There is no exclamation mark in the title as it is neither a shout of encouragement nor a congratulatory note. It just means there is still a while before the bubbly can be uncorked. I am refering to the 3rd full marathon in a series of 12 in 12 months planned by Amit, that was scheduled yesterday.
Due to my own foolhardy nature, I bit on more than I could chew. I did a 20 miler about 10 days after the last FM. This seemed more than I could handle, given the other stressors in my life. I came down with a throat infection and a fever, about a week ago. Hoping for the best, I popped a few capsules of antibiotic and felt about 95% recovered by Thursday. I did not dissuade Amit from postponing the event and played it by ear. I popped my last antibiotic on Thursday night, realizing that doing it a day before would surely affect my performance.
When the alarm beeped at 5am, I woke up with a lingering lung congestion, a blocked nose and a low grade fever. I shook my head at the insanity that grips me at such times. I inhaled steam, blew my nose, showered in warm water and drank a hot cuppa java. I felt better and then reached for the rucksack loaded with 6 bottles of electrolyte, meant for my run. I whispered a prayer and stepped out the door.
The run was a loop of 7K to be done 6 times. This time our angels handling the aid station were Pramila and Puneet. Roshni joined us for 21K and then assisted them, while Madhu took the trouble of preparing Idlis for us; the perfect post-run carboloading snack. Every loop completed, earned us an applause from these four angels.
The first two loops went off like a breeze. During the third loop I felt the strain of inhaling air thru' phlegm lined bronchioles. Rohit, who joined us for 28K, kidded me about always thinking like an Engineer when I complained that "gas exchange" was affected. The 4th loop brought along fatigue that caused me to trail Amit, Raj and Dr Oak, by about 50m. I soon caught up with them, or maybe they slowed down for me. I was now focusing on drawing air deep thru' deliberate diaphragmatic breathing.
On the 5th loop, Raj, who had started about 30 mins earlier with the intention of doing 50K, sped ahead since he found our pace "easy":) He also wanted to add about 3K more, inorder to reach that target and hence his haste:) Amit, Dr Oak and I contented ourselves with a steady pace that would surely bring us in, in about 5 hrs. My fatigue had not gotten worse but I dreaded the 6th loop.
The blazing sun sapped us and it is only the frequent aid stations, which were placed such that we could drink up once every 25 mins, that saved us from severe dehydration. I found Amit and Dr Oak were still maintaining pace but I was particularly fatigued and distressed by now. Not wanting to have people wait for me to finish, I forced the pace on myself and realized that Amit gave me a sidelong glance, concerned at my labored breathing.
The final 2K was all that was left and I hung in there. I have often opined that people reveal their true nature thru' small events, words or attitude. Suffice it to say that I again appreciated Amit' selfless offer to "finish together", whereas he could easily have paced Dr Oak, who had zipped ahead. The run was done and I high-fived Amit for getting this one too in the bag.
The post run carboloading was taken up with gusto and excited banter on the whole event. Meanwhile, Raj came in and had his "touch down" for an easy 51K. He deserved all the plaudits that were heaped on him. His commitment, dedication and hardwork had paid off and his endurance has shot thru' the roof. As for lesser mortals and an "also ran" like me, I felt a sense of relief for having managed to finish a FM with a less than perfect condition. That' three in the bag and....well...way to go! At least I can pat myself on the back:)
Late Sunday evening, Amit, Raj, Srinivas and I shared a bottle of Talisker that was tabled by Srinivas as a token of gratitude for my having helped him in a small way towards his fantastic sub 4 in the HK marathon. The three of them seemed to focus on what they alluded to as my latent potential for better times in the FM. "Maybe," I said as I shrugged, hoping that I would get the time to train for it some day soon, and prove them right.
Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.
Friedrich Nietzsche
