Had a bit of a WhatsApp meltdown on Sunday all over my running coach and mentor, Dr. Rajat Chauhan.
After patiently hearing me out about my knee pain and my stress about not being able to regain running form, Doc told me to calm down, take things one step at a time, and then this:
Your assignment today, he wrote, is to tell me why you love running. (Otherwise my assignment would have been to update my Excel spreadsheet, setting out what I’d done in my weekly training block. Which was nothing. Hence the stress and the meltdown.)
Like a good mentor, Doc checked in with me on Monday. Basically, where is your homework?
Today he sent me a Calvin & Hobbes cartoon, by way of a gentle reminder that I still hadn’t handed in my homework š
This evening, after saying farewell to a cousin who died of Coronavirus, I went for a short, solo run.
I felt sad and, yes, anxious about the virus but 5k in the park, amongst the trees, calmed me down.
And made me realise, yet again, what is is that I love about running.
Having come to running very late in life, it has been a voyage of discovery finding out that physical exertion can cure so many problems, both physical and mental.
It can also cause problems, let’s be honest!
I’ve tripped several times in the past 7 years since I started running, emerging bloody and bruised.
I have lost more toe-nails than I can count.
I’ve damaged my shoulder – oh no, hang on, that wasn’t due to running, that was while mountain climbing in Ladakh.
BUT…on the other hand I have never felt healthier in my whole life.
Touch wood, I’ve never been majorly unwell or sickly, but in the years that I’ve been running, I can, for example, count on the fingers of one hand how many times I’ve had a cold. I sleep much better at night. I feel fitter.
And running has led me to exercise more, to start yoga, to try an overall holistic approach towards health that was sorely lacking before. I’ve even started weightlifting!
Pre-Coronavirus, I would’ve said that running gives me an opportunity to hang out with youngsters several times a week, at running group – but it’s been 9 long months without my running mates š
There are admittedly some sillier reasons for enjoying running – wearing flashy fluorescent clothes “at my age” and not giving a damn.
Discovering great new music for my playlists.
Winning medals. Just think! Me, winning a medal!
But, going back to Doc’s original question as to why I love running…well, this evening was a case in point.
Those short, solo kilometres cleared my head, and yes, let’s be honest, they allowed me to feel grateful for my own good health. Sure, I have that painful knee I mentioned earlier, that has bugged me for over a year now, but on the scale of things – it’s nothing, absolutely nothing.
Running allows me time to think. To listen to BBC podcasts. Many of the opening lines of articles I’ve written have come to me while running.
Running has allowed me to grieve while I forced my body to run, rather than moping around, feeling sorry for myself.
When a friend died of cancer this summer, it was during a long run that the grief hit.
A few weeks after my mother died, I went for a solo run in Malcha Forest (probably not a wise thing to have done, in hindsight). I stopped to explore an old Dargah inside the forest, and the pent-up grief hit me. I sat and sobbed away, with the poor cleric looking very bewildered.
Between my mother’s death and the emotional job of emptying our childhood home and selling it, I came back to India and ran my first marathon. When I panicked and thought about pulling out of the race, it was Doc who told me that no I WOULD run the marathon, and yes I WOULD do it in honour of my mother. The need to head out and run and run for hours was calming, and gave a focus to what were otherwise sad and distressing times.
Does any of this make sense?
I hope so.
So, yup, this is why I love running – it works for me.
Makes me happy.
Calms me down.
Clears my head.
Well…exceptional…period. Keep having fun and run. Accidents are apart of incidents brackets marathon et cetera
How nice Maasi. Thank you
Awesome blog. You are a rockstar, Aunty!! An inspiration to me and so many of us…keep smiling and flying! Hope we meet again soon.
A special thank you to Shalini who’s been there from the start. From Day One.
Awwww, we love you Aunty. You will be back with a vengeance in no time x
Awesome Christine!
Very encouraging and inspiring Christine
Enjoyed reading why u love running :)…keep writing and running. It’s an unbeatable combination š
What a cathartic assignment! beautifully written, Christine
Awesome and inspirational! We look up to you Christine(Auntyji/ flying lady)! Keep the spirits high n flying always… keep Miling and smiling as doc says. Hope by your age am atleast 50% as fit as you are! Miss you Christine…
Thanks Shalini, and can’t wait to meet up again in Mumbai x
Iām so glad you wrote this down. Thanks a million miles. We have a simple plan now, to keep miling and smiling, forever. Everything else is simply noise.
“Forever”!! You’re on, Doc!
Having known you for about 7 years now, I am amazed at how disciplined and consistent (student of running) you are and not to forget, the honesty with which you express your emotions. Love you for that! Sending you good vibes and hugs.
Also, now I feel like exploring Malcha Forest š
Thanks Sonam. Sending those good vibes right back at you. But please do NOT go alone to Malcha Forest – trust me!
Beautifully put!! “It works for me” and “for more than just the finish line”
Varda Harneja Thank you so much
Inspiring and motivating
Christine I loved the article. Relate so strongly to your share. Much strength to you.
Inspiring read. He has more power to you
Quite inspirational. Enjoyed reading the post. Wish you speedy recovery and look forward to seeing you on the racetrack soon.
It’s been an age Arvind since we ran together!!
Well Christine! Just read it, as I lie down with a hot pack on a hurting right knee. Couldn’t be better timed and couldn’t have had a better start to my day! Thanks for writing it!! More power to us over knee-less nonsense!
Beautifully expressed. “Why I run” is a question to which there is a personal answer that each of us may yet have to discover.
Very nicely depicted article.
Beautifully explained