My marathon running lessons.

My marathon running lessons:

I ran my second marathon on 9th October 2021. I had filed the registration form in March 2021 and paid 75$(huge money for me) to participate in the race.

don’t run to prove. I run to learn about life.

You are never ready or you are ever ready

Having done that, I had told myself that I will prepare for it. I had so many plans in the mind for training.

But, the only thing that I could put on the ground was 2 feet for 5k everyday. Being a full time jobber, and a father and a husband, I am juggling multiple roles.

I am putting food on the table for my family, serving my customers during the day. And so, getting time for myself and my passions is *always a race against time.*

But, I love running. So, I don’t mind the lack of time. I just do what I can within the limitations. 

So, when I stepped up on the morning of 9th morning , I was like , ‘did I prepare ? Would I be able to….?’

Amidst the doubts, I told myself , “that’s all right. All you will get is a defeat. But what if you did finish it. So, take the chance. “

Most of us feel that way often. We are never ready. That’s because we have imagined an ideal preparation. And that imagined ideal stops us from trying ourselves. We often underestimate ourselves.

So, I told , that’s ok. I have seen many defeats in life, many heartbrakes !!

One more won’t be an issue. And this is a kind of liberation. When you are liberated from the fear of failures, you can live and find love and joy. Because you start to understand the duality of life. You simply look at victory and defeat simply as two sides of the same coin.

And what really starts to matter rather is – if you acted and did what you could ! Of the 28,000 people who registered, 19,649 actually turned up. And all those who did are all winners.

And this is what running has made me learn. Running has given me many lessons and this was one of the lessons that I reiterated during the run.

My biggest achievement so far

The second lesson that I learned was about my biggest achievement so far.

I was 5 km away from the race. And the sun was falling right on my head. I felt like I was hit by a sunstroke.

Having covered most of the distance , 5 km is nothing. But, when mind and body have given up, it becomes the difference between winning and losing.

I could not surrender at this stage. But what do I do now. I found a place and laid myself on the surface of the earth.

My wife was right behind me supporting me from her pillion. She saw and asked me if I was alright. I waved “yes”. But, I wasn’t.

But she I guess had found it somehow. She stopped and came to offer me help and take me back home on her pillion.

I refused. While the whole family was at home, she was here giving me company.  And she had been there for the last 15 yrs. Together, we had scaled many peaks of life.

While you are hit by sunstroke, your body is filled with pain and your mind can only think of water and food, you actually realize the most important things in life.

And I realised that she has been one of the most important person in my life.

While I ran, she had been there to lend her support. She wasn’t going to gain anything personally. But she was there because I was there. 

When I refused to listen to her for not running the full marathon race, she was left with no choice but to support. 

And this what I realised as my second lesson: that the biggest achievement is the ability to understand others. 

Ever since I started to run, I have chosen to suffer voluntarily. And I realise that I am in a better position to understand others when I struggle and feel the pain. This has made me more gracious and kind and understanding.