Wednesday, June 27, 2007

whoa.. i can run!!

Rewind back to 4 years:

At 6 in the morning,
Dad: deepu, get up.. lets go for jogging.
Me: dad… i get some weird feeling in my stomach. I don’t think I am feeling well.
Me: dad.. I was studying till late in the night. Dont wake me up so early…
Or
I would just pretend to go on sleeping till my dad is fed up and leaves.

Sometimes once in a blue moon, I would actually succumb to his nagging and go out for a jog,
After 3-4 blocks: dad, my ankles are paining, my lungs are exploding. I just don’t think my body is designed for running.

and my dad being one of those people who is fitness crazy, (he actually lived on raw vegetables and roti for 4 mnths and tried to make us do it too….actually, no its too painful for me to go there) he just couldn’t comprehend how anyone could not like running.

Play back the same scene once every month. Get the picture???

Now a few months ago, in a temporary bout of craziness I let a friend of mine convince me to come to the kickoff party of the marathon training program. (or maybe I agreed since he just treated me to a nice lunch). In course of 3 hrs, the inspiring speeches given by veterans, the contagious enthusiasm from other beginners, the motivational presentation shown or maybe the samosas and tea served, caught and lulled me into false sense of confidence and optimism which led me into signing up for a half marathon. ( I think some of my brain cells were still alert since I only registered for a half)

And so began my training. We started off slow enough running a mile followed by some stretches. Just as we get used to it, our mileage increased. Encouragement from my mentor veena, support from running team helped me stay committed. More than all that I got addicted to the runner’s high. Everytime I complete the day’s run, I would feel incredibly good, filled with all the positive energy,lots of confidence and optimism (ahh well, I do know its due to release of endorphins… blah blah..)

Braving occasional shin splints, and knee aches I labored on. And when I had never thought I could run 2 miles without life support, last weekend I ran 7 miles!!!!!

Do I still complain? Oh yes, after a half mile, I still feel the pain in my ankles, feel I am breathing heavy. But now I also know I can overcome them. I stop thinking about them and they cease to bother me. Now I enjoy the breeze against my face, the trees going by fast, the perfect rhythm between the heart beat and my pace and also there is nothing like a fast paced song on my ipod to give me a boost when Iam tired…

And now:
Friday 9.30 pm

My roommate: hey deepthi, lets go out for a movie and maybe for icecream later….

Me: oh no, I have a long run early in the morning. I need to sleep at sharp 10 so I get sufficient rest………

-deepthi