Its been 2 weeks since the marathon.....the excitement has died down, I am back on the ground, and life goes on as usual. But everytime I think about those 4 hours and 36 mins of my life, I get an incredible rush...and an urge to re-live that all over again.
The last few months have changed me quite a bit, and I dont want to go back to the sedentary life that I was leading. I still want to feel uncomfortable and restless if I dont run for a while, I still want to get that calm quiet deep sleep at night, I still want to feel the exhilaration of completing a run quicker than the last time, I still want to the pain in my joints after a long hard run!!!
It may seem crazy, but all that I have just written is quite true!! So I am setting goals for myself, which will be published in this blog as and when I achieve them!!
On another note...not related to running....I just read a post on another blog, on how one associates scents with people, or events that one holds dear. I can vouch for that - Mumbai has a distinct scent in the air, that you do not get anywhere else. The moment you step out of the airplane into Mumbai airport, you immediately get that smell. People may find it extremely offensive, but to me that the scent is of coming back to where I belong!! I am not a fan of Mumbai, and dont like the city much. But this scent signifies that I am just a couple of hours away from Pune, home. It fills me with such intense energy, that jet-lag, weariness, fatigue simply melt away!!!
Aditya Kelkar
Monday, December 05, 2005
Monday, November 21, 2005
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!!
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!!
Monday, November 14, 2005
End of training..........looking back............
Yesterday, we unofficially completed our marathon training program with the last long run - a 10 miler. Now all that remains are a couple of during the week runs of 5/4 miles. Then, next sunday is the big one - 26.2 miles of running fun!!!!
Looking back, I must say that the last 6 months have been some of the greatest for me yet! In June, when we started the training, the only thing I had on my mind was "how the hell is it possible? how the hell can I run 26.2 miles, when I cant even do 4 without needing life support?" But Coach Tom sounded extremely confident of converting a bunch of non-runners into endurance runners fit enough to COMPLETE a marathon! So I decided to believe him, and go with the flow!
And how things have been flowing!!! It is pretty amazing to see yourself grow as a runner with every week, get fitter, trimmer, and stronger! Each one of us, 30 odd people, has lost a substantial amount of weight, all of us are looking healthier, and happier! In fact, comparing my photo before the training, and right now, I cant imagine 6 months of hard work can work such wonders!
The whole group has developed a great sense of camaraderie, each one cheering the others, and urging them on. There have been so many instances during the long run, where each one of us has started thinking of stopping, but has been egged and pushed by the others to go on and complete the run. It was most evident during the half marathon, where everyone was happy not only with his/her own finishing time, but also was ecstatic with what the others had achieved. Some runners completed the half marathon enduring pain and injury, and were acknowledged by everyone as great inspiration!!
It has been a wonderful and enriching experience, not only by doing something so different and physically demanding, but also sharing the experience along with so many others!
Now comes the best part.........heres wishing good luck and "cool runnings" to all!!
Looking back, I must say that the last 6 months have been some of the greatest for me yet! In June, when we started the training, the only thing I had on my mind was "how the hell is it possible? how the hell can I run 26.2 miles, when I cant even do 4 without needing life support?" But Coach Tom sounded extremely confident of converting a bunch of non-runners into endurance runners fit enough to COMPLETE a marathon! So I decided to believe him, and go with the flow!
And how things have been flowing!!! It is pretty amazing to see yourself grow as a runner with every week, get fitter, trimmer, and stronger! Each one of us, 30 odd people, has lost a substantial amount of weight, all of us are looking healthier, and happier! In fact, comparing my photo before the training, and right now, I cant imagine 6 months of hard work can work such wonders!
The whole group has developed a great sense of camaraderie, each one cheering the others, and urging them on. There have been so many instances during the long run, where each one of us has started thinking of stopping, but has been egged and pushed by the others to go on and complete the run. It was most evident during the half marathon, where everyone was happy not only with his/her own finishing time, but also was ecstatic with what the others had achieved. Some runners completed the half marathon enduring pain and injury, and were acknowledged by everyone as great inspiration!!
It has been a wonderful and enriching experience, not only by doing something so different and physically demanding, but also sharing the experience along with so many others!
Now comes the best part.........heres wishing good luck and "cool runnings" to all!!
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