22nd November, Sunday :Vasai Virar marathon : photo blog
Prelude : Like most of my running blogs, this one also has a tendency to go off the track and become beyond running autobiographical. It covers other aspects of life. It may bring my observations and at times few prejudices. Any shortcoming if found, is only mine! Apologies for the same.
One more experiment: I have juxtaposed last year’s Vasai Virar running blog in italics fonts along with this year’s blog .
2015 photoblog paragraphs get the company of 2014 blog paragraphs. Running the same race, revisiting the same spots, similar moments, similar impressions and writing after a gap of almost a year can be amusing.
(Notes from 2104 Vasai Virar run
The most stress-free run: today’s weather is excellent and the mood of each and every BNP runner is very positive and upbeat. Unlike SCMM where everyone is damn serious about the run here Janta is in a relaxed mood. In SCMM there is a strong feeling of competitiveness and a strong desire to do better than oneself as well as others. Here that stress is not there. No wonder at the end of the race everyone has done his/her PB. Stress-free running has its own advantages.)
2015 Photoblog
Start :
23rd November, Monday, 2105
I am walking behind my client , who is owner of one of the manufacturing unit near Guwahati.
)He is running a small fertilizer unit in non industrial Assam.)
“Why are you walking so slow?” ( as if I am limping) He asks me as we are approaching the Armec energy saving cooling towers’ location.
I am bit ashamed , “Oh nothing , yesterday we had a small marathon near Mumbai and this time I had not prepared myself”
………………………………………………….
It’s almost now 10 months and I have not run any respectable distance. Post SCMM full marathon2015, many months were lost.
The injury ( mine is plantar fasciitis ) has different phases and each phase is full of melodrama.
Initially, you are shocked
“ How on earth this can happen only to me? “ to “How on earth this happen with me ?/ “
“ How can I be so stupid?”
Soon it becomes “Why me ?”
Soon you start visiting different Ortho-doctors and Physios.
You are very vulnerable.
You spend your money and time on doctors and physios.
Later you spend more time thinking about your injury?
You read a lot ( including anything available on the net ) and you get tired and confused. Doctors keep trying different things, some may work some may not.
And there are interesting self questions:
Will I be able to run??
Will I be able to run long distances??
Will I be able to run ever?
“God give me one more chance and I will not goof up. Once you allow me to resume,I will only run one loop in BNP(Borivali National Park, Mumbai ) and will be happy with that only. No more stupidity of ultra marathon and full marathon.”
The plantar fasciitis remains the big issue throughout 2015. right from Auroville till Satara I miss all the races ( even when I am one of the first ones to register )
Slowly I give in. Soon I restart swimming and slowly started giving myself “ let’s reach 1km non-stop swimming kind of small targets”
Cycling does not necessarily become a fitness sport for me ( unlike all the cyclists’ in the group )For me cycling appeals & inspires me to discover/rediscover the Mumbai city & suburbs, like my Pune school days when exploring different areas on a cycle was one of the best time passes ( to start with and hopefully covering the whole of Mumbai in future:
‘Bandra lanes’ to ‘Do tanki’ to Chor bazaar area to bhau cha dhakka) as I continued cycling in lanes and by lanes of eastern internal roads of the western express highway. I could find interconnected ways from Magathane bus depot( at Borivli East) to Sidharth Nagar to Thakur village to Lokhandwala ( Kandivali East)to Kurar Village ( malad east )( all internal –interconnected road almost parallel to highway ) or at times I cycled in the internal loops at summer nagar, ram nagar, Saibaba nagar till mahaveer nagar link road or shimpoli to chikuwadi to Saibaba nagar or yogi nagar to eksar to IC colony or link road to internal roads of Dahisar or in the lanes and by lanes of Thane city.
Running remains evasive and illusive. Soon I also have my second injury of left knee as the young physio ( not to be named ) pushes me more with some kind of weight training exercise regime. Maybe a lot of these young physios are not able to differentiate between recreation runners like me and serious die-hard runners or professional sports personalities.
