Chronicles of a marathon

Some thoughts that crossed my mind when running the Standard Chartered Mumbai Half Marathon 2011. Most of this was created while running and immediately after... took a while to pen (key?) it down

Before starting
Very important to lubricate all joints.Especially for us sweaty people.

A sleeveless vest and shorts may be excellent to run in, but they ain't the best thing to wear when taking an auto at 5.30 am. And the nakedness does seem a bit out of place in Marol, thankfully it ain't that cold. One has to also be dispassionate about what to carry (still regret carrying that stupid pack of biscuits all the way and back home) and always alert of stuff falling of from ones small pockets.

Ah the small joys of knowing the importance of stretching each and every muscle and how to do the same. Thanks striders!

And so it begins, seems like the qualifying times and registration cutoffs have helped. The crowd is much lower this time, I reach the start line within 6 minutes of the gun, this is a new record. Still, thank god for timing chips and stop watches.

While running
First 2 kms are spent sidestepping the walk in the park runners... Dude, if all u want to do is walk, do it to the left please. We may be amateurs, but we still have our internal targets to beat. And if you are walking already, maybe you are in the wrong race.

The 2 U turns, stupid stupid stupid. How can you have 2 U turns in the first 2 kms. Total pile up of the crowd and the momentum breaks. I have done the first 3 kms in 23 minutes and at this pace, it doesn't look like I will break the 2.5 hour barrier this time.

Here comes the Sea Link. And now we have a good rhythm going, the 4th km is done in 6.5 minutes, maybe they put the km marker incorrect... still, we are making pace. Running on the sea link at the break of dawn is something else. The 45 minute early start has helped. It is beautiful and the weather is fantastic. There is a strong urge to stop and admire the orange sky... but no, we have a time to beat!

And are we beating the time or what! Seems like the initial slow pace was all due to the side stepping and the U bends. I am doing a consistent 9 kmph now and the 2.5 looks very possible now :)

As we cross the 1 hour mark, I can almost see the 9 km marker. Think its time to take my first sip of water. By now I am harboring hopes of crossing the finish in 2 hours 25 minutes.

And here we are at Haji Ali. This time, there is huge bunch of people offering water, biscuits, glucose, oranges and sweets. Seems like everyones aping the Peddar road residents. But you guys are the original and the best... salute!

The smart marketing managers at Lucozade decided to offer free bottles to the runners mid way. However, maybe they should have applied their minds a bit on the bottle size. No one wants to carry a 500 ml bottle and run. Soon, there are half drunk bottles being thrown and then there are no takers. Everyones gone back to their favourite carry along, the 200 ml kingfisher water bottle.

Its 14 kms and finally the dreaded Peddar road uphill and flyover arrives. Having run over it last year, this year I take the more prudent approach. After a 14 km run, I take my first walk break. This one is going to last until I ascend the flyover. It wasn't part of the plan, and my rhythm and 2.25 target is gone, but in hindsight, I think this break helped me in my last 3 kms.

My calculating mind tells me that the full marathon lead pack should be crossing me any time soon, I was right, there they are, bang on cue. We meet right on top of the flyover. What amazing pace, you cant help but applaud in awe. And the Indian lead pack is not very far behind the Africans. Its only 8 kms for them yet. 34 more to go!

Its 16 kms now and we have turned onto the Marine Drive. Again the impact of the early start is obvious. This stretch was dreaded in the past cos you are anyway low on energy at this stage and suddenly there is no protection from the sun for a long stretch. However, this time, the sun is milder and at places, the tall buildings give shade. By now, every shade is sought very longingly. A lot of water is being poured on the head.

The first of the Star One cool zones arrives. Brilliant concept, very well placed, very welcome. Thanks Star One

The 17 km marker has come, and there is strong motivation to walk. But I have to keep running. These 3 kms are for the 3 most important women in my life.

Target at the start was to was to cross 17 km marker before the 2 hour mark. We have beat that with more than 3 minutes to spare. Target is now very much in my reach. However, 2 hours and 25 seems out of reach :(

We cross 18 kms at exactly 2 hours and 4 minutes. The 2nd 9 has taken the same time as the first 9. The initial slow pace in the first 9 was as impactful as the 0.5 km walk in the 2nd one :(

The 19th km is the toughest. I have managed to run it, but it took 9 minutes, this is not good. I do the smart thing again and stop running. The body is screaming for nourishment now. Time to take in some glucose.

We are running again. The 20 km marker is crossed at 2 hours and 21 minutes. The break at 19 helped. I am able to run the last km at decent pace. Finally as i cross the line, I know I have done it. The clock says 2 hour sand 34, my stop watch tells me that its 2 hours and 28.5 :). I feel amazing, I feel awesome, I feel ecstatic. In this euphoria, thankfully I remember to stretch. Each paining muscle is done justice to.

