Friday, June 15, 2012

My Marathon Story!

✔ Marathon

When I ran the TCS Open 10K marathon on 27th May 2012 it was a surprise to many who know me! In-fact it was a pleasant surprise for me too because for me it meant that I had been loyal to my routine and I practiced about 4-5km every evening for about 6 months!

It all began towards the end of January 2012 probably the effect of Mumbai Marathon that had just taken place! I think I got inspiration from my friends who had been part of the Mumbai marathon!

The practice session, well that time I did not know I was practicing for the marathon, began every evening at about 5.30pm. (I am not a morning person and more than that not motivated enough that I can manage both getting up in the morning and then going for a jog!)

I think the most important factor towards sticking to the routine is the GKVK campus. Its green and beautiful! I must say I was blessed with such a beautiful campus which definitely is more interesting then the treadmill in the gym! Best part is if you get bored with a route you can take alternate routes and still manage to cover upto ~8kms! GKVK campus(google maps)

While I ran/jogged every evening it was in the company of my friend and many walkers/joggers who came to GKVK campus for what it offers for a perfect run outdoors! 

And it was only serendipitously we came to know about the TCS marathon that was going to take place in Bangalore this May. We thought we should go ahead and experience a marathon! That was when we were really were worried whether or not we should register for a 5.7km or a 10km! 10km looked far fetched but advice from two of my very good friends

"Register for whatever you want to do "
"Don't think if you will be able to do it or not" 
"Its very easily possible. Dont worry about that part."

... and we registered for 10kms!

While the 5km daily routine continued so did stretch exercises and cross-training begin.There were a lot of things that were to be known and read about following links were a saver

How to train yourself?

What to eat?

Best for everything under the sun...
Practicing for marathon was not just about running but also a lot about appreciating the evening breeze and the perfect climate outdoors! On very few occasions when we did the morning run...it just felt great...mornings are AWESOME too ..if only someone can drag me out of bed everyday!

27th May was fun but before that the timing chips and the number Bibs were perfect kick starts and  the Goodie bag made me smile all that day! With a early start on a Sunday morning we headed towards Kantirava Stadium the  starting point! The whole area in and around the stadium was energetic and fresh, dominated by young adults and with impressive representation from all other age-groups.



 The race began sharp at eight and in five minutes we took the road to AWESOMENESS. A sea of people making their way from the Heart of Bangalore. I must say the event was well organized with water to hydrate ourselves at regular intervals to helping us keep track of distance covered and good music to cheer! A very special mention and thanks to fellow Bangloreans who where cheering and motivating us to go ahead and just do it! The random high-fives,the smiles, the energy and the enthusiasm that morning are one of my most priced possessions that I brought back home!

Successfully completing 10km was just wonderful! It was a feeling I fall short of words to describe all I know I had achieved a goal and grabbed the Finisher medal and it felt FANTASTIC :D
Nothing else matters!







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