The doubts

Training was in progress, I had figured out the best style and technique to tie the saree for running. However, I was laden with doubts about my abilities as a marathon runner. There are many other women in Hyderabad who can run a full marathon in under 4 hours or even faster. Here I was struggling to run at a steady pace of 7:00 km/min during the long runs. I was really hoping that I could finish in under 5 hours.

At this point I talked to few of my friends. My friend George Verghese who is an awesome cyclist was one of the first to know my sari marathon plan, outside of my family, coaches and team at work. He was so impressed by the idea. He really encouraged me and said that it would inspire a lot women and I should do it. I remember having another conversation with Gokul Krishna, who had earlier helped me in my running form during the Chennai marathon training. He was very supportive. He pointed out that every great thing was done by only normal persons. They became great after achieving the goal. Some of Gokul's words were really encouraging and gave me confidence.

However, I was not ready to run wearing a sari in one of the group training runs with other runners or cyclists. I was only doing training runs with my husband or running solo. Long training runs needed hydration support. Hence we ran in a loop of 5 KM so that we could refill the water by going back to the start. On hot days we couldn't last more than 2 KM without a water refill. Running in a loop was also getting monotonous.

Hyderabad Runners organizes awesome Sunday long runs with good support. I wanted to run with them and other fellow runners to get a feel for the race day. Hence after completing 40+ KM of running in a sari in shorter solo runs, I pushed aside my doubts and joined one of the Hyderabad runners training run. I ran 30 KM which was my longest run wearing a sari at that time.

It was a great experience. So many runners were amazed by my running attire and really supportive. All their support made me lot more positive about running the full marathon in a sari. Particularly words of support and encouragement from more experienced women runners, Pratibha Venkatachalam, Poonam Metta and Madhavai Daga Malapani, really helped me. Another fellow cyclist Gautam Pondi ran with me for part of the long run and was really wishing me well. The entire community supporting me and encouraging me, made me mentally stronger.

In the training runs, I had done 100+ kilometers of running in a sari and 300+ kilometers of running in the sandals. I was getting better and better. My body also seemed to be cooperating.

There were days when I was over enthusiastic and pushed myself. On one such days after a leg strengthening workout, I ended up with calf muscle tightness that lasted more than a week. This was just 3 weeks before AHM. I could not run the 35 Km long run as planned. However, I could not give up. Even if it was a week later, I ran one more 32+ KM run for my mental readiness. It was a big learning for me regarding the training. Train just the right amount - not more, not less. Dr. Vignan worked with me and continuously changed the training plan based on how I was feeling. During the entire training period I had some bouts of stomach issues and the training plans had to be tweaked for that.

The week of AHM

After all this training, a week before the AHM day, I still had my doubts. What if something goes wrong. What if I am not able to do it under 5 hours. I reduced my cycling to avoid any potential falls. I had already switched out of cleated shoes in mid-May in order to avoid any cleat falls. I was taking all precautions, but I still had my doubts.

Then at one point I felt a feeling of surrendering to the greater will. I am not a person who likes to use the word "God". I do understand and fundamentally believe that there are forces way beyond my control or anyone's control. There are some things larger than my self. However, I don't typically "pray" or ask for anything. The thought on my mind was, "you gave me this idea of running in a sari, it is up to you now if everything aligns up well for me to do this". This surrender made my mind calm enough to not worry about what happens.

My friend at work Janardhanan, who does a lot of meditation, gave me a very interesting tip: The mind consumes more energy than the body. If you calm it, you will be able to use all that energy for your run. I kept remembering this during my doubts and anxieties.

I knew that if the weather was hot and if there was direct sun, I would really struggle in the run. I did struggle in two of my 30km+ runs towards the end with direct hot sun. So I was not sure what the weather had in store for the big day.

A week before the run was Krishna Janmashtami. It started to rain around this time. The weather continued to stay perfect for the rest of the week. The weather on the day of the run was just perfect. Fully cloudy with slight drizzle at times. Couldn't have been better. Rain would have made my sari heavy and hot sun would have completely drained me out. It was a great blessing.

With my mind calm, I was ready to start the full marathon run in a sari. I told myself that I may have a bit of tight muscle here and there but I was going to not worry about it and just run.

Everything had been planned for the day. My friend Dharma Teja helped in the photography and video of the whole run. I had done a trial run with him. My coach Dr. Vignan was all prepared to support me during the run. We had even practiced him handing out a bottle of water to me while he was cycling beside me.

In the next blog I will capture the race day experience.