Musings of an Experiential Runner

My ‘E theory’ of running: It’s a pot-pourri of my realizations while running, overheard conversations and comments on social media.   E  xercise: All children run, most youngsters run, some adults run, few elders run. As life passes on we become more mechanized, more sedentary and more out of shape. At some point in life we have an almost Eureka like moment, when the need to exercise hits us. It could be a stray comment by someone about you being out of shape, it could be looking yourself in the mirror one day and not  recognising  the overweight and puffed up stranger, it could be the doctor explaining your medical condition and the need to improve your lifestyle. So you decide to exercise before life passes you by….and what simpler exercise than to run?!  Neither do you need any special skills nor do you need specialized equipment. Just a good pair of running shoes and appropriate clothing: you are set to reclaim good shape and good health. That’s how I ...

Can a runner tackle all sorts of distances, terrains and weather conditions equally well? It's a pretty common sense answer: NO. But then who said that runners have ANY SENSE, let alone common sense!!😝 I am sure all you runners out there face the same conundrum and get caught up in the vortex of achievement. Once you have done a few 5Ks, you graduate to 10Ks, then move up to half marathons and finally tick a few full (42K) ones. Now what?  Pretty soon you feel an emptiness, no more new highs?!! You look around and see some insane people doing insane things....the ULTRAS. 50K, 100K, 12 hour runs, 24 hour runs!!😳 Gives you that feeling of not doing enough/ underachieving. You get caught on the hamster wheel, unable to get off. Pride of achievement takes precedence over the Joy of running.   Pardon me, but it becomes something of a sadomasochistic thing. How much can you push yourself, how much misery can you pile up on your body, how much of a beating can your body take. ...

Following a very long/ hard run or a competitive run, convention dictates that the next day one does a recovery run. Typically it's a 30-40 minute run at a pace about 1 min/ km slower than your usual race day pace.  The theory behind it is that it flushes out the lactic acid that inevitably builds up in the muscles after an effort run, helping alleviate the pain and soreness of the muscles, preventing them from cramping up, improves your fatigue resistance/ endurance and adds to your mileage with a chance to work on your running form also.  This is what the proponents claim; though probably there is not enough scientific data to conclusively prove it. The detractors are more dismissive of this 'jogging'!!🤐 From personal experience, I agree with a part of the theory. A short recovery run of 5K or 30 minutes duration is helpful in loosening up the muscles that are stiff after an effort run. If you listen closely to your body, it also helps identify the parts that have taken ...

A s a runner it is inevitable that you will experience pain at some point of time. And I don't mean pain of the mental or emotional sorts (though that too is inevitable, but that I shall keep aside for a later post).  The pounding on trails and roads results in the legs taking a beating. So aches and pains are natural. Over the years I have had my fair share of assorted injuries, pains and the usual aches. The usual aches are generally due to muscle fatigue or overuse. They respond to adequate rest, ice packs, stretches and maybe a couple of anti-inflammatory pills. Pain could also mean some nutritional deficiency, inadequate muscle strength, injury or infection.  The pains (that are more than the usual) I have come to categorize, from a functional point, into two sets. The exact diagnosis can wait for a bit.  The first set of pains is the one that usually creeps up insidiously. Till that point you have been running well and then you start feeling this pain that can be of...

There are 'Morning people' and there are the 'Night birds'. The former are the early risers who like a head start and are a 'Go' while others are still in bed or just about  beginning  to brew their morning cuppa. Their freshness and energy levels are at their peak in the morning and so too their efficiency and productivity. The latter group revs up more slowly and pick up their energy and efficiency as the day ticks along, start hitting their straps towards the evening and get their highs at night.  Similarly, in running matters there are the 'Dawn runners' and there are the 'Dusk runners'. Very obviously the former find mornings the best time to run and kickstart their day while the latter find in easier to run after the day's work is done. I too am one of those who find early mornings to be the best time to run. How early is early? Very early...if you ask me!! A run starting anytime between 0500 to 0630 hours, depending on the time of the ...

Just like every day is a new day, a different day, every run is a different run.  What I mean is that though the track/ trail/ course might be the same and you might have run it a hundred times, every single time you run it…. it’s a different experience and a new challenge. So many factors come into play. There are the quantifiable ones like the temperature, humidity, wind speed, air quality/ pollution levels, time of the day and the intangibles such as how rested and fresh you are, how good are you feeling about yourself, are you running with your usual group or are you with new running mates or on your own, how much of a rhythm you manage to fall into. Having had had a good run on a particular route a few days earlier doesn’t always guarantee a strong run the next time. Never be lulled into a sense of ‘easy pickings’ just because of your familiarity with a particular course. The elements and the ‘intangibles’ might conspire against you!!  I was served a reminder of this di...

The ultimate dream of any amateur or leisure runner is to run a half marathon, the 21K, and then kick on to crack the full 42K. It is a great sense of achievement and matter of pride when you complete your first half marathon (HM) and full marathon (FM). The exact length of a HM is 21.097 kilometers, and as they say, the first 21K is easy....it's the last 0.097K that kills!!😢   Once you set your mind too it, shouldn't be too difficult to run a half. Obviously it needs time, discipline and hard work but when you cross the finish line the overwhelming rush of emotions and thrill of achievement is well worth the pain. Quite a few of us have been moved to tears of joy/ relief/ pain when we finished our first one.    What does it take to do your first one? The commitment and resolve of course. The rest follows. It should take 8-12 weeks to be set for your first attempt, depending on your fitness and prior running experience. Over these weeks one improves their physical a...