# ‘Some people smoke,I
                                                    just run’

**Source**: https://ge.iitm.ac.in/rendezvous/some-people-smokei-just-run/
**Parent**: https://ge.iitm.ac.in/rendezvous/page/2/

Professor
Suresh
Govindarajan
writes
about
the joys
of
running,
which
has
helped
him beat
Monday
morning
blues
and
tough
days at
work,
apart
from
keeping
his
health
parameters
in check

**Suresh
Govindarajan**

At 39, I
discovered
that all
my basic
health
parameters
(blood
pressure,
cholesterol
and
sugar
levels)
were a
little
off. I
added a
40-minute
brisk
walk
(three
or four
times a
week) to
my
everyday
routine;
it
helped
me bring
these
parameters
down to
control.

During a
sabbatical
in
Switzerland,
I
realised
that a
one-hour
walk did
not help
me
sweat.
So, I
thought
I should
run but
found
myself
huffing
and
puffing
after
100
metres –
I ran
way too
fast! By
the end
of the
sabbatical
year, I
was
running
three
kilometres
non-stop.
When I
returned
home to
IIT-M in
2007, I
decided
to take
part in
the
IIT-Morganised
Road
Race,
which
was
approximately
eight
kilometres.
I
continued
running
on
campus a
few
times in
the week
and by
2008, I
would do
long
runs for
about 10
kilometres.

In
November
2011,
Chennai
Runners,
a
non-profit
club
started
by
runners,
organised
a half
marathon
at
IIT-M. I
participated
in the
10K
(kilometres)
category,
which
was my
first
timed
race. In
September
that
year, I
started
keeping
a tab on
my runs
via
Runkeeper,
estimating
distances
by
drawing
maps on
the app,
and
estimating
the
average
pace
using my
watch.
According
to stats
on
Runkeeper,
I ran
119K
during
September
2011, as
part of
the prep
for the
MARG
Chennai
Runners
Half
Marathon.
I
completed
10K in
53
minutes
in that
event.

I took
part in
the race
again in
2012 but
as the
crowds
got
bigger,
I
decided
to stop
running
10K
events.
That
meant
two
things:
either
running
a half
marathon
(HM) or
volunteering
for the
event. I
opted
for the
former.
My first
half
marathon
(21.095K)
was on
Dec 1,
2013,
which I
completed
in two
hours
and
twelve
minutes
(after
cramping
for the
first
time in
my
life).
The
second
half
marathon
was at
Auroville
in 2014,
which I
finished
in under
two
hours. I
kept
running
half
marathons
regularly,
averaging
about
150-200
kilometres
per
month
including
training
and
events.

**The
perfect
mile**

I had no
intention
of
running
a
marathon.
I took
to
running
for fun
and was
happy to
be
participating
in half
marathons.
My
friend,
whose
company
was the
main
sponsor
for the
Chicago
Marathon,
wanted
me to
run with
him on a
sponsor’s
entry.
My
initial
reaction
was to
say no,
but I
ended up
running
the 2017
edition
of the
Chicago
Marathon.
For
this, I
followed
Hal
Higdon’s
18 week
Intermediate
2
Marathon
Training
Programme,
which
involved
running
five
days a
week.

I had no
idea
about
the pace
with
which I
should
run, but
chose to
keep it
at
6:15/km
(4hr 23
mins for
the
marathon).
I was
hoping
to run
at least
one of
the 20
miles at
that
pace but
could
never
manage
it. On
race
day,
conditions
were a
lot
cooler
than
Chennai
and I
found
myself
focusing
on the
effort;
my pace
was a
lot
faster
than in
Chennai.

As I
neared
the
halfway
point, I
was on
track
for the
half
marathon
PB
(personal
best). I
then
decided
to slow
down the
rest of
the way
at 6/km
which
felt
easy. I
cramped
badly in
the last
10K
stretch
and had
to
switch
to
run-walk
mode. I
finished
the
marathon
in four
hours
and
fifteen
minutes,
which
was
better
than
what I
anticipated.
In
February
2019, I
ran a
second
marathon
in Delhi
which I
finished
under
the four
hour-mark
(3:54:42)
using
the
Advanced
Hanson’s
Marathon
Plan.
This was
a
perfect
race,
where I
trained
to
complete
it in
three
hours
and
fifty-five
seconds.
I
achieved
it with
seconds
to
spare.

**Training
plans**

I
typically
run five
days a
week
(it’s
six
while
training
for a
race) on
the
campus.
I finish
most of
my runs
in the
morning,
as I
wake up
at 4am
on all
days.
Occasionally,
I join
other
groups
for long
runs on
weekends.
I try to
do a
core and
strength
workout
at least
once a
week.
When
people
ask me
why I
run, I
tell
them,
“Some
people
smoke, I
run.” It
is an
addiction
and a
great
stress
buster.
On tough
days, I
make
sure
that I
lace up
and run.
Working
at IIT-M
is
complicated
and has
added to
my
stress
in many
ways.
Running
helps me
keep the
stress
levels
under
control.
I have
been
tracking
my runs
on
Runkeeper
till
date.
I also
post my
runs on
the
Strava
app,
which
helps me
connect
with the
running
community.
I have
been
running
almost
2,000
kilometres
every
year
since
2014,
and have
touched
2,000
miles in
the past
several
years.
The
progress
is
gradual
and at
the same
time, I
value my
rest
days.
The goal
is to
keep
running
in my
sixties
and
possibly
in my
seventies
too. The
feeling
one gets
when
they get
into a
smooth
running
rhythm…it’s
something
to be
experienced.
When I
am in
that
zone, on
such
runs, I
mentally
prepare
lectures
and come
up with
ideas –
mostly
wrong! –
for my
research.
One of
my close
friends
says
that
running
for me
is like
meditation.
I agree.
What
strikes
me the
most
about my
running
is the
discipline
with
which I
train. I
select a
running
plan and
stick to
it to
the best
of my
ability.
Failure
on race
day is
an
acceptable
outcome,
but the
failure
to train
well is
not. The
quality
to
accept
failure
is very
important
in my
line of
work as
a
researcher.
This has
now
translated
into my
running
as well.

**Claim
to
fame**

It was
the
start of
the 10K
race in
December
2012. A
bunch of
kids
pushed
their
way to
the
front; I
asked
one of
them if
they had
run at
least a
kilometre.
The
answer
was
‘no’. I
asked
them to
go stand
in the
back.
The
serious
look on
my face
must
have
caught
the
attention
of this
cinematographer
who was
shooting
a Tamil
movie.
This
made the
final
cut and
I seemed
to have
appeared
on the
screen
for
almost
10
seconds.
I had no
idea
until
people
told me
that
they saw
me in
the
movie.
It was
the 2013
Tamil
film
Ethir
Neechal,
which
was also
about
running.

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