The Race That Taught Me a Lesson

I thought this one would be easy

By the time I reached the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon 2024, running had already become a part of my life.

I had changed quite a bit since my first half marathon.

My first half marathon had taken me 2:47:17.

Then, at the Apollo Half Marathon 2024, I surprised myself by finishing in 2:14:40 — more than 30 minutes faster.

That improvement gave me confidence.

Maybe a little too much confidence.

So when I came to this race, somewhere in my mind I had started thinking:

“Last time I did it so much faster. This one should be easy.”

I didn’t realize it then, but that thought was going to teach me one of my first real lessons in running.

The race started normally

When the run started, I was happy.

There was excitement all around, the usual race-day energy, and I was enjoying myself.

I wasn’t scared like I had been during my first half marathon.

I had already done this distance before.

I knew I could finish 21.1 kilometres.

But there was one difference this time.

I wasn’t respecting the distance the way I should have.

I had started believing that because I had improved so much in my previous race, this one would automatically be easy too.

That was my mistake.

2:15:56

Eventually, I crossed the finish line.

My timing was:

2:15:56

At first, I didn’t think much of it.

I was actually very happy.

I was celebrating, smiling, dancing and enjoying the moment.

You can probably see that in the pictures.

My brother was there too, and there was that moment when he put the medal around my neck. After finishing, all I could really feel was happiness.

But later, when I looked at the timing properly, I noticed something.

My previous half marathon was 2:14:40.

This one was 2:15:56.

I had actually taken 1 minute 16 seconds longer.

The lesson came later

Normally, losing a little over a minute wouldn’t seem like a big deal.

But for me, it was important.

Because I started thinking about why.

And the more I thought about the race, the more obvious it became.

I had become overconfident.

I had assumed that because my previous race had gone so well, this one would automatically go the same way.

But running doesn’t work like that.

Every race is different.

Every day is different.

Your body is different.

Your preparation is different.

And if you want to keep improving, you can’t simply depend on what you did last time.

Running started teaching me that confidence is important, but overconfidence can make you stop learning.

Running had started playing a bigger game

By this point, running wasn’t just something I did for fun anymore.

It had started becoming a game of its own.

A game where I had to understand myself.

I had to improve my running skills.

I had to learn how to train properly.

I had to understand pacing.

I had to become better at handling the difficult kilometres.

And most importantly, I had to stop assuming that improvement would happen automatically.

This race didn’t give me a new personal best.

But it gave me something else.

A lesson.

And honestly, that lesson was probably more important.

I was still happy

Even after realizing that I had taken a little longer than my previous race, I don’t remember being disappointed.

I had finished another half marathon.

I had my medal.

My brother was there.

And I was happy enough to dance after finishing.

That happiness is still visible in the photos.

Because eventually, I understood something else too:

Not every race needs to be a personal best to be meaningful.

Some races give you a faster time.

Some give you confidence.

Some give you memories.

And some teach you what you need to change.

This one did the last two.

Looking back

My first half marathon taught me that I could finish.

Apollo taught me that I could improve.

And the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon 2024 taught me that improvement requires work.

I couldn’t just keep expecting better times because I had once run faster.

If I wanted to become a better runner, I needed to become a better student of running.

That was something I hadn’t really understood when I started.

Running had quietly entered my life as a way to lose weight.

Now it was teaching me lessons that went far beyond running.

And I was only getting started.