I stopped training under him. ( more money goes down drain as I have paid for the package )
In all this one great development remains positive and gives me great happiness. Sheila has progressed very well from 0 to 5km, later from 5km to 10 km and now getting ready for 21km. Her journey is smooth and more systematic ( unlike mine ) thanks to great BNPGr and all the dedicated coaches and programmes
When I arrange a triathlon event at Gandhidham, kutch, Gujarat with the help of my brother Dhruvansh, Sheila remains the star runner who completes an easy 10km.( apart from cycling and swimming ) Our greater family triathlon is well received as almost everyone either runs/walks, cycles, skips ( additional event ) and swims.
( no one is into any kind of physical activity in my greater family. No one even walks, even for a small distance there is always some two-wheeler available.)
I complete my first 1.3 km non-stop swim during this triathlon.
Back in Mumbai regular running still is a dream.
Sheila does not participate in Satara and I have the typical feeling of being guilty. Had my running journey continued, Satara would have followed easily. Sheila might not have lost the urge to prepare more and join team BNP(Borivali National Park), seeing my condition.
Once out of curiosity, I walked 22km in BNP just to realize that apart from being a slow runner , I am also a slow walker. I take almost 4.10 hours to cover the distance.
As the Vasai Virar half marathon date approaches I come out of my closet and declare I will participate and will try to walk faster and complete the 21.1 km distance.
22nd November, Sunday 2015
We are up by 3.30 am. Sheila had typical sleep full of anxiety which normally any first-timer has. Today she is attempting her first half marathon.
one of my poems: for the first-timers: those who are running their first-ever half-marathon
Jute-fite-bib-tee sajane mein yoon mashgool ho gaye,
Raat kab kati, excitement mein hum ye bhee bhul gaye !
We are out of Vasant Marvel by 4.35 am.
We wait for an auto at this hour and suddenly see Sree waving and stopping her auto. She has spotted us as we are all ready with running paraphernalia along with our BIB.
Every time there is a big race, I am lucky as there is always a company of known or even unknown runner/s. I do get lift.
2014 blog
I am out on the highway looking for an auto. The BNP T-shirt does the magic as I hear “ Shaileshbhai” as one bike stops with sudden brakes. Ninad removes his helmet and invites me to join him. He is superfast as we are delayed for 5.23 Borivali-Vasai local. I can catch this train and be with all my friends only because of Ninad’s timely support.)
2015 Photoblog
At Borivali East ticket counter we have friendly faces and/or smiling faces. Runners in general have a a great community feeling in public places. “ ye apni biradari ka hai “. The ticket window does not have any crowd. I buy ticks for friends including Anisha Pant, who in most probability may have bought ticks for us at Borivli West Tick Counter. Soon we both realize as we have tele talk that we have surplus ticks bought for each other.
At platform no 1 there are many runners. Soon we have BNP Gr runners naturally coming and forming a group. There are runners from the runners academy and within all the groups there is a sub-group of Jains!
5.11 am local is taken by all. It’s now crowded. Many of us have to stand.
One of the topics has a far-fetched comical concept. With rising clubs/sub-group culture within the Mumbai running community, soon we will have more groups and subgroups and there may be a time when a runner from one group may decide to marry a runner from the other ( or even rival group ) group.
Aaadesh is inspired to have his marriage in the sports authority of India’s Kandivli facilities. There is a 400 m synthetic track and Aadesh can plan seven feras with a 400 m x 7 loop kind of pattern. The visual of the bride, groom and maybe Pandit Ji running around a centrally kept vedi in 400 m loops obviously brings laughter.
There are many regular full marathoners doing half today, so it is obvious that many of them will have PBs ( personal bests)
At Vasai station:
Just outside Vasai station near the State transport bus depot, we have our mandatory soo-soo break. The first timers like Sheila and Anisha just rush towards the minibus shuttle service starting point as there is an anxiety to reach well within time. A lot of us have the attitude of college seniors who have “ been there, seen there” kind of airs so we move slowly and get into the shuttle service.
