Sunita Tummalapalli

I ran several sub 5’s in 2013 and later got into ultra distances and my pace dropped terribly. I had been struggling and taking 5:30 and above to complete marathons except Marrakech marathon in January (5:27 with tough last 8 km) as you know. Rio Marathon in June was one of the races where we had very tough run due to heat, sun and humidity. We pushed hard towards the end to complete within 6 hours. Sydney Marathon that we ran today was the best race since 2014. Big thanks to You and UPTK According to my garmin 43.43 km in 5:10 which is simply amazing. I meditated and visualized. It is unbelievable how close I was to what I had visualized!! 8km-1hr 16km-1:53 24km-2:55 (sub 3) 32km-3:55 (sub 4) 40km-5 hours 42.2km-5:15 I meditated and told myself that whenever I feel tired that I would take 3 deep breaths and that I would join my thumb and index finger (on both hands) to give me instant push. It is like a power button 🙂 I didn’t realize that I was meeting my visualized target until I ran more than half the distance. I know at 55 min in 7.5&8 km. I remember this as I took my first gel. 1st segment of structured program was 16 km in 1:53-1:54 (according to Rao) 25.1 km in 3 hours (according to Rao again) 35 km (my watch 35.8 km)in 4:08 Then I knew even I run slow I can finish the run with in 5:15. I am really happy and amazed how I could run with so much ease and run so strong with very consistent pace. Due to the uneven pavement, cobbler stone pavement and hills during second half my left foot arch and heel started hurting. I could have run better definitely since my energy levels were good. It was getting worse towards the end. Shipra and Prashanth came to the finish point. We had to walk 2 km back to the hotel. Later we met them for late lunch. My heel bothered me while walking. After lunch we hung around till evening in the same place. Surprisingly it got much better. I could walk normally. No soreness or fatigue. Sorry for the long message but wanted to share my excitement:-) Had good late lunch at Indian restaurant. Had pumpkin soup with sour cream and sourdough for dinner. Feeling fresh and good. Had 3 gels and 3 hydration (8oz bottles) during the run After 3rd gel at 3:20 hrs didn’t feel like taking anymore so took energy blocks instead.