First half marathon - QCIM 2010

I had been looking forward to doing my first half marathon since Sept of this year. I registered the very day my friend told me about the Quezon City International Marathon to be held on Dec 5th. Since then I spent many sleepless nights thinking about it. I planned to go with two friends - Bles, whose goal was to finish her 42K within 5 hours and Jon - an ultra-runner, was to be her pacer.

The gun start for 21K was at 5am in Quezon City, Manila which is about a 1.5 hrs drive, south of Clark. I tried to sleep at 9:30 pm the previous night but could not sleep a wink. Just when I started feeling sleepy at 1 am, the alarm went off (at 1:15 am, grrrr)!! How I hated myself at that moment for signing up for it. The bed was too tempting but my friends were to pick me up at 1:45 am so I got going. We were among the first few to reach the venue at 3:30 am, which worked very well. It gave us enough time to look around, click pictures and relax.

Bles introduced me to a friend of hers - Mai, we decided to run together, after discussing our paces. The organizers made us do some stretching exercises but I was too overwhelmed to do any. We stood in line with "2 hours 30 mins" pacers as that's the target we had decided for ourselves. There were about 1,100 runners for the 21K category and about 10,000 runners overall (mostly for 5K and 10K category).

The first 4K was brilliant as we passed through some beautiful stretches in the University of Philippines, Diliman campus area. Within the first 1K, I saw the University's flagship Oblation statue. The breeze was cool with trees all around (at least 2,000 if not more), I was elated by the ambience and felt spirited to run well.

After the first 4K, I found myself on the North Edsa highway (too bad I had not bothered to see the race map before the race). One side of the highway was blocked for the marathon. The highway had its share of uphill and downhill which wasn't very pleasant. On most occasions in the past, we've simply zipped by this highway in our car, but now I had all the time to look around. Alas! all I saw was concrete and more concrete (come to think of it, trail runs are tougher than road runs but they are certainly more pleasing to the eyes!).

The turn around was at 10.5K and I was still feeling good. The first low point was that all the water stations had this sports drink - Powerade, which doesn't agree with my stomach, so had to settle for plain water only. The second low point was at around 11K when my iPod froze. I didn't feel great without music and the increasing temperature.

There was a big traffic jam on the other side of highway. Most people had some or the other expression on their face ranging from "wow, i wish i could run like that" to "crazy runners" to "damn you guys for causing the jam". At 15K my knees started hurting a bit, Mai and I decided to walk some distance. At around 17K, we entered the campus area once again which was the much needed change and I started running till I finished at 2 hours 51 minutes along with Mai. It was way off from the target I had set for myself but it didn't matter. I was too delighted to have crossed the finish line. I hydrated, stretched and let the feeling of having done it, sink in.

Bles achieved her target of sub 5 hours along with Jon by her side. The joy, elation and the sense of achievement that I saw on the faces of full marathon finishers was twice as much and understandably so. And I can't wait to start training for one!

Crazy World of Motherhood

"Nobody said it was easy. No one ever said it would be this hard." - Coldplay

I created this blog two years back when I was going crazy taking care of my new born, therefore I chose the name "Crazy World Of Motherhood". At that time, I was hoping to share my plight with other mothers through this blog, but I could never take time out of my crazy schedule in pursuit of becoming a Perfect Mother (does such a thing even exist?), to write anything.

But I guess it's never too late to share ones thoughts. Kabir was born in Nov. 2007. I was all set to take motherhood head-on and had finished reading "What to Expect in the First Year" much before he was born. You can ask me any detail pertaining to the first year of Kabir's life and I would be able to answer everything accurately, with footnotes and in 3 dimension; but ask me anything else from the time period between Nov 2007 till year end of 2008 - and you'll have me stumped there. Everything else happening in this world at that time is a brown blur. I don't know of any movies that released, don't know of any popular songs, don't even know of any news that made headlines (thank God that at least the 1st T20 World Cup happened in Sept. 2007!). My crazy days were filled with "what's he going to do next?" or "what's he going to eat/drink next?" or "wow, look at that new expression! where's the camera?", etc. etc.

