...AND THE UNIVERSE CONSPIRED.

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 8^th 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.

15^th 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 17^th 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 34^th in my age category (40 -44 years)  out of 465 and 165^th 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.