Why the Mallu in ‘If I can run, you can run, too, Mallu”?

It seems like the culture of running is catching on in Kerala with a growing number marathons organized throughout the State. Mallu’s also seem to be participating in ‘marathons’ in increasing numbers wherever they’ve spread outside Kerala as well.  Just a quick word on language – it does appear that the word marathon is being used for races of all distances, although in strict terms marathon used to be applied only to runs of distances 26.2 miles or 42 KM.  I was initially confused by people saying that they ran a marathon in one hour and someone else ran another marathon in 40 minutes as such times would make these people as fast as superman:-)  I quickly realized that they were referring to ‘marathons’ of shorter distances such as 10K and 5K.

Unfortunately, people who would most benefit from an aerobic activity such as running are simply standing on the sidelines, due to perceptions that running is beyond them due to various factors. I do think a big part of it is the social upbringing. Yes, while there are some excellent values and habits that our malayalee culture imbibes in each one of us, there are also some bad views, opinions and mindsets that our social setting injects in our head that stop us from realizing more of our potential. The deeply ingrained notions about who is ‘fit’ to run and who is not, is one of them.  I myself grew up in the same cultural and social environment and I can see some of these artificial barriers people erect.  No, one doesn’t need to have been a great athlete while in school in order to run.  One doesn’t even need to be in perfect health now.  And yes, you can be having some aches and pains as well. 
That summarizes my condition when I began – and to some extent even now!  I think these conditions are typical of a lot of people from where we come from.  

Hence, if I can run, you can run, too, Mallu!


(No running today. 20 minutes of stretching. Stretching is very important.)

I got sick and tired of not being able to walk for a half hour

I have no disability that prevents me from walking or running. Unfortunately, lack of exercise for years and the normal aging process eventually pushed my body to a state where a short walk would cause pain and swelling around my knees and ankles.  My doctor looked over and broke the bad news that there is nothing really wrong anywhere - I was just growing old :( The pain I experience is due to arthritis which is normal as our bodies age.  Granted, at the time at 52 or 53 I was definitely not in my 20's or 30's.  While his diagnosis sounded totally agreeable, I was sick and tired of not being able to walk for half an hour. That is just not me. I have been fortunate to enjoy a decent level of fitness as long as I can remember.   I decided I should be able to regain my fitness to the level of running a couple of miles.  So I went back to the doctor and asked him if he would have any concerns if I tried running. He had absolutely no concerns at all. I was thankful that I had a good doctor who didn't dissuade me from giving some exercise to my legs.  All too often, I hear from people in my condition and age group (I'm now 55) that either their doctors, or their family and friends 'remind' them that they are too old to be physically active.  There is a pattern that people expect us to fall into. If we don't follow that, they won't be too shy to remind us!  That is ridiculous. The true danger is when we start believing it. If you think you are too old for running a few miles just get that out of your head. We'll have more opportunities to talk about that later.

Getting back to me, I went on Amazon which is my favorite stop when embarking on anything new.  After reading sample contents and reviews of several books, I was impressed by a slightly older book 'The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer'.  This book is based on the authors' highly successful training program getting a lot of non-runners, including overweight people, cancer patients, and people with a number of other conditions to complete a full marathon. It would be preposterous to imagine that I will run a marathon, but the book should be able to get me to run a few miles if I stuck with it, and I ordered a copy. Two days later the book arrived (Amazon's delivery speed is truly amazing). After browsing through the entire book over the next  couple of days, I stuck to the first two chapters or so where the authors recommend pre-training which involves just walking.  Perfect.  I started off in our local gym on the treadmill. Half hour a day. Gentle walk. Come back home with swollen ankles. Spend the next half hour keeping ice on it. I was a joke of the household. That continued for weeks into months.

I've come a long way since then. Running a marathon has now become a real possibility. Yesterday (Aug 29), I completed the last and final race to qualify for a guaranteed spot at the TCS NYC Marathon for 2016.  Yay!

Through this blog, I wish to share my running experience and my hopefully successful run up to the marathon,  I am, by no means, a running expert. However, I feel there may be other people out there who feel or who are told they are too old or too weak, or whatever, to run.   I do hope that these blogs help them realize their potential and enjoy better health and fitness through running.