The Ultimate Activity Challenge 2024

 

Yes. Well-being month it was, at work - the idea was to Recharge, Learn and Connect - to encourage each other to get active and make movement, however big or small, part of our every day.

Last year, it was a step challenge and despite my painful knee, I had managed about 30000 steps each day for the entire month. It turned out, there was hardly any recognition at the end of this. My boss even categorizing it as a mere "brownie point". I don't do it for a pat-in-the-back, what do I do it for? 

I was in no mood to do this, but a colleague reached out, having formed a team and was looking to add me to it. I hardly need a nudge to get out for a run, I signed up, with a smirk. 

Recharge - This I did. All of this year I have been slowly raking up my mileage and was consistent at about 75k per week and feeling good. I am also a regular feature at the gym - pull ups, leg extensions, presses, curls, squats, lunges, dead lifts and the likes.

So when the contest began, I started diligently logging my runs, and gym workouts. Week 1, I was a surprise 2nd place, behind a Philip, a triathlete from Sau Paulo. I was all charged up for Week 2.

Week 1 = 109km of running!

Learn - I started paying attention to the competition, quickly learnt that 'run' activity is the bank for the buck - most points for the time invested. I kept doing what I was doing. I added a Yoga session for stretching out in the evenings. Come week 2, I just managed to stay in the 2nd place, but with others very close behind!

Week 2 = 95kms of running!

Connect (or the lack of it) - I also learnt that nobody cares! Every Friday, a corporate wide email was sent out, with the standings of the team and solo, a nice very readable email, with names, scores and motivation. Not one of my colleagues gave even the slightest pat on the back. Organizations are faceless edifices, designed for apathy, where being two-faced and falsehood is often incentivised.

By now, I wanted to shake off competition and also wanted to see what I could do. I stepped it up a notch.

The email came at the end of Week 3, I was still in second place behind Philip and 'a difficult to shake off' Hilke from Munich at 3rd.

Week 3 = 201km of running!

I learnt to connect to my trail! What joy it brought me - each day, I would head out to this wonderful trail in campus close home, a 6.5k loop done 3 or 4 times, desolate, with no care for the world! I made friends with the crows (one not so friendly one regularly swooped down on to me everyday), birds, and even a snake on one occasion.

I loved the process - of starting with a huge target each day (3hours of running!), but affirming each day, that one step at at time is what it takes!

And each day of the last week I put in about 30km. I had one last day to go. By now, the podium was down to Munich, Bangalore and Sau Paulo. I logged in a 25k in the morning and was waiting to see how the field will play. Sau Paulo decided to do the usual but settle for the bronze. By evening, Munich had caught up. I ran another 25k in the evening, bringing up 50k for the day.

The competition was open till midnight UK time and Hilke/Munich would log workouts all the way to the middle of the night. I followed the app nervously waking up many times during the night. At 2am, I decided that if I don't put in another workout, I would concede the first place. I tiptoed to the front door, unlocked my road bike, put on the Garmin and off I went for a 2 hour bike ride. It got me 30kms and some 12points, to keep my nose in front as the competition struck close.

Week 4 = 148kms running (and 30k cycling!)

Total 565kms of running, about 62hours for the month of June 2024!

And yes, the email came, someone will reach out to the podium finishers and send us a goodie bag our way!

Recharge | Learn | Connect