gajabhuja funda

Bangalore Ultra Marathon 2010

And so I am an ultra-marathoner too. It is rather disappointing that I could not finish within the time I had set myself for (I took around an hour or so extra, primarily due to extreme heat and deficient practice). However, there is always the next year.

The target was to finish the run, as my previous attempt in 2008 had to be aborted. The last 12.5 km took an eternity with agonizing stomach cramps and extreme dehydration. I later found that in spite of eating bananas and oranges at regular intervals, somehow my body got drained of salts. I got sugar and salt from a local tea shop, mixed it in water and gulped them down to drag myself to the finish line. But, the aim was clear. Crawl I will, if I had to, but I was not coming back home without the finisher's medal.

First 12.5km took 80 mins, next 12.5km took around 110 minutes, primarily because I was goading my brother Sathish to continue the run as he started experiencing difficulty in breathing. He later dropped out. The third 12.5 km took 120 minutes. The last 12.5km should have taken 120 minutes, but took around 180 minutes. The original plan before I started was to finish the first 12.5km in 80 minutes, the second in 90 minutes, the third in 110 minutes and the fourth in 120 minutes.

Lessons learnt:
1. Take date fruits or some other eatables. The bananas and oranges that are being provided do not quite make the cut.
2. Take Glucon-D. The lucosade that was being provided sucked big time.
3. Take a cap. The heat was bad, so bad that if I wet my head, it would dry out completely in under 8 minutes. And no, I am not bald !!



Finisher's medal dedicated to the missus (this incidentally is my first full marathon post marriage), who does not mind my continued indulgence in these crazy-ass activities.


Shyam

Posted by Unknown at 10:51 AM