Amritsar Travel Diaries - Tales from the Golden City

The seeds of this blog were sowed some 6 months back as a WhatsApp group was created titled "Holiday May 2024" and the family group started ideating on iterinaries. The location was more or less finalised as Kashmir and we were contemplating 6-7 day trip. Almost as an afterthought, we added a detour to the northwestern corner of Punjab by adding 2 day stay at Amritsar too. Golden Temple and Wagah border was on most of our bucket list. 

Over the next few months, the plan was finalized, hotels & vehicles booked, official leaves approved etc etc... 

On 11th May, the group of 8 aging from 6-73 started our 10 day trip.

Day 1 - Wagah-Attari Border

After completing the hotel checkin formalities, we started for our first destination. Enroute we stopped for lunch at Haweli dhaba.

The food here was awesome and yummy which brings me to the point that Amritsar is truly a heaven for food lovers irrespective of whether the restaurant is on 'must-try' list or not !! 

So with the stomach full & souls happy, we started our march to the Border .... And quickly the realisation hits you with this signage !!! 

You are so close to the border (and the only one which international tourists can cross between the two countries!). The Wagah-Attari border gates attract millions of tourists to witness the Flag Lowering ceremony (also known as Beating retreat) that happens everyday where Border Security Forces (BSF) of India and Rangers of Pakistan engage in elaborate dance-like manuevers before the gates close for the evening. Nationalism aside, this is a must-see experience for all visiting Amritsar, almost as important as Golden temple visit. 

For some, the experience evokes patriotism, though I felt it to be too cheesy!! We got seated by 4pm and the event started at 5:15 pm, so for over an hour, there was a barrage of Hindi film songs (even with little bit of nationalism) being played and BSF official asking everyone to cheer loudly to out-perform the same acts being done in Pakistan  ... The actual 15-20 min choreographed sequences between both BSF & Rangers were amazing though, with perfect coordination, flexible moves and the flawless orchestra all culminating in flag down & gates closure... 

People from either side of the border would anyday prefer rivalry to be demonstrated in such art form or cricket instead of political tussle/warfare !! For that sole reason, I thought this tradition (started in 1959) should continue. 

It was late evening by when we reached back to hotel, both parents and grandchildren decided to retire for the night. Roshni and I decided to venture out through the narrow bylanes of old Amritsar city and try out some amazing sweet and savouries. We went in the small electric rickshaws which are best suited for the narrow maze-like old streets bustling with small eateries serving rich lassi, phirni, jalebi, parathas/ kulchas.

Also see Instagram reel on Exploring Amritsar Bylanes

Day 2 - Golden Temple and Jalianwala Baug (& shopping)

The next morning we woke up to light drizzles which helped in cooling off the temperature. We went to 2 iconic places in the city - first one, a stark reminder of the brutal British atrocities on a tragic day 105 years ago and then secondly to a beacon of gratitude & utmost devotion. 

Jalianwala Baug garden is one of those few parks/memorials in India which are very well maintained in an organized manner with enough places to rest/ relax. The Memorial relives days leading upto April 13, 1919, and aftermath of the massacre carries out by the orders of British officer Dyer. The bullet marks on the walls leave a indelible mark on the visitors. 

Instagram reel : Jalianwala Baug

The Golden Temple and the holy pool inside the premises (to which the city owes its name - the pool of immortality i.e Amrit-sar) will be the highlight of city tour. Being a Sunday it was very crowded and it took a lot of time for us to get into the inner sanctum, where the holy book of Sikhism is kept. One of the core principles of the religion remains service or Seva , and you can see ample examples of this in the Golden Temple, right from the time you step into the temple.. there are people taking care of your footwear, people offering glasses of water, people wiping the marble floors with pool water to keep it cool for walking devotees, people serving kada-prasad etc etc and lastly & most importantly the famous langar - delicious simple vegetarian food is served in large langar halls serving 1000s of people at one time. Absolutely loved the experience.

Instagram Reel : Golden Temple

 

With both these iconic visits done, it was time to hand over space to the ladies who were on an important mission..

