What my first 5k run taught me
For a flat-footed , generally lazy person, running was hardly an appealing prospect in my fitness regime. My warm up sessions before playing or gymming involved mostly walking fast or few seconds of a mild jog. Warming up was a task.
This year, however, I decided to shake things up a bit. Early in the year, I finally overcame my fear and learnt swimming. I enjoyed the learning process and also enjoy swimming now, even though I might look like a tadpole struggling in the water. It's fine, I have other worries crowding my head at that time, such as avoiding drowning in a 5 feet swimming pool, than worrying about how pretty I look while swimming.
So, last month, when I read about an upcoming marathon in the city, I thought, why not? First thing my eyes darted towards, was the 5k fun run and I was convinced it had to be done. Many of my friends chipped in, highlighting how doing 5k in 1 hour is a no-big-deal. After all, it's a 'fun' run. Well, it was serious business for me, because it still involved preparations such as waking up early for the big day, getting used to walking more than 2 kilometers or actually jogging for more than 10 seconds.
The wise owl left behind some learnings :
1.Training or getting used to the idea of running is important.
While there must have been many people today who probably just woke up and came for the run and probably finished before me, I was never a lucky one in that matter. Hence, to me, this meant actually training (believe it or not) for the 5k. The training is one of the enjoyable aspects, because you push yourself to improve your timing. There is actually never a dull day that ways, because each run is different.
Below is a comic I drew to depict the funny side of those training sessions vs post the actual run.
2. Enjoy the charged up atmosphere during the run.
While training I was concerned about finishing the 5k with a comfortable timing, but during the actual run, when you see people from all walks of life running, you do not even need to glance at your watch. I witnessed people with prosthetic legs, people on wheelchairs, mothers with kids, fathers with kids and school kids running or walking at their own comfortable pace. The whole route is filled with doses of motivation, you only need to look.
3.That feeling of accomplishment
As we go about our daily lives, we do not give enough credit to our own selves sometimes. We are so overpowered by social media today that a feeling of 'something amiss' in our lives constantly surrounds us - the holiday that some acquaintance is going on or that start up dude who made millions or people quitting fancy paying jobs to pursue their dream lives or someone's new cute pet who has an Instagram account with million followers or the new swanky car, the designation, the corner office; well, you get the point - the list is endless. While, to me, it seemed as if almost everyone who turned up for the race had a medal dangling from his/ her neck, that mere act of possessing the medal is inspiring. And as you look around, you acknowledge others' accomplishments as well.
As for me, I am currently motivated to train for 10k,however, its's Saturday night and I can only think of the pizza and beer, that I truly deserve for my accomplishment.