Chronicles of Chennai Marathon 2012

Why I named this post 'Chronicles of Chennai Marathon 2012' will explain in sometime. 

Well, having run 2 half marathons I was aiming at finishing the year 2012 with three half marathons. After Hyderabad Marathon in August, I started planning for my first Himalayan trek. I did most of treks in Karnataka and was planning at something bigger. When I proposed my plan to my adventure friend Vijay, he instantly agreed. Plan was to go in first week of October, trek to Gaumukh and Tapovan, visit Rishikesh, Haridwar, Delhi and return. Planning things went fine, except some last minute hitches on getting my leaves approved. I was off for a week and completed the amazing trek to Himalayas.

Back to the main story, running Chennai marathon was back of my mind. As soon as I was back from the trek, I registered in Half Marathon category. Chennai marathon was scheduled on 2nd December 2012. I continued my practices runs on weekdays and long runs during the weekends. By this time, I got allocated to a new project and my work was at peak. More to add on that I was asked to work on a release that falls on 1st December.. holy cow. Although I skipped few runs over the week but I was pretty much on track for the run. Question to me was, if at all I am running on 2nd December, how would I collect running number, timing chip and other stuff for the run?? With not much hopes, it was definite I was going to miss the Chennai Marathon.

On Friday 31st November, I was checking my Facebook account and saw Chennai Runner had put up the final list of runners in all the categories. I downloaded the excel and started going through the list. I noticed a name which looked familiar. I forgot to mention that in September, Infosys running group had arranged 'Infosys September Run [ISR]', I had participated in the 10 kms category. Among the organizers group I did remember some of the member who were runners too. That name I saw in the list was one of the person who was in the organizing group. Next thing was to confirm if he was the same person, I opened up the telephone directory and searched for Romel Dutta. Luckily I got it right, immediately I called him and explained things. He was kind enough to help me. I sent authorization mail to Chennai Runners copying him to collect running stuff on my behalf. Such a relief, but still there was chance of missing the marathon if my work extends beyond a time where I could not make it.

As expected, on 1st December I assumed to finish things by 12 pm and leave to Chennai but my work extended till 4 pm. Travel to Chennai would take anywhere between 6-7 hrs. In the meantime, Romel called me to update he had collected my running stuff. Being very skeptic on leaving to Chennai by 5 or 6 pm I called up my mother and explained everything. Since I had already practiced and put in some hard work for the run she suggested to go ahead and run the marathon. This was a bit of motivation I needed to go and run. I left by 5.30 pm and caught a bus to Chennai. Bus took an extra hour to reach Chennai around 2.00 am. My fellow passenger helped me to catch bus to IIT Madras, which was starting point for the marathon. I was there in campus around 2.45 am and went to Mechanical Department, only there I could see lights were on. Went directly to washroom and got fresh, changed to my running gear. I could already see volunteers gathering at the venue. I took a small nap at a desk, thanks to the good roads, I was able to get a good nap in the bus.

Race was starting at 5.15 am. I called up Romel, he was on his way to the venue. He was there by 4.30 am. I collected the running stuff, thanked him for helping me out and wished him a good run. After all the drama, I just wanted to complete the race without worrying about PR [Personal Record]. I started the race with slow pace, weather was awesome. Initial 4 kms was inside the campus, around 13 kms of run was outside campus and rest 4-5 kms was again inside the campus. Overall my run was good, I cracked time of 2 hr 12 mins to complete the race. Well, that was my best timing so far.

Overall Rank	Bib	Name	Gender Rank	Split @7.25	Split @16.55	Net Time
243	2439	PRASHANT PATIL	231	00:42:33	01:41:30	02:12:06

                                                                    Timing Splits

Later I called up Venky,  he was my buddy and previous company colleague, who lives in Chennai. He came and picked me, we went to a nearby beach, I don't remember the beach name now. We talked about our days in Pune and in Bangalore. I left Chennai that afternoon and reached Bangalore by evening. I hugged my bed for a good sleep later. That's my chronicles of Chennai Marathon.

