So... In the second half of 2012, i became aware of a burgeoning waistline. I was living alone, eating all three meals outside, it was to be expected. But, i'd always been pretty lean and this was not a welcome change. So, i decided to take up jogging coupled with exercising.
It lasted a week. A painful week at that. I pulled a muscle and everything hurt. I gave up.
Then i signed up for a 4-5 day yoga course. Diligently got up early each morning and went for the session. It too, bit the dust in the next fortnight. I wasn't consistent enough.
2012 and then 2013 passed....my waistline kept growing.
I think it was june/july of 2014 that i took up jogging again. Somewhere in the back of my mind, i knew that i had to do something about my paunch, or else it was going to be an undesirable situation. I started off with 5 mins jogs, after dropping off my daughter to school. The time grew from 5 mins to 15 over a couple of weeks. I was, of course, huffing and puffing a lot. My cardio vascular system was rebelling against this physical activity. But, i kept it up for a month. Then, i had to travel in August, due to work. And my fitness regime went down the drain again. I came back in October and started again. This time i tried to use a couple of running/fitness apps and track my progress. I built up to 15-20 min walk-jogs over a couple of months. Winter arrived. And again, the early morning jogs went away in favour of keeping myself warm. I started again, once the weather was more amiable, in march, i think. And then i had to move house from Pune to Hyderabad. Again, the jogging took a backseat. The next few months were very trying because of a new role at work and my waistline kept increasing.
2016 arrived. I happened to go to Mumbai on Jan 17th. It was the day of the StanChart Mumbai Marathon. I met a couple of colleagues and a friend who had run that day...and the spark was back !
This time I was determined to make my fitness regimen last. I read up, researched the net on jogging/running/exercising apps and came upon C25K. This was a couch to 5K app designed to take me from nothing to 5K in 8 weeks. This was a start once again. I started spending 3 days a week, 30 mins a day, listening to the app and doing exactly what it was telling me to do. It helped that my new rented residence had a 1K jogging track :) This time, i was more consistent and coupled my running with a few select exercises. At the same time, i got advice to join a running group from a friend. She suggested that it is always easier to train in a group. The motivation and advice from a few people is better than trying to go it alone. I found 'Hyderabad Runners'. They were starting a C25K program in march. It couldn't have happened at a better time. The stars were aligning in my favour. We got a couple of mentors in Sandeep and Raghu. They were volunteering their time, three days a week, an hour every day to get a bunch of folks into a healthier lifestyle.
The first day I landed up in front of the gachibowli stadium and started to see a few folks coming by in bits. Pretty soon i saw a pencil thin guy, bald, decent running apparel come by and get us all together. Just looking at him, I was amazed. Now, this is a runner, i thought. He doesn't have an ounce of fat on him ! Raghu too joined us. And i decided that they could be brothers..discounting the facial hair :) But jokes apart, they gave us a good orientation and 2016 started for me on a fitness high !
The group met three days a week and our mentors walked and ran with us. We started to hear terms like...heel strike, forefoot strike, cadence, pace vs speed, heart rate etc. etc. Now, i'd already started the C25K app based training plan in feb and the HR C25K started off in march. Both merged perfectly for me. I was doing my 30 minute walk-jog-run as per the app but at the same time i was getting the running knowledge from Sandeep and Raghu. These pearls of wisdom can never be imbibed from an app, nor can they be read on a website and fully appreciated. The time and effort that our mentors took to listen patiently to the myriad queries from a diverse set of folks is indeed praiseworthy. They probably explained the same thing to different people at different points of time, again and again. Hats off to them !!!
The program brought a disparate bunch of folks together. There were mothers (two) of twins. I mean, what are the chances of getting to meet two of them at the same time ! There were a couple of senior citizens. A bunch of folks, about my age. A couple of folks, who were more ‘rounded’ than tall :) There were even a couple of very fit athletes, who’d played other sports but were now desirous of taking up running, in their quest of leading a healthier lifestyle.
Now, one thing I learned, was that it’s not easy to be committed to getting up early and meeting other folks for huffing and puffing :) If I remember correctly, there were 60-65 folks who’d signed up for the program. About 20-25 were regular in the trainings. And fewer still continued whatever they’d learned in the running sessions. I’m proud to call a few of them as my friends. Here are a few, in no particular order…
Sudheekar sir was(is) an avid walker. He walked and he walked. I mean, he could (& can) walk the pants off anyone. And he walked fast. Really fast. It was difficult to keep up with him at his pace. I’ve never seen a person more regular in his walking than him. He walked a 100Kms in a week. He was pretty fit for his age. Absolutely no belly. I mean, I’d be happy to be half the person he is, once I reach his age (hopefully).
Addendum (Aug 2018) : He's walked nearly 11,500 Kms in the past 44 months.That's an average of almost 9K daily !!!! He is a force of nature ! He says - it helps that he's retired and that he has the time to walk so much :) He's too humble and modest. I wish he does 50,000 kms over the next few years and i can come and celebrate that milestone with him.
