Hope And Faith

9 months of injuries and illness. 
Stress fracture, injured hamstring muscles, a long drawn asthma attack

And a constant feeling of being tired. 

Skipping gym work-outs wondering if that is the cause. 

I wonder what is wrong with me.

Spend on consultations and medical tests.
Leading to even more worrisome follow ups. 

Invest in physiotherapy.

And then race day is upon me.

Am I ready?

Should I do it?

Self doubts always prevail, confidence always lacks.

Meeting the pacer, gives a little boost to the confidence.

Knowing I have friends and family who are right behind me, cheering for me, supporting me and who promise to be there for me, is all that I need to get to the starting point on race day.

The rains are not being kind, they lash the city at night, leaving me wondering if the early morning run will be washed out due to flooding. 

I spend a sleepless night, checking on the weather regularly. 

With hope and faith and a little headlamp I decide to run through the slight drizzle at 4:15 AM

Keeping pace with the pacing group was easy in the beginning.

We ran avoiding puddles, stones and slippery roads.

The pace was steady, the group was small.

Soon, the half mark and the real race begins.

With that the Half marathon runners join the crowds. And it is a crowd. 

They take over the roads with their energy and enthusiasm.

We are left behind.

The 30th mark and the struggle begins.

Still comfortable, I chug along at a steady pace.

Before I realise, its the 34th Km and I feel the pain. It comes sudden, the twitch.

At the 35th km, fatigue pulls me down. I want to stop. 

A friend whom I did not want to trouble again this year, comes by with much needed encouragement. 

Having come so far, it did not make sense to give up.
"Always concentrate on how far you've come, rather than how far you have left to go."

Help comes in the form of runners, offering gels, salt pills, plenty of which I had. 

I just needed to get to the finish line.

I lose the pacer and continue at my own pace. 

I plead for some pain relief spray, but all aid stations are out of it. 

At 37kms, I give in to the pain, the cramps building up and scream to even take a step.

Good samaritans, runners themselves struggling, come help me lift a leg and stretch the stressed out hamstrings.

Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champ:

"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed."

Determined to continue, whispering a prayer, I carry on, with new found energy.

I manage to maintain the earlier pace till the 40th mark, stopping to refill my bottle.

At 41 I see a familiar face, my pacer, 

He has broken the golden rule of pacing, he has taken the bus 5 minutes ahead of time.

No one was complaining,

He came back for me to make sure I did it.

I was thrilled to see him, He took my bottle from my hand, which was such a relief.

Even a half empty bottle with hands clamped around it, was painful. 

He then started pushing me, I tried running ahead of him, to gain some advantage and walk a few seconds till he caught up.

The final 200 m was a rush into the stadium, hitting the timing mat and meeting the rest of the pacing bus and a hug from my pacer!~!

Gratitude for all those who stood by and cheered me on.

For those who had faith that I could run, even when I was not sure. 

After 2 years, I am humbled yet again.

The route this year was 2 half loops which did make the 2nd stretch a little easy, knowing what to expect. 

But water stations and first aid stands ran out of electral, sprays and biscuits and oranges.

The roads were packed because of all Full marathon, Half marathon and soon 5kms runners being out together at the same time. 

It helped volunteers since they were now concentrated in the same area and not spread across 42 kms. 

No elevations, no flyovers. 

John Hanc, running writer

"I've learned that finishing a marathon isn't just an athletic achievement. It's a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible."

SPBM 2017