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| Inspired Reading - Book gifted to me by Venkat |
I have been a regular fitness
person – walk-run-freehand exercise-yoga for an hr has been a 5 day routine
since past 5 yrs. There will always be those usual days or weeks when you are
travelling or not well but the underlying philosophy was to be fit. Going to
gym, body building or having an instructor was anathema to me as I am a staunch
believer of doing it yourself.
30 days back on 31st
Dec the marathon bug hit me, starting thought was – it will be tough but it
will not be that tough. I am a fit person anyway.
After one month here are some
after effects….
Starting up, after talking to a
few 10 yr old runners & a first time
runner (who was my real inspiration) I was referred to www.runningandliving.com – I got the
jist that I need to increase the stamina and hence increase my walking &
running time. So I increased my walking time from 15 mnt to 45 mnt but the real
challenge was to increase the running time. My typical running time was 3 to 5
mnts which is roughly 1.5 to 2 round of my apartment. As it’s easier to count
no of ‘apartment rounds’ I could easily move from 2 to 3 but beyond that it was
like climbing a mountain.
Body, one month has seen a shift
in the body muscles. I can feel the muscles which I could not before I started
running especially when I move my legs to push the accelerator in the busy
traffic of Bangalore. I can feel the firmness in my tummy & arms as I move
around but for the first half of the day body feels stretched & exhausted
& by evening I am completely dead. Today I am nursing a blister & pains
in my calf muscles. Getting a trainer is
playing in my mind, what was an anathema might become a necessity.
Mind, I always believed in mind
over body, for running (and as a preparation for marathon) your mind is the key
(with my limited understanding of a month). The concentration, attention, the
push to do the last round it’s all in the mind till your body gives out. But
the bigger discovery was the thoughtless or a blank mind. With the current
status of work occupying 70% of your waking hrs & the increased
connectivity – work is all pervasive. Thankfully
running has helped me in blanking out most of my thoughts in the early hrs of
the day – something which books on Buddhism failed to achieve in spite of me
spending a yr on them.
Music, I had given up listening
to music while running(or walking) couple of years back as I wanted to listen
to the birds but even at 6 – mostly it’s traffic noise & less of birds
chirping. So the headphones are back & with that I have got back my
classical music which keeps me focused on running. There are chords / beats / renditions I glossed when I heard it while
working / driving / flying – now the same music has a different meaning. This
re-ignited my search for more meaningful music
Food, like all true bongs I enjoy my gulab jamun & my
beer but I was disciplined to maintain my morning fitness regime so that the
fat don’t add up – and more importantly show in the middle. But it started
showing up few months back when pants needed urgent alteration & I had to
rush to pick up dark shirts so that the bulge was not conspicuous. At 40+ your
body probably burns less calories, as your metabolism goes down somebody told
me over beer. So I am on sabbatical (3
months), no booze, no sweets, no colas, no rice….I guess this is the most
difficult change.
But, where am I on running, after
all that philosophy.
When I spoke to a colleague a few
weeks back, who has been running for last 10 yrs – his time was 2 hrs 20 for a
half marathon & I am at 20 mnt. As I write this I realize that every agonizing
minute counts the journey of 15 mnts took a month.
I have to add maybe another 5 hrs to my 20. Will
I make it by end of the year. Too early to say but I am sure I will attempt one
marathon & I guess it will also make me a better person… Written in end Jan 2015
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