Dr Rupal Mohan, who runs her own clinic, providing Urgent and Family Care in Phoenix, Arizona, started participating in… Half- marathons not too long ago. In Jan of 2011, she first did a half-marathon primarily to keep the high cholesterol under control. Having a family history of high cholestrol, she always followed a strict control of her diet, but was still taken by surprise when a routine examination showed more than marginally high levels. After walking the first half-marathon, there was no turning back for her. She went on to do about six more that year. This year alone, she did 8 half-marathons in various different cities in US including Dallas, San Diego, San Antonio, etc. So what keeps her going? “Exercise elevates endorphin levels that keeps your mood good. So exercise feels good. Participating in the events feels even better. I also get a good break from my regular schedule,” she says.
She and her husband, Sumeet Mohan, whose story we covered earlier, often walk half-marathons together. Apart from participating in charity events, more recently their Wedding Anniversary celebrations have included hiking trips to Yosemite, longest being the 18 miles hike to the Half-Dome there. This celebrated their 20th Wedding Anniversary by doing a 20 miles hike to the Havasupai Falls in Grand Canyon and back over 2 days.
In order to start their kids in the path of fitness early in life, they walk/run in several 5K events with them. This year alone they did the following five events with their kids- AZ heart walk 5K, Irish 5 K, Patt Tillman run 5k, One for Water 4 mile, Run for law enforcement 5k and Cave Creek luminaria 5K. They also see family vacations as opportunities for taking early morning 4 to 6 miles walk in new surroundings! Every day of their vacation starts with that. “That’s the key to not gaining any extra pounds during your vacations”, they say. And they most certainly don’t!
Not just that, eating right is an important part of their staying fit agenda. During outings and trip, Dr Mohan always has healthy snacks handy like unsalted nuts, fruits, health bars, Muscle-milk and high-protein snacks like tuna and crackers. She makes sure the kids have them every two hours, before the “junk” options around start to look too hard to resist! They themselves opt for double-meat wheat sandwiches for meals when outside, keeping the restaurant food to minimal.
Dr Rupal Mohan has several tips for the readers of desideewar who want to start participating in half-marathons or similar events on a regular basis. First and foremost, a good pair of shoes is important, according to her. She recommends Asics gel shoes. She also recommends compression clothing (slacks and socks) that reduces muscle soreness during long events. For nutrition, carry Cliff bars and cliff shots during the events, she says. These are available in Target. Also, keep energy gels handy for the half- marathons. These provide rapid fuel and elctrolyte. A good brand is GU and Hammer. They come in all flavors in small pouches in Sports Authority. Also, Fizz Tablets to put in your water for electrolytes helps, according to her. Lastly, take Advil before you start the event and don’t forget Recoverelite after it.
As for training yourself for half-marathon, Dr Rupal says, “Start small and keep advancing every week. Keep a log of your exercise, your weight ( if that motivates you) “. Sounds good, Dr Rupal Mohan. Thank you for taking the time to talk to desideewar and we wish our readers the very best if they do choose to undertake similar endeavors!
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