When I started getting serious about running sometime in 2014, one thing I started dreaming about was to complete a full marathon before I hit 42 years. Just another milestone ... but '42 under 42' sounded so cool that I wanted to achieve it. :-) And given the progress over the last 2 years I was confident that I could do a Full marathon in 2015. Now the question was which one .... Pune International marathon was out of question - terrible support for newbie FMers like me. Even 3 hr FMers dont get adequate support in PIM. Bangalore was an option but that was November - too far out. SCMM was obviously a choice but again thats in 2016. Then suddenly in May a few running buddies asked if anyone wants a train ticket reservation for Hyderabad marathon... bunch of Pune running buddies were planning to go to the annual pilgrimage to Hyderabad for the AHM. Quite a popular event in end of August. Also considered the toughest city marathons in India. I figured whats the harm ... I still have a couple of chances to complete 42 under 42 after this if I miss AHM.
I had done about 6 officially timed half marathons so far, so was quite comfortable with the HM distance. But full marathon is a different league altogether. But was determined to do it. Also given the endurance levels I have achieved in cycling I knew I could do a long endurance run... timing could be bad given the weather and terrain in Hyderabad, but confidence of completion was there. Also had enough time to prepare .... So that was that! That was how I registered for my first Full at Hyderabad knowing fully well that it would be very tough. A train ticket booking resulted in the full marathon. :-)
Training
I had also decided to do the Mumbai 12 hour ultra run on 15th August. Training for a 12 hour ultra is very different than training for a timed full marathon. So conflicting training goals. To make things interesting I also had the cycling trip coming up to Machu Picchu in September and then the Hyderabad Half Ironman triathlon in October. Also there was the Bhor Duathlon that I had in July which would mean I had to focus on Brick training (cycling+ running) for a couple of weeks too. So the cycling and swimming had to continue in parallel. So couldnt really follow any full marathon training plan earnestly. So I created my own plan based on Hyderabad Runners weekly training schedule plus my other events training plugged in there. My typical training per week included 1 hill or interval run, 1 tempo run, 1 core strengthening session and then 1 Sunday long run. One day of week I would cycling. With weekly mileage of about 30 or so kms in May/June and going up to 40-50 kms in July. Then 1 really long run end of July of about 5 hours or so for about 40 kms. August would be focused on tapering. Here's the link to the training plan I created and updated based on what I did.
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| The beautiful and tough OGC climbs |
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| Me and Sumedh near Flame campus past OGC |
One staple training routine needed for Hyderabad is hill runs. As the terrain is quite hilly for the Hyderabad full marathon, you have to do a lot of hill runs to get your legs comfortable with the inclines and build up the muscle strength to do so. Luckily Oxford Golf course road is open for runners ... about 12 kms out and back. About 5 kms of which is a real hill. Total of 400 mtrs ascent. Quite tough but a very scenic and serene route. Did about 7-8 training runs there through my training duration. Imagine running on these scenic roads in monsoon with greenery everywhere and no soul in sight. And this is just a few kms from my house! Blessed!
Also did a Ruggedian obstacle course event in June in which I ran about 12.5 kms in the Oxford Golf course trails with a ton of exciting obstacles as well. Overall all this hill training helped a lot in the end not only for the Hyderabad Full, but for the Satara Hill Ultra marathon I did just a week after Hyderabad Full!
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The strength training group at Panchavati Pashan
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Another important training routine is the core strengthening. Pune Running group has a core strengthening session every tuesday in Pashan. I made sure I attended this session regularly. 1 1/2 hours of heavy intensity core strengthening thanks to the running gurus like Pravin Jathar, Nikhil Shah and Prasad Patil.
Next up in the training routine were the interval runs. I used to do interval runs or strides myself earlier solo. Sanjay Rao had started this as a group activity making these tough sessions something to look forward to. We did intervals in the university football ground mostly. 10*250 mtrs intervals with 90 seconds gap in between. You have to try and keep the same pace for the last interval as the first. And the interval pace should be as fast as you can run. I was generally able to do 250 mtrs in 55 to 60 seconds. These sessions help a lot in striding with tired legs. Also helps improve lactate threshold - this is one of those deadly thresholds beyond which fatigue starts creeping in fast and legs start hurting. One of the videos from this session courtesy of Ashish Kothadiya. Its a very good tool to analyse your form in running especially whether you are doing mid foot strike or heel strike ... are you lifting your legs enough ... are you swinging your arms enough and straight ... are you swaying too much from side to side or is the head steady. Overall these sessions help a lot with increasing your pace in the long term and should be a core part of your training.
