Joy of Running

Some of the motivational running quotes I re-read are —

One run can change your day. Many runs can change your life.

Run often, run long, but never outrun your joy of running” — Julie Isphording.

When you run a marathon, you run against the distance, not against other runners, and not against the time. Even a bad run is better than no run.

I don’t have a runner’s body. But I have a runner’s heart.

Don’t ask me why I run, ask yourself why you don’t.

Tough runs don’t last be tough runners do.

If your legs are tired, run with your heart.

“Run like there’s a smart guy ahead of you and there’s a creepy guy behind you.”

And the last one always works without fail :)

I haven’t been a big fan of running, yoga and meditation. I would love to do dozens of burpees in one place rather than run. I don’t like when somebody’s voice commands over me when you inhale and exhale. When I close my eyes, I have 100s’ of thoughts running on my mind. I don’t like someone distracting me or giving me their imagination when I have my own. I was too stubborn towards these three forms of physical and mental exercise.

But off late, a friend of mine has inspired me to give it a try and then realize in order to reap its benefits. After a few attempts and keeping myself calm, I finally did realize why they insisted me to try. I had nothing but gratitude towards my mates. I am glad that I am surrounded by people who are worried about the mental health apart from being physically fit.

When I started running, I loved the small pleasures in life which are totally free of cost — the sunrise, the fresh cold breeze slap on your face, the heart rate increasing faster, empty road, people twice my age running happily, attempting longer and higher leaps towards bigger steps were fascinating. It was like a million jumping jacks for me. But very soon I would run out of breathe and I had to stop running and start walking. I am glad my coach corrected me in aligning my shoulders, not to make a fist with my fingers yet to leave them loose like holding a piece of paper, run at a pace where I can breathe and talk comfortably for a mile or two and sustain. He also checked for the energy loss since I easily ran out of breathe.

He taught me to use my complete strength only during the last few miles of the marathon while reaching the finish line. Until then, I was told to be at my own pace. Not bothering whether how many people are ahead of me or behind me. I still had to walk a few times in between. The walk is considered a break as I was told and I had to keep a count for it. I gradually decreased the number of walks. This really helped me improve my performance.

Every running session ends with a group picture which I used to upload it on my twitter handle and Instagram. I used to get a lot of appreciation from my well-wishers. I made friends who corrected me when I used to sit down as I finished the run. They told me to cool down with stretches no matter how tired I was. Every runner friend has a story which inspired me. Different fitness levels, different age groups, different professions, yet we all shared the same happiness of crossing the Finish line. The best part is when we pass by each other, there was always a voice telling me — C’mon Prathima, you can do it. We are almost there! I would be sweating like a pig and endorsing a tired face, yet when I hear those motivational words, there’s a sudden rush of energy in my body and I make a better pick up again.

As I became regular with the outdoor runs, I fell in love with it. I was inspired by runners who run regularly who are twice my age and also half my age. Running is more a metal push rather than physical.

As someone rightly said — if you think that your mind can do, your body achieves it.
The race grows sweeter near its final lap — Eve Pell.

These lines are pure gold. I learned uphill run, easy and the tempo runs by telling my mind these lines.

I started attending a lot of marathons with the team and improved my pace. The finisher medal made me a lot happy but I aim to get a podium for the 5k one day. I still have a long way to go. I got to beat my own records on Strava. As Rhonda Byrn, says in his book The Secret — Manifesting a feeling leads us closer to what we what :)

I hope my journey inspired at least one person to start running. If not, last attempt to try this joke on running:

WEBSITE: We use cookies to improve performance.

ME: Same!

Happy running :)