Why I run ?

I had big plans – back to back HMs on the weekend. The intention was to not lose the motivation from the SCMM triumphs of others and get my lazy self going.

Well, it didn’t go as per the plan. The Saturday morning run was fantastic. A cold foggy winter morning with temps of about 6degC was a perfect setting to get back into action. It was a slow paced run and am so glad and thankful for the company I had, to help me finish my HM distance. With no running for so long, it ached and pained and the last few kms were difficult. But I enjoyed it, especially when I had my post run staple breakfast of bread bhurji with a hot cuppa tea. The body was sore and somehow I reveled in that pain. However, the soreness meant only a slow 12km run on Sunday - another foggier cold morning. But what did I realize over the weekend was an affirmation to why I loved running:

1. Because I can. I am, now, a stronger, more confident, tougher version of my earlier self. Version 2.0 who has that strong mind to get the body out on the road for a run. And I will keep doing it. Over the years, I have surprised myself with the change in me - patience, perseverance, toughness – qualities that I have imbibed as a runner and I am not giving up on them.

2. Its just so badass to tell others that you went running despite the weather – be it the fog, rain or heat. Be it the sweat soaked t shirt on hot muggy day or the fully clad attire on a cold winter morning, if I am out there I am a ROCKSTAR!!!

3. The chit-chat and banter with the group is just so refreshing and a stress buster. These are friends with whom one can talk about weather, politics, films and even career status & family anecdotes. And sometimes during those early morning hours on the road, we let go of our fears, our worries, our problems as we soak in the energy and advice from the others.

4. Murakami’s says in his book “What I talk about when I talk about Running”, “We run to acquire a void.” So I run to find that void – where I step away from all the chaos – to emerge stronger, clearer on what needs to be done.

5. I have always said, running is my meditation on the move. When I run, deep in my thoughts – in the zone – the world around me becomes quiet. And with some of my running partners, we have reached that understanding when running is just that - the pounding on the road. We can run together for kms in silence - no talk but each of us sorting out our thoughts and getting that calmness that the world can wait till I am clear on what I have to do. .

6. Its that sense of accomplishment after a run – the “Runner’s High” which gets you going to face other areas of your life. It builds the belief in our own potential and self. It provides a purpose !! A sense of accomplishment has fueled the need to set bigger, more challenging ways to push myself, in each area of my life and has thus become a habit.

7. It’s a great way of getting that exercise done which will help me stay fit, allow me to eat as much as I can, fit into those nice slim pants hanging in the cupboard and hopefully keep all the dreaded diseases away.

8. Ofcourse, you get to wear all those nice fancy running gear and not because you can afford it but you have earned it !!!!! AND

9. It’s a great addiction to have !!!!

And so here's to running and more runs !!!

I missed the Prom !!!!

So I missed the SCMM this year. I wrote earlier, life has been busy and so with no training, the decision to call off the annual pilgrimage to Mumbai seemed sensible. It was heartening to see many of my friends get their PBs or run a strong race coming back from layoffs due to injuries. The FB posts started coming in as soon as the race got over with updates on how the race went and were soon followed by post on the celebrations – which have now become a ritual and performed religiously. And they kept flowing in and continue to flow in even after a week. So much so that I felt like a high schooler who had missed the Prom party and had to make do with picking up the juicy details and all the fun stuff in the school corridors. I have missed races before – not turning up after registering and sometimes even after picking up the bibs but never missed a race so much.

Ofcourse, no training has had its benefits
- The toe nails are all back with full growth and despite two permanently blackened toe-nails, the feet look nice.
- Can go without washing my hair for 3 days and it’s a blessing in the winters
- Sleeping in till late has been fun
- I am an obsessive run logger so no run logs to be uploaded / updated
- Kids have been happy to see me home on weekend mornings when they wake up
- Laundry piles have gone down :)

But heck I miss my runs !!

