The event was conducted by http://www.chennaitrailclub.in and it was my first post my surgery. I was very much excited to take part in the event. The starting point was Gojan Institute. We started from home at around 3:00 am in the morning and reached the venue quite early. We had 3 coffees before the start and to see so many runners taking part was delightful. The 50 km runners were flagged of first followed by us, the 32km runners. It was quite dark in the morning and I used a headlight for the first one hour. It was really helpful in identifying the bad patches and saved me from twists.
I followed the crowd and my shoe laces were getting untied 3 times within the first km. Once tied properly, I steadied my pace. We were running to the right of the Sholavaram lake and then after the fifth km went into the trails and village roads. There were dogs along the way but they seldom barked.
I was running at a comfortable pace only as I did not want to take risk in a trail run by running fast. I finished 21 km mark at 2:35 hours but then the remaining 12 km took me around 2 hours. I could feel my feet becoming heavy but I was not tired and also I was fully hydrated. The only reason could be the lack of practice or nutrition intake. So for the next race I must focus on regular practice and nutrition.
Friends are suggesting to use gel and I was hesitant to use for a long time. But now that I have decided to use gels in the future races. During practice runs I am not willing to take gels.
My average heart rate was around 152 BPM. I used a Garmin HRM dual to record my heart rate during the run.
Trying to smile with a tired face during the trail run.
I am now preparing for a full marathon for the upcoming race in January 2024.
