Tanvir Kazmi - Running Without Limits

On October 4th, 2005, me and Mansha, my wife, were blessed with a beautiful baby boy. Incidentally, 4th Oct was also our marriage anniversary, so this joyous occasion added to our celebrations! Our baby has been named “Eshan” (pronounced ee-shaan) by his grandfather. So, its been a very hectic week, with almost no running. I just managed to do the 16K run in the weekend, but was surprised to find out how good the running feels after a decent break. I guess that’s what they call the “taper” before a marathon run.

This weekend was my 24K run. I had to skip the Friday run as it was decided between me and Vivek that we’ll do the long run on Saturday, instead of Sunday, for this week. But since I had some important work for the Sat morning, we had to start real early. In fact, we were there at about 5:30 am, and it was still dark, though we did see a few runners running on the roads. Anyway, I was the one to reach late this time, found Vivek in the parking and possibly cursing me 🙂

The run was again good, and at a better pace than I have done anytime before, at a distance I have never run before. So, it was great. I did the 24K in 3:06. And the 21K point was crossed in 2:44, a full 8 minutes faster than the previous attempt at 21K. This has increased my self belief that I would be able to do the Delhi Half marathon on Oct 16th in 2:30. Besides, the Nehru park has a few small hills as well, which really test me during the long runs, so all the more better.

The only wildcard now is the running surface, running on the ground versus the actual run on road. I have done some running on road, maximum 5K, and have’nt felt bad about that, so I hope it wont make a big difference on the D-Day.

It was perfect. Pouring rain the day before Sunday had ensured that it was going to be great weekend long run. Though the running area had some wet patches, but on the whole, the weather was charming. We made the most of it, and it was really a very relaxed and comfortable run.

Since I am working towards my first marathon, I am making no effort at all on the speed front. The 21K was completed in 2:52. I am really optimistic though that I will be able to do the half marathon on Oct 16 within 2:30.

This is the first time I was running without any Gatorade for the long run as I forgot to buy it. I just mixed some Electrol in 2L water, and it did the job good enough. Maybe that’s what I will now start taking from now on.