She's 20. She wrote her first book when she was 19. And she's been stirring up stories since she was six. Meet Mythili Zatakia, athlete, and author of The Chase—a journey of a wavering teenager whose abstract experiences help her discover her true identity.
Zatakia is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Laws—while she holds a degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts with a specialization in Indian Classical Dance—and during our little introduction email, she revealed how she's a firm fitness enthusiast—running being an important part of her daily life.
Vogue takes you through the 20-year-old's healthy lifestyle choices so you can get motivated while flipping through her fun debut novel.
How do you stay fit?
I run, I swim and I dance. My running regime is based on the foundation of track and field athletics that I’ve practiced under the guidance of my coach since school. Five days a week, I alternate between speed workouts for the 800m and 1,500m track events, and concurrently, long distance running which is part of my marathon training programme. I swim twice a week for recovery and endurance. I dance twice a week to rehearse or merely, stay light on my feet, which incidentally, helps with agility in running.
You've been a runner—tell us about this—for how long and how has it helped?
It’s a discipline. When you’re pursuing a sport competitively for as long as you can remember, you’re automatically going to respect your body. It’s established that you’ve got to eat well, get the right amount of sleep, etc. Also, for me, it’s the most natural form of release. It’s liberating. Something that energises me and keeps me going.
What are the right kind of shoes to run? Which ones do you wear?
Although I'm a firm believer in Michael Jordan—"It’s not in the shoes, it's what you do in them"—I pick up the lightest shoes/spikes I find. Either adidas or more recently, Asics. I'm currently using an Asics pair.
What is your pre and post-run regime?
The long runs or track training, both happen in the morning. So, I wake up at 5:15am to start training at 6am. I’ll drink a glass of water and set off. Pre and post run stretching is mandatory. Post my workout, I could eat everything in sight. My coach has never laid any restrictions on my diet because that would just slow down my metabolism. He says your body has to be able to burn anything and everything you eat. So, more often than not, I avoid the junk food and closer to my races, I eat my dessert of that day in the morning with breakfast.
For a first-time runner, what are the things one should keep in mind?
1. Don't worry about your speed. Find a rhythm and go with it. Once you've built the endurance, then work on how fast you want to run.
2. Don't buy a fancy watch. It'll stress you out and weigh you down and disallow you from enjoying your run.
3. Listen to music. It might help, initially. (Although, I was never allowed to because it makes your run erratic with abrupt speed variations that you try to match with the tempo of the songs playing.)
4. For all the morning runners, stop eating heavy dinners. They make you lethargic and uneasy.
5. While on the run, think of all the food you can binge on after your run. It works. I promise.
Your post workout meal includes
Breakfast would typically be a grand glass of banana milkshake, waffle/pancake, dry fruits, a fruit juice and flavoured yogurt.
A home remedy you swear by
A gram flour, turmeric and yogurt combination for getting rid of the skin tan you develop after running for hours in harsh sunshine.
No comments:
Post a Comment