My ongoing 'running' journey!!

 Hi,

                  This is the post I wanted to write about for a long time.  Most of the runners who are into long distance running  will have lots of stories to tell. But, only the fellow runners can understand that language which a layman will find it boring. 

                                              I started my running journey four years ago. The inspiration to start running for fitness was from my husband who is an expert and a fast runner and is highly respected in the running groups. Within few days, I realized that running is not easy and it is going to be a long and struggling journey!! My husband is now an ultra-marathoner and I am yet to run my first full marathon (42 km). I have never been into any kind of sports during my childhood. This makes my journey maybe harder than others, not to say that others are having it easy. Long distance running is a sport that demands lot of time and dedication and for ladies in India who are burdened with daily chores even more,  it is not surprising to find negligible number of  females in the groups.  Anyways, I started my running by registering for 10km run organized by TCS every year around May in Bangalore. It took me more that one and a half hours to complete 10 km  and earning a finisher medal for that was just the beginning of the journey. This was in the year 2018. I trained with the running group to attempt the 21 km distance which is also known as half marathon.  Getting into the routine of going to the location to run itself  was/is a great challenge. We have to eat early to go to bed early and get up at the dawn to get ready after the morning ablutions. So though many of the people join programs enthusiastically, some drop off after some weeks and dedicated lot continue and achieve goals after goals. If there are 3 days of running in a week, 2 to 3 days have to be set aside for recovery and strengthening so that we don't get into any injuries and be able to increase the pace.  What keeps us going in spite of the difficulty of getting up early in the morning is experiencing fresh air and seeing the morning sunrise, meeting people, forming instant bonding with the fellow runners irrespective of their age, the positive energy we feel after the run and the cool down stretches, all of  which helps one in combating depression and other ailments. 

                                  Completing the first 10K, 1st 21K are always special milestones and important part of  dreaming the higher milestones like 1st full marathon (42 km), 1st ultra marathon that starts with 50 kms etc. Depending on a person's speed, agility, natural talent, some may achieve milestones faster, and for some it will take longer time. I belong to the 2nd category. While I earned the finisher medals for 10 K and 21 K within a year, which includes a medal for half marathon in Amsterdam, conquering the distances after 21 KM is a big challenge which I am slowly trying to overcome. The Covid years slowed down the running further as there were no events happening that time. 

                                         Post covid, I was looking for a breakthrough so that I can post something more. I started participating in the events so that I could train for them and up my mileage. Though the proverbial 'slow and steady wins the race' is yet to work for me, the important thing is to stay in the course. I registered for Malnad 30 km trail run which took place on November 26th last month. Malnad is a part of Chikmagallur district and is full of coffee estates and forests. The trail run was in the coffee estate which had a elevation gain about 1200 metres or close to 4000 feet. I could not complete 30 kms within the cut off time of 6 hours, but had to be content enough to see my 1st 30 km that I completed in 6:35 hours. It at least elevated my confidence levels to go forward with some hope. 

                                      

                                                          I discovered I can!! I hope so....

                                                     Sometimes, the journey that you undertake is more important than the destination. Doing the trail run in the midst of coffee estates, with small streams of water, slushes here and there was itself an experience and the steep, repetitive elevations were humbling and seemed to teach us that climb in life is steep and hard to stand out!!! My husband is a winner or finisher of  Malnad 80 km last year and Malnad 100 km this year!! As they say, for some the wins in the races come naturally and for others it is hard and may not even come!! But I will not stop!

Love and care,

Deepa.