Meet my running coach Deepa Nayak

The year 2024 started on a high note as I found myself running my 8th Full Marathon alongside 59,000 spirited runners at the iconic Tata Mumbai Marathon.

But the initial euphoria was short lived. For the next 6 months, life got mixed up with several personal setbacks and the professional set up that broadly fell short of providing any clear direction for future growth.?

By mid of 2024, things started to look a lot better. I managed to secure a job at a new organization with a leadership role that looked really promising.?

My wife delivered our second child and the arrival of our son filled our life with immense joy. But within a few days she was diagnosed with Dengue that saw her platelet count rapidly decreasing from 3,50,000 to 35,000 within 3 days. This double whammy of dengue immediately after a caesarean operation left my wife in a very vulnerable state both physically as well as mentally.?

Getting a hospital bed was immensely challenging during those times due to significant rise in dengue related cases in Bangalore. Most of the hospitals were flooded with dengue and diarrhea?related cases.

At the middle of the night, I frantically messaged some people with the hope that someone could help to get a bed at hospital. I got a call from my running coach Deepa at 4.30 AM who asked me about the situation. She called back again at 6 AM and told that she spoke to some people who promised to help me.?

8 AM onwards I started getting calls from many people whom I didn’t know earlier. They mentioned that they would try to help considering the critical situation of my wife.?

By late afternoon, a bed got arranged at a nearby hospital and my wife got shifted there. For the next 3-4 days, she was provided with adequate care by hospital that helped in her recovery.?

I took a break from running to take care of family. I was uncertain if I would be able to come back to running anytime soon.?

More than a month later, I had a conversation with Deepa as I wasn’t very sure if I would be able to give any time for running given the family commitments and the demands of the job at a new organization. But she encouraged me to find even a small amount of time in a day for exercise.?

She made weekly plans that could be executed by taking lesser time. On many occasions, I couldn’t do that as well. But she was very patient as I struggled due to many ongoing commitments that demanded time and attention.?

Due to the month-long break, my body had lost a considerable stamina. Even to run 5K, it felt like a burden. But I tried to take things slowly in my stride without worrying about anything.?

In the initial 7 months of the year, I could run only one HM (half marathon) and one FM (full marathon).?

Between Sep to Dec 2024, I managed to ran 15 HMs. That also included a HM at personal best timing of 2:06 HR with an average pace of 5:59/km. A 5K run in 26:41 MIN also made it to the list. ??

When I reflect back on my fitness journey in 2024, I realize that things could have gone anywhere. The initial break for a month could have easily gone into months altogether which could have made it even more difficult for me to make a come back to running.?

But thankfully, with the phenomenal support of my coach things turned out to be really positive. ??Now I am looking at 2025 with great interest and strongly feel that the best is yet to come.?

A good coach improves your game. A great coach improves your life.

~ Michael Josephson

#buildyourrange #running #happiness #coach #marathon #author

?

?

?

?

?

?