42 and Running

I am 41 years old and running 42. That happens to be the full marathon distance (42.2k) I covered. I promise you that, this post is about my experience of running 42 odd kilometres and not about my mid life crisis. Although, it can be argued that my interest in running is one of the outcomes of my mid life crisis.

I have completed many half marathons (21.1k) before, and technically a full marathon (42.2K) is just double the distance. Howerver, in reality, it requires 10 times more effort to complete. Right from preparation to actual run, it is a different beast.

 

After a long hiatus from running, I registered for Bangalore half marathon challenge(January'22). Thanks to Covid, the event did not go ahead as planned and was eventually converted to a virtual run. I managed to clock my personal best timing of 2:06. A sub 2 hour half marathon would have been a good target to aim for next. Instead, I was keen to scale and attempt a full marathon. The main idea behind distance running is covering the distance. Improving your time is a secondary goal. A fraction of people attempt a full marathon in their lifetime. A subset of them manage to achieve this goal. This was more appealing to me than increasing my speed any further. I did manage to bring down my half marathon time from 2:40 to 2:06. I felt this was good enough.

Whilst, all my half marathons were largely based on my own learnings from the internet, I had the good fortune of having experienced runners with me throughout this effort. Right from providing inputs for my plan to running alongside a first time runner, my fellow runners formed a critical piece of my effort. Simply put, running long distances on a consistent basis is a daunting task. Having fellow runners makes it so much more easier. Getting inspired by fellow runners and the sense of satisfaction in helping newer runners is immeasurable. I have since come to realise that running as a team is the right way to run.

Having a training plan and sticking to it is another critical aspect to consider. Since I had only 13 weeks to prepare for my first marathon, I created a customised training plan based on 18 week marathon training plan from Marathon-Handbook. Number of runs in a week, types of run, increaes in mileage from week to week and marathon taper are some of the key aspects of the training I imbibed from this website and YouTube channel.

A key difference between preparing for half and full marathon is run nutrition. I was on a low carb diet to enable weight loss and muscle gain. Needless to say, getting back in shape after a covid-induced "Eatathon" was a tough job. Preparing for a marathon gave me purpose for the same. Having a higher purpose and loosing weight on the way seemed to make more sense than aiming to loose weight itself.

Besides the pre-post run nutrition plan, what to consume during long runs is another important element of nutrition. Just like how a car requires refueling while driving long distances, our body also requires to refuel. Hydration using electrolytes and instant energy using gels was introduced. Whilst electrolytes were very easy to consume, energy gels required experimenting with. Let's just say that my stomach was not happy with what was being consumed forcing me to run in a different direction 😅.

Bangalore marathon was the event where I attempted my first marathon. It was conducted in the summer month of April. I ran a fast first half (2:10) when conditions were humid. This resulted in a much slower second half (2:53) as I was very tired. I completed the race with a time of 5 hours 03 minutes  After this run, I realised how important it is to have a pacing strategy for the actual run. Without one, I did what most runners do, run fast in the begenning and slow down in the end. Learning from this, in my second marathon, I was able to better my time and cover the distance in 4 hours and 56 minutes. I was able to achieve this by running a slower first half. So it is true that we can run faster by slowing down!

There is a saying - "Marathon race begins only after 35K". I realised this to be true as the last 7K is the toughest part of the run. There were several times in the last 7 KM (from 35 to 42) where I was questioning my sanity. Is it really worth running this distance? Do we have to put our body through this? The short answer is, it is more than what it's worth if you prepare well.

With the experience I have gained, I will be attempting my first Mumbai Marathon in harsher weather conditions compared to Bangalore. I hope this will be one of the many marathons I am able to complete over my lifetime and go from "42 and Running" to "Running 42 Forever".

Happy Running!