Its been a fluctuating path to Marathon fitness. Some weeks that seem heavy and others that seem light. Four weeks back i thought i was training too heavy and draining myself. I would not look forward to a run as much, more so for the strain it caused. It was good enough that i stuck to delivering the time-goal for all the long runs. Three weeks ago the over training showed off its bad side and i fell ill. A case of weak immune coming out of a strained body, and i missed two runs. The rest days during the illness helped the body recover. Nature has its ways. When i got back to training the next week, there was a little loss of stamina but body felt better. I had hoped that i survive the 29km long run that weekend which i did. This was also a week where i included walking into every run. It seemed like the right thing to do - to finish and conserve than to indulge and burn-out. At this stage of training one thing i realised is that if your body is calling rebel, then you should just pull your horses back a bit, which i did. The week after , which was a week ago, had a reduction in running distance as training prescribed. I felt a certain improvement in run quality. By now i had acquired enough confidence in hydration and diet to have a fast recovery, while i maintained run quality. And i guess it was the combination of all these weeks of learning that came together this week, which is also the peak training weak, the one in which i run the maximum total distance. 8km, 16km & 8 km on weekdays and 32km on weekend. And at this point, i don't know if its too early or too late, i realised i have discovered running form. The weekday distances are over. I managed to run these with efficiency better than any run in past. I never felt the need to walk, my heart rates were lower, finish times steady and recoveries fast. And now i wait for Sunday morning when i run the big finale of this training - the grand 32km. There could not be a better state of body and mind for me going into this big run. This week so far, that was high on physical and mental stress (also, for various reasons), has toughened me in manner that i wonder if its a bit fanatic ( the kinds you find in some extra happy families, religious gatherings or competitive sports. the Too-good-to-be-true kinds). I am trying to curb it to the levels of modest-self-assurance, which is what i prefer. However in all this, there is no denying that my body has finally attained the form that it should. This, coupled with some consistent support from people who matter has put me into a state of peace that pays you a visit once in a while, making you hope that it stays for a little longer than it does.
I hope too.
Coming to the Grand 32km waiting this Sunday. I am hoping more than finishing it, that i have a fair amount of energy left. Enough to tell myself that i will last another 10km, three weeks later in the agonising Mumbai heat. My online coach says i would be in a very bad shape when i finish. But i have a feeling he is wrong this time. I think i just stepped a bit above his average marathon rookie, for the first time in his 18 week training program.
It must be the modest-self-assurance of my running form :)
Friday, December 25, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Quality Running (marathon training)
The D-Day is 31 days away. Last week was the second toughest week of training, that ended with 29km run. I had missed the long run the week before that (19km, part of step-back week, where the distances are reduced), fell ill, must be the training. Pushing body to such levels is bound to weaken immune at times. The good part was that the illness helped the body to recover from the tedious training routine, but at the same time i lost out on a little bit of stamina. So i obviously had apprehensions about how will i last the longest run in my training so far, 29km. But the strength of apprehension seems to have reduced over the course of training. I know i can do it, most of the time. I worry more about state of mind than state of body. I was more eager to try out new things to help me sustain the run better. To improve the quality of the run and not just to finish it. So the focus was on Pre-Race food and liquids during the race. And as much as i have never liked the concept of carrying a water bottle while running before this training started, its least likely that i will be found leaving without one now. Water just turns it around, entirely. Its amazing how much of what you eat and drink pre and during the race can add to your performance. And its even better to know how much it can help you post race, as i discovered this time.
For a change i decided to start run with glucose water than plain water, and had a little extra milk 45 minutes before the run. I had late dinner, so was hoping that it will come into effect too. The last record of me feeling hunger into a long run was 13km. This time i pushed it to 22km! its a big achievement. I realised that the secret lay in not getting hungry for as long as you can, which brings it all to energy levels ,obviously related to hunger. Hunger is body's message to you for dropping levels of energy, from where it starts to put more pressure on muscles and drain them of all reserves. In a long run i guess its not entirely possible to be not hungry, but the performance depends in how much you can push it, hunger. And i could not have learnt this lesson any better than how i did this time. I was running without music this time (i carried it, just in case), because i think it helps me focus on my running rhythm better. And at the point of 22nd Km i was out of energy and hungry, almost together. While contemplating how much i will have to suffer on the time i targeted this run to finish in, i saw a Banana vendor, and if i am going to suffer in the next 7km , i realised i might as well eat one to curb the hunger. However it did more than that. Suddenly i found an extra load of energy that lasted me the rest of the run. I did walk but i also ran faster to make up for it. With this i switched on the music too. It helped a bit. Music can at time annoy too. Here though it blocked the traffic noise. Running faster in patches and walking is not a bad strategy. Helps you sustain the last few Kms.
I survived and improved the last 7kms, thanks to the Banana and Music (more banana :) ). Finished it 3hrs and 04min, as planned.
What i also discovered later was the hydration and eating helped me recover from this long run better than any i have done so far. There were no post run headaches that i normally get out of dehydration. The cramps loosened themselves rather fast. Except for sore calves i did not carry any pain for too long. This is a very important lesson, on how you handle your run can also affect your recovery. Benefits of a well handled run stay beyond the run. That also is the ulterior motive of any training program, to not just finish the marathon, but to cross the line with a smile on you face.
For a change i decided to start run with glucose water than plain water, and had a little extra milk 45 minutes before the run. I had late dinner, so was hoping that it will come into effect too. The last record of me feeling hunger into a long run was 13km. This time i pushed it to 22km! its a big achievement. I realised that the secret lay in not getting hungry for as long as you can, which brings it all to energy levels ,obviously related to hunger. Hunger is body's message to you for dropping levels of energy, from where it starts to put more pressure on muscles and drain them of all reserves. In a long run i guess its not entirely possible to be not hungry, but the performance depends in how much you can push it, hunger. And i could not have learnt this lesson any better than how i did this time. I was running without music this time (i carried it, just in case), because i think it helps me focus on my running rhythm better. And at the point of 22nd Km i was out of energy and hungry, almost together. While contemplating how much i will have to suffer on the time i targeted this run to finish in, i saw a Banana vendor, and if i am going to suffer in the next 7km , i realised i might as well eat one to curb the hunger. However it did more than that. Suddenly i found an extra load of energy that lasted me the rest of the run. I did walk but i also ran faster to make up for it. With this i switched on the music too. It helped a bit. Music can at time annoy too. Here though it blocked the traffic noise. Running faster in patches and walking is not a bad strategy. Helps you sustain the last few Kms.
I survived and improved the last 7kms, thanks to the Banana and Music (more banana :) ). Finished it 3hrs and 04min, as planned.
What i also discovered later was the hydration and eating helped me recover from this long run better than any i have done so far. There were no post run headaches that i normally get out of dehydration. The cramps loosened themselves rather fast. Except for sore calves i did not carry any pain for too long. This is a very important lesson, on how you handle your run can also affect your recovery. Benefits of a well handled run stay beyond the run. That also is the ulterior motive of any training program, to not just finish the marathon, but to cross the line with a smile on you face.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Food For Destiny
I have never spoken about food in this blog, and it surprises me. There are only few things that hold the kind of importance as eating for me. I would not want to start thinking what the rest are, because its not about them that i want to talk, its about food. Such a pleasure, the act of eating .
