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.
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.
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.
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.
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