2013 Year in Review: The year the Phoenix learnt to spread its wings

As always, it is hard to condense and put down in words, experiences which span an entire year. Over the last few months most people have been part of my experiences through the medium of sportskeeda as well as this blog. To begin with, thank you all for your kind words – your support encourages me to do what I do.

2012 was a year of changes for me which pushed me out of my comfort zone  (https://www.facebook.com/notes/timtim-sharma/2012-the-year-in-review-year-of-the-rise-of-the-phoenix/527609040590846). I started making changes to my lifestyle and it was the beginning of the journey to rediscover myself and start a brand new chapter. Once this story began, it was essential that I keep looking back to see the progress being made.

“Success isn’t how far you got, but the distance you travelled from where you started.”

Famous words by my hero Steve Prefontaine which I hold very dear to my heart and try to live by. 2013 was another year of changes for me. It was the year I decided to quit my full time job and get into fitness as a profession. 6 months into making this decision, I am in a happy place and satisfied with the way I have provided direction to my goals and ambitions. I love the way I have managed to incorporate and intertwine various different fitness routines into not only my life but those of a lot of people around me. There are so many of my Zumba students who have now started running, a few are playing with the idea of exploring cycling. A few runners are looking at pushing past their comfort zone and have resolved to work on their swimming or biking. It really is a very exciting phase to see so many people jumping onto the fitness ride and stay on there to adopt it as a lifestyle.

This year represented many firsts for me. I did my first Full Marathon at Auroville in February. It was a brilliant experience. I also got a chance to run my first ever 5K race at the Pinkathon.I participated in my first ever TCS 10K and did a PB. I also managed a Half Marathon at Chennai which was my recorded PB yet. I did my first triathlon at Thonnur – this was another fabulous experience. Cherry on the cake this year was my second full Marathon at Hyderabad with a PB. This was the peak for the year and as they say, every uphill is followed by a downhill. This was in the form of my first ever bonking experience at KTM – that was humbling! I also had my first major setback in the form of an injury which made me feel so incapacitated. I made my first ever trip to a sports physiotherapist. On a positive note though, it does confirm that I am now officially a runner. I got my first opportunity to be a pacer with the Nike Outrun at Mumbai and I enjoyed it so so much that the Bangalore Ultra saw me pacing my dear friends and learning from them. I enjoy pacing and spreading the running bug so much that in November, I agreed to be an official pacer with the Bangalore NRC and now each Sunday gives me an opportunity to interact with and speak to newbie runners and it is indeed a fulfilling experience. To end this year on a positive note I have come back to racing, fully recovered and with a 10K PB under my belt. At this time, I feel good!

On a more personal note, this year has seen me interact with a lot of people. It has taught me to trust my instincts and continue to follow my heart. It takes five fingers to make a hand and similarly all kinds of people make up this world. Among all of the varied bunch that I have had the opportunity to interact with, I have met some superb athletes and fantastic people with an open mind who are waiting for a chance to make a change. The old adage of birds of a feather flock together seems to hold true. Somehow, the sport, the attitude and similar energies that we share have bought these athletes together today to form the Protons and it is indeed a joy to train and work with this team. Not only are we going from strength to strength from a timing and performance perspective at each race, but as a team we have pulled off some fantastic events this year which includes the Thonnur Triathlon (in association with the Mysore Cycling Club), the Rescue Runners and the MegaPink initiative amongst others. Not only have we pulled off these high stress events with minimal friction, but have managed to make memories which will last a lifetime while doing so.

I have seen changes in myself and the people close to me. I have seen them become more resolute, more focussed and more determined. I have seen a surge in self-confidence and motivation. I have seen an increase in patience levels – maybe that is what endurance is all about.  I have seen passion first-hand and see it on a daily basis. These changes manifest not only physically but also on a psychological and spiritual level. I think when a person pursues endurance events for fun,  he is continuously pushing himself beyond a frontier that he himself believes is a challenge. When one is constantly surprising oneself of the lack of our own limitations, the person is reborn. The person reborn this way, lives on a different plane. Regular mundane run of the mill motions do not satisfy this person anymore and they are looking for more. More of everything that life has to offer. Do they truly live – I think so, these are the people who truly work towards every achievement of theirs and the joy in reaping a reward after working hard for it is priceless and incomparable.

What is in line for 2014? 2014 promises to be a very exciting year. There are two milestones for this year which have already been set. One is the very exciting SCMM right around the corner in Jan. The other is a need to complete my tattoo and end next year with the Ironman 70.3 in December at Thailand. There are also a million other things that are on the list, but I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise for us all. So it’s definitely a “watch this space” section. And yes, very exciting times ahead for me for the rest of 2013 – I finally get to meet my besties after a very long three years, so, this is me signing off for 2013 and wishing every one a joyous end of the year and an exciting entry into 2014. I will see you all on the other side, looking forward to a brand new year and another opportunity to take life by the horns and lead it just the way you want.