The 5th edition of the Ultra Marathon which was held at
Our Native Village at Hesaraghatta [as always] yesterday was my first Ultra. As mentioned
in my previous blog post, I had reduced my running category from 50Kms to
12.5Kms considering the state of my left foot. This was more of a safety net I
chose for in case I could not complete 50Kms on the race day, I did not want my
name in the list of DNF [Did Not Finish]. Though my new category was of 12.5Kms, at the back of my mind I had a thought to run few extra miles and
complete 25Kms. Well, Ultra allows that. Only thing is, the timing certificate
will still be given for the officially registered category.
I woke up 5AM in the morning and left home around 5:20AM towards
Hesaraghatta. Though people had suggested me to take the road via
Yelahanka-Rajanukunte, the route was quite unfamiliar to me. I did not want to
risk it and reach late for the race. I took the Hebbal-Goragunte Palya-Tumkur
Road route instead. The directions to the venue were very clear and descriptive
in the Racer’s Kit. The frequent hoardings by the side of the road guided me
whenever I was in doubt. Ultra as well as RFL insists on car pooling. I was
more than willing to share my car / take a ride to the venue, but most of my
running acquaintances living close to my house were going on their own. I
thought it would be foolish to share my car with some strangers in the wee
hours by posting an ad in the site or anything.
12.5Kms category was to start at 7AM. I reached the venue around
6:45AM. As soon as I reached I realized that it would be a trouble to carry my
car keys with me while running. My running shorts did not have pockets. I was
ready to keep my wallet and mobile phone in the car but where would I keep the
car keys. The lesson learnt is that I should have gotten my waistband to carry
this little stuff while running. Luckily the wrist band I was wearing could
hold the car keys! I stuck my keys inside the wrist band and noted in my mind
to keep checking the car keys while running. Going to the race ill-equipped is
like not able to learn that one important theorem before going to the Maths
exam. I pinned by BIB to my t-shirt and headed towards the start point. All the
12.5Kms guys were given red colored bib, green for 25Kms and I think purple for
50Kms and more.
The start point was quite far from the parking place. The 75Kms,
100Kms race had begun at 5AM and 37.5Kms, 50Kms race 6AM. The special
announcements about the senior citizen’s participation, people who shared their
birthdays with the race day and participation of last year’s winners went on
for a while. There were also instructions about the refreshment counters at the
frequent intervals of the trail. I was surprised to see not many people
stretching when race was about to begin in few minutes. I did a bit of
stretching which is very very necessary before the long distance running. It
was time to say, ‘on your mark, get set, go!’ Like all the marathons, the
people crowd a lot in the initial 2-2.5Kms, which curtails the speed and hence
affects the time of people who run little faster than the aam-junta. I
manoeuvred to attain my normal pace of running. The initial 2-3 Kms of race route
always sifts the grains from the chaff. What remains after that is seriously
trained runners. And I must say, there was very less chaff in Ultra. After all,
Ultra is known for its tough trail and only the trained runners participate in
this.
I had caught a guy who was running with pretty good pace that I
could keep up with. He kept pulling me for quite some distance. I think after
5Kms of running, there was a slope where that guy maintained his normal speed
and I had to slow down. Many 12.5Kms runners overtook me as well as
participants from different category who were on their 2nd lap of the race. For
the next 5kms or so, a colleague of mine and me kept overtaking each other
alternatively. It inspires me when such a runner is around. This went on for a
while. I slowed down to sip some electrolyte at a refreshment counter. By then
my colleague took a significant lead over me. I think around 7Kms [I do not
remember this precisely] the runners had to take U-turn of the lap. My timing
chip tied to my shoes beeped for the 2nd time when I stepped over the magnetic
mat, the first time was when I started. My white running shoes had turned red
because of the mud on the trail. The return from the U turn to the starting
point was getting tougher and tougher because of the Sun. I had started
sweating profusely. I kept hydrating myself with more liquid at the refreshment
counters. An old problem revisited. The chapped nipple! The friction with the
T-Shirt causes chapped nipple to long distance runners. There was a severe burning
sensation in my right nipple. For me, it is always the right nipple that gets chapped
more. Being a rightie, I think it is to do with the way I swing my right arm
more while running. Runners usually apply lubricant to their nipples to avoid
this. I prefer putting a band-aid over the nipples to avoid the friction. I had
forgotten this on the race day. I kept asking for the band-aids in the
refreshment counters. The two of the counters did not have it. I kept running
in pain towards the finish line of the lap.
The board on the way read 10Kms. I looked at my wrist watch. I had
taken exactly 1 hour to complete 10Kms. That was not my best timing. I had lost
pace because of pain and also merciless Sun. I was left with 2.5Kms more. I
made up my mind not to let more than 3 runners overtake me till I cross the
finish line. I think that was too ambitious of a strategy. Within the next 1
Km, more than 5 strong runners overtook me.
I put all my energy towards reaching the finish line. Diya burns
bright before it dies . I went past the final curve to the finish line. I could
hear people cheering the finishers. I pushed myself hard to reach the finish
line. Made sure nobody overtook me from that point. Ran under the arch towards
the point where we had started our race from. I could hear a female announcing
on the microphone, “Here we have another 12.5Kms finisher”. One of the
volunteers presented me the finisher medal. I looked at my watch. I had
completed 12.5Kms in 1 hour 17 minutes. Not bad, but not good either. Ultra
announces the position and the timing of each of the participant in 2-3 days.
Will I hold a position within first 50 runners off the 300+ runners? Well that
would be too much to hope for.
By the way, with these many thoughts running in my mind, soon after
receiving the medal, I returned for the 2nd lap. I had made up my mind to
complete 25kms. The burning Sun had turned more violent in the 2nd lap. I had
reduced my pace significantly. My right nipple’s complaint was still not
addressed. I held the front of t-shirt little away from the chest for a while.
But this was just the temporary solution. The moment I let my t-shirt touch my
chest, the pain used reoccur. I had started feeling hungry. I munched pieces of
sandwiches, oranges and drank lot of water at the refreshment counters. I
ran really slow towards the U-turn of the lap. Thank God, the refreshment
counter there had the band-aids. I stuck two of them to cover my right nipple
properly. This avoided the friction and pain vanished. That does not mean, I
started running well after that. In fact, I was just pushing my body too hard
to complete 25Kms.
Umpteen number of participants overtook me. Kudos to their
zeal and fitness levels. After 16Kms or so, I stopped running and started
walking. Thinking that it would be a good break for my legs and then to start
again. I usually never do this. The problem with this approach is it breaks the
momentum. The more I walk, the more difficult I find it to resume my running. I
kept run-walk-run-walking for few more kilometres. I saw the board that read
22.5Kms. I was left with 2.5 Kms more to finish my first ever 25Kms mark in an
official marathon. I decided not to walk any more till I reach the finish line.
I tried to gear up. But my legs were too tired to run anymore. My hands were
gesturing of a run but my speed was nothing more than a brisk walk. Few runners
had gathered around a fainted runner!! The help by the doctors and the
medication was timely I hope. The delay in these situations could prove fatal.
The doctors there said runner’s pulse rate was very low. I felt sad for the
person. I stood there for a while. A doctor injected him to bring him back to
consciousness. I started running again.
Somehow, I managed to reach the finish line. I had finished 25Kms
in 3hours 27 mins! That means, for the 2nd lap of 12.5 Kms I had taken close to
2hours 15 mins. 1 hour more than my first 12.5Kms. That is pathetic.
To sum up my first experience in Ultra, I ran 12.5Kms successfully
and barely managed to complete 25Kms.
