I was gasping
for breath. The route seemed to be long and endless. I was eagerly looking out
for the ‘U’ turn for the 3 km runners. Alas, it was not to be seen anywhere
near. Am I going to finish this run? Or may be I would faint by the time I
reach the finish line!! My thoughts were faster than my steps.
 |
| At Ridley Run |
It was 5th
March 2017, when I had registered myself for the Ridley Run 2017 which was
happening at Palavakkam Beach. With high levels of humidity, I wasn’t able to
move further. (Ok ok, as if I was fit enough otherwise :D) I was wondering, with regular
walking schedule for past 3 months, I thought the 3 km run must be a piece of
cake. No, I understood then, you may be able to walk, but running is not easy.
I wished if only I had good endurance to run. Never been a sportsperson or into
running, except for 2 or 3 marathon events, that too in 3 km category (that’s
the least, why don’t they have 1 km category for adults!!!). Somehow finished the run mostly by walking.
Free Structured Training
3 days later, I
happened to see a post in the our Residential group in FB, where the
residents and people in neighbourhood were invited for a free training for
marathon running. Wow, what an opportunity! You think of God and here He shows
up! I was excited for 3 reasons, one, I have a chance to get trained for
marathon running, two, it was in the vicinity and three, it was free (I have
had experiences in the past, of paying amounts for gym and not being able to
continue and the money goes as donation finally!!) I called up Mr. Dominic John
in the number provided in the post. Do I need say that it was a turning point
in my life?!
 |
| First day of training |
I got to
understand from him that training will be provided 2 days in a week, good,
that’s comfortable for me as well. I joined the team on 11th March
2017. On the first day of my training, there were some 12 guys and I was the
only woman. I struggled to do the workouts, but the guys were doing them so
easily; they had been practicing for 2 months already! There was a warm-up run
for around 1 km... OMG, I wasn’t able to run even 100 metres continuously. Our
mentor Dominic was there to support and encourage. He advised that one should
always compare with self and never with other runners. He assured that with
continuous training, I will be able to run long distances. I wasn’t confident
then. I had my doubts. But I took his advice seriously. Followed his
instructions perfectly. And then we had our Professional Coach Mr. Mathiazhagan
from 1st April 2017 as the official Free Structured training imparted by Dream Runners Management started.
 |
| Official Training by DRHM |
With the
training and encouragement of Dom and Mathi, we were building our muscles as
well as our confidence. The race director Alibhai Sir and our beloved Partha Sir visited us often during the training period and motivated us.
By the time of April we had built as a big team of more than 40 members. Very encouraging and enthusiastic group, I would say. I was the slowest in the group; still they encouraged me for my persistence. I would be worried that my pace is so poor; they would appreciate me for my sincere efforts. It’s so lucky to get such team mates who keep you motivated always. Their enthusiasm gave me the boost to continue my run even at Kuwait during my vacation. (I had troubled and dragged my husband to the beach at 5 am - that’s a different story altogether. But he was amused by my enthu – aarvakolaru u may say in local slang!! :P )
By the time of April we had built as a big team of more than 40 members. Very encouraging and enthusiastic group, I would say. I was the slowest in the group; still they encouraged me for my persistence. I would be worried that my pace is so poor; they would appreciate me for my sincere efforts. It’s so lucky to get such team mates who keep you motivated always. Their enthusiasm gave me the boost to continue my run even at Kuwait during my vacation. (I had troubled and dragged my husband to the beach at 5 am - that’s a different story altogether. But he was amused by my enthu – aarvakolaru u may say in local slang!! :P )
Dream Runners Half Marathon 2017
The much awaited
day arrived. 23rd July 2017 – Dream Runners Half Marathon 2017. I
was excited and anxious which made me wake up at 3.15 am and get ready. We
reached the venue at 4.45 am. It was so nice to see so many happy faces doing
warm up stretches and getting ready for the action. We did our warm up
stretches under the guidance of our coach Mathi. Then attended the zumba
session for a while and headed towards the ‘Start’ line.
 |
| Finished 10 km |
With the cheering of
the crowd, the race was flagged exactly at 5.30 am. I started with a very slow
pace, jogging and looking at the happy and enthusiastic faces around me. And
slowly increased my pace after 2 kms. The event was so well organized, there
were hydration points at every 2 kms – water, oris, banana, lime, oranges. I
tried my best to spot the photographers, smiled and showed thumbs up whenever I
was able to. Photographs are our memories that we love to relive.
The climate was quite humid. I was bit disappointed as I was expecting cold breeze early in the morning. To add on, the sling bag rope came off and I had to carry my bag in my hand. I started feeling it to be heavy after a while. Cursed myself for taking the bag without checking. But this sling bag had been my companion throughout. While reaching the 6 km ‘U’ turn, I was more energetic than before. My mind was boosting me up as I had only 40% to complete. While crossing the band and their encouraging music, I was able to feel the gush of blood from my legs, boosted me further. The encouraging calls of volunteers kept me focussed.
The climate was quite humid. I was bit disappointed as I was expecting cold breeze early in the morning. To add on, the sling bag rope came off and I had to carry my bag in my hand. I started feeling it to be heavy after a while. Cursed myself for taking the bag without checking. But this sling bag had been my companion throughout. While reaching the 6 km ‘U’ turn, I was more energetic than before. My mind was boosting me up as I had only 40% to complete. While crossing the band and their encouraging music, I was able to feel the gush of blood from my legs, boosted me further. The encouraging calls of volunteers kept me focussed.
Almost reached,
just 500 metres away from the finish line, I was getting drained. My bag was
adding burden. I kept saying to myself that it’s a small distance to finish.
Imagined the energetic welcome by Dom and my team and pushed myself. The final
100 metres were very tough. But I was amazed by the strong finish by a team of
elderly people, 3 of them holding their hands together and running cheerfully.
Again I picked up energy and finished my race strong. As expected I was
welcomed by our mentor Dom with applause. I was so happy to see him there. Felt
I had accomplished something which I never thought I would be able to.
Post run, we were served with South Indian breakfast from A2B, greek yogurt. It would be a sin if I did not mention the excellent coffee, which brought back my energy. Completed our post run stretches with the coach. We took pictures, had chit chat with fellow runners, shared our experience with Twin Birds group. It was an eventful morning.
 |
| Group Photo at DRHM 2017 |
Change for betterment
Today I am
amazed at the way I have changed. Positive changes give you lots of confidence.
I was able to do a 10 km run without pausing, standing, walking or stopping at
the Dream Runners Half Marathon 2017. I finished the run in 1 hour 28
minutes. Just remembering the day when I
was unable to do a 3 km run! I owe this transformation to our mentor Dominic
John and coach Mathi and to the DRHM Management for imparting us the training. Many thanks to my friends and family for all the support. They have been so kind to bear my torture as I was sending them my run stats and progress almost everyday and they were encouraging and motivating me throughout!
I am yet to
achieve my target of getting fit. But there’s no looking back hereafter. I
hope to keep running to keep both my body and mind fit and healthy. Looking
forward to more events in future and more running!!
MILES TO GO
BEFORE I SLEEP!!!
