by Prem Ratan Baranwal

Journey

I had been running on and off for last 3 years and had done a couple of 10Ks and a couple of half marathon. However, it was without any focus and mostly because I liked running. However, immediately after my second half marathon in TMM 2019, i met my cousin Vicky who had just completed a full marathon after having been run a little more than a year. We decided to run the next TMM FM together. I had one year to prepare but there were some serious doubts. Doubts because in my very first HM, I had fainted due to dehydration during the run itself. Doubts because except running, I had not taken up any other sports regularly. I tried to follow a plan (at least thrice a week run) but it always went for a toss.

Then I came to know about the running groups in Pune from my colleague Pankaj who himself was part of one such group Motiv8 team. He encouraged me to follow a plan and stick to it. He also helped me understand different types of run, the importance of stretching etc. I also joined the Pune Running group for a month and liked the idea of interval runs and strength training. However, I felt the motivation and focus missing there too. Some people were interested in Yoga, some others in losing fat, and those who were really interested in running were few and infrequent visitors. I finally decided to join the Motiv8 in August’20 for both regular running and strength training.

Training

During that time I had completed another two HM. I was more confident and even tried to increase my pace on some runs. However, something went wrong and i started feeling shin pain. I first ignored it and thought it would go away after a few regular practices. That didn’t happen and i had to stop running on a couple of occasions due to pain. On coach Atul’s advice, i started doing some stretches regularly. When the pain still not go away after a month, I had to visit a sports doctor as well. Some more daily stretching!!!.

As per doctor’s advice, Atul updated my full marathon training plan and asked me to run only 3 days a week. I also had Vit D and B12 deficiency and had to take supplements. I was not sure whether i would recover back in time for those (seriously) long runs and was prepared to drop the race. However, I kept doing the stretched told by Atul and the Doctor, and by mid-November, the pain started reducing. I was able to finish my 28k and subsequent runs comfortably.

Race Day

I followed the guidelines and suggestions by Atul regarding food during race week. He had suggested running at 6.20 pace but I decided to do it at slower pace of 6:30. When we reached Mumbai, much to our relief, the weather was pleasant and not so humid.

On race day, I ate 2 bananas and 2 dates an hour before the race start. When the race started, Vicky and i started at easy pace and slowly paced up to our planned pace. Running along with someone has its benefits. Whenever my pace increased, I was reminded by him. We also kept talking, hooting and cheering once in a while. The weather was pleasant as expected and the sun was not up yet. I kept taking 2 dates every 6 km along with water mixed with a gel as planned. At around 14 km, we got a glimpse of sea-link bridge and soon we are running on it.

Towards the end of bridge, we got a beautiful view of orange rising Sun. It was only after Mahim church that i started feeling a bit tired. I corrected my form and focused on the next 10 km to run with minimal distraction. Though the sun was up, this part of the route was mostly flat and we kept going.

Garmin showed 32km, the “halfway mark” in a full marathon and i could feel legs getting tired. However, i reminded myself and Vicky that roughly 1 hour only is left. He was getting slower and told me to slow down but inside I knew I can keep up with the pace till the end. So around peddar road where he slowed further, i told him to see at the finish line and moved ahead maintaining the same efforts.

I never felt the need to jog or stop even though the route was rolling and the sun was up. Soon there were shouts that only 2 km is remaining. I finally took few sip of plain water and decide to finish the final stretch. I tried to speed up but could not do much due to tiredness. Finally i saw ahead the red gate at the finish line and sprinted (or what seemed like at that time).

On touching the finish line, my Garmin showed 4:47:32. I was exhilarated that i could finish well under 5 hours in my first attempt. The best part was I finished strong just like my other long runs.

I have been dreaming about it for the whole year and had finally achieved it. A lot of credit goes to coach Atul, colleague Pankaj and brother Vicky for making my first marathon a memorable experience.