I started preparing for Airtel Hyderabad Marathon (AHM) 2016 scheduled on Aug 28th in the right earnest with Nagole Forest run on Jul 10th. I had 7 weeks to prepare, which is lesser time than ideally required for a full marathon. But I was available for long runs during all the intervening weekends unlike last year when I had prior commitments that hindered my training. Given my work schedule, my long runs were all confined to Sundays. Let me narrate my story over the 7 Sundays and what finally happened on the D day!

Sunday No. 1 – Jul 10: Nagole Forest run

I saw the posting by Hyderabad Runners a couple of days before Jul 10th and the thought of running inside a forest excited me. It was preparatory run for the marathon and it was an exciting way to get my training started. I had my training partner for company and we planned to run 20 Km. But it drizzled constantly limiting our run to 15.6 Km at a pace of 6:39 min/km. I fell short of the plan on distance but not a bad start!

Sunday No. 2 – Jul 17: Solo loops around KBR Park

I took a liking to biking around KBR park whenever I did not have company to go on long rides. A loop is just about 5 Km, is very pleasant riding along the perimeter of a national park with fair bit of inclines, good road and no traffic on Sunday mornings. I had never run loops but decided to try it out as I had to train alone. I did 4 loops and a little bit more to make it a half marathon. I enjoyed it and given the terrain with steady inclines, pace of 7:24 min/km was not bad. I felt I was on target for full marathon.

Sunday No. 3 – Jul 24: Hyderabad Heritage Run

This was a run that I missed last year and the route along Golconda Fort and Qutb Shahi tombs promised to be an interesting one. As luck would have it, the organizers had to change the route at the last minute and it was no longer exciting. Any ways, my objective was to do another half marathon and I completed it in 2 hours 20 mins at a pace of 6:38 min/km. As a bonus, I met one of my college buddies after 18 years!

Sunday No. 4 – Jul 31: Another solo KBR loops

This time I made it 5 loops around KBR covering 25.9 Km at 7:33 min/km. I felt I was still on track with 3 more weekends to do the 35 Km before the D day.

Sunday No. 5 – Aug 7: Alankrita Run

The scenic Alankrita run was ideal to cover 32 Km but the organizers once again changed the route making it a mundane run along the highway all along! We arrived after the 32 Km folks had started their run and we were about 20 minutes behind them. It was a warm windy day and all I could cover was 24 Km at 7:10 min/km. I had covered the first 8 Km in record time and that made my overall stats look good but I was now clearly behind on my training plan. I had just one weekend left as I wanted to keep the penultimate weekend light to keep my legs fresh.

Sunday No. 6 – Aug 14: AHM 2016 dry run

My final opportunity to cover 35 Km. The dry run planned to cover only 21 Km and I had planned to start running an hour earlier to make it at least 30 Km. But we started 15 minutes late and all I could cover was 28.9 Km at 7:39 min/km. So, again like last year, no 30 Km run before the full marathon! However, with this run, I had run 5 half marathons in 5 weeks! Made me feel good!!!

Sunday No. 7 – Aug 21: 10K run

I ran 2 loops of KBR covering 10.8 Km at 6:43 min/km. One aspect I realized – my pace and trend as I progress every Km was quite predictable! I am strong during the first 8 Km, hang on for the next 8 Km and constant downhill from thereon. But after half marathon, the plunge is significant. Not something that made me feel confident for the full marathon, but no going back now.

Airtel Hyderabad Full Marathon – Aug 28

One concern that is usually associated with marathon at Hyderbad is the weather. Scheduled in August, well before winter sets in, a lot depends on monsoon impact on that particular day. Fortunately, it had rained heavily overnight and the roads were still wet as we started running at 5 AM. It promised to be pleasant weather. My target was to complete the marathon in under 6 hours to be faster than last time and attempt to go under 5:30 is possible.

I covered the first 10 Km in just over an hour, well in time to beat the half marathon crowd that slowed me down last year just after Hussain Sagar loop. I ran the first half marathon under 2:30 hours. I continued to manage well till about 24 Km. That is when the basic mistake I did hit me.

I started to the venue on an empty stomach. I had loaded myself with a lot of protein the previous day but missed eating a good breakfast before I started running. By the time I completed 25 Km, I was exhausted. I decided to take a few mins break to eat and stretch at one of the support stations. As I stretched, my left leg cramped up. I had another 17 Km to go and already cramps! I relaxed a bit and started slowly again. I reset my target to complete the marathon in under 6:30 hours.

After 30 Km, I was very tired and decided to take another break. This time, one of the volunteers helped me stretch. Though I ended up spending more than 15 minutes without moving, it refreshed me and felt it should keep me in good stead for the remaining 12 Km.

The script for the remaining 12 Km was a repeat from last year, if only a tad bit slower. Struggle, struggle and more struggle. I was only walking after 36 Km and that slowed me down terribly. Finally, I gathered some strength to run slowly for the last couple of km.

