When the chips are down...

After the long run yesterday, the body was feeling like it was a long run yesterday.  Mild aches here and there with a bit of tightness, the kind that will make you want to stay in bed and almost enjoy the state.  I gave a few twists and turns to the upper body just out of bed and I could feel the tightness cracking loose.  As today is a holiday due to Labor Day, I spent some extra time doing stretches and also did my strength exercises.  Nothing too time consuming, or too rigorous. Around 30 minutes or so in all.  Usually, I rotate the stretches and  strength exercises so I can do a day's routine in about 20 minutes.  Next run is on Wednesday, so the body can recover over the next two days.

More than 500,000 people finish the marathon in a year in the US alone.  So by conservative estimates, I am guessing that at least 1 million people the world over must be finishing the 26.2 mile (42.195 km) mark.  Even so, experts seem to agree that the human body, as marvelous a piece of engineering as it is, is not designed to endure that distance.  My own quest is surely tentative as it is subject to the condition that my body holds up the training required to build the strength and stamina to go the distance.  The body is certainly a big part of the equation, but all seem to agree that the limits and constraints of the mind can and probably will kick in before things hit the limits of the body. Mind over matter.

Meb Keflizighi is an icon of long distance running in the US.  He was the first Olympic marathon medal winner in 2004 after a 32 year gap for US. Won the New York City marathon in 2009, an american win after a long gap of 27 years.  First american after 29 years to win the challenging Boston marathon in 2014, and the oldest ever to win, at 39 years of age.  All this against some pretty severe odds in his life, among them, a hip fracture in 2007. His story told in very simple terms in his autobiographical book Run to Overcome is as impressive as it is touching.

Considering that I am venturing into this at what most people would consider is a little behind the prime for endurance running, I bought his other book, Meb for Mortals, and asked him to write something nice for me.  Here is a picture of the man at the opening of Chapter 1.

A photo of the inside cover where he wrote -

I asked him to write so as to motivate myself - hoping it might come in handy in case I find myself in a state where I felt like I can't handle this any more (within reason, of course).  I don't know him, never met him, he doesn't know me, but even then the fact that he took the minute or so to write something personal requires of me, or so I think, to commit to the goal and pursue it to success. The hope that I can use that commitment to keep going forward if other forces or elements try to pull me back.

Dear friends, I now know that should Meb's words ever fall short to keep me pushing forward, I have all your support to get back on my feet again. The time you are taking to read these pages, your encouraging emails and comments on the blog, every "+1" and "like" and share you've done on Facebook, Google+ and what not, each one of them will be a source of strength in times of need, and will inspire me to keep pushing forward when the chips are down.

Thank you for everything. I am truly grateful.

Babu