After Finishing
You always end up meeting so many people at the marathon.This time, I meet folks from IIMB, office and my trekking circle after the finish line.

I clearly am in the best shape of my life. Not only am I able to stretch after the run, the 2 km walk to marine Lines station ain't as painful.

Learning of the day, "Running with a wet bum can cause severe cold." Seems like all the water I poured on my head went on my back and was soaked by my vest and shorts. Since the sun on the front, the posterior remained wet and cold for the entire duration and even after. Sneezes start within a couple of hours and by night the cold has taken a strong grip and there is mild fever. I am in miserable shape in office on Monday and on Tuesday, I take a sick leave. A small price to pay for an amazing self victory.

Finally, to summarise

  

Bib	Name	Category	Net OverAll Rank	Net Category Rank	Net Gender Rank	split @8.1K	Gun Time / Chip Time
9521	Aliasghar Bawa	OPEN	2131	1607	1952 / 5809	0:55:47	2:33:48 / 2:28:33

Of Marriages

And they keep falling like nine pins. Its carnage, its a bloodbath I tell you. 

Finally, even the last bastion of bachelorhood has fallen... the person whose exploits as a serial wedding attender raised some sniggers, whose life of gay abandon raised some envy and whose parents had almost lost hope in ever knowing his whereabouts. Yes ladies and gentlemen, yours truly is taking the plunge this calendar year. However that is not the objective of this blog.

The objective of this blog is to talk about 2 bastions, that have been swaying and tipping and leaning and trying to fall for a while now. 2 bastions, that are spoken of in reverence, that are the epitomes of bachelorhood, if there is was any such thing. The 2 bastions of bachelorhood of Asian Paints, Pradeep Vedula 'Shastry' and Sabyasachi 'Sabhya' Ghosh.

Former roommates, its hard to tell which one has jinxed the others endeavors of getting hitched. However, one of the two has definitely got the shaadi dev (marriage gods or as they say in Sabhya's town, shaadi deb) pissed. For not only have the 2 been struggling to find their life partner (despite a very passionate effort in this regard), their effects are also rubbing in on their younger and hence less eligible roommates. Infact, legend goes that, at one time, anyone who shared a room with Shastry (including women ;) ) got married within 6 months. However, its been so long that noone even remembers the last time that happened.

Lets first talk about the 100 kg, lean, mean, soccerball kicking machine, Sabhya. At 31, the gentle giant is quite young by bengali arranged marriage standards. However, in the his opinion, he is ready and has been ready since the last 4 years. It seemed to us that he indicated his readiness by buying a fridge. Imagine, which bachelor would waste his hard earned money on a fridge, especially in his nomadic days of house shifting every 6-8 months. Many a moons have passed since Sabhya bought his fridge. It has been the only constant in his life since. Roommates have come and gone, cities, houses and work roles have changed. Even many a potential prospects have come and gone. The fridge remains Sabhya's best companion. It is also his most beloved companion. Sabhya has deep passionate affection for his food and that automatically translates into a lusting for his fridge. However, as materialistic as his reasons may be, I think its time Sabhya commits himself to his fridge. He should get married to it. Self and Shastry have also determined a few strong arguments in favour... a la 10 reasons why Sabhya should marry his refrigerator... here goes

1. It is the most imp thing in his life 
2. He has been found manyatimes craving for his fridge in the middle of the night 
3. Sometimes he dreams of his fridge
4. If stranded on a deserted island, the only thing he wants for company is his fridge
5. Given a choice, he would love to sleep with his fridge beside him  
6. Coz his fridge would say things that women say about men.. like
1. "He can never get his hands off me"
2. "He is always licking and biting"
3. "and drooling at the sight of me"
4. "sometimes i feel i am nothing but a piece of furniture in the room"
7. And finally, Sabhya’s fridge will always live in fear of a new, younger, more voluminous fridge coming into his life…

So that one being settled, we now come to the 2nd object of this blog. Shastry, the man who can eat like an elephant and still look like a rat (imagine how much he must excrete). In his case, there is actually not much to be said. His is a man of modest expectations. All he wants is a extremely fair, fantastic looking, very hawt, totally wife material by nature, awesome cook or all rice dishes, constant food providing, intellectually and verbosely brilliant, Telugu brahmin girl from a good family who will dote on him. Oh, and she should not be from his gothram and the kundalis must match. He is after all a man of simple taste and balanced expectations. We wonder why our tall, dark and handsome friend hasn't found her yet. Well, wonders never cease. However, I have a solution. A la Aishwarya Rai.

The best solution for Shastry is to marry a tree. 

After that, all his bad luck will change and befall on the girl who he then finds. So if anyone knows a nice good Telugu tree from a good family and different gothram, do suggest. A food giving tree preferred. If not for your love for Shastry, then for the love of humanity, and his poor bachelor roommates.