I ran Pinkathon

I can’t express how ecstatic I am! Yessss, I did it, I did it!!! Wooohooo. Please don’t assume I did the 10K by the way I am flaunting my “achievement”. I did the least distance run, the 3K. But for a non-sports person like me, who had never run any race even in her school life, this was huge. I always had the mind block that any kind of physical activity was not my cup of tea. Participating in a Marathon was on of my long cherished dreams, just to prove my own perception wrong.

Also, ever since I read RM‘s participation in Marathons, I have had the marathon keeda constantly poking somewhere in the corner of me head. I finally registered for the Bangalore Pinkathon 3K run. I did not opt for the timing chip as I was not competing on the time front. I simply had to complete the run. And I must write a special thanks to RM, my Marathon Maata, for leaving a comment wishing me well on the eve of the marathon. It boosted my confidence to a new high.

The event was mind blowing. There was a sea of enthusiastic women out there, all seemed to be on a mission. There was Zumba workout conducted by Shiamak Davar institute. It was like a music concert, all of us participants swaying to some amazing numbers following the instructors on stage. My office colleague was supposed to join me but she missed the early morning bus and was still on the way. I was alone and most women were in groups. I shed all my inhibitions and danced like no one watched me. I enjoyed myself 🙂 The race began right on time. Abbas and Mantam were waiting at the Stadium where the race commenced and also would end.

I started exactly at 7:01 am, ran, jogged, walked… and then saw some volunteers on the way cheering and again pumped myself up and started running again. This kept happening but I was moving Baby!!! And then when there were 400 metres left to the finishing line, we were back to the stadium and I could see Mantam and Abbas gazing expectantly at the bunch of women buzzing past. I cheerfully waved at them and suddenly started running very very fast. I completed the race at 7:26 am. I took 25 minutes to cover 3 KM distance. I think I did well. Whaddya say? Well, this is just the beginning. I am gonna run again and try to beat my own timing 🙂

Some pointers from the marathon in RM style:

-> I was amazed at elderly women who were so energetic. Salute to their spirit. I even spotted an old woman who wore a saree and had worn the Pinkathon T-shirt on top of it. Amazing, isn’t it?

-> I once again had a huge crush on Milind Soman who is one of the brand ambassadors of Pinkathon. What grace, what charm, what smartness!!! He was an eye candy with his salt pepper hair and mustache… We even got a chance to click a pic with him 🙂

-> The event started right on time, which was the best part, not even a minute here or there! Kudos to the organizers.

-> Spotted one lady who had put on kgs of makeup. I shouldn’t be judging anyone but that early in the morning, among all the women who came in with hardly any makeup, I could easily spot her and was surprised!

-> There were little girls 7-8 years old perhaps, they were running so well! I began dreaming about running with Mantam in a few years to come.

-> The voulnteers kept cheering all along the route, it felt so good and their shout-outs helped me regain my rigour and not lose focus.

Today my legs have been protesting to move even a centimetre. But it was a Monday as usual, and I had to go about all the chores. Though every movement pained, there was a sweetness of achievement emanating from it and I am loving it!!!

Some pictures: