Attempting a half marathon within two weeks of a Full Marathon is a big challenge, well atleast at my level. There are always possibilities of injuries. Delhi has been hosting Half marathon event for last 5 years. This was my fourth consecutive participation in Delhi Half Marathon. Organiser claim this event to be the richest Half Marathon event of Asia. A very interesting claim, considering that this is a sport interest has arisen very recently, in our country. A participation of almost 30,000 people is high by any standards. Some 10,000 runners did the 21k and another 19,000 participated in 7k. Arrangements during the run are world class. Preparing of this run was a different experience, as I was just through with a 42k two weeks back. Rather it was more of recovery focussed strategy, doing only small distances at leisure speeds, termed as 'active rest' in long distance running parlance.
1st Nov, 2009, 7:30 am, Nehru Park: Each year the fanfare increases in this event. You come across a lot of first timers, vocal about their apprehensions. One runners was heard enquiring on what should he do if he realises that he cannot do more than 10k. Some smart guy told him to walk back the same distance to start line! The weather was good, with temperature hovering around 18 degree. As the race started, I dodged across the runners. I had a time target in mind. From the Nehru park, course head towards Lodhi Garden. Its only on foot that you can appreciate the beauty of this city. Wide and flat roads, adorned by trees on both sides give a good feeling. I finished the first 5k in 25mts 15sec.
6k-10k: 26mts 20sec: The next leg was from on the Prithvi raj road. I was running at a good pace and kilometer marks were zipping past. There was one big change I noticed this time around. A few local rock/metal groups were positioned on key places, belting out popular number Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones, Shankar Ehsan Loy, U2. Some of them were really good, making the journey to finish line more interesting. My leg were feeling strong and I was going as per the plan.
11k-15k: 27mts 48sec: This leg takes us to Rajpath leading to Rashtrapati Bhavan. The moment you turn left from India gate, towards the residence of President, view is amazing. The road as straight as it can be elevating far ahead, giving a glimpse of the majestic building. I have grown up seeing this sight, but it never seizes to amaze me. At around 13k, I started having pain in my right knee. A four year old pain, which was resurfacing. I reduced the length of my strides, as I did not want to put more stress on the knees. There are some interesting runs lined up. This race was won by Derbia Merga from Ethiopia in 59:54, for second consecutive year.
16k-21k: 32mts 37sec: At around 17k, I had lost the pace because of the pain in my knee as I was very cautious not to over exert the knee. The weather was still good for running, As we kept approaching the finishing line, intensity of music, cheering also increased. Fortunately, with the change in running style my knee pain subsided by 18k. But I was in no mood to sprint. I crossed the finishing line in comfortable time of 1hr 52mts. But the race was still not finished for me. My much inspired sister was attempting her first ever 7k run. The 7k race started the time I had finished my run. Immediately after finishing my run, I joined her in 7k race to pep her up. Frankly, I had vested interest in it. As per the plan, she was to drop me back to the airport directly after the race and I wanted to be sure that she does not faint somewhere and also that she finishes the race in good time. Well, she did finish it comfortably and she did drop me to the airport. I guess my race finished only when I sat in the plane, took off my shoes, closed my eyes, putting my body in auto recovery mode. So as Jimi Hendrix says, ' Excuse me, while I kiss the sky......'.
1st Nov, 2009, 7:30 am, Nehru Park: Each year the fanfare increases in this event. You come across a lot of first timers, vocal about their apprehensions. One runners was heard enquiring on what should he do if he realises that he cannot do more than 10k. Some smart guy told him to walk back the same distance to start line! The weather was good, with temperature hovering around 18 degree. As the race started, I dodged across the runners. I had a time target in mind. From the Nehru park, course head towards Lodhi Garden. Its only on foot that you can appreciate the beauty of this city. Wide and flat roads, adorned by trees on both sides give a good feeling. I finished the first 5k in 25mts 15sec.
6k-10k: 26mts 20sec: The next leg was from on the Prithvi raj road. I was running at a good pace and kilometer marks were zipping past. There was one big change I noticed this time around. A few local rock/metal groups were positioned on key places, belting out popular number Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones, Shankar Ehsan Loy, U2. Some of them were really good, making the journey to finish line more interesting. My leg were feeling strong and I was going as per the plan.
11k-15k: 27mts 48sec: This leg takes us to Rajpath leading to Rashtrapati Bhavan. The moment you turn left from India gate, towards the residence of President, view is amazing. The road as straight as it can be elevating far ahead, giving a glimpse of the majestic building. I have grown up seeing this sight, but it never seizes to amaze me. At around 13k, I started having pain in my right knee. A four year old pain, which was resurfacing. I reduced the length of my strides, as I did not want to put more stress on the knees. There are some interesting runs lined up. This race was won by Derbia Merga from Ethiopia in 59:54, for second consecutive year.
16k-21k: 32mts 37sec: At around 17k, I had lost the pace because of the pain in my knee as I was very cautious not to over exert the knee. The weather was still good for running, As we kept approaching the finishing line, intensity of music, cheering also increased. Fortunately, with the change in running style my knee pain subsided by 18k. But I was in no mood to sprint. I crossed the finishing line in comfortable time of 1hr 52mts. But the race was still not finished for me. My much inspired sister was attempting her first ever 7k run. The 7k race started the time I had finished my run. Immediately after finishing my run, I joined her in 7k race to pep her up. Frankly, I had vested interest in it. As per the plan, she was to drop me back to the airport directly after the race and I wanted to be sure that she does not faint somewhere and also that she finishes the race in good time. Well, she did finish it comfortably and she did drop me to the airport. I guess my race finished only when I sat in the plane, took off my shoes, closed my eyes, putting my body in auto recovery mode. So as Jimi Hendrix says, ' Excuse me, while I kiss the sky......'.
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