I am a marathoner

Marato de Barcelona (6 Mar 2011)

Well after completing 8 half marathons (including the recent Amsterdam half marathon) so far I felt I have to progress to the next level to test my physical endurance- to participate in a full marathon. The leaflets kept inside the envelope that I had received as part of my registration for the Amsterdam half marathon had one particular leaflet on the Barcelona marathon 2011 and that particular one caught my eye.

It was then that I decided that I will definitely run the Barcelona marathon in March 2011, mainly for two reasons. The first one being it was scheduled on a perfect day 6 Mar 2011 and that meant no exams, and other stuff coming my way and the second one being that the Barcelona is a lovely city to visit. I began my four month training program starting from November 2010 until February 2011 for this particular event.

The whole training program was a wonderful journey. The excitement and the desire to run 42.2 kms or 26.2 miles kept getting stronger day by day. The months of December and January were particularly tough as afar as training was concerned. This is because it was snowing heavily during these two months, not the ideal weather to just go out and practice your run. But I was determined, I had to get my weekly mileage so that my body gets tuned to the arduous long distance journey. I did not have the wind cheater jackets nor the skin tight full length track pants as the regular Dutch runners in Delft. So what did I do? I just wore three layers of clothing on top and pulled on my half running trousers and dashed out in the snow to do my weekly runs. I had spent my Christmas vacation, a full 11 days travelling across Paris and Switzerland and even during these times I made sure I had my running gear with me. I just could not afford to miss two weeks without doing my runs. Crazy isn't it? Thats what I am 'A Crazy Road Runner'.

Now there was slight twist in the story in the month of January, after completing one of my practice runs in the evening I had slight pain in my right knee. I just ignored it thinking that it just a muscle strain but it kept getting worse until I had to abandon my practice for a whole week in January. Complete rest was essential if I had to run in Barcelona. I experienced pain whenever I got down from the staircase, things were not looking well and I panicked. I feared that I might not be able to run in Barcelona and was also calculating the monetary loss that I would incur if I can't make the trip- The flights to and fro were booked, hostel accommodation reserved and other miscellaneous stuff confirmed. But by God's grace and some medication and stretching techniques my knee pain subsided a little, I could run once again but was averaging at a pace way below my normal speed. My normal speed is 6.2 mph but I was able to hover around 5.6 mph. So I though some running is better than no running. I kept practicing, running slowly and making sure not to strain my right knee.

Finally in the month of February I learnt some knee and lower back strengthening exercises. This helped me a lot in getting back on track with my usual running pace. I was convinced that I can complete the marathon in good condition but just to confirm my confidence I had to make sure that I had the stamina and the strength. So on the 20 Feb 2011 I did a 35 Km practice run and my dear friend Ershad played a major role in it. He was kind enough to carry all my bottles and other foodstuff and patrol me on his bike for the entire duration. I really owe him a lot for his kind hearted gesture.

So I finally departed for Barcelona on the 4 Mar 2011, taking the direct flight from Amsterdam-Schipol to Barcelona-El Prat. The plane landed safely and I comfortably made my way to the hostel. The next morning I woke up, had my breakfast and walked down the street to the 'marathon expo' from where I got my BIB (running) number and the runners goodie bag. There was a pasta party exclusively for the runners, to pump in some carbs into us so that we all run the marathon in good condition. I just roamed around the city in the evening and enjoyed the carnival that was happening that evening.

Finally the D day approached. I woke up at 6:00 hrs brushed my teeth, washed myself and changed into my running gear. I packed all my stuff and kept it in the luggage room of my hostel and walked down the road toward the starting point. There was a sea of runners pouring in from all directions to converge at the starting point 'Placa Esapanya'. I felt great and excited that I was finally going to do my maiden full marathon. The whistle was blown and the elite runners kicked off in the blazing speed. I was positioned in the four hour plus runners category so I crossed the starting line 10 minutes after the official start time. I kept treading along with my usual pace, enjoying the city also. The route was almost flat and covered almost the entire city. The marathon organizing committee had done a wonderful job, water stations, fruit points, sponge points all were perfectly organized. I had no worries about nutrition and drinks along my way, they were in plenty. After the 30 km mark I slowed down a little. It was more of a mental game now rather than the physical one. My body was strong enough to got he distance but my mind was plying games. But I had trained for that too I kept my composure and took one mile at a time after mile 19. Finally I reached the finish line in a time of 5 hours 4 minutes and 4 seconds (5:04:04). Wow that was amazing I had actually completed my maiden full marathon, there were tears of joy in my eyes. I had actually run 42.2 Kms, Oh My GOD!!

After the run I went back to my hostel, had my shower and headed back to the airport to travel back to Amsterdam and to Delft from there. Oh man, this was one wonderful experience I will never forget.