Marathon experience
Hi everybody,
I am writing to you again on behalf of Asha for Education. (www.ashanet.org/centralnj)I think almost the whole world knows by now that I'm running the Philadelphia Marathon on Nov 19th to raise funds for Asha. I’m an incessant talker and this is all I talk about, these days. I guess the seriously victimized folks among my friends wrote me the checks just to shut me up! Whatever works, eh? For those of you who haven’t yet been “fortunate” to hear about my training, here goes…
I run 3 days during the week and have 1 long run on the weekend. Being an Indian housewife and mother of a high-schooler and a middle-schooler, I have a lot of commitments and I have to squeeze my runs into my schedule. My kids are also seriously into bharatanatyam and they occasionally participate in dance programs. That requires a lot of time and energy investment on my part. (believe it or not - it takes me 3 hrs to get one girl ready from start to finish, when they have a program). Invariably they are on Sundays and I have to miss my morning long runs with my team and run on Saturday mornings or evenings. My husband is also part of a Bollywood music group and we participate actively in the programs and behind the scene chores. We also love having people at home and generally entertain a lot of guests - mostly from out of town/country.
This is what my schedule looks like. After I finish my long runs on Sunday, I generally have to rush home and start cooking lunch. For example, last week, started my 17 mile run at 6.30 a.m. Finished it at 10.00 a.m and went home to start cooking lunch; then went to get my daughter from her friend’s place. Then we rushed to the train station to drop off my cousin who was visiting us from India and went on to attend a dance program organized by my daughters’ dance school.
I also volunteer at my local library. They don't find enough people to help with shelving. So I stand for about 2-3 hrs most weekdays, shelving books there, after I finish my early morning 1 hour run. Of course, I'm not even bringing up navrathri and other religious festivals, parent teacher meetings, school programs, homework, etc, into the picture. Not to mention the number of health problems I have. (I'm thinking of alphabetizing them - waiting for something in z to crop up so I can finish the compendium - how about zero tolerance towards demotivators!)
Why am I telling you all this? And why am I torturing myself thus? I felt compelled to write this elaborate account of my running experience, because funnily enough (or sadly?) it is the womenfolk who ask me this question. They tell me things like," We women cannot expect to compete with men. We need to take care of our kids. We have a lot of cooking, cleaning and other responsibilities to handle. We do not have the physical stamina to run a marathon as well as take care of a household. You are a woman – act like one and stay home or spend your time usefully by doing work around the house; you just want to show off to people…." Some of their words are really hurtful! I can understand if we have small kids to attend to. I have a high-schooler and a middle-schooler. A few miles of running doesn't mean I neglect them. Here is a link to Mathru, the project I am supporting. http://www.ashanet.org/projects/project-view.php?p=490
Here, you can find links to pages put together by Asha volunteers after their visit to Mathru, which contain pictures and information about how Asha is helping the Mathru Organization educate and improve the quality of lives of so many poor and blind children. Without Mathru and Asha’s support, these children would be begging on the streets or languishing in some orphanage.
Everytime I am down in the dumps, need some motivation and inspiration, I just go to these pages and look at the faces of these little children. If I can bring a little bit of cheer to these children, why shouldn't I go through some discomfort for a few months? I have been given an opportunity, nay, a great privilege to serve little disabled kids in the little way I can. Why would I let go of this wonderful chance? What is a few months of “torture” compared to the good that can be achieved as a result?
So all you well wishers out there, I really really thank you from the bottom of my heart for being so encouraging and inspiring me to carry on inspite of all the challenges I am facing. All those who have donated to my cause or are thinking of donating, rest assured that every dollar you give, is going to the right place and will put a smile on the face of some unfortunate child. Believe me; I am toiling hard and long and against all adversities to earn that dollar.
I would also like to take this opportunity to apologize to all my friends and family who I haven’t been able to communicate with, because of my hectic schedule. I’ve had to sacrifice a lot so I could run, and this is one of the sacrifices I’ve had to make. Guys, you are wonderful and I’m lucky to have people like you on my side. Thanks a lot for your cooperation and understanding. I hope I will be able to make it up to you someday!
To the ladies amongst you who are reading this, please don’t think we are in any way inferior to men. We have been blessed with immense power. We need to realize this and channelize our strength to work in whatever way we want it to – be it music, dance, mountain climbing, cooking, running….We can achieve anything in this world if only we put our minds into it. It doesn’t mean that we neglect our families to achieve our goals. We just need to maintain a healthy balance between the two of them.
