The background
Before I describe the journey (or the pursuit of 1:29:xx, as I
love to describe it) a bit of a background on how it started. About two years
ago, when I had started running I had very limited understanding of what half-marathon
is all about. It had started almost out of my whimsical desire to try something
new. Why? Because, I had known a few other people doing it. At that stage, I
had a simple discussion with a friend at work about what a good finish time
looks like for half-marathons. The discussion progressed like a typical
conversation between strategy consultants:
Sundeep: “What’s a good finish time for a half-marathon?”
Friend (after a bit of thought and consideration): “It depends.”
Sundeep (with visible exasperation): “OK – that doesn’t help much. Go on...”
Friend (unperturbed): “It depends on factors like your age, body conditioning, how long you have been running etc. etc.
Sundeep (still not happy with the answer): “OK – so for a physically fit runner who has been running for a few years and who is around as old as me…and you can make some intelligent assumptions...– what would be a good half-marathon finish time?
Friend: Officially, if you do it in 3 hours, it is regarded as a formal half-marathon finish; Kenyans can do it in 1 hour. If one does it in within 90 minutes it is considered quite a decent pace”
Grossly
overestimating my physical abilities, I told my friend that I intend to do my
first half-marathon in 1 hour 29 minutes and a few seconds. The friend had an
amused smile. Without saying anything explicitly he dismissed what I had said as an ignorant remark. It didn’t take me long to understand why.
- On 12th October 2014, I did my first half-marathon in 1:47
- On 23rd November 2014, I did my first ADHM in 1:43
About a year later, I was able to finish three half-marathons
where I came within striking distance of my aspirational timing:
- ADHM 2015 (Nov 2015): 1:31:20
- NDM 2016 (Feb 2016): 1:31:00
- Fastest running and living HM (Mar 2016): 1:30:40
The gap may have appeared just about a minute or so. However, it
was good 60 odd seconds which would just refuse to go away. With that started a
serious desire to do 1:29:xx.
3 months
training period: Sep – Nov 2016
It was around September 2016, when the training for ADHM 2016
started in all earnestness. By this time, I had gathered sufficient
understanding of what a typical training cycle looks like. However, there still
were a few gaps which had to be addressed. In particular, there are three
things which I was not doing correctly. I am sharing the same below and hope
that it might be helpful for runners with similar aspirations.
Mileage is not everything, but it still matters – probably more
than most other things!
I have always been a firm believer that strength training has a
huge role to play for any long distance running (and I continue to believe
that). However, earlier I often underestimated the importance of clocking
mileage and my typical weekly workout schedule would look like 3 – 4 days
strength training and around 2 days running. The turning point in my
understanding came when I had a chat with Shiv Gahlot, our local Boston
Qualifier (once again, if you are reading this – thanks buddy!). Besides
sharing some serious training tips, Shiv suggested reading a book on Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger.
This has been massively helpful and I highly recommend this book
to any serious runner. Since reading this book, my weekly workout schedule
comprises of 1 – 2 strength training sessions and around 4 runs. Once again, in
no way undermining the importance of strength training (and it is critical
to avoid injuries), but just highlighting how running is important to improve as
a runner!
Each training run has a purpose – got to respect it!
My weekly workout schedule now comprises of 4 runs a
week – an interval run, a tempo run, a medium long distance run and a long
distance run. The beauty and finesse lays in understanding what is the right
pace to run each of these runs. Earlier, my tempo run used to be an effort to run 10K as fast as possible. The interval run used to be an effort
to do some sprint repetitions. Occasionally, I would also do a 5K and try to
achieve my PB without realizing where it really fits into the overall training
plan for half-marathon. A lot of these misunderstandings got addressed after
reading the book by Pete. The three months leading to ADHM days comprised of
very specific runs – to be run at a particular pace (not faster, not slower!)
with a specific objective. More on this subject on some other day.
Race day planning matters - Break it into smaller
components.
21.1K is a fairly long distance and a lot can go wrong if one doesn’t
plan the run. This is where an honest introspection of one’s own physical
abilities (body conditioning, nature of flagging during training runs,
level of fatigue, typical pace limiting factors etc.) close to the race day is
critical. Equally critical is to plan the big day race based on a clear
understanding of these factors. A simple race day plan could look like:
For me to finish 21.1K in a given time, I need to do 14K in x minutes. For that to happen, I need to finish 10k in y minutes. For that to happen, I need to do 5K in z minutes…
...and more importantly - understanding if x, y and z are really achievable with the current level of body conditioning.
It often helps to have a close friend critique this and keep you
honest in such an assessment. This is where my running buddy Rahul Dhanda really
helped me through innumerable discussions close to the big day. The plan for me
was simple:
21.1K in about 89 minutes, 14K in about 59 minutes, 10K in about 42 minutes, 5K in about 21 minutes – and yes, we did believe it was achievable.
The big
day: 20th November 2016
When one attaches too much importance to something, it is bound to
put undue pressure. I was no exception. The race day almost
felt like JEE day or like CAT day for me. Standing at the start line, I was not sure if cracking JEE / CAT
was more difficult or if finishing 21.1K in the next 89 odd minutes would be
more difficult.
As I anxiously stood at the start line, a myriad of memories flashed through my head. I thought about
the previous edition of ADHM, I thought about several occasions on which I
missed the magical sub-1:30 mark about a year ago, I thought about the 4:00am
wake-up routine over the last several months, I thought about the fun training
moments spent with my close friends over the past few weeks, I thought about
the taper week that had just gone by, I thought about the pasta lunch I
had with my friends a day ago. It almost felt like an eternity before the
race started and each passing moment was adding to the anxiety. I kept casually
jumping on the spot to keep the body warm.
At 7:10am the race started, and how relieved I was to be able to
switch from vertical jumping motion to the linear horizontal motion! The race
commenced as per the plan: 5K in 20:10, 10K in 41:09, 14K in 58:30…and finally,
yes finally 21.1K in 1:29:39.
It was a moment of joy, joy that can be felt but not expressed..
What next? - Time to briefly cherish the moment and start a new
pursuit!
--------------------------
Sundeep Singh
+91 - 98181 19794
About the Author: By background, Sundeep Singh is a
Mechanical Engineer from IIT Delhi and holds an MBA from IIM
Kozhikode. Given his flair for mechanics and passion for running, he loves
to analyze and write about the finer nuances of running techniques /
strategies. Sundeep’s best run till date is ADHM 2016, which he completed in 1:29:39.
