I have a tryst with the Bangalore Ultra course on Nov 10. I
have a point to prove and a bone to pick with this trial. It has mocked me and
it has challenged me and I have accepted the challenge. It did not ridicule me
or belittle me but even then I feel that I have to stand tall in front of it
and say “ha ha ha! I got you!”
To explain myself better, I need to rewind and take you on a
flash back. Last year when I ran my first Ultra, I had just started running or
should I say waddling. I could barely run 50mts and had trained for 7 weeks and had bravely signed up for 12.5K in the Ultra. On the pre race day I developed a pain in my left knee and as I started the race, at around the 1K mark I developed a
pain in my right shin. Added to all my woes, at the 2K mark I developed the
worst nightmare of any runner, the nature’s emergency call, the urge to visit
the loo immediately. I stopped sipping water or eating anything at the aid stations for the fear of having a serious GI issue.
With all these nightmares hovering around I was hardly able to run or waddle along. I walked hte entire distance. I was cursing myself for landing myself into this and was asking myself what I was thinking when I signed up for running. As each runner cruised past me showering words of encouragement and praise I gained some energy and courage to carry on. But the cource seemes never ending and the pain was excruciating. I was nearly in tears and only the appearance of my daughters, niece and my husband at the 500mts mark prevented me from bursting into a sob and somehow with the encouragement of Manju and Shruthi I reached the finish line.I was rewarded with a medal by a smiling volunteer which I felt that I did not deserve for I had taken 2:08 long hours to finish the race.
With all these nightmares hovering around I was hardly able to run or waddle along. I walked hte entire distance. I was cursing myself for landing myself into this and was asking myself what I was thinking when I signed up for running. As each runner cruised past me showering words of encouragement and praise I gained some energy and courage to carry on. But the cource seemes never ending and the pain was excruciating. I was nearly in tears and only the appearance of my daughters, niece and my husband at the 500mts mark prevented me from bursting into a sob and somehow with the encouragement of Manju and Shruthi I reached the finish line.I was rewarded with a medal by a smiling volunteer which I felt that I did not deserve for I had taken 2:08 long hours to finish the race.
I resolved to transform myself into a runner and show the
Ultra what I was made of! I continued training with Runner’s High and am training
hard and have finished many 10Ks in the past 1 year like the Auroville, TCS and
KTM 10Ks and so here I come with renewed vigour and fresh resolve to see the
ultra in the eye and say that now I am your equal and now I can call myself a
runner.
From my experience last year, the ultra trial is very flat
with a slight incline from the 5km to th 6.25 km mark which is not very tough. There
are some rocky patches. From the 3km to the 6.25km mark there was not much of a
tree cover. Since it a out and back loop and the turn around is at 6.25 mark,
it means that there is not much of a tree cover for about half the course or
for about 6.5km. So I am prepared with a cap and water bottle to beat the heat.
My time was 2:08 hrs last year and this year I hope to
complete it in 1:40 hrs. Hope that I am able to achieve my timing. With just 11
days to go I am really excited and looking forward to this wonderful run.
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