I finished in 6:15 hours, 10 mins slower than last year. Strava showed my moving time to be exactly same as last year but the additional time I spent in breaks made it longer. It did not go by the script I planned but I will take it. Completing a full marathon covering 42.2 Km is not a mean achievement and I have now done it twice! And at one of the toughest urban marathons covering an elevation of over 250m!!! Well done Santh!!!

My third Freedom Ride in a row, this time turned out to be over 100 Km including ride from home and back. My marathon practice run the previous day had me start off with tired legs. But getting used to carrying on with pain and niggles!

2016 began with a lot of action on running and cycling front. Alankrita run was scheduled on Jan 3rd and I did not want to miss the opportunity to complete a half marathon after 4 months. It was my best run so far. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to run the entire distance at a good pace completing half marathon distance in 2 hours 12 minutes.

I got a chance to ride through the countryside on Jan 11th. The pleasant winter weather made it special and the flower garden was the icing on the cake!

Then the hectic schedule began. I covered 130Km as part of TAF Republic Ride on January 26th, following it up with EGS 10k run on February 6th and Club run (half marathon) on February 7th. I ended up running almost 50Km from February 1st to 7th and that took a toll on my knee. It reminded me to maintain a balance between running and strengthening routine.

The last quarter of 2015 was a bit disappointing for my fitness goals. I was not up to the mark with swimming that I had to drop my original plan to try Olympic Triathlon as part of Hyderabad Triathlon. It was more disappointing that I could not even try Sprint Triathlon. To compensate, I wanted to try becoming a super randonneur by completing 300, 400 and 600 Km brevets. But I dropped that plan as well as I was not prepared to ride all night upsetting my biological clock.

I did finish a few events successfully though. I completed my third 200Km brevet on Nov 14th in my best time so far, in 12 hours 8 minutes. That was more than an hour better than my earlier attempts, aided by tailwinds during the first half and relatively pleasant winter weather for the entire duration.

I ran Hyderabad 10K on November 29th along with my daughter. We took 1 hour 23 minutes to complete 10Km and had a good time chatting and encouraging my daughter.

I went on a pleasant ride to the airport covering about 80Km on Dec 12th. A couple of nice clicks during the ride.

There was also RBI 5K Run on Dec 20th, where I came 4th. It was a good feeling to get a prize instead of just the usual finisher medal.

I had participated in individual 10K run as part of last year’s Puma Urban stampede. I did not originally intend to participate in it this year as I had graduated from 10K into half and full marathons. However, my organization had subscribed for corporate relay as part of the event and 3 of my team mates asked me if I could join them to form a mandatory 4-member team. As a good team player, I happily accepted the proposal.

I had dropped out of Hyderabad Triathlon scheduled on October 11th and this one was scheduled exactly a week before. So, I took it as some compensation. Out of the 4 members in my team, 3 (including me) had completed Hyderabad full marathon and 1 had completed half marathon. So, a 5K run would be easy for all of us. It was a flat course and I clocked my personal best 5K in 27:07. Our team was first among 20 teams that participated from my company and would have been among top 8 teams out of 84 overall. An overall satisfactory result.

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.

I originally did not intend to do the Monsoon Brevet – 200 Km Heaven & Hell route scheduled for Jul 11th. A couple of reasons – I thought I will not enjoy riding in the rain and I wanted to focus on training for my first full marathon on August 30th. After getting drenched in rain during my Naraspur ride, I realized that riding in rain is fun after all and may actually help cool the body during long rides. Second, with my strained right leg after interval training, I thought I will be better off giving my running a bit of break for a couple of weeks. So, I registered for the brevet and wanted to complete it in less than 12 hours.

A couple of 100 Km rides are recommended during the weeks before a brevet. I had done 117 Km during the Naraspur ride but that one was with a lot of breaks. So, I decided to go on the 100 Km Brevet practice ride with TBA on Jul 4th. My colleague and friend from the US also joined me during the ride. I was the slowest during the ride but managed to complete 100 Km in about 6 hours. It was a hot day and I hoped the brevet day would be more pleasant.

I usually keep the week before brevet light and relaxed but could not manage it this time with a lot happening at work. I don’t think I added enough protein in my diet during this time as well. But I managed to get some good sleep before the brevet and woke up around 3AM with the feeling that I was all set! I arrived at HBC by 4:30AM and after a quick bike check, I went through some stretching exercises. I had my partner Mani riding with me. We planned to ride together again! He is a source of strength for me and the reason behind my finishing on time in Nov despite being injured.

The ride was flagged off at 5:30AM and I started steady. While I was able to cover the first 65 Km in less than 3 hours during the last brevet, I was never able to hit an average of 20 Km this time before the first checkpoint. Blame it on head winds and the massive elevation after Shankarpally, we managed to get to the first checkpoint that marked 66.8 Km only at 9:12 AM. The average during this distance was only 18 Km/hr but I did not doubt my ability to complete the brevet on time at that point of time.