One of the most fulfilling experiences in training for Marathon has been getting to eat as much as i want (not that i did not do that earlier) and the entire excitement of getting the diet right. With a Mumbai-Workaholic lifestyle its almost a reason for celebration if you get your meals right. Any mumbaikar would agree. I have finally managed to make time for breakfast - elementary for most, fantastic for folks from the most crowded populous this side of Arabian sea. And that i managed with the meal that poses the biggest threat to America's gift to the world - Cornflakes. I almost missed the Corn craze amidst limitations of Time, Affordability and Utility. And when i finally made a come-back to the race, i was pleasantly surprised by this new challenger, well riding into being the most fancied and preferred option for the new age healthy, please welcome Muesli. The utility of it almost makes me ignore the dry taste that it starts with in your mouth, yes, i have acquired a taste for it. Not just that, it also suits my need to think into any food i eat, by making me carefully plan a single raisin into every scoop, and timely rewards of crisp almond bits.
Lunch is a very important mind meal (every meal for me has direct correlation to mind)for it also decides how I will be for the second half at work-place. Mumbai-Workaholic syndrome pushes me into the Office Canteen with the POV of saving precious minutes into an already long work day. And the thing about any canteen that most would reciprocate is that it reduces your appetite considerably the moment you enter the food area. What that in turn does is make the second half at work-place a hard-push. Off late, a week to be exact, a certain rebel in me has worked, and i figured a popular lunch joint nearby that served the best food - Fried Bangda Fish Thali at a popular restaurant called Jai Hind (Bangda would be Mackerel and the world famous Ailaa for every Malayaee). Bangda is considered to be a poor man's fish. My eating is mostly obsessed around such foods, poor but yummy - Dal Rice, Rice Rassam + Dry fish , Mutton Biriyani etc. Basic, hygienic and Large portions would be the three governing principles of anything i love to eat. So i have been feasting on Bangda and relishing the new found post lunch happiness.
That brings me to essence of writing a blog on this . I was not up to taking the walk to Jai Hind today. Don't know why but i guess i had strengthened my body already with as much Bangda I needed for another week or just too lazy (honest and true) to compete with the canteen-appetite-killer-effect. All i hoped walking into the canteen was that there would be an option for Complex Carbohydrates (Read Roti/ Wheat Bread). Our canteen in charge likes to excite all by serving coloured rice and chicken under the pretext Biriyani on Fridays. And with that dreaded expectation i moved towards the food trays to bewelcomed by a smiling canteen manager standing behind plates of Bangda Fry & Fish Curry. Its a moment that that lasts a second and feels more than that. To get the perspective right, this is the first time in five years of my working here that i have seen any form of fish being served in the canteen.
Imagine a set of Bangda fishes that once swam the ocean and destined to be fried and served to this one individual, for it was always meant that way, to be relished over a week. And in this there was a smart twist of fate, for reasons beyond a common man's intellect, where one fish would pursue its consumer to a place where even the consumer did not know he would head to, till an hour before lunch-time.
As much as lunch time food would not seem the most appropriate messenger to flash a deeper sense of world , but It is moments like these that make the Atheist in me wonder if there is a power around me (or in me) that is beyond me.
Hindi Proverb - Daaney Daaney pe likha hai khaaney waaley ka naam ( every grain has written on it the name of its consumer)
Food for destiny indeed.
One of the most fulfilling experiences in training for Marathon has been getting to eat as much as i want (not that i did not do that earlier) and the entire excitement of getting the diet right. With a Mumbai-Workaholic lifestyle its almost a reason for celebration if you get your meals right. Any mumbaikar would agree. I have finally managed to make time for breakfast - elementary for most, fantastic for folks from the most crowded populous this side of Arabian sea. And that i managed with the meal that poses the biggest threat to America's gift to the world - Cornflakes. I almost missed the Corn craze amidst limitations of Time, Affordability and Utility. And when i finally made a come-back to the race, i was pleasantly surprised by this new challenger, well riding into being the most fancied and preferred option for the new age healthy, please welcome Muesli. The utility of it almost makes me ignore the dry taste that it starts with in your mouth, yes, i have acquired a taste for it. Not just that, it also suits my need to think into any food i eat, by making me carefully plan a single raisin into every scoop, and timely rewards of crisp almond bits.
Lunch is a very important mind meal (every meal for me has direct correlation to mind)for it also decides how I will be for the second half at work-place. Mumbai-Workaholic syndrome pushes me into the Office Canteen with the POV of saving precious minutes into an already long work day. And the thing about any canteen that most would reciprocate is that it reduces your appetite considerably the moment you enter the food area. What that in turn does is make the second half at work-place a hard-push. Off late, a week to be exact, a certain rebel in me has worked, and i figured a popular lunch joint nearby that served the best food - Fried Bangda Fish Thali at a popular restaurant called Jai Hind (Bangda would be Mackerel and the world famous Ailaa for every Malayaee). Bangda is considered to be a poor man's fish. My eating is mostly obsessed around such foods, poor but yummy - Dal Rice, Rice Rassam + Dry fish , Mutton Biriyani etc. Basic, hygienic and Large portions would be the three governing principles of anything i love to eat. So i have been feasting on Bangda and relishing the new found post lunch happiness.
That brings me to essence of writing a blog on this . I was not up to taking the walk to Jai Hind today. Don't know why but i guess i had strengthened my body already with as much Bangda I needed for another week or just too lazy (honest and true) to compete with the canteen-appetite-killer-effect. All i hoped walking into the canteen was that there would be an option for Complex Carbohydrates (Read Roti/ Wheat Bread). Our canteen in charge likes to excite all by serving coloured rice and chicken under the pretext Biriyani on Fridays. And with that dreaded expectation i moved towards the food trays to bewelcomed by a smiling canteen manager standing behind plates of Bangda Fry & Fish Curry. Its a moment that that lasts a second and feels more than that. To get the perspective right, this is the first time in five years of my working here that i have seen any form of fish being served in the canteen.
Imagine a set of Bangda fishes that once swam the ocean and destined to be fried and served to this one individual, for it was always meant that way, to be relished over a week. And in this there was a smart twist of fate, for reasons beyond a common man's intellect, where one fish would pursue its consumer to a place where even the consumer did not know he would head to, till an hour before lunch-time.
As much as lunch time food would not seem the most appropriate messenger to flash a deeper sense of world , but It is moments like these that make the Atheist in me wonder if there is a power around me (or in me) that is beyond me.
Hindi Proverb - Daaney Daaney pe likha hai khaaney waaley ka naam ( every grain has written on it the name of its consumer)
Food for destiny indeed.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
End of Level 2 - 26km Run (Mumbai Marathon 2010)
Twelve weeks of the eighteen week training is over. Two-Thirds done, six more weeks to go. Level three of training begins....
One long run after another. Life is about one Saturday morning to the next. This feels like a period of transition, shedding the cast of an over-worked & stressed out executive and dawning the new mould of a blood-pumping & efficient running machine.
After the last long-run and the struggle i had to recover, I had started my recovery led work much earlier in the week this time around. Following the same pattern of run for the three weekdays as coach Higdon suggested, I increased the focus on stretches, and was bit surprised to see myself stretch better as I progressed. I have always been a poor flex all through my armature athletics years in school. So even the slightest promise in it gives me pleasure beyond measure. And at the end of third decade of living with these joints, it only feels better. It was almost like one of those past life corrections i had to make amongst other things to make my peace with life : Will make up for lack of reading, spend more time with parents, will stretch well once :)..like that.
