Day: October 23, 2019

Categories
Running Running Basics

Running Memories

I have a marathon coming up soon. As the days approach, I think of the event at least once in a day. It’s important. To run, I need to prepare. Reminding the self about the event provides me the time and energy to prepare for the event well.

Last year, I ran my first 21K. I must tell that it was one of a kind event that I faced after a long long time. Before the event, I felt the same kind of anxiety and it gave me similar goosebumps that I would get before the examination day years ago when I was studying in college.

21 K is also called Half-Marathon. To be precise, it is 21.097 km. This is half the distance of a full marathon. Running a marathon was never my dream. I started to run because I loved it. I loved it so much that I got immersed in it and started to scale up quite rapidly.

Before I ran my maiden 21 K, I had been in under good preparedness. I was running almost daily and chasing a gigantic target of covering 1800 km. At the time that I applied for the event, I was closing 1200 km. So, my confidence was pretty high. Still, I had never done it and I was so much absorbed in the preparation. Running a distance of 21 km was something that I had never done in my life.

I ran my 21K without knowing an A,B.C of how to prepare. All that running that I had done was self-training. Still, I was pretty sure that I will do well. I had done well so far in my daily running. I was just so much confident. It was like a smoldering fire within me to prove now to the world.

My Maiden Running Record: Sanjuruns.com

Not bad. This is what I felt post the event. Throughout the event, I was so excited that I can not express in words. The only feeling was that of thanking the almighty for making me so capable to run and enjoy the feeling of running. I felt that “Magic of the move-ment“.

The Army Col (who is a kind of my Mentor) had instructed me to have a good night’s sleep and keep myself hydrated. I made sure that I drink a lot of water. But, I was unable to sleep with full peace as the next day anxiety was building on. But, I am thankful for the wonderful support that my partner provided. Even my kids accompanied me to the venue at 3:00 am in the morning. They really made me push harder.

So far, I have run 3 21Ks and now I am going for a full Marathon very soon. I wish I could run a marathon every single month. Maybe I am going to do that in the future. For the time being, my focus area is to crush 42K with a good margin. I have qualified to run in the first wave. My qualifying score a better one. Under 2.

I am looking forward to doing better. Nevertheless, my intent is on Running. That’s the biggest reward that I get every cadence I take to run.

If you have run any marathon, 21K, 10K, 5K please share how you felt about your maiden running event?

Categories
Running

Those days when you don’t want to run.

Have you faced this challenge in your running? Days of not running. And later regretting not having run and wasted those precious days.

To do a task like running, where we don’t have our bread and butter at stake, we do such tasks only when we are inspired and driven. Someone somewhere has inspired you to run and that becomes a source of power for you to run. Those days, you are able to push yourself hard. You achieve as well. And you feel happy having done something incredible.

But, then comes those days of inactivity when you are lost in life. You lose yourself in the business of living. You feel that you have better things to do. Your daughter has to be dropped to school. You better utilize your running time to finish a report. You better watch TV or chat with your girlfriend. Moreover, you have no zeal or inspiration to run. Running seems to be a boring thing to do when the mind is pre-occupied with more serious issues in life. In those days, you just give up.

Has this happened to you? I am sure It must have happened to you. I have faced this challenge in my life. And not just with running every day but also with other passionate work. Even this blog is a passionate work to do. I must write every day to reach out to you. But, what if I don’t write. The blog is not my bread and butter.

When you are haunted by such questions, I suggest a way to think. Don’t ask yourself this question: Why Run? You just remember what Nike says, “Just Do it” We can not wrest ourselves solely on the motivation and drive to make us run every day. To cultivate running as an everyday affair, I have tried this “Just Do It” formula.

We are psychologically wired to be in the habit of doing things in the way we have been doing for years. So, if you have just taken up running and being regular to your task is getting tough, it’s not because you are not interested in running anymore. But, you are fighting against your old habits. Those habits that kept you sedentary all this while.

Another thing that I can tell you to do is: Keep a number to chase every day. I have a daily number, weekly number, and monthly number. On top of this, I have an annual target. I attained an incredible running target. Just like my business targets, I keep my running targets. Guess what, when you have a clear picture of what you want to attain and how you will take each step to reach there, your mind finds it friction-free to run towards that.

But, don’t press for those numbers. Some fall in that trap of running for numbers: Distance, Pace, etc. The biggest reward of running is being able to come out of your house and head for a run. During the course of run, enjoy the breeze, enjoy the morning rising sun, enjoy the quietness of the city, etc. These are the rewards given to those who make efforts to come out and run. So, the number is like a rope you cling yourself to. That’s it.

Run is fun. Remember this. It is a reward in itself. Every day you run, you get rewarded instantly. Health and happiness are spillovers. They are byproducts. I run to enjoy the process. I would suggest you master the process. Before you find yourself running daily, master breathing, running forms, thinking patterns. All of this will help you a lot.

Don’t leave running to motivation. Motivation is temporary. It fizzles out in some time. You can keep motivating yourself from time to time. But, don’t wait for the motivation to come and make you run. Make a choice with your life. Run for the sake of running. It is an act better than sitting at home. or in the office. The magic lies in the move-ment. Master the process of running and put running in an automated mode.

This is what I have been able to achieve by running every day. Self-Respect.

Dear readers, what do you think about those days when you don’t have drive to run. What do you do? How do you push? Do you give up or try some tricks ? What tricks or plans you have? Please do share for the benefit of all of us.