Lastly there are the long runs. Did my first long run in the first week of June - 30km in the University. The last 5 km loop was quite brutal though. Managed to do the 30 kms in 4 hours. Second half of June went on a vacation with family to Thailand and Cambodia. Did 1 barefoot beach run on a Phuket beach which was quite an experience - seems glamorous but its quite tough actually as the sand is soft and its an effort to stride while trying to lift the feet. The long runs continued in July again with a 25 km necklace loop in 3 hours. Then came the Bhor duathlon - 5 km rolling terrain run + 45 km hilly cycling + 10 km rolling terrain run again. Finished in 4 hrs 20 minutes. Got a flavor of how tough it is to run on a rolling terrain and with sun burning down. Was quite tough but managed it with reasonable time.
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| With the Badass kutra |
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| The gang who ran/supported |
Finally the climactic long run weekend came around mid July. Was planning to go to Pirangut and back from University. With stalwart runners - Sumedh and Krishna. Foolish plan indeed. Longest run on a terribly hilly terrain probably tougher than Hyderabad and that too with these ridiculously fast runners. They had promised they would go slow which was the only bright side. :) Vivek and Abhishek were joining for support on their bikes. Started at 4:45 am or so in the dark. I had my backpack with all the food and water I needed so didnt need extra support. Last 5 kms of the run was quite a killer though. I walked more than I ran i think in that patch. Gave an inkling how tough the last 5-10 kms of a full would be. Finished the distance of 38 kms in 5 hrs. Biggest boost was the confidence it gave that I could indeed complete the full marathon distance! The fun part of this run was that there was a dog who ran with us all through the 38 kms. Crazy dog who we named badass.
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| On the 38 km run captured by Abhishek |
The training continued with full vigour till end of July with another hill run, a half marathon and a 100 km cycling ride. It slowed down seriously though in August partly due to tapering and partly because wanted to spend time with sister's and sister-in-law's family who had come down for vacation. Then Dad was admitted to hospital on 10th August and training came to a screeching halt. Still had dreams of going off for a day to do the 12 hour ultra. But dad's health deteriorated further and I put the ultra plan on hold for the next year. In a way this was good as I would do a full marathon first before I became an ultra marathoner. :-) As the event weekend approached I was still skeptical of whether I would be able to go due to dad's health. But with Sonali's support finally decided to go for the weekend and complete the first full!
First Full Marathon!!
Reached hyderabad on Saturday morning with the entire Pune running troupe traveling in Konark express. I travelled in a train after some 20 years or so. Was a great train ride with a good group of friends. Went to Ketki's place in Hyderabad where Sumedh was already there. Freshened up and went to the expo to collect the bib. Thats where you realize the scale of the event. There were going to be about 20000 runners running on the road the next day.
The event was just grand. The contingent from Pune was about 200-300 runner strong easily. Part of this gang is photgraphed on the left. Also got to study the terrain a bit more. Had talked to Comrades runner Pushkaraj Kore also on the train and he had given some tips on how to time the run. He was pacing the 5:30 hr bus at Hyderabad and his input was very valuable. I had initially planned to start slow at a 7 km/min pace. But he said go at a reasonably fast pace in the first 10 kms as its a flat route around Husain Sagar. Then on the climbs - Banjara hills, Jubilee hills you will naturally slow down. He also told me not to worry about maintaining even pace. He just told me to go run at a maintainable pace for the first half and then take it as it comes in the second half. Very useful advice indeed!
Was staying with Ketki in Hitech city. Ketki took us around Hitech city that day. Had heavy carb loading at the famous Paradise biryani in the afternoon and then with a pasta in Little Italy in the evening. Also did a lot of hydrating during the day. I think i drank almost 3-4 litres of water on that day. Watched a movie, went to Karachi bakery and then turned in early that evening. Got up early as had to travel across town almost 20 kms to reach the starting point. Had a banana, a dink ladoo, and a cake slice and started for the venue with Sumedh taking me there on the Activa. Reached the venue in time and with butterflies in the stomach got to the starting lineup. Skipped the warmup to conserve energy. There was tremendous energy in the atmosphere there. Almost 1000 or more runners doing the full marathon. Was a sight to remember.
