Long Distance Running

I'm not sure when or how it happened, but I've started to become a long distance runner. I haven't even run my first full marathon yet, but I now understand the positive impact that having a long distance event in your future has on your present. By this I mean that when I know that I'm going to be running a half marathon or full marathon sometime in the next 6 months, I treat my body differently leading up to that run. Plus I no longer have any issues waking up at 5am every morning for yoga sessions, long runs or cross training. Without the race in my future, I would be crawling out of bed at 8am and rushing to work while stuffing an aloo paratha in my mouth and washing it down with a cup of masala chai.

Humans are funny.  I remember when I crossed the finish line after running the Delhi half marathon and said to myself that I would never run a full marathon. I also remember a week later when I wrote to my friend Ethan Zohn requesting that I get put on the Grassroot Soccer NYC Marathon Team. 

Well now I'm on the team and I'm in the midst of training and fund raising; doing both in a tough Delhi climate:) So if any readers of this blog want to donate to my marathon fund and support the fight against HIV, please do so by following this link and clicking the "DONATE" box on the top right:


http://www.crowdrise.com/teamgrassrootsoccer/fundraiser/NeelShah

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