Here is a conversation which I had in September, 2013.

A -“ I want to run the SCMM half marathon next year”

Me-“Why not”

A-“ I am 109 kgs, 165 cms in height…so roughly 44 kgs overweight”

Me-“Umm”

A-“ And I had a knee injury last year- because of which I could not walk properly for 6 months last year. Things are much better now, but it does pain once in a while.

Me-“Ummmm”. Do you run regularly?

A- I hardly walk except for a post lunch stroll with office colleagues?

How would you react if you were in my place?

Chances are you would tell “A” to take a walk- both literally and otherwise. Fortunately or otherwise, I did not have that option, simply because I was “A” as well, and this was a conversation which I had with myself.

Just as a quick background, I work in the financial services industry, specifically investment banking, which is known for its demanding work schedule. I am married and have a baby boy- who was then 2 years old and suffering from a couple of ailments, which are expected to go away  with time. My wife is also a working professional.  Although she was trying her best to juggle her multiple roles, obviously she could do with as much support as I could provide.

Given these physical and personal situations, my targets seemed ambitious to anyone I shared the same with.  So, I realized- it had to be a step by step approach.  I started with casual walks trying to just walk for half an hour, at whatever speed I could. Gradually, I increased this to one hour over the course of a month. This was followed by improving the walking speed which I managed to move from about 4 kms in an hour to 6 kms an hour. This took another couple of months. I then started jogging a bit. In January 2014, I participated in the SCMM dream run, and managed to complete 6kms in 45 mins, which uplifted me. I then did a 7 km run followed by a few 10ks. Each of these runs especially the first 10k saw me battle significant self doubt. But at the end of these, I had a few medals to show-off, more to myself than to others.

This increased my hunger to work harder, and to get better at running. Also, it built support in the eco-system around me. My family started taking this passion of mine more seriously, and bearing with my practice schedule. My fellow runners also started taking interest in my queries and treating things more seriously.

However, the journey was not without its share of challenges. Paulo Coelho in his much quoted lines from “The Alchemist” says “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”  I would say this is only half the truth- the good side of the story. Before conspiring to help you achieve anything, the universe conspires to test you on how badly you want it. What else could explain the fact that in all my first four runs, my son fell ill the previous night, and I could not rest properly before any of them? Not only this drained me physically, there was more mental fatigue. In fact till the time I left for these runs, I was not sure whether I would be running or not and whether I had it in me to complete the run at all. From a different perspective, maybe it was just Murphy’s Law in action “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”.

After doing the TCS Bengaluru 10k in 1 hr 15 minutes, and being eligible for SCMM half marathon  (India’s most prestigious run), I was elated. However, I started having significant pain which I figured out was called “shin pain” by my runner friends. I was warned to take proper rest and exercises. I had to be off running for almost 2 months- June and July, which felt really painful mentally – definitely more than the physical pain that I was facing.  I kept exercising, walking and cycling to keep the momentum.

The shin pain had gone by July end and I started in right earnest in August, completing my first 15k in end August.  I did my first half marathon in November in Aarey in Mumbai (regarded as the toughest run in Mumbai by most runners) in 2 hours 51 mins. It was tiring, but I felt awesome having completed it.  Unfortunately, post the run I realized that I had a toe nail injury- which kept me away from running for a few days. I was all excited about preparing for SCMM- it was the dream that I had started with ! However, about a fortnight before the run, I started having heel pain.  I first ignored it, but it became persistent. A week before the run, I consulted my orthopaedic, who gave me a green signal for the run but urged me to be cautious and not overdo things. It was a big relief.

Finally, on 18^th of Jan, 2015 – I did my first SCMM half marathon. Given the spate of injuries, the timing was not what it could have been or what it should have been. However, I was happy that I could finally achieve this. It had been a disciplined journey of 15 months- which saw me do ~350+ workouts, including ~1400 kms of running and 150 + power yoga/ aerobics sessions.

In the process of this journey, I have lost 17 odd kgs of weight and around 8 inches off my waist.  Of course I still have a long way to go on these stats, but the progress does encourage you to keep at it with enthusiasm. One of the bigger benefits of this has been the increased awareness towards health. As a person, it has made me happier. I first read about this in Christopher McDougall’s inspiring book “Born to run” on how runners were happier people, and I must admit, I experienced it first- hand.

Though most people would think of long distance running as a test of physical fitness, my learning is that beyond a basic level of physical fitness, it is a test of your mental strength- your dedication and your attitude of never giving in.

A friend once asked me my source of motivation- I did not have an immediate answer. I did think about it and realized the answer was rather simple (tad silly)- and it was, that I really wanted to do this. You may ask why- and the answer is - to prove to myself that I could achieve something that at the outset looked like a crazy target.

During the journey, my key learnings were that with perseverance and discipline, one can achieve almost all dreams-! And yes- quitting is not an option- keep running  and be happy !

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Acknowledgement

My story would be incomplete if I do not acknowledge some people who contributed enormously to the cause. Whether it was my yoga instructor, my runner colleagues- who guided and inspired me through the journey,  my virtual running partner who inspired me through numerous encouraging messages and my family, which supported me through this all- I am blessed to have had their support.

PS: This story was selected by SCMM as one of the winning entries in "Share your story" criteria, and allowed me to participate in SCMM 2016.