Abu Road to Mount Abu Run.

The blog comes alive again. Having revived it post the Abu Road to Mount Abu run, this blog is now going to be run as the team blog of Ahmedabad Runners.

The first one comes from Abhilash and is appended below, without any editing.

Completing Mt. Abu

Why did I say yes for Mt. Abu?

During one of the Sunday long runs, I had managed to do the 16 km stretch to RTO and back. It was in reality, a combination of run, walk and crawl. J

I thought that for Mt. Abu, I needed to do an extra 5 km. And on a good day, with everyone together, I will somehow manage it.

But I was really anxious, especially on Saturday evening. I felt as if I was to appear for a final examination in school. You would all remember that feeling. J

Dinner was like….. Should I have this or that? Would another Roti help or I should leave it. I hardly slept.

My only strategy for the day was to stay with Hiren. I like running with him. He keeps on motivating you and shares some brilliant insights.

Within the first two km, the running groups had evolved. Lihas, Vishwas, Jagat and Amber were together. Followed by Amit and Sushila, Satish and Pankaj, Hiren and I, Kuldeep, Girish and Uma Mam. As soon as the climb started, I realized that this was different from the usual Sunday long run. The road kept on climbing up and at every curve, I would pray for the next stretch to be a flat one. But no, as soon as you took the turn, another climb waited for you. By the way, Hiren had told me that at least 5 out of the 21 km will be flat. That was a lie.

I would run a bit and then start walking. It was difficult to keep up with Hiren, and I felt guilty about holding him back. He kept on saying “Abhilash I see you finishing today” and I would utter a meek yes. He would shout “Come on Abhilash”. I would say yes but my legs wouldn’t move. It would take ages from one milestone to the next. I think that the distance between two milestones increases during an uphill.

The 1^st time, we saw Pankaj and Satish was when the milestone said Mt. Abu 12 km. And to me that was the 1^st time, when I actually thought I could finish it. Because 12 km is Akbar Nagar and back and we do it regularly. From then on, all distance were like 10 km is Shastri Nagar and back, 8 km is Jai Mangal and back. Guess the practice sessions helped.

Satish and Hiren moved ahead and I didn’t see them again till they were coming down. I played catch up with Pankaj for the rest of it. Somewhere along the way, Girish stopped to give us some water. His knees were bothering him and he had decided to take the car. But Pankaj convinced him to start again. The 3 of us did some distance together and it was fun.

While we were running up, we thought that it will be difficult for Lihas and Vishwas to do the return trip. Imagine what we felt when we saw them coming down the slopes. A little ahead we saw Hiren and Satish coming down. We asked them “how much left”. Satish said 50 meters and Hiren said 300 meters. We wanted to finish in style, so Pankaj and I hit the stride. We kept looking for a green board on our left, which never came. I cursed Hiren and Satish. The 300 meter was in reality at least 2.5 km. J

Pankaj continued running and I went back to walking. He would have finished earlier but he waited for me at 500 meter mark and we finished together.

The last 500 were a blur; you see a group of people at the end point who vaguely resemble those who were with you at the start. With only 100 meters left, the shouts get louder and you can hear the clapping too. The photographer wants you to raise your hand when you are finishing. You try but your hands refuse to come up.

The images become clearer. You recognize the faces. Hand Shakes, hugs and smiles follow. You realize that you have done it. Someone hands you a drink and Parle G. They taste like heaven. You sit down some where…..you are stoned. You come to life later when you see Girish and later Kuldeep finishing. You cheer for them with your life. You hug them.

While we were coming up, Pankaj said that on a run like this all your masks come off. You become what you are. I think he is right. I made friends during this trip and the bond got strengthened when we celebrated each others success.

Thanks to Hiren for seeing what I couldn’t see, motivating me and helping me to finish the 1^st half. Girish and Pankaj, the 2^nd half was only because of you.

Lihas and Vishwas, you guys are crazy and are hell bent on increasing the number of crazies.

The biggest thanks go to the kids, Shruti and Akshat. They were the ones who kept coming back for you. Even when you didn’t take water, you wanted to finish and make it worthwhile for them too.

Cheers!

NA GUDGUDA, ANNA GUDGUDA, DHICHKYAUN!!! DHICHKYAUN!!! DHICHKYAUN!!!

Abhilash

Sunday Long Run

(This is Sunday's blog, written on Sunday but it gets posted on Mondays - so today as refereed to here means Sunday)

Lihas took a time-out today. He had gone out and was going to be staying the night, so he let me know that he would not join for the long run today.

