Shyam recently offered us his thoughts about running, and we are happy to share them with you today.
Coach Kiprunning: What inspired you to start running?
Shyam Biswal: My father had a stroke at an early age of 54, and he struggled to function normally after the stroke for rest of his life. I was a heavy smoker during my college years, and it worried me a lot after quitting that if my father got a stroke as a non-smoker, it could happen to me as well.
Furthermore, I am at a high risk for heart disease. With age, I developed prediabetes and hypertension.
I got into running initially with the belief that other healthy behaviors, such as clean eating, would follow so that I could restore my health
CK: What does running mean to you in your life?
SB: As I turned 50, running has been my greatest passion. It makes me happy, and it keeps me focused, disciplined, and positive. It reduces stress and improves brain activities.
CK: How has running changed your life?
SB: Running, particularly training for a full marathon and then completing the race, has taught me a lot about myself. On the health front, I have been able to reverse my obesity, prediabetes, hypertension, and many parameters related to blood lipids that could have increased the risk of heart disease. I no longer need medicines for hypertension and glucose control.
CK: What challenges are you going through?
SB: I am very focused on improving my running. I switched to a vegan diet and quit drinking alcohol for more than a year ago to improve my performance. I lost a lot of weight, and my BMI came down to a normal level and has now plateaued for the last several months.
I believe to perform better and remain injury free, I will need to lose additional weight. As a vegan, I feel much better and am more energetic than before, and I believe that the weight loss challenge will also work out.
Running has taught me a lot about myself. The excitement to break new boundaries and to challenge myself has been my greatest motivation.
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