The famous phulkari dupattas and the likes were shown to and seen by the happy ladies! The men used that time to explore the bustling streets.

Day 3 - Bye Bye !

That's a wrap to 2 days in the wonderful city. Could it have been for few more days? Probably one more day to see some missed places or try new food spots could have been added! 

Next stop - Srinagar!! Hope you enjoyed the blog, would love to see your comments/ feedback below. 😊

Cheers

Sunil

I have captured few Amritsar experiences in Instagram - sharing the link here :

Jalianwala Baug

Bidding adieu to 2023-24 Running season

It was end-March 2023, when me and coach Pravin Upadhyay sat down to plan for the next running season. I took the initiative and jotted down 3 goals for 2023-24:

1) Full Marathon (42.2k) at 11,000+ feet elevation in Ladakh, 

2) Tata Mumbai FM under 4 hours (my previous best was 4:21 hours) and

3) Tata Ultramarathon 50Km (my first ultra)

The immediate counter from my coach was whether I should tone it down to Ladakh HM 21km and Tata Ultra 35K.. it made sense as these would be taking on 3 tough goals for single year and I do end up missing exercise sessions due to work / personal commitments... But then what's fun in doing what "just makes sense", right??

Finally we decided to take up the challenge and the coach told me to ensure I adhere to his training plan to the maximum... And a year later, this is where we are !! 😊😊😊

I am still a learner and there are many expert/ better runners around me, but thought of sharing my experience for the new runners (and to my friends who have been pestered to read my blog 😁)  -

1) Putting in the miles 

There is no shortcut here.. If you gotta run, you gotta run!! I ran 1500+km during the year with combination of weekend long runs, speed intervals, tempo, SCR (slow continuous runs) etc. The combinations help in improving the functioning of vital body parts - heart, lungs, core and legs.

For absolute beginners or fence-sitters thinking running is difficult, my suggestion is to start slow with a mix of jog-walk-jog, increase the jogging time gradually and soon you would be able to do jog/run continuous. Don't focus on pace but time spent on the street.. Pace will increase as you keep running.

2) Strength training

While I have managed to do one half marathon a year since 2009, but I never saw an improvement in my timings or faster recovery. I would attribute this primarily to lack of sufficient strengthening exercises (be it core, upper body or lower body). 

This is where joining a fitness group (Tez Runners) in Jan-2022 worked wonders for me as coach Pravin used to regularly take these sessions with an increasing intensity. These sessions use body weights and minimal equipments (loop band, thera bands, 1kg ankle weights, medicine ball). 

Tip for runners - Include strengthening workouts in your schedule. During the last year, on an average, I would have spent 7-8 hours minimum a month on strengthening, flexibility and mobility exercises.

Work with a fitness trainer who can guide you in your journey. If you want to self-train, then there is no dearth of videos on YouTube. In my case, I preferred the former as I tend to slack when I tried solo at home. 

3) Mind games:

When I ran the first HM at 2:40 hours, I started seeing runners doing 2:20... When I did 2:20, I saw sub-2 hour HM finishers.. Similarly for Full Marathon (FM), couple of years back, I would have been thrilled with sub-5 hour Full Marathon, but 4:21 hour finish in Jan 2023 was disappointing as I started seeing many sub-4 finishers...

So this is a never-ending game - As your pace or goals increase, you see runners faster / more adventurous than you and one keeps changing their goals. It's important to set short-term targets (realistic but aggresive ones) and work towards it.

4) Taking family along :

As with any addiction, running takes a toll on one's family time (though they would be quite open about talking about a runner than an alcoholic or a chain-smoker!! 😜). The obvious problems for the family with you taking up running goals would mean missing out on weekend OTT binges on TV ("I have an early morning run") or pizza/burger gorging ("I need to get more protein rich food for muscle recovery").. They may wake up mid-of-the-night hearing some noise from the kitchen and angry that it's just you hunting for a pre-run snack from the fridge at 4 am!! The shoe cabinet may have 3-4 pairs of running shoes and the wardrobe would have more dry-fits than cotton tshirts !! Visit to the mall may mean a quick (read 'minimum 30 mins') dash to shoe store!!

