Tata Mumbai Marathon 2019
A race report of sorts. For my consumption. Also getting back to writing about running and races, which until a few years ago was a regular thing here. I had consciously stopped writing about running since 2017 because as much as I like it, I was not able to be consistent at it and discover anything new.
Consistency was the take away for me in the year 2018.
I was also able to put in once a week of strength training. 90% of the time. Not sure how it helped but I would like to believe it did.
Moving on to the race week, I had done a comparatively faster workout before the race on Thursday. So when I arrived in Mumbai on Friday, I was feeling tired and low. I went for a walk on Friday evening to keep the legs moving, but came back feeling even more tired. When I was checking my pacing plans for the race, I told the Guruji, that I would decide which plan to adhere to on Sunday. He warned me that it was important to have a target so I should be wary of running only by feel. (my favorite response to how I want to run these days)
My race targets:
Plan A: < 2:10 mins: best case 2:08:50
Plan B: ~2:10 mins: best case 2:10:30
Plan C: >2:10 mins: best case 2:13:38
Reluctantly popped half a Crocin on Saturday morning as I headed out to the expo. Saturday went well. But I did not want to take any chances so I ate a full tablet before going to bed on Saturday. I was able to catch 4.5 hours of sleep. Got up on time and left home by 4 am with a light breakfast of a banana, few almonds, some enerzal and 1.5 glasses of water. (Did empty the stomach of excess fluid before starting from home, if you are wondering :D)
I reached the race holding area 40 mins before race start. Having the phone and earphones worked as I was able to listen to Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack (love! love!) and not get impatient and anxious. I switched to my bollywood running music list as the race start came nearer (76 songs so I knew that was the limit to how much time I could take to finish the run. Kidding! Check target timings above.). The race started at 5.30 and I crossed the start line at 5.32.
I started steady and conservatively and picked pace as we reached the sea link. 2 members from my running group crossed me and that felt like a comfort. I also saw the 2:10 pacer running by my side, so I knew I either had to stick to his bus or keep him in sight. For most of the sea link I was either with or ahead of him. But I left him behind once we were at Haji Ali. I knew my first breakdown point was ahead of me. As I turned right to tackle Pedder road, I remembered the 2018 situation and how I could not cope up with the internal cramps and the external climb. My only aim this year was to not stop running on that infamous climb. So I kept on giving myself small milestones like run till this point and then think of walking. This trick worked and I was able to run through the uphill part of the race at a constant pace (Later the Strava splits revealed that I had done a pretty decent job of maintaining pace). Once this dreaded section was over and Marine drive started, the memories of 2018 re-surfaced once again. I had felt like collapsing and giving up in this part of the race in 2018. In this race, I started focussing on my pace instead and was constantly checking Garmin to make sure the target was within sight. By this time, the distance and weather had started to play with my mind once again so I decided to slow down a bit and focus on finishing the race stronger. As the 20 km marker went by I knew plan B was within sight. When around 700 meters were left I met AT (one of the gurujis) and he pushed me to finish even stronger. I was thinking of crawling at the sluggish pace but because of
My provisional timing shows 2:11:36. This is my personal best timing. To achieve this in Mumbai will always feel special. Owe it all to the people who train me and the amazing athlete friends in the running group. This year has been rewarding in terms of running. I hope to keep at it and become a better person.