Running ...after a long hiatus....

After the major fall I had back in college in 100m finals, I never really felt like running again. I felt I had lost my touch. I don’t even tell anyone that I was into athletics once upon a time. But still, I miss the excitement of running a race or just plain running. After more than 3 years, finally I went out with my roommate to run as part of the exercise. It was chilly outside but you cannot feel it once you start running. It was drizzling slightly too.

I started to run. At first, I felt fine. I felt that the streets suddenly turned into race tracks. I could hear people cheering for the participants and there was excitement in the air. I ran quite a bit. I felt that I got transported back in time when getting a silver medal for most of my races was like a piece of cake.

Suddenly I felt breathless, I could not run further but still I tried to move on. Old memories of my last race began to flash before my eyes. I recalled how I had fallen down hard on the ground after completing 50m. It’s every athlete’s nightmare - to fall down and not be able to complete a race. I had bruised my knee badly and was limping for a long time. I still have that ugly scar.

I slowed down my pace and tried to come back to reality. I took frequent breaks but I made it a point I ran for at least a few meters. I did not want to give up. I walked, ran, walked, ran……. I reached back home….running towards the door. Today is Day 1. This is just the beginning.