The clock struck 5 am and off we were. At 5 am also around the Hussain Sagar loop one could feel the humidity. Was sweating at 1 km mark itself. Wow this was going to be a crazy day. The 10 km loop got done in just over an hour and was quite comfortable in this patch. No water needed till this point. The sky was just turning blue .. was feeling quite fresh. As I approached the starting point again the half marathoners were getting flagged off. There were almost 5000 of them! The entire road was now packed with runners. This was indeed a sight I will remember. It was a good thing though that there were so many runners. I would see some familiar face every once in a while from the pune running community ... plus you had a lot of people to keep you company. The only downside was that the water stations got really crowded. Although the volunteers were doing a great job. They were spread out handing out water and enerzal. I had decided to carry my 2 small 300 ml bottles on my waist belt in case of emergencies. Helped in the latter part of the run.
The flyovers started right after the 11 km mark and they just kept coming. I think we crossed some 4 or 5 flyovers ... really long ones too. Was doing quite well in this patch though with all the hill training I had done. Then came the hills ... Jubilee hills and Banjara Hills. The climbs started becoming tougher and longer. Almost 4 kms of climb around 14th km where we climbed almost 80 meters, then another 2 km climb around 20th km for another 50 mtrs ascent, and finally around Gachibowli area another 3 km climb for another 50 mtrs ascent. I ran most of the flyovers in the beginning, but as we approached the Banjara hills climb around 16 km mark decided it was safe to walk the climb instead of spending the energy further. I was also walking at the water stations... stopped at around every 5 kms or so. Had a gel around 15 kms which I usually do. Then a banana around 20 kms. And gatorade/water at those aid stations. Also had to stop for a quick bio break around 15 kms or so due to all the hydration I had been doing. As we started approaching the Gachibowli climb the energy levels had started going down. I had completed half marathon by now and not in a too shabby time of 2 hrs 25 minutes. Was going strong till this point. There was a lot of energy on the streets as well with crowds coming to cheer us up. Lots of families and kids had cheering signs in their hands. Was a fun atmosphere overall. At one place there was a group of folks doing yoga and skating etc similar to the happy street concept we had in Pune earlier in the year. This energy was helping a lot with the run. I hadnt started out with any bus. But was hoping to stay ahead of the the 5 hour bus at the finish line. I was just ahead of the 2nd 5hr bus till about 20-25 kms or so. The first 5 hr bus crossed me around 15th km. I was probably about 10-15 minutes behind the 5 hr bus around 28th km.
Around the 28th km the half marathoners went straight to the stadium approaching their finish. And the full marathoners had to turn left to complete the last 14 kms. The crowds suddenly went down from few 100 runners in front of you to 1 or 2 runners about 200 mtrs ahead of you and another runner or 2 200 mtrs behind you. No cheerleaders on the road either. Plus a climb. This is where I started flagging. Started having the negative thoughts of why the hell I was doing this etc. And especially with so less training in the last month is this worth it etc. Walked a lot on this 4 km uphill stretch and lost almost 6-7 minutes in the deal. Around this point Pushkaraj's 5:30 bus caught up with me. Man I still had another 10 kms to go and I had to keep up with him for that long. My heart sunk at that point. Luckily he said he was slightly ahead of the schedule and he walked and stopped at an water station cheering the runners for a few minutes. I decided to move ahead so as to try and stay ahead of him. The last 10 kms was a excruciating slow climb through villages and through the Hyderabad university. The energy level was very low at this point. Luckily the weather had been quiet supporting and the sun was behind the clouds most of the time. Just about now the sun had started coming out so it was almost a double bummer. The knee had started paining just a bit so was stopping to get Volini sprays (or was it Nice?). They were helping but the burning sensation on the spraying was quite uncomfortable.
One saviour during this patch were the ice cold water sponges they were handing out. Plus they were giving out nice towels. I was keeping a wet cold towel inside my cap to keep my head cool. The volunteers were also doing a good job cheering us up. In one of the villages bunch of villagers had come to the street to cheer us up and were clapping as we were passing. These small things help a lot in this patch as its a mental game after 30 kms. We were a group of 5-10 runners scattered in 100-200 mtrs of each other, more or less keeping together. There was a volunteer runner who ran with us for the last 10 kms or so. There were also a couple of cyclists who were cycling with us. The kms were going slowly at this point. I was walking most of the climbs. Pushkaraj had crossed me around 39 km and was doing a steady run. I was trying to keep him in my line of sight. Finally I approached the last turn outside the university indicating it was the last 1 km to go. I had lost sight of Pushkaraj by now. So it was just me trying to push myself to do the last km. When I saw a welcome sight of Jeetendra Patel. He had completed his half and was running the last km with the pune running buddies in this patch. Wow thanks Jeetendra! That last km he was pushing me and I was trying to keep up with him.