Those SCMM FB posts reminded me how much I have missed the runs and the accompanied running banter with the group. And so with the Saturday off this week, I have made a plan to do back-to-back HMs on the weekend. We will see how it goes – at this moment I just want to be able to get out on the road for a run. There is no pace or time target but just to run at an easy fun pace. I just hope the body co-operates and if it doesn’t then the mind will have to take over. 

And ..... I just hope I remember to charge my Garmin !!!!!

See you on the other side of the weekend with my report on how the runs went.

Whats your excuse ??

I was supposed to put out a post on January 1st - “My running resolutions for 2016”. I did have a good start writing my fitness goals for the year – and I do have some serious running goals. But work kept me busy and I just couldn’t get myself to finish the post in the first week and so never posted it. Two weeks into the new year and I decided to do a stock check. Here goes - no-show at SCMM, missed training runs, training plan misplaced and worse- I haven’t even registered for my next running event – one of the goals for 2016. But trust me I have reasons. Seriously, enough reasons – valid genuine reasons to skip the run yesterday and day before and for tomorrow and….

And in this, I know, I am not alone. We all do it - Come up with reasons or EXCUSES to miss a run. Here is a list of the ones that I use very often. And if these are the ones that you also use then I have a sound advice for you !!!

1. Too tired – Late nights, travel – that’s understood. So get a good night’s sleep, go for a late run and for that one day make the run your priority. 

2. I don’t feel like it – Now this is one where I just don’t know what to do. Ofcourse, one can say – If you don’t “feel like it” now, how did you “feel like” signing up for the race? 

3. Have a busy day at work – Get the endorphins and the runners high early on, to keep you going through the day

4. Todays run in the plan looks difficult, I won’t be able to run the distance / the pace – Get out and give it a try !!

5. Another day off won’t hurt, Tomorrow for sure – Tomorrow never comes !!

6. No one from the group confirmed, its not a good day to run – Its your run, you go get it done. 

And the best,

7. Training is anyways ruined, have skipped too many runs – break the dry spell, its tough but start slow, start small, get going.

Sometimes, we genuinely have a good reason to skip a run – injury, exhaustion, fatigue – and it makes sense to take a break. But when there’s an excuse each time you have a run, something different is needed. I have suffered from the excuse syndrome in the past as well and here’s what I have done to break the bad habit 

1. Set a 5 / 10 day target – Start small. Put the training plan aside and just focus on the short term goal. I have done 10X10s, I have done 15 days running streaks. And by the end of it, I had the rhythm back. 

2. Get your running partner / group to get you out – If you run with a group, nothing better than getting your group to force you out. Seek help. It works.

3. Social media – My FB list is almost 70-80% running friends. I spend a little extra time on FB reading what others are upto and that is sure shot motivation. Look at your own running pictures - Remind yourself of what you are capable of, of your past accomplishments and the high that accompanied them!! 

4. Read a motivational blog, a book and be inspired.

And I know that I need to do one or more of the above soon and get my running life back!!

 

The race that was meant to be and then ....

It’s the night before the race,  the night before the annual running mela, the maa of all races in India – SCMM 2016. I have a bib number but I haven’t collected my bib. I am not carb loading or getting my running gear ready. Infact I am not in Mumbai. But at home writing this and will miss this year’s turbo charged SCMM. I have been at the start line of SCMM for the last 5 years – first 2 for a HM distance and last 3 for FM. I had all plans to run this edition too. But there I was, flying out of Mumbai on a Friday before the SCMM, when all my friends were flying in to Mumbai that same day, very well aware of all the fun and excitement of the weekend that I was leaving behind.

The countdown to SCMM, like all previous years, began in August last year when I did the registration for the race in the very first week. I even got D to register for the HM, this year. The hotel and air tickets were booked in September / October. In October, I started training for ADHM and the plan was to build it to a FM training post the ADHM. ADHM came and though not a strong performance but I was happy with the results with whatever little training I could manage – you reap what you sow !!! I got hold of a training plan which was to help me train for SCMM in January and a faster HM in February. And then…………..Life got in the way !!!!! What started as one missed training run, soon became two, three and before I realized I had a long list of excuses for missing all my runs!!

