Saturday, November 14, 2009
Delhi half-marathon: 2:19:02
Its been a few days since the race, and I have been procrastinating over writing about it ever since. Here it is finally -- I finished the 21K in 2:19:02, nearly 10 minutes faster than what I did in Mumbai earlier in the year, something I had not at all expected before the start -- I was only hoping to finish it under 2:30 hours, just as I had done in Mumbai!
As it turned out, I had a pretty terrific start by my standards. And the morning weather was perfect for running. Saw the frontrunners (Merga et al) coming back as I was nearing the 6K mark -- and those folks were on their 14th K! 10K was done in 1:03:05 -- the fastest 10K I've done till date. Once I realized that, I knew that a sub-2:20 was always on the cards. Who knew, maybe even a 2:15! (but that was not to be this time) Reckon I was able to keep up this pace right uptil the 16K mark. I probably did slow down a bit during the next two kms, but then I really hit the wall on 18K. Start feeling very exhausted, and it was tempting to just walk the last 3K. But, thankfully, I was able to give it my all and keep running -- albeit a little slowly -- in the last leg too :) As I neared the finish line, saw the clock ticking at 2:19 and counting -- I had managed to do it! Crossed the finish in just under 2:20 (my gross time was 2:19:56).
Here's a breakdown of my split and total times for the race:
Split@7.5K -- 47:13
Split@10K -- 1:03:05
Split@19.35K -- 2:05:35
Split@20K -- 2:10:47
Net time (21.097K) -- 2:19:02 (individual start till finish time)
Gross time -- 2:19:56 (race start time till finish time)
Overall rank -- 1695
I had never realized I could do this time -- in fact all my training runs were pointing to a 2:30+ 21K run! Felt a bit giddy after the race, but it was only for a few minutes. A nice Iodex massage (that was a great thing to do -- have volunteers massage your feet and legs after the race -- Mumbai are you listening?) and a banana and an apple later, I was feeling as good as ever.
Next up is Running and Living marathon and a half in Gurgaon on December 6th, where I'll be running the 21K again, and then the half in Mumbai in January. Hope that fitness and timings keep improving, over the next couple of months, at least.
Labels: half-marathon, running
Friday, October 30, 2009
#4028
4028 -- that's my running number for the Delhi half-marathon, to be held this Sunday. Second ever half-marathon I'll run in. Due to lack of sufficient training, a sub 2 hour time is not even remotely possible, but I should be able to run within 2 hours 30 minutes again. Weather during mornings is great for running (thanks to the onset of winter), and the route -- through the heart of Delhi -- also seems darn good. Looking forward to a great day of running.
Labels: half-marathon, running
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Running goal: Delhi half-marathon under two hours
Almost immediately after the Mumbai marathon in January, running lay abandoned. It had become too difficult to go out running, and thanks to lack of any exercise, the paunch has come back to its glorious heights.
Well, time to pick up the running shoes again, 'cause its just three and a half months left to the Delhi half-marathon, which, apparently will be held on 1st of November (info thanks to Tanvir Kazmi, who's been doing awesome work on promoting running online). So what's the target? As the title says, under two hours. Given that I ran my first ever half-marathon this year itself, and that too just under two and a half hours, its a nearly impossible task. But I will give it my best shot -- atleast I should be able to shed some pounds. By the way, I did get around to running a couple of times a few days back, but have relapsed into laziness since then. Hopefully, this post will give me some impetus to start again.
After the Delhi half-marathon, I'll be running the half in Mumbai again next year (registrations for the Mumbai marathon are already open, btw, and the places fill out very quick; so if you are planning to run, register now!). This year was great fun, hopefully next year will be too.
Well, time to pick up the running shoes again, 'cause its just three and a half months left to the Delhi half-marathon, which, apparently will be held on 1st of November (info thanks to Tanvir Kazmi, who's been doing awesome work on promoting running online). So what's the target? As the title says, under two hours. Given that I ran my first ever half-marathon this year itself, and that too just under two and a half hours, its a nearly impossible task. But I will give it my best shot -- atleast I should be able to shed some pounds. By the way, I did get around to running a couple of times a few days back, but have relapsed into laziness since then. Hopefully, this post will give me some impetus to start again.