My goal going into Saturday's 26km run was to manage the same 7 Min/Km pace as last week’s 24km and finish in 14 minutes more than last week’s 2hr 43min. For that I was not relying on sleep the night before for its always a disturbed one, full of odd dreams. Like the one I dreamt when i bought my Heart Rate Monitor was that my Heart Rate while rested was 14 per minute. Kept me worried through my sleep. That's another, the heart rate monitor, my new gadget whose exact benefits I am not sure of. But somehow I can see if I keep my heart rate in check, I don't seem to over shoot on pace and injure myself. And sticking to an average heart rate also helps get a good timing. The disturbed sleep before the run is an important part of pre race conditioning, because it’s bound to happen on 16th January 2010 too (day before the Mumbai marathon). What matters is if you have slept well the night before that. Long Runs are the very critical to pre-race conditioning, and by that I don't just mean the distance you run. It is the run to re-create every scenario from race-day. So I have been shifting them to mornings, starting at the same time as race, experimenting with pre-race food and drinks while in the run. Am not being extremely pro about it, given it’s my first marathon, but it’s interesting to note certain ways in which my body reacts. Like having milk instead of fruits before run ensured that I felt my first hunger pangs around 13Kms instead of 9Km. Whether to have a liter of water before a liter of ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution)or the other way ( it’s a 2hr+ run, two liters do as of now). I know it would be difficult to get these things right on the day of race, but one can try.
The day before the long run I referred to the online advice from Coach Higdon. It said - "Next week you'll run a shorter distance as part of a stepback week, so tough this out". There is something about a coach telling you to give it all, you feel backed up, more than before, and you want to do it. The conservative estimates go out of the window. I have always been a coach's boy, hell bent on doing as told, every time, without fail. This time too, it seemed like I had a new shot of confidence, to tough it out. I tried a new route; kept a small paper with distance markers and time to help me pace well, geared up, and headed out to 'tough' this 26km out.
My legs felt stronger at the start, there were clear improvements from last week's run. For most part of the run I felt like there was a lot left in me. I managed to stay steady and in control for longer. I switched to cap with the Sun rising to my right. Took my usual half-way water break to buy another liter of water, mixed it with ORS and headed back .Somewhere I also realised that I could make a considerable improvement in my timing by running this 26Km in the same time as I ran 24Km. That would be something to clearly demarcate my improved performance with. But the hard Sun on you in the closing stages threatens to eat into any goal and reduce it to just finishing it fair. It did for me too. The last 6km was difficult, not to ignore that the road was not flat, but I realised i was not suffering much if I walked the ascends and make it up while descending. "Just keep the heart rate at check and don't stop" - I told myself. I thought I stopped to walk more than i should have, not to forget the dust and traffic piling up around you at the closing stages which are not encouraging either, though i don't worry over it because race day won’t have them. Sun, however, would stay, on race-day too. So i had to battle it. Maybe it’s because of energy drain, that my jaws had begun to stiffen by the end of long run: happened last week too. In all, when I finished, I realised I had put enough effort in the first half of the run to not let any of these effect the performance.
Finished the 26Km in the same time as 24Km. Tough as promised. Wanted to inform the coach, but i have not paid for that :). The training is a free download. Let’s hope he reads this...haha.
Twelve weeks of the the eighteen week training is over. Two-Thirds done, six more weeks to go. Level three of training begins, and it does feel like three levels. Started with conditioning (level 1), followed by hardships (level 2), and now heading for maintenance & improvements (level 3).
One long run after another. Life is about one Saturday morning to the next. This feels like a period of transition, shedding the cast of an over-worked & stressed out executive and dawning the new mould of a blood-pumping & efficient running machine.
After the last long-run and the struggle i had to recover, I had started my recovery led work much earlier in the week this time around. Following the same pattern of run for the three weekdays as coach Higdon suggested, I increased the focus on stretches, and was bit surprised to see myself stretch better as I progressed. I have always been a poor flex all through my armature athletics years in school. So even the slightest promise in it gives me pleasure beyond measure. And at the end of third decade of living with these joints, it only feels better. It was almost like one of those past life corrections i had to make amongst other things to make my peace with life : Will make up for lack of reading, spend more time with parents, will stretch well once :)..like that.
My goal going into Saturday's 26km run was to manage the same 7 Min/Km pace as last week’s 24km and finish in 14 minutes more than last week’s 2hr 43min. For that I was not relying on sleep the night before for its always a disturbed one, full of odd dreams. Like the one I dreamt when i bought my Heart Rate Monitor was that my Heart Rate while rested was 14 per minute. Kept me worried through my sleep. That's another, the heart rate monitor, my new gadget whose exact benefits I am not sure of. But somehow I can see if I keep my heart rate in check, I don't seem to over shoot on pace and injure myself. And sticking to an average heart rate also helps get a good timing. The disturbed sleep before the run is an important part of pre race conditioning, because it’s bound to happen on 16th January 2010 too (day before the Mumbai marathon). What matters is if you have slept well the night before that. Long Runs are the very critical to pre-race conditioning, and by that I don't just mean the distance you run. It is the run to re-create every scenario from race-day. So I have been shifting them to mornings, starting at the same time as race, experimenting with pre-race food and drinks while in the run. Am not being extremely pro about it, given it’s my first marathon, but it’s interesting to note certain ways in which my body reacts. Like having milk instead of fruits before run ensured that I felt my first hunger pangs around 13Kms instead of 9Km. Whether to have a liter of water before a liter of ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution)or the other way ( it’s a 2hr+ run, two liters do as of now). I know it would be difficult to get these things right on the day of race, but one can try.
The day before the long run I referred to the online advice from Coach Higdon. It said - "Next week you'll run a shorter distance as part of a stepback week, so tough this out". There is something about a coach telling you to give it all, you feel backed up, more than before, and you want to do it. The conservative estimates go out of the window. I have always been a coach's boy, hell bent on doing as told, every time, without fail. This time too, it seemed like I had a new shot of confidence, to tough it out. I tried a new route; kept a small paper with distance markers and time to help me pace well, geared up, and headed out to 'tough' this 26km out.
My legs felt stronger at the start, there were clear improvements from last week's run. For most part of the run I felt like there was a lot left in me. I managed to stay steady and in control for longer. I switched to cap with the Sun rising to my right. Took my usual half-way water break to buy another liter of water, mixed it with ORS and headed back .Somewhere I also realised that I could make a considerable improvement in my timing by running this 26Km in the same time as I ran 24Km. That would be something to clearly demarcate my improved performance with. But the hard Sun on you in the closing stages threatens to eat into any goal and reduce it to just finishing it fair. It did for me too. The last 6km was difficult, not to ignore that the road was not flat, but I realised i was not suffering much if I walked the ascends and make it up while descending. "Just keep the heart rate at check and don't stop" - I told myself. I thought I stopped to walk more than i should have, not to forget the dust and traffic piling up around you at the closing stages which are not encouraging either, though i don't worry over it because race day won’t have them. Sun, however, would stay, on race-day too. So i had to battle it. Maybe it’s because of energy drain, that my jaws had begun to stiffen by the end of long run: happened last week too. In all, when I finished, I realised I had put enough effort in the first half of the run to not let any of these effect the performance.
Finished the 26Km in the same time as 24Km. Tough as promised. Wanted to inform the coach, but i have not paid for that :). The training is a free download. Let’s hope he reads this...haha.
Twelve weeks of the the eighteen week training is over. Two-Thirds done, six more weeks to go. Level three of training begins, and it does feel like three levels. Started with conditioning (level 1), followed by hardships (level 2), and now heading for maintenance & improvements (level 3).
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Rickshaw Chronicles - 3
Rickshaw Santa. Not for his driving skills; he drives like a snake, noticing the errors with road only till he is two meters away, and then unleashing his curl-swirl. Exercise does not manage to move my waist with such grace that his curl-swirl does. There is a certain amount of 'fun' to it mind you, feels exciting, that swirl. But the impression of 'fun' was originally created at an impressionable age by joy-rides, which were created to make us experience certain risky experiences of life, under controlled environment. Precisely put, they were safe. Our Nagraj is not. And like I do to most, I warn or request, to slow down. And like they all do to me, they listen, but for not more than five seconds. Nagraj did not listen either. However, in the rickshaw Santa moment, i realised that our bugger would take me to my destination through longest route and took a flyover that he should not have. And just when i started yelling at him for that, i saw him making the most sorry face. After deciding to spare him, i noticed he had not turned the meter down. This time i pulled him up like a teacher..guided him for the rest of the route, and at the end I paid him as I wished. In that I could not cheat though, had to be fair.
