Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2009

I ran the first timed 'proper' Half Marathon of my life. My time was 2 hours 20 minutes and 05 seconds. Till a week back I was expecting to do it close to 2 hours and a few ( say five) minutes, but in the last week the pain started. It was below the right foot arch - plantar fascia is the muscle which was acting up. Rajat, our coach, in fact advised me to skip the race - but off course I was not listening. So we decided that I would take it nice and easy - aim to finish in 2 hours 30 minutes or more if required, BUT not to aggravate the injury. Easier said than done.
I took off verry slowly and plodded on till I reached the half way mark. Shortly after crossing the 11 km marker, the pain started in earnest. I stopped to stretch and then continued, but the pain persisted and so I decided to walk - with panic rising in my heart that I would not finish the event. After a few hundred metres I took off again and this time managed to reach the 14 km marker. At this point I made a discovery. I realised that if I deliberately land on the outer edge of the right leg, the arch does not pain! I tried it for some time and then got emboldened. After that I started picking up speed. Due to the training I had no problem about fatigue...the only thing holding me back was the pain. I finally finished in 2.20.05'.