I will stop here, my wife may have many more points to add.. but long story short, the family is very well made aware that you run !! 

So before taking on any ambitious targets, it's important that you take your better-half into confidence.. not just a FYI, but a proper conversation!! It will help in mentally preparing the family of the season that is to come !! 

5) Why run?

Now that's the question non-runners keep asking !! The answer keeps changing as one moves on this journey :

Phase 1 (<50km per month) - "I run for good health!"

Here the newbie runner has been advised by doctor or his friends about merits of healthy lifestyle and decides to add Running as exercise. 

Phase 2 (~50km per week) - "Running group inspires me to chase my goals & make new friends"

By now, the health freak has found his fitness group which meets regularly and often the 'chai pe charcha' involves participating in some 5k/10k/HM/FM events. Running may be a solo sport, but fun when done in a group !! You click selfies, send kudos on strava... Just like colleagues, college friends, we have one group of running friends who know each other's VO2Max, cadence etc and enjoy talking about it !!

Phase 3 (Running 50+ km per day/ event!!)

"I love to enjoy quality me-time in the lap of nature at its purest form.. experience spiritual bliss.. running is meditative" 

Now with few road marathons done & dusted, our runner is ready to chase some serious/ bizarre goals ! Like 100km run through trails, frozen lakes, deserts etc. In this phase, the running becomes an adventure sport, where the runner is constantly testing his physical limits and trying to break them through mental perseverance.

As for me, I am still very much in Phase-2, but now as mentioned in section 3 (Mind Games) above, I can see lot of runner friends who have done or are doing Comrades, Khardungla, 120km Silk Route Ultra, Maharashtra fort trail (SRTL Ultra) etc, all of them seeking to push the mental barriers and test their physical endurance. I am also tempted to get into the Spiritual/ Philosophical/ Self discovery mode, but it requires much more dedication, practise and commitment, which I am still not sure if I am ready.

Now with the season ending, I have to sit down again to set some targets and work towards achieving it.

That's it for now!! Thanks for reading this and being a part of this journey. 😊

Cheers

SP

2023 rewind

So that's a wrap to 365 days of 2023 and what an awesome year it has been !! For one thing, it made me put my thoughts down here in this blog.

Jan-23

Tata Mumbai Marathon - 2nd full marathon, bettered my previous timing of 5:37 by 77 mins, finishing strongly with 4:20 hour finish.

Feb-23

Team ICICI participated in Bloomberg Square Mile Relay race where 10 ICICI runners ran 1 mile each, to complete 10 mile relay race.. We finished 3rd and got us our first podium experience. 

Mar-23

Coorg trip with family : we had a fun 4 day stay at Club Mahindra Madikeri resort. 

Apr-23 - No standout highlights

May-23

Family embarked on a 2 week Ireland trip. Captured the trip thru the 3 blogs 

10 days in Ireland

Dublin leg

Kerry Dingle Peninsula

June-23

Arnav had a running event experience, participating in his first 5km medal run. He finishes strong.

July-23

We moved into a new apartment. We had been thinking of moving to a bigger house given our growing kids, so decided to make this move from our 2BHK to 3.5BHK. The month included lots of visits from family & friends to the new abode. 

Aug-23

Multiple official trips to Bengaluru, Kochi and Chennai this month. 

Also a quick weekend visit to Kerala to a meet parents, family and attend a wedding. 

Sep-23

Me and gang of 7 embarked on a 10 day adventure trip to Ladakh. A successful marathon experience has been captured in my 2 blogs 

One day prior to Ladakh Marathon

Ladakh Marathon experience

Oct-23

Other than official trip to Gurugram, few bank events in Mumbai, the highlight for the month was a visit to the sprawling NDA Pune campus. As a part of the 75th anniversary, the Indian armed forces training academy opened doors to civilians to participate in marathon events. It was an awesome experience exploring the campus and as an icing on the cake, I managed to do my personal best (Half marathon in 1:50 hours).

The month also gave an opportunity to Anika to perform during Dussehra celebrations in the housing complex.