Rickshaw Chronicles - 2
Today i am chauffeured by the young need-for-speed junky who is in the usual hurry to reach me to my destination at a time faster than what i expect of him. Honking away at every creature at sight, this son-of-a-speed-gun also makes me wonder if we are moving ahead or backwards because for every 2 seconds of driving he looks at the rear view mirrors twice. It strikes me later that as much as he has the biggest overtaking bug, he also carries the not letting anyone else overtake bug. But what's that! Son-of-a-speed-gun just got overtaken by son-of-a-machine-gun, haha! But he is not giving up, taking shortcuts and alternate routes to catch his rival by surprise....but he would not know for sure if he managed, to get ahead. I would have stopped him for a cab switch-over much before his expectation. That's my way of returning the favour. A hit in the heart in return for a heart attack journey. For all the knight-rider exterior these men are quite touchy i tell u :)
Sunday, November 22, 2009
24 Km. Of Experiments & Learning - Mumbai Marathon 2010
My road back home. The point of changeover from taxi to rickshaw,or the other way. The 100 rupees distance. 12 Kilometer. Bandra changeover point. Bandra to Andheri. This is the route i take everyday to work and back. Only this time i ran it. It was my Saturday long run distance - 24km, longest so far.
There was nothing i did not try to get my body in shape for this run, so i will not be able to tell what exactly worked in my favor, that i could finally stand at the starting point at 7 in morning feeling fresh no less than a little sleep that nagged. Going by the last Saturday's 16Km run, i was more sure that i wont manage this 24Km. What worried me more is that i knew i will not stop, that was not an option, which meant that i would gather an injury, which i was scared of. I have been in a whirlwind of thoughts post the 16Km run, wondering and googling every bit of information i could gather from myself and Internet, anything, that would get me back in shape for that longest run. So at 7 in the morning this Saturday, i had behind me a list of attempts, to recover.I stretched with as much focus as i ran,i drank as much water as i could imagine my body to bear,made my last run slower than the slowest just in hope to condition yet not exert,and finally a combiflam and Thai foot massage....something had to work. And it did.Don't know how much, but it did. All i knew was that i was steady enough to start, and that was all that mattered.
It all seems better when you are done with it.Its not the same when you are in it.And specially this run, for which i chose morning to acclimatize with the actual marathon weather conditions, the heat.Powai to Bandra is not the best patch of road to run either. Into the first 4Km i was wondering what i was acclimatizing with, heat or dust. The first muscle that turned sore were eyes. Next would be nose, with garbage stench out of overfilled dumps. And i overestimated the extent of laziness of mumbai on a Saturday, as i saw the increasing number of people on road. India is certainly turning digital i can assure, for most eyes that i ran past were stuck on the cool device that was strapped on my arms supplying music to my ears, my Ipod Nano. I almost forgot about the heat.
I was prepared this time, not exceeding the decided pace, had planned my run to the end, four phases of 6 Kms in 45mins each.However as i ran, i realised that 45 could be 40, i was comfortable at 40minutes. The fun of that 40 builds as you reach the third and fourth phase.After my first 12km i stopped over at a store to pick another liter of water, mixed it with Electrol and was yet under my time. However i sensed a struggle to keep up when i reached 18Km, not to forget the heat that was building up. I had to tell myself that it was this phase that mattered the most, the most critical part of the training, what this run was all about, to take my body to that level of exhaustion, drain it of all the energy and wait for it to react and make me better equipped the next time i stretch my distance, from 24 to 26 to 28 to 30...leading to 42km. Thanks to the swarming crowd across different patches of Andheri (who were now moving around like a sea of ants who were just disturbed by a naughty kid) i had to take walk breaks, which in fact helped me sustain more than slow me down. The last patch of this longest run had the most anti-friendly atmosphere. With heat and people all over. I ended up walking a lot of it. And in all i lost only 3 minutes. Finished with relative ease (did not fall or sit down).
This was probably one of my most well planned run and i learned more than i ever have. Am i ready for the 42? No. But this did an ample lot to my road to it, told me that i am on the right one.
Yes, i have begun my next round of experiments.....a brand new heart rate monitor. Lets see where i get with that.
There was nothing i did not try to get my body in shape for this run, so i will not be able to tell what exactly worked in my favor, that i could finally stand at the starting point at 7 in morning feeling fresh no less than a little sleep that nagged. Going by the last Saturday's 16Km run, i was more sure that i wont manage this 24Km. What worried me more is that i knew i will not stop, that was not an option, which meant that i would gather an injury, which i was scared of. I have been in a whirlwind of thoughts post the 16Km run, wondering and googling every bit of information i could gather from myself and Internet, anything, that would get me back in shape for that longest run. So at 7 in the morning this Saturday, i had behind me a list of attempts, to recover.I stretched with as much focus as i ran,i drank as much water as i could imagine my body to bear,made my last run slower than the slowest just in hope to condition yet not exert,and finally a combiflam and Thai foot massage....something had to work. And it did.Don't know how much, but it did. All i knew was that i was steady enough to start, and that was all that mattered.
It all seems better when you are done with it.Its not the same when you are in it.And specially this run, for which i chose morning to acclimatize with the actual marathon weather conditions, the heat.Powai to Bandra is not the best patch of road to run either. Into the first 4Km i was wondering what i was acclimatizing with, heat or dust. The first muscle that turned sore were eyes. Next would be nose, with garbage stench out of overfilled dumps. And i overestimated the extent of laziness of mumbai on a Saturday, as i saw the increasing number of people on road. India is certainly turning digital i can assure, for most eyes that i ran past were stuck on the cool device that was strapped on my arms supplying music to my ears, my Ipod Nano. I almost forgot about the heat.
I was prepared this time, not exceeding the decided pace, had planned my run to the end, four phases of 6 Kms in 45mins each.However as i ran, i realised that 45 could be 40, i was comfortable at 40minutes. The fun of that 40 builds as you reach the third and fourth phase.After my first 12km i stopped over at a store to pick another liter of water, mixed it with Electrol and was yet under my time. However i sensed a struggle to keep up when i reached 18Km, not to forget the heat that was building up. I had to tell myself that it was this phase that mattered the most, the most critical part of the training, what this run was all about, to take my body to that level of exhaustion, drain it of all the energy and wait for it to react and make me better equipped the next time i stretch my distance, from 24 to 26 to 28 to 30...leading to 42km. Thanks to the swarming crowd across different patches of Andheri (who were now moving around like a sea of ants who were just disturbed by a naughty kid) i had to take walk breaks, which in fact helped me sustain more than slow me down. The last patch of this longest run had the most anti-friendly atmosphere. With heat and people all over. I ended up walking a lot of it. And in all i lost only 3 minutes. Finished with relative ease (did not fall or sit down).
This was probably one of my most well planned run and i learned more than i ever have. Am i ready for the 42? No. But this did an ample lot to my road to it, told me that i am on the right one.
Yes, i have begun my next round of experiments.....a brand new heart rate monitor. Lets see where i get with that.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Halfway up the mountain - Mumbai Marathon 2010
9 weeks, 300kms, 1900 minutes......
....And halfway into my marathon training. I am not sure how i feel. Last two weeks seemed like a battle my body waged to resist or adjust to increased training distance. It was near impossible to keep my mind off running and equally difficult to see the fun in it. Legs don't start a new day's run feeling as fresh as they did earlier. Several hours post a run and they still cramp and call out for stretches, that's what i am caught doing in meeting and my work station, stretching legs.I am barely a week or so into the power breakfast, of the most fancy cereal of all times, muesli, and however much i like it, it seems annoying that i can't get that taste out of my mouth. And i think next in line is rice. After a long run on weekends i desperately chase proteins. I seek motivation and find it too, but its not easy to come anymore, and it does not stay long enough. And had i written this sometime yesterday, it would sound more tough, for i had not recovered well enough from my weekend run. That was yesterday.