I would have to handle all the runners that came today. I shouldn't have worried, though. We still need to break the mindset of 'Sunday Holiday, therefore, nothing to be done on a Sunday' and replace it with 'Sunday Holiday, therefore a long run can be undertaken on a Sunday'.

Sundays, or the day of the regular weekly offs are great for long runs. One can run long distances without worrying about the time it will take. There is no pressure to reach the office. There is no 'strenuous' work that needs to be done. Once the mind is made, one can do long runs on Sundays, have a heavy breakfast, a heavy lunch and sleep through the afternoon. The evening is fresh and free. No running the next day gives enough time for the muscles to recuperate.

Coming back to the Sunday run, as I approached Keshavbaug at about 5:40am, I saw Hiren's car turn in, park and Hiren get out of it. I had company. On reaching Keshavbaug, only Hiren was there. Hardik came immediately after. By 5:46am, there were still just three of us. We decided to proceed.

It was Sunday, the day of the long run. Hardik decided to do 12kms - run upto the Akhbaarnagar Circle and return. I asked Hiren to accompany me to the Motera Stadium turn and return up to RTO on the way back. From there he could take the BRTS back to Keshavbaug. Hiren agreed on the condition that I run at his pace.

We set off. All three of us chatting away, doing a pace of about 00:06:15/km. The feeling was that energy needed to be conserved for later. Energy efficiency, conservation and optimum utilization is a topic best left for later in the training. I thus went along with the 00:06:15/km pace. at Akhbaarnagar Circle, Hardik turned to head back to Keshavbaug. Hiren and I continued ahead. Shortly after, we stopped for a water break. We had already done 6kms and the weather was quite hot, so the risk of dehydration quite existent and real.

Hydrated, we continued running up to RTO Circle. There, Hiren asked for a two minute breather. The Chimanbhai Patel Overbridge does look daunting. Before those two minutes were up, we were ascending the overbridge. Halfway through the ascent, Hiren commented on how it seemed unending. Fortunately he did not stop, nor did his pace go down. We descended and continued past the Sabarmati Power Station. A little later, we stopped for water when Hiren decided that this was enough and that he wanted to turn back. We must have been about 700-800mts from the target. Coaxing Hiren to just walk a little before turning back, we went up to about 250mts away from our scheduled turn and began our return journey. A few steps and we were running again. This time, the stop was RTO Circle from where Hiren took the BRTS Service back to Keshavbaug.

I continued running. One pan shop at Nava Vadaj served really chilled water. Having had that, I was all rejuvenated and ran right till Valinath Chowk doing a pace of about 00:05:15/km. This usually happens. Being within kissing distance of your target when you don't touch it and turn back is hugely disappointing. The disappointment must have translated into me running fast to kind of make up.

A water stop at Valinath Chowk BRTS Bus Stop and I knew my legs were screaming to me that they were about to die. The had been subjected to abuse in the latter part of the run.

I took it slow from there onwards to Keshavbaug. Something in me snapped there. Instead of finishing the run, I continued towards Mansi, then took a right to RJ Tibrewal College, got out on the main road, took a right again, went up to Andhjan mandal 4 Rasta, right to Keshavbaug, right towards Mansi. I continued running till Nalanda and ended my run there. Exhausted but very, very happy.

Saturday - Focus, Concentration, Energy and Results

At 5:45am today, the number of regular runners at Keshavbaug was quite low. While at the back of my mind, I wonder if it is the result of the media coverage not having appeared in Ahmedabad Mirror yet, I understand that it is probably just one of those days. Some had reported sick, some had other engagements and some gave the ditch.

The new faces were Raneesh and Pankaj, Jagat's friends and regular joggers at Rajpath Club. Another new face was Satish, a young man in his mid-fifties, who does about 7kms everyday. He had come all the way from Gandhinagar to run with us.

The target today was Akhbaarnagar Circle and back. Rohan, still needing to break the mental barriers of distance, said he would turn back after the Naranpura flyover. Not allowed, request rejected. He would need to run up to Naranpura 4 Rasta and return. We set off. All of us were doing about 00:06:00/km.

I was the driver of the bus. And surprisingly, keeping pace with me was Satish. At the Helmet 4 Rasta flyover, we did a quick stop. A suggestion to Satish to change his gait a bit, I thought, would help him go faster as also make his running more energy efficient. A little ahead, I noticed him getting a little out of breath. A conscious effort to change his breathing pattern while running would take care of that.

