Prelude...
Okay, before we begin...
The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is old news by now. I thought I'd write about what an epic race I had there once the euphoria of a race well run has worn off a bit. You know...keep it objective?
That's not happening...I'm going to brag shamelessly in this post.
But don't worry...it'll be all very indirect and subtle-like. I'm actually going to complain like 'O noes! I had such a bad race! What a bummer!'... all the while knowing that I did pretty good. I'm going to do a little veiled narcissism mixed with some false modesty and sprinkled with the usual pointless soulful insights and bad self-deprecatory humor that you guys want to strangle me for so much...
Without further ado...
Inner Demons
Ah, those quirky things called 'race goals'...
Or 'inner demons', as I like to fondly call them...because I tend to see them as mental struggles rather than physical ones.
I've battled these demons often enough...
Sometimes, one sets a goal and reaches it, and feels happy. At other times, one sets a goal and misses it, and feels sad. And at yet other times, one sets no goal, and feels...I don't know...something...
And then there's my trademark way of doing it, to wit...
Step One : Set a goal.
Next, get cocky.
Consequently...set another goal.
Go to race confused about which goal is your actual goal...
Achieve one goal. Miss the other.
Sit around for a while not knowing whether to feel happy or sad.
Then feel happy and sad, and write a blog post about it that makes no sense.
Simple enough? You should try it sometime :p
For the longest time, I had been telling myself that a 1:35 Half Marathon is my goal for this year.That's a target I had set for myself when I did a PB of 1:44 in March this year. That is a realistic goal, right there. So far, so good?
During the summer, then, I ran some races that really made me feel like I would keep surpassing myself, no end...
The first was the mid-July Beer and Breakfast Half Marathon, here in Gurgaon, in which I cut a fair two minutes off my best by running 1:42. Stress on 'mid-July'. Trying conditions, to say the least. Very frankly, I surprised myself.
The next was the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon, where the term 'trying conditions' was redefined for me. And yet, on my way to a PR in the full, I managed to lop off another minute at the Half Marathon split.
And finally, end September, with the weather getting slightly better (but not much), the Dwarka Half Marathon, where I finally broke under the 1:40 mark.
At that point, I still had two whole months of training to go before ADHM. And suddenly, I was not so sure that 1:35 was a worthy goal anymore. Still trying to maintain a scrap of sensibility, I told myself that I'd try for a 40-minute 10k, and if I'm able to do that, I'd surely be able to break 1:30.
I never did get around to trying that (Actually, I'm still not sure if I can do it). But then, a couple of really strong training runs, a speedwork and a tempo that I've mentioned in my last post put me right on the edge of it. I spent a lot of time anxiously fretting over what I should aim for at ADHM...
...And I was still fretting as Bipasha Basu blew a kiss at me when I crossed the starting mat that Sunday.
A Half Marathon in 1:30 requires a pace just a morsel shy of 4:16 per km. My quest for the ever elusive negative split started well on race day. I did the first kilometer in around 4:30. But no sooner was I out of the start-out rush, my subconscious panicked. I started banking time almost immediately, and the first 14 kilometers flew by at an average pace hovering between 4:10 to 4:15. I found myself running my fastest 5k in 20:46, and my fastest 10k in 41:44 enroute.
Predictably, this fast pace streak came to a sudden end after that.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't cover any subsequent km in less than 4:20, dropping down to 4:33 for the penultimate km. I remember barking an extremely impolite expletive at the sign saying '300 meters to go' as my watch flashed 1:30:00.
Final time- 1:30:59, which, to me, two weeks later, still reads...
Okay, before we begin...
The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is old news by now. I thought I'd write about what an epic race I had there once the euphoria of a race well run has worn off a bit. You know...keep it objective?
That's not happening...I'm going to brag shamelessly in this post.