Nov-23

The festivities continued with Diwali celebrated at home as well as office. Achhan Amma came around 9th to stay with us for a month. We went on a day trip across Mumbai tourist spots and I got an opportunity to write about it (Read the blog here - Mumbai Darshan)

Arnav embarked on his first outing without us, as he went on a school trip to Bengaluru, Mysore & Bannarghata National Park.

India's loss at World Cup Final was an unfortunate moment, especially since the team were phenomenal throughout the tournament only to lose to the Aussies !!

Dec-23

The month started with 2 big-bang birthday celebrations..On 8th, Arnav entered his teens with a football themed birthday party Teenage birthday... 

Then on 9th, Achhan (Dad) had his 73rd birthday celebration-cum-family get-together at our home. 

Other highlight was a weekend trip to Matheran with the CMM gang (the name acronym is a long story, but this group of 6 have stuck around for 22+ years now starting from our CA student days. We have done numerous outstation trips over the years, but invariably one or the other always had to miss out.. this time, we created history by having the whole gang of 6 together.. the group conversations at Matheran are however classified 😜, so just sharing one group photo !!

Christmas school holidays meant another family outing and this time we chose to travel 350 km south to Koyna.. we spent 3 days at Forest Escapes Koyna resort, most of it staying inside the resort, playing badminton, TT & Foosball, exploring their farm, nearby riverside. 

So that's 2023 in a nutshell... Just for clarification, I did work too in this year, but who wants to listen about boring banking, so just stuck to the happening parts of the year. 

Let's hope 2024 brings about more interesting experiences and adventures.. 

Wishing all the readers a very Happy New Year !! 

Open letter from teenage dad

My younger self had written this piece One-Year-Dad Blog long back, so I thought of writing back to him now !!

Dear One-year Dad,

It's been a while (12 years to be precise) since you last wrote about your apprehensions on fatherhood responsibilities. A lot has passed on since then, we spent a good 4 years of Arnav's formative years in London and it did leave a very strong mark in him. While he does speak Hindi and Malayalam, his thinking language remains English ! The family of 3 moved back to Mumbai in 2016 and Arnav got a baby sister in 2018 to make it a family of 4.

To address your concerns, happy to let you know that myself and Roshni have been real lucky so far as he has been a fairly low-maintenance boy, going about his studies on his own pretty much and getting good scores too. He enjoys his Physics, Chemistry, Maths sessions though prefers avoiding the Language / Arts / Dance classes !! He has been experimenting with multiple sports be it football, lawn tennis, table tennis, basketball, athletics, badminton and chess, but the last 3 sports has had the maximum interest so far. He has developed a keen liking towards reading books & over the period, gone from Julia Donaldson (Gruffalo) to Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson) to now Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games). He has recently picked Japanese manga/ anime comics bookset !

I hope the above para gives you a sense of pride that the one-year old parents have managed their duties well so far. A confession here - I have been more of a supporting actor in this journey and Roshni has been the star Sivagami to budding 5'5" Bahubali !!  

This month, Arnav has turned into his next phase - Teenage and that brings a whole new level of parenting concerns !! 

Now we are concerned on whether he would start laxing in his studies and whether we can help in any way. These days, his questions or explanations on quantum physics or molecular chemistry seem like us watching Japanese movie without subtitles !! Damn, I feel I should have paid more attention in my school science class.

Our childhood days seem so simple, if you score excellent, get into science (become engineer / doctor), if its below, then go for Commerce (pursue CA, MBA etc) or Arts. Now it's become so cryptic - you can pick whichever topics you want to- just like preparing a salad from multiple choices available !! Each of these permutations combinations would then lead to some unique branch of expertise !! How would a teen understand what he/ she wants and how can a parent (born in simpler times) help them in guiding them to their future? What if I push him to do something which may have become obselete once he finish his studies?

Then comes the worry that very soon he would start planning his higher studies which may not necessarily be in same town as ours - he would go out into the world all alone (maybe even out of India)... Would he be ready for the challenge out there? 