As we continued to run, doing doing a pace of about 00:06:00/km, we were close to Naranpura 4 Rasta. The place where Rohan and Abhilash would turn back had come. Arjav too had to turn back here. So would Satish. Even Hiren turned back. This is a quirk with Hiren. He can run 10kms one way but he cannot run 5kms to and 5kms back. We told him it was all in his mind. He agreed. This is something that will need to be worked on since Delhi is essentially and out and back route.

As the others turned back at Naranpura 4 Rasta, Jagat, Pankaj, Lihas and I continued forward. Pankaj stopped at the Akhbaarnagar underpass. Jagat, Lihas and I decided to do an additional 1km and ran up to the Akhbaarnagar Circle beyond the underpass.

A break for water there and we started to run back. Jagat suddenly rose to the ocassion and became the driver of the bus. Setting a blazing pace which would have been in the vicinity of 00:05:45/km, we ran up to Valinath Chowk where another water break was scheduled. After this, Jagat continued with his pace, with Lihas keeping him company. Pankaj and I did a more comfortable about 00:06:00/km pace. As we finished at Keshavbaug, we met Abhilash, Hiren and Satish who were waiting there. They had timed their 10kms. About 01:05:00. Our timing for the 12kms that we did was about 01:10:00. Commendable.

As we dispersed, we look forward to a long run (in the real sense) tomorrow.

And next Saturday, we look forward to running with Satish again.

The Thursday Thrill

This blog entry begins with an admission. I am photographically challenged. This does not mean I look exceptionally ugly in all my photographs (which might be the case, but that would make me not photogenic - this is another topic), but that I do not know a thing about photography.

For me, taking a photograph means, in a nutshell, that you aim your camera at the object you want to photograph and press a button to capture the picture. If it is dark, you use a flash. That is my knowledge of photography. And that is all that there is to photography as far as I know. So, when on Wednesday, Ahmedabad Mirror told us that they wanted to do a follow-up story on us and the Ahmedabad Runners, I did not actually understand what difference 5:45am, 6:am and 6:45am made. They said they anted to take photographs of us running, so the light conditions would need to be conducive. To me, it still did not make sense.

Lihas took over the job of co-ordinating this part, so I had to focus only on the running part of things.

As I planned the run, there was a one line directive from Lihas. To ensure that the entire group is present at Jai mangal BRTS Bus Stop at 6:45am.

We met at 5:45am and after exchanging pleasantaries, we began to run. Everyone was charged up. This time, it was one big, long bus instead of many separate busses. Runners kept joining us - at the Helmet 4 Rasta flyover, at Valinath Chowk BRTS Bus Stand, at the Naranpura flyover. We were doing a pace of about 00:06:10-00:06:15/km and so it was decided to run up to Akhbaarnagar Circle and return to Jai Mangal BRTS Bus Stop by 6:45am. There would be some time to spare if we kept this pace. However, I knew from experience that this probably wouldn't happen. Some of us ran the full distance at the same pace. Some slowed down. Some did the walk-run cycle to get to there.

As we reached Jai mangal BRTS Bus Stand at 6:45am, Jignesh Vora, the photographer of Ahmedabad Mirror was waiting for us. We regrouped, began to run and Jignesh got down to clicking us. His job done, he left. Our run was not yet complete. Traversing both flyovers, we all ran back to Keshavbaug.

I guess the photographs being cliked, the prospects of media coverage, al,l of us running as a group had its impact and that, I guess, pumped quite a bit of adrenalin into the system.

Reaching Keshavbaug, we all finished our run. Had we recorded the time, I am sure most if not all of us would have recorded our personal bests.

There were 18 of us. And all 18 did at least 9kms, the base that we had targetted for Thursday. This was not the end of happiness. There was more to come. As we reached Keshavbaug,Prasanth Menon of Ahmedaba dMirror was waiting to speak to the various runners.

Everyone gave their opinion.

When Lihas and I were asked, we very proudly said that these runners were exceeding our expectations and our focus was now changing. From 'every runner completing the Marathon' we were now talking of 'completing the Marathon with every member of the team recording decent timings'. As we waited for the report to appear in Ahmedabad Mirror, we all were also looking forward to another 'road-pounding' run on Saturday.

