MARATHONING IN THE MID-LIFE

2018 was my year of running.

From failing to fully run a 10k in Dec’17 to completing my third half marathon at Siem Reap in 2 hours and 12 minutes, this was the year where I built my physical and mental faculties towards being a competent half-marathoner.

I have been asked the following 2 questions a lot:- WHY? AND WHY MARATHONING?

The Why – The health consequences of my hectic travel and work schedules on my sedentary life almost mandated a physical intervention as an antidote. Given that I am in a regional role professionally and a long distance relationship personally meant that I was forever on a flight. And given that I live alone in Jakarta, my time awake was spent clocking long hours at work or downing whisky sodas in bars. At 37, this lifestyle was a ticking time bomb, with an impending health issue just waiting to happen. I needed to commit to a disciplined exercise routine to ensure extension of the life I so loved.

Why Marathoning – There are two games that I played in my formative years, short distance running and basketball. Basketball needs social commitments, which I am not keen on. Alternatively, the journey from short distance to long distance running was challenging yet achievable. For one simple reason – it posed a strong challenge around one principle that I have tried to live my life by “If you start a race, finish it”.

Its been quite the journey. Mentally, physically, even emotionally. But here are some things that I learnt along the way.

1.      GETTING THE GEAR RIGHT – Sounds basic but it isn’t. I realized this when I moved from my regular Nikes to a more marathon friendly Hoka One. From struggling with calf pain in a 10k, I knocked off a 13K without breaks the weekend after I bought that pair. Secondly, getting the music gear right…I found wires interfering over long runs. Moving to the wireless headphones and ensuring they were charged for a full run made a huge difference, especially when you need music to take your mind off the tiredness that creeps in, in the middle of a 21K. Finally, the fact that I needed a thin singlet rather than a T-shirt to eliminate the irritation of running in a soaked vest. For long distance running, getting these right is a trial-and-error process but a necessary one for every first time marathoner to go through.

2.      THE DISCIPLINE IN THE EVERYDAY FOR EVERYDAY RUNNING –Working upto a 21K requires one to get 5 -6K in everyday with a 10K+ run on the weekend. You can’t have this discipline if you are downing beers indiscriminately or binging Netflix till late. It needed me to be in bed by 10:30pm to be up by 5am for my daily runs. So very few late nights, either working or socializing.

3.      THE “FINISHING” TARGET, EVERY SINGLE DAY – My brain needed the mental conditioning to not give up on a 21K. For this, I needed to mentally condition my brain and body to “target practice”, i.e. hit my daily KM target, come what may. So if I needed to run 5K on Mondays, 6K on Tuesdays and 7K on Wednesdays, then I pushed myself to not stop till I hit that distance. So come race day, I would be mentally conditioned for the 21k.

There is a theory that argues for a connect between endurance sports and mid-life crisis. (https://medium.com/s/greatescape/extreme-athleticism-is-the-new-midlife-crisis-d87199a18bed). The need to drive achievement in tough sport as a means to either prepare yourself for the years ahead or compensate for a sense of underachievement. As I made my own journey through marathoning this year, I do see the validity of this argument. I did it to ensure I remain healthy enough in the face of an extremely unhealthy lifestyle. Marathoning is my counterbalance.

But through the journey, I have most enjoyed the mental challenges that a 21K throws at me. The need to run at my own pace, overcoming the wall of fatigue that hits you somewhere mid-race, not giving in to the physical pain you feel in your calf and lower back muscles, not giving in to that constant voice asking you to walk for a while.

To me, the 21K is a template for how life should ideally be led. Prepare for what you want to achieve, overcome the mental, physical and emotional obstacles that you face as you race and then cross the finish line with a feeling of accomplishment and exhilaration. Topped off with a nice cold beer.

That’s life. In a 21K.