From the time I took to long distance running in the early 2000s, the year 2019 ( and the 2019-2020 season) was by far the worst year running wise except for 2003-04 when I had knee issues after completing my first Full marathon. After the nadir of 2019 one thought things could only better from there. As it turned out 2021 was a complete disaster. I hit a personal low in terms of running mileage clocked (approximately 1200), no of cardio workout days(185) , no. of runs over 25Km(just one apart from TMM 2020) , period of no exercise(6 weeks from mid March to early May) and duration without runniong (10 weeks from mid March to early June). And a record weight gain of 4Kgs to top it.
Of course, 2020 was a terrible, forgettable year globally affecting millions of people through displacement, job losses, sickness and death of dear and near ones. In those terms I have certainly been among the privileged and must count my blessings - no one except R has lost his job among my family and friends and except for the change in lifestle due to WFH, lack of travel and socialising the pandemic has'nt adversely impacted most people I know pesonally. Outside of running 2020 has actually been good for me - R's wedding in Feb followed by a wonderful holiday in Gujarat were the highs before the pandemic struck in India. Working full time for Mentor Together enabled me to fullfill my goal of working at a NGO and provided an enriching and satisfying albeit very hectic experience.
Getting back to the running - the perenneal tendonitis that hit me in November 2019 (due to which I had the 2nd DNS of my running career by skipping the Spice Coast marathon) continued to trouble me throughout 2020. The 6 weeks following TMM in Janaury were anyway lowkey in terms of running due to the wedding and the holiday. As I started picking up the training in the last week of Feb the swelling and pain around the right ankle grew. Physio sessions at IMSMTC (which in my personal opinion were useless and ineffective) got disrupted by the lockdown. Post the easing of the same I consulted Dr. P at Sparsh. When the paid and swelling did not reduce despite the hip and ankle mobilisation/strengthening exercises I consulted Dr HK of Ossicare. Based on the MRI that revealed fluid accumulation around the pereneal tendon he prescribed some medication and ultrasound physiotherapy and complete rest from running or any impactful exercise for 3 weeks. Though the pain and swelling subsided by about 60/70% it did not go away. The Dr suggested surgery as an option. However I decided to give it time instead. After the break in the second half of September I restarted running with much lower intensity : distances shorter than 10K at 30% slower than usual pace. Over a 8 weeks period I gradually increased the distance while keeping the pace between 6:20 and 7 per Km(compared to 5:20 and 6 before this injury). Was delighted to end the year with a 30K/3:30 hr run though the last 5 Kms was quite a struggle.
With no phyiscal running events being held post Feb and several weeks of lockdown imposed restrictions, 2020 was not a bad year to recuperate from injury. With the continued uncertainty of the dates and format of physical races in 2021, the focus is to build on the current momentum to run a sub 5:15 FM in TMM 2021 (tentatively scheduled for late Feb)- which is probably likely to be a virtual race. The other goals for the year, at this point in time, are to build strength, reduce weight below 56Kgs and run a sub 4hr marathon in the Oct/Nov time frame.
