Chennai Half Marathon 2012 - 2 Dec

My passion for running continues and this time I am back in my home town- Chennai. After completing my masters degree I came back to my home town and have been enjoying my vacation here, anxiously awaiting a document from the British government after which I will proceed for my doctoral studies in the UK. In the mean while I registered for the Chennai half marathon, an event which I have run twice before, in 2008 and 2009 but this time the route was entirely different. Running a marathon or a half marathon in one's own city is quite an experience in itself for which I will give reasons shortly. Even though there was the full marathon category and running the full in Chennai would have been a great achievement I chose the half, the reasons being I had not trained for the full and I had already done two marathons in this year, hence my body was longing for some quality rest.

So there I was, promptly registered for the half marathon on the event website well in time.  This time the event was wholly managed by Chennai Runners (a running group formed and developed in Chennai) unlike yesteryears where the event was conducted by the Tamil Nadu government in collaboration with some sponsors and Tamil Nadu athletics association. The major sponsor this time was WIPRO, the same firm had also sponsored the San Francisco marathon which I had run on 29 July 2012. Coming to the point of why running an event in one's own city is considered special. Firstly you are connected with the city through heart and soul hence as a runner you feel unjustified if you don't run in your own city. Secondly you have the support of your family and also other friends which gives an immense boost to the moral and the tempo leading up to the event. And finally the mental and physical satisfaction is second to nothing.

I was doing my training not in a completely holistic way but still managed to run 4 times a week. The weather in Chennai is too humid and hot and one gets drenched in sweat after just a few kilometers and exhausted very soon, hence running in Chennai is always a challenge. Getting up as early as 4:30 and doing the runs at 5:15 is an option to beat the heat, the traffic and the sun but after being in Netherlands for over 2 years I was not used to getting up at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, hence I always go for my runs (solo) at  7 am or 7:30 am. The sun is already up and the heat is on but I don't mind that. The longest distance that I did was 16 kms during my training and I felt that was adequate because all that I had to do was add an additional 5k on the D day. The one thing that I noticed here is the running culture is slowly picking up but still when I go for my runs I get quizzical looks from onlookers and when I go for longer runs with the fuel belt ( a belt that can house upto 4 bottles of water 250 ml each) tucked around my waist I get even stranger looks. Probably people have not seen such a thing before.

The organizers did a wonderful job and all participants were getting frequent emails, updating or giving information about the event, the expo, the rules and regulations on the race day etc. I was assigned 2356 as my bib number which I had to collect from the marathon expo at Express Avenue mall the day before the event. I was half expecting a huge expo like in the marathons I have run before but was disappointed when I went to collect my number. There were stalls which were distributing the bibs and also a couple of other stalls but nothing on new and innovative sports products or sportswear etc. I can truly understand that the budget is quite a factor in organizing the expo and also unless the running culture increases manifold the attraction to such an expo will always be less nevertheless the expo was well organized. I also got a running T'shirt and a goodie bag but to be frank the running T'shirt was kind of crappy, the material according o me is not of good quality and the T'shirt did not fit me even though I had ordered 'large' size. I quickly collected my bib and came home, had a nice lunch, did not nap in the afternoon as I did not want to stay awake late in the night and had a nice dinner (pasta) and went to bed at 9:30 pm. I had told my mom that I will have a banana-apple smoothie in the morning before I leave and I don't know who told her that drinking a banana smoothie will result in loose motion. She tried her best to convince me to eat bread in the morning or to eat oats but I was adamant on having only the banana smoothie and informed her that I will take only that in the morning.

