Reflections on SCMM & some research on Cramps

First, thanks to all of those who has been part of my 'marathon' efforts.

Having a brilliant coach like Kothandapani (fondly called as Pani Sir), meant that I was well trained for the run. Not only does he train you, but also sets you good competition (even at his age).

Training with 'Pacemakers' group, there's always constant competition, which makes you perform a notch above what you can. Apart from seasoned runners like "Barefoot" Bobby, Brijesh, Murthy, Neera, and of course, never-aging coach Pani Sir, there is also a brand-new level of competition from the emerging runners: Brojen, Bharath & Harish. And then, there are others (Pradeep, Gopal, Jagdish, Dileepan) who have a near 100% attendance record, and there are others who just motivate you with their smile, eg. Saroja. With all this company, the training workouts are just fun, no matter, how much ever the intensity is!

To look into what happened at Mumbai Marathon for me, I'll have to isolate two separate factors.
1. Race-day preparedness (in terms of the bowels)
2. Racing strategy.

Race-day Preparedness:
I had been a dieting freak all of last year, and my quickest way to lost weight without causing any harm is to have a light meal for supper. While this has helped me well, in terms of weight management, it might have worked otherwise, when it came to races. To the extent that I had been affected in two races before Mumbai (Chennai Marathon & Midnight 10K) and yet I paid no attention.

Carb-loading is an often abused word in a marathoner's dictionary. Runners (at least me) use the excuse to binge on whatever comes across in their sight. Though I had been disciplined, my eating habits leading to race day meant lighter meals for supper. On closer introspection, the heavy meal on the night before wasn't required.

I started my carb-loading on Friday (2 days before), and the pre-race night dinner was not adding much value, compared to the trouble it caused. Having a good stomach for the race is of prime importance.

Racing Strategy:
Running as a group for the 1st time, I was all excited to blaze the streets of Mumbai as the group. The plan was to stick to the group for the 1st 10 (or even 20) kms. So much that, I slowed down at two different points to let the group catch up. (I never bothered about walk breaks earlier, and felt that the time would eventually be recovered).

When I lost considerable lead to the group, the immediate plan was to stay at my own pace till 20kms. I would have eventually caught up with the group. But in reality, there were two small sprints (one each to catch Pankaj and Bhasker Sharma), and larger sprint to catch up to the group. This one was gradual and lasted nearly eight kms (17 to 24, as I see my Garmin data). The bottom-line is that I didn't stick to my plan in all the anxiety/excitement to catch up to the group.

I should have had a racing/pacing strategy, or more importantly, backup strategy, in case my original plan was to suffer a setback.

And now coming to Mr. Cramp,
there were a few thought shared, , one on fatigue, by both coach and Neera, and the other on Magnesium, by Anoop.

Though not documented very clearly (dont have enough resources to share), fatigue plays an important role, when it comes to cramps. I had trained for a certain pace, which means, my body (all running muscles) has adopted to that pace. If I run faster than my training pace, that puts extra load on the muscles. In a longer distance event like the marathon, the extra load over a sustained period could eventually lead to a breakdown and cause cramps.

Here is my evolution since I got cramps (at a much lower pace) in Auroville last year.
Auroville: Cramps at Km 17. (Pace: 10kmph) Resolution was to take more Gatorade
Hyderabad: Cramps at Km 18. (Pace: 12kmph). Gatorade didn't help. Switched to Salt (electrolytes)
Salt worked well in CTC Buckingham Marathon, and Ultra 100.

SCMM Training: 35K Time trial (Cramps at 28th Km): Looking at the data, this happened when I was trying to keep up with Brijesh and Murthy in the third loop at GKVK.
SCMM Marathon: Cramps at 24th Km: Ran 8kms faster than normal preceding the cramps.

If atleast I could have paced myself well, (keeping to the pace I have trained for), I might have avoid the cramps.

To summarize: There needs to be a overall training plan, which includes something other than running to take that extra load. In simple terms, cross-training, plyometrics, weights, could help one take the extra load.

On Magnesium:
I had been using Himalayan Pink salt, on the general notion, that there would be a wider spread of minerals. (It is my belief that medical science cannot capture and solve each individuals problems. And the solution lies in adopting simple practices. I would have stuck to common rock salt, if it wasn't refined).

