I had registered for the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon to be held on 21st Nov. 2010 three months in advance and began practicing, hurt my knee midway and everything stopped. Got busy with life, did not run so that I don't aggravate my injury and could participate in the event.
Fast forward to D-Day. Got up at 5.30 in the morning, ate a banana, an apple and a guava... so much for breakfast. The race started at 7.30 (here we go). I had only one goal in my mind - Finish it within the allotted time of 3 hours, whatever it takes.
Started out with a slight jog, did the first 7km in 40 minutes (math said it'll take me 2 hrs, i felt confident), Crossed the 10km mark, then 12km - the maximum I had ever run before. Every point from here was a personal best, but I had to do it. I couldn't feel my feet, no pain - just me and the open road. Crossed the 14km mark and felt a sharp pain in my right knee - arrgh! not again, not now. I couldn't give up, not after covering more than 2/3rd's of the course. What kept me going? Random strangers cheering the runners, my will and the determination to keep on going - I had to reduce my pace though. I don't recall much after that, the pain was too much to think about anything else. Then the finish line came into view and I started sprinting towards it, taking long strides, F*** the pain - its not coming in-between my goal. Crossing the finish line was the best I've ever felt in my life.
It took me 2:55:15 to complete the Half Marathon. 55 minutes more than what I had earlier calculated. Considering I stopped practicing 45 days before the race and my knee injury, I think I did well.
What now? Well, I have 2 concrete goals to look forward to. Finish the 2011 Half-Marathon in under 2 hours and run the Full Marathon in Bombay in Jan 2012.
Me in the center, Dad on the left and my cousin on the right. All three of us after the event.