I got up promptly at 3:30, brushed my teeth and did my business ( a clean stomach is vital to do a good run) and left for the starting point at 4:10. I carried a bottle of mango juice and two bottles of water in my car. I was also carrying a few chocolate balls in my running shorts so that I can pop them during the course (chocolates give energy and thats one of the reasons that I prefer eating chocolates when doing a long run). Driving through the streets of Chennai was so comfortable in the morning- very little traffic and easy navigation, I reached the venue in a span on 20 minutes. I parked my car and did my warm up and was waiting at the starting point with scores of runners, behind the pack of about 350 full marathon runners. The whole scene at the start was amazing, seeing so many runners in Chennai was heartening. The start was inside the IIT Madras campus and went all the way till Napier bridge for the full marathon guys and a little distance from the Thiruvika bridge for the half marathon runners.  Runners from both category  had to come back the same way (in their respective routes) to complete the respective distance. The final 10 kms in both categories was a nice loop inside the IIT Madras campus.

I got a running partner 4 kms after the start. He was Manohar , working at TCS and he informed me that this was his first half marathon. We ran together until the 17 Km mark after which I decided to walk a little bit before finishing the course. I guess he went all the way to the finish point without a break. Hats off to him for a successful first half marathon. I completed my run in 2:02 hrs but felt that the entire course was about a kilometer short of the actual 21.1 official half marathon distance. There were other runners who too claimed that the course length was short. I informed the organizers about this but no one seemed to care. I can understand that nothing could be done at that moment but I was expecting at least a surprised & worried look from the organizers instead I got a nonchalant care free look from the organizers. They were not bothered that the distance was actually short. I was furious at this and no one was even discussing this on the Chennai Runners group, this infuriated me even more. The run was great, the organization was amazing but to make the Chennai marathon a truly national event mistakes such as this cannot be tolerated.

Kudos to Chennai Runners for this wonderful event and I hope I can run in my hope town year after year.

San Francisco 2012 - My 4th full marathon

Its been more than a month since I ran my 4th marathon at San Francisco (SF) and I have been yearning to write about it but things kept me busy, I had my master thesis defense 3 weeks after the marathon so I was busy preparing for that, then I moved back to my hometown to India so I was busy packing and getting things right before I left. Nevertheless its better to be late than never.

Preparing for a marathon is a tough task and is not a joke. It takes weeks of meticulous & dedicated training. I wanted to run one of my marathons on the west coast of USA because that way I could also meet many of my college friends with whom I spent 4 years of my life. This is because most of them left to study in one of the top universities in California right after completing bachelors and have settled there for the moment. In the  month of January this year I registered for the San Francisco marathon and informed my best friend (Praveen) that I will flying down soon and will be coming to meet him in July. Prior to my marathon in July I had another one in April, the Paris marathon about which I had described in one of my previous posts. Hence after successfully completing my Paris marathon I had a few days of rest and then began training for the San Francisco marathon.

May-June- July these months were very crucial to me. I had to complete my experiments, write my thesis report and also prepare for the marathon. The weather in Delft, Netherlands was getting warmer hence training was easier. I prepared a meticulous training plan, with lots of hill training in the schedule because the SF route is full of hills unlike in Netherlands where the whole country is flat as a pancake. I booked my tickets to SF with KLM and then anxiously waited till the D day came.

On 26 July I left for SF, departing from Amsterdam at 10:30 in the morning. The journey was smooth and comfortable and I reached SF at 16:30 hrs the same day. I picked up my baggage and went out of the airport thinking that my friend would be waiting in the arrival hall. The very thought of meeting him after so many years was simply amazing. 

"Only when someone is deprived of something does one realize its true value"

But to my surprise after I picked my baggage and following the signs I was out of the airport, there were no arrival halls and I reached the airport road where cars came and picked up people. I did not see my friend and was getting anxious. I tried calling him from my mobile but the call never went through as I was on international roaming and I did not activate that. An old couple were also waiting for their son to pick them up and I struck a conversation with them and then I asked them if I could use their phone to call my friend. They were kind enough to let me make a call. I made the call and 15 minutes later my friend arrived in his white Lexus. I thanked the old couple, wished them and got into the car and we drove to Sunnyvale, that's where my friend lived. Sunnyvale is just an hour from San Francisco and staying in SF was not an option as its bloody expensive there.

