Since I finally bit the bullet and started training for a marathon this fall, plenty of people have said, "I didn't know you run, since when have you been running?" Therein, definitely lies a tale.
Summer 2001 : The treat I was getting after a (supposedly) gruelling 2 years preparing for the HSC board exams and the JEE was a Youth Hostels Association trek up in the Himalayas. It was a memorable trip up in the mountains. I came back sunburnt and happy, with lots of stories, pictures and a ravenous appetite. There's nothing like strapping on a backpack and trudging up mountains at an altitude of a few thousand metres to make you capable of eating everything in sight. It doesn't hurt on the trek but back at sea level that can be a different story.
Freshie times : So with all that trekking under my belt, I started college and got swept up in all the late nights, coffee, making new friends and the rest. While chowing down some of the greasiest, most terrible hostel mess food ever. It was a classic case of the Freshman 15, if there ever was one. Somewhere by the middle of the semester, I could tell my jeans were starting to complain. By the time end semester exams rolled around, it seemed like time for some action.
Dec break : The final straw on this camel's back came when I went back home after the semester. I come from a place that sends about a dozen strapping youths to IITs every year and people are used to seeing these kids come back looking like wraiths after a semester of not being able to eat mess food. And there I was, chubby cheeked and noticeably tubby. Definitely unusual. There were plenty of digs on the lines of, "Suna tha mess ka khaana accha nahi hota, sudhar gaya hai lagta hai." Gets embarassing after a few times.
So I decided to make a New Year resolution (apparently I wasn't embarassed enough to start something right away, in the middle of December), to go running with a senior in hostel who used to run fairly regularly. Seemed like a reasonable option for someone who never really played any sports as a kid. I already had sneakers, shorts (and an abundance of free T-shirts). All I had to do was get out and jog. And jog I did. I tagged along with Vidya on the 3rd of Jan 2002. We went up a hill which defeated me somewhere in the middle. Still, I was hooked. That started a habit of running for about 45 minutes maybe 2 or 3 times a week.
This is one New Year resolution that has stayed with me now for close to 8 years. I've given up on running in between, due to illness or struggling with adjusting to a new place (where I promptly put on weight again). But running has never been far from my mind. I'm happy to be running regularly again, challenging myself to do distances I've never done before.
A friend however, had a simple explanation for why I run. After watching me struggle with a piece of sushi and a pair of chopsticks for about 15 minutes, he said, "I know why you run, you're too uncoordinated to do anything else! "
Summer 2001 : The treat I was getting after a (supposedly) gruelling 2 years preparing for the HSC board exams and the JEE was a Youth Hostels Association trek up in the Himalayas. It was a memorable trip up in the mountains. I came back sunburnt and happy, with lots of stories, pictures and a ravenous appetite. There's nothing like strapping on a backpack and trudging up mountains at an altitude of a few thousand metres to make you capable of eating everything in sight. It doesn't hurt on the trek but back at sea level that can be a different story.
Freshie times : So with all that trekking under my belt, I started college and got swept up in all the late nights, coffee, making new friends and the rest. While chowing down some of the greasiest, most terrible hostel mess food ever. It was a classic case of the Freshman 15, if there ever was one. Somewhere by the middle of the semester, I could tell my jeans were starting to complain. By the time end semester exams rolled around, it seemed like time for some action.
Dec break : The final straw on this camel's back came when I went back home after the semester. I come from a place that sends about a dozen strapping youths to IITs every year and people are used to seeing these kids come back looking like wraiths after a semester of not being able to eat mess food. And there I was, chubby cheeked and noticeably tubby. Definitely unusual. There were plenty of digs on the lines of, "Suna tha mess ka khaana accha nahi hota, sudhar gaya hai lagta hai." Gets embarassing after a few times.
So I decided to make a New Year resolution (apparently I wasn't embarassed enough to start something right away, in the middle of December), to go running with a senior in hostel who used to run fairly regularly. Seemed like a reasonable option for someone who never really played any sports as a kid. I already had sneakers, shorts (and an abundance of free T-shirts). All I had to do was get out and jog. And jog I did. I tagged along with Vidya on the 3rd of Jan 2002. We went up a hill which defeated me somewhere in the middle. Still, I was hooked. That started a habit of running for about 45 minutes maybe 2 or 3 times a week.
This is one New Year resolution that has stayed with me now for close to 8 years. I've given up on running in between, due to illness or struggling with adjusting to a new place (where I promptly put on weight again). But running has never been far from my mind. I'm happy to be running regularly again, challenging myself to do distances I've never done before.
A friend however, had a simple explanation for why I run. After watching me struggle with a piece of sushi and a pair of chopsticks for about 15 minutes, he said, "I know why you run, you're too uncoordinated to do anything else! "
