SPBM 2022 - FM - We are back to live events and so the season begins!!!

For those of you who have been following my journey, you would remember that not too long ago ( last week of Feb) I did my double KP attempt successfully. That, in itself was kind of a pivotal factor in me realising that I was currently at a fairly good level of fitness. While doing the KP, for the first time in my life, I understood what beast mode felt like - On that day I suffered, alone - while enjoying it immensely may I add, and I truly felt like an animal - in the wild - one with it - where nature was giving me shade, sun, water - life!!! Eitherway, lets leave this philosophical aspect for another time - the point I am trying to make is that I felt good. So the next obvious thing I did was, I reached out to the NEB Sports team and asked them if they can upgrade my registration from HM to FM. And so with 5 weeks left towards the marathon I finally started my training towards the FM. This incorporated 3-4 runs a week focussing on ramping up mileage, sprinkle in some intervals & speed-work - keep the base mileage on point. All of my runs used to start post 8:00-8:30am in the morning - this was for 2 reasons - first, I conduct my first group session at 6:30am in the morning and secondly - with the increasing heat - it is a kickass strategy for acclimatisation to the impending hot hot race day!!

Anyway, it was hard for me to stick to the usual route and not keep running away here and there for weekends - but since it was a matter of just the next few weeks it was fairly doable. A lot of people have reached out to me saying they are amazed that I don't train very hard or push very hard in my training. I would like to clarify here, that I actually do so, but in my own way - I am a hybrid athlete and not purely a runner which means I incorporate other elements into my training. I am very keen on Yoga as well. So all of my trainings happen on already loaded legs. and I give full credit to yoga as my mobility training to keep me injury free. For me being injury-free is of prime importance - possibly because 1. I have experienced a terrible injury and being off training for a long period myself and 2. When you stay injury-free, you are actually able to build on your training and trust me when I say this, there is no substitute for experience and consistency. Towards the end heading in to the race day, I was possibly the most reluctant runner out there - having to head out for runs in very hot conditions and due to the timing of my run - heavy traffic roads as well. But, what must be done, is always to be done - and so it was.

Coming towards race day, there was palpable excitement in the air - much like an impending festival - energies were high, it seemed almost electric. We were all excited, and the nervous energy was in the air as we tapered towards race day. In fact, Anjana, Adarsh, Shantanu and me did a mobility session together on the friday and were all set for the race day. Saturday was bib distribution day, it was also the day I would meet Harsh - it had been 2+ years of us training together and I was really looking forward to meeting him in person after years. We met at the Bib distribution. It was like a homecoming for me - so many familiar faces and friendly hugs, right from when I parked up until I left - the simple act took all of 2.5 hours - I enjoyed every moment of it - meeting old friends, catching up with them - meeting new friends - hanging out at the Brooks Store, meeting some of the exceptional team members of the Brooks India Family, exploring the new nutrition and hydration products that NEB sports is launching - so much to do, so many people to meet.

Post Bib collection, I made my way back home. So, there was three things which were bothering me: 1) Will I even get sleep?

2) Will the route be well-lit - will I possibly roll into a pot-hole?

3) What if I feel like shitting in the middle of my run?

Sure! go ahead! you can gasp all you want - but these are very very real issues that we face. Eitherway, post a high fibre late lunch I decided that I will keep my dinner really light and hope for the best case scenario. I got my race kit ready, watched a movie and apprx at 7pm retired for the night. Around 8:30pm Ankush came home to confirm what the plan was in terms of leaving in the morning. I was going to have my strongest supporters on the route cheering me on!! I had hoped I would be fast asleep by now but sleep was nowhere in the vicinity. Anyway, I guess it was around 11:30pm that I finally fell into the sweet embrace of sleep. 2:00am and I opened my eyes just before the alarm went off. IT WAS TIME!!!