One enthu organizer with a portable handheld mike and portable speaker (handheld by one assistant ) is doing morning announcements. He assures everyone that the ride to the start point is only 7 minutes. There is a huge queue for these buses, but services are also well coordinated.
The bus ride to start point
There are queues at the entry for security checks. I have already spoken to Sheila and she tells me that post security the first large group is of BNP Grs runners and they have started warm-up exercises. By the time we joined them, they had almost finished and decided to move towards the start point which is almost at 600 m to 700 m from the warm-up position. We, self-assumed “ seniors” somehow manage a little bit of warmup and stretching exercises but realize, it’s better to move towards the start point as 2nd round of warm is by default.
By the time I approach the starting point, the race has already begun. Soon we are crossing the timing mats. Today it looks like a lot of runners will cross the mats after 2 to 5 minutes from the gun time.
The race has started :
My race strategy: there is none. All I know is that I have to walk. Observe more, take a lot of photographs ( so that this blog can also be a photo blog )and a few selfies.
We are moving past one of the interesting stretches passing through Zenda Bazaar till papdy naka ( 3 km mark )
(from 2014 blog: The run is through the lane leading to Zenda Bazaar and through Bazaar Peth area.
The lane reminds me of the small lanes which we find in the coastal belt of Maharashtra and Gujarat. It looks as if I am running in a lane which can be found in Valsad, Navsari.
It has two-story houses on both sides.
The mood of the day as well as the crowd gets established in the beginning itself. At the first turn, we see small school girls in uniforms and sweaters. Some are even doing lezim. Some are holding water bottles for runners. The dotting father in me starts thinking of Riva and Tvisha. I see different hairstyles of these young girls. Some have two ponytails, some have single choti etc and the visuals of Tvisha and Sheila get played in my mind. Tvisha’s regular arguments with Sheila about her desired hairstyle for the day especially when daughters are running late for the school bus.)
2015 photoblog :
Unlike last time there are fewer school kids, less community-based participation and the outside crowd on both sides is less.
There are people in balconies, verandahs, cottages and bungalows.
Good runners who started late soon cross me and go ahead. Some wave at me, others want to concentrate in covering up the initial delay.
I see Anisha adjusting her hair in preparation for a long walk and soon join her. She is nothing less than a modern “Shravan Kumar”
The way in which she manages her job, duties, and life and still be an active member of the BNP gr group is “kaabile tarif’’
The last few days and nights have deprived her of all the pre-run must-do aspects, but today she is here for a long walk with zero preparation. I want to walk some distance with her, but soon she tells me to go ahead with my pace as she wants to do her walk at ease.
Ninad calls me from behind “Hey partner! “
He has also decided to walk more rather than run, but his walking pace is between 8.30 to 9.00. Soon our partnership breaks as his walking pace demands a little bit of jogging from my end.
I am clicking at regular intervals. In lanes and by lanes there are Christ crosses. Many are beautiful and at one place I see an amazingly good Cross, but it is at least 50 m inside the main road. I am in a confused state. Shall I go inside and click??? But I will be losing crucial minutes from my already compromised slow sluggish pace.
Throughout the race, I come across a lot of situations/times/moments where I do realize/visualize a good framing angle/a good juxtaposition of subjects to be shot, but all that demands extra time which I do not have. ” I am not photographing the event. I am taking part in the half marathon and also desiring to click a few pictures “….is what I keep reminding myself.
We cross the first lake on the left and then the second one
(from 2014 blog: We passed by small temples, and a couple of schools and soon reach the big cathedral “ Our Lady of Grace Cathedral “ at Papdi, Vasai. It is a beautiful light blue colour structure and we run past hearing the Sunday mass.
2014 blog:
We take a nice curvy bend at the first talav ( lake ). The lake is covered with trees on three sides and a curved road on one side. It is picture picture-perfect morning moment. The second lake which comes soon ahead is quite dirty as it is covered by slums and types of hutments on one side. At one end the women are washing clothes with the help of a hand pump which is taking water from the same dirty lake. There is a huge urban garbage of plastic and waste on the periphery of water and next to one such dirty area is their washing zone. We Indians easily juxtapose ourselves with beautiful and ugly and live with the attitude “ to kya ??’’ The lakes of Vasai Virar can take cues from thane lakes which have become lively and add colour and culture to thane city.