Today i have fairly recovered for the starting run of 10th week. I don't feel as lost. I can look back at training so far and see a long way behind me. The entire training program has now begun to make sense. I can see why there are those essential break between two runs, for it has become more needed now than ever before. My body continues to resist but seems to also cope and adjust.Past 9 weeks have prepared me not just physically but even mentally to handle the more crucial part that begins now. Its almost a meditative state.I have voluntarily given up alcohol.Skipping breakfast is not an option. I dont have to try hard to drink three litres of water a day. I run four days a week still, but the thursday run before the long run on saturday is much slower, so that i can condition my body but not over-burden muscles for the long run in waiting. As much as i need to think and motivate myself, i also need to let go, take a break and not stress. By now i am disciplined and the motivation i need is of a different kind, of not to stick but to control - rest, diet and recovery.
Training is not performance, but the slow preparation to enable it.
Next 9 weeks will see me experimenting with weights, stretches, hydration, heart rates, energy burning mechanisms and more, that would take me to the next level.
9 weeks, 400kms, as many minutes.........more to go till D-Day
....And halfway into my marathon training. I am not sure how i feel. Last two weeks seemed like a battle my body waged to resist or adjust to increased training distance. It was near impossible to keep my mind off running and equally difficult to see the fun in it. Legs don't start a new day's run feeling as fresh as they did earlier. Several hours post a run and they still cramp and call out for stretches, that's what i am caught doing in meeting and my work station, stretching legs.I am barely a week or so into the power breakfast, of the most fancy cereal of all times, muesli, and however much i like it, it seems annoying that i can't get that taste out of my mouth. And i think next in line is rice. After a long run on weekends i desperately chase proteins. I seek motivation and find it too, but its not easy to come anymore, and it does not stay long enough. And had i written this sometime yesterday, it would sound more tough, for i had not recovered well enough from my weekend run. That was yesterday.
Today i have fairly recovered for the starting run of 10th week. I don't feel as lost. I can look back at training so far and see a long way behind me. The entire training program has now begun to make sense. I can see why there are those essential break between two runs, for it has become more needed now than ever before. My body continues to resist but seems to also cope and adjust.Past 9 weeks have prepared me not just physically but even mentally to handle the more crucial part that begins now. Its almost a meditative state.I have voluntarily given up alcohol.Skipping breakfast is not an option. I dont have to try hard to drink three litres of water a day. I run four days a week still, but the thursday run before the long run on saturday is much slower, so that i can condition my body but not over-burden muscles for the long run in waiting. As much as i need to think and motivate myself, i also need to let go, take a break and not stress. By now i am disciplined and the motivation i need is of a different kind, of not to stick but to control - rest, diet and recovery.
Training is not performance, but the slow preparation to enable it.
Next 9 weeks will see me experimenting with weights, stretches, hydration, heart rates, energy burning mechanisms and more, that would take me to the next level.
9 weeks, 400kms, as many minutes.........more to go till D-Day
Monday, November 2, 2009
Delhi Marathon 2010 - A Small dream within a Big.
Decision - Luck by Coincidence
I had a feeling that this training program will coincide somewhere with the Delhi Half Marathon, and it did. I had to run a 19km on the same weekend as part of my training. And the moment of realisation was also the right time to book cheap tickets, so it all fell in place. Following day i announced to all near and dear. Accommodation was uncertain till another good friend came as saviour. I was now all ready to go.
Journey and Race Eve - Smitten & Up-beat
It happens to you when you notice fit men in sports shoes boarding the same flight as you, and you know they are runners heading for the same cause, Delhi & themselves :). I saw them too, a group of three, two men and a woman, undoubtedly runners.Reached Delhi and headed straight to the Marathon Expo, where i met my running companion, room partner (saviour, i had no clue of acco) and fitness coach for the next two days, Malhar.It will be difficult to give a brief introduction to guy like him. But just imagine a highly self driven person, breaking away from the regular norms of Indian male (Dentist to an Ace Triathlete), and who loves to talk.The room turned out to be more than what we both expected, and we have both decided to always choose this for stay for any of our Delhi trips in future,Vishwa Yuvak Kendra is the best! Located in the heart of Delhi, 15min walk from the marathon start line, and a part of the most beautiful part of Delhi, which i doubt if even Delhites get regular access to.And to add to that,the simple and delicious food at the Dining Hall, we never really had to think hard on carb loading or worry about the quality. It all seemed perfect.
Sitting across, resting before a great day of running, and watching India pull one of its most memorable victories against Australia in the same city, on a Saturday evening, we struggled to figure what could be a more meaningful thing to do.
We even managed a slow evening run to the venue, to know where we would be heading the next day.In that we met a veteran runner who was also figuring the venue.We figured he was a Mumbaikar and hoped to cross each other in the race, which we did. He was called Mahadev Samjiskar, and we figured later that this man was an inspiration. At the age of 67, he managed to run his 21k in 2hrs and 4min, just a few minutes slower than us youngsters.I will save his answer for the secret to those long lasting knees of his for later.
My legs were stiffer than usual for the pre-race night. I was hoping i manage a 2hr finish.
Race Day - Its only about running
Yes, its only about running, for starters i missed to catch India Gate to my right at the 9km mark.I realised what i had always knew but had forgotten since sometime, which is when you run, you only run.At best you look at other runners.The weather was pleasant, very.There seemed to be more runners in the 21km category than i have seen in Mumbai. I guess that was because even the full marathoners were running the half as Delhi does not have an option of Full.Other than ogling at the African runners as they went past like storm, and noticing some familiar faces (including two men and a woman from flight), i was only running to ensure that i don't strain my legs.The newness of the road kept me unsettled. The first half of the race was very well paced. And the point at which i had hit a wall in my last race was bearable this time (16-19km).For only 7 weeks of training, it was a bright spot, but then it could simply be the weather.I ran past Mahadev and Malhar ran past me, we exchanged a few words and went about figuring our own legs.The 17km mark felt as close as far.And i could not help but walk a few step at 19th Km.The new race replenishment fluid (Huge portions of glucose) seemed to be working, a benefit from race nutrition crash course from malhar the previous evening.I even managed a glucose refill at at one of the water stations around 13km. I managed fluids pretty well this time, except at the 19km where i gave in to "what the hell" and sipped an entire mini water bottle of water, and the first urge i had was to puke, odd, felt it for the first time. That was the first of the three things i felt for the first time in the next 3Kms.Second of it was when i did my usual dash for the finish line at the sight of it(it seemed nearer this time), and the point at which i tried to sprint, in that micro second, i felt my calves, they caught, rebelled, in what could possibly be the worst cramp, if i had not immediately brought back that sprint leg to the regular pace.I like to overtake a few co runners who have constantly been inspiring/annoying with their pace ahead of me. My moment is always around the finish when my body decides to give this bonus supply of energy. And in that moment i did get my energy shot and i did overtake those few, even without the sprint.And the third new feeling was the finish line of my 4th Half marathon in 5 years, i wanted to puke. I did control the urge, but it was odd.I could walk,talk and had more than a breath left, which actually are three more firsts from this race, but i guess i was only counting the three unpleasant experiences.Legs were as jammed as it could be. Joints seemed weaker than expected. But for seven weeks of training, 1hour and 58mins was something i did not have to complain about. Moreover, i had to tell myself - This is only training. And i have no clue how i am going to run 42km, but for the simple re-assurance Hal Higdon (virtual coach) has given - trust the training, and see how far you have come from where you started, and I (Hal) ensure that you will cross that 26 mile line with a smile on your face.
