Rains and Run, that’s the scene during the monsoons here in Goa. You don’t stop running, the rains don’t stop pouring. Guess that’s what lead to the birth of Rotary Rain Run. Spending some time in goa, attending events in goa is a go to social experiment when you look forward to acquaint with like minded folks and when you find someone crazy, you are in luck.
That’s Kshitij Rihal
and that’s Amit Tapadia and Dinesh Heda.
Experiencing the monsoon in Goa is a thing, because they never stop and the only thing that is constantly at work are the clouds that keep pouring. With few select eateries open near the beach and finding that perfect indoors to binge on OTT is all you end up doing and the moments of getting drenched on the weekend during the outdoor runs.
The Rotary Rain Run route was no new to me. I had run it in one of its edition. Factors like rain, humidity were to be looked after and no doubt, will be our biggest evil that you face on that day along with the rolling route.
To define what I went through, I would rather let the pics do all talking..
Yes, this wasn’t what i expected. With heart rates 180+ , the scene is not that fancy.
The start time on 30th July for 21km category was 5:45am. The ambience was still dark, With no rains so far, a 5 mins down pour was experienced at the start line. The rain helped to cool off but at the same time, the humidity raised accordingly.
With Army brigadier kicking off the race event, the 300 meter close loop at the start and then heading out of the stadium towards Donapaul Circle was in the charts. The rolling terrain is quite challenging to get through.
This took us to the 10+ km mark and return on the same route. The hydration points where adequately placed for refills and refreshments. Also rain or no rain, sprinklers were manned too to ensure the heat is soaked off the runners passing under it.
The down hill run at 6.5 km mark was a task you have to keep in mind, that these few 100 meters can pose a challenge on the way back. Hence exhausting yourself in the first 10kms can literally burn your energy reserves. So have to careful in terms of your pace.
The route illustration made it simpler for you to understand the marking. Bambolim stadium to Miramar beach via Dona Paul circle and back makes it a half marathon. The checkpoints had volunteers and timing mats for you to show the way.
I carried 5 packs of fastandup gels and ended up consuming them all within 17-18kms. I realised that no inventory when I started looking for one towards the end of the run. This was the first time ever I couldn’t keep a count on the energy gels I gulped and it just left me wanting for more. The lack of energy was quite evident and chose not to run on fumes that could lead to a blackout. Hence maintained a steady approach to end the race on a not so high note. Afterall, just wanted to get done with it. This journey also tested the fatigue levels that I had developed from the past runs and hence chopping down on the number of miles I intend to cover was a notch up.
As time passed by, the sun was out and is likely to hit you straight in your face on your return. A pair of sunglasses could make you look cool for sure but the dripping sweat could make the engagement messy. Post 10kms, I had made use of every checkpoint to shower from a few cups of water to reduce the body temperature and give some respite from the humidity. But that won’t last longer as you progress towards the finish and end up looking forward to the next checkpoint for water. When in goa and want to carrying a bottle on water on you during your training runs, you could ideally freeze the water or the electrolyte mix or lemonade and by the time you look forward to sipping the water, you will feel more then blessed when you get to drink some ice cold water. I have tried that and also stack a few 250ml bottles with the same to be picked up on the training routes. Got this major breakthrough in learning while running with Dinesh Heda in Goa. It definitely helps keep you cool too :).
When you enter the 5kms and 2kms u turn station for 10,5 and 2km category runners, you are bound to dodge yourself from getting hit as it’s quite crowded by this time. This also gives you the senses of how closer you are to the finish line.
And expected finish time of 1:45 was stretched to 1:53 owing to the weather conditions and my well being. Yet another eye opener for your trainings to fall in place and nevertheless, you can always choose the events to be one of your training runs. The motivation is abundance indeed.
And so, I sprint to the finish line and get clicked by Subham. An unfortunate back spams prior to the race day had him in a fix. With mobility down to zero in the back, it was visibly painful to see an ardent runner not being able to make it to the event considering he had flown down from Hyderabad. But this was indeed a learning and the goal of not landing up in such situations got further motivated. He pledged to get back stronger and fitter and owed one to Rotary Rain Run.
Precaution is better than cure. With age, and out of comfort zone strength activities to push your limits have to be also carefully judged. Keep your mentors and physiotherapist aligned with your regimes and wellness. This can help you draw that thin line when you tend to attend strenuous workouts.
And when is Goa, hit me up if you are willing to enjoy those thalis. It’s yet another experience that you don’t want to miss with your beer.
It was nice catching up with the Heda family (Bharti and Naman )
Some stats here:-
https://strava.app.link/WxCra3p5YBb
Results link
https://www.timingindia.com/my-result-details/MjEwNTk6dGltaW5nX3IyMzA3X2dyXzEwazpSb3RhcnkgUmFpbiBSdW4gMjAyMw==#head
See you soon next year at The Rotary Rain Run:-
https://rainrun.rcporvorim.org/
Thankyou Rotary Club of Porvorim Goa for curating the event..
Quote of the day:-
The weather is hot enough now to start complaining about how hot the weather is.