We had a smooth drive and reached his house around 18:00 hrs. I refreshed myself and then he made palak paneer with rotis for dinner. They were delicious. In the meanwhile his friend Krishna arrived home. Krishna is another friend of mine back from college. After dinner we had a long chat, discussing old things and how life was and how things were at each one's end. The next day was a Friday and both left for work and I preferred resting at home. On Saturday we went to the marathon expo and this time we were joined by Surya as well. Surya is my classmate from college as well. Krishna opted out from coming as he had some work to do. So the three of us drove down to SF and luckily we got a parking space and didn't have to pay for it. We went into the expo and I picked up my bib number after which we were looking at the stalls. I particularly like the marathon expo because I always find useful information and products for my running.

After getting the BIB number we had lunch in a typical American cafe. I had pasta, the usual food that runners prefer before the big race as it is important to load carbs so that one has the energy reserves to go all the way. Once lunch was done both of them were keen on taking me to the Golden Gate Bridge. The drive through the Golden Gate Bridge was amazing, I enjoyed every bit of it and luckily that day that moment the weather was simply awesome. I could see the Golden Gate Bridge in its full splendour, no fog, no rain, just crystal clear. My friends told me that it is very rare to see the Golden Gate without any hindrance from mother nature. I guess I got lucky to view this marvellous structure in its full splendour. After spending some time at the the GG bridge we drove back home. I had a quick dinner, just curd rice and banana and went to bed early. The race was to begin at 5:30 in the morning and we had to drive for an hour, so I decided to get up at 2 in the morning. My friend, Praveen is an amazing guy and he told me that he would drive me to the starting point. Oh man not many people take the pains in doing things for others. Hats off to you dude. 

As planned I got up at 2 in the morning, got ready and then woke Praveen at 3. We left Sunnyvale at 3:15, the drive was smooth and we reached SF at 4:30. We found a parking lot with a $15 parking rate (flat rate)

and parked the car. Realizing that we were a little early we decided to nap in the car for half hour. The power nap really helped me. At 5:15 I made sure I was present at the starting point and bid adieu to my friend and told him to be there at that spot at 9:45 as I was hoping for a sub 4 finish. I stretched, warmed myself up and was all set to go. My wave was to start at 5:45, the first waves being for runners who can run the course in a better time. The temperature was comfortable but it was humid and a few miles into the race I started sweating profusely. For the first 3 miles the course was flat and then we hit the first hill, the climb was quite steep and I never expected such a hilly route. Anyways the hill training helped me a lot and I comfortably scaled the hill. Then around mile 5 we hit the Golden Gate Bridge and we ran a full 4 miles on the bridge (2 up and 2 down). It was indeed an awesome feeling running on this landmark structure, tell me how many chances do you get in your life to do something like this? I felt great and felt adrenalin pumping through my whole body.

I was keeping a steady pace but the hills were beginning to take a toll on my legs. Just before the half way mark the first half marathoners entered a different lane for the finish while the marathoners kept going on a different route where they will be later joined by the second half marathoners. I had my power bars and isotone drinks in my fuel belt so didn't have to stop any any drink stations till mile 17. After this distance I could longer keep up pace uphill and started walking to conserve energy, running only on downhill and on flat stretches. Mile by mile I progressed and by mile 20 I knew that a sub 4 finish was out of the question. I kept pushing myself and took inspiration from other runners around me. The final few miles were run through the Golden Gate park, which was truly enriching. Golden Gate park was more like woods and running through the woods is always a feel good factor, the tall trees around you, the cool shade and the lush greenery around you. This makes running a truly awesome experience.

At mile 23 I started hitting the wall and resorted to a much slower running pace, alternating running with walking. Finally after 4:18:15 hrs I crossed the finish line, a sense of joy running through my body and mind. I also received the finisher's medal and the very size of it made my day. It was one damn big piece of metal and I was so proud to achieve it. All these months of training had finally paid off, another marathon was run, another course was experienced and another place was explored. After receiving the medal I collected my refreshments and went back to the parking lot where my friend was waiting for me. I could still feel my legs and knew that I had a strong finish. My friend congratulated me and we drove back home.

