Yesterday, despite all my misgivings, I ran a half marathon here in Delhi.
And all because of FOMO.
Let me explain.
I had decided that I wouldn’t run the HM, even after switching categories from the marathon to half, because
(a) I was seriously undertrained
and
(b) there was an out-of-town double family wedding. all of last week, meaning that I drank and partied late and did NO exercise whatsoever.
So be it, I told myself.
Skip the race, enjoy the wedding, and party long and hard (Reader, oh I did indeed party hard…)
Anyway, back in Delhi, I still went to pick up my bib & race T shirt, on the basis that I’d paid good money for them, so why not.
And voilà.
Got swept up in the expo buzz, didn’t I?
The energy, the enthusiasm, the nice feeling of “familiarity” around running people
Went and validated my bib, didn’t I, “just in case I change my mind”?
Which is why, on Saturday night, with zero prep, zero training, zero diet consideration, I decided to run the next morning.
Let me make one thing quite clear – I ABSOLUTELY do not advise this as race strategy.
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
This total “non-strategy” only worked for me yesterday because I went into the race with 2 main goals, neither of them remotely professional.
To have fun.
And to finish.
And I succeeded in both of them.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself, trotting super slowly along what is a beautiful race route. I met loads of lovely people, and hope I waved and smiled back at everyone who was so kind and encouraging along the way. (Runners really are great people)..
And I finished.
I crossed the finish line with a sweet young lady who patted me on the shoulder in the closing seconds – that heart-stopping moment when you can SEE the finish line just a few steps ahead of you – as she said “Come on! Let’s do this!” I have no idea who she was, and immediately lost her in the crowd, but it was a sweet moment.
Moral of my story?
Follow your instincts.
Run to have fun.
I shall, of course, be way more diligent and train properly for my next race, and avoid staying up late and drinking gallons of Prosecco the week before, but it all goes to show that if you really need to do/prove something (as I did) then what the heck! Adjust your goals and go for it!
Yesterday was all about having fun, and proving to myself that I can indeed do hard things.
