The last few months I have been trying to become more and more regular at the gym. I am still not regular; I do one week well and then I say I deserve some time off and take the next week off :P One of the new years resolutions every year is obviously to stay healthy and work out regularly but one very important on the list for 2013 was to run a marathon. Now what I had managed to do was sign for the Mumbai Marathon 2014; but it didn't fit my "2013" resolutions. So one weekend in early November; I came across a marathon hat was happening in Mumbai called Pinkathon. The idea behind this run was to promote awareness about breast cancer and it was an all womens' run. It sounded perfect and I signed up without thinking about it too much. I got my confirmation email for the payment and the distance - 5 km.
5 km... sounded simple and I was already on a fairly regular workout schedule so 5 km run - no big deal. See that's called stupidity, major stupidity. I decided that I must obviously improve my run time and pace besides the regular gym workout so I cut off cardio in the gym and decided to start running on the streets. The next day, my alarm rang at 6 am and I jumped out of bed all excited to begin. Tracks on, shoes on and I head out. a brisk walk to start off for 2 mins and I slowly break into a jog. I breeze past the regular morning walkers on the road and in my mind I smirk. But my jog was not a jog; I ran and 45 secs later I was huffing and puffing at the side of the road. So now the same walkers were walking past me with a smile that said " geez amateurs !". My smirk had obviously disappeared; maybe my mind had too... I could feel a throbbing in my brain, my heart, my legs, my ribs.. I could almost hear the 'thud, thud, thud'. Lesson learned - research is needed and I am no Mickey Mehta. So it begins - the countless searches on Google; how to run 5 km in one month, how to run 5 km in 6 weeks, dummies guide to waking up early to work out (yes, i found that too) - these are bookmarked on my laptop. A timetable to record running time was made in MS Word, printed and pasted on my wardrobe, where I religiously recorded my run time.I slowly started building stamina. The run time began increasing from 3 minutes to 6 minutes to 11 minutes till I could manage about 15 - 18 minutes at a go. Now seasoned runners, I know you may think ' Pfft 15 - 18 minutes, whatever !!' but I m proud. The pride you feel when you run and are not huffing and dying at the end - Unmatchable. The day of the run was a night away and excitement was building.
5 30 am is assembly time at the BKC grounds in Mumbai where we first start off with Zumba. It was awesome to see women from all walks of life, all ages groups, all parts of the city come together for this cause. Each one surely had their own agenda too to prove to themselves maybe, their families perhaps - I could feel the anticipation and excitement. I saw little girls all geared up to run; with no clue about the marathon but for them it was like just another sports day. I saw women probably over 60 years, all clad in their sweaters and Nike shoes catching each beat of the Zumba workout and all pepped up to run; some had signed up for the 10 km run - Impressed !
Now I have to say when the 5 km run started, you have no choice but to walk the first 500-600 meters coz the group is still all huddled together and people are getting warmed up. Then all those days of early morning waking and running and keeping track of time pushes every muscles in your body to begin your run. It feels perfect. Pleasant and somewhat chilled Mumbai air in your face, the clear roads of BKC (cordoned off by the organizers for the run) and hundreds of fellow runners each one pushing the other to run. As I run and run, I look at each corner and turn of the road thinking so 'we turn back from here and head back'; 'maybe here we turn back', ' I hope here we turn and head back' .. Dude, 5 km is long. Now I did my research (via Google maps) to understand what 5 km was. From home to JW Marriott and back, home to my school n back; didn't seem so long.. ho jayega no problem !! Whole different story when you actually run.
As we began to turn back to the start point, something inside kicks starts inside you and pushes you to run. Each time I stopped to walk, that inner voice yelled and said "Come one lazy bum, move it.. think of all the days you sacrificed sleep and went for a run". Apart from this cheerleader (/??), there were a whole guys standing along the end hooting and cheering us to run. Yep the finish line was approaching. I broke in my final run determined to stop only once I cross the line. About a 100 meters away and I see the line, clearer than anything around - a whole bunch of people screaming and shouting, the dhol walas at the finish were getting louder and louder ( yes there were dhol walas ). But my inspiration suddenly leaped multifold when I saw Milind Soman stand at the finish line clapping and cheering. A few steps away and I thrust whatever energy I had left and pushed myself through the finish line.
