Been there, "Run" that!!

YES! I completed my marathon yesterday - 26.2 miles through the city of Philadelphia. It was one of the most awesome experience I have ever had! Six months of training have really paid off, and I can proudly say that I HAVE RUN A MARATHON!
Looking back, things seem easier, but at that moment, in those 4 hours and 36 mins, things which went on are a totally different story!!
We left for Philadelphia on Saturday, around 1pm to get there with enough time to pick up our race bibs (numbers) and championships (timing chips to be attached to the shoes for electronic time monitoring) and Tshirts. It turned out to be quite a trip altogether! We started out with me dropping my cellphone from my pocket, and had to stop at the first turn itself to look for it - turned out to be in the car itself!
Then we decided PRINTED DIRECTIONS are for sissies, and decided to blaze our own trails!!! But, it was not to be, and we ended up having Sreedhar get directions from Meenal over the phone!!
After that we reached Philadelphia without much trouble! Went to the Marathon Expo and picked up our stuff. One by one, all cars came in, and we re-grouped at the Expo, with Coach Tom also meeting us there. From there we went to the hotel (this also turned out to be another "sense of smell" drive).
From the hotel, the plan was to go to Olive Garden for an early dinner - the 3 mile trip took 35 mins!!:D:D:D
But all said and done, it was fantastic organization from the Asha volunteers, and they had taken every care to not cause us runners any discomfort! Thanks for that guys!! We called it a night at around 9:30, cause we needed to get up at 5 am the next day.
Sarika arrived at the hotel at 6:00 am sharp in the morning on Sunday! Good start for the day!:D All of left the hotel around 6:30 am after breakfast.
Met up with the coach and got last minute instructions - most important one - to not give up!
The race started at 8:00 am and we were in business. Vivek and I decided to keep together, and set a target of 4h30m for ourselves. We were maintaing a reasonalbe pace of ~10 min/mile, and were on target to make the 4h30m.
The course was amazing, and passed through many nice areas of Philadelphia. Around mile 10 was the longest uphill section of the circuit, and we kept pretty good time in that too! We kept meeting Asha volunteers along the way at the 3 mile, 6 mile marks etc. It feels really great to see people cheering you along! The whole atmosphere was something totally different, and it felt really nice to be a part of it!
Along the way, as the race progressed, little niggles started here and there, but Vivek and I kept telling each other to neglect that, and to not let 6 months of hard work go down the drain! We were doing pretty well, and reached the 14 mile mark in good time! The 14 mile mark was near the finish line (the course was like a figure of 8) and we actually saw the winner of the marathon finish!:P
Then came the most dragging and depressing part of the circuit. There were not many people to cheer in these sections between mile 15 to mile 18, and it could have been better. The Asha guys still did a fantastic jobs of being there to cheer us, and keep our spirits up. Around mile 17, I ran out of Gu, and desprately needed something! But I had to wait some time to reach the Asha guys, and that portion of the race was the toughest. I felt like every step I was taking was keeping me in the same place, and nothing I did seemed to get me going. Again, having Bala and Vivek around at this point really helped me keep going till I found some Gu!!!
I took a handful of packets from the volunteers, and at the next stop again picked up some more Clif energy gels from the marathon volunteers. That gave me something to burn, and made the going little easier. As the coach had said, I really did feel like S%#T during this part, but I am happy I kept going!! I HAD to finish the marathon!
Though I felt better after some Gatorade and Gu, as I kept progressing, every step was getting tougher and tougher, and needed real effort, physical as well as mental to keep on going! We turned around at mile 20, at this point Vivek and Bala had fallen behind, and I was pretty much alone. It was good to see Praveen and Joy at the 20 mile turnaround, and a few words of encouragement felt good!
At this point I decided to take every mile as it comes - walk through the water stops, and have as much gatorade and water and Gu as possible. This seemed to work for me, and I soon reached the 22 mile mark, where Chandru joined me for some time. That was another boost - Chandru told me that there were just 4 more to go, and I was looking good to finish!
After this point, it was just a matter of putting one foot after the other, neglecting all aches and pains, and just looking for the finish!! Sarika was expecting to see me there, and I did not want to disappoint her!! So I kept going, and timely shouts from Chandana, Sheetal, Rama, and other Asha people kept me going!! I was about 7 mins behind time by my calculations, so I wanted to make up some time. So some time after the 25 mile mark, I started speeding, and managed to pick up the pace. My thighs and calves were burning with pain, but I wanted to keep on going!! Tom was standing just around the bend before the finish, and was egging me on!! I saw Sarika near the finish, cheering me and pushing me on!!
Then it happened - I crossed the finish line, and I had completed my first marathon!!! What happened for a few minutes after that seems like a blur, but I did wave to Shreedhar and Diwakar waiting on the stands! The race volunteers removed my championchip, handed me my medal, and a sheet of foil to wrap myself in.
The whole experience had been amazing, and I was ecstatic! The only hitch was I had nothing left to express that!!!! I sat down for a good while before I could really move myself again!!:D:D
This has been an unbelievable experience, thanks to Asha, and Tom!
Above all, most special thanks to Sarika who helped me through these 6 months, and inspired me to complete the marathon - couldnt do it without her!!