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The Road Less Traveled
I never pegged myself as someone who'd enjoy running. Always been more of a lifting heavy-weights kinda guy.
Also, is there even anything to enjoy about running for hours, looking at faces and hearing heavy breathing from people around you?
Turns out, it's none of those things that make it cherishable. You run because it's therapeutic. It's never about escaping reality. It rewires your brain to minimize negative thoughts and approach life as it is, as it should be.
After HYROX Mumbai, I had a brief fall out where I was not able to perform lower body activities because it was too painful around the left knee (You ask what hurts more than a breakup? It's the left knee!😏) and with that the whole world came crashing down.
I thought that was the end for me. I started doing rehabilitation movements to strengthen it. As a fitness coach myself, I had access to the knowledge it required to alleviate myself from that pain.
But, one 5k practice run even after that flared up the lower back pain which radiated to the knee, ultimately going to the sole of the foot.
Visited an orthopedic, stopped lower body exercises and runs completely. It got better. The only satisfaction I had was that I wasn't diagnosed with anything catastrophic but at the same time, there wasn't any plausible reason either why it kept happening.
Then came, Bajaj Pune marathon. And I was hell bent on attempting it, no matter what. I didn't want my discomfort to be a limiting factor in the way of my wanting to do something that I set my mind to. Always been like this by the way!🤷🏽♂️
My first 10k run. With bare minimum practice, I finished it in 58 minutes! If you ask me how I did it, I won't be able to give you a valid answer but I did.
Once I did, I realised my cardiorespiratory endurance could be improved. As a coach, I was ashamed. Everytime I was promoting aerobic activities, I felt an excruciating pain deep within. "Do I deserve to talk about this?"
That was my wake up call. I re-initiated my lower body training after adequate rest, allowing myself to recover with proper nutrition and supplementation on the side. I started with slow and low runs, weekly a couple of times.
Then I elevated my running frequency to a 5k, 8k and 10k throughout the week. I attempted one more 10k marathon in my hometown, Kolkata. I upscaled my finish time to a 55 minutes this time.
Confidence kicked in, recovery was better, regular strength training and stretching helped immensely. Now, the running couldn't be stopped. I was running some kilometres every day and was doing a 10k on almost every Sunday. I was slowly loving the "quiet, being left alone with your thoughts and yourself" part of the process.
Now I was getting what motivates people to run long distances. I'll be honest, I was enjoying it quite a lot. The "runner's high" got to me eventually!
The outcome? Standing as of today, I have done 3 half marathons back to back over the 3 weekends. Starting with 2 hours and 22 minutes to finishing the last one at 1 hour and 58 minutes, I couldn't be more proud of myself!
Quite practically saying, running can be therapeutic but it's also crucial for the cardiac, respiratory and the circulatory health. It's nothing but a comprehensive view towards fitness.
So, go out there. Do what you need to do but never give up on yourself.🫰🏽
Cheers!✨
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