Oh! And i did a clenched fist grunt at the finish line, seemed odd, but i guess sometimes you don't know what you catch yourself doing :)
Road Back
Weekends like these seem longer in hindsight.I had a couple of hours to kill at the airport.Other than fueling glucose to a much needy body, i scrolled through shops at the majestically re-done Delhi airport. And when i sat rested in a chair wondering if i should get up, i saw the legend of world cricket, i saw Sachin, as he walked past,i sat watching him in amazement...Dhoni followed, and then did the entire team. I got up in excitement and thought if i should follow them a bit.And that's when my legs called out and i told myself - let them be, you are fine!
For the most desirable doze of reality that i experienced in the past two days, i went up the book store to cope myself for the break from it, a fiction, the latest by Dan Brown. Friends tell me its exciting, so i broke my non-fiction spree.
On being told of a further delay of half hour for my flight, i found, as a part of the same Luck By Coincidence that i had experienced so far, a Thai foot massage place. I have not been very impressed with that so far as much as other i know go raving about, but this was special, and needed. I have never had a better massage or a better need for it. Every second of that half hour was heavenly. The least i could say was that i could think of running another 21k at the end of it.
My flight back got me talking to the three runners, and i made sure not to freak them out with my recollection of them at all points. They train at shivaji park, and the lady in the group looked familiar.They all ran few minutes better than me, but i guess its only a matter of time :)
Mahadev Samjiskar, when asked about his secret for good knees, began naively explaining in his sweet marathi accent that he started running at the age of 62yrs, for the first time in his entire life, after retirement, after ensuring all his kids are settled, and with having left no more jobs to finish. So the secret of good knees turned out to be - Don't run till you are 62! Simple ain't it.
And at the finish line of this journey, the airport, i had the a very special friend waiting for me, with a big smile. I was too fatigued and starved to be excited about it. But i could not have asked for a better way to close this 21km Delhi chapter.
After completion. Malhar on right.Darshan (Malhar's friend)on left.
Vishwa Yuvak Kendra - Could not have asked for better.
I had a feeling that this training program will coincide somewhere with the Delhi Half Marathon, and it did. I had to run a 19km on the same weekend as part of my training. And the moment of realisation was also the right time to book cheap tickets, so it all fell in place. Following day i announced to all near and dear. Accommodation was uncertain till another good friend came as saviour. I was now all ready to go.
Journey and Race Eve - Smitten & Up-beat
It happens to you when you notice fit men in sports shoes boarding the same flight as you, and you know they are runners heading for the same cause, Delhi & themselves :). I saw them too, a group of three, two men and a woman, undoubtedly runners.Reached Delhi and headed straight to the Marathon Expo, where i met my running companion, room partner (saviour, i had no clue of acco) and fitness coach for the next two days, Malhar.It will be difficult to give a brief introduction to guy like him. But just imagine a highly self driven person, breaking away from the regular norms of Indian male (Dentist to an Ace Triathlete), and who loves to talk.The room turned out to be more than what we both expected, and we have both decided to always choose this for stay for any of our Delhi trips in future,Vishwa Yuvak Kendra is the best! Located in the heart of Delhi, 15min walk from the marathon start line, and a part of the most beautiful part of Delhi, which i doubt if even Delhites get regular access to.And to add to that,the simple and delicious food at the Dining Hall, we never really had to think hard on carb loading or worry about the quality. It all seemed perfect.
Sitting across, resting before a great day of running, and watching India pull one of its most memorable victories against Australia in the same city, on a Saturday evening, we struggled to figure what could be a more meaningful thing to do.
We even managed a slow evening run to the venue, to know where we would be heading the next day.In that we met a veteran runner who was also figuring the venue.We figured he was a Mumbaikar and hoped to cross each other in the race, which we did. He was called Mahadev Samjiskar, and we figured later that this man was an inspiration. At the age of 67, he managed to run his 21k in 2hrs and 4min, just a few minutes slower than us youngsters.I will save his answer for the secret to those long lasting knees of his for later.
My legs were stiffer than usual for the pre-race night. I was hoping i manage a 2hr finish.
Race Day - Its only about running
Yes, its only about running, for starters i missed to catch India Gate to my right at the 9km mark.I realised what i had always knew but had forgotten since sometime, which is when you run, you only run.At best you look at other runners.The weather was pleasant, very.There seemed to be more runners in the 21km category than i have seen in Mumbai. I guess that was because even the full marathoners were running the half as Delhi does not have an option of Full.Other than ogling at the African runners as they went past like storm, and noticing some familiar faces (including two men and a woman from flight), i was only running to ensure that i don't strain my legs.The newness of the road kept me unsettled. The first half of the race was very well paced. And the point at which i had hit a wall in my last race was bearable this time (16-19km).For only 7 weeks of training, it was a bright spot, but then it could simply be the weather.I ran past Mahadev and Malhar ran past me, we exchanged a few words and went about figuring our own legs.The 17km mark felt as close as far.And i could not help but walk a few step at 19th Km.The new race replenishment fluid (Huge portions of glucose) seemed to be working, a benefit from race nutrition crash course from malhar the previous evening.I even managed a glucose refill at at one of the water stations around 13km. I managed fluids pretty well this time, except at the 19km where i gave in to "what the hell" and sipped an entire mini water bottle of water, and the first urge i had was to puke, odd, felt it for the first time. That was the first of the three things i felt for the first time in the next 3Kms.Second of it was when i did my usual dash for the finish line at the sight of it(it seemed nearer this time), and the point at which i tried to sprint, in that micro second, i felt my calves, they caught, rebelled, in what could possibly be the worst cramp, if i had not immediately brought back that sprint leg to the regular pace.I like to overtake a few co runners who have constantly been inspiring/annoying with their pace ahead of me. My moment is always around the finish when my body decides to give this bonus supply of energy. And in that moment i did get my energy shot and i did overtake those few, even without the sprint.And the third new feeling was the finish line of my 4th Half marathon in 5 years, i wanted to puke. I did control the urge, but it was odd.I could walk,talk and had more than a breath left, which actually are three more firsts from this race, but i guess i was only counting the three unpleasant experiences.Legs were as jammed as it could be. Joints seemed weaker than expected. But for seven weeks of training, 1hour and 58mins was something i did not have to complain about. Moreover, i had to tell myself - This is only training. And i have no clue how i am going to run 42km, but for the simple re-assurance Hal Higdon (virtual coach) has given - trust the training, and see how far you have come from where you started, and I (Hal) ensure that you will cross that 26 mile line with a smile on your face.
Oh! And i did a clenched fist grunt at the finish line, seemed odd, but i guess sometimes you don't know what you catch yourself doing :)
Road Back
Weekends like these seem longer in hindsight.I had a couple of hours to kill at the airport.Other than fueling glucose to a much needy body, i scrolled through shops at the majestically re-done Delhi airport. And when i sat rested in a chair wondering if i should get up, i saw the legend of world cricket, i saw Sachin, as he walked past,i sat watching him in amazement...Dhoni followed, and then did the entire team. I got up in excitement and thought if i should follow them a bit.And that's when my legs called out and i told myself - let them be, you are fine!
For the most desirable doze of reality that i experienced in the past two days, i went up the book store to cope myself for the break from it, a fiction, the latest by Dan Brown. Friends tell me its exciting, so i broke my non-fiction spree.
On being told of a further delay of half hour for my flight, i found, as a part of the same Luck By Coincidence that i had experienced so far, a Thai foot massage place. I have not been very impressed with that so far as much as other i know go raving about, but this was special, and needed. I have never had a better massage or a better need for it. Every second of that half hour was heavenly. The least i could say was that i could think of running another 21k at the end of it.
