My first marathon!

My college conducted a marathon named "Pennkalvirun" which means Girl education run in Tamil. This initiative was to support and to bring awareness for educating girl child. The event was scheduled at Island grounds, Chennai at 6:00 am. This place is famous for the annual Tamil Nadu government exhibitions/fair to which my family visits from my childhood. My reporting time mentioned by my college faculty was 5:30 am.  It usually takes 1 hour to reach the place from my home. So, I woke up early and prepped myself ready to leave. My dad took photos of me in my marathon attire.

My marathon shirt

I stepped outside the house, It was like being in a horror movie without background music. There was no sight of sun or moon or even stars in the sky. It was pitch black. The streets were quiet but filled with street dogs. Some of the dogs to which my dad used to give biscuits whenever he sees them came near the gate wagging their tails and sticking their tongues outside to greet us I assume. We rode in a bike to reach the destination. The places passed by during the ride were unusual yet familiar. 

We spoke about how free the roads were, was the marathon really happening, should I really sacrifice my precious early morning sleep for a run which I haven't tried before, and many more intriguing things. We reached marina and in few meters we be will reaching the start point of the marathon but no sign to prove that there is a marathon happening. Finally saw a girl wearing the same shirt and entering the entrance gate which assured us that it was not a hoax. My dad parked his vehicle and we slowly walked towards the stage. Only few people came till then, Meanwhile my dad and I took pictures.  

The stage

The stage was set, the place was empty, sky was dark and I was bored. I waited for my friends to arrive, till then my dad was stuck up with me.

The start point 

I took pictures for a while until my friend called me. She came with her dad and our dads greeted each other and left. We spoke and revolved our heads like antenna to spot and welcome the familiar faces from our college. We got calls from our friends to know how to reach the venue? The event started from a greeting by a person with a mike on the stage. Later a group of girls sang some songs and the marathon for 10 KM was started. We stood near the start point and our principal waved the flag to indicate "go!" for the 10 Km Marathon.

At Napier bridge, Look at the sun rise behind me!

We did a mixture of brisk walking and running. I took pictures of whatever fascinated me. My friend got tired as soon as we reached our first lap and she said she will take rest at the venue. We passed through the iconic Napier bridge, then passed some old buildings, Anna Square bus stop and finally World's second largest beach - The marina. The route was to run from Island grounds to lighthouse and again run back to the island grounds. 

I was enjoying stepping forward along with the breeze which felt empowering to the self. Occasionally we halted at the hydration points to re-hydrate ourselves. My friend got muscle pain and wanted to walk instead of running but I felt a bit slow at some point of time. So I told my running pal that I will be leaving her side and  go faster and let's meet at the light house. But by the time I reached the light house I did not had the patience to wait for her so proceeded to take U-Turn as per the route and ran.

I ran and did slow walk whenever necessary. I kept on telling one! two! with each step touching the floor which improved my pace. The challenging part was not the distance but not to dodge anyone while running. I ran to see amazing glistening waters of the beach, to see the spectacular view in front of me, to meet my friend who is waiting for me at the venue, to not quit  in the middle of the marathon, to beat the odds, and for the cause - Educating the girl child. After a long brisk stoll and running I reached the finishing point. I finished 10 km withing 1 hour. Surprisingly I did not felt any muscle pains even though this was my first marathon. 
  

I was suprised that I finished the task. I took the medal for participation and breakfast provided by the event crew. I was given idly, sambar, 200ml flavoured drink, kesari and vada. I was not hungry at all and didn't wanted to waste the food so i gave back the idly and sambhar to them. I first ate this orange coloured sweet kesari which was delicious. Then ate vada and drink. I regained enough energy I needed. The winners were announce and we clapped for them. And that's how the marathon ended.

Me with my medal!
Oh yeah! I ran with my chappal which I found to be very much comfortable. Just because people suggesting us to wear sport shoes or do something for our well being doesn't always mean it will be suitable for us. Do or wear whichever you are comfortable with.

The stuff I got for my 10 km Achievement!

It was nice being a part of something and enjoying ourselves. No matter what happens in life just keep moving forward and be exuberant!

Some views I got to see while I ran:

Buses & Bus stops

I have been traveling in buses for the past 2 years. By the way my college started; it went well until after that I had to take a bus. Too many holidays, Cold winds, and a distance of 1.5 Km between the college and the bus-stop can make anyone to think twice to take a bus. Even though I was super sleepy and tired, walking is something I always preferred, plus it doesn't cost you any money, just your calories. So, one step at a time with different music tunes from the memory to distract tiredness and reach my destination: The bus-stop. 

Finally!!! I reached the bus-stop. I felt proud of myself whenever I reach the bus-stop and this achievement is something unique and gives me satisfaction even though it is just a walk to reach a bus-stop. So, reaching bus-stop is like Level-1 task; Level-2 is known as waiting and having patience till the correct bus that takes you home arrives. While waiting, we observe a lot of things, the roads, the vehicles, the skies, the birds (mostly crows and pigeons here), etc. This doesn't happens when the travel is by own personal vehicle. So, at first my patience and waiting for the bus was good, until I got bored and weak as the bag I was carrying was heavy.

My thoughts wandered towards questioning the need for urban lifestyle, pollution, no chairs to sit at the bus-stop; what if the bus never arrives? (The Nightmare). I even thought about why humans don't have hibernation period. Also, certain thoughts like what if someone is stalking or staring at me can occur if the wait is too long. An eyesight similar to Binocular vision is extremely important in order to read the signboards on the bus or else suffer missing the correct bus which leads to even more waiting that will test your patience. At last, When the correct bus is coming, my first thought would be Is this a mirage? Is my bus really coming? When it is confirmed a sense of euphoria occurs to me. But reality checks in and shows the bus so crowded which makes me to think twice to get into the bus. Lesson learnt ~ when we get joy, we get haunted by disappointment. 

So, without any further thinking I get into the crowded bus, crammed with people who stare as if I am forbidden from entering a bus. Then, other struggles can be taking out the exact money to get a ticket; holding on to the metal rod which can only prevent from falling and being stable even though the bus is drove on bumps, pits, etc. At this time, I wish and pray teleportation is invented and available to use. When the bus-stop where I need to get down is soon to be reached, I need to reach the open end of the bus to get down so I had to try squirming in such a way I think Yoga is easy to do. Alas, I reach my place safely and the song “we are the champions” by Crazy Frog comes into the mind.

Thanks for reading :)