Further there is the tricky topic of upcoming adulthood. Conversations around relationships, flings, breakups, sex would have to happen at some stage.. especially in today's world where unfiltered, fake 'knowledge' is easily accessible in social media !! There are worries abound these days - drug abuse, depression, bad company etc. Would Arnav be able to get thru this phase without major hiccups and successfully get out of his teens into an adult? 

Add to all the above is the (un)popular teenage attitude - as someone said, this is their "no one understands me" age where making him do things what we want him to do could be a big challenge - every instruction would need to be repeated multiple times to explain why it needs to be done ! The attention span today has also reduced 

So that's it - hope to pass thru the phase till 2030 when he enters into his 20th birth year !!! Wait a minute, I just realised that Anika would turn a teen in 2030 !! It's going to be a hell of a ride !! Looking forward to it..

With best wishes and lots of good hope !!

Yours truly,

Teenage Dad 

Mumbai Darshan

Yesterday (26-11-2023) my parents, wife, kids and I went on a day-trip across some popular tourist destinations across Mumbai... As a quick backstory, my parents had re-located to Kerala after dad's retirement from Mumbai life in 2015, so this time they wanted to visit some of those powerful Gods-Goddess that have been guiding and guarding the city for years. In addition, we added few other popular touristy destinations to the mix and booked a full-day vehicle to take us around. 

The trip brought back memories of 2 decades before!! Then a freshly qualified CA (read : me) had the company of 5 younger cousins, grandmom, uncle-aunts and parents as we took off on a similar day-long Mumbai Darshan.

Thought of putting down some similarities and differences observed from the 2 trips - one in mid-2000s & now :

1) Capturing memories :

Yesterday we may have clicked 100+ photos on multiple devices.. Samsung, OnePlus, Motorola and Xiaomi were not known back in 2000, when we set off with our one Kodak camera and 36 colour reels.. the resultant 36 photos are still preserved to the day in respective home albums, but most of the 100+ photos have already been deleted. The balance few have been already shared to the cousins, uncle-aunts WhatsApp groups and they don't have to wait for a visit to see the albums. Ultimately what may remain are the memories right before and after the photos were clicked. The longevity of these recent photographs need to be tested, but the memories of the 20-year old albums remain intact still!

2) Frugality & struggles :

One highlight of the 2000s trip was to stand inside the grand Mumbai CST railway station where I proudly showed my cousins how common men/women survived the hustle & bustle of the city. In hindsight it seems to be more of a sadistic pleasure of showing off how difficult life was here !

Yesterday I took my parents to Jio World Drive to show how their common-man son has retained his middle-class stature, inspite of the luxuries on offer !! We did lots of (window) shopping 😜 and left after some coffee.

3) No Entry ⛔🚫:

There were 2 spots which I ended up missing on both ocassions. One the Old Lady's shoe house at Kamala Nehru Park - I was too old on both ocassions to be permitted inside.. instead I took pictures of my cousins (then) and my kids (today) on the boot-house !

The other place was Taj Mahal Palace hotel. In 2000, I couldn't imagine getting anywhere near that place, while yesterday they actually didn't allow us because of stricter security detail (it was the 15th anniversary of the tragic 26/11 terror attack).

The biggest miss however was Gateway of India. I understand the security concern but the way the Gate is guarded with barricades, metal detectors, police staff, it puts you off !! After all this thaam-jhaam, we had to stand some metres away from the Gate too.. Its unfortunate that my kids won't be able to visualise the Gateway in its true glory. I wonder if there could have been a better way to retain its beauty/ grandeur, just like India Gate is maintained in New Delhi. 

4) Where's the sea(face)? 

After a visit to Aarey Milk colony in the past, we had spent good times at the Worli Sea Face.. also I fondly remember manuvering through the rocks into the sea after Mahalaxmi temple visit. This time around, neither of the three were an option! 😔

Worli sea face is non-existent now and Mahalaxmi sea front was blocked - both for the Coastal Road works. Instead of that, parents got a first-hand experience of a drive on the Bandra-Worli sealink & a session by me on how the city will look after all the flyovers, metros, coastal roads, underpass/overpass etc etc currently under works.. My dad quickly reminded me that he spent better part of his work-life with similar dreams !! The hopes for a 'better tomorrow' still goes on with the Mumbaikar thinking the next flyover/metro/sealink/road will improve our lives !! 

