I probably will be closing this running year with 2000 km,
and I could only say – Hell of a year for running.
I am proud of it not because of the distance,
but because of the consistency.
I did 161 runs and that’s something I loved to see.
But, it did not come easy initially.
I wanted to start getting back to running right from 2022 Jan.
But, I hardly had the motivation.
I would go for a run, then give a few weeks for another run.
One day my Coach(Siva), insisted I needed to get back and
enough of procrastination.
He was telling me to come back, but this time I heard him.
After that, within the same month, he signed me up
for the Team relay stadium run, where 6 of us will be running
2 hours each (making it a 12-hour relay).
I told myself, I do not want to screw it up, because of lack of training,
So I started being regular. I did the stadium run and I wanted to
Keep the momentum going.
Signed up for Club Run and Girl Child Run, and those helped me to be accountable.
Here are pictures from those events
Run for Girl Child Event ->
Stadium Run ->
Club run ->
Then, I decided to do a Full Marathon (42.2) and in our group, a few
People planned to do the Ladhak Marathon.
People said, doing it at that altitude is tough.
Which is exactly what I wanted to hear.
I signed up.
Initially running was hard to be consistent with.
I wanted to eat my food properly(nutritious), and do strength training,
And sleep well on time, which I know will all contribute.
In Jan and Feb, because I started after a long break, I started having
Minor injuries, I went to a physio and I was told not to run much for 3-5 weeks,
I agreed and fixed the issues first.
in this year’s 2nd and 3rd quarters, I had a few things that occupied my mind.
Pushing myself to be consistent and one thing was hard enough mentally
(at that time).
I said, screw it, let me just be consistent with running,
Then I will add other things.
For food, while I started eating good clean goods,
The inclusion of junk food did not go away,
Sleep I fixed a bit, better than before but not the best schedule.
For strength training, I went a few times and then did not go back.
Two months before the Ladakh Marathon, I figured, I had mind space
To push myself for 1 or 2 things to form as habits.
I tried to focus them in nutrition and sleep,
They got better.
I wasn’t confident to add strength in those
2 months as running volume was high
And I felt like they may have been injured
(which in reality they would have avoided injuries).
I survived on doing rehab exercises and just stayed just above
Getting injured again. I think I managed.
I made a short video on how much(months) it took me to get
Back to running and to be consistent.
You can check it here – https://www.instagram.com/p/CwAw3eNs64E/
Below is a picture from the Ladhak Marathon
Once Ladhak was done and after coming back,
I signed up for Malnad 30km,
I wanted to explore trails
I know I enjoy being in nature and running,
What is better than doing trail runs?
I ran Malnad 30km,
It went so well for me(in terms of feel/experience) that
I wanted to focus more on trail runs next year, and not
Keeping road runs in the calendar.
Below is the image from Malnad Run
After all, we run to enjoy ourselves,
And I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t trade the
Events calendar for trail runs instead of road runs.
But again, trail runs mean travel.
Travel takes time and money
And I already have a few travel plans.
So I would love to see how it works out.
So 4th quarter of the year,
My mind got cleared a lot.
My mind was occupied with many things that,
I was hardly able to prioritize anything out of it.
Therapy helped, basically the therapist helped me
Prioritize and let me move one thing a week.
In 3-5 weeks, everything I had in mind was cleared and flushed out.
I started strength training,
I started sleeping better
I would now make sure I get enough sleep even if it means,
I go out for the runs a little late.
My nutrition got 80% better,
I still crave dessert and junk food but
It’s way lower than before.
I started eating a lot of vegetables (3-4 days a week, 400-600 grams)
A combination of all of the above,
My Heart Rate during runs got lower,
I am recovering from sessions quicker
And I don’t feel injury-prone compared to
How I used to feel a few months back.
I understood, I enjoy Long Slow Distance Running(LSD Runs)
More than shorter ones.
Again, optimizing for the feel and joy,
I want to explore long-distance running.
And I want to explore train runs(how much ever possible).
To start the year on a good note,
I signed up for TataUltra in Feb 2024,
I am excited about it.
I had people doubt if I could do a marathon,
noting close of other doubts affected because, not because I was confident,
I was so underconfident and had so much self-doubt that no one
doubts about me even came close.
I know, if I do the next run or session, I will be good,
my job was to wear the shoes and get out of the house,
and struck to the plan,
it wasn’t until 4-6 weeks before the Ladhak marathon, I got
confident about doing it.
Until I finished the Malnad 30km run, I was underconfident
of finishing it even at the start line.
When I say, I managed injuries,
few were so bad, that I did not expect to run the next day,
but I never missed a long run.
Despite the pain, I would go
(my physio said if the pain is less than 5 on a 1-10 scale, I could run,
so I did run with professional advice in check, no stupid crap pulling off stuff)
Was it worth the pain? was it worth being tired over the weekend?
Was it worth coming back home early from meeting friends to sleep early?
Was it worth building habits one after the other and working things around them?
I don’t know what ‘worth’ means.
But I strongly feel I haven’t started yet, not stopping soon, not stopping yet.
I have a strong urge to explore what my mind and body can do.
Let’s see where this all goes.
I want to say this for you –
It’s not about the pace, not about the distance, heck, it’s not even about the sport.
I hope you are doing what you love(without comparison with others).
I would love to hear your 2023 year review & your goals for 2024.