The sub 4 finish still eludes me but people told me that 4:18:15 was a very good timing for a hilly course such as SF.

The day I felt sucky & low

I am writing this post just to let people know that 'Patience is the key to success' and there is always light at the end of the tunnel. I may sound philosophical here but believe me I am not trying to dart out advice to anyone out here, just sharing my feelings.

I had planned for an end June graduation for my masters program here in TU Delft. You must be wondering, how can someone plan for one's graduation, isn't it a structured and organized thing by the university. Well, it is for the universities in the US, UK and India (as far as my knowledge is concerned) but not in the Dutch universities. Here students can choose as many courses as they want besides their masters program and study as long as they want, so practically they can decide when they want to graduate. The normal course period is 2 years but the Dutch students study for 3 years, taking their own sweet time and engaging themselves in many other activities. The international students on the other hand try to wrap it up as soon as possible because of financial constraints, the tuition fee for the internationals being 5 times more than the local fee.

I am one of the fellows falling under the international students category, so I planned for my graduation on 28 June 2012, so that I can save on two months of tuition fees. Everything was going according to the plan and even till June 15 my supervisor was giving me hope that I could graduate on the date I wanted. But suddenly things turned upside down, my supervisor wanted me to add a few more things to my thesis report and by the time I made those changes it was quite late to graduate on my chosen date. The very thought of paying tuition fees (for July & Aug), my housing contract coming to end (by July 31) and other administrative issues bogged my mind so badly that I could not concentrate on my work properly.

On 5 July 2012, my close friend here in TU Delft from aerospace engineering also graduated with an excellent score in this thesis and he also secured a top notch job in a reputed firm. Both of us were planning to graduate together in June and then go on a small vacation before heading back to India for a longer vacation but with me not graduating that plan did not materialize (for me at least). The week before 5 July, there were a group of people all graduating, acquiring their masters degree, my Chinese roomie too had got his degree. All this stuff happening around me and me being helpless for not graduating had put in a lot of mental pressure on my brain. I was wondering, people out there are graduating and celebrating and look at me, still stuck for a couple more months just because July is vacation time and almost everyone in the university is on leave ( forgot to mention that here in TU Delft if you don't graduate by June end then its definitely going to be either in Aug or beyond). Added to that most of the Indians who graduated had secured either a job or some research position and I was still hanging in the air with no certainty as to what am I going to do next and where will I be headed ( things for me were in the pipeline and had not materialized yet). There were questions being asked back home to me, what is the ROI (return on investment) for the huge tuition fees that my parents have paid for me. All these things, viz, people graduating around me and me not able to graduate in June, they securing jobs and my undecided near term future put me really in state of mind where it was killing. The sucky & sinking feeling that one gets in his heart when things don't go your way is exactly what I was experiencing. I was literally on the verge of crying but big boys don't cry.

Even though you try to be patient and calm, the mind doesn't allow you to. The mind is fickle and keeps imagining things and tries to give you the worst case scenarios. In my case I was wondering what if I had to spend 4 months more on my thesis work, then I have to renew my visa, which costs 150 euros, I have to start searching for a house, which in Delft is quite tough to find and I have to spend  extra time when all others are enjoying out there. Well these things have not yet happened and by God's grace I hope it does not happen and I graduate in time in August. In times such as this one needs moral support and that's exactly what my mom and brother provided, giving me hope that something is going to click and things are going to work my way. So that's it, here I am patiently waiting for the third week of August, the week that will relieve me of all mental pressure.

My 3rd marathon- Paris, 15 April 2012

Its been almost a month since I ran my marathon at Paris- The City of Light and have been dying to do a write up for it but just kept procrastinating it. Damn me, other jobs always took over priority. But today I decided come what may I definitely write my experience at Paris.