5) Holy smokes !!

The Queen's necklace was not visible this time around from Kamala Nehru park, because of the smoggy weather !! Since they had seen it earlier, so my parents could visualise the beauty. 

I thought the park has been much better maintained these days compared to earlier visit. 

6) Temples and old-world charm :

One constant in both the trips were the charm of the temples. Barring the metal detectors at the entry gates, I think the Gods/ Goddess have ensured that their sanctum is preserved and revered at the same levels. Luckily, we didn't get much crowds either and we may have taken about 30-40 minutes each in Matunga, Siddhivinayak, Mahalaxmi and Iskcon temples.

While most Mumbaikars may have moved/ moving up the vertical skyscrapers, we also did witness the other large population for whom the world seem unchanged for the past many decades ... The Banganga ghats, ChiraBazar/ Kalbadevi areas look pretty much the same, delapidated buildings still stand unfazed by the underground Metro-3 work, the narrow bylanes with the presses printing out wedding cards and old eating joints like the Shree Thakar Bhojanalay serving sumptuous Gujarati thalis... Also unchanged was the NCPA/Marine Drive promenade with the towering buildings on one side and the tetrapods seemingly protecting them from the waves hitting the shores.

At the end of the long day, our final plan of eating bhelpuri & chaats at Juhu beach was foiled by untimely rains, thunder and lightnings. It seems the Gods didn't want me to write anything more about the sea and the crowds - the two constant things about Mumbai !! 

That's me signing off on another blog.. also I am inviting my brother and cousins to add comments on their memories of the last Mumbai Darshan !! 

Cheers

Sunil

My experience — Ladakh Full Marathon

September 10th, 2023 was a milestone day for me as I successfully completed 42.2km Ladakh Marathon in 5:36 hours. Never had I run at such an altitude before.

Day before the run, I had my doubts of whether I would be able to complete well and that’s why the earlier blog Final Countdown blog

While I had spent 8 days in Ladakh at / above the altitude, I was not sure the impact of low oxygen on my health vitals. On top of it, I started having cold, blocked nose, slight headaches 2 days prior to the run resulting in less sleep. Further there have been negative news about fatalities in ace runners due to cardiac arrest and ultra-runners not being complete 122km Silk Route Ultra / 72km KhardungLa challenge.

These internal and external factors made me quite apprehensive going into the event morning.

I got up at 4 am on Sunday morning, had cup of hot tea, apple & banana before embarking on the 3km taxi ride to start point at 5 am. The flag-off was at 6 am with the weather at 9-10°. We were about 600 runners going for the full marathon.

The first 5-6 km were descent which helps in a good start and then the terrain starts changing with several ups & downs. The first 10 km took me 74 mins. I had made a mental plan of sticking to a heart rate at 145. So I started walking whenever the HR touched 150 and restart running at HR of 140. This helped me in not exerting as well as giving an opportunity to click some photos/ videos while I was walking. Also made it a point to keep updating my family who were anxious back home about the run. In a way, I took my whole family on the run for most of the route !!

The sun came up at around the 11th km, increasing the temperature by few degrees. From the 15th km, the sun was out there through till the end and the headgear helped in reducing the impact.

The route is very scenic with sandy mountains and blue skies in the background. We cross the Indus river twice through bridges filled with fluttering prayer flags around the 6/7th km and then at midway 21st km. There are a couple of monasteries and several chortens en route, which ensure that we have some beautiful / peaceful thoughts instead of stressing on the run.

Being a Mumbaikar and running SCMM/ TMM since 2009, I have been pampered with loads of crowd support during the entire runs. That was definitely a miss in this high-altitude run as there were several road stretches where all had for company was the beautiful landscape and sound of your feet & breath.

There were ofcourse the support crew every 3 kms and cheerleaders dressed up in local attire and singing/ playing local music.

With all the above, I crossed 37th km in 4:45 hours. Then came the last leg where we had to complete the loop on Leh-Manali highway i.e the same 5 km descent at the start now became the ascent at the end. I was made aware of this and was prepared mentally to walk this leg instead of trying to run/ jog. I chugged along at pace of ~9:30/km for the balance route.

