Sunfeast World 10K

It was a nice breezy day. I was woken up by Rohit at 6:00 am who was pacing up and down the room "preparing mentally" for the big event. I, on the other hand, was in no such pressure since it was my first race and I wanted to enjoy it. Anyways we left at about 6:45 am and reached a rendezvous point where we had to meet up with Rohit's running buddies. They would take us to the venue in their car(s). We reached the venue to see loads of runners all geared up for the event. There were different categories of events. There was this Elite - Men's, Elite - Women's and the Open 10K run (which we were a part off). The Elite - Men's had already started. Infact it had almost finished. As soon as we entered the stadium, there was this one "elite" guy throwing up in the middle of the track (ok..on the side). But the point is, just before your first race..you should not be subjected to scenes like these. There were some butterflies in my tummy at that time. Anyways that guy stopped throwing up and was on his way again to finish the final meters..but he stopped again and threw up some more. Poor guy...must have given his everything..all in vain. Anyways the women's elite run began right on time with some 15-20 odd runners on the starting line. They completed one lap around the stadium and went outside. Again there was this one girl who was out in the first 300 meters or so. So, not encouraging signs at all. My expectations for myself fell down a few points. Anyways with the elite women's on their way..it was time for the open 10K event. The open 10K was divided into 2 groups...the ones with a "timing chip" and the others without it. The timing chip guys started a few minutes before the non-timing chip guys. As soon as they were on their way..it was our chance. Now..if it were some place other than India..ppl would gradually move towards the "legal" entrance on to the tracks. However, this being India and we being Indians did what we do best...break the rules. People started jumping over the stadium barricades directly onto the tracks. The organizers never in their wildest of dreams thought this would happen. This continued for a few minutes till the cops began doing their stuff with their lathis. Me and Rohit were not interested to jump so we patiently waited in the holding area till we got our chance. So I began my run with Megadeth blaring from my headphones. At that time my adrenaline was really pumping. But it was not to last long. After the 2K mark my shins and ankles were in pain. It must be because I could not run that much during the entire week. I dragged my feet along till the 5K mark where psychologically I am always at a better position. No matter how tired I am, whenever I reach the 5K mark, I feel a bit relieved. Now running in the Sunfeast 10K was a different feeling altogether. There were soo many different kinds of ppl I saw on the way. You had these ppl who stood along the circuit, cheering you up on the way. It makes you feel really good about yourself. Especially for me, since all I am used to are angry looks that I get for hogging the treadmill in the office gym. Then there were people who took some big illegal shortcuts every chance they got , which was kinda stupid. It was like if you don't want to run..why take such a big pain in the first place. Then there were these "walkers". They are the most dangerous of 'em all. They would get to you and would make you wanna stop and walk for a while. I had a tough time..especially on the inclines. I soo wanted to stop and take some rest. But I kept telling myself to go on. Its moments like these where music takes you along. Atleast it helps me to get really pumped up and go for it. Anyways after the 5K, although I was comfortable, I saw so many ppl take the water break that I too went to the next stand and drank some water. I dont know if it was because I drank while running or not..somehow it dint feel good at all. That's when there was this nice incline between the 6K and the 7K mark to make matters worse. That was the toughest part of the circuit. Once that 7K mark was reached..I knew the race was pretty much over. Firstly, because almost all of the remaining part was down-hill and secondly the view was much much better. There were things to look around. That really gets your mind to divert from all the tiredness and exhaustion. Soon enough, I saw the 9K mark and was near the stadium area. I looked at my watch and was surprised to see the time. I was running exactly at the same pace as I do on the treadmill. I was expecting that I would be slower than the treadmill. The final meters were in between large crowds cheering you up and I crossed the finish line with 63 minutes and 11 seconds on the stop watch. Its the same as the time I take normally on my 10K runs. Rohit was there waiting...and also disappointed that he could not cover it under 50 minutes. Nevertheless I was kinda happy. We went to collect the certificates and thereafter went to Purple Haze to celebrate. A nice time overall but I want to improve upon my timing. The next race would be the Delhi Half Marathon. I have plenty of time to prepare but loads of training to do. This time I plan to follow a training routine. Lets hope Delhi is nice to me.