Mumbai Marathon Jan 2010 - Great Result

Ran the Mumbai marathon in Jan 2010 and the initial goal was to run it under 4 hours 30 minutes which i had set to be able to run the Comrades Marathon (89k) in May 2010 in Durban, South Africa.

To get under 4 hours and 30 minutes is real tough in Mumbai as the heat climbs to 32C and the humidity is high which will cramp even the best runners. I ran in 4 hours 10 minutes which was a fab result and the key here is that i ran through the race. No walking. Okay, 5 steps if i'm guilty and that too when i saw my adorable kids waiting to give me water.

What does this mean to me? Well, i just feel awesome and to be ranked 82 in India is special. But i have no obsession with running per se. I love it but the end journey is to stay fit. Live a healthy life and for that it needs a little sacrifice and some mental strength. Actually, my first love was soccer and played that for 8 years. Stopped as i had 2 ACL knee surgeries. Far too risky to play. Thats when i started running.

Last year, Jan 2009 i ran the Mumbai marathon with no training. Actually i started running in Dec 2008 for the marathon and completed it in 5 hours 3 minutes. Fast forward to Jan 2010 and Mumbai marathon was done in 4 hours 10 minutes. The difference in the year is that i lost 10% body fat and 10 kg of wt and that gave me the power to run better. This is the key here and you have to be very focused on your food intake. Eat the right things at the right time. I have to credit Rujuta Diwekar who taught me to eat right and listen to my body.

Anybody aspiring to run a 4 hour 10 minute marathon, i would say eat right, get your body fat percentage to less than 19% and you will be flying. Train 3 days a week, Wednesdays (intervals, 6 by 800 mtrs), Friday tempo (10k) and Sunday (16k onwards). Tues, Thurs and Sat you should cross train. Results will come for sure.

The next challenge is to run Comrades ( One of the toughest ultra marathons worldwide) with only 3 days of training a week. Target is 89k under 12 hours. I think i will do it. Its all about believing in yourself. The race is tough, with 25% not being able to finish in the allotted time.

Details of Mumbai 42k race on Garmin, given km breakup.

Overall

Time:	04:10:24
Distance:	42.66 km
Elevation Gain:	941 m
Calories:	3,165 C

Timing

Time:

04:10:24

Avg Pace:	05:52 min/km
Best Pace:	03:32 min/km

Speed

Pace

Elevation

Elevation Gain:	941 m
Elevation Loss:	938 m
Min Elevation:	-34 m
Max Elevation:	62 m

Laps 43

View Splits

Split Time Distance Avg Pace Summary 04:10:24 42.66 05:52 1 00:05:24 1.00 05:24 2 00:05:26 1.00 05:26 3 00:05:26 1.00 05:26 4 00:05:32 1.00 05:32 5 00:05:33 1.00 05:33 6 00:05:33 1.00 05:33 7 00:05:34 1.00 05:34 8 00:05:32 1.00 05:32 9 00:05:20 1.00 05:20 10 00:05:22 1.00 05:22 11 00:05:29 1.00 05:29 12 00:05:28 1.00 05:28 13 00:05:32 1.00 05:32 14 00:05:32 1.00 05:32 15 00:05:30 1.00 05:30 16 00:05:29 1.00 05:29 17 00:05:33 1.00 05:33 18 00:05:31 1.00 05:31 19 00:05:25 1.00 05:25 20 00:05:31 1.00 05:31 21 00:05:36 1.00 05:36 22 00:05:38 1.00 05:38 23 00:05:32 1.00 05:32 24 00:05:50 1.00 05:50 25 00:05:46 1.00 05:46 26 00:05:50 1.00 05:50 27 00:05:51 1.00 05:51 28 00:05:47 1.00 05:47 29 00:05:50 1.00 05:50 30 00:05:50 1.00 05:50 31 00:05:58 1.00 05:58 32 00:06:03 1.00 06:03 33 00:06:07 1.00 06:07 34 00:06:20 1.00 06:20 35 00:06:43 1.00 06:43 36 00:07:21 1.00 07:21 37 00:06:12 1.00 06:12 38 00:06:39 1.00 06:39 39 00:06:55 1.00 06:55 40 00:06:46 1.00 06:46 41 00:06:16 1.00 06:16 42 00:07:01 1.00 07:01 43 00:04:34 0.66 06:53