On 21st January 2018, i woke up with mixed feelings. The feeling was of nervousness and I thought to myself what have I got into. The dream run was a distance of 6kms along the best part of Mumbai and next to sea. My friend (who had kicked my butt in climibing 24 stairs) called me to check if i was up. She was more determined to get me to the run than I was. Reluctantly, I wore my shoes and gear that was given by my company (at this point I wasn’t interested in spending money on any physical activity). I took a cab to pick her up and she was very cheerful about the day and the experience that the run was going to offer. They say that positive energy is contagious and her energy did a lot to lift up my spirit. At the holding area of the dream run, we met many colleagues and we decided that all of us will do the walk together. That was a moment of sheer delight for me, I had been walking for a month now and was very confident that I will be able to finish with them. The energy of the people was awesome, the cheer that everyone did whenever a marathoner or half-marathoner went from the other side was just amazing. 4 kms went without any challenge and as a group, we clicked pictures and enjoyed the music of the bands on the way. The trouble for me started at the flyover, I had run only on flat ground and climbing this thing the morning heat took the wind out of me. My colleagues could see that on my face and all of them encouraged me to finish the walk. After another 20 minutes, it was done. Yours truly has crossed the 5.9 km distance in a heroic 1:06 hours. I was delighted and then one of my colleague suggested to grab a beer. The only caveat was that we had to walk as due to marathon all road were closed and no cabs were available. I did volunteer to join him instantly. 30 minutes later, I were to learn a very important lesson my life. Not to take up challenges in the moments when you are really happy about something. To be continued.
The Fat Runner 