At Dattani Square (a mini mall ) the road becomes a four-lane road and we runners get huge space. The roads throughout are well cleaned and even sprayed with DDT type of powder.
Most of the running route is bare feet friendly.
On the right side, there is the first darshan of the sun. The soothing orange-coloured sun is rising.)
2015 photoblog :
And there comes the timing car with a series of motorcycle pilots from the opposite direction. This is the arrival of full marathon elites. Here we have just started our journey, and the first lot of full marathoners are meeting us as they have already covered 18km and above.
At Babholnaka ( 5 km onwards ) the road is wide. We will be approaching manickpur naka and will take the posh Ambadi road. Dattani Cube and malls are behind us.
Modern-looking shops with known brand names are passing by. An urban mind few known brands and he feels at home, though he /she dreams of greens he/she also wants to have a familiar setting. A lot of modern tourism tries to offer a little bit of Bombay in the green zones.
On the way ahead luck favours me as I can see a friendly fight
The fight :
The route takes us very near to Vasai station but we all take a left turn near the skywalk. I have an interesting selfie just under the skywalk area.
The return of full marathon timing car and the runners :
This road will take us to the flyover and then an open area without much habitation till we reach the beautiful Vasant Nagari complex.
I have one more selfie, this time with Indrayani. She is always there to click photos of all the runner friends in all the marathons. The super photographer gives an approving smile!
Nilesh bhai is the first one to greet me from the opposite side as he is running fast. Looks like I may have missed Sunilji and his 4.30-minute bus. I start walking on the right side of the road and soon find myself in a slow jogging mode ( surprising myself )
Kiska asar hai yeh???/Pradeep and ever-smiling Bhupen pass by. I am now looking for familiar faces on the other side kaushikbhai , Maheshbhai, Deepa, and Bindu all are running effortlessly. Soon Punit’s 5.30 bus with enthusiastic members zooms pass. Is this kind of déjà vu ?
From vasai station turn of sky walk till mid of fly over I meet and cross all the full marathoners.
(from 2014 blog:I see Vinod who is sprinting and his presence tells me that our BNP full marathoners are soon to arrive.
Ankur soon follows. Till now it was a four-lane road with a divider but soon we came to a two lane road and now direct interaction with full marathoner is possible.
Dr Sunil Rai is running solo. He is going strong and his religious practice of stairs workout to strength building to repeated workouts of 10 km within 60 minutes running is clearly visible today. Even with such a fast pace he is at ease.
We are crossing the first flyover and at the end, I see ever-smiling Bhupendra . I chant “Bhopi-Bhopi “from a distance and we have our jadu ki zappi.
These solo runners are immediately followed by the first group of BNP runners comprising Maheshbhai, Anant sir, Prashant, and Shreyas, are running almost together and yes they are really fast. We pass on feel good – do good wishes and move on.
They all have already covered much beyond 12 km plus distance by this time
We see the second large group of BNP runners. Punit the better than “Garmin” baba ( his touch screen Garmin has been airlifted to US for repair…..so soon Janta will say “ Garmin “ can fail to function but not Punit. ) along with Sonal, Nileshbhai, Komal, Arjun are running almost together
My meeting with the group is virtually at the centre of this bridge. They have come from a different country called Virar and I have come from Vasai and we are on some no man’s land. Weird drama kind of situation can be built on this kind of location.
I hug Punit as if we are meeting after the Kumbh mela separation. Nileshbhai sweetly complains….”aa na chale “ so we also have jadu ki zappi. we runners forget our timings and pace and have jaddu ki zhappi. Sonal reminds me to mention all this “Bharat milap “ kind of drama in the blog. )
2015 photoblog
Special note: The following photos are taken by friends. Indrayani’s photographs have her signatures. Other photos are taken from WhatsApp sharing. Thanks to all the photographers. the credit for individual photos is of the person behind the clicks.
