While I was thinking of upgrading my distance and moving to Half Marathon, came across a run which was for 15 Km. Thought this would be a good platform that can cover almost 75% of the distance to half marathon (21 Km). However, lots of surprises were there waiting for me.
My first blunder was thanks to "chrome auto fill", I ran as "Lake Primrose", the name of my building. Somehow, it got wrongly selected and I didn't realise this mistake when I got the confirmation as well. Will come to my second blunder later...
Went on Saturday to collect the bib and the T-Shirt. Got up at 4.15 am on Sunday morning (1st Sept). Left home at around 4.50 am and reached Korum Mall, which was the starting point and the venue for the race at around 5.15 am. As it was in the mall, drove down as no issues on parking etc. The organisers had warm up session - after warming up, was ready for the run.
The run is a different one. It was not a flat out 15 Km run. It was broken into two runs - 5 Kms and 10 Km later. 5 Kms started at 5.50 am and 10 Kms at 6.35 am. If one is able to finish 5 Kms before 45 minutes, there will be a breather before starting the 10 Km run.
The run started at 5.50 am and I made the second mistake. I started running faster. Half of the distance was on a slightly steep gradient. After about a Km or so, I started feeling tired and some pull. So, had to go slow and wanted to finish the 5 Km. Kept bit slow and finally finished the 5 Km run at 37 Minutes - slower than what I would have desired.
After going to the loo and stretching a bit, was ready for the 10Km run. The 10 Km run was to go through the same route as was 5 Km and then further go to Yeoor Hills and come back.
With the faster start of 5 Km at the back of my mind, had started slowly and as the gradient was slightly on a steeper side, was keeping slow and was focussing on finishing the race than any timing. Can have a fair bit of idea of the elevation from this picture. This is even before the hills started.
Once the 2.5 Km mark was crossed (where we took a U-turn to complete the 5 Km mark), came the ascent to Yeoor Hills. The ascent was so steep that after a few metres, I decided to walk the entire stretch - so were the co-runners. While climbing the hill, saw Mr. Sunder, who was CFO of Raymond in his morning walk. After exchanging pleasantries for a few seconds, started my climb back. While walking in the Yeoor Hills, I kept wondering if I made a mistake of selecting this as a 15Km run - it was a strenuous run that I felt it was equivalent to 20 Km.
After the climb, there was a bit of plain, started running and took the turn at the 5 Km mark. After the plains on the way back, the steep descent approached. It was difficult to negotiate than what I thought. With slight drizzle, the road was wet and the gradient was very steep. Did not want to damage my ankle or any part of the body. So, did not push very hard.
At the 8 Km mark, I started feeling tired and walked / ran the balance distance to finish off the race at 1 hour 25 minutes.
As one can see the split, the first 5 Kms was difficult and the second half was much better.
Was very happy to have completed the race. Thanks to my colleague, Avadhoot Khot, who ran only 5 Kms but waited for me and took my snap while I finished (I called him when I was 250 mtrs away).
Have registered for a 10 Km run for the next week. Need to prepare myself before my first 21 Km run on 6th October !!
My first blunder was thanks to "chrome auto fill", I ran as "Lake Primrose", the name of my building. Somehow, it got wrongly selected and I didn't realise this mistake when I got the confirmation as well. Will come to my second blunder later...
Went on Saturday to collect the bib and the T-Shirt. Got up at 4.15 am on Sunday morning (1st Sept). Left home at around 4.50 am and reached Korum Mall, which was the starting point and the venue for the race at around 5.15 am. As it was in the mall, drove down as no issues on parking etc. The organisers had warm up session - after warming up, was ready for the run.
The run is a different one. It was not a flat out 15 Km run. It was broken into two runs - 5 Kms and 10 Km later. 5 Kms started at 5.50 am and 10 Kms at 6.35 am. If one is able to finish 5 Kms before 45 minutes, there will be a breather before starting the 10 Km run.
The run started at 5.50 am and I made the second mistake. I started running faster. Half of the distance was on a slightly steep gradient. After about a Km or so, I started feeling tired and some pull. So, had to go slow and wanted to finish the 5 Km. Kept bit slow and finally finished the 5 Km run at 37 Minutes - slower than what I would have desired.
After going to the loo and stretching a bit, was ready for the 10Km run. The 10 Km run was to go through the same route as was 5 Km and then further go to Yeoor Hills and come back.
With the faster start of 5 Km at the back of my mind, had started slowly and as the gradient was slightly on a steeper side, was keeping slow and was focussing on finishing the race than any timing. Can have a fair bit of idea of the elevation from this picture. This is even before the hills started.
Once the 2.5 Km mark was crossed (where we took a U-turn to complete the 5 Km mark), came the ascent to Yeoor Hills. The ascent was so steep that after a few metres, I decided to walk the entire stretch - so were the co-runners. While climbing the hill, saw Mr. Sunder, who was CFO of Raymond in his morning walk. After exchanging pleasantries for a few seconds, started my climb back. While walking in the Yeoor Hills, I kept wondering if I made a mistake of selecting this as a 15Km run - it was a strenuous run that I felt it was equivalent to 20 Km.
After the climb, there was a bit of plain, started running and took the turn at the 5 Km mark. After the plains on the way back, the steep descent approached. It was difficult to negotiate than what I thought. With slight drizzle, the road was wet and the gradient was very steep. Did not want to damage my ankle or any part of the body. So, did not push very hard.
At the 8 Km mark, I started feeling tired and walked / ran the balance distance to finish off the race at 1 hour 25 minutes.
As one can see the split, the first 5 Kms was difficult and the second half was much better.
Was very happy to have completed the race. Thanks to my colleague, Avadhoot Khot, who ran only 5 Kms but waited for me and took my snap while I finished (I called him when I was 250 mtrs away).
Have registered for a 10 Km run for the next week. Need to prepare myself before my first 21 Km run on 6th October !!
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