Miracle Phone Call, Midnight Marathon and Siachen

Due to a severe case of cold and cough, I really did not feel ready for the race on Saturday evening. It just did not feel right. My legs were telling me that they are not ready for the race but my heart and mind were both too excited to run. I had to use my “miracle” phone call for a few laughs and a some extra energy before the race. The phone call, that turned out to create miracles was discovered a few months ago and I use it as rarely as possible simply because it is too precious for me.

Anyways, the race went off really well. I completed the run in 1 hour 41 minutes which happens to be my fastest official half marathon. I was placed 21st in the race which could have easily be 18th if I pushed it a little bit more. My high point was when I was able to beat two Siachen Regiment guys while climbing up the final hill. It was great to surprise them from behind to a point that they were just not able to catch up.

Athreya and I did the first 5k together and then he disappeared. He has much longer strides and he opens up faster than most people I know. If I continued to run with him, I would have surely collapsed after 12k. Aravind helped me surge the last 200 meters with a mighty fast sprint. Gautam picked up the beers for the post race and we slammed a can each after the race. Jwala and Anusham were there at the start line with water and big smiles. Thanks guys !!!

My dream is to run the half marathon in 1:35 minutes within the next two years. It might require a mentor and some strategizing to do it but I hope it happens soon.