And it was with a heavy heart that I cancelled my tickets and the hotel booking end of December when I for sure knew that I was in no shape to run a FM distance in January.

I have always enjoyed my SCMM outings - despite the weather and the dreadful inclines at Peddar Road and Sea Link. I don’t know if it is the Mumbaikars who come out in big numbers to support the runners and are there all through the 42.2 km of the race, or meeting the running junta from all over India or the thrill of running on the Sea Link or that mixed feeling of joy and anxiety when you reach Marine Drive or the after race party at Leopold – and the party is always fun whether you have had a good race or a bad one – SCMM remains a very special running event.

Tomorrow as all you people – my special runner friends – run the streets of Mumbai, I will cheer for you from here, pray for you to have a strong and an enjoyable run and you in turn have an extra pint on my behalf at Leopold !!!

I, in the meanwhile, will get down to getting my life, I mean- excuses out of the way !!!!!!

Running Together

It took me 4 years to get my husband to start running. My husband, D, enjoys his game of tennis and golf and I would say is generally fit. But when it came to running, his pet retort was – running is not a sport, it does not require any skill, why would I engage in a activity as boring as running, what do you "do" when you run??? So for my first year of running, he watched me from the sidelines as I moved from a 5k to a 21km. He was curious and was impressed and so even came to cheer me for my first ADHM. But by the second year, the novelty had worn off. As per him, I had started disappearing too often in the mornings. Though, all through this, he remained supportive of my new found love – be it when I splurged on the Garmin, new running shoes, other fancy stuff new runners typically buy – body glides, gels, visors, etc. or in taking care of kids when I started registering for out of town races.

By the third year I had reached a full marathon level and his interest in my running was back. He was also curious about my runner friends – the fact that I was not alone and there were other “crazies” like me. I did a 50k ultra around this time and it left him suitably impressed. By now he had realized that this is not a passing fad and that running in my life is here to stay and he has to make peace with my new passion. And so my decision to run the 80km at Bhatti in 2013, was acknowledged with a discussion on how I plan to train for the 80km, how will I manage being on feet for a 12hr period etc etc. I don’t know what changed but for the first time, he agreed to accompany me for my training runs. I kicked off my training with a 10X10 (i.e. 10kms each day for 10 consecutive days) and he agreed to join me for a 5k each day. And that’s when we became a “running couple”. He too had become a runner !!!!! It was fun in the beginning – motivating him, pushing him to get up and get ready for a run when all he wanted to do was sleep, listen to his tirade on aches and pains etc etc. It was fun to show off my “knowledge and experience” and telling him – about the right posture, is the speed slow or fast, stretches after the run and ofcourse introduction to “The Garmin”. He is a number freak and all the nice graphs and data gave him a good feed for detailed analysis on how the run went – ofcourse followed by the paralysis of my brain listening to all the inferences and calculations from that data. We runners get a high at the finish, his high is with a lag - when he sees the numbers. Till then he is grumpy – grumpy enough to tell others by a sign language – “Don’t Talk to me” !!!!!

This is us post his second ADHM... all smiles !!!!

So well, that was how he became a runner too !!! Hows my life after that – he has completed 3 HMs since then, improving his timings in each one of them; he knows my running gang well and does not think they are a bunch of crazies but is impressed with the mind blowing ultra feats they do; sometimes, just sometimes, its nice to get a kick in the back if I am lazy to go out for a run; there is pride and awe for my running achievements and he even pushes me to better myself each time; there is a respect for the way I follow my passion balancing all my other responsibilities in life; when I splurge on a pair of new shoes or some fancy running stuff – no more raising of eyebrows; words like PB, Gels, Ultras, Trail Run / Road Run, Intervals, Tempos are said and understood alike; we finally have a fitness activity we do together; on a holiday I get a running partner to explore new routes and tracks; and together we are role models for our kids.

