TMM 2020 Half Marathon
Buzz Buzz! 3am on a very special weekend in January.
Its that time of year again! Mumbai Marathon 2020! And I’ve made it this far without a fracture this time! Yes! Been in training for my Ironman 70.3 which is due in a couple of weeks and feeling like I’ve never been fitter. This IS my race!
Pre race smiles!
A couple of local runners fortunately managed to get a car to take us to the holding area. What an absolute blessing! Anyone who has ever been out between 3am and 12pm on the morning of TMM knows how bad the roads can be. Diversions and blockages everywhere!
We get to the holding area nice and early, about 80 minutes to show time! I’m grinning ear to ear since I’m no longer the green horn of the group and I’m sharing advice with one of the new guys. My nutrition and hydration have been on point, sleep has been as good as it can be when your alarm is set for every 5 minutes between 2:30am and 3am. Legs are feeling fresh. Things are looking good! Even the weather is amazing. This is in stark contrast from every other year when it's known to be notoriously horrible.
I can feel a personal best coming up! Pre race gel has been consumed, the start gun has gone off and the DJ is louder than ever. This is GO TIME!
But first to get through the initial crowd! The first km is crowded enough to be mistaken for a rush hour train minus the train. I find myself running on the sidewalk, desperate to save a few seconds where I can. The second km is better only because its on the sea link.
Oh the Catch 22 of running on the sea link! A once a year opportunity. Everyone wants to slow it down, take it all in. Cherish every moment of it, but then you remember that this is a race!
By the time I’m 5km into the race, I’ve already passed my own coach and physio! Nice little nod of acknowledgement and a thumbs up to both and everyone was on! Nice reminder that this is the one race where everybody runs!
Running: Clearly not the best sport for candids
10km pass and I’m feeling hot as fire. I’m off the sea link and making excellent time. Within my target by a comfortable margin, I decide this is the time to take it up a notch. I’m keeping a sharp eye on my HR, fearful of blowing up too early.
I’m a man on a mission and feeling unstoppable. Still soaking in the atmosphere as much as I can and still smiling away at fellow runners as I pass by them a dozen at a time.
Then comes the dreaded uphill section of Peddar Road. Just a km long. I know I have to sacrifice a little pace or risk losing it all. I kept telling myself, listen to your breath. Shouldn’t be too hard or too easy. Find Goldilocks’ perfect middle path. Just cross this and you’re down the last 6km. Go wild there.
I lost maybe 10 seconds on the uphill but that was nothing compared to the kind of time I had already made. I started setting a higher target for myself right there and then. This is the Mumbai Marathon after all! The one race timing that truly matters!
I completely stopped looking at my heart rate in the last 5km. I was going big or going home.
I started to get a small twitch in my calf in the last two km, just as I was speeding up. At this point speech is no longer an available option. So I’m internally yelling at my body to just listen to me! Less than Ten minutes to go and I’m going to get a time I didn’t even dream of. Just don’t cramp on me!
And just as my lungs were ready to collapse, I crossed the line in 1:49:05. Officially in the top 8% of my Age Group. Definitely have a bit of a way to go, but I’ll take it!
Worth it!
