Driven
Location: Gym, Manhattan Associates India Centre, Bangalore
1:15 PM - I got on the Stex threadmill and started running
1:36 PM - I got off the threadmill exhausted & panting but possibly with one of the greatest sense of achievement I ever felt
So, what am I ranting about? I ran like hell....for the first time, I managed to clock 4.004 KMs in 20 minutes!
I have been on and off gym & fitness since I was 15. Back then, I had enrolled for basketball at Kanteerava stadium which was a couple of miles away from home. Things with fitness has been pretty much on and off since; there have been times in the past when I was so unfit I would be breathless no sooner than threading 12 steps to the next floor.
But, I remember the day I was challenged quite distinctly. It was back in 2004 at a fitness one gym, my instructor walked upto me as I finished my run and told me "Yes, it is good to clock 3kms in 20 mins but you should really be aiming at 4".
On paper, doing something like that can look easy, but a whole lot depends on lung function - the ability to exchange enough oxygen to sustain such a brisk pace. Often, the lungs burn out sooner even if you have adequately developed quadriceps and calf. Body weight & hydration play a part too.
I was younger & relished the challenge. But, no matter what I did - 3.5 kms was all I could manage. And with time, my challenge faded. Years went by.
In the first third of 2008, I dont remember to have done anything closely related to fitness. But I do remember that I got concerned by it and started gymming again - over months of training, I was back to 3.5 kms levels.
Today was different! What I accomplished made me feel good, really good about myself. Often, you set yourself targets that seemingly cannot be achieved, but, when you do achieve one of them, it feels good.
Get to think of it, I was certainly driven by something to do this. I did not say to myself that I should do 4kms when I started, I guess it was a cry from the inside, it just happened.
Bring on 5...
yeah, right :)