Ok, that’s it. I’m done with my long sermon. Thank you all for being very patient and reaching the end of this blog successfully. Even if you’ve skimmed through it, thank you very much! I hope I achieve what I set out to achieve through this long article. ($$$ for Asha and Mathru!) Please take a look at my page at the following link and make your contributions. I will be deeply obliged to you for that. Please also help me by forwarding this link to whoever you think might be interested in donating towards my cause. http://www.ashanet.org/centralnj/events/marathon/runnernet/publicmypage06.php?runnerid=2006TA537
I am writing to you again on behalf of Asha for Education. (www.ashanet.org/centralnj)I think almost the whole world knows by now that I'm running the Philadelphia Marathon on Nov 19th to raise funds for Asha. I’m an incessant talker and this is all I talk about, these days. I guess the seriously victimized folks among my friends wrote me the checks just to shut me up! Whatever works, eh? For those of you who haven’t yet been “fortunate” to hear about my training, here goes…
I run 3 days during the week and have 1 long run on the weekend. Being an Indian housewife and mother of a high-schooler and a middle-schooler, I have a lot of commitments and I have to squeeze my runs into my schedule. My kids are also seriously into bharatanatyam and they occasionally participate in dance programs. That requires a lot of time and energy investment on my part. (believe it or not - it takes me 3 hrs to get one girl ready from start to finish, when they have a program). Invariably they are on Sundays and I have to miss my morning long runs with my team and run on Saturday mornings or evenings. My husband is also part of a Bollywood music group and we participate actively in the programs and behind the scene chores. We also love having people at home and generally entertain a lot of guests - mostly from out of town/country.
This is what my schedule looks like. After I finish my long runs on Sunday, I generally have to rush home and start cooking lunch. For example, last week, started my 17 mile run at 6.30 a.m. Finished it at 10.00 a.m and went home to start cooking lunch; then went to get my daughter from her friend’s place. Then we rushed to the train station to drop off my cousin who was visiting us from India and went on to attend a dance program organized by my daughters’ dance school.
I also volunteer at my local library. They don't find enough people to help with shelving. So I stand for about 2-3 hrs most weekdays, shelving books there, after I finish my early morning 1 hour run. Of course, I'm not even bringing up navrathri and other religious festivals, parent teacher meetings, school programs, homework, etc, into the picture. Not to mention the number of health problems I have. (I'm thinking of alphabetizing them - waiting for something in z to crop up so I can finish the compendium - how about zero tolerance towards demotivators!)
Why am I telling you all this? And why am I torturing myself thus? I felt compelled to write this elaborate account of my running experience, because funnily enough (or sadly?) it is the womenfolk who ask me this question. They tell me things like," We women cannot expect to compete with men. We need to take care of our kids. We have a lot of cooking, cleaning and other responsibilities to handle. We do not have the physical stamina to run a marathon as well as take care of a household. You are a woman – act like one and stay home or spend your time usefully by doing work around the house; you just want to show off to people…." Some of their words are really hurtful! I can understand if we have small kids to attend to. I have a high-schooler and a middle-schooler. A few miles of running doesn't mean I neglect them. Here is a link to Mathru, the project I am supporting. http://www.ashanet.org/projects/project-view.php?p=490
Here, you can find links to pages put together by Asha volunteers after their visit to Mathru, which contain pictures and information about how Asha is helping the Mathru Organization educate and improve the quality of lives of so many poor and blind children. Without Mathru and Asha’s support, these children would be begging on the streets or languishing in some orphanage.
Everytime I am down in the dumps, need some motivation and inspiration, I just go to these pages and look at the faces of these little children. If I can bring a little bit of cheer to these children, why shouldn't I go through some discomfort for a few months? I have been given an opportunity, nay, a great privilege to serve little disabled kids in the little way I can. Why would I let go of this wonderful chance? What is a few months of “torture” compared to the good that can be achieved as a result?
So all you well wishers out there, I really really thank you from the bottom of my heart for being so encouraging and inspiring me to carry on inspite of all the challenges I am facing. All those who have donated to my cause or are thinking of donating, rest assured that every dollar you give, is going to the right place and will put a smile on the face of some unfortunate child. Believe me; I am toiling hard and long and against all adversities to earn that dollar.
I would also like to take this opportunity to apologize to all my friends and family who I haven’t been able to communicate with, because of my hectic schedule. I’ve had to sacrifice a lot so I could run, and this is one of the sacrifices I’ve had to make. Guys, you are wonderful and I’m lucky to have people like you on my side. Thanks a lot for your cooperation and understanding. I hope I will be able to make it up to you someday!
To the ladies amongst you who are reading this, please don’t think we are in any way inferior to men. We have been blessed with immense power. We need to realize this and channelize our strength to work in whatever way we want it to – be it music, dance, mountain climbing, cooking, running….We can achieve anything in this world if only we put our minds into it. It doesn’t mean that we neglect our families to achieve our goals. We just need to maintain a healthy balance between the two of them.
Ok, that’s it. I’m done with my long sermon. Thank you all for being very patient and reaching the end of this blog successfully. Even if you’ve skimmed through it, thank you very much! I hope I achieve what I set out to achieve through this long article. ($$$ for Asha and Mathru!) Please take a look at my page at the following link and make your contributions. I will be deeply obliged to you for that. Please also help me by forwarding this link to whoever you think might be interested in donating towards my cause. http://www.ashanet.org/centralnj/events/marathon/runnernet/publicmypage06.php?runnerid=2006TA537
posted by Randomblogger at 3:42 PM
