Mission Accomplished : Hyderabad!

Target time: 2:04:59, Time achieved: 2:04:16

Well, I guess I managed to surprise even myself. I was on target at this pace in my practice sessions, but they were all less that 21K and I had the liberty of taking water breaks at my convenience.

The day started early, getting up at 4:30 am as I had to reach the starting point (People's plaza, Necklace road) by 5:30 am. Looking at the BIB numbers of the participants, and taking a quick view of the gathering, I could come up with an approx participation count of 250-300 for the Half marathon (organizers claim a total participation count of 15,000 for all races, including the 10k). There were no timing devices here unlike Mumbai and Delhi, so I had to hand clock my timing.

The race started just after 6:00 and I was amazed to see the fitness level of the people here, most of the runners just exploding from the starting line (and I did not overtake a significant number of runners on my way!). The Hyderabad route had a couple of flyovers, but besides this, the road itself winds a bit up and down most of the way, which does test you. Added to that was the fact that there was almost no water till the 7.5 km mark at the Charminar u-turn, and it was a big-big relief when it came, because I was really getting tired.

There were very few kilometer markers on the route, the earliest one I noticed indicated 7 km to go! (I must have missed a few markers which I later saw going back after the race, which were in black and really small to be noticed when you are running). The 12 km to 18 km stretch must have been the toughest for me, and I just carried on with the hope that I was on tract for my target time. So, when I reached the 7K marker, I was amazed to see that I was just on target! That was an additional motivation for me and even though the next 3 kms were really tough, I somehow managed to push myself on and soon it was the finishing line for me! Mission accomplished!

I met a lot of people who I knew directly or indirectly. Some from the RFL gang from Bangalore, including Rajesh and Dharmendra. Met Ram from ChennaiRunners group. Vivek, who I met yesterday finished in 2:01. Aditya from Delhi was also there, though I did not happen to meet him. Also met Ashish, a former colleague and who has now switched base to Hyderabad and ran the 10K.

It was surprising to hear that the winner finished in 1:04! Going by Indian standards, this is a very good time, but since the route is not AIMS certified and with no chip timing, the importance is reduced.

The rest of the day was spent in leisure, visiting the Salar Jung Museum and the Golconda fort.

It's Hyderabad half tomorrow

Reached Hyderabad by Spice in the morning and went straight to the event organizers (Catpro) office for collecting my running number. Met Vivek from Pune there, who told me about an interesting theory on running long distance with the front of your foot landing before the rest. Went to Hotel Raj Classic Inn, located on MG road from there.

In the afternoon, went out to catch some Hopman cup tennis action at the LB Stadium. It was crazy out there with all the Sania-Mania, entry being strictly on passes which were hard to come by, and with droves of youngsters creating a ruckus at the entrance gates. I had to finally shell out a 100 bucks to get hold of the pass, just as I was going to leave. Inside, India trounced Japan comfortably, with Sania and Rohan winning their respective matches.

Went to sleep early by 10:00 pm as the race was to start early at 6:00 am.

Training progress from the last few weeks

The last few weeks (or rather, the weekends) have been pretty good for my running. Below is the progress monitor:

Week T-3: 17:52 lap (5 laps) - 6:16 pace/km - 2:12:15 (extrapolation for half marathon)

Week T-2: 16:18 lap (5 laps) - 5:42 pace/km - 2:00:39

Week T-1: 16:35 lap (6 laps) - 5:49 pace/km - 2:02:52

Target pace for Hyderabad Half - 5:55 /km - 2:04:59

Target pace for Mumbai Half - 5:40 /km - 1:59:32

Lets see of things go as per plan. Just 5 days to the Hyderabad run!

On my way to Hyderabad

My running season just got a big boost as I have registered for the Hyderabad Half Marathon for Nov 26th. I also registered for the Mumbai Marathon, I'll be doing a half there. So, in all, lots of good times ahead in the coming days!

I have'nt been to Hyderabad yet, so it would be nice to wander around a bit, take a look at the Charminar, wander about the Golconda fort, and round it off with a visit to the Salarjung Museum. Another bonus from the trip which I recently found out would be an opportunity to watch the Hopman Cup qualifiers going on at the same time in Hyderabad. With Sania Mirza and Leander Paes playing together, I am sure there are going to be a few sparks flying around! The finals is there on Nov 26th, same day as the event.

I am training (well, if you can call a single long run in the week that) with a mental target of 6min/km, i.e. overall 2:06. Not sure if I will be able to hit that, but lets see, I will try to give my best. The Hyderabad route and its peculiarities is completely unknown to me and will be a wildcard, though the start time of 6:00 am would definitely help.

Mumbai is still distant on the horizon, Jan 21st, but if I stay motivated and train well, I may be able to break through the 2:00 hr barrier. And if I do that, I would surely run a full marathon next year, otherwise, it would be more practice till I break the 2.

UPDATE: Some updates on the Hyderabad event from the online running community:

Dharmendra D says : There is one long flyover just like in Delhi and Mumbai. Otherwise, the course is great. Mostly flat and the best part about last year's race was the weather. It was as if, the sun was waiting for us to finish.

The running spirit is yet to catch on big time in Hyd. So people give you a mostly bewildered look. The finish area is a little crowded and the start is fairly messy. Make sure you get a good start. There are fewer runners than in most events.