I was running my first Marathon in Dec 2016. The event was held at Whitefield, Bangalore.
Run started at the stroke of midnight. Weather was pleasant and I liked the vibe of the place. For initial 21 KM, I enjoyed the run. But I made a big mistake owing to my own inexperience. I ran at a faster pace as compared to all my previous practice runs. I completed 21 KM within 2 hour 30 min and I was feeling ecstatic. But right after completing the halfway mark, something went horribly wrong. I could hear a sound in my ankle followed by excruciating pain.
The entire knee was hurting badly. I approached a nearby medical camp and they gave a Volini spray. I felt a little better after applying the spray and thought of continuing the run. But within the next 50 meters, it became clearly evident that running was no way possible. Each step felt like a burden.
As I could no longer run, I thought of doing a slow jog. That wasn’t easy either. Finally, I had to resort to walking. Knee kept hurting with each step.
It was 2.30 AM and for the next one and half hours I kept walking. By 4 AM, it became extremely cold and I had no experience running during the night. Refreshment centers were either closed down or ran out of food supply. Hunger compounded the pain and the chilly winter morning furthered the suffering.
But I kept saying these lines to myself.
If you can’t run, just jog
If you can’t jog, just walk
If you can’t walk, just crawl
But whatever may come, don’t give up.
Finally, after 6.5 hours of ordeal, my suffering came to an end as I crossed the finish line.
This incident proved to be a defining factor for the rest of my life.
In 2019 I picked up a pen to write about my life’s journey. Two and half years later it took the shape of a book titled “Anybody Can Run” which later turned out to be an Amazon Best Seller. Owing to this book, I recorded a podcast that’s now available on Spotify.
But looking back on that incident occurred 8 years ago, makes me realize that WORDS have IMMENSE POWER.
So, CHOOSE CAREFULLY what you TELL YOURSELF.