Because I can 

Though I have always led a fairly active life, too much eating out and binging on the wrong foods made me pile on the kilos, and two years back (July 2007), I weighed 20 kgs more than I did when I'd got married in '98. I got on the treadmill in a make or break attempt to lose weight, and found I could barely jog for 30 seconds. Started on a 'very brisk walking' routine, and when I got back on the treadmill after I couple of weeks, I found I could run for 10 minutes.

A couple of months later, I completed the Standard Chartered half marathon, and a week after that, I was back on the treadmill experimenting with techniques!

I run two to three times a week on weekdays, and try to pack in a longer 10 k run on weekends.

I had to undergo a hysterectomy in August 2009, and was banned from running for six weeks. Exactly 42 days after the surgery, I was back on the treadmill, and two weeks later ran 10 k. When I went back to the doctor for a post operative check-up, he was surprised at how quickly my body had bounced back to normal - I credit that to running!

Why do I run?

I no longer run to lose weight, or to keep fit. I run purely because running gives me a high- the sublime ecstasy when you hit the zone, the thrill of pushing the body just a little bit more when you don't.

I run because I can!

The quote that never fails to inspire me? "Pain is temporary, Quitting is permanent." - Lance Armstrong

I blog on parenting, development, running and this and that at www.coffeeringseverywhere.blogspot.com