Dr. Shambhu Ghimire
My running journey begins at a park. One day, after dropping my daughter off at her school, I felt like running around the park. I tried it but failed miserably, by not being able to run more than half a mile, where at one point, I felt like I needed more oxygen than what was in the air. Believe me, I took chemistry in my undergraduate studies. I was wondering how people run long distances. I read news about completing marathons such as half and full and ultra and so on, but nobody in my family and close friend circle had done anything like that. So, I had nobody to just ask around about these experiences. Then, instead of the park, I started running around a lake. I found that the breeze of the lake was very useful, I guess more oxygen or something, I am not sure, things started to work out.
This running idea came to me pretty late, given that I am well into my forties. However, as I start this late I might have a lot of mileage left on my body. These bonus miles could be good for knees, which are perhaps the most precious body parts for all runners. As I write this article, my right knee hurts a little, but I am sure it just needs sufficient healing time before my next long run.
The turning point was that we formed a small group of close friends and we signed up for a 10K race in the summer of 2022. I love those friends! For me, that was a hook-up because since then I kept running, almost every morning, with my favorite music tunes on.
The feeling that you get when you finish a run is the best feeling of all kinds. It is good to have that feeling every morning so I can begin my day on a high note.
Running long distances also takes a long time, so you need this “free” time you never have. For those who say I do not have much other things to do so I run, let me brag a little bit here and say that, like everyone else around here, I also have quite a busy life. At my work, I do research, as well as teach graduate-level courses, both of which take a lot of time. At home, I have two young children, who need attention, and a loving wife who is happier when I take over the kitchen duties. So, how do I find time for runs? Well, I get up early, at 5 am, before anyone in the family, I get out and run.
Now the ground is settled let me tell you about my preparations leading up to my first full marathon. It goes like this:Tuesday and Thursday I run 6 miles each, and Saturday is my long run, which is nominally double digits such as 13 miles. Right before the marathon, I did two 22-mile practices.
When I signed up for the race my schedule was pretty open. However, when it is six weeks away from the race day, I got three international travels: from the Bay Area to Germany; back to the Bay Area; then to London; back to the Bay Area; then to Korea; and back to the Bay Area. All trips were about a week long and they covered crazy time zones, which of course challenged my run plan. But, I ran everywhere I went, in the mornings, all local time.
One week in Germany was a new experience. It was the second week of June and I was surprised to find out that there is daylight as early as around 3 am. That week, I mostly finished my runs well before 7 am. This was good because my days were pretty full as I was there to conduct a summer school, together with colleagues at the University of Hamburg.
The London week was fantastic as I was able to see so many runners around Buckingham Palace, where I used to go for my runs. One day I ran from the University College London (UCL) to the famous London Bridge and back to UCL, which was awesome. In London, people were friendly, I talked with some random people in the area. This was my first time in London and I found the city to be just amazing. I can imagine living there.
Korea week was a completely different experience, mainly because of the high humidity and rain. It was just too much sweat, but I enjoyed elevations around Jeju Island, which is also known as Hawaii of Korea. I am not sure if kimchi helped on my runs but I tried about twenty types of kimchi and some soju in the evenings.
Running in new cities was an awesome experience especially in early mornings because you actually get to see how the city wakes up. In London, it was unbelievable how much I was able to see in two hour runs. In terms of numbers, it is about 10 or 12 miles, but most importantly you can go almost anywhere as you are on foot, and you get to stop anywhere you want, and take pictures, videos, and even make tiktok.
When I was back to the Bay Area there was one week of taper time. What that means is that I was supposed to eat a lot of carbs, drink a lot of water, and take rest so I have the most energy to burn off on the race day. But, as they say, life does not go as planned. I got COVID, presumably from the Korea trip. It was so bad that I had to pay a visit to the ER on Sunday afternoon.
These doctors are good. I was given an injection, some ibuprofen and Tylenol, and in the evening I was sent home. On Monday, the fever subsided; on Tuesday my sore throat was gone; on Wednesday I had no bodyache. I would say the recovery was quite speedy as I had no symptoms on Thursday, which is exactly 4 days from the race day.
Friday, I thought I would try a slow run, just to examine my body. I ran 3 miles with no issues, which renewed my confidence for the race day. Sunday was the race day. In the morning, when I arrived at the start line, I felt a bit anxious, maybe because it was a full marathon, and also maybe because this time I did not have any friends to talk to (unlike the 10K race last year).
But, as the music started to blast, lights started to flash (it was still kind of dark), people started to go crazy with excitement at different corrals. Then, everything in my head sort of came together. It was amazing that the crowd had so much energy that I was able to suck in from.
The run started from Embarcadero, passed the Fisherman wharf area, and approached the Golden Gate Bridge. The scene by the bridge there was so magnificent that almost everyone spared a few seconds of their run to take pictures. Then we actually ran on the bridge!! That was of course the best part of the course. We even went to the other side of the bay and had several miles of elevations there. On the way back we went toward the golden gate park area, reached the south side of San Francisco, and came back to Embarcadero, which was the finish line. This is where you get medals, take pictures, and celebrate.
Running a full marathon is a monumental task. Just two years ago, I did not know what I was capable of. Marathon has tested my abilities, both physical and mental. After the marathon, I feel like I can do anything — just need to make sure I put my mind and effort to it. Running has changed my life-style, it has taught me how to set priorities on things. I believe it has made me a more confident, more kind, and more approachable person.
(Ghimire is senior Scientist at Stanford University )
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