But don't worry...it'll be all very indirect and subtle-like. I'm actually going to complain like 'O noes! I had such a bad race! What a bummer!'... all the while knowing that I did pretty good. I'm going to do a little veiled narcissism mixed with some false modesty and sprinkled with the usual pointless soulful insights and bad self-deprecatory humor that you guys want to strangle me for so much...
Without further ado...
Inner Demons
Ah, those quirky things called 'race goals'...
Or 'inner demons', as I like to fondly call them...because I tend to see them as mental struggles rather than physical ones.
I've battled these demons often enough...
Sometimes, one sets a goal and reaches it, and feels happy. At other times, one sets a goal and misses it, and feels sad. And at yet other times, one sets no goal, and feels...I don't know...something...
And then there's my trademark way of doing it, to wit...
Step One : Set a goal.
Next, get cocky.
Consequently...set another goal.
Go to race confused about which goal is your actual goal...
Achieve one goal. Miss the other.
Sit around for a while not knowing whether to feel happy or sad.
Then feel happy and sad, and write a blog post about it that makes no sense.
Simple enough? You should try it sometime :p
For the longest time, I had been telling myself that a 1:35 Half Marathon is my goal for this year.That's a target I had set for myself when I did a PB of 1:44 in March this year. That is a realistic goal, right there. So far, so good?
During the summer, then, I ran some races that really made me feel like I would keep surpassing myself, no end...
The first was the mid-July Beer and Breakfast Half Marathon, here in Gurgaon, in which I cut a fair two minutes off my best by running 1:42. Stress on 'mid-July'. Trying conditions, to say the least. Very frankly, I surprised myself.
The next was the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon, where the term 'trying conditions' was redefined for me. And yet, on my way to a PR in the full, I managed to lop off another minute at the Half Marathon split.
And finally, end September, with the weather getting slightly better (but not much), the Dwarka Half Marathon, where I finally broke under the 1:40 mark.
At that point, I still had two whole months of training to go before ADHM. And suddenly, I was not so sure that 1:35 was a worthy goal anymore. Still trying to maintain a scrap of sensibility, I told myself that I'd try for a 40-minute 10k, and if I'm able to do that, I'd surely be able to break 1:30.
I never did get around to trying that (Actually, I'm still not sure if I can do it). But then, a couple of really strong training runs, a speedwork and a tempo that I've mentioned in my last post put me right on the edge of it. I spent a lot of time anxiously fretting over what I should aim for at ADHM...
...And I was still fretting as Bipasha Basu blew a kiss at me when I crossed the starting mat that Sunday.
A Half Marathon in 1:30 requires a pace just a morsel shy of 4:16 per km. My quest for the ever elusive negative split started well on race day. I did the first kilometer in around 4:30. But no sooner was I out of the start-out rush, my subconscious panicked. I started banking time almost immediately, and the first 14 kilometers flew by at an average pace hovering between 4:10 to 4:15. I found myself running my fastest 5k in 20:46, and my fastest 10k in 41:44 enroute.
Predictably, this fast pace streak came to a sudden end after that.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't cover any subsequent km in less than 4:20, dropping down to 4:33 for the penultimate km. I remember barking an extremely impolite expletive at the sign saying '300 meters to go' as my watch flashed 1:30:00.
Final time- 1:30:59, which, to me, two weeks later, still reads...
This is what a demon that has handed you your ass on a plate looks like.
Week11 and 12 of 18. Took a week to recover from all that, physically. Morale-wise, nothing like a good long run on the weekend to lift up your spirits. There's another 20-miler I'm doing...a night run...tonight. That ought to be fun. Can't dwell on my defeats or my victories...water under the bridge...miles to go... bigger fish to fry etc.
In the words of Kipling...
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same...
I smiled through this one..thankyou:)
ReplyDeletePersonally,I would pamper a demon that looked like this forever:)
Congratulations on a super run at ADHM and wish you PBs galore :)
Thank you, Sangeeta. Do keep coming back :)
ReplyDelete