The quads froze and the pain started as my Garmin Fenix beeped 3KM, just outside the Gachibowli stadium. I knew then this was going to be a longer-than-expected run at least as far as timing was concerned. I hadn’t run 21K in over an year or so. I showed up on the start line with no illusion of sub 2 half marathon. I had obviously hit those numbers many times even with little preparation but such a long gap wasn’t going to help. I had hoped for a 2h20m’ish finish. That would mean swallow my pride but at least that would be a respectable close. Of course, cramped quads wasn’t in the equation. A tight quad or a sore hamstring I had prepared to deal with in the last 3 kms. Here the timing of cramps was inverse.
The rest of the run was a start stop affair. Being in Hyderabad and esp this part of the town you eventually make peace and even come to love the hills and the inclines. So every incline up I grabbed the invitation to let it fly, often failing to surmount the hill despite throwing kitchen sink at it. But the biggest bummer was downhill as the rock-solid quads screamed even more as knees took additional weight stepping down the hill. It became a struggle eventually to just run anywhich way. I was glad to come across a pacer and another runner along with him. They helped push me through the last 3 kms. By the time I showed up crashed and burned at the finish line, with hands raised for customary finisher photo, the clock had ticked 2h 45m.
Instinctive reaction of a runner once the run is done is to click a couple of buttons on their fitness trackers. The readings, especially run time and elevation, are the two metrics that determines the emotions of a runner. The spectrum of the emotions range between dejected to overjoyed, often not binary. So it was no surprise when I fidgeted to complete the run on the watch and gawked at those metrics. I was relieved, depressed and thankful in that order.
Relieved that I was finally over the finish line having entertained the DNF thoughts many times. Depressed because this was my longest time ever to finish a half-marathon - even longer than when I first graduated from 10K to 21K. And finally, thankful that I started and finished because failure - EPIC failure here actually, is the best teacher. I wouldn’t be reflecting if it wasn’t for this helluva of run.
Of course when situation goes sideways by such a huge margin the brain starts to find reasons, some rational but often irrational. I had just run 17km only a few weeks back on a similar terrain under 1h45mins. What just happened here?
- Was it lack of sleep the night before the run? I managed to catch a wink only for a couple of hours.
- Was it because of zero carb intake I had purposely planned for last 4 days? Surely I wanted to see the impact on the performance with this diet but was I overreaching assuming my body would find a way somehow to fuel the run?
- Was it lack of alcohol? Did I say irrational! I’ve been off my favorite single malts for close to an year now. I have run better times the morning after a good company accompanied by good malt.
- Or was it age? But hey, didn’t some researcher found that running was the only sport where your timing improves with age? Yeah, I know plateau and tapering but again only 3 weeks ago the engine was revving well!
There was a time when I could get out of any side of bed and get a half marathon done in close to 2hr. No prep, no roadside fueling. Just me, my garmin, trusted adidas adizeros and a small 250ml handy flask filled with water (yeah, nothing yes in that flask I assure you). Today was a reminder perhaps that the time is drawing to close.
If I need to hit those magical sub 2’s again - even get anywhere close, I will have to ditch the comfort of courts - badminton and squash, and go back to my beloved roads and rough it out on the streets. Today, then, I conclude eventually was a not-so-subtle reminder from my first love - Running to get consistent with it once again.
For the record - Distance 21.1K Time 2h45. Elevation 200m. Humidity 97%. Status Finisher!
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