Run for Sanity

I thought, hey, it’s time to start a new blog. And then I realized I already have one with an apt name for my latest passion. I am still in search of sanity, and I’m making a run for it.

Hi guys, it’s been long since I wrote … I think I’ve lost ‘it’ but whatever ‘it’ is, I’m going to get it back because, well, writing was always the first love of my life. And that’s why I hate it so much. Confused? Join the club.

So what brings me back? I’m training for a 10k run in October. Ten k, you say? What’s the biggie in that, you wonder? Well, I had started off thinking I’d run a marathon, that’s back when I thought 10k was the length of the marathon! Ha! It’s not! A marathon is about 42 kms! Who the hell can run for 42 kms! Apparently, lots of people do!

I’m starting small. I have never been a runner all my life. You remember how our ‘physical training’ teachers in school would make the entire class run around the field twice, maybe three during ‘P.T. period’, just as a formality? Well, that too was a struggle for me. Even at that age. And I am ashamed of it. There are many things I wished I could do in my life, one of them was to be able to run. Makes you think, huh?

I have spent the last one and half years trying to get myself into shape. This meant I would go for a walk for 20 to 30 mins every other day, for some time I joined aerobics classes which took place thrice a week for an hour, and again later I joined a gym where we did varied things every day, from kick boxing to weight training, interval training … the works. My stint at the last gym lasted about four months and it was more rigourous. It was while working out here that I discovered my dream of being a runner could become a reality. You see, the instructor was just feeling lazy one day and asked us to jog around the hall for 10 mins. Yeah, right! Ten minutes, continuously! I won’t be able to do this. The last time I had tried to run on the treadmill, I had to stop after about three mins because I would get breathless. But guys, I ran. I ran for ten mins and I could keep going.

This may sound silly to people who are fitter than me, or generally fit. Do you guys know you are a dying species, by the way?

All I need right now: my two legs, shoes,
 Murakami and  lots and lots of water :)

Anyway, it’s week two of training. In the first week, I jogged for two kilometres continuously, which took me about twenty minutes. I have ramped it up to two and a half in about thirty minutes. Today I ran in the park for forty minutes and I feel good. I usually run on the treadmill – saves me from the weather and lets me keep a check on the time, speed and distance covered – it’s easier, I realized, than running in the open. Since the marathon will be on the road, I have decided to run outside at least once a week.

I don’t know if I’ll make it but in all this, I really hope I transform into a runner. I’m not much of a go getter, more of an easy-going gal, so I can only pray that this passion stays on. But for now, I’m on the move and happy!

My message for today: DON’T TAKE YOUR LEGS FOR GRANTED!