After the Delhi half-marathon, I'll be running the half in Mumbai again next year (registrations for the Mumbai marathon are already open, btw, and the places fill out very quick; so if you are planning to run, register now!). This year was great fun, hopefully next year will be too.
Labels: half-marathon, marathon
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Mumbai Marathon 2009: Results
Update: Updated the links to ChampionChip site. The old links don't work anymore. Also updated my net finish time and rank.
Chip timer results for the Mumbai marathon 2009 are out. See yours at ChampionChip UAE:
As for me, I finished on rank967 961 for the half-marathon, with a gross time* of 2:37:32. Since I started the race around 7 9 minutes after the official start time, the net time** should be around 2:30 was 2:28:35. That's what the soft target for my first race was (the real, hard target being just to finish the damn race). So I am satisfied with the result. (But, as I would cover in another blog post, things could have been better...)
Notes:
* Gross time: the time period beginning from the start of the race (i.e. when the elite runners cross the start line) till the time you cross the finish line. This is considered your "official" time for a race.
** Net time: the time period beginning from the instant you cross the starting line till you cross the finish line. This is your actual time for the race.
Chip timer results for the Mumbai marathon 2009 are out. See yours at ChampionChip UAE:
As for me, I finished on rank
Notes:
* Gross time: the time period beginning from the start of the race (i.e. when the elite runners cross the start line) till the time you cross the finish line. This is considered your "official" time for a race.
** Net time: the time period beginning from the instant you cross the starting line till you cross the finish line. This is your actual time for the race.
Labels: half-marathon, marathon
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Saturday Long Run: 14 km, 1 hour 44 minutes
"Well, humour me."
Maybe that's what I would have said six months ago.
Maybe that's what I would have said six months ago.
For me, the hardest part of these long runs is not the pounding that the legs get (my runs are quite slow); rather, its the extreme patience with which the mind is tested. When you are running circles around a 400 metre track1, the mind gets exhausted just waiting for... the run to finish!
So of course I try all sorts of tricks to keep it busy (e.g. conjure up my greatest fantasies and see them waiting at the finish). I guess listening to music would also help, though I have been too lazy to get my iPod fixed (as usual). But whatever, with each passing week, that dream of crossing the finish line in Mumbai this January comes ever closer to reality. Guess I should be booking my ticket soon...
1 A run of 14 km means 35 laps around a 400m track. Such boredom. Fellow Jalandharis, any interesting places you can suggest to me for running? I do it at the Guru Gobind Singh stadium right now.
Labels: half-marathon, running
Saturday, September 20, 2008
6140
That's my running number for the Mumbai Marathon 2009, to be held on January 18th. I will be participating in the half-marathon.
Now, what? I hear you say. Half-marathon???
Yes.
In the first week of July this year, desperate to get into shape, and running out of ideas on how to get there, I had this strange thought of maybe running the half-marathon in Mumbai. There was enough time, and practicing for a 21 kilometer race would definitely result in a good bit of kilogram shedding.
So I decided to check up a bit more about the event, and what was the very first thing that I discovered?
Online registrations opened the very next day!
Now that was something, and being a generally impulsive person, I decided to go for it.
Not much practicing has happened since then (rather a good bit of flab accumulation has been taking place). But I got my confirmation mail today (alongwith the running number), so I am all fired up all over again. This is my most ambitious shot at good health and fitness till date. Hopefully, I will be upto the challenge when the day comes.
Now, what? I hear you say. Half-marathon???
Yes.
In the first week of July this year, desperate to get into shape, and running out of ideas on how to get there, I had this strange thought of maybe running the half-marathon in Mumbai. There was enough time, and practicing for a 21 kilometer race would definitely result in a good bit of kilogram shedding.
So I decided to check up a bit more about the event, and what was the very first thing that I discovered?
Online registrations opened the very next day!
Now that was something, and being a generally impulsive person, I decided to go for it.
Not much practicing has happened since then (rather a good bit of flab accumulation has been taking place). But I got my confirmation mail today (alongwith the running number), so I am all fired up all over again. This is my most ambitious shot at good health and fitness till date. Hopefully, I will be upto the challenge when the day comes.
Labels: fitness, half-marathon
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