Hyderabad 3.0

I was here in 2011 for a Half Marathon. Hyderabad kicked my ass. 

In 2012, I came back for more - a Full Marathon. And got my ass (+quads and hams and miscellaneous body parts) royally thrashed. And I swore never to come back to this unforgiving city again.

But what would the world be without fools who refuse to give up.

So 2013 saw me here again, having sensibly dialled back to a half marathon this time.

Recently I'd been in the running form of my life. Pace was significantly faster, and I had lost weight, without ever wanting to. All told, landed in Hyderabad in good spirits, with confidence high. 

But the organisers, in their infinite wisdom, decided we had to drive through most of the run route to reach the expo to pick up our bibs. Seeing how our car had to huff and puff up the roads, the shivers were back.

So the next morning, I lined up with my rocking runner friends, confidence and trepidation jostling with each other.

'Screw it, I'm going to crack this course', I said to myself. I even proclaimed myself as the 1 hr 50 min pacer, so I had a stated target I couldn't fall behind. But of course, one cannot just will away 2 years of intimidation, so kept my pace at a sensible 5:10/k. Flyovers came and flyovers went, and I kept at them. But though I didn't lose mental momentum, I had to drop pace on those endless inclines. 

I just about kept up my stated pace goal, and was well on course to a 1:50 finish. But then, in a final twist, we realised as we entered the stadium that the route was going to be a wee bit longer. Add on 400m, and I cross the finish line at 1:51.

While I finished more or less on target, I was secretly disappointed I couldn't go faster. But I finished strong (my final k was the fastest k) and comfortable, ready to run more if needed. 

And, most importantly, the course no longer held any terrors for me. 'Bring it on', I just might  say, the next time I drive or run up the Hills of Hyderabad. Yeah, I like to think I earned a little piece of my ass back. 

I still have to crack a full marathon here to claim the rest of it.