Wednesday Snafu

Wednesdays are days off. Training is only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Sundays are days of the long run. Each one is left to his own to decide their distance and do their long runs. No training.

On Wednesday, the phone rang at 5:45am. It was Hiren. Hardik and he were waiting for us at Keshavbaug. Some miscommunication somewhere. They did not know Wednesday was off.

Anyways, they ran. Hiren did Keshavbaug to RTO Circle in 54 minutes. Way to go, Hiren!

Nothing else to report for Wednesday. A lot of co-ordination needed to be done for Thursday. Thursday was going to be a big day.

Tuesday's Run

We, Lihas and I reached Keshavbaug at 5:40am to be greeted by Hardik. No one else was in sight. Hiren had said he wouldn't be there, but what about all the others? We waited for the clock to strike 5:45. In the meanwhile, Rohan turned up. No one else. We extended the waiting time to 5:50am. Still no one.

We thought, this was it. The enthisiasm of a Marathon was going to be as anticipated - fizzling out before it really picked up. Marathons are good to discuss. It's generally trendier to be a couchsurfing runner - get all the details about how to run a marathon - pepper conversations liberally with words like pronation (over-pronation and under-pronation), suppination, cadence, gait analysis and a few medical terms thrown in too for good measure - after all, a ligament tear does sound more technical and therefore, more intelligent than a simple muscle pull.

This run was going to be one with with a small group. So what? Usually, there are only two runners - Lihas and I. Here, we were four - double the number. We decided to press ahead anyways.

Lihas led, with Hardik. Rohan and I followed. It seemed to be going well with Rohan. His second day and the difference in the pace was phenomenal. We went till the flyover on Drive-in Road. Rohan chose not to climb the flyover. Given the pace we were doing, I guess the concession was called for. And in any case, there was another run for Thursday. And that would not allow any concessions.

At the end of the flyover, Rohan decided to turn back to Keshavbaug. It would be a distance of about 5kms. A good enough distance for Day 2. Hardik, for whom it was Day 1, turned back too.

After reminding both of them to not forget to cool down, to not forget to stretch. Lihas and I continued our run. We ran till Valinath Chowk BRTS Stop where we were going to be joined by Atharva and Dhruv - two boys who come all the way from Sardarnagar to join us and run.

We did not see either of them. We needed to stop running, which, frankly, was quite irritating. After a ten minute wait, Lihas (who carries his phone on the run) called them. They were at RTO Circle, waiting for BRTS to start its services for the day. We asked them to join us at Jai Mangal BRTS Bust Stop and we continued to run in that direction.

We reached the Jai Mangal BRTS Bus Stop. No sign of Atharva and Dhruv. We ran upto Naranpura 4 Rasta and came back. Still no sign. Very obviously, they were not coming. We had been stood up.

As anticipated, Lihas and I would be the only ones practicing seriously for the Marathons - Athens, Delhi and Mumbai. Most of the others were probably turning out to be temporary runners. We guessed in a few days, the others too would drop out - not that there were too many left now. This would explain why out of the 80 FIRM CONFIRMATIONS that we had, just about 25 had come for practice at least once. There were others who continue to be 'runners on email and sms'.

Lihas decided to give 'just one more try' before we concluded that we had been stood up.

I know. It takes a lot to do a Marathon. The capability to dream. The ability to believe in yourself. The commitment to achieve this. And the sheer guts to surpass what has been written in the three sentences before this and emerge out of your own shadows as a new person.

As he called, I turned to look back at the overbridge. And I turned back again. What I saw couldn't have been. I couldn't be hallucinating. But there they were - four figures running at almost breakneck speed towards us. I nudged lihas. He too saw. As they came closer, we saw Jagat accompanied by three others and Richa, doing a pace I believe even she did not know she was capable of.

Lihas had by now finished call to Atharva. They were on the bus, on their way to Jai Mangal. They would nopt disembark at Shastrinagar BRTS Bus Stop as we joined them there.

Yes. True and reinforced. It takes a lot to do a Marathon. The capability to dream. The ability to believe in yourself. The commitment to achieve this. And the sheer guts to surpass what has been written in the three sentences before this and emerge out of your own shadows as a new person.

As we began to run again, this time with the group, the introductions happened. Shailesh was a regular runner. So was Bhatia sa'ab (JS) a man older to us in age, but still very young who would give teenagers of the city a run for their money (pun unintended). They were Jagat's friends who were regular runners at Rajpath Club.