My flight back got me talking to the three runners, and i made sure not to freak them out with my recollection of them at all points. They train at shivaji park, and the lady in the group looked familiar.They all ran few minutes better than me, but i guess its only a matter of time :)
Mahadev Samjiskar, when asked about his secret for good knees, began naively explaining in his sweet marathi accent that he started running at the age of 62yrs, for the first time in his entire life, after retirement, after ensuring all his kids are settled, and with having left no more jobs to finish. So the secret of good knees turned out to be - Don't run till you are 62! Simple ain't it.
And at the finish line of this journey, the airport, i had the a very special friend waiting for me, with a big smile. I was too fatigued and starved to be excited about it. But i could not have asked for a better way to close this 21km Delhi chapter.
After completion. Malhar on right.Darshan (Malhar's friend)on left.
Vishwa Yuvak Kendra - Could not have asked for better.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
On the eve of Delhi marathon 2009
In one of the most sufficient stay arrangments, right in the center of the capital city of delhi, a short walk away from start area of the most scenic 21km run that i expect, i sit to savor a double omlette sandwich with bread and cheese and a cup of black coffee. And i sit in (what i term as a beautifull part of any experience), anticipation.
That nagging knee injury makes me nervous enough....but not enough to hold my excitment as i near that thrill-full moment, that will last around two hours...
That nagging knee injury makes me nervous enough....but not enough to hold my excitment as i near that thrill-full moment, that will last around two hours...
Friday, October 23, 2009
The leap - From Determination to Confidence.
34 minutes, the average time i take to run 3miles or 4.5 Km, at a comfortable pace...(Fact)
A timer watch - From determination to not look at it to the confidence to not look. A leap from will power to self assured. From being 'at it' to being 'on top of it'. ..(Philosophy)
(History)
The most basic running distance of 3miles, is a distance that i run the most in my training, at least twice a week. In study language these would be revision run. A brush through. To keep off the body from jamming up, conserving it for that long weekend run. A timer watch, that helps moderate pace, to know if you running too fast or a bit slow. As much as you know what a comfortable pace should be, you would not want to be too slow, and watch helps control this. A timer watch, however, can enslave you, to constantly check it, a certain dependence on it, and a certain lack of it on your own self. Body lacks the judgement to moderate, for the lack of conditioning. In all the training pressure and madness, i tend to look at the watch too often. Not something i regret, but cant help the natural urge. Hal says (virtual coach) that if you are a first time marathoner you should forget about the watch and just look at running the distance. Don't care about the time, its immaterial, for your pride would be if you cross that finish line, and you have proven enough. I am obviously ignoring it for my need to know and track my progress.
On the other side, i suffer from a little excess dependence on the watch. Determination, is therefore what i practice to control that Urge…(Weakness)
(Fact)
Determination to confidence, the lesson from my 24th run yesterday, 15th three mile. That leap, of being on top of it. I did not look at the watch. Never felt the urge. Pace was comfortable enough. I knew i was in control of my run. Timing did not worry, for i was confident i will finish at best in a little more than 34mins. I felt comfortable and confident. I realised i took my leap, from determination to confidence...
(Unexpected)
31mins, the time I took to cover that 3mile yesterday. 10% better. My prized reward for the leap i took...
A timer watch - From determination to not look at it to the confidence to not look. A leap from will power to self assured. From being 'at it' to being 'on top of it'. ..(Philosophy)
(History)
The most basic running distance of 3miles, is a distance that i run the most in my training, at least twice a week. In study language these would be revision run. A brush through. To keep off the body from jamming up, conserving it for that long weekend run. A timer watch, that helps moderate pace, to know if you running too fast or a bit slow. As much as you know what a comfortable pace should be, you would not want to be too slow, and watch helps control this. A timer watch, however, can enslave you, to constantly check it, a certain dependence on it, and a certain lack of it on your own self. Body lacks the judgement to moderate, for the lack of conditioning. In all the training pressure and madness, i tend to look at the watch too often. Not something i regret, but cant help the natural urge. Hal says (virtual coach) that if you are a first time marathoner you should forget about the watch and just look at running the distance. Don't care about the time, its immaterial, for your pride would be if you cross that finish line, and you have proven enough. I am obviously ignoring it for my need to know and track my progress.
On the other side, i suffer from a little excess dependence on the watch. Determination, is therefore what i practice to control that Urge…(Weakness)
(Fact)
Determination to confidence, the lesson from my 24th run yesterday, 15th three mile. That leap, of being on top of it. I did not look at the watch. Never felt the urge. Pace was comfortable enough. I knew i was in control of my run. Timing did not worry, for i was confident i will finish at best in a little more than 34mins. I felt comfortable and confident. I realised i took my leap, from determination to confidence...
(Unexpected)
31mins, the time I took to cover that 3mile yesterday. 10% better. My prized reward for the leap i took...
Monday, October 19, 2009
Ran out of legs. 16Km . Marathon Training
I had more than a breath left in me to have a normal conversation when i finished the 16km run. But my legs have never felt this fatigued before in training.So i ran out of legs.
The most important part of any training is to try out different combinations of work-outs and routines to see what fits you the best.This would be combinations of various elements of training like Rest, Run, Recovery and Replenishment(tried hard to make them all "R" :) ).....also pre race food.The last (pre race food)being what seems to have made the biggest difference in my fatigued run. While i did most things right, i realised that for my 14km evening run i had eaten a full meal around 3-4 hours prior and caught an hour of rest. Where as for the 16km morning run, the last meal i had was dinner which would be a good 8 hours prior.If its legs that i ran out of, there is a strong chance that it had got to do with food and energy levels.
However, the excitement of running across marine drive was still more than any fatigue. For a brief moment that i passed Pizzeria i got the best view of a perfect orange sun, an image that stayed strong in my head.
Another pleasant surprise was to see other runners, many of them.I did expect to see a few but this was more than that. They seem to belong to a running club, the sorts you get to hear of but never see (atleast in Mumbai) .They kept passing me by coming from the opposite direction.Slowly i realised they had some sort of a bib on them with number.I wondered if there was a race going on that i must have missed hearing about.Clearly it was a Nike running club thing because the bib said so.On my return from marine drive i came across a water station provided for these Nike running aspirants.Got to know that they had all enrolled for 2010 Mumbai Marathon training and would come every Sunday to Marine Drive to train. the coaching was free and the registrations were on at the Parsi Gymkhana nearby.I thought of enrolling myself but on second thoughts decided not to, used that enquiry halt to fill up some water in system and continue with my run.
The moment of this run was a short nod i received around my 5th Km from a fellow runner. As much as i spoke of the pride in rarity of not seeing too many runners around me, i must say is that nod of acknowledgement added another kilometer of energy to my run run if not less. So i guess it does help to have people sharing your passion...
The most important part of any training is to try out different combinations of work-outs and routines to see what fits you the best.This would be combinations of various elements of training like Rest, Run, Recovery and Replenishment(tried hard to make them all "R" :) ).....also pre race food.The last (pre race food)being what seems to have made the biggest difference in my fatigued run. While i did most things right, i realised that for my 14km evening run i had eaten a full meal around 3-4 hours prior and caught an hour of rest. Where as for the 16km morning run, the last meal i had was dinner which would be a good 8 hours prior.If its legs that i ran out of, there is a strong chance that it had got to do with food and energy levels.
However, the excitement of running across marine drive was still more than any fatigue. For a brief moment that i passed Pizzeria i got the best view of a perfect orange sun, an image that stayed strong in my head.
