The much awaited half marathon is finally over and with a disappointing result. Finished the race in 2hr 20 min approx. But it was a hard fought finish that I didn't expect to happen in the first place.
Unlike for last year, this year I didn't train much. My weekend long runs are the only ones I did. Those runs gave the enough confidence to face this year’s marathon. But that proved to be little. My target this year was the same as last year; to finish the race below 2hrs. And the weekend long runs consistently proved that 2hrs is within my reach. And except for a few minor injuries I felt relatively fit.
Started the marathon at about 6.30 am and the climate is already too humid. My knee started to show signs of trouble when it started paining after 2km but the pain was not too intimidating. I reached the 11k mark after 1 hr 3 min which is satisfying I thought. So the 2hrs target is still on. After sometime legs didn't hurt but the stomach started growling. I was sapped of my energy and the hunger coupled with the thirst made me feel dizzy. My energy levels almost dropped to near zero.
And then the final blow came @ around the 18k mark. My calf muscle became so stiff that I couldn't even lift my leg and place it down. It was swollen and drove me nuts .Both the calf muscles started to hurt and I applied the pain relief and started my stride again when suddenly the pain became excruciating. I never had this condition before and I didn't know how to get rid of this. So I tried to relax my muscle little by folding my leg. Someone just hit a nail on my head or I felt so. The pain was unbearable and thus effectively ended my 2 hrs target. I started telling myself to just finish the race. I stretched the leg little and began to walk, limping. Tried to cheat my leg by running after sometime but then it didn't fall for it. Pain was consistent. So kept walking the last 3km and to save my dignity started running the last 200 mts thus ending a gruesome fight with my leg.
One thing I didn't like this year is the water station positions. They were well 5 km apart and the sun is blazing to say the least. Also the promised banana station was missing at the 13.8km mark. Overall the race was kind of a lesson on what not to do and what I should have done in those circumstances. I should have had better running shoes. And next time I better know exact water station locations. Hopefully can register for a full marathon next time. Lots of training should be done for that. And I shall overcome.