Timing Certificate

After the event, many runners complained about the running distance was less than 21.1 kms. Chennai Runners team came with justification after couple of days, race distance was less by 700 meters. I was not very happy to hear that but overall it was very good running experience with lots of drama in it.

Hyderabad Marathon 2012

I was clear about running my 2nd Half Marathon but the question to myself was where will be next. Delhi Marathon was around mid of September and Hyderabad Marathon in August. 

I had been to Hyderabad trip in 2009 with my friends, now could only remember few few things though. On the other hand, I was bit non assertive on travelling to Delhi as it would consume lot of time to travel and money too. Obviously, I had only one option to run Hyderabad Marathon. I registered Hyderabad Half Marathon and started off my practice. Race was scheduled on 26th August 2012. 

I had already started off working on things which I had noticed in my last half marathon. Things like breathing control, increasing my knee strength and lots of running. Now plan was to reach Hyderabad on 25th August, collect the running number and goodies bag, run marathon on 26th August, take a day off on 27th August revisit some places of interest. I called up Deepak who stays in Hyderabad for a stay at his place. Deepak was my college mate and one my good friend. 

I planned to meet my other friend Rashmi who was also staying in Hyderabad. I called her up and came to know that she is planning to run the marathon. My photographer friend Harpreet was also taking part in the run. He was common friend to both me and Rashmi. So this time I had some familiar faces to run with.

On Saturday we planned to meet at Chatney's Restaurant for the lunch and later to collect the our bibs. After relishing lunch, we went to the venue to collect our running number, chip and other stuffs. Since I had already run a half marathon and it was their first, they posed few queries. I said to them, run with a aim to complete and enjoy, not to worry on the other part of it. We planned to meet next morning for the marathon.

Rashmi and Harpreet picked me on the way to the race start place Necklace Road. Race started at 5.15 am. This time I aimed to finish the race within 2 hr 30 mins. After running with my friends for sometime I picked up the pace. Few kilometres into the race, I could see uphill. Initially it was fine but uphill didn't seem to end there. Course was full of up-hills. At around 10 kms mark it started raining, I was enjoying my run in the rain at an expense of timing. Since it was uphill most of the time I was not able to increase my pace beyond certain level. I kept my running at a constant pace and completed the race. My watch showed time of 2 hr 50 mins. I was okay with my timing since the run had lots of hills. With the uphill gradient factor in it, whole race was considered to be around 23 kms. Race at Hyderabad was tough and rain made it bit tougher, traffic was poorly maintained and whole race was full of uphill running which off course tested the stamina and took will to complete it. Hyderabad Runners team did a good job at organization front, but yes they can still do better.

Soon Rashmi and Harpreet finished the race too. We took few pictures, talked about the race and left for the day.

Finisher Certificate

PRASHANT PATIL

Bib                  Number	3006
Rank:	827
Gender:	Male
Category :	OPEN
Category Rank:	705
Gender Rank:	774
Split@10.8:	01:20:50
Net Time:	02:46:37
Gross Time:	02:48:27

                                                                     Split timings

Next day I visited Birla Temple, Sarlarjung Museum, Golkonda Fort on a hot sunny day and left to Bangalore by night. This time for a change I was all well with no serious pains.

TravelnRun Hyderabad Marathon Photos

Happy Running !!!

TCS 10k Run 2012

Now that I have completed Mumbai Half Marathon, so what was next. I was running regularly and also doing my weekend long runs. During the next couple of months after Mumbai Marathon I participated in some events conducted by Decathlon Stores. One was Duathlon of 15 kms, its a 2 member team event where one would cycle and other should run and switching between cycling and running was allowed. I was able to convince one of my friend to cycle me as I thought of running. It was a good event and I remember it completing it in 1 hr 38 mins. Also there was 10 kms run which I completed in 1 hr 5 mins.

