What a day!
It has been over 48 hours since the London marathon. My
legs are still killing me. Can't walk properly and it feels like I went to an
extra long gym session after 10 years. Despite this, part of me is saying that
i have to do it again next year. Call me weird, crazy, psycho or whatever but
It is difficult to put the feeling in words.
It was a surprise morning - the sun out in full glory
with a gentle breeze blowing under the beautifully painted blue sky. Surprise
because it had rained all through the week and we were told it could be rather
depressing and cold on the race day. Waking up to such a lovely weather
immediately lifted my spirits (and guess of the many other 38000 runners). I
also sensed that I had slept well and my legs felt very fresh. While on the way
to the starting point, the mood built up. The trains were packed with runners,
their friends / family all in good spirits. Some of them getting ready in the
weird outfits, long queues outside the bars to visit the washrooms, others
continued to raise donations for their charity. As Rupi and I edged closer to
the starting line, we finalised our meeting points again and again. It wasn't
going to be easy to spot each other in such rush when the whole of London had
descended either to run or to cheer up those who were running. Just before the
starting line, I felt a bit uneasy - I should have
trained more, I should not be running in the new trainers and I should have
eaten one more banana an hour ago. And then, Go Gaurav.
The first mile itself took an eternity. It was difficult to
run and speed ahead while rubbing shoulders with fellow runners. It is an unbelievable sight when 38000 people run on the same street at the same time.
Belligerent! Bands, loud music, people chanting, egging on the runners,
offering sweets, jelly beans, chocolates, biscuits (even beer). Not even a
single inch of space was left unoccupied on either side of the road.
I met Rupi at the 6 mile mark - I gave her a flying kiss
(which she accepted, I hope). Didn't stop as my legs were still going strong.
In fact, I managed to run the next hour quite decently as well. Reaching Tower
Bridge (12 miles+) was a moral victory - I had never seen so many people on the
bridge at the same time. A couple of miles later was when the I felt my legs were giving up. I did the mental maths - 12 more miles to go, can't stop, no Gaurav - you can't stop just yet. The debate continued for another half a mile and then the devil won. I stopped running at a Lucozade station and started walking. It is always difficult to start running again after you have stopped once (simple law of momentum in physics). Still cursing myself that I shouldn't have stopped running, a guy came running from behind, patted my back and said 'Come On'. A couple of seconds later I was running again. And for the next 20 minutes, I thanked that guy whose one gentle push made me start running again in my moment of indecisiveness. I made it a point to push the other guys (who had started to walk) in a similar way. Wonderful gesture isn't it?
At 17 miles, I met a big contingent from THT (the charity I supported) who made a loud noise as I ran past them. I was very close to Canary Wharf and knew that Rupi, along with Gyan, Aditya, Kinnary, is standing somewhere close. I was dead tired by now but wanted to stop only after I met them. Turned out that they were standing at Mile 19... uff, I was really angry 'coz I'd have liked them to stand a bit earlier so that I could have stopped earlier. This is the photo that Rupi clicked when I met her. I told all of them that I am now absolutely destroyed. And there were 7 more miles to go!
Between 19 and 23 miles, I walked a lot. At times, the only thought that crossed my mind was that I have to just finish the race so I should conserve my energy for a late boost. Guess it turned out to be a good plan. After the 35 km marker, I realised there were only 7km more to go and I mentally started eating away 100m by counting my steps. It kept my mind occupied and I could see the end very near. Quite frequently, I heard my name as the crowd kept cheering all the runners. The sound only got louder and louder. I met two of my office colleagues who egged me to carry on running. And then, not long after, I read '2 more miles to go and you will become part of the history'. What a thought at that stage. I ran and ran determined not to stop till I reach Big Ben. At this stage, I had run almost 2.5 miles without taking a break. Less than a mile to go, I stopped and decided to walk 100m. Somebody from the crowd shouted my name and said 'Go Gaurav'. I turned around to see an Indian guy waving his hand and angrily questioning why have I stopped - it is only 5 more minutes now, run!
And I did run again. With my eyes focused on my feet, I decided not to look up again till I got very close to the finish line. My feet were hurting, legs trembling and I felt a persistent backache. '600m to go', the banner said when I looked up momentarily. I was shattered - how was I going to cover the remaining 600m? After a minute, '400m to go'.... And then 385 yards... I had reached Buckingham Palace.... the finishing line in sight... At that moment, a runner sprinted past me and several others. All of a sudden, the pain eased out and my legs had found renewed strength - the last 100m was the fastest that I had run during the whole 42 km journey. I had just experienced the Runner's High.
26 miles had ended too quickly. 5 hours had gone by too soon. I wanted to run more!