But there is the other side – I now have a critic at home who analyses each of my runs and sometimes you just don’t want to hear “that’s it, you only did a 7k”, “you were very slow today!!!”; the box of Gels disappear faster than I plan; the new Garmin is for him; the detailed analysis post every run – which also gets shared on each of the whatsapp group he is on with family and friends – for the next many many days – is tiring. Uff!!; his races and runs take a priority over mine; a missed run and I am to blame; just too much run related talk happening at home and sometimes I am the recipient of the running gyan !!!!!

It’s a great feeling to have inspired him to take up running. In this busy life, with daily discussions largely centering around personal and professional agendas, we have found a common stress-buster topic to connect on passionately and this shared commitment towards being healthy and fit is a great binding factor between us.

I also asked a few friends – running couples – to share their views on how is it to have a runner spouse and here goes :

Ranjana & Nitin

Her : We happened to start almost together about 4 yrs back - me into running and Nitin into cycling and picked up each others sport only in last 2 years. Nitin jokes sometimes that he picked up running so that he could run behind me but on a serious note - I have become a focused runner only in the last year or so bcoz of my designated coach - Nitin. He's more thorough, meticulous about the work outs and an inspiration at home and what better than your life partner encouraging you to challenge your limits.

Him : More than Running together its the process of doing our workouts together which gives me an immensely satisfying feeling. It's a sense of achievement coming from a non sports background and just these small steps every day makes for a perfect start to the day. You know what your partner is going through prior to the run and inspite of not in the ideal shape it's just good to have a support which pushes you every now and then.

Puneeta & Princy

Her : He pushed me because he himself got into it. Although, on a serious note, it does make me feel proud when people comment that we don't look our age & how much weight we have lost & want us to share our secret. Of course, I'm also now almost an addict where I've begun to feel guilty about not working out or not able to run for whatever reason. He's been very patient with me to help me get to a point where I can run on my own for 21 kms and enjoy it. However, there have been enough arguments about how much, what speed, building pressure of time etc. And it's always a pleasure when you cultivate a new hobby together. After being married for years, it's like rediscovering each other, nurturing new habits, it's a wonderful experience and the best side effect is that it makes one fitter, healthier individual.

Him : As I trace back my journey of running I realize how much difference a running spouse can make. When I started running regularly the most challenging part was handling comments like - "running se shaadi kyon nahi kar lete", "Ya toh run kar lo you mere saath reh lo", "raat mein 2:30 ko koi bhagne jaata hai kya?"

When she started running, she could not run 100m, but 6 months down the line an easy 10k happened without a break. Not sure how much that meant to her but to me it was as if I had scaled Mount Everest. And one of those lazy days when I did not want to run I heard her say "I am heading out for a short run" which turned out to be a 10k. The "short" got redefined from 100m to 10000m just like that.

I got new names as I accompanied her for her runs and for her to run better; Personal Coach, Wife torturer, Slave Master and what not but this was in jest. Now I see the down side because she is having an injury and that is keeping my motivation also down and I am slackening in my running discipline.

But it is these moments in the morning which have become a lifeline of togetherness and joy. We joke, we fight about but the focus is always us. Now running or no running we are fitness believers and really enjoy what comes with it.

Seema and Vishesh

Her : It’s a blessing to have your spouse as a runner – innumerable benefits beginning from someone to wake you up with a cup of coffee, someone to drag you out of bed when you feel sluggish. There is so much to talk about, strategize, plan and pace runs with each other. We know each other's likings – anything running related – and so buying gifts is easy !!!!! and no questions asked when you leave home at 5 for a run and get back home at 12 – because both of us were there !!!!!! Its fun to be fit together - so that we both stay healthy, live better and happier. And importantly, when you don’t run well, we both sulk together and a great run means we celebrate together!!!!!

Him : With her taking up running - the problem that I had to catwalk out of the room to get ready for morning runs has vanished; we can go on talking for hours on the topic of running – a common topic to talk about – pre run, post run.