Nobody Dies Tonight

By Sanjai Banerji

"'Nobody Dies Tonight' is a collection of articles written by the

author between May 2020 and April 2021 to serve as a fitness

manual created by a runner during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is a humble tribute by him to all those who supported and

encouraged each other to create a better world during the

pandemic. All

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ukiyoto Publishing
• Release date: May 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9789361720246

Book preview

Nobody Dies Tonight

A Fitness Manual Created By A Runner During The Covid-19 Pandemic

Sanjai Banerji

Ukiyoto Publishing

All global publishing rights are held by

Ukiyoto Publishing

Published in 2023

Content Copyright © Sanjai Banerji

ISBN

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

This is a work of non-fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, locales, and incidents are real and based on actual events. The names of the persons mentioned are real and exist.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published.

www.ukiyoto.com

Contents

Introduction

A Runner’s Journey Through The Covid-19 Pandemic 2020

Virtual Running

Five Aspects of Fitness

Energy Transfer in Exercise

Correct Running Posture

Lactate Threshold in Training

Maximum Oxygen Uptake

Running Cadence

The Mechanics of Breathing

Selecting Your Running Shoes

The Older Runner

Importance of Sleep

Exercise and Longevity

Importance of Vitamins and Minerals

Myths on Carbohydrates

Eating for Better Performance

Vegan Diet

Race Day Preparations

What you Need to Know About Diabetes

Blood Doping

Answer to Questions by Sports Authority of India Students

Running Goals for 2021

About the Author

Introduction

W

hen the first lock down was announced in March 2020, I was due to retire in the same month on my 60th birthday as General Manager from Prism Johnson Limited.  I had then just recently completed a marathon run in the Tata Mumbai Marathon in January 2020, and completed the program for the prestigious Procam Slam Title of completing four different distances from 10 kms to 42 kms, in four different cities, in a span of 12 months. In 2019 I also became one of the oldest Indians to run the full marathon (42 kilometers) in the three largest Marathons of Asia in Mumbai (January), Kuala Lumpur (September) and Singapore (November).

Since the lockdown restricted movements in public places, an innovative method was adopted of running on the roof-top of our housing colony, by hopping over water pipes and side-stepping the dish-antennae. The Management of the company, in a rare gesture, extended my tenure by about one year till the end of December 2020. Working in the CSR department required continued attendance in the office due to the urgent necessity of providing relief-aid to the neighboring villages.

After receiving permission from the Chief Medical Officer, I started running, fully masked, early in the mornings on the 3 kilometer loop in the housing colony. Soon, on my encouragement, a few others followed, on the strict condition from the top management to be fully masked.

However, the wearing of a mask was not made compulsory after several health organizations and doctors realized the dangers of inconsistent breathing, and suggested to the running fraternity that cloth face coverings may not be necessary when out for solo exercise, or if you were to be in a place where you would not encounter anyone else.

The CMO agreed that our group continue running, but to maintain social distancing. Due to a lack of real races, we explored the option of taking part in virtual running races, which entailed recording our run on a running app uploaded in the mobile phone or using a GPS watch. I registered for the country’s first 10K virtual run conducted on 26th April, 2020. Subsequently, I set a National Record by participating in 117 virtual races between April 2020 and December 2020. The distances ranged between 5 kilometers to 42 kilometers.

Earlier in 2019, my first book, ‘Crossing the Finish Line’, was published and released during Diwali in Amazon and Flipkart. The 230-page book was a Training Program for a beginner runner to be able to run a half marathon in six months. The book covered a wide spectrum of issues on running and had exemplified the science of running by covering sections on weight loss, diet, injury-prevention, special needs of women, and other aspects.

During the pandemic in 2020, taking advantage of not working beyond office hours, I did two online courses in Food and Health from Stanford University, and Science of Exercise from the University of Colorado.

Between June 2020 and April 2021, I had the good fortune of having my articles published in Finisher Magazine on running and fitness. I was invited by the then Editor, Sohini Chakravorty, to be on the Expert Panel on fitness, health and participative sport. They believed not in content generation, but encouraged contribution from experts in the field. Finisher Magazine had earlier covered extensively on personal sporting journeys, incredible feats, shared experiences and informative articles on endurance activities and other participative sport.

They had also launched an open engagement platform, where anyone could post a question on endurance activities, nutrition, gear and all other related topics that the expert panel would answer, almost like in Quora. Given the unprecedented situation due to the pandemic, they had started a series on ‘Workout from Home’ to address the current fitness needs. They had also launched a page that had videos on workouts, contributed by the experts.

In addition to my articles appearing in the digital platform, I was also requested to answer some questions posed by students attending training camps by the Sports Authority of India (SAI). This was indeed a great privilege and I replied to their questions. Unfortunately, Sohini Chakravorty left the mind-blowing digital magazine at its peak in April 2021. Soon after, the digital platform discontinued publication.

I tested positive to the corona virus in December 2020, and was quarantined at home along with my wife and son for two weeks. All three of us tested positive, but were fortunate to have mild symptoms like loss of smell and taste and a temperature, which subsided with medication after the initial few days. Since at that time, I had registered for a virtual run, I decided not to cancel it and ran inside my home for the distance of 3 kilometers. This was on the tenth day of my quarantine. 

I retired from my organization on December 31st, 2020, and in April 2021, amidst the second wave of the pandemic, attended the Basic Mountaineering Course of 28 days at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in Manali, and completed the Course with an A grade, being the oldest in India to do so.

On September 19th 2021, I was part of the Guinness World Record team for maximum participation for a 10 kilometers virtual race.

Meanwhile, my second book, ‘The Mountaineering Handbook (Essential Knowledge, Skills and Techniques)’ was released in Print, Kindle and Digital formats in Amazon, Flipkart and Google Books. The book was launched on 26-09-22 by the Director, Mr. Avinash Negi of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali. Subsequently, I was invited to talk about this book at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore and Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi in early 2023.

I got the idea to compile my articles published in Finisher Magazine and a few other articles written specially for this book, when I visited The New Delhi World Book Fair held between 25th February and 5th March, 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The permission for publishing my articles from Finisher Magazine was taken from Mr. Mahesh Balakrishna, Chief Financial Officer, Procam International after Finisher Magazine was discontinued. An article on virtual running written by me was published in The Hitavada on 07-05-20. I have taken permission from Ms. Aasawari Shenolokar of The Hitavada to reproduce the same in my book. 

Another article written by me during the first wave of the pandemic, on diabetes, which has not yet been published has been included in this collection.

A Runner’s Journey Through The Covid-19 Pandemic 2020

H

aving run a regular full marathon in January 2020, I was gearing up for numerous races during spring and autumn, when the pandemic struck 218 countries and imposed lockdowns in many, severely restricting movement and imposing quarantine to those, who were affected by the Covid-19 virus.

Initially, for the first time in my life, I did not dare venture out of my home for two weeks. This seemed difficult