Thanks to all the support that I got from the "Team Asha" and my friends and family, I finished my first marathon (Dallas White Rock Marathon, http://www.runtherock.com/) in 4hrs 21min 53 sec, and more importantly reached my fund raising goal to support the children of India through Asha (http://www.ashanet.org/). This is by far the most committed physical activity and one of the best charity fund raiser that I have been involved in.
The forecast was for a warm (60F) and a windy day, not the best of conditions to run a marathon. I woke up at 4:00 am so that I could eat a quick sandwich and some fluids before I went to the marathon start at Dallas Downtown. I left the house at about 5:45 so that I could meet the other Dallas Running club members at the Mockingbird station at 6:15. I was planning on running with a couple of folks who were planning a 4:00 hr marathon. I thought it would be best to stick with this group . I reached the station at 6:15 am. I met the DRC people there and that's when I first realized that my GPS watch was discharged and it would not turn on. Since I have been training with the GPS watch and follow it diligently to keep track of my pace and heart rate, I was very disappointed that it was not working. We took a packed train to the American Airlines center (starting point for Dallas White Rock Marathon). We reached the packed AA center at 7:20 am. Since the stadium was packed, I lost track of the running group and this another jolt since I didn't know what pace I would run. I decided to run with a big cliff pace group which was also doing the 4:00 hr pace. The marathon started at 8:02 am and by the time I reached the start time, it was 8:06. I started the stopwatch on my iPhone to keep track of my time. Pretty soon, I lost the 4:00 hr/min pace group as well as I didn't see any sign being held up. I finally managed to find another Asha runner and another guy who were also planning the 4:00 hr pace and I decided to run with them since one of the guys had the GPS. These guys were planning on a 9:30 pace for the first 6 miles and I was comfortable with the 9:00 min/mile pace. So, I just speeded up after the 3 miles water stop when one of these guys stopped for a quick water break.
I was keeping track of the clock at every mile mark and making sure that I was 4 minutes more than the time on the clock (the 4 min is the difference I had with the official marathon start time when I reached the start line..yes it took me 4 minutes to reach the start time. For you runners out there, my chip time was 4 minutes more than the gun time). At about 5 miles, I noticed that I was doing 9:15 min/mile and so decided to speed up a little. I was happy to see the Asha cheering squad who were present in the Mile 6 playing loud music and cheering all the runners. I was not able to stop since I was already running behind my planned pace. From mile 6 to mile 12, it was a good run when I was able to keep the pace. At this point, I started to feel a bit of the wind factor and the effect of the hot weather. At mile 13, I met another Asha runner who was our "unofficial coach" at the beginning of the training program. I finished the 13 miles in 2 hours which was 3 minutes more than my planned pace but I thought I would be able to do negative splits and cover the next half in about pretty much the same time. I didn't realize my level of exhaustion from my speeding from mile 6 to mile 13. I walked for about 30 seconds and then started the run again. By this time, I lost the other Asha runner as well. After 15 miles, the wind really started to show its impact as there was a heavy head wind which slowed pretty much all the runners. I had to walk and run from mile 15 to 18. At about mile 18, I realized that I would not be able to hit the 4 hour target. So, I just decided to take it easy and run it at a easy pace. It was going to be a uphill from mile 19 to mile 22. I was so exhausted that I thought I will just walk the last 7 miles. At about 19.5 miles, I met a Asha volunteer who was going to pace me from here to the end of marathon. She had run 8 marathons before this but more importantly, she was talking anything and everything to keep me distracted from the distance. So, I just decided to run for about half a mile and walk for a minute and repeat this for the entire course. All the talking from this volunteer kept me from paying attention to the pain I had in the feet, knees and the shoulders. At mile 24, I saw a man that had passed out and the medical ambulance taking him. By this time, the weather had gotten really hot (70F) and with the running and sweat, it felt like 95F for the runners. At about mile 25, I realized that I had a chance to finish the marathon at under 10:00 min/mile pace. So, I started to jog faster and really sprinted for the last half mile to hit this target. I was happy to finish the race in 4 hrs 21min 53 sec.
Some lessons from the day of the marathon:
- Plan for the worst: In this case, it was a windy and hot weather.
- Exhaustion gets you: The maximum distance I had run before the marathon was 21 miles and that was with 4 breaks (about a minute each). The exhaustion really get's you after mile 20 and the last 6.2 miles are going to be the toughest distance you will ever run.
- Train at a faster pace: I trained at a 9min/mile pace and expected to hit that pace for 26.2 miles. For me 9min/mile was my upper bound for longer runs i.e. an unsustainable pace for 26.2 miles. It would have been better to train for a 8:30 min/mile pace and then aim for 9 min/mile pace for the marathon. Some of the runners might disagree but this is what works for me.
- Pace Well: Maintain a consistent and easy pace for about 20 miles and have enough reserves of energy for the last 6.2 miles to reach your goal time. I used up all my energy during the first 13 miles and couldn't sustain the pace for the next 13.2 miles.
