After completing the Tata Steel Meramandali marathon on February 4th, I had a week to recover.
My recovery week looked somewhat like - rest day on Tuesday, and gym and mobility sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday and Saturday involved shakeout runs of 10 and 4 kilometers, respectively.
As a run up to the half marathon, I followed the mobility and gym exercises as shared in the newsletter from Geeksonfeet which allowed me to recuperate and prepare for the Sunday race.
For running gear, I trusted Brooks Hyperion Tempo and Puma deviate Nitro 3 for shorter runs and long runs, respectively. I ran in Brooks Hyperion tempo on the race day.
As I only had a week to prepare between races, focusing on recovery and nutrition had high emphasis. 8 hours of good sound sleep, staying away from digital devices and having oil free food throughout the week.
Ample beetroot juice daily, coconut juice after every session and Fast&Up Magnesium recovery tablets for the 2 days post Sunday helped to recover faster. For recovery, including dietary fiber and fruits also helped to increase muscle water retention.
I traveled to Ranchi along with my 2 friends on Saturday. As someone else collected my bib this kept me relaxed by not spending much of my time on foot. I ate my last meal by 5 pm and had only 2-3 bananas in the night to keep it light.
We stayed close to the venue, before going to the venue did some Yoga and had black coffee as my race day ritual.
I met few friends from my Jamshedpur Runners group, of which 2 people were participating in their first full marathon and I cheered them at the starting line at 5 am. It was chilly in the morning and kept warm by doing dynamic exercises and hydrated well before the race.
As a strategy, I aimed to start the first 2 kms slow at 6:30 pace and then pick the pace to 6:00 mins/km for the next 15 kms. I started to gradually adjust my pace with elevation and opted to push on the downhill at 5:45 pace and increase cadence to match 6:30 mins/km pace to match the grade adjusted race pace.
As the race progressed half-way and the sun rose, with supportive crowds lining the streets. Efficient traffic management ensured smooth runner passage. The final 3-4 kilometers were particularly vibrant with spectators, although the staggered start times for different race distances (5K, 10K) meant fewer familiar faces. Only during the last 3-4 kilometers I had seen more runners.
Post race experience was immaculate which ensured there were sufficient medals for all participants and packed breakfast which consisted of banana, cheese sandwich and sweets.
Recovery zone was shanty with only hospital beds with few medical staff present, and could hardly notice any physiotherapist who was engaged in relieving runners' pain. Post race DJ and music added to the frenzy and euphoria of crossing the finishing line. I’m thankful to the Jamshedpur runners who made sure I committed to the goal and completed this race strongly.
Amazing race overall considering the management of a governmental organization like Coal India involved in organizing a race of this magnitude with participation more than 8000 across different race categories. Indebted to the running community in Jamshedpur, and would be focusing to perfect my structure and form before hitting any major distances. I’m planning to transition to trail running and ultra marathons from road races with the ultimate goal of participating in world majors.
Shivam is an amateur runner working with Tata Steel, runs with Ambernath Runners Foundation, and is popularly known as the Hype person.