Don't just run. Run to a goal!

Look Ma, I ran a Marathon..!

Did I plan for it? Nah!

Then how? I just thought I'd give it a shot

And why? Now that's interesting. As I checked my own past history around marathons, June '20 was the first time I'd ever completed a Half Marathon. Almost 3 yrs later, here I was in Aug '23 mulling over whether I should finally pull the plug on it and give it a shot. Furthermore, I was still inflicted with one of those habits quitting which becomes fashionable around the New Year.

As it happened, I registered for a marathon the day I quit, scheduled for around 40 days later. More as a joke/ challenge to myself than anything else. So, if I had to pin-point the reason on what exactly led me to do it then it was just this vague idea that I somehow, sub-consciously always wanted to do it, without ever having given it a serious thought.

Heck, the most that I could run at one point of time was not even 3 KMs on a gym treadmill, at one point of time. I was always more into impromptu sprints over silly wagers with Rajdeep Kaushal, Rajat Singh, Anurag Jajoo , Saurav Panda and Prabhat Dutta . But, even that had stopped ever since I'd moved to Jakarta in '19. I'd tried building a habit around running near Rasuna, but somehow it never got built into something big. It won't be too far-fetched to say that the fire of even trying for a marathon had gotten so subdued inside me that it became one of those things in your mind that you just park aside thinking, 'forget it dude..its way beyond your league already'.

That, until Rajdeep came visiting in Oct '22. And I beat him in a sprint, for the first time ever! Not once. Not twice. But THRICE! Over the course of one single run, at different stages of an hour's leisurely run. What madness was this, I wondered to myself? My thighs had never been so strong, as I felt them throb under me. They always gave way to faster runners; and I remember most of them overtaking me as I didn't give up mentally on the race but my legs just couldn't push me to the extent my mind did. What sorcery was this then?

Like a lot of other things in life, the reason for this transition lay elsewhere. By Oct '22, I was already into 3-4 months of weekend Badminton sessions. And the occasional Tennis ones. Although I didn't realise it while I was in the process of under-going that transformation, but all the lunges, arches and controlled runs built immense strength in my knees, thighs and lower back. Another significant change happened around this time - earlier, my muscles would be all sore and my legs would feel almost immobile after a day's play of any sport, get so bad at times that I'd pick my legs up with my hand to remove them from the bed just so that it hurt a little less. But, when I started becoming regular with both the racquet sports, I realised I couldn't keep limping through office on all Mondays and Tuesdays.

That's when I discovered the magic of a hot shower! You see, I'd always loved cold showers and the shock of freshness they brought. And took a little pride in seeing through an entire Delhi winter (circa '18) with nothing but cold showers. But, as age was catching up, I realised I couldn't keep doing the things I loved without changing at least the recovery method. Enter 10 mins of hot shower after 2 hours of game time and voila - no more sore muscles! I'd hit the biggest health jackpot - I could play freely, on any given day, and for as long as I liked so long as I followed it up with a proportional duration of hot shower. I can't even begin to explain the relief this discovery brought. Later on, alternates of cold shower with hot ones and a foam-board were added to the recovery arsenal as well.

Marathaon prep

In a nut-shell, I registered for the marathon on 1st Aug, for the race on 10th Sep. Since I knew I couldn't skip office, and weekend Badminton sessions were the going first love among sports this season, it didn't leave too many gaps in my schedule where I could plug the practice runs.

But, what materialised eventually was more of a top-down approach I shoved on myself instead of an organically scaling up one. I knew I had to rest out the last 7-10 days before the race day. That left barely 4 weekends in August with which I had to make do. And this is what I did over them:

• 7 KMs - 1:00
• 12 KMs - 1:30
• 21.24 KMs - 3:04
• 30.1 KMs - 4:28

Add to the mixture the confusion on shoes (Nike -> Hoka), track (Concrete -> grass -> tar road), hydration and I had my hands full negotiating the myriad of constraints facing my weekly schedule. And a niggling pain in my left knee didn't help matters with the thought of a serious injury beginning to lurk in my mind.