Vikas is an outstanding athlete. He’s on the correct side of 30 and fit as Ronaldo. Six pack and everything! He’s fast like the wind. I nicknamed him – Rocketman. He’s a sub 2 half-marathoner, with an injured foot. He joined the program, just so that he could get a little consistency in his running. Have some semblance of being regular in training. However, I firmly believe that he can hibernate for a few months… then just get up and do a 2 hour run, without breaking a sweat. He’s blessed that way. I hope he retains this lifelong! We did a 10K (non timed race) and he of course finished in under 50 mins.....then came back to pace me to the finish line :) He's awesome.
Ravi is the gregarious one. He was on the heavy side, when he joined, but he’s been very very consistent in his running and dropped a few sizes since. He’s done a bunch of HM’s all across the country. He regularly volunteers for SAG duty for the Long runs on Sunday. He’d volunteer in the mornings and then do his own runs in the evening. He’s totally selfless and always ready to lend a hand. He’s built up a plethora of friends with Hyderabad Runners and been an ambassador for a few runs as well. I’m happy that he was a C25K mate of mine. He now mentors others in newer C25K batches. Even works with kids in HR’s programs. We get together for a run whenever possible and he will chat away the entire time and the kilometers will just float away! Hat’s off to his running ethic. Injuries permitting, I hope to be as consistent as him.
Simran is a little elder than my own daughter and Lalit is about my age. She’s a proper athlete and regularly wins inter school events – sprints mostly. But she enjoys football also. Lalit used to bring her to do practice runs, whenever he could get her to wake up J I face the same challenge with my daughter ! I remember one time, we were doing the Lemon tree hill (a short hill nearby), Ravi started off the run and was leading the pack and the rest of us followed. Pretty soon, we were well spread out over the course of a km or so… Ravi had been overtaken by Simran and there were a few of us who were following behind. Now mind you, this was a simple run, not a race, not a lot of huffing and puffing. I just happened to be running alongside Pooja and was trailing Simran. I turned to her and said…really, we’re going to get beat by a 12 year old. Seriously, that’s really pathetic of us :) She smiled and took the joke in her stride. Simran, of course charged up the hill and finished the run on a high. While we all followed with half our lungs hanging out. I’ve been on a few runs with Simran and tried to keep pace… but it’s a futile effort :) I’ve found that it’s a delight and a joy to run with kids. Something about the effortless ease with which they run, is an endearing quality that I love. Maybe, someday, my daughter too will run with me…
Pooja also lived in the same society. She has twins. One of them, sketches cartoons amazingly well. I’ve seen sketches of Iron man, Batman, Spiderman and they are awesome. And he’s only 9! She had this hydration belt, with a few pockets to keep knick knacks. Plenty of times she’s given me candy from them :) Because of this utility belt, I call her Batgirl! Her husband is also an athlete and similar to Vikas, can just get up and run a 10K. In fact, he did that in AHM 2016 and was far faster than a lot of the participants. Honestly, I don’t really know why Pooja joined the C25K program (I must ask her, the next time I meet her !) She’s pretty fit and is a busy lady. She was studying during the program and has since graduated. She works with special needs kids and has her own clinic nearby. She tells me stories of these kids and they are truly amazing. Someday, maybe, I’ll scribble something about them. Someone told me that it takes a lot of discipline to be regular in running and that if there is someone who will give you company, there is a higher chance of you waking up and getting out to run. She’s one of the reasons that I have been able to continue running with some regularity. Pooja, thanks for accompanying me for those early morning runs.
I hope to do a few races with them all, in the course of my lifetime.
Now, back to our mentors...
Sandeep and Raghu were having us do strength training once a week. These exercises were designed to help get our 'core' in shape. They were also meant to get our legs moving in a better fashion. Our legs have to pull our overweight bodies across large distances and they need strengthening. Squats, lunges, sit ups, push ups. Fundamentally, our kinetic chain needs to be strengthened overall for us to be successful long distance runners.
Addendum - Sept 2018 :: There's a short YT video of Raghu which has pearls of wisdom from him.
By the end of the 8 week program, i’d lost a few inches. My love handles started to disappear. My protruding belly became just a belly :)
Didn’t loose a lot of weight, but fat, which had gathered in the wrong places. I felt good, to be able to fit into my trousers, which were getting tight. New clothes, which I’d bought few months ago, needed to be tailored and tucked. My wife, did that for me. Bless her soul. Thank you for ensuring that I could always cover my modesty !
It’s not easy to maintain a lean physique. And I’ve learned it the hard way. I got injured a few months later and had to take an extended break to recover. The time off meant that I piled on the kilos faster than I had shed them ! This battle with my waistline continues still… and I hope to get the better of it, in the years to come.
Now, in the meantime, i'd signed up for a 5K run in april - Womanathon. This was to be my first official 5K fun run. But... more on that in a different post !
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