Gana’s #Runspiration
Article Credit, written by Gana’s friend Bopanna: http://coorgnews.in/sports/marathon...
Gana picked up running in 2012 as a way to lose weight having suffered from severe back pain for a few years with three herniated discs in his lower back. What began as a desperate measure to salvage his health eventually became his passion. He aims to find the optimal amount of running and workouts for a busy professional to become the best runner one can be without risking injury.
His secret to success, “There are no shortcuts. Patience and perseverance — one day at a time.”
Interview: 1. What made you pick up running?
When I was in business school, I had a consulting job and travelled pretty much every week. To keep myself awake I used to drink a lot of coffee with sugar, which caused me to gain weight, and eventually I herniated three discs in my lower back. I suffered for a few years taking medications and epidural shots that would provide a short-term relief. I was about a couple of weeks away from getting surgery done, but as a last ditch attempt, in early 2012 I decided to diet and exercise (although painful initially). Over the next 5 months I lost about 45lbs. I picked up running as a way to keep that weight off and ever since haven’t looked back.
2. Don’t you find long distance running boring?
Not really. Initially, it was tough to even run for 5–10 minutes without huffing and puffing — so no room for being bored there. Further, having sickle cell trait, my body has to work way harder.
As I gained endurance I started enjoying that solitary feeling and got comfortable being out there by myself.
3. What made you start running marathons?
After I picked up running, it was a natural progression to run a race. I signed up for a half marathon in Oct ’12 but I lost my father in an unfortunate accident a couple of days before the race. I continued running which helped me during those tough times. Eventually I signed up for a fairly easy full marathon and without having really trained much I did a decent time. That got me started.
4. How about the Abbott World Marathon Majors?
On January 1st 2014, when everyone was making resolutions committing to get healthy, I thought I would run all the majors some day and would like to get started and decided to register for the London Marathon in April. About 10 weeks into training I fell sick and didn’t really recover until the 2 weeks before the marathon. I decided to go run it anyway. I still finished under 4 hours. It was an amazing experience, and I still think it was the crowds carried me through. The solidified my resolve and thought it would be cool to run them all in a year. It was not until NYC marathon I found it was not to easy do that since the Berlin, Chicago and NYC marathons are in a span of 5 weeks and all the traveling / jetlag etc. takes a toll on the body. But I had a blast. I never pushed myself fully either because staying injury free was most important for me. At the NYC marathon expo, I found that only about 5 other people in the world had run all the majors in a year, and then I really wanted to do it. I then went to India took a break for a month and signed up for Tokyo marathon (Feb 22nd) which was a pretty good race. I then was all stoked for the Boston Marathon. Even though the weather was crappy, it was an out of the world experience.
5. Which is your favorite?
Although each of them is special in its own way, Boston is just special to me. The energy level there is just electric. You are a celebrity on that day there. Also, it will always hold a special place for me since it is all about the spirit of facing adversity and bouncing back from it.
6. What benefits do you see from running?
Other than the weight loss, which is the latest rage now days, there is a significant benefit in cardiac health. About 3.5 years ago, my resting heart rate was in the high 70’s, but today it is around 39. In layman’s terms resting heart rate is a measure of how hard your heart works to pump blood around the body.
7. What advice do you have for other runners or someone pursuing marathons?
Just listen to your body. You can be your own trainer. Like everything else in life (I won’t go there), a lot of running Gurus are out there. Just “LISTEN TO YOUR BODY”. Take adequate rest, focus on core strength and eat healthy.
If I could run all major marathons in a year, having sickle cell trait and bouncing back from 3 herniated discs — anyone can run a marathon.
And moreover, it’s important to have fun. If you don’t enjoy running then this is not for you. And if you’re just jumping on this latest bandwagon because everyone else is doing it, you are bound to be disappointed! Figure out what you love and put your heart into it!
Article Credit, written by Gana’s friend Bopanna: http://coorgnews.in/sports/marathon...
Check out Gana’s Facebook notes story here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/abbott-world-marathon-majors/ganas-journey-to-six-stars/1698295980180495/
