Why a marathon?
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Because it’s life-changing. Lifestyle consultant RAHUL S. VERGHESE tells you how to go about it the right way…
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Photo: Shashi Ashiwal
A surge of popular interest: Runners at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon.
That’s a good question. 42.2 km of running is not normal. Definitely not with today’s lifestyles, becoming far more comfortable and sedentary with each passing decade.
I got into running quite by accident at 40, and have experienced a whole host of benefits as I look back. I have seen reports on a variety of studies done by companies, doctors, universities on running and its impact on the body, met thousands of people as I have run marathons across the world, and have received several thousand emails from visitors to our website, www.runningandliving.com
, on how their lives have changed, with running. So I now believe — IT WORKS.
Running by itself seems abnormal and boring to most in India as we struggle through our daily lives with inconveniences around and our 24x7 chores. But strangely enough, it is the world’s most participative sport by far, so let me just outline some of the benefits.
Multiple benefits
At the base of the benefit pyramid is health: healthier bone structure, heart, lower blood sugar, stress and cholesterol, reduced asthma and sinusitis issues…..
The next step is boosted self confidence as you bust one mental barrier after another with your physical progress.
The third is perseverance, going hand in hand with understanding yourself better, both physically and psychologically.
The top of the pyramid is optimism.
All these can be attained through 30-45 minutes of running, 4-5 days a week.
But why a marathon?
I signed up for my first because to me it seemed like the ultimate challenge. If I could do a marathon, then I could do anything.
Some sign up for their first because they have been inspired by someone who has run, or to raise money in memory of, or for the treatment, of a loved one, or for a cause, or because their spouse or good friend has signed up, or maybe the marathon is at a great location and many more.
Whatever the initial inspiration or motivation, it is definitely something truly compelling, since I would repeat, running a full marathon is not a walk in the park, it is pounding each foot down around 21,000 times, with an impact of 3-4 times your body weight.
In the spring of 2001, I had just been able to run 5 km non stop (10 x more than earlier) after a good six months of running through a Chicago Winter on our treadmill, and felt that I could do anything. So an 8+ x further stretch to 42.2 km seemed possible to me! But also, since I had told my family, friends and colleagues, that I was running that October in the Chicago Marathon, there was no way out.
I bought a book, checked out various training schedules on the web, bought myself proper shoes for the first time in my life (check out more on what to look for in a shoe that is right for YOUR feet at http://www.runningandliving.com/running_shoes.html ), and gradually, during the course of my training, bought different socks, different T-shirts, undergarments, socks than what I had owned so far, a headband and more. Each was pooh-poohed by me when I read about how important it was for them to NOT be of pure cotton. I learnt the hard way. (Now we have tried to summarise many of those learnings at http://www.runningandliving.com/running_apparel.html
so that you don’t necessarily have to learn the hard way again.
I actually ran and walked 14 miles or around 23km on the first Sunday after starting my training, four times longer than what I had EVER run at a stretch before. I felt sore but fantastic, a HUGE mental barrier had been breached. And then there was no looking back. I realised that with training for the marathon I was forced to be more disciplined, get more focused, be open to advice and inputs, and be my own best trainer by maintaining a log of my training runs, not just the distance and time etc. but how I felt physically and psychologically, the terrain, the wind and… see a sample at http://www.runningandliving.com/ Getting_Started.html
Learning from the log
This I found invaluable as I read and re-read what happened on some days, and then learnt and adjusted going forward. Much like introspection after taking a few hits during a project or something else at work. I realised that I was not going to feel great every day — maybe I had not slept well the night before or something I ate was bothering me and…
Also, during a long run, the log was invaluable as I would recall my “best long run” and go over what happened, before and during the run. These reminiscences would also be valuable later to me as I crossed the 32 km mark in my first full marathon.
There are several schedules out there, similar to good doctors, each focused on getting you in good shape to the finish line. The important thing is to do your research, focus on one, and then STICK to one, and keep learning as you go along. Too often have I seen runners take elements out of five different great schedules and get injured before, or during a marathon. There are links to a great set of marathon training schedules for a first timer to a champion athlete, with highly varied target finish times, at http://www.runningandliving.com/Half_and_Full_Marathons.html
.
Appropriate conditioning
The other thing is try and mimic the conditions at the marathon location. Maybe you are in Chennai and want to run a marathon in Delhi in Winter. Try and do as much running indoors in an air-conditioned environment. If you are in Delhi and planning for a Mumbai Marathon in January, layer up with additional clothes, make yourself sweat more and you will be psychologically and physically better prepared.
Link up with a running group near you — check http://www.runningandliving.com/running_in_india.html
for starters.
Rest well and DO NOT try to make up for three days of training lost. You never double the dose of prescribed antibiotics if you miss something in between. You perhaps need to check with an experienced runner as to what you can do if you have missed out. Never increase your overall running in a week, or your long run mileage, by more than 10 per cent.
Staying injury free is a key focus that you must always keep in mind. I have seen many people crying because five months of training have come seemingly to naught, having been weakened with indigestion, fever or something else in the last two weeks. Surprisingly, resting is better than over training, as a thumb rule.
All in all, running a marathon is a life changing experience. Run one, and you are likely to become an evangelist for running, run your second and become an evangelist for life.
I have run 29, across the six continents so I could go on and on. But I will stop by saying, Running a marathon has several parallels to life and a huge potential for transfer of learnings across. We are forced to introspect while going through our running training, something that we normally miss out in life. At least I do.
If you know anyone who has been a regular runner, encourage him/her to run a marathon. They will never be able to thank you enough for it. And, if you yourself don’t run, make a start. It’s simple. Be a cheering spectator or a volunteer at a run or a marathon in your city, encourage someone to run a marathon.
Who knows, one day you will be writing your story, about how running a marathon changed a life, perhaps your own.
The writer left a25-year corporate career to found a company to enable individuals and organisations to unleash their potential via running. www.runningandliving.com
Health benefits
Manages weight and gets you trim.
Makes for a healthier cardio system and reduced cholesterol.
Manages blood sugar better.
It’s good for the bones.
Reduces incidence of coughs, colds, flu, sinusitis.
Positive impact for most asthmatic patients
Has been found to have a positive impact in prevention of certain cancers
Improves overall immune system
Lifestyle benefits
Improves memory.
Makes you look and feel younger.
Makes you live longer.
Gets you on a high.
Works as a natural anti-depressant.
Reduces stress.
Makes you feel more energised
And more…
Key requisites for a great marathon
Keep a training schedule/ Log
Get appropriate shoes/ Apparel
Information on remaining injury free and treating running injuries
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