This was the 3rd marathon in which I have participated, the first and second being Barcelona and Berlin respectively. Let me begin how I decided to run at Paris. After the Berlin marathon in 2011 I was quite excited with my timing and was looking forward towards another exciting challenge and thats when I though about why not run at Paris. By the time I had made up my mind I was quite late for registering, all the early bird registration slots were filled up so I had to pay a whomping 95 Euro registration fee to participate in it. I had the option of registering for either Vienna or Rotterdam (which would have costed me less) but I though I must run at Paris first. So thats where the journey began, I registered myself and prepared a training plan for crack Paris under 4 hours. Let me remind you this is one of the most popular marathons in continental Europe after Berlin, the registrations were closed down 5 months prior to the D day. So just imagine how prestigious this event is. 

I started way back in November 2011 with my training. I did not use any specific training plans from the popular running website but just made my own on the Excel sheet and stuck to it.  This time I incorporated two new items in my training, one was 'Speed Training' with 3 min of fast run followed by 1 min of slow run or trot and then again 3 min of fast run with repetitions of 7 to 10 times. This gave me additional speed during my long distance runs because I slowly trained my body to run fast. Unless you tell your body and make it accustomed to running at an elevated pace it will not get used to it. The second one was I did 'swimming' for cross training as well besides biking. The reason for that is swimming provides necessary exercise for the upper part of the body and also is good exercise during winter months when biking might not be that comfortable.

Mind you its always tough training during winter. I have two good reasons for that (my personal view), first when the atmospheric temperature is below 5 degC the body is not comfortable with it and feels lazy and secondly lack of sufficient sunlight can be demotivating. But as the saying goes "where there is a will there is a way". I kept the ultimate goal in my mind and self motivated myself to train in this cold. If one has to be fit and fine during the beautiful spring season then one must train during the winter and thats what I precisely did. 

So days passed by and I looked in good shape , achieving all my training goals 90% of the time. Ofcourse there were times when I skipped a run because I was too tired. Always remember 'Listen to your body first' never over work it. Another motivating factor was the weekly emails from the organizers giving valuable tips and advice and also the  some of the great achievements made by my fellow runners back in my city- Chennai. I am silent reader of the Chennai Runners group and have taken valuable tips from the greats like Ram Vishwanathan, Navin, Shankar and Bala.

I booked my tickets for Paris two months in advance and ofcourse by bus. Eurolines offers the cheapest means to reach Paris, the to & fro ticket costing me just 25 Euros. The accommodation was a problem though. All good hostels were very expensive for a single person, rates starting from 25 Euros a night and going till even 50 Euros a night but thats when my good Dutch friend Eva suggested that I stay at "Ausberg Internatinal des Junes", a nice and cozy hostel with cheap rates (just 19 Euros a night). 

So I left for Paris on 13 April, my birthday with well wishes from my mom and brother. My dad never cared that I was running a marathon, he was more interested in me finding a job or something as quickly as possible. But my mom always supported me for my runs and I wanted to dedicate this marathon to her as  mark of gratitude for all that she has done for me through these years and being there for me whenever I am feeling low. THIS ONE WAS FOR YOU MOM :)

I reached Paris at 21:00 hrs the same day and reached my hostel safe and sound. The bus was two hours late in reaching Paris. I checked into the hostel, a 3 bedroom hall which I found empty when I checked in. I was quite thrilled at that and thought I can relax at peace until someone else knocked on the door at 24:00 hrs.I thought OMG but anyways I didn't care much. There were 3 beds in total, out of which two were on top of each other like the dorms and the other one was single. Since I came first to the room I chose the single one but found it quite uncomfortable and later switched to the upper bed the next day. Thank God the third person had not come that night.

The next morning I left for Port de Versailles, thats where the marathon expo was being held and I collected the formalities of collecting my running number. I was keen on buying new shoes so I also did a feet scan at the ASICS stall and purchased new running shoes, The GEL NIMBUS series. Trust me they are amazing quite light, 300 grams and superb. Aaah I almost forgot, one tip for all your runners may be you already know it. Always try to make it to the marathon expo as early as possible for eg if they open at 9 be there at 9:15 or maximum by 10. Thats when it will be least crowded and you can get easy access to all the free stuff and do not have to wait in long queues. There was a serpentine queue at 13:00 hrs when I left the expo.