BNP runners in different moods :
Post 1st flyover one goes down and approaches the open stretch. One then runs on the lone road giving you a feeling of the bridge joining to a land mass and one enters the planned mini city of Vasant Nagari.
Crowd support here is usually good This time there is no AAP party members ( is it after effect of coming in power??? )
Bohris are missing…… brahmkumaris are also missing, but there is a festive kind of atmosphere as the 11 km run ends here. There are happy faces on her side as you see the finishers.
Soon we are running against the incoming runners who have crossed 10-9-8 km of their 11km run. Many of them are first-timers. Oh, I can see a wide range of expressions as 11km runners are approaching the finish line.
Now I am entering achole road which will take me to Nalasopara station flyover. This is a very vibrant stretch. Balloons are a common theme. Flower petals are on the road indicating the showering of the petals on incoming runners who have passed by.
Music is on full blast. I realize that I am a bit late. I should have crossed this stretch at least 15 m to 20 m before to see the fun.
Please see the name of the lane: DON lane
As we approach the flyover I see a lot of workers passing by with their tools and lunch.
Nalasopara flyover is the first challenge to many runners ( especially first timers ) which gears them to get ready for mind over body game.
the fun and masti phase is over as one crosses the flyover, charkeshwar lake and reaches umrale church ( 18 km )
The crowd at the end of the flyover are genuine cheering types and a lot of kids are waiting eagerly for “hi-fi”
I take a selfie with the person in Buddha’s costume with the message “Support Buddha and not yudha ( war )
Once I cross Umrale church, I find myself in a difficult situation. Now my body rebels and tells me “not to increase pace, not to reduce pace, not to walk, not to go into observation trip, not to stop for photos” it looks like some kind of autopilot mechanism which does not want any change.
.
Now onwards only stop twice. . Once for selfie with joker and once when I catch up with Lalitaji.
From 2014 blog
(We are now entering the virar zone . The road now is narrow but has a small village charm. It’s again a green stretch for a few kilometres. On the left side, there are a lot of green zones. There are independent houses,and bungalows and most of them have names ending with “villa”. The road is quite shaded. There is no sun hitting you anywhere throughout the stretch.
Some families have put up their own little water stations outside their villas, where the family members take turns volunteering.
2015 photo blog
I also realize that now it’s beyond 18 km and I have not been able to listen to music or Osho. This is the first time I am doing a 21.2 km distance in a marathon without music.
I am looking around. A lot of runners (almost all ) are walking. There is no enthusiasm in many faces. At times few do try to run a few steps, but like drained-out battery toys they do little movement and again come back to walk mode.
One by one and by default I overtake many runners who if had prepared well for the last phase of the run could have finished much better.
This time the organizers have saved half marathoners from a big U-turn at 19 km plus zone. Soon I cross the 1km remaining mark. I wanted to increase my pace but there was a muscle pull so decided to postpone for the 500 plus mark. There is a direct 400 m mark and I increase my pace and decide to finish at a faster pace even if there are cramps. Ninad is just ahead and is still walking. I finish the race without any last-minute cramps and soon start searching for Sheila.
Post medal and hot food ( post Auroville and our own Endurathon, serving hot food is becoming the “in” thing. )
The new Viva college finish area is quite claustrophobic. After completing 21.1 km in the open, under the sun ( with or without a breeze ) suddenly coming under concrete blocks with artificial lights and fans is like “ undoing the race”. And of course, everywhere there are sweaty runners. Soon we all meet, have photos with medals and do stretching exercises.
Joshi and Dixits have completed the run together. They are our BNPs couple runners. Leenaji had the problem of cramps and had to slow down. Vishwasji remained with her and completed the run only when she was comfortable to complete the same.
Visuals from the dream run :
We take the minibus to Virar.
At home, Tvisha gets two medals and is happy. I ask Riva and Tvisha to be ready as for the first time we all 4 are going to run/walk a 6 km race in Borivli National Park for Raheja run on 29th November 2015.
“Yes I am ready ,“she(Tvisha) says showing both the medals
End………………………………….
shailesh 