Mumbai Marathon SCMM 2015
Just got done with the Mumbai marathon a few weeks back.(Wrote this in Feb but wanted to put the strava logs etc. finally got to it today!) This being my first marathon and given my training leading up to it I am very happy with what I was able to achieve. When it comes to sports and this can be applied to to life in general as well - the output is equal to the input. Obviously there are exceptions but this stands for the most part. What you sow is what you shall reap.
My training has been good but not ideal. A bit erratic, haven't been able to put in the hours that I ideally wanted to. I started training from November and ran my first 21km this season at the Pune marathon on Dec 7th in 2:01 which was my personal best as well. My previous best and my first half marathon was at Mumbai 2014 where I barely trained and ran a 2:11 miraculously.. I still don't know how I achieved that by just running a few 5km runs. Anyway so post the Pune marathon I put in another 2 20+ runs in December. I ran a 23 in aarey colony which was also my hill training run. With every run I was pushing the distance and running the longest I have ever run. Its not the best idea to mix the long runs with hill running, not recommended if you are planning to run your first marathon. All my runs were mostly in aarey colony and for those who are not familiar it's the only place on Mumbai that's green and is full of big ups and downs. This helped me unknowingly as it made me much faster on flatter courses. I decided to attempt my next big run on 25th Dec on the eastern expressway. It's the best road in the whole of Mumbai. Big 8 lane road with service lanes. Early in the morning you can see a lot of runners and cyclists taking this route for this reason. I was to head to Pune for back to back wedding and engagement functions of my friends. Being the holiday season as well I knew it was going to be very tough to put in a long run. So I decided to put in a long run and then continue to drive to Pune. I started running at 7am and by the time I finished it was 10 am and the sun was bearing down. I ended up doing a lot of runs till 9/10 am and this kind of prepared me for the heat of Mumbai. It was my best, most consistent run in training. Run a 25k in 2:48. Consistent pace of around 6:45 . The deviations of about 10/15 second between kilometers.
Link to the run details of my best run ever : https://www.strava.com/activities/232602790/pace-analysis
When I finished I was very happy with myself and could enjoy all the functions not worrying about anything. After a good rest I was ready to put in my last long run. I had heard a lot that you should go up to 36 and then taper and relax in the last 2 weeks. The marathon was close I just had one opportunity to put in a long run and make it count. So I ran in and around the Pune university on the 4th Jan. The university is again up and down which kind of irritated me so I decided to take a few longer loops outside on flatter roads. I managed to run a 35
km injury free - was a very satisfying run. I had dead legs by the end but was fine. I now had the confidence that I will finish the marathon distance. I made me believe that I am capable of running 42km!!
December training log.
Race day
My training has been good but not ideal. A bit erratic, haven't been able to put in the hours that I ideally wanted to. I started training from November and ran my first 21km this season at the Pune marathon on Dec 7th in 2:01 which was my personal best as well. My previous best and my first half marathon was at Mumbai 2014 where I barely trained and ran a 2:11 miraculously.. I still don't know how I achieved that by just running a few 5km runs. Anyway so post the Pune marathon I put in another 2 20+ runs in December. I ran a 23 in aarey colony which was also my hill training run. With every run I was pushing the distance and running the longest I have ever run. Its not the best idea to mix the long runs with hill running, not recommended if you are planning to run your first marathon. All my runs were mostly in aarey colony and for those who are not familiar it's the only place on Mumbai that's green and is full of big ups and downs. This helped me unknowingly as it made me much faster on flatter courses. I decided to attempt my next big run on 25th Dec on the eastern expressway. It's the best road in the whole of Mumbai. Big 8 lane road with service lanes. Early in the morning you can see a lot of runners and cyclists taking this route for this reason. I was to head to Pune for back to back wedding and engagement functions of my friends. Being the holiday season as well I knew it was going to be very tough to put in a long run. So I decided to put in a long run and then continue to drive to Pune. I started running at 7am and by the time I finished it was 10 am and the sun was bearing down. I ended up doing a lot of runs till 9/10 am and this kind of prepared me for the heat of Mumbai. It was my best, most consistent run in training. Run a 25k in 2:48. Consistent pace of around 6:45 . The deviations of about 10/15 second between kilometers.
Link to the run details of my best run ever : https://www.strava.com/activities/232602790/pace-analysis
When I finished I was very happy with myself and could enjoy all the functions not worrying about anything. After a good rest I was ready to put in my last long run. I had heard a lot that you should go up to 36 and then taper and relax in the last 2 weeks. The marathon was close I just had one opportunity to put in a long run and make it count. So I ran in and around the Pune university on the 4th Jan. The university is again up and down which kind of irritated me so I decided to take a few longer loops outside on flatter roads. I managed to run a 35
km injury free - was a very satisfying run. I had dead legs by the end but was fine. I now had the confidence that I will finish the marathon distance. I made me believe that I am capable of running 42km!!
