I am Dr Hetal patel, 47 years/ F ( M.B.B.S, M.D ( Pathology), FRCPath ( Histopathology, UK)) married to Dr. Dhaval parikh ( M.D ( Obst & Gynae)) having two sons. Grown up in middle class family having very hard working father and encouraging mother.
I studied from B.J. Medical College Ahmedabad before relocating to Vadodara after marriage. I went to UK for further education in Histopathology at Imperial College, London, UK. I returned back on 2016 when I started a Histopath Lab at sterling cancer hospital, Bhayli and ran that for 2 years before entering into my private practice at ‘Baroda Unipath Laboratory’ in which I am heading histopathology department since 4 years.
I love to follow my passion and want to be the best as far as possible. This gives me satisfaction and happiness. And my first passion is my work as a “Histopathologist” and the second one is “Running”. I do play almost all outdoor sports and do swimming and cycling too however, running is something which is more satisfying to me.
I started proper running very late in my life at the age of 43 as I was busy in studying followed by marriage/private practice/children/foreign education kept me away from regular running and I was definitely used to be plump. I used to do yoga, jogging, skipping at home for fitness during that time but was not sufficient for proper fit figure. It was only after year 2017, I saw people running marathon and I joined them for fun. I realized the potential within to be a good runner which I felt a good/independent/free exercise for fitness and health.
I participated in some marathons and realized the potential to win a race. I kept practicing regularly 3-4 times/ week early morning. First winning race was ‘Solefest’ in 2019 in which I got 2nd position in 10km race. Winning a race usually motivates anyone including me and I worked on improving running skills and speed.
Personal Best recorded timings:
1 Km- 4.13 min
1 mile- 7.16 min
5 kms- 23.08 min
10 kms- 47.49 min
Half- marathon- 1.46.20 hrs
Distance achieved so far- after I started recording, it’s around 6000 kms.
Achievements:
> I am motivated by my goals, achievements and taking up challenging tasks. It helps me to run independently with focus on continuous learning and improving myself.
> I am motivated to run to stay fit as I believe that females have to do multitasking and by remaining fit and healthy, they can serve family very well and moreover, can stay disease free.
I usually try to be consistent in running 3 -4 days in a week. My running usually starts at 5am. I wake up for running at 3.30am to have proper food and warm up before my run. I incorporate interval training, tempo runs and long runs in my training schedule depending on my goal. In between I either have rest day or do core workout and strength training. I am consistent in running since last 5 years.
> Beginners should start with slow running or run-walk- run type of format and gradually focus
> on distance and pace improvement.
> Always have goal/target in mind and push yourself to achieve that goal.
> Try to incorporate variety of runs in your weekly schedule eg. Tempo runs, interval training, long and easy runs, negative splits to improve running.
> Post run stretching is must for muscle relaxation.
> Challenge yourself and keep improving
You are never too old to create a new goal or dream a new dream.