I was there, it was done... Over ... Completed !! I can't describe the joy I felt and can you imagine how much it grew when Milind came around giving us high-fives !! *gleee*
5 km... sounded simple and I was already on a fairly regular workout schedule so 5 km run - no big deal. See that's called stupidity, major stupidity. I decided that I must obviously improve my run time and pace besides the regular gym workout so I cut off cardio in the gym and decided to start running on the streets. The next day, my alarm rang at 6 am and I jumped out of bed all excited to begin. Tracks on, shoes on and I head out. a brisk walk to start off for 2 mins and I slowly break into a jog. I breeze past the regular morning walkers on the road and in my mind I smirk. But my jog was not a jog; I ran and 45 secs later I was huffing and puffing at the side of the road. So now the same walkers were walking past me with a smile that said " geez amateurs !". My smirk had obviously disappeared; maybe my mind had too... I could feel a throbbing in my brain, my heart, my legs, my ribs.. I could almost hear the 'thud, thud, thud'. Lesson learned - research is needed and I am no Mickey Mehta. So it begins - the countless searches on Google; how to run 5 km in one month, how to run 5 km in 6 weeks, dummies guide to waking up early to work out (yes, i found that too) - these are bookmarked on my laptop. A timetable to record running time was made in MS Word, printed and pasted on my wardrobe, where I religiously recorded my run time.I slowly started building stamina. The run time began increasing from 3 minutes to 6 minutes to 11 minutes till I could manage about 15 - 18 minutes at a go. Now seasoned runners, I know you may think ' Pfft 15 - 18 minutes, whatever !!' but I m proud. The pride you feel when you run and are not huffing and dying at the end - Unmatchable. The day of the run was a night away and excitement was building.
5 30 am is assembly time at the BKC grounds in Mumbai where we first start off with Zumba. It was awesome to see women from all walks of life, all ages groups, all parts of the city come together for this cause. Each one surely had their own agenda too to prove to themselves maybe, their families perhaps - I could feel the anticipation and excitement. I saw little girls all geared up to run; with no clue about the marathon but for them it was like just another sports day. I saw women probably over 60 years, all clad in their sweaters and Nike shoes catching each beat of the Zumba workout and all pepped up to run; some had signed up for the 10 km run - Impressed !
Now I have to say when the 5 km run started, you have no choice but to walk the first 500-600 meters coz the group is still all huddled together and people are getting warmed up. Then all those days of early morning waking and running and keeping track of time pushes every muscles in your body to begin your run. It feels perfect. Pleasant and somewhat chilled Mumbai air in your face, the clear roads of BKC (cordoned off by the organizers for the run) and hundreds of fellow runners each one pushing the other to run. As I run and run, I look at each corner and turn of the road thinking so 'we turn back from here and head back'; 'maybe here we turn back', ' I hope here we turn and head back' .. Dude, 5 km is long. Now I did my research (via Google maps) to understand what 5 km was. From home to JW Marriott and back, home to my school n back; didn't seem so long.. ho jayega no problem !! Whole different story when you actually run.
As we began to turn back to the start point, something inside kicks starts inside you and pushes you to run. Each time I stopped to walk, that inner voice yelled and said "Come one lazy bum, move it.. think of all the days you sacrificed sleep and went for a run". Apart from this cheerleader (/??), there were a whole guys standing along the end hooting and cheering us to run. Yep the finish line was approaching. I broke in my final run determined to stop only once I cross the line. About a 100 meters away and I see the line, clearer than anything around - a whole bunch of people screaming and shouting, the dhol walas at the finish were getting louder and louder ( yes there were dhol walas ). But my inspiration suddenly leaped multifold when I saw Milind Soman stand at the finish line clapping and cheering. A few steps away and I thrust whatever energy I had left and pushed myself through the finish line.
I was there, it was done... Over ... Completed !! I can't describe the joy I felt and can you imagine how much it grew when Milind came around giving us high-fives !! *gleee*