I had a glass of water, got dressed. Mum had already prepared chai! Much to my joy - I managed to get a fairly good shit in that ungodly hour of the morning! so yay!!! Anyway, got all prepped and the 4 of us were on our way. Ankush was driving and they dropped me off at the CCD square while Mum, dad and Ankush went to park the vehicle and then move to the 6.5K mark which was quite a focal point on the course.

It was 3:15am as I walked into the stadium making my way to the baggage counter. The next 45 mins was the wait to the start. Around 3:40am I started my warm up - off course I met Vipul, Arun & Sarvesh on the track doing their warm up. 5 minutes before the start, all of us made our way to the start line. 3:59:50am and the countdown began. Boom! away we went. I was surrounded by all the 2:30-2:45 marathoners and in the excitement, I started out just as fast. I was running by feel. Within the first 5Km I got into a good good rhythm. Moving along, at the 7K point, I saw Mum, dad and Ankush - I got another jolt of energy! Kept moving along. I was having a gel every 30mins like clockwork. Kept moving - around the 12K mark, I had another runner overtake me, I moved on behind her and kept one step behind her. This is how we ran until the 15K mark. We also chatted for a bit and exchanged names and introduced ourselves - This is where I met Gunjan Khurana. I later learned that she is the National Record Holder for 100K Ultra distance - she was making the marathon look like childs play. We continued forward - I was still feeling strong. At the 15.5K mark, I had Kuljeet join me - we had spoken earlier and decided that he would help pace me for the second half of the run specifically from a perspective of hydration.

Eitherway, as he joined in, he also bought me a small bottle of coca-cola. Now I had originally planned to have this at the 32K point, but since I had the luxury of asking for extra support enroute, I was like - lets have it two times and get double boost. But my dear friends ! this is how the mighty falter. So I grabbed the bottle, opened it and immediately gulped in a few sips. Now, you have to realise that this all happened in a matter of few seconds while we were running - so the reaction time was limited. As I gulped the Coke, I knew I had made a mistake.The Coke went in and did its job, so did he fizz - around 16.5k, I drastically slowed down!! I got a stitch on my left lower abdomen - all the gas in the coke was now in my gut and creating mayhem - Over the next 2 Kms I had to find all the strength in me to fight against the urge of walking to ease out the stitch. I was also trying to forcefully burp the gas out of my system - bai bai like a bakri I tell you. It was not my most gracious or dignified moment for sure!!. The stitch did get better after sometime and I could pick my pace up again. All this drama before the first half. In a marathon the goal is to just do your best and so I did. I kept moving on at the pace that I could and slowly, the pace increased too. Before I knew it, I was at the 20.5K point, It is here that Manisha overtook me putting me into third place. When I put up this video, someone asked me - Since you are so used to coming in first, did you not feel like chasing her to fight for the position?

My response: If it was 2Km to go, hell yes you fight - but with 22+K to go, you just pace yourself. Whatever is the point of increasing pace to only slow down even more 2K down the road.

Anyway, we kept moving forward - I crossed the 21.1K mark at just over 1hr 41mins. There was still hope - my goal was sub 3:30 - I was ready for it - it is the fittest and strongest that I have ever been. I had the best equipment in terms of carbon plated shoes, on point apparel . Training although not enough, but was quite on-point to be able to pull this off! With 95% humidity on the day of the run, bang in the middle of summer and the unending slow gradients of the bengaluru roads - I was still doing ok I thought.

Anyway, we continued on and boy!! the second loop was a nightmare!!!! There was a sea of half-marathoners strewn across the entire 21.1K distance - I was waiting for the crowd to thin out and it just never did. By the time you are done with 21.1K you are fairly tired, the gradual continuous elevations seem like hell and to top it off the humidity - it feels like you have resigned yourself to a deathwish. Now, Kuljeet was running 100mtrs ahead of me, and being the kind and polite man that he is, he was politely asking the Half-Marathoners to move out of the way : which they did, however, they jumped right back onto my trajectory as soon as he passed. Now, I am used to running in traffic with extremely rude motorists and vehicles who sometimes try to run me off the road. So I had to get back into my usual groove of screaming for right of the way.