December training log.
Jan Training Log
Race day
As usual its tough to get a good nights sleep before a big event like the Mumbai marathon. Manesh had come over from Pune and we had bought the usual things we do such as flavoured milk, bananas etc. The start line of Mumbai Marathon outside the iconic CST station all lit up is a sight to see. There is an extraordinary vibe in the air at the beginning of such an event. You can see the determination on the faces, the will to push them beyond their limits , the grit that they will not give up not matter what, the camaraderie to help each other get through the tough times, each pushing one another to achieve what they have never done before. Its not a competition with anyone, its only about doing your best and pushing yourself where you have never been before and come up on top , the positive energy in the air is unbelievable. Its amazing the amount of positivity in that present in that 100 sq meter area of the start line. Words dont do justice to it , you have to feel it for yourself.
I started off nice and easy being my first marathon. The last thing you want to do is push too hard at the beginning and not finish. Finishing in a decent time was a bonus. I ran the 5,10,15,20 km at a consistent 6 min pace. The sea link came at around 15km and then you pass the runners who are running the half marathon. There are so many people running the half - its crazy. The full seems nice and chilled out in comparison. I was at the 30km mark in 3:06 mins. I was happy with that but i started to get slower after this. By 35km you are at sea face heading towards the peddar road climb. I started to walk in between here and there now for 5/10 secs. A fellow runner while passing me said, "don't stop, keep running". And that motivated me to push myself. I kept telling myself to hang in there this too shall pass - and it did. I had reached a stage where if I stopped now it would be tough to maintain pace and the only way was to run in a rhythm even if it was slow. "Just keep running no walking" I told myself. Then came peddar road and that innocent looking climb can be a mountain when it comes at km 36 and you have tired legs and a mind that is starting to play tricks. So I walked most part of the climb and started to run towards marine drive. The end was near now. Within a few kms I was running on the beautiful marine drive. The atmosphere was alive. Lot of bands, colors, & people cheering. A complete carnival atmosphere on the outside but inside - in my mind I was fighting my own battles. I kept running but my pace had dropped. I was ok with it. I had initially set a target of 5 hours and would be happy with anything around 4:40 and that's exactly what I took to finish. All of 4 hours and 42 minutes. I was now a marathon runner!!!! It was a very proud moment. My first marathon that too under 5 hours. I knew given my training of just one 30+ run post 30 my pace would drop and I'm satisfied with my performance. I still cant believe it.
Link to the mumbai marathon stats
I started off nice and easy being my first marathon. The last thing you want to do is push too hard at the beginning and not finish. Finishing in a decent time was a bonus. I ran the 5,10,15,20 km at a consistent 6 min pace. The sea link came at around 15km and then you pass the runners who are running the half marathon. There are so many people running the half - its crazy. The full seems nice and chilled out in comparison. I was at the 30km mark in 3:06 mins. I was happy with that but i started to get slower after this. By 35km you are at sea face heading towards the peddar road climb. I started to walk in between here and there now for 5/10 secs. A fellow runner while passing me said, "don't stop, keep running". And that motivated me to push myself. I kept telling myself to hang in there this too shall pass - and it did. I had reached a stage where if I stopped now it would be tough to maintain pace and the only way was to run in a rhythm even if it was slow. "Just keep running no walking" I told myself. Then came peddar road and that innocent looking climb can be a mountain when it comes at km 36 and you have tired legs and a mind that is starting to play tricks. So I walked most part of the climb and started to run towards marine drive. The end was near now. Within a few kms I was running on the beautiful marine drive. The atmosphere was alive. Lot of bands, colors, & people cheering. A complete carnival atmosphere on the outside but inside - in my mind I was fighting my own battles. I kept running but my pace had dropped. I was ok with it. I had initially set a target of 5 hours and would be happy with anything around 4:40 and that's exactly what I took to finish. All of 4 hours and 42 minutes. I was now a marathon runner!!!! It was a very proud moment. My first marathon that too under 5 hours. I knew given my training of just one 30+ run post 30 my pace would drop and I'm satisfied with my performance. I still cant believe it.
Link to the mumbai marathon stats
Wondering what to do next. Conquer my fears and apprehensions of brms by doing the SR? Aim to run the marathon in sub 4 and train rigorously from August? Train to better my half iron timing and get ready to attempt the full iron man distance? Or just relax and keep running and cycling just enough to be fit... The downside of doing a 4:40 on my very first attempt I'd that now if I do it again I have to do it in a better time. Maybe some where around 4 hours which means I gotta train twice as hard and I just don't know if I'm ready for that.
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