The spectral analysis of this salt says that there is .16g of Mg per kg. That's negligible considering I might be ingesting 1g of salt at a time. Obviously, this salt lacks in Magnesium, and doesn't have balanced electrolytes.

It is also well known that electrolytes play an important role in muscle expansion/contraction. Magnesium also pays an important role as documented here. (This particular site talks exclusively on Magnesium.) So, to substantiate the claims, I also looked up at the composition of Endurolyte. Endurolyte contains the main electrolytes Sodium, Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium in near-equal quantities. (Also they are chelated for better absorption). In addition, Endurolyte has an overdose of Vitamin-B6 (330% of daily value per tablet), which plays an important role in Gluconeogenesis.

I wish I had stuck to the simple solution of Endurolyte, given that I could have imported them. They aren't readily available in India. For those, who cannot get Endurolyte readily, the easiest and also the cheapest solution would be to stick to Enerzal which has an identical composition of electrolytes.

Ironically, Enerzal is the same energy drink supplied all through the route in Mumbai marathon. I had been avoiding it for the fear of taking it along with Endurance Gels. While I did avoid it during the initial stages of the race, I was taking it during the later stages post the cramps. Maybe this could explain how I sustained the race-pace even after getting bogged down by cramps.

The energy drink that I currently use (Gatorade) has helped me run without getting tired, but hasn't helped me in avoiding cramps. It might be a good reason for me switch over to Enerzal.

SCMM 2013: An opportunity that was missed

We never knew when the race started, as all of us were expecting a line-up at the start. As we got to the gate after the pre-race warm up, it was very crowded, and runners were getting to go out. All of us joined the crowd and raced to the start line, by which time, the start line had already been opened, and people were running past it.

While that separated myself and Bobby from the rest of the group, the others were running together about twenty metres behind. My first priorities were to get the Garmin HRM going (I am not sure why I wanted all that HR data in the first place). Everytime, I did a scan, the Garmin would pick up  many HR monitors in the range, and would not lock to the one I was wearing (which was borrowed, thanks to my good friend Murthy, who was also running the race). Finally, I had to go a little bit wide off the course, and away from the runners to get it going. Till this time, it was status quo, with Bobby and myself running together, with the rest of the group following about twenty metres behind.

As I was tuned to the idea of running along with the group, I let slowed down, let them pass and joined the paceline. The group had coach Pani sir, Brojen, Brijesh, Bharath, Murthy and now myself. Each of us were taking turns leading the group, setting the pace for every km.

The first separation from the group came at Peddar road downhills. Being a fan of downhills, I let myself roll the legs, and was more than fifty metres ahead of the group.  Shortly ahead, I took a short walk-break for the group to catch up. (I use walk-breaks regularly on my long runs, to rest the running muscles for a small time, before picking up and running again).

All was well until the 12th km, when I felt I need to take a loo-break. As luck would have it, a portable toilet was just around the corner, and I quickly got off from the group. After I quickly *did it*, I got back and started running. When my Garmin beeped at the next km, I would realize that I have lost 80 seconds, thanks to my little break.

After a quick calculation, I figured that I could catch up with the group at 21st km. (My target pace was 5:00/km while the groups was 5:10/km, which gave me a 10 seconds advantage). I ran the next few kilometres at exactly my target pace 5:00 +-1sec. Just before taking the Bandra-Worli sea link, I would cross Sandeep, who I had met two weeks earlier at RFL's fortnightly run.

As I reached the Worli-Bandra Sea Link, there was another runner from Bangalore. I would pass by Pankaj Rai on the bridge, while catching up with Bhasker Sharma was little tougher and meant more work. I didn't mind the extra pace as I was running faster to catch up with my group. All this time, my goal shifted from maintaining my race/target pace to chasing the group.

Finally at the 24th km, I was behind the group by about thirty metres, and I felt a sharp shooting pain in the left hamstring. My nemesis and my dear friend, the cramps would catch me. Not wanting to lose time, I quickly took a pinch of salt from the packet I was carrying, and walked as fast as I can, almost doing a 8 minute walking pace. Onlookers should have been surprised at why I was walking instead of running. A few minutes later, I was running back to normal, albeit at a reduced pace. Now, my goal shifted from chasing the group to covering the next 18kms with minimal damage to my target. 

