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The Balayogi stadium hosted the final lap of the race
We then headed out to lunch ( you guessed it – Biryani!). I have recently turned vegetarian and was mocked at from every angle about my food choices the entire weekend, but I did not cave in and have stuck to my vegetarianism and intend to continue doing so. Lunch had Rishabh, another friend from Mumbai join us along with the legendary Richard McDowell (11.06 Full Ironman finisher), after which we headed back to the room. I was so knackered that once I got to the room, I crashed for a solid three hours or so. The evening was also social and by the time I finally went to bed, after getting ready for the race, it was already 12 am. Its 3 am and the alarm goes off. Five minutes later, Nagaraj gives me a wake up call, five minutes after that, Geeta lights up the room for some kind of Diwali celebration. Its time!
As always, in what is now a well-oiled routine, I slip into race gear. But this time, I have to make a choice – do I run with my trusted Nike Flyknit racers or do I take a chance and run with the spanking brand new, but amazingly good Nike Free Flyknits. You know me, I am sure you guessed it – the Free Flyknits made the cut. Geeta, Ankush and Henna were doing the HM ( Half Marathon), so they would be joining us an hour later. The crew got together, had a lavish breakfast which included peanut butter sandwiches, bananas, dates and badam milk. We then headed to the start line. It was a 2 km walk away, so we thought it would be perfect as a warm-up. It was a peaceful walk but seemed too long. As we walked and talked, I wondered aloud, ” I am so tired walking 2 km, how the hell am I going to run 42.2 km”. Soon enough we reached the start line.
I rushed to the rest room and as I was walking towards the start line, I saw him – Nagaraj waving towards me with a big smile on his face. We did a quick catch up and headed to the start line. We shared one energy gel and within minutes at 5 am sharp we were on our way. The next 3 hrs 38 minutes 23 seconds were a testament to runner camaraderie, friendship and the reason for the death of cynicism, if any, in me. His pace was a minute faster than what we had decided upon right from the start, so in my head I pretty much said goodbye to him right then. It was dark and it had rained the night before.
The first 9 odd kilometres were a loop around the lake which was supposed to be the easiest part of the entire route; so off we went at an easy pace. The only thing in my head at that time was ” Don’t blast off, control yourself because this is the pace that you need to sustain for the entire 42.2 km”. And those were the thoughts running through my head when around the 3k I noticed Nagaraj looking over his shoulder at me signalling me to move faster.
Me: ” This is a blistering pace Nagaraj, you’re doing really well, I can’t keep that pace up the entire distance. Its your first official FM – go for gold, KILL IT today, give me your PB.”
Nagaraj: ” No! I told you, I am pacing you today. That’s why I am here”
Me: ” Don’t be silly, you don’t need to do that, I can pace myself”
Nagaraj: ” I know what I am doing. I am pacing you.”
And from the start to the finish line, he didn’t leave my side – neither when I cajoled him to, nor when I screamed at him, or for that matter when we laughed together and not even when I almost gave up. He was there, pushing me forward, annoying the hell out of me at times and egging me on each step of the way.
As we ran together through the dark streets, I could hear the calm swishing of water in the lake beside. Soon it was dawn, slight light seeping in through the clouds, making the morning just absolutely ethereal. At the 9 km mark, we crossed the start line again. There was a big crowd of the Half-marathoners who were waiting for their race to start. Among the group I heard familiar voices, first it was Brojen, then Bobby and then a whole lot of runners from Bangalore screaming out my name ” Go TIM ….keep going”. I was home – it felt nice.
From what I was aware, there were two elite women who had surged on ahead. I was currently running in the no.3 spot, but it was way too early in the race to judge anything. There were a few more elites who were on this course and each of them came with a killer instinct and years of structured training to back them up and sustain them through the race. So at such times you just keep going at the pace you can manage. Soon the sun came out, we reached the 10 km mark together. 10 km split – 47 minutes. But as I discovered, this is where the run actually begins. At the 10 km point is when we hit the first flyover and from this point on until the end there were only gradients – rolling gradients, steep gradients, flyovers and easy hilly roads – it was a non-stop barrage of ups and downs with no respite.
As we ran together, I met Siddesha – yes, the same man who dragged me to the finish line in my first HM and the same man who ran the final 4 km with me at my first FM. There is a bond I have with him, my heart always jumps a beat and does a jig in joy when I see him on the course with his determined stride and encouraging words. As we ran a few steps together, another elite runner came by from behind and surged right ahead. I had seen her before at the Bangalore Midnight Marathon; she had done the full there and she had run like a monster. After a few minutes, Sid upped his pace as well and continued ahead.
