Today, it is necessary to book a spot in the Mumbai Marathon or the Delhi Airtel Half Marathon weeks in advance. On weekends, most parks and large grounds are full of people, both men and women, and of all age groups, running. It has almost become a necessary part of the resume for corporate careers. But it was different when I started running half marathons in 2009. There were few regular runners and coaches were hard to find.
I followed a schedule for the first 10km run I did and managed to complete it in 68 minutes. Then I did a few more 10 km events. In 2009, I tried my hand in the Airtel Half Marathon. Although I would get seriously fatigued muscles after my practice runs, still I managed to complete the race and then ran in a few more halfmarathons later.
In 2012, I thought I was ready for a full marathon and enrolled for one. But it was different kettle of fish! In one of my practice runs, I got an excruciating pain in my left shin and it refused to go away even though it subsided a bit. Without realising the import of this, I kept practicing for another week before I realised that I had to see a doctor. After mandatory MRIs, X Rays and several visits, it was confirmed that I had a fracture in my tibia – the front bone in my shin. I was off running for six months. But I did not give up and after a full recovery,I finally ran my first full marathon.
Here are the lessons I learned.
1. Choose the right shoes: The importance of this simple tip cannot be overemphasized. The wrong shoes can create imbalance in stepping with undue pressure on the feet thus leading to injuries.
2. Follow the schedule methodically: A marathon is the pinnacle of human effort for an average adult and beyond 30kms, the body in a sense reaches its limit. So, the body has to be prepared systematically. For this, following a schedule from an expert is critical and one should not try to skip any part of the schedule. I had a problem because, in my running-induced euphoria, I tried to run 31 km instead of the scheduled 21km for the day. Due to this, the stress on the shinbone/tibia was beyond what it could take.
3. Build strength: It is very important to ensure adequate strength in calves, quadriceps, back, and core muscles. These muscles support the load that the body goes through when it is running. Typically the stress generated during running is five times that of walking.
The good news is that following these basic steps, I avoided any further injury, and soon after recovery completed my first 42.2 km run, truly a dream come true!
