before a marathon, I have been shit scared. All kinds of doubts and anxieties. Have never been able to sleep more than 2 hours before a marathon. Yesterday night was no different. More so because I have been seriously out of practice for full marathon-training for a few months now, and have lost my speed and stamina considerably. Also, I was not sure if my knees would last the distance, and the old injuries would not flare up midway. I didnt know if I would last 12 kms or 32. This one, I just wanted to complete. I seriously doubted I would be able to. But every time I have started a race, I have managed to complete. Before a race, i would think, this one is for individual X, or Y, or this thing, or that, and you better complete. This time, I just said.... This one is for old dog MSS. Nothing else matters. Because if you cant love yourself, or respect yourself, then to expect anybody else to do the honours is, well, idiotic. I led the race from beginning till the half-way mark (did 21 kms in 105 mins). And there was a mini-battle :). There was a strapping Haryanavi lad, diminutive, well-toned, trained. By the way he started, I thought he would win the race easily. But then, i thought let me test the lad. I started running beside him using whatever reserves I had. I decided to make sure I am always within a meter of the lad - either just at his side, or just ahead. And then occasionally, I would just speed ahead. I knew this model of running is not sustainable for the full course. But then I thought, let me finish the half-way ahead of him. I never allowed him to overtake. Using my occasional sprints, i tried to show that he cant catch up with me. I was playing a mind game - I was trying to psyche him, get him out of his usual mode of running. He sped, I sped. He swerved, I swerved. I knew he was beginning to try extra hard. Both of us ran together for 18 kms, but did not speak a word. Both of us knew that the other guy is taking it as a duel. Then, as I once again sped for a short sprint, around 18 km mark, using whatever remaining energy I had, I heard him snap. His hamstring had given away. His race ended there. This was exactly similar to how Usain Bolt took out stronger competitors when he was a school kid. The fact that I had been reading his autobiography only yesterday, helped. I have not played mind games too many times in my life. But I realised today that you need not always be the better guy to win. Of course, this battle made sure that I had used all my reserves of energy by the half-way mark. The race was eventually won by a Japanese. There were quite a few of them. None of them had athletic builts. But they were good runners. I have seen these guys practice bloody hard. The whole race is perfectionist. I have great respect for them. The fact that they are some of the best mannered individuals only makes it easier to like them. I managed to finish with my knees and dodgy limbs intact. Maybe the injuries are subsiding? Time to test them out again. Time to start training for fulls and ultras again. Every time I return from a marathon with some medal/trinket of brass, I generally carelessly stash them away. This time, I placed it in the hands of one person who has never ever given up on me despite me behaving as a complete arse and a moron time and again - Mom. It was a good run....... :)
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 06:36:26 +0000
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