At this stage, another event helped me significantly - I bought 'Born to Run' by Christopher McDougall. Narrated about by Prasun Choudhary very briefly in '15, I'd parked the idea of reading the book only when I came close to my own real attempt. And now that I was going to go for my mad dash towards my marathon, I figured I could use every help that I could muster. While the stories of the legendary Tarahumaras was engrossing to a different level by themselves, I picked up three important lessons on running from it -

1. One of the coaches wished in the book, if only he could coach his trainees to 'run from the gut'. Mental note taken on keeping the back straight, as I'd had developed major pain on my lower back (probably where the kidneys are) at two points during the 30 KM attempt.
2. Always stay on top of your centre-of-gravity. Gone were ideas of any long-step sprint, which I was always prone to do the moment I started breathing better during a run. Small steps. All the way
3. Hydration was going to be crucial. Considering the fact that Jakarta has milder weather than Delhi, I was already in a better weather zone. But, if I started running at 5:00 A.M. in the morning, then I could look at finishing the race anywhere between 12:30-14:00, and even the mild-er Jakarta sun wouldn't be a joke at those hours (for a few days in Aug, I actually kept checking the weather forecast praying for a little rain on the day, but to no avail). And I preferred running absolutely hands-free at that. So, no questions of a waist-band or back-pack (to an extent that I didn't even wear the head-band I'd kept wrapped on my wrist or the cap in my pocket during the race - hands free had to feel THAT hands-free!). I decided I'd make the best use of the provisions at water-stations set up by the race organisers

Race Day

As it has started happening lately in life, I couldn't sleep well the night before the race. So, I ended up waking up at 1:00 A.M. even when I had to leave at 3:00 A.M. while the race was scheduled to start at 5:00 A.M. Damn! That's some valuable muscle relief time gone down the drain, right before the race, is how I started my very early morning start.

Reached the location well on time. And although I saw people warming up pretty intensely, I realised that it wasn't my cup of tea. Just making sure that I was going to run or walk for the next 8-9 hours (my initial estimate on how long I'd take to complete the run) could prove more than a handful on this first attempt. However, as much as you wouldn't want to get influenced, some stupid ideas still sneak through. Right at the starting line, one who appeared as a Pro trainer/physiotherapist on a stage with loud speakers and what not, added another 10 minutes of his own routine that was supposed to help us stretch. Although I didn't push myself beyond my comfort zone of stretching exercises, I still ended up pulling my waist muscles on both sides! If only I'd known that the first 5-6 KMs would go in fixing those muscle-pulls with a gentle hand-massage while running, I wouldn't have gotten even that wee bit to a new warm-up regimen.

This is when the race started -

And this is how I chugged along for the what seemed like the foreseeable future during the race -

And if pictures speak a thousand words, the sheer relief on my face was for the entire world (<50 left-over race volunteers) at the finish line to see -

Right before I collapsed, someone among the by-standers shouted, "Ayo..semangat om" and that's when I allowed myself to register the fact that I'd achieved the feat somehow -

But, some issue with the finish point clock up there. Because this is what my official race timing was -

How much importance do the by-standers and cheer-leaders hold in a race like this - A LOT! A LOT LOT, indeed! For a first-timer like me, the "ayo, semangat pak" and "ayo..masih kuat pak" and the fist bumps and applauding nods felt like such much needed soul-boosters where nothing but the drudgery of putting one foot in front of another one was the only thought kept me going. The uncle that gave me an ice-water shower at 38 KMs, seemingly because my face had gone red in the sun, the lady who was kind enough to pass met water-melon slices at an aid-station and scores of guys and girls who handed over water or an isotonice drink at all the water-stations on the way - I don't think such races can be completed without the support of faculties like these, and to them I'd remain forever indebted.

I would never have achieved this milestone in my running career, so to speak, if not for these people:

Prasun Choudhary - You were the first person ever that I came to know in-person who had run marathons. Although I didn't not realise it back then, but a fire was lit in me as well

Rajat Singh - Who started much later, but has gone bonkers with his Ultra-marathon runs of his own and keeps inspiring with his physical transformation as well as benchmarks he creates

Amit Rathod - Who's got a sub-4 hr. marathon completion feat to his name

And to my sprint sparring partners at multiple occasions - Rajdeep Kaushal , Anurag Jajoo , Prabhat Dutta and Saurav Panda - MUCH thanks and much appreciated, guys! You might have wondered why I kept racing and kept losing to you back then, and still kept doing it. It was for days like this because I knew I'd never stop working at getting better :-)