Dear Half-Marathoners, it was not personal - I just wanted the route to be clear for me. Please do not write me off as a rude runner for this. I was just asking for space that was mine. Later in the day some of the Half Marathoners came and apologised to me for blocking the route - but really, I didn't even remember and just gave them a hug. Sorry for scaring the wits out of you guys.

So obviously, even the aid stations were full of people with some aid stations having even run out of cups. Kuljeet was fabulous in helping me with hydration, I would scream for what I wanted and he would grab it from the aid station and bring it to me. We continued on - Reached 35Km mark and I got to see my family again. I grabbed another bottle of coke and kept moving - opened it out to release the fizz and kept running ahead. Approximately at the 37 Km mark I was leisurely sipping on my coke as though I was out at a picnic when I saw Vandana hurtling towards me to catch up - and a part of me was just so happy to see her - she had messaged me a few days prior to the event, telling me about how she was injured and now look at her - giving it her all on race day - it was very impressive to see. And then the competitive runner in me woke up - I was like no way have I run 37K to give up now and so I picked up the pace and started pulling away. My last 5.2K were absolutely glorious!!! I felt it and I loved it. I crossed Harsh as I moved ahead - it was good to see him running strong. At the 41.3K mark I saw Anjana ahead of me - I caught upto her at 41.5K mark and waved to her - oh man! I woke the warrior in her - that girl, she revved up that engine and went full gas to keep up. I could hear a bunch of people including Mum, Dad and Ankush calling out my name. And now was the final stretch - 500mtrs to the finish line, As I came into the stadium I saw Sunil Shetty and heard him cheering me on - that was the final push to the finish line - OH!! I FINISHED SO SO STRONG!!!

For me Bengaluru is home! And it feels like home because I hear the ownership and pride in the voices of all the people who cheer out to me while I am running. I recognised so many runners on the roads of Bangalore this sunday gone by - my people, my friends, my tribe!!! Most times I do acknowledge it but sometimes I am not able to - so please solpa adjust huh! But trust me when I say this - those cheers are everything - they give me the motivation to dig a little bit deeper and push a little bit harder every time.

The Brooks boys took top 2 places on the podium, Gunjan came in first, Manisha second and I came in third overall in the Womens category. It was 3:34:37, so, I also managed to BQ, again. I was ready for a better performance but I will take this one on the chin and keep working towards being better and a more mature athlete. Racing is draining, but it is also exhilarating. It asks for all of you but it gives you much more in return - most of all it gives you humility. It is an acquired taste, almost like a drug! once you've had a fix - you want more!!

It has been a good start to the season. My calendar is slowly falling into place. Next on the list lies TCS10K, followed by Vagamon Ultrail 60K, I am playing with the idea of Khardungla Challenge and then there is the Goa 70.3.

Huge Shoutout to everyone on the route - you were everything!! Brooks India in general & Kartik Shah in particular, bringing us athletes together and building the team like family. Kuljeet - your assistance was invaluable. Nagaraj Adiga , Boss - your mere presence makes me soo soo happy and the simple fact that you are there personally on every raceday speaks volumes of your passion for sport. The entire NEB team ( Reeth, Cauvery, Umesh, Ashwin, Mahadev, Noor) you guys have my heart. Sunil & Sangeeta Shetty you are double special because you are part of both Brooks and NEB. The entire Flashbulbzz team - Anju, Navya, Shiva, Sharath, Manjesh, Krishna &Santosh - thank you for capturing those moments which make our memories, you all are synonymous with running. Anjana, Shantanu, Harsh, Adarsh - I was getting warm fuzzies looking at you guys on the course. Mum, Dad - your support is just unquestioning and unfaltering. Ankush - you toh were machaaoing alag hi level ka baba - there not just for me but for every runner on that route - and man! your voice always gives me 1000volts of energy!!! My heart is so so full.

Its time to buckle up, tuck my head in and get into the grind - its the grind that gives you the results! Always!!!