It was 8:55 am, and we all gathered near the starting line. At sharp 9.00, the run started. I started with a steady pace. I knew I had taken a lot of efforts for this race, and I will not quit in the middle. 1 Km milestone passed. I saw Kingfisher females giving away water bottles to the runners. Cheer leaders (Yes, like the ones you saw in IPL) cheering you, residents near the road coming out in their balcony, entrance gates and cheering us ! The media van taking live footage of the run, A helicopter taking rounds over your head, An Ambulance, just in case, and above that, 5000 determined runners along with you. It feels great when you are a part of such an event. 2 Kms passed, but my Nike+ipod showed that I had covered 2.5 Kms. I knew, there was something wrong. Till yesterday, I was thinking that the 10Kms counted by the device was exact 10Kms, and based on this, I had done all my calculations. But now, I knew 10 Kms was longer than what I expected. I trusted the milestones on the roads, as this was an international event, the distance ought to be accurate.
At 3 Kms, I saw people slowing down, falling behind, stopping for water. I was not yet tired, I continued. An old man, in his 60s just crossed me and went ahead. he was all sweating, but I couldnt see fatigue on his face. Withing a minute, he was far ahead of me. This incident made me feel ashamed of myself. A 60 year old has the guts and the power to continue, and a 25 year old young blood is slowing down ! In spite of so much of practice, so much of efforts, I was felt that I was not at all worth of doing this run. If I am like this today, at the age of 60, I will not be able to get off a simple chair !! Maybe I might not survive to celebrate my 60th birthday !
Even today, as I write this blog, this incident always makes me bow down in shame. Now I knew, why others were so serious, and I was so cool. At 8 Kms milestone, My nike+ congratulated me for completing 10 Kms. Actually, there were 2 more Kms to go. My device was very badly calibrated. By now, the sun was sucking all the energy of me. I started having stomach pains. I had to slow down. I collected a bottle of water, and started walking on the road. people started overtaking me. A female, about my age crossed me and zoomed. This was another em brassing incident for me. After about 500 mts of walk, i again started running. The stomach pain had reduced. I focused my sight at the finishing line, which still seemed to be very far.
I slowly gained some more speed. I saw cheerleaders again boosting my confidence. Photographers started clicking photos, I saw the timer, as i crossed the finishing line. I took 56 mins to complete the race. My nike+ read that I completed 12.5 kms. My friends were waiting for me just next to the finishing line. They were glad that I completed, they congratulated me. I collected the refreshment kit and went straight towards a bench. My legs didnt seems to get hurt, but I was mentally stressed out. I had expected to finish the run in 45 mins, and i took 11 mins more. The friends said, your position was not bad. the winner had taken around 40 mins. and I was still better than the rest. We went home, had nice lunch and a good nap.
A few days later, I got a courier of my run timings certificate, and a link to the photos which the officials had clicked. I opened the envelope, found out that I took 56:18 to complete.
And my overall rank was 211 !
I didnt expect me to be in the first 200, especially when I had slowed down at the 8 kms mark. But still 211 was not bad at all ! I have not lost hopes. I've done the 10K, now its time for half marathon. People think its crazy, but I think, it is required if I want to live to 60 without any disease or medication. Trust me, events like this can change your life. They will make you stand out in the crowd. At my age, people lose their health to earn money. And at the age of 40+, they lose their money and (try to) earn health. Everybody earns money. Very few earn good health.
