I like running and I do it for many reasons

(3 min read)

The question that I constantly I ask myself. Why do I run? Why do I put myself through the pain of running? Reasons are plenty. My answer is always changing depending on the mood I am in. 

When I am in pain, I would like to run and embrace the discomfort. 

When I am anxious or too busy in my head, I run because it clears my mind and help me relax.

I run because it makes me feel strong to push my limits.

I run because it makes me believe in myself, I introspect and it makes me a better person.

Last month, I wanted to run a 10 km. And this time the reason was I wanted to prove to myself that I am capable of more than what I thought was possible. I needed more stamina. To make a 10 km a reality, I had to be in practice, needed some energy in my foot.

I devised a plan. I would run 1 km every single day for the next 9-10 days and then I would go for the 10 km as by that time I would be ready.

So, here how it went: 

 

• The first day of run was very strenuous. I was running after 2 months. The gap was partly due to the birth of my second son and partly due to my own laziness. The first day towards the goal of 10 km was full of motivation but it also gave me enough pain in the leg and calf
• I promised myself daily without any break. However, the next day was Saturday and I wouldn't miss cricket for anything else. Next day, I felt too much pain and was feeling very tired to get myself to run
• The second run came after 2 days, and it wasn't much difference from the first day's run. The legs pained again. I didn't improve the timing. However, the good thing was that I continued running daily for the next 5 days, only to pause due to cricket day on the Saturday. As you can see from the chart above, my timings improved. Running regularly improves the stamina and speed and decreases the pain
• Few bits of learning
• Take rest for a day or two but not more than that
• Eat well, do not fill yourself a night prior to the running
• Drink enough water to keep yourself hydrated during the run
• Massage your legs, keep them healthy
• Do warm ups before the run, don't exert too much pressure on your core muscle

Once the 9 days of 1 km was done, I thought I was ready for the 10 km. But rain played spoilsport. It rained incessantly for few days, then procrastination creeped in me. I felt lazy, I couldn't pull myself up in the morning. Finally, after enough delay, I decided if this keeps on going my practice will be of no use. After 8 days of the last 1 km run, on the night of Thursday 9th December, 2021 I decided come what may I am running that damn 10 km. And so I did, and here's the proof: Strava's link 

The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.