Why Run?
I woke up at 3:00 am this morning to get ready for Brooklyn half marathon. I have been busy with work, studies, and a lot of other things, and due to this, I have hardly slept for the past few days.
Given my hectic schedule and genuine worry about my health, a number of friends suggested that I slow down. Any conversation whether at work, or with friends would include enquiries about my running. Why run? Why a half marathon? Why do you torture yourself like this? No one cares Ganesh whether you run or finish, so just take it easy. You are going to have knee and hip problems, please STOP.
As a kid, I liked to play sports and was a natural sprinter. Growing up, cricket was my passion, but my running was always decent. I never tried out for a school sports team, as I was busy with other aspects of uplifting our middle class life style; good education, and prospects for a good job. I don't recall the last time I ran a 100M race, but it was in Postal Colony, West Mambalam, India
Though I have seen some of my friends training, I neither paid attention nor considered it. Quite frankly, I felt I had come so far in my life; I honestly didn't think I could pick up such a grueling physical activity. I totally forgot about the runner that was in me. I even joined a few gyms in the past couple of decades, but I wasn't consistent and eventually, I slowly dropped out of them. But all that changed, when I saw my father in the hospital getting treated for a heart condition. My father was my mentor and role model throughout my life. He had advised me to focus less on work, and more on physical fitness. I took his advice seriously, and enrolled in a new gym in Princeton. I discussed my goals with a fitness trainer, and he suggested running. He agreed to run with me, if I trained with him consistently at the gym. I hired him as my personal trainer, and we focused on strengthening my core, but eventually we started running. At first, we were only doing few hundred meters at a time, but we gradually improved to a 1K and 5K(km) distance. In 2012, I ran my first 5K race with my personal trainer. My father was very proud, and my wife and kids were cheering for me at the finish line. I never felt this happy and healthy in my entire life. I was proud that with proper and consistent training, I was able to accomplish my goal of running.
Having come this far, I really wanted to take my running to the next level and compete in a half marathon race(21K). Compared to a 5K, a half marathon requires rigorous training and stamina. It requires you to sustain your running for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Transitioning to a half marathon took me three years. I ran a number of 5K and 10K races in between, but I could never cross the 15K barrier. Despite the odds, I never gave up and continued to train without positive results. But thanks to a Brazilian colleague of mine, after I changed my diet, my shoes, my running posture, and my running habits, I was ready to go. Since then, I have trained for and successfully completed the following half marathons: Trenton Half marathon(Nov 15, 2015); Philadelphia half marathon(April 16, 2016) and now Brooklyn half marathon(October 16, 2016). I don't intend to stop training, and am considering training for a triathlon in 2017.
You still may be wondering, Why even bother? For me, training and running is like meditation. After a long run, I always come up with new ideas, that contribute to my various projects. Running also gave me hope in my life again. It gave me the confidence and the assurance that if I set a goal and train, I could accomplish anything I want in my life. It has helped me deal with my father's death and has helped me change my attitude about life. I have become more positive, and have also started trying a number of different things that I never imagined I could ever do. In my early 40's, I went back to Cornell University, to pursue an Executive MBA. I switched jobs and took new assignments that allowed me to focus and learn. But the biggest accomplishment is being able to share my experiences and encourage others to run. Several of my friends are running now, and that gives me sheer joy and excitement that no professional or materialistic accomplishment can. But my wife and kids are my inspiration. I know they are extremely proud of my accomplishments, and my boys are eagerly awaiting to compete with me in a race. Running has taken a lot of my time away from them, but they know I do it for them. I know I won't win any races or qualify for olympics anymore, but I am happy that I am fit and able to run, and hopefully, I will be doing it for the rest of my life.
Ganesh Venkataraman
October 8, 2016