The most bizarre thing I felt post few months of delivery was that most of my senses felt just a bit weaker. I know it sounds weird but really I think that a little bit of my sense of hearing, smell, taste and sight was taken away by my baby. And I continue to feel the same even now, though currently I'm at my healthiest and fittest best.

There were of course a lot of days when I was low, down and out largely owing to the fact that I was tied down. But it's difficult to be sad and wear a long face when your child is all smiles or laze around when your child is in need of something. So I had to pretend to be happy and active. And at that moment pretension became my reality! My moods were no longer MY moods. Isn't it funny how that little being is in complete control of your emotions?

I have not cried or been overwhelmed with so many emotions all at the same time in my entire life. He stretched his arms towards me for the first time. I cried. He had eyes only for me in a room full of people. I cried. Laughed out loud for the first time. I cried. Managed to crawl. This time I didn't cry but was overcome with joy. Said "mmm aa mmm aa" the first time. I cried again!! Totally crazy!

Then of course there were those days - having to administer medicines every few hours, cleaning the puke filled with the smell of those medicines, my own clothes constantly smelling of curdled milk, my craving for 4 hours of sleep at a stretch, feeding constantly (in my case it was bottle, nonetheless it was tiring). I think cleaning poop is easy and is most over rated of all chores!

Kabir recently turned 3. There have been some crazy times in his 2nd and 3rd year of his growing up as well but nothing compares to the first year. Having said that, I will still not exchange that period for any thing else in this world. It has been the craziest yet the happiest time of my life.

There's something about running!

Well, it all started because of vanity. I started "gymming" last year in July with hope of gaining some upper body strength so that I can carry my son around without hurting my back, and to get (ahem!) shapely legs. I did gain upper body strength but my legs remained as unshapely as before. After hearing my work out regime one of my friend (a taewkondo instructor) suggested that I should start running.

So I started running since the beginning of this year at Stotsenburg Park*, a beautiful ground inside Clark airbase, with a running track of 2.2 km, some 100 meters from our home. At first, my target was to do one lap without running out of breath. It took almost a month to achieve my target. Then I came to know about a rotary 5K run being held at the park. I started training for that three times a week. I did my first 5K run in Feb. I stopped going to the gym as I genuinely started to enjoy running. From there on, there was no looking back and I went on do my first 10K run in August. Currently, I'm training for my first half marathon (21K) which is scheduled to be held on Dec 5th. In between, I attempted my first trail run not knowing what it entails! I can never forget my Mt Pinatubo trail run experience. Even though I didn't manage to finish the run (decided to stop at 37K, with 13K to the finish line) it still feels like a dream. However, I successfully completed a 24K extreme trail run in November.

Somebody questioned me the other day "why do you run?". It got me thinking - why from being an absolutely non-athletic person for 28 years, I took a U-turn to run? Fitness is one thing but the long runs (I do between 10k-20k) take me to a different plane. Each time, doing the first 5K is a struggle but after that I reach a state of thoughtlessness/trance and that's where I'm in complete touch with myself. A couple of months back one of my friends had said "running is a higher level of meditation" and at that point I realized how true it is. Apart from the fact that toxins leave my body with the sweat, I feel all the negative energies leaving me as well when I run. I feel much more settled and comfortable in my own skin now. Also, from a financially independent woman to now a home maker, I guess the need to prove that I'm still capable of "achieving" is stronger. I don't know if any "happy" hormones are released during or after running, but I'm surely a happier person now. I strongly believe and endorse that - "there's something about running!"

As far as shape of my legs is concerned, I give a damn now! :)

* The parade ground has a wonderful history behind it. You can read about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Stotsenburg

X Trail Run (24K), successfully finished :))

I did my first ever extreme trail run on October 13th, at the Pamulaklakin Forest Reserve* in Subic. One of the most extreme aspect of the entire deal was to start running at one in the afternoon!! From my previous trail running experience (38K at Mt Pinatubo), I knew these 24K would not be fun without a partner, so I persuaded Pratim (my husband) to join me as well.

He agreed and we hit the road at 11AM on that Saturday morning - for what turned out to be one of the most exhilarating experiences ever!

