In the hills, with the pines whispering, almost calling out to me, and the clean air giving me a boost, despite the altitude, running is not as difficult as you would imagine.
This half marathon in Mukteshwar (at over 2,000 metres), Uttarakhand, had not been easy to train for though: the last many months had been spent in a whirl of setting up house in Gurgaon, after being away from the country for a few years. I had had a sprain and had not been able to train as much as I would have liked to. Plus, I had never run in the hills. But when a friend mentioned it, my husband and I decided it might be fun.
The beginning
I started running only in my 40s - unless you can count all the running I did around my two kids!
But fitness enthusiasts tend not to.
In school, I never was any good at athletics, though I played everything else, from basketball to kho-kho.
In the three decades that followed, there was walking and gym-ing, but never running. Until my husband’s office decided to sponsor all their employees and their spouses for the first Airtel Delhi Half Marathon in 2007. The bug bit and I have been running ever since - at first mostly on the road, and now, mainly in the gym.
Because timing hasn’t been my driving force, I have never had a coach or followed a plan. I simply run, pushing myself on days I feel I can. I don’t set out saying ‘I will do 10 km today.’ I let my body dictate that. With most of us, the problem is starting out. Once you’re out, you can push yourself with little goals. Read more
This half marathon in Mukteshwar (at over 2,000 metres), Uttarakhand, had not been easy to train for though: the last many months had been spent in a whirl of setting up house in Gurgaon, after being away from the country for a few years. I had had a sprain and had not been able to train as much as I would have liked to. Plus, I had never run in the hills. But when a friend mentioned it, my husband and I decided it might be fun.
The beginning
I started running only in my 40s - unless you can count all the running I did around my two kids!
But fitness enthusiasts tend not to.
In school, I never was any good at athletics, though I played everything else, from basketball to kho-kho.
In the three decades that followed, there was walking and gym-ing, but never running. Until my husband’s office decided to sponsor all their employees and their spouses for the first Airtel Delhi Half Marathon in 2007. The bug bit and I have been running ever since - at first mostly on the road, and now, mainly in the gym.
Because timing hasn’t been my driving force, I have never had a coach or followed a plan. I simply run, pushing myself on days I feel I can. I don’t set out saying ‘I will do 10 km today.’ I let my body dictate that. With most of us, the problem is starting out. Once you’re out, you can push yourself with little goals. Read more