Stupidity or Greatness - Getting ready for another Half Marathon !

 

I honestly have no idea. It’s mixed feelings right now. A week to go for Bangalore Marathon — something I had registered for more than 3 months back.

Back in February, I was focused on just building mileage without any event in sight, and I did well: 200+ kms, with many 10-milers. Then came a long break for a few months. June and July, I got back again — decent weekday 10–12 kms and some faster 10-milers.

Related Post - it-is-fucking-hard

Then August happened. Zero runs. And here I am, just a week away from the marathon. I went out for a 10 km test run — damn slow — and now I know exactly how far off I am from 21 kms (and any real speed).

14-Sept - Sunday - 10 km !

        

So, no choice but to build up and be as prepared as I can in these last few days. While most people are tapering, I’m just getting started. Added some core work and skipping as part of my “crash course” prep. Let’s see where this goes.

But yu know what — I’m still confident of finishing the half marathon next Sunday at a decent pace. And the reason is my past: how I’ve trained and completed full marathons before. Hard to admit, but my training has always gone in cycles — months of grind, then a lean/recovery period, and then I come back again. The one constant: I always come back.

In fact, before one of my earlier full marathons, I was also under-prepared. I had decent strength from gym workouts, but about a month before the event I stopped running seriously. Two weeks out, I was just doing 8–10 km runs and some skipping. Still, I managed to run a sub-5-hour marathon. That “easy success” is probably what fuels my confidence now.

But maybe that’s exactly what I need to question. Do I keep living in this cycle of mediocrity — showing up only weeks before an event, training just enough, and collecting a finisher medal? Or do I level up — build fitness year-round, keep improving, and perform stronger each time?

I’ve run two full marathons. Crossing 42 km twice should mean I’m capable of more, of better. And that’s the gap I want to close.

Anyway — this is what it is right now. I can’t go back and add mileage to August. What’s gone is gone. But I can make the coming days — and months — really count.

For now, the focus is clear: complete 21 kms next Sunday. And after that, keep pushing for more.

Wrapping up here — but I’ll be back with more updates on this half marathon journey :)