Cracked my first ultra

I could not have asked for anything better, it was a dream run all the way. One of my best races till date, despite the really long distance, the aches and pains suffered were controllable during the run, though I had to resort to lot of walking at different stages after the half way mark.

I had a dream start, actually the best part was the first half in the Bangalore Ultra marathon 2007's 78km run. This was despite of the fact that I had not been able to run properly for the last 2.5 weeks thanks to injuries/strains due to the heavy training (60-70km weeks) during the last couple of months. But, the rest period and training worked for me today. I also need to thank my stars for having found a perfect pacer during the entire first half of the run. I owe big time to Nischal, the only female runner in the list of 16 participant for the 78km run. She had trained extremely well for the Bangalore Ultra marathon 2007, doing 80km weeks and some hard back to back weekend runs, and thanks to her I was able to set a very good pace for the first half and use the saved time during the second half which was extremely hard.

I completed the 78km run in 11hrs 07minutes, I could not have asked for anything more. Especially given the hot and sunny weather in Bangalore, it was nowhere close to the 24degress centigrade as forecast by weather bureau. It was closer to 28 and the sun was really hard.

For the next week or so, its going to be some well deserved rest after a hard Bangalore Ultra marathon. And then I will start my preparation for Mumbai marathon, I might just do a Sub 4hr run, this ultra has given my confidence a huge boost. Hopefully I will find a super pacer to help me achieve it (I have been lucky during the last two marathons (one being a ultra), need it one more time!