Jagannath's Juggernaut

Of late, there are some typical ways my conversations go with people training for their first marathon (or half marathon in some cases).  Person 1: Jagan, I am going to attempt a 20k run today as I have registered for a HM in 3 months. Me: Wow, congrats! So what is your nutrition and hydration plan for today? P1: Oh, I have a 1L bottle of water in my bike, will access it every half hour. Me: That's good. What is the nutrition plan? P1: Electrolytes? I have a few Glucose bolts chewable tablets. Hope that should help me sustain. Me: ....  Another day, another long run Person 2: Jagan, today is a 30 k run for me as per the CR training plan. Me: Wow. so what was the previous long run? How did it go? P2: We had a 28 k a couple of weeks back, did in nearly 4 hours. I had to take more walk breaks after 2 hours. Weather was not supportive. Me: Oh. How many km did you complete in 2 hours? P2: I started strong, did nearly 17 km in 2 hours! Me: Nice. What did you eat? P2: I had a heavy d...

Where do I even start my Ladakh story? Last year, I was keen on doing Khardung La challenge and had even told a couple of friends to accompany me. But as I didn't have an ultra run of 50 km under 6 hours, and I didn't have the time to do that, settled for a marathon. Finally ended up not going for that also and so my Ladakh marathon dream got pushed to this year! Ok, let me stick to race specifics here after. The two days leading to the race, I was struggling with a bad cold and runny nose and sneezing, thanks to exposure to the elements at Pangong Lake and Hanle (there will be a separate travelogue on the trip). I took a Montek LC on Saturday evening and a paracetamol at night. These tablets helped me sleep better and for once I woke up only on the alarm chime on race day! Thankfully had set up everything ready on Saturday evening. Morning rituals got completed thanks to tea provided by the hotel and I was all ready at 5 a.m. Had a couple of bread slices. The cab guy came on t...