It was just a chance encounter between Jyoti (from DHL) and Madhur (ex-IITian) at their local Gym, that translated into an enriching experience for Madhur and me when she introduced us. Madhur being an active IIT alumni member, got me introduced to the crowd on the groups web forum as a "running evangelist":-) Our shared passion for running combined with our travel together to Auroville for the Marathon, snow-balled into an idea on organizing races. Though I could not do the leg work, I shared ideas with Madhur on the logistics of race organizing (having done this once for a Commodore in the IAF when they wanted to celebrate their 75th anniversary) and helped him correct his superbly conceived mathematical model on age, gender and BMI adjusted times.
The i-Race was held on 8th March and surprisingly had not a single glitch considering that it took just 5 weeks to do it. Madhur and the young 'uns at IIT CS department could put Procam to shame. When the race was flagged off, I bolted from the start as a means of ensuring that I was higher than pace so that I could correct it at the first km marker. I felt the blood lactate build up and immediately realized that I must be well above target and slowed down. I saw 3 runners overtake me in the first 800m and decided that I had to let go of them:-)
The 1st 5K loop went off with 3 more runners overtaking me and I decided that I'd beat at least one of them in the last 2K. The next 5K loop felt taxing as I now guessed that blood lactate was accumumlating fast and I would just about have held on for the finish. One of the runners ahead of me "bit the dust" as I saw him halt at a watering station. The other guy happened to be just 16 yrs old and shot back periodic wide-eyed looks of alarm as he watched me closing the gap. We both finished with a 100m sprint as I allowed him to cross just 1 sec ahead of me since he actually cut me off at the finish line. I saw Bryan in this guy and held back to let him win the position.
I was expecting to run below my capacity considering that I had taxed my liver the last 4 nights during my travel to South India:-) I guess I enjoy my tipple and my runs and don't let one decide the other. I enjoyed this run cause it gave me feedback on so many things; effect of sleep, liquor and weight gain. I had gained 3 kgs since the Auroville Marathon - I must have rested my feet a bit too much after my redemption:-) A super Sunday and a nice outing with family and friends - especially the Colpal group.
The i-Race was held on 8th March and surprisingly had not a single glitch considering that it took just 5 weeks to do it. Madhur and the young 'uns at IIT CS department could put Procam to shame. When the race was flagged off, I bolted from the start as a means of ensuring that I was higher than pace so that I could correct it at the first km marker. I felt the blood lactate build up and immediately realized that I must be well above target and slowed down. I saw 3 runners overtake me in the first 800m and decided that I had to let go of them:-)
The 1st 5K loop went off with 3 more runners overtaking me and I decided that I'd beat at least one of them in the last 2K. The next 5K loop felt taxing as I now guessed that blood lactate was accumumlating fast and I would just about have held on for the finish. One of the runners ahead of me "bit the dust" as I saw him halt at a watering station. The other guy happened to be just 16 yrs old and shot back periodic wide-eyed looks of alarm as he watched me closing the gap. We both finished with a 100m sprint as I allowed him to cross just 1 sec ahead of me since he actually cut me off at the finish line. I saw Bryan in this guy and held back to let him win the position.
I was expecting to run below my capacity considering that I had taxed my liver the last 4 nights during my travel to South India:-) I guess I enjoy my tipple and my runs and don't let one decide the other. I enjoyed this run cause it gave me feedback on so many things; effect of sleep, liquor and weight gain. I had gained 3 kgs since the Auroville Marathon - I must have rested my feet a bit too much after my redemption:-) A super Sunday and a nice outing with family and friends - especially the Colpal group.
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