I started running less than a year back only to prepare for limited running as part of Olympic Duathlon in October 2014. At that time, I had no idea that I would be running a full marathon at Hyderabad in August 2015! Located at the heart of Deccan Plateau, Hyderabad is full of ups and downs with the full marathon route covering an elevation gain of about 1000 ft making it one of the toughest marathons in India!

My fitness partner Mani motivated me around late April to register for the full marathon, giving ample time to prepare. I promptly started on daily 5K to 7K runs in May and it went well till I injured my shin in a couple of weeks. I continued to run but the pain came back every time I ran. So, I stopped running for a few weeks. I also realised that running daily would not help with marathon preparation. I limited my runs to just thrice a week coupled with cycling over the weekend for cross training.

Around the same time, Raman Mishra, a marathon veteran joined my team at work and he suggested strengthening exercises to prepare my muscles for the ordeal. I started with a weekly routine that included a combination of strengthening exercises, medium runs and cycling for cross training. That seemed to help. I decided to do at least 4 long runs of over 20 Km with one of them being 32 Km.

First practice long run – Friday evening, 19th June. I always ran or rode during mornings. I was offered company for a long run along one of the toughest marathon segments on a Friday evening. I tried but it proved to be a bad idea as I was fully exhausted by the time I finished only 20 Km in 3 hours! Overall pace was bad and I ended up with cramps as well. Lesson learnt – don’t run after a stressful day of work!

During the first week of July, I cycled along with David Frost during his India visit and he gave me a few valuable tips. One of them was to walk up inclines during the marathon and another was to practice standing up continuously for more than 4 hours. I did not think the second one was required, but realized its importance during the subsequent long runs.

Second long practice run – Saturday, July 25th. I shifted my focus after the first long run to cycling to complete my 200 Km brevet. So, I could manage my second long run only after more than a month from the first. Raman and I decided to trace the full marathon route and cover 32 Km. I was still recovering from an upset stomach and subsequent cold. I was not sure how much I will be able to hold up but I was able to cover 27 Km in 3 hrs 45 mins. I was not able to move an inch after that. So, I ended up with mixed feelings on my ability complete a full marathon.

Third long practice run – Sunday, August 2nd. Mani, Raman and I participated in Alankrita run along a beautiful route in the city outskirts. Though we were told it would cover 24 Km, it ended up only being 22 Km that I finished in 2 hrs 39 mins. The pace was certainly better than the previous run but it was flat route. And the 32 Km run was still pending.

Fourth and final long practice run – Saturday, August 22nd. With the freedom ride during the weekend of August 15th, I could do the pending long run only during the weekend preceding the marathon. It was risky and not recommended at all. But I decided to take a calculated risk by doing it on Saturday, giving me 8 days to recover. I ran along along the marathon route. I managed to find some thing to drink for hydration at a couple of points enroute but after covering 28 Km, I started feeling terribly hungry. Though a few Km short of my 32 Km target, I stopped at a restaurant after covering 29 Km in 4 hrs. It was an anti-climax as I could still not manage to complete a 32 Km run before the marathon. To make it worse, I caught a cold the next day as an after effect. To recover quickly, I started going to bed by 10PM to give myself 8 hours of sleep. That helped and I regained my fitness in time for the marathon day!

D-Day! I woke up at 3:30 AM, forced myself a good portion of granola and arrived at the start point by 4:30 AM for the 5 AM start. Marathon was flagged off on time at 5 AM with more than 600 full marathon participants. After the usual jostling during the first 500 metres, every one settled at their comfortable pace. The first 10 Km was on a flat surface around Hussain Sagar lake. The challenge running in close proximity to a large water body was humidity but I managed to cover the first 10 Km in about 1 hr 6 mins. As I did not have any aggressive personal time target and we were allowed a total of 6.5 hrs to complete 42.2 Km, I was only calculating the time available to finish the remaining distance. After 13.5 Km, steep elevation kicked in and I started walking up inclines instead of running. Pace started to drop and I managed to complete 21 Km in 2 hrs 24 mins. At that time, I was counting on 4 hours for the remaining 21.2 Km. My pace started to drop drastically after that point and I was able to barely cover 6 Km/hr from that time. Around the 23 Km mark, 10 K runners from Hitex joined and it literally became a huge crowd marching ahead for the next 6 Km. At IIIT junction, the full marathon runners separated from half marathon and 10 K runners. It was really lonely now and by this time, I had limited running to only to downhills that too at just a mild pace.

I reached 30 Km point in 4 hours, which left another 2.5 hours to complete the marathon. Now I started to think of finishing in less than 6 hours. Around the 33 Km mark, the 6 hr pacers ran past me. It was a bit deflating to see them run past but decided to try my best to finish under 6 hours. I finished 36 Km in 5 hours as we entered the HCU campus. It is a beautiful campus and relatively flat. I tried running a bit but even running was taking me 8 mins per km at that time. As I exited the campus, a little under 2 Km was left and I had spent 5 hrs 42 mins running. Luckily, it was downhill all the way from there till the finish point. We had to cover the last 800 metres running inside the stadium. I started jogging till the last 200 m, when I started running as I hit the running track. My Garmin and Strava showed 5 hrs 56 mins as I crossed the finish line.

My friend Mani was waiting near the finish line and I managed to click a picture with him before I met my family who were also waiting for me. It was a great feeling to finish a full marathon, never mind the pain before and after the run. And the journey continues!!!

After the 200 Km Brevet on July 11th, I shifted my focus on training for Hyderabad Marathon on August 30th. When the registration for TAF Freedom Ride scheduled on August 15th came up, I was in a dilemma whether to ride or complete the pending long run during that weekend. It is not often that I get a chance to ride with my office colleagues, particularly with folks from both my current work place and the previous one. So, I decided to risk my marathon training and registered for the Freedom Ride.

Freedom Ride 2014 was my first formal event (and my first medal) in my cycling and running career! It was one of the toughest finishes I encountered so far. I was confident it will be far easier this time given my current fitness and stamina levels. The event location and route were significantly different this year. To commemorate 68 years of Indian Independence, the event covered 68 Km. To and from from my home made it 94 Km.

I woke up at 4 AM and was a bit worried to see light rain falling. I hate wet roads and water splashing all over. Rain stopped by the time I started but water remained on the road. I started cycling from home at 5 AM and reached the venue by 5:40 AM, well on time for 6 AM start. After meet and greet with some old and new friends, we were ready to start by 6 AM. The start was delayed due to technical challenges as the organizers struggled to get the public address system working! It was disappointing as the schedule had warm up scheduled for 5:30 AM, which never happened and the PA system was not up even by 6:15 AM. Anyways, the ride was eventually flagged off at 6:15 AM.

As I was at the head of the line, it was a quick start and I maintained good pace. The route this year was all along the ORR and was much easier that last year. The only concern were the dangerous speed breakers that were irritating to negotiate. I rode continuously till the mid point where I had a banana and some biscuits. The ride back was also non stop at a good tempo. I finished in about 3 hours 15 minutes, about 30 mins less than last year! I was glad that I got better. After a few pictures with my friends and breakfast, I rode back home covering a total of 94 Km.