The route immediately after the checkpoint was downhill with some aiding wind and continued that way for a while. It made be feel good and confident. But this lasted for just about 10 Km as we started facing more uphill again. I reached the next checkpoint that marked 108.6 Km at 12 PM. That was 30 minutes later than last time. I felt time concern for the first time when one of the volunteers pointed out that we are cutting close as the checkpoint was supposed to close in 45 minutes. The next checkpoint closes at 2 PM giving about 2 hours to complete the daunting Anantagiri hills. After a break for 20 minutes, started pedaling again.

We made steady progress towards Anantagiri Hills. I felt we were doing better than last time but statistics later would show that it was only marginally better. I had targeted to ride up the entire Anantagiri climb but had to give up soon after the first few hundred metres. I did not even attempt to ride after that till I reached the peak. As I started to walk my cycle up, I noticed that the time was 1:31 PM. I should be able to make it on time for the checkpoint at Harita that included lunch but the buffer time had already gone down significantly. I reached Harita at 1:44 PM with just 12 mins left for closure. That would be the last long break as I had some curd rice and refilled water. I started riding again around 2:15 PM with strong feelings of time pressure.

With some tailwind and downhill, I increased the pace and averaged about 20 Km/hr for the first time since morning. But after about 12 Km at 140 Km mark, I felt tired and slowed down. Mani checked if I wanted a break and I gladly accepted it! I lied down on a stone giving support to my back for the first time since morning and it felt great. We took a break for about 15 minutes but it was a revitalizing one. We now had less than 4 hours for the remaining 65 Km.

We decided that the next break would be at Chevella, at the same bakery that we stopped last time. This stretch of about 22 Km was the best since morning with an average speed of 21 Km/hr. At Chevella, we had some hot tea and cold sprite as I gave some support to my back again. It was a 15 minute break and the last one before the next checkpoint at movie towers that was about 32 Km away. We started riding again around 4:25 PM and clearly on time pressure now. Movie Towers checkpoint closes at 6:11 PM and I had about 1 hr 45 mins to cover 32 Km. The average now had to be more than 18 Km/hr with tiring legs. Is it possible?

As I crossed Chevella town, a couple of cyclists crossed me checking if I was still targeting to finish. They then added that they did not finish the last checkpoint on time and are anyways riding back to finish though they are out of the brevet now. Folks who dropped out of the brevet just crossed me and I still hope to finish! That was scary! A short while later, another rider crossed me checking if I am still in. That is when Mani had a master stroke. He said that I was pedalling strong but not moving fast enough. That could be due to lower gears and he suggested that I move up my front gear. When I started riding geared bikes, I usually tend to be on higher gears straining myself and getting exhausted. So, I consciously started riding on lower gears giving relief to my legs but I was compromising on speed with that. It was now or never situation and I decided to go back to my original higher gear strategy. It seemed to work as I managed to maintain good pace and I reached the foothill of Movie Towers by around 5:55 PM. As I started pedalling uphill, I felt exhaustion hitting me and remembered that I did not eat anything solid for the last couple of hours. I had a couple of energy bars and should have eaten it. A bad mistake but never mind as I had time to walk up the hill. I reached the checkpoint at 6:01 PM with 10 minutes left. I was the last one to reach the checkpoint and was told that about 40 out of 104 riders were out so far due to tough conditions. I had a banana and some water and lied down on the road to give some rest to my back. One of the volunteers said it will take 35 minutes from there to the checkpoint with the tough Microsoft Hill being the only remaining challenge. So, the break lasted about 15 mins and was quite refreshing. I now had less than 45 minutes to cover the last 11 Km.

As we started riding up the first hill leading to Microsoft, Mani pulled off ahead and I was not sure if I will be able to continue riding. I knew that walking would cut it too close and risk missing the target by a few mins. That would be disastrous after all the effort. By that time by mobile phone had died along with Strava and I did not even know how much time was left. I started feeling cramps on my left left but told myself that I am going to pedal hard. Fortunately, the banana I had at Movie Towers started kicking in and I managed to pedal hard and reach Mani who was anxiously waiting at the peak. He said it was only 6:40 PM and I relaxed! It was a home run after that and I reached the finish point at 6:47 PM with 13 minutes left! And that was 1 minute later than last time. Never mind as I was more than 30 minutes behind midway.

I had my family waiting for me at the finish. I was great to see them and need to thank them, particularly my wife for helping me prepare for all these events! Will I do this again and go through the pain again? I think so!!!

The Bike Affair’s Saturday Leisure Rides have always impressed me. It gives an opportunity to explore beautiful parts of Hyderabad right in the middle of the city but hidden from the naked eye! When a colleague and friend of mine from the US wanted to do some biking when he was in India, I picked this one. A few of my team mates also joined.

We were supposed to go through a secret trail through Golconda. What we experienced beat any expectations I had! We had to walk and sometimes lift our cycles to reach an elevated rampart within the fort premises and the view from there was amazing! We spent more than 30 mins relaxing there, enjoying the monsoon morning breeze, clicking pictures and sipping hot irani chai. We rode back well after morning traffic picked up, which scared my friend from the US. But he enjoyed the experience that he wanted to do the Sunday long ride the next day!