Houston we have a problem…

Saturday:
Tomorrow’s 10k race stands postponed. Security reasons cited. I mean, which of us self-obsessed runners, who care only about their pace, cadence and other such inconsequential stats is really bothered about the Canadian PM’s visit? And our event would have been our by 8am. Who wakes up in this city that early – besides us and the doodhwalas?

But, the irrepressible runners will not be stopped. “We will race tomorrow irrespective,” growls Savio. “At 6.15am, we will flag off our own race from NCPA. Who needs the organisers? We have trained, more importantly- tapered, and that cannot be wasted!”

What does a 10k race mean to a marathoner? A very, very stressful race.
Warm up well. Begin slow (relatively). Don’t dream.
Don’t be afraid of the pace. It will be hard. It’s not a marathon. It’s a 10k. It will be over soon. Sooner than you think. And if it is not paced properly, it will be too late to accelerate. Suck up the pain now. And keep going. There is no time to make up in a 10k.

Rhythmic breathing is key. Tempo style – one in, two out.
Take it seriously. Keep my shoulders relaxed. Keep my focus.
Don’t overthink. Let it flow. Game face on.
Music on. Let’s go!
Embrace the burn. To run until I am spent. A tough one.

Sunday:

In all fairness, I tried my best. Woke up early, did the drill, 2 gels and a banana. But no bib. How much difference would that make. Let’s see. Time will tell.

We warmed up well. It was a small group. We lined up, our watches beeped in unison, and off we were.The first group stuck together for about 500m.Then the speedy A and K broke away. Savio’s little coterie of 4/5 was going strong. I checked my watch- and realised- too fast for me. Parin and I slowed down and stayed together for the first 5km. Minimal conversation. Comfortable rhythm. I did not need music.

Things were going as per plan. I kept relaxing my shoulders and maintained my breathing. I felt in control.

Halfway. Gel 2.

And then things began to crumble. Music on. I had refreshed my little nano yesterday. So ok. The one thing that I had decided was that I didntwanttostop.

I know the distance like the back of my hand. It was futile to check my watch. I certainly didn’t want to look at the pace. If it’s too fast I’ll panic. If it’s too slow I’ll get disheartened. I need to trust the effort. So I ran blind. Parin maintained the same pace as before. And the distance between us kept growing. I imagined that I would catch up.

Twice my mind commanded me to stop (for no real reason). I simply slowed down a bit (all of 10 seconds) and managed to picked up again.

At the 7 km mark, I could see the 8 km mark at the next signal ahead, where I wanted to be, as it would 

My mind does all these bizarre calculations! Between Taylor Swift and U2 and a few others that I did not register, I reached the last kilometre. I was careful not to pick up from Oberoi, as it’s too early, so I held it until the U turn, where my watched beeped signalling the end of the 10km, and sprinted the last 300m, accelerating smoothly. There was no burn. I was not feeling spent.

57.15 for 10.3km! 5.33 pace.

I have run Marathons at a faster pace!!I was disappointed. Not surprised. This is what I had predicted based on my training. But I knew I had the strength to run faster, and do better. But did I have the will to suffer? (Ironically, I had done the first 10km in 57 minutes in the Mumbai Marathon.)

Well. SO. I don’t know how to pace a 10km.

I don’t know how to run with pain. I am a coward for the shorter distances.

I need to learn to take a risk. That’s it!

Theoretically, my first 5km had set me up well for a stronger second half. I should have just stayed with Parin.

Post race chatter:

Savio: “I went out too fast. Faded later.”

Parul:” I went out strong. Didn’t pick up later.

Both: “We should have run together for a better finish for both of us. We will race 10k again, in a couple of weeks. “

Maybe the lack of the race atmosphere did not bring out the feeling to push. Bah. All excuses.

My prosaic mindset works for marathon. Not for any other distance. I need to expand my mind.

In IQ84 Murakami describes a kind of troublesome curiosity: “I’m looking at a map and I see someplace that makes me think, ‘I absolutely have to go to this place, no matter what.’ And most of the time, for some reason, the place is far away and hard to get to.”

                                                          Sub 55 10k here I come.