My First Race!

I restarted running again and discovering all the joy associated with running once more J. Running trust me was never a favourite of mine and there was a time when I used to row, I hated running! Running 2km was itself a herculean task and anything more than that was as rare as Haley’s comet!

The most I have run before I actually started running seriously the most I have ever run was a 5km run which happened at the beginning of the millennium. After the 5km I got a bar of “5-Star” as a reward. Post this I never really dabbled into running and well in the next few years after lifting became “The Beast” as my friend would vouch for.

Sometime around 2005 I realized the need to start doing cardio as well as frankly I was not rowing enough to consider it as a cardio workout! Even now the only people who actually benefit from rowing as a cardio workout are the people who train for events and for rest it is nothing more similar to walking and so the benefit will never be there. Though the gym had a treadmill it never fancied me and decided to start doing the elliptical machine as I still have bad memories of the ergometer.

Elliptical initially was a fun workout and after getting convinced that the benefits are same as a treadmill the path to cardio fitness started. This was a time when there was an elliptical gang in the gym and we seriously pushed each other in getting the maximum out of the machine for a period of 30 mins. Good days and we thought we were getting fitter and fitter till one day I decided to start running on the treadmill.

Initially it was a struggle and just doing 20 mins with an average speed of 10km/hr was considered very good. Everything changed the day I went running on the road with a friend. For the first time in my life I managed to run beyond 5k and managed to pull a then impressive 6k. So from that day this became a routine and I was running 6k 3 times a week. This too changed a day when a fat guy from the gym decided to run with us. This guy managed 6k and my friend somehow convinced me that if he can run 6k I should be able to run more. Ended up stopping at 12k because we did not carry water and it was summer.

This single run defined my running and from then on no distance seemed tough. Ok the most I have done is 25k but still if I do have the time to practice and stay healthy I am confident enough to complete a marathon. Post that day my view on running totally changed and suddenly my normal runs lasted for around 10k. I even started bunking college classes to go for running.

The single moment made me fall in love with running and to this day I totally enjoy running and love it. I honestly believe it is the best form of exercise. I do believe that running not only cleans up the system but soul as well. It makes you a better person and makes you stronger!

Finally after running a few “Unofficial” half of a marathon I decided to compete in an actual official race. This sure was problematic was I do and still hate running in the mornings. Being an evening person I am actually slightly faster and better when I do run in the evenings. But nevertheless no official race in Chennai happens in the evenings and I registered for the 1^st ever Chennai Marathon. That year 21k was the maximum distance and I decided to give it a shot and see what happens.

I was so pumped for the race that I actually even planned to bunk a close friend’s wedding but common sense prevailed and I did attend the wedding which was a week before the run. Also rather than staying sober I was in full on drinking mode during the wedding and came back to the city with a few days to go for the run with a cold.

It became worse and I ended up with flu the day before the run. The weather was not helping as well as suddenly days before the run  it started raining like mad and there was no scope even for a practise run. I have not run for close to 2 weeks before the run and I was down with flu. I got up at 4 AM on the day of the race as the reporting time for 5:00 AM. I sick as a dog and I had no business getting off the bed and going for the race.

Since it was my first race the adrenaline rush got better of sane thinking and I decided to go for the run. Luckily rains had stopped and there was a mild drizzle. Usually this helps runners but given how Chennai weather is humidity was extremely high and the course was sticky as well. It was one of the toughest run of my life but then I managed to pull it off thanks to some inspiring music.

Coming to think of it and the time I managed despite having flu is not bad at all given the day was insanely humid. I clocked 2 hr 41 mins. The first race was not perfect nor was it fun. Heck all I did was came home and crashed. But then the 2^nd race compensated for the first race J