Then the sight of the stadium at last. Wow what a feeling! As I turned to into the stadium there was another 200 mtrs to go on the track. A volunteer started running with me and pushed me to stride at this point. Really started pounding hard and did the last 100 mtrs striding with him. The feeling of getting inside the stadium with a lot of folks cheering you along is an unforgettable memory. The sight of the finish line brought a smile on my face once again and the pain started to vanish! Such is our body. Even when it feels you cannot push yourself any more, the body still has the reserves to do it. Its the mind stopping the body from doing it. Finally I crossed the finish line in 5:29:52 according to my watch. According to the event time I crossed in 5:31 or so.
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| The smile at the sight of the finish line. Striding the last 100 mtrs |
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| Yes indeed!! I finished my first Full marathon. 42 before 42 baby!! |
Completed my dream of doing a first full marathon before I turned 42!!! Woohoo!! Although I had missed my original goal of 5 hours by a long shot and the backup goal of 5:30 by just a minute, but the satisfaction of finishing the first marathon in the toughest city marathons of India is something I cannot ever forget!! Called home right away to share this happy moment. I am a full marathoner now! :-)
An icing on the cake was that my facebook update and photo was picked up by Deccan Chronicle the next morning (31st August) and I was right up there at the top left staring out of the newspaper! A mini celebrity moment. :-)
Reached hyderabad on Saturday morning with the entire Pune running troupe traveling in Konark express. I travelled in a train after some 20 years or so. Was a great train ride with a good group of friends. Went to Ketki's place in Hyderabad where Sumedh was already there. Freshened up and went to the expo to collect the bib. Thats where you realize the scale of the event. There were going to be about 20000 runners running on the road the next day. 
The event was just grand. The contingent from Pune was about 200-300 runner strong easily. Part of this gang is photgraphed on the left. Also got to study the terrain a bit more. Had talked to Comrades runner Pushkaraj Kore also on the train and he had given some tips on how to time the run. He was pacing the 5:30 hr bus at Hyderabad and his input was very valuable. I had initially planned to start slow at a 7 km/min pace. But he said go at a reasonably fast pace in the first 10 kms as its a flat route around Husain Sagar. Then on the climbs - Banjara hills, Jubilee hills you will naturally slow down. He also told me not to worry about maintaining even pace. He just told me to go run at a maintainable pace for the first half and then take it as it comes in the second half. Very useful advice indeed! 
The flyovers started right after the 11 km mark and they just kept coming. I think we crossed some 4 or 5 flyovers ... really long ones too. Was doing quite well in this patch though with all the hill training I had done. Then came the hills ... Jubilee hills and Banjara Hills. The climbs started becoming tougher and longer. Almost 4 kms of climb around 14th km where we climbed almost 80 meters, then another 2 km climb around 20th km for another 50 mtrs ascent, and finally around Gachibowli area another 3 km climb for another 50 mtrs ascent. I ran most of the flyovers in the beginning, but as we approached the Banjara hills climb around 16 km mark decided it was safe to walk the climb instead of spending the energy further. I was also walking at the water stations... stopped at around every 5 kms or so. Had a gel around 15 kms which I usually do. Then a banana around 20 kms. And gatorade/water at those aid stations. Also had to stop for a quick bio break around 15 kms or so due to all the hydration I had been doing. As we started approaching the Gachibowli climb the energy levels had started going down. I had completed half marathon by now and not in a too shabby time of 2 hrs 25 minutes. Was going strong till this point. There was a lot of energy on the streets as well with crowds coming to cheer us up. Lots of families and kids had cheering signs in their hands. Was a fun atmosphere overall. At one place there was a group of folks doing yoga and skating etc similar to the happy street concept we had in Pune earlier in the year. This energy was helping a lot with the run. I hadnt started out with any bus. But was hoping to stay ahead of the the 5 hour bus at the finish line. I was just ahead of the 2nd 5hr bus till about 20-25 kms or so. The first 5 hr bus crossed me around 15th km. I was probably about 10-15 minutes behind the 5 hr bus around 28th km. 
Then the sight of the stadium at last. Wow what a feeling! As I turned to into the stadium there was another 200 mtrs to go on the track. A volunteer started running with me and pushed me to stride at this point. Really started pounding hard and did the last 100 mtrs striding with him. The feeling of getting inside the stadium with a lot of folks cheering you along is an unforgettable memory. The sight of the finish line brought a smile on my face once again and the pain started to vanish! Such is our body. Even when it feels you cannot push yourself any more, the body still has the reserves to do it. Its the mind stopping the body from doing it. Finally I crossed the finish line in 5:29:52 according to my watch. According to the event time I crossed in 5:31 or so. 
