Musings of an Experiential Runner

I thank God 🙏 for having given me the strength to run, the ability to think and the drive to improve.    Running as Therapy  For the body:  I guess most recreational running starts as a way to physical fitness. The reasons may be different: wanting to lose weight, need to smarten up for an event, medical reasons such as high sugars or hypertension etc. The main goal is to improve your cardiovascular and physical conditioning. As a domino effect, one starts eating healthier, having more regular work hours, partying and drinking less, sleeping better...all resulting in a fitter you. Do remember, it isn't an instant fix and it does take a few months of persistent effort for the positive effect to be apparent. The end result: A healthier, better looking and happier YOU.    For the mind:  As running becomes a regular and you are comfortable with the physical aspect of it, your runs tend to become an exercise in mindfulness also. The cobwebs of the mind start clearing up, the mental fog

Today was a good day in Delhi for an early morning run. The temperature dropped to a comfortable 24C, relative humidity was down into the 70s', AQI moderately good. Made most of it and did 21K at 5:01 pace.  A chance remark today by a fellow runner on how he was doing a heart rate controlled run and wanted more guidance from me on the subject. Me?...absolutely the wrong person to ask!! 😂 As you take up running more and more passionately, you will hear about cadence control, pace control and heart rate control...the merits and wonders of each 🤗 Lot of technical stuff with medical terms and biomechanics lingo....am sure much of it is well researched and probably true. But, does an average recreational long distance runner like you and me need to fry our brains with all this stuff? No real need, in my opinion.  We run for the love of running...free-spirited running . No need to be weighed down by the technical jargon. Just go out and run the way you feel on the given day. If you a

For some like me…YES…almost a religion. Let’s explore its tenets. 1.       Discipline: Come what may, step out almost daily and run. Regular sleep hours and no erratic work hours. No excuses! 2.       Self-Denial: Avoid the ‘sin-foods’ fastidiously, moderate the alcohol and avoid late nights. 3.       Self-improvement: Through running become a better person. More positive, healthier, more humble and more helpful.    4.       Contentment: Be happy with what you have and thankful to God for giving you enough. 5.       Sharing: Share your experiences, your learnings. Give back and make a difference to your family, friends, co-runners and community at large.  6.       Peace and Harmony: Be at peace with yourself. Learn to be happy in other people’s happiness and achievements. 7.       No ‘One Upmanship’: Be competitive without creating rivalries. 8.       Acceptance: There will be others better than you. Instead of grudging them, strive to emulate them. 9.       Earth is the  Ultimate moth

When running alone and running long, one has plenty of time and solitude to ruminate about life. Some profound truths strike and you develop your own philosophy around them.   In the course of my runs, two statements that one hears often have struck me as gross untruths: 1.       I don’t have an Ego: Everyone has an ego. You must have an ego. There are no two ways about it. If one were to genuinely not have an ego, you would go through life without a challenge, without being noticed and without achieving much. One has to keep the ego on a tight leash, so that it works for you rather than controlling you.    A well-molded ego drives you to do all the hard work, achieve excellence and rise higher and higher. An unfettered ego turns one into a megalomaniac and sends you into an unhealthy downward spiral. 2.         I don't have any Stress:   Believe me, stress is good for you! In today's modern lifestyles, stress is a constant companion, a co-traveler. It has to be a rather evolv

Before you actually start running, one needs to look the part!😎 You need to kit yourself up smart and sensible, feel good about yourself and be raring to hit the road or trail.   THE most essential part of your running gear is your shoes. Not just any pair of sneakers, but proper running shoes. A good pair will give you adequate cushioning and support, translating into low impact and a stable stride, preventing injuries in the long run. It is advisable to have running shoes ½-1 size up from your regular wear shoes, because when you run, your feet slide forward within the shoe. About half an inch of space between your great toe and the toe-box of the shoe gives adequate space for the feet to move freely within the shoe while running without the toes repetitively hitting the toe box, which results in abrasions and bleeding under the toe nails. The forefoot section and toe box should not be narrow either, thus allowing for the natural splay of the toes when you run.   The socks are impor

Not much really! THE OBSTACLE is our Inertia, Largely Mental and a little bit of Physical. THE TOUGHEST part is to get out of bed, put on your running shoes and step out of home.  Get past this hurdle on a regular basis, and you are a Runner in the making!👍   How to overcome this Inertia? 1.   Be in love with yourself: Not the narcissistic sort of obsession with body image or the need to look good, rather the urge to FEEL good and stay healthy. 2.   A little bit of a push: Some inspiration or motivation that could come from a colleague or friend, something you watched on TV or a clip on social media. Sometimes it could be a health scare😱 that gives you the shove!            What seems to work best is a group of friends/ running buddies pushing-pulling each other. 3.   And some discipline and determination: Nothing happens without these 2 Ds. The discipline to sacrifice a few worldly pleasures and the determination to keep at it, come what may.   Once you have this sorted…just remembe

These are the random thoughts about running of Dr. Vineet Sehgal, a Delhi based paediatrician and running enthusiast, who started running in 1984 and is still...well...running!😛 I started running, as a lot of amateur runners do, initially to just lose some weight. Soon it evolved into a way to attain a higher level of fitness, metamorphosed into an addiction and of late has become an experiential passion. The need to be leaner, fitter and faster has given way to the need to observe, feel, experience and create memories. Maybe it is the exuberance of youth mellowing with the onset of middle age?!!😅 Do join this journey of recollecting and narrating about the joy of running, related matters and a few sundry observations on life itself. Just a way of acknowledging a pastime which has taught much and continues to do so. Feel free to write in with your criticisms, comments and personal experiences.🙏