During this time, a lot of people passed me, including Bhasker Sharma, Kieren D'Souza (Ultra 100 finisher), and Paripurn. As I got back full throttle on my feet again, I kept chasing Bhasker.

At the 30th km, as I cross, Murthy who had been caught with my dear friend cramps, gave me a shout. Surprised I turned back, and gave him the pack of salt I had. I was in two minds as that was the only pack I had. Though not much was left, it might have carried me to the finish line. Chasing down Bhasker, I took Enerzal wherever they were offering while continuing at the target pace.

Strangely I felt a little tired, when I was crossing the foot-overbridge, at which point of time, I still had 8 more kms to go. Pedder Road climb was a struggle, as I would lean forward and increase the Cadence, I also saw the pace drop to 10kmph. I caught up with one of the runners running ahead and chat with him. Luckily, he gave me a salt tablet which I took at the next water stop. 

It was a pity that I could not make full use of the downhill. I could swing my legs completely. 

The next few kms were a struggle as neither water nor enerzal was available anywhere along the course. (All of it had been emptied by the half-marathoners).

I got a sigh of relief as I was 40.6km on my Garmin and exclaimed only one more mile to go.

As I crossed the 1000 metres to go, there was huge relief. Just when I thought I could sprint to the finish line, my dear friend Cramp reminded his presence.

I took a quick walk break, and then ran close to my target pace, but slowly and steadily to the finish line, to finish with a time of 3:38:30.

Naturally, I am a little disappointed that I could not finish the race strongly. Given that I had 18 more kms to cover, when I got the cramps, the damage isn't significant.

As I went over the splits, this is what I found. The 10kms leading to the cramps were the fastest 10K I ran in the race at 49:10. Maybe, that'll help me look in a different direction, than mineral salts.

As for SCMM 2013, the race was superbly organized. There was wonderful people support from Mumbaikars all through the course. The route was excellent, Marine Drive and Sea Link in particular. The weather, amazing. There wasn't better that I could ask for.

There were some things that could have been better, like the how the race started, and water/refreshments along the course in the last few kilometres. By far, this would be the best race to be organized in India. Hyderabad might come a little closer, but crowd supports pulls in big points for Mumbai.

The story of my good friend Cramp is too long to be covered now. Stay tuned, to find out more.

The road to Mumbai

As I am penning this blog, I am about to go to bed. Tomorrow morning, I'll be doing my last training run for the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM).

I got to know about the first edition of Mumbai Marathon in 2003 from Bhasker Sharma, a fellow runner in Bangalore. Bhasker has went on to complete 40+ marathons in the next ten years, including an amazing twelve-in-twelve.

While Bhasker had been at Mumbai for almost every year since then, I had to wait almost a decade to get on the road to Mumbai. I was never a fan to traveling to different cities and running races. For me, after running two marathons in 2001 and 2002, the marathon journey pretty much fizzled out, till I revived my running passion about a year ago.

In the interim, I had finished one marathon (KTM 2008) and a 50K (Ultra 2009) run, mostly crawled to the finish by anybody's standards. There was always a fear for the 42km distance or the four and a half hour running ordeal.

The last year has been exciting with two marathon distance runs, one 50K and one 100K. All in the span of last four months. For the last four months, not only have I trained for SCMM, but also have run two half-marathons in my personal best times, and a 100K distance (obviously my longest run in best time as well).

Having trained for and run the 100K, the fear for the (marathon) distance has disappeared. While my average pace of the 100K run was slightly over 8km/hour, the marathon pace will be a near twelve kilometres per hour. The challenge will be to sustain this pace for more than three and a half-hours on the road.

Not to mention that this is the first time I have participated in a structured training program, and have trained with people at similar capacity. During this training, I have learnt to overcome several critical limitations, which would have come in my way of running a longer distance. These range from muscle cramps to fear of running solo for long distances.

Three days from now, I'll be at the starting line of India's largest marathon, with atleast a couple of thousand more people. With the hope of bettering my ten year old marathon record. Shattering, not just breaking.

I wish good luck to all of those who'll take the start line this Sunday!