MARATHONS AND HORMONES: A DECADE AND RUNNING

Marathons and Hormones: A Decade and Running

Early days: After completing 3yrs of studying the subject of my choice, and passing the exams to now be christened as an endocrinologist, I was posted to work in the City Beautiful, Chandigarh in February 2009. After having passed through a decade, which included studying for 6 yrs, and a couple of years each as faculty in my alma mater AFMC and later, a relaxed tenure in Bhutan, here I was, to take up responsibilities and challenges in my new upgraded role in a large tertiary care hospital. This also meant an end to the tough period of being a student and studying for exams, which seemed to be unending since the day I had joined the medical college. Now here I was, with plenty of time, to explore new hobbies and develop new interests. 

Long distance running had never been done beyond the compulsory 5km that too as part of the compulsory military regimen. But the bug did bite in the winters of that year, as I took up to running distances with much physical discomfort but enough insanity to bear it all. I continued to passionately pursue the sport and upgrade to the marathon distance within the next year. After a brief injury layoff, and some real life’s lessons learnt, I was back to running with greater passion from 2012 and was prolific, running in events all over the country, often to the extent of overdoing it, which I would only realize later. Relocation to Pune in the end of 2013 brought in much needed social aspect to running with greater interaction with other runners, and improvement in the way I looked at running and its positives beyond the physical effort. Greater emphasis was placed on improving the performance as well as prevent injuries with specialized training under the best in business, coach Ashok Nath.

Changing gears: While the academics were at a peak during the years preceding my running days, with prolific clinical presentations and scientific publications, as the studies and pressure of exams ended, so did the passion with which I would pursue them. I was now getting more into applying my knowledge and skills to manage patients and gain the much-needed clinical expertise. It was giving me immense pleasure to be making differences in lives of people by doing so. A specialty which involved more of chronic lifestyle diseases and a few rare hormone disorders, provided a varied experience of dealing with such cases. To have established the first such full-fledged department in the hospital at Chandigarh gave me another great high and it was heartening to see the workload grow and patient satisfaction improve.

Relieved of the burden of studying for exams also meant more time at home and to be able to pursue my interests. So, while a long-desired pet was adopted, so did the passion for driving long distances in and around the neighboring states on holidays and official work.

Running wasn’t something I had planned as an activity in this period, but an urge to return to fitness did entail a bit of jogging around, nothing close to marathon distances though. In the Dec of 2009, a sudden spark of madness struck and I registered for the Chandigarh marathon for a HM, scheduled for Jan 2010. Then started the passion for running long distances, almost bordering madness. I ran mostly in Chandigarh and neighboring Delhi and a few runs across the country. Urge to improve over next few years continued in this sport of my choice which had by now become an inseparable part of life. Post 2016, this passion transformed into a more serious pursuit for excellence with time targets which was executed under coach Ash’s guidance. The graph of improvement in performance then peaked at qualifying for the Boston marathon in the year 2017 and every year thereafter till finally making the cut to run in the prestigious 2020 edition.

You win some, you lose some: While the energy and focus were being directed at running, the academics of Endocrinology was taking a backseat, with effort being solely restricted to more of work-related updating of knowledge and greater emphasis on patient care. Frequency of publications came down as the effort involved in them was being utilized in my sport and I saw lesser incentives in pursuing them. While presentations in conferences did continue as did the annual pilgrimage to the national conference (ESICON), I did notice a gradual but perceptible drop in being invited as faculty in such meetings. The faculty in these conferences was a close-knit group of colleagues and peers, an actively self-propagating cohort with a much needed support provided by seniors from their alma mater. Not having had the privilege of being part of this “elite” circle, did make me lose out on this opportunity. One might have to exert harder by getting closer to such a circle for benefits, for which somehow, I did not seem to have the time, energy or inclination. I was happy doing what gave me most pleasure and that was running. I realised from the quality and the complexities that went into the organisation of such meetings, that what I was wanting so badly to do wasn’t something as fair and capability-based as I had thought they were.

However disinterested one may feel, but a specialty society is an important forum for interaction and to be active in it, is an essential part of being in the profession. With all my sincerity, I did attempt to squeeze back into the “academic circle” but realised the lack of much needed support to get my foot in the door. A blatant request to this effect to those at the helm of affairs was made, to little avail. I guess being typecast as a “doctor who only runs” did not help either. Even a serendipitously introduced segment on “Sports Endocrinology” did not help get into this league. Now I was more than convinced that this was the “Bollywood” of Endocrinology where one had to have a godfather if one wasn’t from one of the khandaans. That’s when I realised the fairness of sports, at least the amateur sport that I was pursuing and I was back into it headlong, saving my interest and inclination towards the subject to treat my patients well and do my best for them. This was something that I had to do on my own without any patronization and no one could take that away from me either.

Running my own race: In this journey, I did develop my own ways of interacting with the patients, going into details of their problems beyond their medical issues and doing my bit to treat them holistically. I also used the electronic communication and social media to my best in making their management more convenient for them. Being available to most of my patients 24x7 was much appreciated and a felt need, where I could help them, although to a bit of inconvenience to me and my family.

Also, my reputation as a runner and my passion for the sport and an obvious keenness to spread the bug to colleagues and patients led to motivating many of them to take up the sport. A doctor who “walked the talk” was seen as a welcome friend and that helped push them into a healthier lifestyle. All this gave me immense pleasure and satisfaction, beyond what any professional peer review could provide. I took this further by instituting annual AFMC Marathon in my alma mater, which did make a huge impact on the health of my colleagues and students and also brought many families to take up running as a healthy option. This satisfying and enriching experience far outdid the disappointment of not being able to contribute academically, something I realised was a different achievement, much more gratifying in many ways. At the cost of making it sound as a “sour grapes”, I was more than convinced that this is what worked for me.

A brief pause before surging ahead: Year 2019 was the tenth year of my running that brought the challenges of being an ageing runner, Injuries. Having had repeated layoffs due to calf muscle strain, this made me spend the year of having done the Procam Slam (TCS 10k, ADHM, TSK25 and TMM) and the BMW Berlin marathon, a year of running within myself and not racing at full potential. I was often recovering or battling injuries through the races. Needless to say, bettering performance wasn’t the goal this year but to endure and come out stronger through these experiences. This was also a period when I relocated to Delhi, a city of extreme weather conditions and pollution which hampered seamless running. To be staying alone, depending on a common kitchen, working in a busy hospital with multiple roles further added to the hardships. All these challenges, coupled with injury made the year, one of a step back and reboot, at best.

Looking ahead, I feel the worst is over as I take up new challenges both in the sport and profession. While I seem to have worked my way through my injuries, training for the upcoming Boston marathon looks to be a promising albeit a challenging road ahead. To be able to run in the “dream of a lifetime” event, shall far outdo all the negatives faced over the past. To be able to stand at the start line fit enough to take up the challenge is what is going to be my prayers for.

On the other hand, professionally, it shall be a focus at relocation to a more stable personal life, convenient and gratifying work profile with greater emphasis on work-life balance. I shall make enough time for my passion and people, while I also focus on my profession to the best of my ability. Keeping fit, injury-free and building up on the set foundations will be the way forward. How much of this space, the academic pursuits take up shall depend on how I am able to carve a niche for myself in this much complicated grid of things. What future brings into these important facets of my life, is to be seen with much anticipation.