It is almost 3 weeks since I
realized my dream and now found the time to write about it! Yeah, I can be lazy
disguised as busy.
It all started some 12 years
back. We had shifted to Mumbai and one day I happened to watch the first Mumbai
Marathon on TV. That day I said to myself that I would run the Mumbai marathon
some day. No big deal because all I have to do is run! Little did I know what I
was getting into!
5 years back, I started going
to the gym and thought it was time I started training for the marathon. I did
not have any trainer to train me as such…well; all I had to do was run right?
And so run I did. The more I did, the more I questioned myself as to why I was
doing it. It was punishment. It was painful. It was distress…. yet, I loved it.
And I ran diligently every day. And when I had aches and pains, I went to the
orthopedist got myself checked and followed the doc’s advice.
Before running the Mumbai
Marathon of 2012, I ran my first ever Marathon, the Bangalore Ultra Marathon –
15 k in November 2011. I stood 8th in the women’s category!! Yes, I
surprised myself and believe me it was a huge boost to my morale. My effort was
paying off and half marathon was within my grasp.
15th January 2012.
I was nervous, apprehensive and scared. I had an injury and I had not run for
more than 2 weeks before the marathon. I was in pain and still limping. I had
so much invested that I could not call it quits. And so I ran. Actually, I
could not run at all, I limp walked. I walked for 14 kms and my leg could take
it no more. I did not quit, my leg did. It broke…I mean I fractured my femur
bone. My dream cost me a fracture, a surgery; lot of money and slow healing
process and it had certainly scared my psyche. I was scared to run.
End of 2014, I joined a new
gym and it was one of the best decisions of my life. I got someone who
understood my passion for running and encouraged me to do so…reinforcing my
belief that I was capable of it. I had to work on my fears, which I could do by
running more…had to help myself there.
I ran a 10k marathon in the
month of June and completed it in 1 hour 10 minutes and I felt just awesome. It
was a comeback I was hoping for!
Then, I ran the Pinkathon10k,
which I completed in 62 minutes. Was I back in the game or what? You bet I was.
And on 17th
January 2016 I crossed the finish line of the Mumbai Marathon 21k in 2 hours,
13 minutes and 19 seconds. Later I found out that I was the 34th in
my age category (40 -44 years) out of
465 and 165th in the female category…that is among 2023 women of all
age groups. Was I stumped! It was and still is an amazing feeling. I know I can
do better, I know where I went wrong and I know where I can improve but I
couldn’t have asked for a better debut performance.
I could not have done this…or
I could not have imagined such great results if not for my coach…. who is also
my gym trainer. He told to invest in a good running shoes and a heart rate
monitor. He also told me the importance of breathing properly and also the
posture while running.
**The heart rate monitor is
to ensure that you run to your optimum level and stay there for hours. That
also determines your speed.
The information is all there on the
Internet. I would not have looked it up though.
Not everyone who runs a
marathon has a coach…but it does help to have someone to guide you. You will
discover yourself and your potential.
My schedule was to run every
alternate day and the other 3 days was for my strength training. Core strength
was given importance…of course it is called core for no reason. The other two
days was for my upper body and leg exercises. The sessions were grueling. I
lost weight and inches. I looked fit and good.
My practice run sessions
were irregular though and the farthest I had run was 14k. Shin splints, calf
cramps, knee pain…I was living with them not to mention the constant physical
fatigue. As the day of the marathon neared, my stress levels went up. On the
advice of my coach, I met up with a physiotherapist…and it was a boon. She
helped me further by clearing all my doubts. A couple of sessions with her and
I was good to go.
“When you want something, all the universe conspires in
helping you to achieve it.”
Paulo
Coelho’s quote is my mantra. It may take a day, months or years…but dreams do
get fulfilled. It is for us to recognize those opportunities and make those
choices.
And I owe
this to my coach Tapan.