With the finish line in sight, I took a deep breath and made a dash to loud cheers from my friends who were waiting after completing their half marathons.

That was my first marathon in the Himalayas and while it was almost 70 mins slower than my fastest Full marathon, I was ecstatic to having completed it and it has definitely inspired me to run longer and faster. It has opened

  Y up my mind towards attempting something more challenging, will definitely work towards that !!

I would like to end here with a quote attributed to Edmund Hillary - "You don’t have to be a hero to accomplish great things - to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals. It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves ".

Until next time & next adventure !!

Cheers

Sunil

Final countdown - one day to Ladakh marathon

Tomorrow I am running the Ladakh Full Marathon. It is not the first time I would be running the 42.2km version and I have trained well too with ~500km mileage over 10 preceding weeks and multiple strengthening, mobility, flexibility sessions with coach Pravin Upadhyay.

But the last 8-day leg of this event preparation has been an altogether different experience, starting from 2nd Sept when I landed at Leh airport.

For starters, the marathon would be held at an altitude of 11100 feet (a completely new terrain for me) and the 42km run would have an elevation gain of 1800+ feet. The oxygen levels in the air would be lower and the lungs would need extra work to extract maximum oxygen needed for the efforts.

Till I reached Leh, there was a mental calculation on how to finish the run with pace-markers, but soon the whole plan got chucked out as breaths became harder! The SPO2 levels were below 80 causing headaches. I spent the entire Day 1 inside the resort, most of it lying on the bed. It was only after 3 days, the numbers started improving to 85-92 levels.

As a part of acclimatisation, we embarked on a 3-day holiday into the majestic Himalayan villages. We travelled through 2 of the largest motorable passes - Khardungla Pass (17892 ft) and ChangLa Pass (17600 ft). We spent one night in a tent next to beautiful Pangong Lake (14500 ft), a night which didn’t seem to end and the suffering with low oxygen, shivering chilly air made me wonder whether I should have registered for the event too !! The Nubra Valley sand dunes was a God-sent blessing to the battered mind with mighty mountains, desert, flowing water & green vegetation all in one picture frame. We also visited the last Indian villages (Turtuk/ Thang) on the Indo-Pak border. I plan to write on the holiday separately sometime.

The mesmerising Ladakhi landscape of massive Himalayan mountain ranges, rivers and white sand dunes helps in refreshing the mind & soul. (and also gives opportunities to click lots of photos 😜) Check out my Instagram handle for some photos and videos.

The roads carved out of massive mountain ranges show how little speck we are in this vast world !! A big salute to the Indian defence forces and Border Roads Organization (BRO) for their immense contribution in making the far-off villages connected to India.

Now for the training part - I had 3 walks of 5-6 km, and 3 runs of 6km, 8km and 15km in the 8 day leading up to today.. while the initial days were tough, slowly I could feel more confident for tomorrow. But each day is different and this 42 km tomorrow would be the farthest I would have attempted in this terrain, so I have no idea how tomorrow will end !!

Hope to capture my thoughts on the run later - either be the outcome - finish or do not !

Thanks a lot to wonderful wishes and prayers from loved ones, families, friends, colleagues for keeping up motivated. Equal or more thanks to my parents, my in-laws and well-wishers for ensuring (or trying to ensure) that I don’t push myself beyond what my body can endure for now. Special thanks to my coach Pravin whose sessions helped in preparing me for the event.

Thanks to the amazing gang for the amazing Ladakh holiday and best wishes to Ajit, Karun Nair and Pramod for your half marathons tomorrow!

Now the loudest shoutout is reserved for the one person who bore the maximum of my training plan - my better-half (in all aspects) who has been the pillar of support day-in day-out.. my nutritionist, motivational coach, para-medic, critic, listening board etc a complete package plus being an amazing mother to Arnav and Anika !! A big thanks and love you Roshni for being there !!

So that's it for now, will look forward for an awesome day tomorrow and would love to write about my experience later.

Cheers

Sunil