People who have run a half marathon would have all heard of
the importance of a recovery run after a race. It is normally short run at an
easy pace to ensure that one’s muscles don’t tighten up due to fatigue after
the previous day’s exertion. I was totally drained after the Standard Chartered
Mumbai Marathon 2017. The preparation for the event, the run, the cheering etc.
was tiring. Still some of us had decided that we would meet to do a short
recovery run. Since I had given my word, I reluctantly dragged myself out of
bed and went to the LRC base. Just two of us turned up. I had planned to run
only 3km but was pushed to run double that distance by Sridhar. That was when
the importance of having a running buddy dawned on me. One who can help you push
yourself to achieve what you know you can but are just too lazy to
6 months later in July, LRC started the buddy run challenge
where we were paired with a buddy. We buddies had to coordinate between each
other and help each other get better, for a distance of up to 10km. I was asked
well in advance whether I would be in town over the month of July since
experienced runners are required to help new runners. Yes, I had received the
tag of an “Experienced runner”. I had run around 100km each month from October
2016, learning stuff from YouTube, from other runners and also from other
champions from LRC (I started running with LRC only in December 2016 and have
never looked back)
I had just completed a month of running slow as a part of
the Maffetone training method. It was Super s l o w. I was assigned a buddy who had just joined
our group around 2 weeks prior and she had barely any experience of running
medium distances. However she had truckloads of enthusiasm and the burning
desire to run progressively better each time. Initially I was unsure how an “experienced
runner” would benefit from such a challenge. Today, I am certain that running
slow with someone who is trying to learn something to get better is one of the
best ways to grow as a runner
My buddy Akanksha and I had set a realistic target of her running
10km in 65 minutes in August. We had a reasonable amount of time to prepare and
train for this. It started with the routine 5.5kmTuesday run. That was when I realized
that one of the first things my buddy had to work on was to reign in the tendency
to expend all the available energy right at the start. A mistake I was too
familiar with from my initial days of running. The next run was the Thursday special
speed intervals. It was fun with some fartlek, short sprints and a lot of jokes
with all buddy pairs
The next weekend was the day of the BNP Endurathon. We had
put together a group of “cheerleaders” to cheer our buddies running the “tough
race”. We buddies were both part of this group of cheerleaders and we all had
fun cheering not just our friends from LRC but also hundreds of others who
share the passion for running. I had personally run longer than a half marathon
(23km) in the bargain. The next day, we had a 10k race event at Juhu which LRC
was associated with. We had both registered as this would have been the right
event to get a benchmark we could work with. The plan was to run 10km in 70
minutes as Akanksha’s previous best was 79 minutes. I knew that I could run
10km in 70 minutes quite easily and I had volunteered to pace whoever wanted to
run the distance at this pace
Race day had arrived. A good number of passengers (4) had
boarded my bus. Two of them dropped off after the first 3 km leaving me with 2
passengers running at 7 min/km. My buddy, enthusiastic as always said, “I’ll
push…No problem”. As the experienced senior runner, I had to put my foot down
to force her to slow down. I had promised to let her go free in the last 2 km.
The 2 km came down to 1 km, with the pace a steady 7 min/km, with a few walk
breaks included. I had given her the license to go ahead but the weather had
taken a toll. I pushed her past the finish line in a time of 69 minutes 50
seconds. The distance was a little over 10 km but it was a case of Mission
Accomplished. It was the first time that I had paced anyone at a timed event and
it felt great. It was the joy of pushing someone else to do something which you
know you can
A few days later, my buddy had to return to her hometown (Ratlam).
We had a deal that she will practice there and run 10km on 6th August. The plan
was clear and it was her responsibility to do it. With my buddy-pair buddy missing,
did things change for me? Absolutely not!! LRC is full of people who are my running
buddies. Forget LRC, every runner belongs to the same community and we can all
always be buddies. I ran with whoever was present, learning something from
them, sharing some info which I had and sometimes ran by myself too. It’s clichéd
but true that one needs to be one’s own buddy at all times in life.
Every time I ran with someone and got an opportunity to
correct them, I realized that they were probably doing something I had
rectified myself. Whenever I ran with someone who could run faster than me, I learnt
points which could help me go faster. The runs with the second group were very
few. It was more of a revision session where I relived things which had helped
me become a better runner.
A day before 6 August, my designated buddy told me that she
hadn’t been regular since going back to Ratlam as she had struggled to wake up
every day. I reminded her that we had planned a 10 km in 65 minutes on 6
August. Considering the fact that she was not training regularly, she got a partial
waiver. “You can run any distance. The choice is yours”. I was asked to give a
wake-up call. I was a photographer that day at the buddy filled MRR run. I got
a call when I was at Wilson College. Seeing the number, I realized that I had forgotten
the wake-up call. When I answered the call, I was overjoyed to hear the message.
10km in 63 minutes, that too without a wake-up call.
To me, that was exactly what I had hoped for at the end of
the Buddy Run challenge.
Did my buddy become a better runner after the challenge?
Yes!!!
Did I become a better runner after the challenge? OH YEAH!!!!
