After having run a full marathon last year,I chose to run a half marathon in the Bangalore midnight marathon on May 19th 2007. I wanted to focus on my timing and get that right in 1/2 a marathon. The day before the marathon while talking to my mom over phone on my plans for the weekend I said 'Am running 1/2 a marathon' and she goes 'oh! why? Don't tire yourself.' I thought it was a funny response 'Don't tire yourself'.What she din't say was 'Can't you find anything better to do? Why don't you just do the regular stuff people do?' At the end of the race, while walking about 20 minutes to get to my car at 4am, I really wondered if I was getting obsessed with all this running stuff! I think I am! I set myself a target of doing 21.1km in 2 hours and I did it. Now I am thinking of how I can better my timings.
The midnight marathon was a very unique experience. We din’t have to bother about the sun beating down on us. The arrangements were pretty good and there was no dearth of water in the water stations. There was enough security and I wasn't scared about stray dogs chasing me. The organizers managed to keep the tempo up with a lot of people in costumes, on stilts, playing music and beating drums etc. The running loop was actually totally cordoned off and we din't have to worry about any vehicles running us over etc. (except for the bikes with camera men and videographers who made us feel like celebrities). Things were more professionally organized and each of us had a running chip attached to our shoes which recorded our timings. At the end of the race there was some chilled Minute maid handed out which tasted heavenly. The whole atmosphere was pretty festive with food stalls, music etc. It reminded me of 'Sports day' at school!
As with anything, experience really helps. After having run one full marathon a few months back, I knew I couldn't depend on the organizers for replenishment of essential salts and sugars. I had my energy bar and Electral with me. Also, being part of Runners For life (RFL) really helps. I get to read about all the smart techniques and we get some professional advice from a doctor (sports and exercise medicine consultant) who is himself a very passionate runner. There are some things that scare you as well....like the news about the 22 yr old guy who died after running the London marathon a few weeks back. I would never have guessed that someone could die of drinking excess water! I think the organisers should write in big bold letters in the marathon forms and advertisements 'Running a marathon could be injurious or fatal.' One should really have a good hang of what this is before putting one's body through this. I think I have been really lucky so far. Wonder if I should keep trying my luck or switch to doing some less eccentric things! I have time to think...next Bangalore marathon is only in September. :D
1 comment:
Marathon Woman, at least wear a proper watch next time so that you know when to speed up etc rather than speeding up just because someone hands you electral water and u start feeling "good"!!!
BTW you can continue to do this eccentric thing because a proper strengthening and training plan has been downloded and is in the process of being understood. So no more riding 'luck'
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