Why do I run?

Running, like whiskey is an acquired taste. I had grown an acquired taste for running ever since I first started training for the half marathon last year. When I first started running last year, by all normal standards set aside for runners, I did NOT qualify as a professional runner. I do not have those lean legs that those kenyans have. I am not an athlete with a body fat less than 6%. And to add to it all, I hated running. I considered running as the most boring sport on the planet. I was one of those people who would rather go play something than go out for a run. I was physically keeping fit and active but I never really understood the significance of running or the impact it can have on your life.

That passed. I did a Half Marathon. I still do not have those lean legs or a runner’s body. I still feel those miles are hard to get by. But something changed. I liked the challenge now. For the first time, I discovered a sport in which you are your own company. You are in harmony with your inner self. The ultimate inner sanctum. Running taught me pain but it also taught me that it can be overcome. Running taught me the difference between solitude and loneliness. More than anything, running taught me to defy what my head tells me and reach beyond the typical comfort zone. Go that extra mile in life….that means everything!

I ran my first half marathon in San Diego on June 1st, 2008. That was the day I had run the longest distance ever. I ended the run in extreme pain. Why? Since I suffered from an aching ankle tendon that kept irritating me since mile 3. The next 10 miles were just a fleeting memory of pain. When I reached that 13.1 mile marker along with my wonderful coach Melissa, I felt I beat that lazy voice in me that told me to quit at mile 3.

I am planning to do a full marathon – the complete 26.2 miles this summer,exactly one year from the day I finished my half. My aim this time, as before, is to complete it but more importantly to be able to enjoy the run and avoid pain. This probably would be a seperate post.

Later…