I purchased my new shoes and also a running short, typical Paris marathon merchandise and left the expo happily. 

I went back to the hostel, took some rest and then went out in the evening to have some snacks and then check how long does it take to reach the starting point from my place. It took me exactly 30 min and then another 10 min to walk down to the area where I had to deposit my bags. That set I headed back to my room and got pasts packed up on the way for my dinner. I hit the sack early enough so that I could get sufficient sleep but there was a twist in that. As the room has only one key I had to endure the disturbance of the second guy knocking on the door and later at 1:00 am a third guy spoiled my sleep. That was the most frustrating part of the accommodation. Anyways I managed some good quality sleep and got up at 6:30 in the morning and got myself into my running gear. Everything in my running gear was pre-set the previous night itself.

I reached the starting point Champs Elysee and deposited my bag at Foch Avenue and then joined the crowd to the starting point. The sight of so many amazing people around me inspired me. OMG there was a sea of runners around you and may be thats why Paris is one of the biggest in Europe. The mood, the atmosphere, the crowd, the cheering everything was excellent. My block started off 30 min later after the professionals made their start. This is generally done to ensure smooth flow of runners else there will definitely be a stampede and someone  might get seriously injured and thats the last thing the marathon organizers will ever want. 

I started off with my run quite well, keeping the pace that would take to the finish line under 4 hours. Mind you there was constant cheering all around but I wish I had some of my friends or family out there shouting "Go Viku" you can do it, but never mind I always self motivate myself. The first half of the route was quite amazing and the second half even better. The second half took us through the banks of river Sienne, and Eiffel tower and finally to the finish as Foch Avenue. I was on track for a sub 4 finish until 32 Kms but after that tiredness started kicking in. I kept pushing myself but could not be on track for a sub 4 finish after 35 Kms. Then I resorted to alternate walk and run to finish the whole distance.

It took me 4:10:34 according to my watch but the official time was 4:13:08 hrs. Never mind that I still bettered myself by 21 minutes from my previous best at Berlin so I was happy but the sub 4 finish still eludes me.

I got my finishers medal and finishers T'shirt and collected my bag and left back for my room on the wonderful Paris metro. Paris was a great place to run and I am extremely happy that I did and completed it successfully.

PS: I most often keep some runner as my tracker who is faster than me so that I can follow them till the finish and most often I choose a girl coz I feel I get motivated even more and get more energy pumping in.

Thermodynamic Aspects of Energy Conversion- My first exam that I failed

I have never failed any exams so far in my academic life so far, always striving to be on top and vying to get the highest marks every time. But there was a twist in that story and it all began in quarter 1 of my second year of my masters here in TU Delft.

I had opted for 'Thermodynamic Aspects of Energy Conversion' as one of my elective courses because this was delivered by my supervisor and it makes sense to take courses given by one's supervisor. So I happily attended all the classes and was confident that I can get past the exam. I also knew that this being an open book exam there was not much to memorize and just brushing the concepts and learning the lecture material would suffice. Now thats a weird thing here in TU Delft, even though certain exams are open book they are way more tougher than closed book exams. 

So here I was preparing for the exam, practicing previous years' question papers and asking my class-mate Anand all my doubts. I had no solid background in Thermodynamics as I have a bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering ( but I wish to point out that I had one course in my bachelor that introduced us to basic thermodynamics) and that was the main problem for me- quickly grasping the concepts and thinking of  solutions like a person who had sufficient background was coming naturally to me. But I studied all the lecture notes, practiced problems and even did extra studies from the internet because I knew that if I don't put in sufficient effort then I would definitely fail. I made my registration for the exam, which was scheduled on 11 Nov 2011.

Finally the D day came and I went to the exam hall, located in the Fellowship building of the Aerospace Engineering faculty. The question paper this time was changed a little bit to include theory or subjective questions as well besides objective and numerical problems. At the end of three hours I was quite confident that the exam had gone well and I should be able to get atleast a 6 out 10, 6 being the pass mark here in TU Delft. 