It was Day 1 for Ashim. He had run till Naranpura and was still going strong.

We continued to run. Atharva and Dhruv joined us at Shastrinagar. And the run continued uninterrupted.

At Akhbaarnagar Circle (after the underpass) Richa and Ashim were asked to turn back and head towards Keshavbaug. Seven of us continued ahead. Jagat, JS and Shailesh decided to take the BRTS back from Bhavsar Hostel BRTS Stop. Four of us continued ahead. At the first break in the BRTS corridor, Lihas and I turned back and did a fast paced run back towards Keshavbaug. We must have been doing ~0:05:00/km pace. Atharva and Dhruv continued ahead upto RTO Circle definitely. Hopefully beyond to

Catching up with Richa and Ashim just after the flyover at Naranpura, we nudged them into a higher pace. The run ended with a superb sprint - the way all good runs should end.

Sunday Long Run - Sunday Satisfaction

This post was supposed to be for Sunday 6th June. Since Sundays means long runs, long, leisurely baths, lots of food and thereafter lots more sleep, I guess no real excuse needs to be cooked up to explain why this blog did not appear on Sunday. This time, the laziness continued through Monday. That explains why this blog did not appear on Monday. Then on Tuesday, the description of the run needed to be put down in such a manner that... but hey, why am I writing about that here?

This is about Sunday's run; the blog about Tuesday's run comes up next. And the blog about Thursday's run, thereafter.

We continued to be inundated by calls through Saturday too. Going by the number of calls received, we should have had about 80 persons at Keshavbaug on Sunday. Going by experience of the 'commitment' that is given to be there, we thought probably 15-17 persons would turn up. When we reached Keshavbaug, there were Richa, Hiren and Dhruv waiting for us. Thursday's runners were missing; either doing their own running or the enthusiasm had waned a bit or then, maybe Saturday's run had brought with it the aches and pains on Sunday morning.

We made 2 busses and began running. Lihas was the 'driver' of the first bus - going at a speed of about 2:30 for a half marathon. A 'bus' would be a group of people who run together at the same speed. The 'driver' is the pace-setter. He has the challenge of setting and continuously changing the pace in such a manner that it does not become too tough for the others who have 'boarded' this bus, nor be so lax that the 'passengers' have a leisurely walk in the park.

Lihas began with Hiren, Rohan followed and Richa and I brought up the rear. At Helmet 4 Rasta, we were joined by Atharva and Dhruv. They hopped on to Lihas' bus. A little ahead beyond the Valinath Chowk BRTS Bus Stand, another runner joined us. And another two at Naranpura. Rohit turned back here and headed to Keshavbaug to end his run.

We continued to run beyond Naranpura 4 Rasta. Richa began to get tired near the Pragatinagar BRTS Bus Stand and decided to turn back. I joined Hiren, Atharva, Dhruv and Lihas. We continued ahead. Running down the Akhbaarnagar underpass was a breeze; running up it was a breeze. The run continued. After Bhavsar Hostel we stopped for a breather. (Usually Lihas and i do not take breathers; we do not need them after so many years of distance running. But the others are new to distance running and once they get used to this, the concept of breathers can be eliminated.)

As we continued, we ran till RTO Circle and turned back. Hiren decided to check out here. He said he would prefer taking the BRTS back to Keshavbaug. Atharva and Dhruv decided to call it quits too. They headed back to Sardarnagar frm the RTO Circle. Three runners left. He decided he would walk-run to get to his house directly at Naranpura. That left just Lihas and I. From Day 1, we have been insisting that distance running should not be made into an ego issue. That the moment one feels he is not up to it, aborting the run is the best thing that can be done. That way, all of us will live to run another day. It is very satisfying that this piece of advice is being followed by everyone.

Both, Lihas and I were left alone at RTO Circle and having to run back all the way to Keshavbaug did sound boring to begin with. But then, it was also an opportunity. Neither of us had had a good hard run in the last week. This was our chance. Setting a pace of 00:05:30/km, we up to our 'water point' at Valinath Chowk 4 Rasta. Properly rehydrated, we ran past Keshavbaug, climbed the Shivranjani 4 Rasta flyover and ran down it up to Shyamal 4 Rasta. Turning back at Shyamal 4 Rasta, we sprinted back to Keshavbaug. From there we walked to our homes, exhausted yet very satisfied. The bingeing and the sleeping would be justified today...