42@42 ( The spark that lit the flame)

It all began with this title flashing in my head just before my 42nd birthday!! The ego whispered “Such a clever sentence…..How cool it would be if you could accomplish a 42 km on your 42nd birthday!! Imagine the reaction and attention when you talk or even write about your accomplishment…… Go Rockstar Go” Currently I am laughing as I type this because it sounds so shallow. The paradox is that while I expose my fragile ego, I also accomplish all of the above. Now it’s the ego’s turn to laugh :D

Just to give you a background, my journey with becoming physically fit started about 15 years ago. Prior to that, I had no idea of what a gym looked like or even what going for a pleasure walk meant. Most conversations around physical workouts, gymnasiums and fitness was boring and alien to me.

I most certainly have come a long way from those lazy, happily unaware days. However, participating in a marathon remains one of my least preferred adventures. Running/walking with a large crowd, covering some insane distance (whether 5 Km or 50 Km) is certainly not my cup of tea.

Last October, at the insistence of a friend, coupled with supporting a noble cause, I agreed to do my first 5 km. I rolled my eyes as soon as I pressed the ‘register’ tab and wanted to whack myself for again getting into something that is tough and challenging (I have recently been doing this quite often). At that stage running for 2 mins on the treadmill could cause me a heart failure. With a little bit of preparation and great resolve I accomplished my first 5 km without dying. This was 2 months before my 42nd b’day and (drum roll) tadddaaaaa….. then the dialogue that you read on top, played in my head.

In those two months between October and December I realized that there is a fine line between courage and stupidity. I decided to give myself more time, so the birthday announcement eventually did not happen. Moreover, I realized that I would be 42 for a whole year so I made it my resolution for 2019 to accomplish this task.

For the next four months, I read, walked, ran, spoke marathon!! Since walking also gives you a lot of time to ponder, I questioned my motivation and intent to do this challenge. I wondered if this was a mid-life crisis or even an attention seeking gimmick. To counter those self- defeating thoughts, I had to have a larger purer intention. I asked myself “would I still do this challenge if I could not tell anyone about it?” the answer was “yes”. I chose to make this as a stamina building task so that my body was ready for longer endurance treks and walks.

The road was not easy…. every time I did more than 15 km in the humid weather of Singapore, I suffered a migraine. I realized with every passing day that running was not for me but walking endlessly was. Trying to accomplish any sort of timing would be a waste of energy. I also knew that the sun is not going to be my friend for this goal, so I had to look for a night marathon opportunity. All the conditions that I wanted for my 42 km feat seemed unreal initially. I continued preparing, nevertheless. One day out of the blue, a friend called to invite me for an overnight 100 km team marathon event for the cancer society. That event in March magically ticked all the boxes and helped me achieve 43.1 km over 8 hours. A km plus of what my target was. I walked, ran, sprinted and crawled a total of 61000 steps that eventful night.

The accomplishment of this milestone increased my faith in human potential manifold. Today it is one year from the time I did my first 5 Km run grudgingly, and I am so glad that I did. I also now feel ready to share this experience because it absolutely brought to life for me these words of wisdom we may have read/heard at some point in our lives:

1. “Everything is relative and that is the only absolute”- Auguste Comte: If 5 kms at one point made me see stars, today 15 km seems like a good workout. Difficult or easy depends on where you are on your journey.

2.“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it” Paulo Coelho: If you really want something and the intention behind it is pure (I had to adjust my intention about not making it an ego trip) The universe does respond in magical ways. People and opportunities show up to make it a reality. Your own body becomes the servant of a powerful mind.

3. “The Journey of a thousand miles begins with a step”-Lao Tzu: It doesn’t matter where the inspiration comes from. It can even be a crazy/cool sentence playing in your head. If it is calling out to you, pay attention. A little spark can turn into a flame, who knows. Fan the spark.

4. “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not the attainment, full effort is full victory”-Mahatma Gandhi: Once you take on a challenge, do the work and then don’t create dependency on the outcome. The outcome is an amalgamation of many other things besides intention and effort.

And in the end………this whole episode is no longer about me; it can never be!! It belongs to the human spirit and the many thousands who are brave enough to dream because……

No dream is too big. No challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach. The ultimate measure of a human is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge.(A tweaked quote. Enuff said!!)

Sanah Singh Tomar (10/10/ 2019-20)

The author is a certified coach, who works with people for their personal and professional growth. Do reach out for your free consultation.