- Hydrating / Gels during the race: I didn't pay much attention to alternating between water and Gatorade during the race and that provided detrimental after mile 15 since I was feeling very sweet in my mouth with the Gu gels and Gatorade and couldn't take any more Gatorade. You should plan and execute on this critical aspect.
- If possible, get a friend / fellow runner who can keep the same pace as you or run with a pace group. Although I had planned to do this, because of the crowd, I missed the pace group. 26.2 is a long way and it becomes a little easier with some company as I realized for the last 7 miles when I had a pacer who kept talking to me. The most important thing is to find someone who has the same goal as you, who has trained well.
Some things to take away from the whole marathon experience
- Marathon is by far the most committed physical activity that I have undertaken. It takes a lot of commitment, endurance and dedication to go through the training for the marathon.
- When I started the marathon program, the maximum I have run in my life was 3 miles and my maximum pace was 10min/mile. I have come a long way from that point to finishing the 26.2 miles.
- It's the best way to get back in shape, lose those extra pounds, reduce the body fat percent, improve your cholesterol, triglycerides and develop a great endurance which will help you a lot in other aspects of life.
- Train with a group. It's hard to try to run 26.2 miles, to keep improving your mileage and speed every week. It is made a bit easier by having a training group.
- Have a goal in mind and slowly works towards it. I had monthly goals of improving my speed and slowly worked towards it.
- Be committed to the weekday runs and weekend long runs. It's important to get the mileage every week so that you body is used to running long distances. So, don't skip the weekday or weekend runs. Since all of us lead a busy life, it's better to add this to our calendars. I used to factor in the weekday runs and the post run stretches and recovery to my weekday and weekend calendar.
- Do the interval, tempo and hill training instead of just putting in the mileage every day. These things helped me a lot to improve my speed. I went from running at 12 min/mile pace to 9 min/mile pace. (25% improvement in 3 months)
- Cross Train: I used to do some biking and weight training on my non-running days. I think these things helped me a lot in improving my overall physical strength levels. I feel it's important to have a good upper body strength training as well (although some runners might disagree)
- Eat and hydrate well for the entire duration of the program. I conscious started eating a more healthy diet and used to drink lots of water.
- I pretty much stopped my late night parties / drinking during the training program. You don't have to be this rigorous but it helps to cut down on your fried food, beer and any other non-healthy aspects of your life.
The most important thing for me was that the marathon, Asha "Strides of Hope" (http://www.ashanet.org/dallas/soh/index.html) was a means to achieve an end to help the children of India through the fund raiser. If someone had told me 4 months back that I will run 26.2 miles and raise more than $1500 dollars, I would have laughed away at the idea. But here I am, having met both the goals! I am very happy to meet the main fund raiser goal and it has been possible only because of the generous donors that have helped Asha through their support!
Some information about the fundraiser
- The donors are the most wonderful people who have supported me and the Asha team through their generous donations. No words of praise are enough to appreciate their support ! A big thanks from me and then entire Asha team for your support ! I will keep the donors names anonymous to protect their privacy
- As on today (Dec-16), 29 wonderful people have donated for a total of $1617 (Average: $55.76)
- The donors include my family, relatives, friends and colleagues.
- I made the mistake of not sending a personal e-mail at the start of the program. Once I sent the e-mails, I was able to raise $1100 in one week. It would have been much more helpful to send a personal e-mail, call people right from the beginning of the program.
- You will be surprised at how many people will be willing to help for a great cause. Don't hesitate to e-mail or call that one friend whom you know but have not talked for a long time. That person might as well be the most socially conscious person who will be more than willing to help you in the fund raiser. I received more than 50% of my donations from such friends.
- I sent an e-mail to about 300 people out of which 30 people donated. That's a response rate of 10%. So, don't be put off by people not responding to your e-mail or phone call. It might be that they are helping in other causes or have already donated their planned donations for this year to some other charity.
- Don't hesitate to call or chat (IM) with a friend that you have not been in touch for a long time. This is a good time to re-establish contact. You are doing it for a good cause and believe me most of them will be on board with it (give the benefit of doubt to the outliers, there might be many reasons why they are not)
Some information about the Asha
I highly recommend the Asha's Strides of Hope program (http://www.ashanet.org/dallas/soh/index.html) to anyone who wants to help in a social cause while becoming one in a million (that is about the number who run a marathon).
I will not be posting on this blog anymore since the goal of this blog was to keep a diary of how I am training for the Dallas White Rock marathon (www.runtherock.com) through Asha's Strides of Hope program (http://www.ashanet.org/dallas/soh/Srinivasan_profile_2008.html ).I have finished the Dallas White Rock marathon on Dec-15,2008 in 4 hrs 21min 53 sec (Official Result at: http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=9878 , search for my first name, Srinivasan, and last name, Raghavan) and reached my fund raising goal for Asha's "Strides of Hope" program (more than $1500).
Thanks a lot to all the donors for supporting my fund raiser, to Asha team for planning and executing the Strides of Hope program (http://www.ashanet.org/dallas/soh/index.html) , to Dallas Running Club for the training provided and the readers of my blog because you read it with a great deal of interest !
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