TCS 10k team announced the registration and event date for the 10 kms run. Event was scheduled on 27th May 2012. I was among the first few to register for the event. Its my second participation in this event after Majja run in 2011. This time I also wanted few of my interested friends to run along with me. I was successful to convince few of my friends to participate. Anup, Irfan, Shashi and Nikhil registered for the event. Since my Mumbai Marathon results where taken during registration I was put in line up section B and my friends where in line up section C. My running number was 1002.

Race was good but since it started late in the morning at 7 am, Sun started up to show up around 7:30 am which effected my running tempo. This was definitely not an excuse but my preparation lacked running under Sun. Although I wished to complete the race sub 1 hr time, missed it but 4 mins !!. Here is my race timing. I was bit disappointed but its all part of the game. I was happy to find my friends completing the race too. We all had good time after the race. Here is the race certificate. Couple of photographs of mine on the run. 

Timing Certificate

With 3 months to go I was attempting my 2nd Half Marathon in Hyderabad.
Follow here.

Mumbai Marathon 2012

I knew back of my mind saying running a half marathon would put me at ease for sometime but knowing that it is 21.1 kms would never do. I can simply say to someone that I am preparing for half marathon, some knew what distance one has run for half marathon but most of them lack this knowledge were bit surprised.

I started the practice for the race by September and thought three to four months should be enough. My weekly mileage count started with 6-8 kms, I never did long runs on the weekend. Soon, I began browsing about half marathons, started reading articles, blogs, started watching videos. What helped me most was Runner's World website, this site had wealth of information and each bit of it helped. I created a sample training schedule using this site, it was based on my weekly mileage, age, actual marathon date. Following the schedule I started to increase my mileage per week and did long runs on weekends.

On the good part, my mileage for each week was increasing, now it was about 16-18 kms, but with this I started facing series of pains in my body. Initially it was stomach stitch, then shin splits, later knee and ankle pain. To my rescue few articles, blogs in the internet helped me to over come these. Over the time I gained confidence in running 10 kms. Now that pretty much half of half marathon was success, I begin pushing myself beyond 10 kms, often with pain jolting my practices. Over the next two months, I continued to run at my comfort pace and made sure not push myself beyond a limit. Minor injuries were part of the practice workouts and runs throughout.

During this time I called my friend Radhakrishna [whom I call Radhe] who stays in Mumbai. I thought this will give me a chance to meet Radhe almost after 2 years leaving Pune & would also save some bucks on lodge :). We were in touch over the phone but never met after I left to Bangalore. He was instant in his reaction asking me to stay at his place. Now that things were settled in aspects of stay & other stuffs like shoes, shorts, etc. I was all set for the half marathon challenge.

I went to my hometown Hubli on 12th Dec 2012. Since 13th was my birthday, I planned to celebrate at home & leave to Mumbai the same day. I celebrated my 26th birthday at home with my family, it was wonderful. Also bit of relief that I escaped the birthday bumps from my friends. On 14th, I reached Mumbai & directly went to Radhe's place which was in Powai. He guided me all the way from the bus station to his place. Today I had to collect the bib, timing chip & goodies bag at World Trade Center Cuffe Parade, Mumbai. Radhe & his friend accompanied me to the bib collection venue. We traveled in Mumbail Locals, it was nice since I was commuting in it for the first time, but I think daily commuters don't have the same feeling. Collected the bib, timing chip & posed for some photos. Later we went to Gateway of India, watched Hotel Taj. Back to room I had light dinner & set my alarms. I always had a notion what if alarms don't ring, what if I don't get up for the race, but nothing of that sort happened. I got up before alarm ring got afresh, had some food, mainly it was a banana, oats & glass of milk. I left to the venue by the first local from Anderi East & could see people with their bibs tucked to their T's all around me going to the marathon venue.