The exam results are usually published within 20 working days and I was anxiously waiting for my result. Finally on the 21st day the results were out and I checked mine. I couldn't believe my eyes, my heart sank, I felt a big blob like thing stuck in my throat and my mind had gone haywire. I FAILED, yes I had FAILED, my first exam in my life I had failed. I only got a 4. I immediately scheduled an appointment with the instructor to check my paper and was hoping against hope that there must be a totaling mistake or some question hadn't been valuated. I checked my answer sheet the very next day and the instructor went though all the questions one by one and I had no chance of getting extra marks (I managed to convince him to give me 0.5 extra but that didn't change things). A silly mistake in the numerical problem had cost me dearly and I was kicking myself as to why I did such a silly mistake.

Generally speaking Indian kids are not used to failure, right from schooling days everyone is taught that if you fail you are doomed. May be that was also another reason for me to digest the fact that I had failed. Nevertheless I pulled myself again and forgot the past and started to prepare again for the exam. There was a resit in Jan 2012.

This time I carefully jotted down crucial points, practiced a lot of problems, did the same question papers atleast twice and familiarized myself with the concepts. Studying the second time was a lot easier and many of the concepts became much more clearer. Once concepts got clearer studying was no hassle. I was confident that this time I would definitely make it through.

I went for the exam again on 24 Jan 2012 and my heart sank again seeing at one of the numerical problems, which carried the most weightage. I thought I would fail this time as well. I tackled that problem only at last and gave my best shot by referring to the books and notes that I had (Remember this was an open book exam so we could refer whatever we wanted). After the exam got over I was convinced that I would definitely fail this time as well and never bothered to think about it.

Days went by and when the result came out I was astonished. I got an 8 OMG an 8 out of 10 and was the best 4 persons who took the exam. That was awesome news and my joy knew no bounds. I had actually performed extraordinarily well and was extremely excited with the result.

So this is what I learned from this "Never give up in life, strive harder and success will come to you"

My second marathon- Berlin 2011

25 Sept 2011- date of Berlin marathon

Well its quite late that I am writing about my second marathon but as the saying goes "better late than never". Well it all started with Anand Teke informing me about the Berlin marathon last year in October and suggested that we do the run together. I was quite thrilled at the idea and quickly jumped into it, registering as soon as I can, paying the early bid registration fee of 66 euros. So I had actually planned for my second marathon almost a year in advance.

I started training for Berlin in April, combining cross training (mainly cycling and football) with my weekly runs. My aim was to finish Berlin in 4:30 hrs, at least thats what I had indicated when I registered for it last November (in 2010). So I started training hard, not loading myself with much coursework during my 4th quarter.

In July I went back to Chennai for my summer vacation (for those who are reading it, I am pursuing my masters at TU Delft, The Netherlands) and had a good time there. But the thing is the roads are so not pedestrian friendly that one has to be on the constant lookout for any vehicle, for not getting hit. I booked my bus tickets quite early and got a cheap deal for 42 euros to & fro from Den Hague. Then I also booked my accommodation, a hostel quite close to the starting point. At this moment Anand said that he would not be joining me as he had stopped training for it. I was disappointed because the fun and excitement of running with someone else, together in a big event like this is quite special. Anyways I carried forward.

So on the 23rd of September, the Friday I left for Berlin from Den Hague, boarding the bus at 19:00 hrs. The journey was quite comfortable and as soon as the bus crossed the German border we were held up for passport checks by the German Police. I guess this is a routine check by the police. Anyways didn't matter. The bus dropped me at the central bus station near Kaiserdam subway at 6:00 am on 24th Sept. I had already informed the hostel guys that I would be arriving at 8:00 in the morning and the directions provided by 'Hostel world.com' to reach that hostel were perfect. I have always received excellent service from hostelworld.com. So I arrived, checked in my baggages, had a shower, ate breakfast and set out for the marathon expo. I did the routine of collecting the bib number, pins to attach the bib number to my running shirt. I also purchased a new running jacket to help me out for the cold Dutch winter and also a pair of full length dry fit running slacks. The best part was I was clicking photos in front of a apparel stall and the guy called me in and gave me a 25 euro t-shirt absolutely free. I was thrilled, thanked him from the bottom of my heart and thought 'that was one lucky moment'. I loaded myself with a cheese pineapple sandwich and a veggie pizza for lunch.

