For nearly a decade, I had dreamt of running a full marathon. For many years, running a 3-4 miles seemed to be the psychological limit. Brain rapidly sent instructions to stop the body; the body complied dutifully. A few times, the body won over the brain, and I still completed half marathon runs. Still, the full marathon remained elusive. Finally, today I completed my first long marathon run after some unexpected inspiration, strong support, and serious perspiration. I completed the Seattle Marathon 2022. Brain is now more aligned with body and vice versa. 100s of people helped me, including my family, coach, relatives, and friends. Thanks to all of them!
The Enablers
Let me take a step back to describe how I got to today. 10s of unexpected meetings and events enabled the completion of my first marathon. Last year, I met a group of traveling alumni from my wife’s college. This group of 13 had just completed the 199 miles Ragnar Relay. They lived in different cities and had practiced virtually to finally meet in Blaine, WA to complete the race. Then a local friend informed me that he was practicing for the Seattle marathon; so I joined him on a few long runs. My wife and I went out on several Sunday hikes, including in the winter of 2020-21 and 2021-22. In late 2021, I was also fortunate to start a CEG Outdoors group to share and care about our runs, walks, hikes, and other outdoor activities. With continued practice, I completed my first longest run in Seattle in May 2022.
I got a coach
In July 2022, when I visited Bengaluru, I met RB, one of my college friends. He and his wife were running almost daily. I joined him on a Bengaluru 10K run; it was great to see 1000s of people run there. There is an adage that says, “when the student is ready, then the guru shows up.” It was true in my case. My friend RB and his wife introduced me to their coach – Ranjini Gupta (linkedin, instagram). Meeting the coach was a great step forward. She is an accomplished athlete and runner. I filled in a long questionnaire. I indicated my goal is to complete the Seattle Marathon in 5-hours. She set up a weekly program for me to practice. The plan called for me to steadily increase distance for running. It also included short and long runs.
Practice, Practice, Practice
We all learned that practice makes one perfect. For me, practice definitely helped improve self-confidence and readiness. Thanks to the guidance of my coach, I slowly adopted many good aids, including: foam rolling, warmups, cooldowns, hydration, electrolytes, additional food during the run, etc. I have to let go of the days of running 3-miles and graduate to running 10+ miles per week. I also attempted and completed several half-marathon runs during the 16 weeks of practice. I even got to take a complete week off in the middle because of travel schedules. During the long runs, I also took short breaks. Thanks to the hilly streets in Seattle, there was ample opportunity to practice runs with elevation gain. Beyond 10 miles, it was always a tight contest between the body and mind on who wants to stop first. Body muscles slowly improved to handle long runs. Ultimately, the practice helped!
The Course
This year, the Seattle Marathon had a new course, starting at the Husky Stadium in the University of Washington (UW) and finishing there. It was announced that the course had an elevation of 1889 feet, which initially scared me. Progressive training with relevant gain helped. Early morning start at 6AM scared me both for the timing and the cold weather (37-40F). Again, practicing with warm gear (multiple layers, thermal sleeves, cap, gloves) helped. The course ran through Burke Gilman Trail, I-5 Express lanes, scenic SR520 bridge, and around the UW campus. Delayed onset of the fall season was also a treat. Weather forecast for Nov 26th, 2022 was no rain; that is a big plus.
Starting the run
I started the day of Nov 26th with a light breakfast (toast, banana, almonds, and dates). A short warmup run enabled me to get rid of the third layer of warm clothing. It also helped with the bowel movement, pretty important for any long run! I missed the start time of 6AM and arrived at the start line at 6:07AM. No runners were visible! Wow, what happened to the pacers. There were no pacers for the runners with 5-hours target. Nevertheless, what am I to do! “Just wait”, a volunteer told me. Within a few minutes, a few other runners showed up and we were allowed to run. I was off to a good start.
The run happened!
Taking the advice to stay to run slowly and keep my heart rate low, I did not push myself. I kept an almost steady pace through the first few miles. I took a short break at mile 6, climbed a steep hill near mile 9, and kept going. I had to run the entire SR520 bridge running path. The sun had come out; still the windchill was high on the bridge. The lake view was beautiful; I still did not stop to take pictures. I was reminded of lines from Robert Frost’s poem “…. and miles and miles to go!” At mile 16, I took my next break. I got to drink 2 cups of water and eat a granola bar. I kept counting the breaths, like I used to do during my practice runs. The run through the outskirts of UW campus along the lake was beautiful. The run up and down to the UW Drumheller Fountain was great. As I reached the 26th mile mark, I sprinted a bit to end the run on a high note. I reached the finish line at 5 hours and 6 minutes, almost near the 5 hours goal. I finished my first marathon run!
These gave me company too
I carried a small water bottle and sipped water every mile or so. The organizers had stations giving water and electrolytes. Sometimes I picked up a cup of electrolyte from the stations. There were soaked almonds and pitted dates that I carried; I was feeding on a few pieces once every 3-4 miles. At mile 19, I realized there were no dates or almonds left. Psychologically, this was a blow! Hence, I slowed down to ensure that I have sufficient energy to reach the end zone. I also carried the usual electronics gear: phone, watch, and AirPods. I was listening to the nonstop episodes from the “Ponniyin Selvan Part 5” till the AirPod batteries died after nearly 3-hours (just past mile 17). I recharged the AirPods and then listened to the violin pieces from Kumaresh’s “Run with Sa” for the final 3 miles.
Thank you all!
I was fortunate to have several people inspire and support me. I am thankful to my family for allowing me to prepare over several months. Schedules can and did get crazy. Next, thanks to my coach, who patiently guided me during the 16 weeks of preparation. My work colleagues at RapL were supportive; having a flexible schedule allowed me to schedule the practice runs in between. Finally, there were 10s of friends and family members who offered kind words, suggestions, and support. Thanks to all of them for helping me complete my first marathon run.
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