Auroville Full Marathon 2011 - Unofficial Ranking

This is unofficial timings and ranking for Auroville Full Marathon 2011.



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My First Marathon Distance Run – No option to give up

A Full Marathon is one of the most important milestone for any aspiring long distance runner. So, was for me. I registered for a full marathon at Auroville scheduled on 13^th Feb 2010. But, I didn’t want any surprise on race day similar to those I had in Bangalore Ultra last year where I participated in 37.5 kms category. I had practiced for only 30 Kms once before that. I didn’t know it will not be enough till I almost gave up in the race. I had zero heat training. And the Sun didn’t show any mercy that day. I had tough time completing my last 12.5 Kms which took 2 hours 13 minutes when first 25 kms was done in 2 hours 45 minutes. So, I didn’t want to run my first full marathon in Auroville. I needed to make sure I can run 42.2 Kms  before I could run 42.2 kms. That is running. How do I know I can run distance till I really run that distance?

It has been much less than a year since I seriously started running. I did my first 10K in little more than 64 minutes. Three and half months later, I ran my first half marathon in 2 hours 9 minutes. Then I just assumed that I can keep running at around pace 6 for any distance. I didn’t realize that when I ran first 10K, I was pretty naïve and slow. With decent practice, I could do 21 KM at same pace. But when I tried same in 37.5 Kms, I failed miserably. I wasn’t prepared for it. I needed to learn to run slower for longer distance. I don’t want to walk or finish dull. I want to finish strong. I want to make sure I can waive my both hands up in air and say, yes, I did it.

Many runners complains about running in loops for longer distance. And so do I. It is just so easy to give in any of loops. Your mind finds tens of reasons to give up. The time when you are not racing with anybody else, you need to keep racing with your mind. I didn’t want to give up again after 21 kms as I just gave up couple of weeks back as soon as I was back in Mini Forest from Lalbagh. I needed to make sure when I practice for complete marathon, I don’t give up. But that creates another problem, how do I manage logistics to carry lot of water and energy drink and something to eat during the run.

While I was looking for solution for all these to practice for Auroville, I got really inspired by Sabine, Gopal, Jagadish, Sindhu, Suresh and many others, who came up with idea of doing 12m12m  – 12 marathons in 12 months. I wanted to be part of that team.  I decided to join them and do as many as 12 marathons in 12 months. It may seem little crazy for a person who has not even done a single marathon. But I had to anyway do Auroville Marathon in Feburary. And I need to practice one before that in January. So, that makes two. Why not do just 10 more.

Most of 12m12m folks were running Mumbai Marathon. I hadn’t registered for it. Few of them would be running their full as part of Strides of Hope. I didn’t want to wait till that late in month.

I decided to do run my first full marathon on Jan 14^th 2011. There was no event. My wife and friends agreed to help me. And that was all I needed.  I chose to start my run early from Mini Forest. I ran first 14 Kms in Mini Forest. I also made sure that I don't run faster than around 7 mins per km to ensure that I have energy to run longer. I was joined by Bharath after 11^th Km. Anu joined us  at around 13^th Km with a bag full of energy drink sachets, banana and glucose biscuits. We ran toward Lalbagh then. Anu did Run – Walk. I and Bharath kept making loops to make sure Anu stays with us. I was done with half marathon by the time we reached Lalbagh. Anu took break once we reached there. We were joined by Karam in Lalbagh. Lalbagh loop was approximately 3.5 Kms, thus not very short. Also, availability of drinking water helps in kind of self support running. Bharath was with us till we were done with 28 Kms. I took my first little food break of couple of biscuits after 31.5 kms. Karam continued till around 36 kms. By that time, I was sure there is no chance to give up now. I had planned to run back to Mini Forest to finish full marathon. But decided against it due to possible heavy traffic. Soon, I finished my first full marathon in Lalbagh itself. It look 23 minutes more than what I expected. But I was glad I finished it. The feeling of happiness, satisfaction and tiredness was just amazing. I am really thankful to my friends and wife who helped me in finishing my first marathon distance.

I was a marathoner. Who else knows what it means to run 42.195 Kms?

Five reasons to run without Music

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Many runners say that music motivates them to run. They have special playlist of their selected motivating songs. You might have various other reasons to run with music. Here are five reasons, why you should NOT run with music especially when participating in some running events / race.

1. Give the respect to 'excuse me': Recently, I was running at Bangalore Ultra which had very narrow trails at some parts of track. In my second lap, I had a girl running ahead of me and guy walking just ahead of her. When she was very close to guy ahead, she said 'excuse me'. Then almost coming to stop, she repeated second time – 'excuse me'. And third time before she had to move to grasses to cross the guy. Next 'excuse me' was from me and I got no reaction from the guy in his own world. And then I realized that he his ears are plugged and probably getting bombarded with music. I aped the girl and crossed him same way. I doubt if he is even aware that people were asking him for way. When you are going slow, please hear and give respect to those said and unsaid 'excuse me'. Folks will always pass you with a smile with thanks – said or unsaid.
2. Make new friends – You will never find events other than running, where competitors are more helpful to each other. We don't compete, we celebrate our training with running events. And running is more fun if you have more friends at event. So, why not make more friends on track. Now, nobody is going to even try talking to you if you have ear plugged with music. Well, then unplug and make new friends.
3. Hear to motivating stories – Each runner has different story of themselves or somebody else how they did previous run, how they overcome last hurdle they faced, how they lost 30 pounds from their body or about a motivating book they read recently. Well, why listen to music for motivation when you have better things to get motivated.
4. Enjoy the route, track, trail – Lots of run events are conducted in very scenic tracks. And if you are busy with music, you are missing the beautiful tracks. Now, do you want to miss that? Forget the music track, enjoy your running track.
5. Listen to your body – You want to believe it or not but music does stop you from hearing to your body. Without music you will be in better control of your rythm, breathing and foot steps. You will better know when you must speed up or slow down and not just speed up based on music tempo.