I could see lots of people of different ages gathering towards the start venue. It was Kumb Mela of Marathon. My bib was 17552 & line up section was C. And there it goes 4, 3, 2, 1.. race started. I followed the good advice at the start line from a veteran who said 'try to run initial 5 kms slow & conserve energy for rest of race'. First 9 kms I clocked around 1 hr, running at normal pace, hydrating, things were good until pain started outside my knee area. I slowed & came aside. Applied Volini Cream, couple of sachets which I had in my pocket. After walking for sometime I continued to run. Sometime after the dawn people started turning up for the event cheers all over the route, I could see aged people carrying biscuits, fruits and water. Little kids carrying Cadbury Chocolates. It was indeed heart warming. At some places residents arranged DJ's & loud music added some strength & excitement. People were cheering each runner passing by. It brought strength in me, I could hardly think of the pain anymore. I was just enjoying my run all the way, no where I thought pain would give me such a happiness. With last 1 km to finish, I was in aggravated pain in my leg, I was literally dragging myself. I could hear drums making loud noise at the finish line. I thought let me now chase the finish line with smile & I did just that. My pics at the finish line. Wrist watch showed me count of 2 hr 50 mins, but my net time was 2 hr 40 mins. My timing.

Timing Certificate

I left to Bangalore the same day. I thanked Radhe for accommodating me his room :). I reached Bangalore next day morning with lots of pain in my leg which continued to persist for 3 more days.

In my next I was participating in TCS 10k 2012, where running all started for me in 2011.

Follow me to TCS 10K 2012.

TCS 10k 2011 Majja Run

As I mentioned, running came to me as part of the promotional run for the CRY NGO I volunteered. After my initial discussion with Raji & Tangamma [CRY Team], I came to know plans are already being sketched out to bring in more people for the run. T-Shirt design was in the process, they were expecting badminton celebrity to turn up for the event. I took charge of spreading the word across my friends, colleagues. T-Shirt was priced at 120 /- which was very reasonable.

As part of my workout, I started to run in the gym on daily basis. I usually ran around 2kms, sometime more. Since marathon was something I was not usually associated with & this was a new thing to me, I tried not to exert myself & moreover this run was for a cause.

On the D-day 5th June 2011, all the volunteers in their white T-Shirt designed with CRY Logo & messages where there at the venue, Kanteerava Stadium  early morning. Some were not running & they took care of kiosk. Most of us who registered carried banners, placards & some slogans to shout on the way. As the race started, I initially walked along with others holding the banners and started off with the run after sometime. I don't remember exactly what time I took to finish the race but it was somewhere between 40-45 mins. Felt good to complete it. 

I was very much moved by the event and running. Event itself was huge success with almost all Bangaloreans ran with some outside runners, celebrities, kids, aged, specially-abled kids, veterans, lot of NGO's running for their causes. I thoroughly enjoyed the race although it was small distance. I began browsing about marathons and started reading articles regarding it. Soon realized I can take running further, probably to try out bigger distance.

This is me on my first marathon. Bib # 25441. Now that I had run & it was successful run, thought I could do better & started looking for longer versions of marathons. Around the same time registrations were started for Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2012. That's how I pictured running my first half marathon. Yes, running in Mumbai. Without much of the thoughts and after some hurdles during online registration, I registered for Mumbai Marathon which was going to be held on 15th January 2012, that's exactly two days after my birthday. Follow me here.

How it all started

It all started with charity run for the NGO CRY [Child, Rights and You] I worked with. I came to know about the TCS 10 kms run which was scheduled on 5th June 2011 event while was browsing. Initial thoughts were to get CRY into limelight & what best to run in Marathon with banners, placards which I felt will be very good for propagating the good work carried out by this organisation. Earlier running was just a part of weekly gym routine and I never really took it seriously. 

I registered for Majja run [Fun run 5.7 kms] since I was skeptic on running 10 Kms distance & completing it. Majja run was a success for me and the CRY team.

My first run for the cause.