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| Thoughts form and the words flow..... |
The Joy of running! What I think when I run….
Running to the school as a kid, then to catch the train during my college days, then running about to establish my practice and now running the Marathons. No doubt, it is said we are 'Born to run'.
Tomorrow morning, in the wee hours of dawn, when most of the Mumbaikars will be enjoying their Sunday sleep, I will be at the Azad maidan along with thousands of fellow runners bursting with the pent up energy, brimming with enthusiasm, eager to start the 42.1 km long run - the Mumbai Marathon.
It will be a culmination of nearly all the year round training, days of getting up bleary eyed, at the crack of dawn to run every alternate day. Running early in the morning has its share of joy which only a runner can experience.
It's usually dark as I start my runs, the sun yet to rise, but the anticipation of a new dawn makes this darkness different from that of the night. The early morning chill, the cool breeze makes the start enjoyable. I am fresh, if the previous night's sleep has been uninterrupted, but more often than not, there is always someone who decides to get a stroke or an attack in the dead of night. Nevertheless years of getting night calls right from my residency days makes me get up at least once to check my mobile and see if I have missed any. Pavlov’s reflex, I guess!
Unlike the hustle bustle and chaos of the late morning, this time of the morning is a different world. The milkman on his bicycle whistling past, the vendors arranging the morning newspapers in neat pile, the roadside hawkers yet to set up their stalls and the near empty streets that greet me as I take a turn on the Hill Road are sights which I won't see as the day progresses. The occasional tempo with flowers, sometimes fish, zips past by me, stimulating, sometimes numbing my olfactory senses in its wake.
As day light breaks, the chirping of birds flying overhead in search of food intermingle with the music on my mp3 player. I see stray dogs moving menacingly on the road, barking and marking their territories. Somehow they never trouble me, though a lot of runners complain about dogs running after them. I usually ignore them and never even look at them; it's a dog’s world after all!!
I notice people, animals and the birds around me and realize that everyone seems to be living in a little universe of their own creation, going around their routine like well oiled machinery. The interactions that we have with each other, touching each other's lives is more often than not self-centered, catering to the fulfillment of our own desires.
I am getting my gear ready and also downloading songs in my music player for tomorrow’s run, a flashback starts in my mind and I recollect my 1st Full Marathon 3 years ago and how tense I was before the run. During my runs and even on the Marathon day, I always carry my Mp 3 player with me. I can't run without my music and contrary to the majority who listen to fast paced music or songs, I love listening to slow, but intense songs from old Hindi films. They somehow seem to gently mingle with the relaxed morning atmosphere making my runs more enjoyable. As the music plays on and my run progresses, my mind starts to take off on a flight of fantasy. The lyrics play on in my mind and I become one with the singer. I become sad poet, that rejected lover, the happy tramp, and sometimes the carefree young man trying to find his moorings in this world.
The middle part of the run is the most comfortable, somewhere between the 10 to 30 km mark. I go on a cruise mode now. A gentle rhythm has developed. The music of my Mp 3 player is regaled to the background now as the sound of my feet grating on the concrete starts to synchronize with my harsh breathing and my by now thumping heart and a different melody starts playing in my ears. I am in a different orbit now. I am in a trance, oblivious of the surrounding site. It's only I, me and myself.
The final part of the run, the last 10 Kms is the defining part. It can make me or break me. Fortunately it has been the former so far. It's run more with the mind that the body, they say and it's so true. Muscle fatigue starts to set in, cramps bog me down, the body tells me to stop, but the mind is made up. It has to cross the finish line, the job once started has to be finished. The cheering of the crowd eggs me on.... It's a few Kms now and the end is in sight. I reserve a few inspirational songs for the last 2 to 3 Kms It adds a spring to my run and an extra bounce to my steps. I can see the finish line now. The sight itself rejuvenates me as it does to all the runners. The photographers lining the sides near the finish line brings out a smile on my tired face and as I breast the tape, I eye the timer. I have achieved what I had set out to.
As the agony gives way to ecstasy, the pain to pleasure, a wave of exhilaration sweeps over me and I recollect a quote I had read, “First you feel like dying. Then you feel reborn." It's been a satisfying run. One more run completed, my 1st full Marathon. It was all about competing with me, bettering myself and coming out on top. It was about my universe, the one I had created for myself and about conquering it!