Salomon (a trail shoe brand) are among the best know organizers of such events, with over 80 race marshals, excellent medical supplies and all rounded support for close to 100 runners. They did a quick briefing, a solemn prayer service for every one's safety and success and started the run on schedule.

The first 4K - along this long winding, narrow path through tall wild grass fields - were excruciating. Running with no tree cover from the scorching heat of the afternoon sun, I started feeling faint. What's more, the path was so narrow that everyone had to run in a single file, with little or no scope for taking lead. As I was beginning to choke in the heat (and with the fear of another DNF tag looming large), we entered the rain forest. The huge relief that I felt with the green cover was quickly wiped out when I saw how uphill the run was from there on. After about a km of trekking uphill, I was almost ready to quit. I took a quick 5 minutes breather, weighed by chances - and decided to carry on! The 7K mark brought us to the this little Aeta village (Aetas are mountain tribes in the Philippines). The beauty of the settings and the simplicity and warmth of these people made for a much needed distraction from my heavy breathing and drumming heartbeats.

Admiring more of nature's bounty - 60 to 100 foot tall trees, gurgling streams, thick green shrubs, deep red soil - we trudged further uphill. However, I ran to make up for lost time where ever the terrain was flat or the climb was gradual. We finally made it to the top, after crossing a cool, fast flowing stream and another 2K of steep uphill trek under the sun. This "highest point" of the trail was at 12K - our half way mark! Though I was dog tired by then, the thought having made it half way and that the remaining half was mostly downhill was too tempting to give up. What helped me rejuvenate was the view from the top. The greenery of a rain forest is breath taking!!!

The trail going down was different from the one coming up and it was very sludgy, slippery and steep downhill through a bamboo forest. I had no idea that this stretch would be such a test of upper body strength, concentration and pain endurance for the feet and lower leg muscles. At one point, the trick of this downhill run got the better of me. I lost my foothold and slipped a few meters down the slope on my back. Thankfully I wasn't injured and a bamboo tree stopped my fall further. Having run for close to 4 hours, with fading light in the thick bamboo forest and with every body part hurting by now, I was growing impatient to see the finish line. Just when I thought that we will not make it before the cut off time, I saw two race marshals who cheered us and said "only 300 meters to go" and boom we were out of the bamboo forest and could see the road. I saw the the finish line and ran for it!!

We finished the 24K in 3 hrs and 58 minutes - just 2 minutes before the official closing time!

It was worth the pain after all :)

*Pamulaklakin forest reserve is home to the indigenous Aetas who once trained the U.S. Navy jungle survival tactics.Photo courtesy - http://titaniumrunner.net/

My first "DNF (did not finish)" trail run :)

I started for a place called Tarlac at 3 am on Saturday (9th Oct.) and reached the start point of the run at 4 am. Registered myself and got ready with the gear (basically hydration belt &
first aid kit). The run started at 5 am and it was still quite dark.

The first 7k was easy run but the terrain started getting tougher after that. The next 9k was on absolutely loose earth (lahar) and very difficult to run on. But the next 9k was the toughest as it was just rocks. It was impossible to run on rocks. There were a lot of streams we had to cross. So every time we would cross one, the
shoes would become heavy and the lahar would stick to it.
I got sucked in to quick sand at one of the streams and so did a couple of other runners. The trail to the top was supposed to be only 25k, but due to the fact that trail kept on changing, it must easily have been 35k (as per the more experienced runners).
It took me 5 hours to reach the Mt Pinatubo*, crater lake. I took a break of about 15-20 minutes before descending. I thought that the descend would be quicker and easier but no I was completely wrong. The trail had completely changed and so had the flow of all streams.
It was terribly hot, the trail looked rockier than before and I felt like a mere speck on that vast harsh land.

By the time I reached near the second last aid/water station which was about 13k away from the finish line, I decided to give up. I know I should not have. I should have pushed myself a little more but I was scared of getting injured. May be next time with more training I would do better. It took me a day and a half to recover. I'm completely sun burnt :) I also have about 25-30 insect bites which the doctor said would heal in 1 or 2 weeks.

*Mt Pinatubo is an active volcano in the Philippines, which last erupted in 1991.