-Emil Zatopek, Czech athlete, Marathon Gold Medalist, 1952 Summer Olympics
Three months down the line, this past Saturday I ran 15 miles (24 kms)!!
Back in April I came across this quote and am repeating it here, not only because it aptly sums up a great athlete's personal triumph, but also because the quote has slowly and steadily begun to resonate ever more strongly with my own effort to run a marathon this fall. Blessed (at least that is how I like to think of it!) with a short, slender frame and standing tall at precisely 4'-11-1/2", I was never the sports champ- I was fast though, and being able to sprint through 100m races was something I managed to do pretty well until about middle school when the inextricable web of studies and other activities that I enjoyed, supplanted my interest in sports altogether. (The fact that I fainted twice while running 400m races in school further convinced me that I was not cut out for endurance sports! :)). And so life went on and I managed to preserve my short, slender frame without any formal exercise or sport (unless you want to count hostel table tennis in the list) throughout college.
Coming to the US was a turning point--the relative availability of time and easy access to a wonderful college gym managed to rouse me up from lethargy. Yet running was never my thing -- I would jog a comfortable couple of laps around the gym track (i.e. barely half a mile) and secretly marvel at the individuals who ran round and round for what seemed like an eternity. Our first year in Boston, Abhi & I 'experienced' the Boston Marathon - 'experienced' as opposed to saw or watched..cause I remember it being a truly moving experience...I had tears in my eyes as people young and old, physically fit and unfit, made it to the finish line with agony, joy, determination and pride writ large across their faces. 26.2 miles was an incomprehensible distance for me at the time -- it seemed impossible how anybody could run all of it at one go (how anybody can do in a little over 2 hrs is still a mystery though!). Pumped up with awe and inspiration, Abhi remarked that he would love to run the marathon one day. I told him I would cheer for him along the way if he did - running a marathon myself still seemed a completely insane idea.
And so another year passed - it was almost time for the 2009 Boston Marathon when Abhi chanced upon a website of a program run by two India-centric charities, AID and Asha, wherein volunteers train together to run a marathon and raise funds in the process. Reading accounts of first-time marathon runners was indeed inspiring; the fact that it was coupled with a cause we could connect to, made it even more appealing. So, on we went for the orientation session in late April - a fairly well-attended gathering where presentations were made by the charity administrators, the coach and previous runners. While nobody said it in quite the words of Emil Zatopek, most runners attested to the fact that training for the marathon would be a HUGE commitment and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Abhi and I decided to give it a shot - we thought maybe we could try the half marathon option if the full 26.2 miles seemed really long. Anyways, so the following Saturday, around 30-40 people met by the Charles river (on what has to be the worst spring day with freezing temperatures and rain) for the first run. The coach outlined 3 loops - 3, 4 and 5 miles..I obviously chose 3 - but wait 3 miles!!!! The most I had ever run was a mile - so completely unsure of what I was getting into, I herded along with the '3 mile' group and off we went. Five-ten minutes in, with cold winds and sleet slapping across my face, I was completely out of breath and energy. I really wanted to complete the whole distance running though, and resolved to keep my legs moving - tempting as it was to walk for sometime and pick up the run again. A couple of bridges, steps and ramps on the way didn’t help the situation—and when I gazed up along the river to the finish line, it seemed just too awfully distant. Nonetheless, I kept my legs moving, even if my running was more like a slow jog at times. Twenty minutes in, I was utterly exhausted, yet it seemed like I was more than halfway through…this realization acted like a shot of adrenaline – it would have been a waste to stop now…I just had to hang in there for a few more minutes. The last quarter mile was the best part of the run – the prospect of finishing was so desirable that I could actually run faster. Dashing to the finish and meeting Abhi there was even better..I was so glad it was over that exhaustion took a back seat! THAT was the beginning…
Three months down the line, this past Saturday I ran consistently for a little over 3 hours to complete a 15 mile run. The journey from 3 to 15 has been an exciting one—it has had its share of pain, disappointments, injuries and triumphs. From getting up early every Saturday for the group long runs, to running (or not) during the week after office hours, to giving in to the urge to stop mid-run and decide its not my day, to nursing my bruised ego by running over-ambitiously and injuring my knees—all have been illuminating experiences.
More on them in subsequent posts and hopefully the journey from here to 26.2 in real time!