Most of us have finished the biggest and greatest marathon of India, TMM (Tata Mumbai Marathon) where one runs 10, 21.0975 or 42.195 kilometer distance. I finished my 5th Mumbai Marathon on Jan 20th 2019.
My parents, especially my mom is puzzled by my en-devour to run it every year and asked me “Why do you torture your self by running 42 kilometers? Who do you want to prove? It takes so much toll on you.”
Race Day: A run in Mumbai that soaks me in sweat at start line at 5:30 am. I am pounding on concrete for 5+ hours(ya, I am slow!). At finish line at 11:00 am, I am few shades darker(tanned!).
Finish Line: By the time I finish probably 4000+ marathoners have crossed the finish line, so I am in the bottom 1/3rd as per statistics of runners.
Training: Torturous training for 3 months where I wake up at 5 am, lace up shoes and run or do whatever given in a training plan. On Sundays I do not even meet my family before 10 am until my long run is over.
Injury Management: When my middle aged and not so perfect (curvy, non athletic and not gifted!)body throws a tantrum during training. I have to visit my sports medicine doctor and get myself treated so my body can perform during training!
Diet: Let’s just skip this aspect of marathon training! Only thing I manage to do is skip aerated drinks(!) and drink water.
Sleep: Mandatory sleep routine during training. That means let go movies, parties and even let go staying up late with friends.
Other than Training: To add to my woes, I am a mother of two teenagers, work full time as an entrepreneur and bear home responsibilities.
So why on earth do I torture myself with a marathon training and running? or as my mom says, what do you have to prove?
Being a marathoner is weirdly synonyms to being an Entrepreneur
so if I can relate the two in a pseudo programming language
if (Being a Marathoner == Being an Entrepreneur){
while (training = "everyday of being an entrepreneur"){
System.out.println("hardwork, frustration, failure, anxiety");
}
sleep = "let go of big salary, pride and fancy business travel" ;
injury = "client rejection, lost opportunities, not meeting targets";
diet = "lost networking opportunities, GST and taxation";
other stuff = "let go an urge to splurge to buy any new gadget or toy";
finishLine = "fatigue, tiredness";
}
System.out.println("why why why on earth???")
But when I cross the start line…
-I have trained as well as I can and trained for this day..
-I am running with determination and I want to finish strong .. come what may.
-I am supported by my family, running mates and even strangers, at the cost of letting go their goals.
-I finish huffing and puffing but so happy for giving 100%.
-On the red carpet I am received by my friends and loved ones who are incredibly proud of me and love how I dared to take on something so difficult.
-I am one of the 500 privileged women who dared to run a full marathon (number of woman running a marathon is a skewed in India like rest of the world).
And now if write a pseudo code
if (Being a Marathoner == Being an Entrepreneur){
while (training = "everyday of being an entrepreneur"){
System.out.println("overcoming obstacles, reaching milestones, getting stronger");
}
sleep = "let go small things to achieve something big, focus on goal" ;
injury = "learning, getting smarter and not making same mistakes";
diet = "understand weakness and move on";
other stuff = "others start recognizing your good work and give business";
finishLine = "determination, not letting go, pride, glory, winning";
}
System.out.println
("Mumbai Marathon here I come in 2020 as a woman, mom and a woman enterprenuer");
I would trade nothing in life for being an entrepreneur. I make mistakes, I fail everyday. I am not as gifted as others but I try and I do not let go until my dream is achieved.