Then I got back to the hostel, took some rest and went out in the evening to check how far is the starting point, how should I get there etc etc. The starting point was quite close, just one station away from the place where I was staying. When I got there in the evening I saw many runners like me exploring the area, taking in the marathon atmosphere. I walked around Tiergarten and also Brandenburg gate, had a couple of strawberry waffles then proceeded to a pure vegetarian Chinese restaurant named 'Samadhi' to have my dinner. I must admit vegetarian Chinese food is excellent I really loved it.

The next day was the D day. I got up by 7 in the morning, did my daily business, had a good breakfast, muesli, bread with peanut butter and also milk. I had already set aside my running dress, my running belt, loaded with isotonic drink, chocolates and biscuits. I then proceeded to the starting point, taking the morning subway train, accompanying many of the runners. I was little confused as to where to leave my bag but the organization was good and eventually I found the stall to leave my bag. I then proceeded to the starting point, excitement kicking in, the thrill of running my first of the BIG FIVE marathons in the world. Before the start there were hot girls on top of erected stages doing warm ups, urging the sea of runners to get into the rhythm with them. That was definitely a motivation INDEED.

I was in starting block H and started after a gap of 20 min or so after the elite runners started. I had previously done two long distances during my training sessions so I exactly knew how much time I would be crossing each kilometer. I comfortable crossed the 10K mark in 58:43, the half way mark in 2:04 hrs. I even crossed the 35 K in 3:38:52, three minutes ahead of what I had done in my training. So I thought I was definitely in for a 4:10 finish, quite ambitious. But then fatigue kicked in and then I crossed the finish line in 4:34:40 hrs.

I was skeptical if I had stepped on the mat kept at 40 K distance was was worried if I would be qualified as a finisher but eventually I had stepped and that got confirmed when I received my finish time and position via SMS late that evening. I had also subscribed for the SMS service that would send my running details to my parents back home so that they don't worry if I had completed successfully or not.

After the race I was still feeling fresh, legs okay unlike my first marathon where my quads and hamstrings were completely fatigued. I got back to the hostel took complete rest till about 5 in the evening and then proceeded to the Marathon Party at a Hotel, whose name I forgot but it was situated in the area where most of the embassies were located. I took another guy who was staying with me in the same hostel, his name was Joshua and he had come to Berlin to do his internship at the American Embassy. Guess what at the marathon party we actually got to see the first three elite runners in both the mens and the womens category. I got to see Paula Radcliffe the elite British runner and the current marathon world record holder Patrick Makau. Unfortunately I was standing quite far away from them and could get my Berlin medla signed by them by nonetheless it was indeed once in a life time opportunity and I was grateful to GOD for giving me the strength to complete my own run, achieving my personal best and shaving a nest 30 minutes from my first marathon and also to be a part of Berlin where the current record for the marathon in the mens category is set.

It was an unforgettable experience and a wonderful one too.   

Recipe for 'Pesarit Dosa'

Here is a quick recipe for making 'Pesarit Dosa'

Ingredients needed:

1. Moong dal -4 cups
2. Rice - 1 cup
3. Green chillies
4. Coriander leaves
5. Finely chopped onions
6. Ginger pieces

Procedure:

• Soak the mixture of moong dal and rice in water for  about 4-5 hours.
• Then grind the above mixture nicely into a thick paste.
• Grind coriander leaves, ginger pieces and green chillies together and mix it with the above mixture
• Add the chopped onoins to the above mixture/batter and nicely stir.
• Add salt to one's taste

Your 'Pesarit Dosa' batter is ready to, spread one laddle of the batter at a time on a hot flat pan (greased with oil) and make them as pancakes.