Many running events actually ban use of music players but not all. I believe, we in 'our' own interest should not be listening to music while running. Well, you chose to run an event because you want to enjoy the run. Then, why dilute the enjoyment with music which you could hear at your home too.  Say, no to your iPod or any other music player. Enjoy the Run.

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Runkeeper to Dailymile

I started running in January this year. As, I have been always fond of numbers, I wanted to keep track of all my runs. That's when I chose runkeeper for same. They had a no nonsense GPS based iphone application which I could use to track my run. It could automatically upload my runs to their website runkeeper.com. Runkeeper website also gives some very nice charts and reports which made running more interesting to me.

Then in July, convinced by a friend, I started dual entry of my runs by entering my activities in dailymile.com along with runkeeper.com. They didn't have a GPS based iphone app. They didn't have charting as good as runkeeper but where they scored over dailymile.com was socialIf you find any problem, please let me know. I will glad to help.  Please feel free to mail me at tachniki@gmail.com networking. And that matters a lot in running. We run more when we are in group. We run faster when are in group. Yes, motivating each other is best part of any running community. And dailymile.com enables that through their social networking.

Lately, it was getting difficult for me to use runkeeper application on iphone as iphone battery didn't last more than two hours with GPS enabled. Also, Iphone GPS may be good for basic use but it was not accurate enough. I could often see corners getting cut. Iphone GPS is quite unreliable at times. And lately have been seeing runkeeper crashing regularly. Thats when i decided to invest in Garmin forerunner 305. Although runkeeper and dailymile both had interface to upload activities from Garmin forerunner, I didn't want to continue to making dual entry. I still liked dailymile.com but had no real motivation left for using runkeeper.com.

So, finally decided to use dailymile.com, I exported all my data from runkeeper.com to csv file and then imported to dailymile.com. Thanks to dailymile.com for providing APIs to do this easily. Please read here to find more on how to do this.

Running Mantra - Do It Right

“Hey, thats great. But please make sure you don't overdo it”. I heard this almost each time I told somebody that I am practicing for long runs. I could never understood that. I need to run more week after week if I have to run long. My obvious replies were “Don't worry. I know what I am doing” or “I am able to do it. It is not overdone”. Now, when I think more, I believe they should have instead told me – Do It Right. Run, please run but do it right way and do it right away.

So, how do we do it right? Here are various aspects about running, I learnt, on my way, some through research and other hard ways.

1. Breathing – If your high school teacher taught you to breathe through your nose while running, forget it right now. Somebody told me, breathing through nose is like breathing through straw. Air inhaled through nose is insufficient to supply enough oxygen as required for your running. It is important to breathe through your mouth while running. One of my friend complained about head ache and it was corrected when he started breathing through mouth. You should also set rhythm for your breath. An ideal breathe will be one inhale for every two steps and one exhale for next two steps.
2. Running Gears – Your feet and your legs are most important part of your runs. Isn't it? There are plenty of materials on net to find a good shoes for your foot. Make sure you get a good running shoes. Another important gear is t-shirt. Do you still run in cotton t-shirts for running. Make it a history now. Dry-fit running t-shirt is lighter in weight, helps your body to breathe better, sweat efficiently and doesn't get as heavier when soaked in sweat as it moves moisture away quickly when compared to cotton t-shirt. Similar to dry-fit tee, synthetic-material socks helps in moving moisture away quicker. If you haven't got right gears, make sure you get now.
3. Hydration – No less important then any of I talked earlier, is keeping yourself hydrated. Not just while running but also when you are not running. You must always drink adequate water / liquid to keep yourself hydrated. While running, you must drink water / energy drink every 15-20 minutes. The key is to kill thirst before it kills you.
4. Pace – One of the dilemma, I had when I started running, was how fast should I practice. Not that I could keep running at great speed, but how should I decide what is good pace for me which can help me to practice well and I don't burn myself. The rule of thumb to find optimum pace is the maximum pace at which You can talk comfortably. It might be good idea to run with a fellow runner, with whom you can talk on way.
5. Warm up and Stretching – It is important to warm and cool down after and before running. Warm up gradually raises your heart beat rate to minimize stress when you start running. It also makes your muscle optimally flexible and efficient. Warm up should include a slow pace run and some dynamic exercises. You should cool down by running slow. Running must be followed by static stretching. It is important to not just stretch your legs but also neck, back, arms which are passively part of your running.
6. Rest days and recovery – As important is running to you, as important should be recovery. Recovery from your previous training is required to adapt to a higher level of training stress and thus make you better runner. Recovery time varies based on training level. For beginners, you must run only 3-4 days a week. One recovery day a week can be used for cross training like cycling or swimming.

So, the new running mantra - Do it Right!!!