Another pleasant surprise was to see other runners, many of them.I did expect to see a few but this was more than that. They seem to belong to a running club, the sorts you get to hear of but never see (atleast in Mumbai) .They kept passing me by coming from the opposite direction.Slowly i realised they had some sort of a bib on them with number.I wondered if there was a race going on that i must have missed hearing about.Clearly it was a Nike running club thing because the bib said so.On my return from marine drive i came across a water station provided for these Nike running aspirants.Got to know that they had all enrolled for 2010 Mumbai Marathon training and would come every Sunday to Marine Drive to train. the coaching was free and the registrations were on at the Parsi Gymkhana nearby.I thought of enrolling myself but on second thoughts decided not to, used that enquiry halt to fill up some water in system and continue with my run.
The moment of this run was a short nod i received around my 5th Km from a fellow runner. As much as i spoke of the pride in rarity of not seeing too many runners around me, i must say is that nod of acknowledgement added another kilometer of energy to my run run if not less. So i guess it does help to have people sharing your passion...
Thursday, October 15, 2009
First long run-14.5km. Mumbai Marathon 2010
I run in the evenings. Morning is not the time for me, for not just the fact that i feel lazy, but also because i feel tired the rest of the day. This means that i try to leave work not too late and catch that run. And saturday is better for its a holiday. But this saturday i had some commitments, that kept me working my way around the city and co-ordinating needless details. Its appropriate for for such a day at work-outside-work that you miss meals, which did too.
However the constant worry of the distance i had to finish got me to manage one well thought meal (lots of carbohydrates, rice - simply put) and an hour of rest before i began the run. This ideally is not good enough, i had to rely heavily on my confidence, where as i prefer to rely on preperation, mostly (which inspires confidence).i was apprehensive.
However the constant worry of the distance i had to finish got me to manage one well thought meal (lots of carbohydrates, rice - simply put) and an hour of rest before i began the run. This ideally is not good enough, i had to rely heavily on my confidence, where as i prefer to rely on preperation, mostly (which inspires confidence).i was apprehensive.
And For all the apprehensions and second thoughts i had on my fitness to finish this long run with a breath left in me, i was wronged, entirely. I have possibily never ran better run before.I felt energised when i finished , i ran feeling tall (have to elaborate on that) ,and in control all the time.
Running tall - mostly while you run, one is adviced to look about 10 meters ahead of them, that is the recommended angle for your head. However in my hightened sense of running, i realised i found myself looking straight at the end of the road. For me it was a combination of running confidence (when your sure you can go that far) and familiarity with the route.The only description that fit that experience was running tall.A certain sense of running above the ground.
It proved to me that it helps when you stick to the training. And disciplined running helped too. By disciplined i mean moderating your run smartly than to give in to the need for speed, which can happen when you feel energised at the first phase of the run. For all the charge and fresh legs you have when you start, one has to make sure that you dont speed too much and tire yourself.
This training for me is also an experiment, of testing if everything Hal Higdon (virtual trainer) says is true. And he spoke of how if you start your run at a comfortable pace, you would end up running in a much better time than if you push for pace in the initial part of the run. And as i ran this 14.5km, i validated it, and can now second that...
More of what a long distance run can teach you. Or atleast what it made me realise -
1.One and half hour on road, running in your own company is no less than a form of meditation. The beauty of focussing on that one act clears your mind of needless worries, it atleast makes them needless for that while. Knwing me they come back later!
2. I am beggining to now like it when i meet so many people who just cant imagine running or relate to it. It feels good to know that my passion is rare. And i enjoy the difficulty that most have in doing it inspite of knowing that there is single form of exercise as beneficial and affordable as it. I have always been told on how running has no entertainment like other sport, the thrill, of a goal or a shot or winning. I have done my best to explain that you have to love it to like it. Probably it suits personalities that dont fancy winning, enjoy the journey and the effort, and enjoy being left alone at times (if not all the time)
my next long run is a 16km, 10miles. In the absence of measured distance i will be running a fixed time, 1hr and 45mins. Am not running on my usual road, so dont know the distance. But i am running on most of it on the actual marathon route, and covering the most difficult patch of it - the kemps corner flyover and marine drive. And this would also be my first morning run. And the longest i have ever ran in training (max i ran for half marathon trainings is 14km). I Can't say i am as nervous this time. But i don't want to do something stupid and lose the training confidence i have aquired.
For the rest, i would just let the road decide....
Running tall - mostly while you run, one is adviced to look about 10 meters ahead of them, that is the recommended angle for your head. However in my hightened sense of running, i realised i found myself looking straight at the end of the road. For me it was a combination of running confidence (when your sure you can go that far) and familiarity with the route.The only description that fit that experience was running tall.A certain sense of running above the ground.
It proved to me that it helps when you stick to the training. And disciplined running helped too. By disciplined i mean moderating your run smartly than to give in to the need for speed, which can happen when you feel energised at the first phase of the run. For all the charge and fresh legs you have when you start, one has to make sure that you dont speed too much and tire yourself.
This training for me is also an experiment, of testing if everything Hal Higdon (virtual trainer) says is true. And he spoke of how if you start your run at a comfortable pace, you would end up running in a much better time than if you push for pace in the initial part of the run. And as i ran this 14.5km, i validated it, and can now second that...
More of what a long distance run can teach you. Or atleast what it made me realise -
1.One and half hour on road, running in your own company is no less than a form of meditation. The beauty of focussing on that one act clears your mind of needless worries, it atleast makes them needless for that while. Knwing me they come back later!
2. I am beggining to now like it when i meet so many people who just cant imagine running or relate to it. It feels good to know that my passion is rare. And i enjoy the difficulty that most have in doing it inspite of knowing that there is single form of exercise as beneficial and affordable as it. I have always been told on how running has no entertainment like other sport, the thrill, of a goal or a shot or winning. I have done my best to explain that you have to love it to like it. Probably it suits personalities that dont fancy winning, enjoy the journey and the effort, and enjoy being left alone at times (if not all the time)
my next long run is a 16km, 10miles. In the absence of measured distance i will be running a fixed time, 1hr and 45mins. Am not running on my usual road, so dont know the distance. But i am running on most of it on the actual marathon route, and covering the most difficult patch of it - the kemps corner flyover and marine drive. And this would also be my first morning run. And the longest i have ever ran in training (max i ran for half marathon trainings is 14km). I Can't say i am as nervous this time. But i don't want to do something stupid and lose the training confidence i have aquired.
For the rest, i would just let the road decide....
Friday, October 9, 2009
Three week update.....Mumbai Marathon 2010 - training
pain is inevitable, suffering is optional - these lines resonate and pull me through a lot of tough situations so far. Training does not seem like the most easiest thing to follow consistently, but the fresh drive and tireless resolve are pulling me through each day. Its as if giving up is not an option.In fact i wonder if this newest discipline is in many ways helping me live through a patch of life which i would not have been able to withstand otherwise.
The progress has been satisfactory. In fact its only obvious to presume that if you stick to something, keep working at it, in due course, it will get more manageable and better.Life has its ways of teaching lessons, mine i guess come through running.
My training so far has had a lot of 3 mile runs. I am talking the American distance, yes i succumbed to it.3 miles would be other wise 4.8Km. So its best to compare the difference between the 3 mile run three weeks ago and the 3 mile run on the 3rd week. I ran my first 3miles in 36 min, was struggling a bit for breath, and dreaded my fitness levels. Specially after having faltered miserably on the basic running fitness one is advised to have before the training starts.However, 12 runs later, after having run various combination of distances (more on weekends) the 3 mile took me 33mins and i was struggling, but to control my energy.
This Saturday however will be my longest run in the training so far, 9 miles (14.4Kms). Writing it makes me a bit nervous....i am expecting running it will not.
The progress has been satisfactory. In fact its only obvious to presume that if you stick to something, keep working at it, in due course, it will get more manageable and better.Life has its ways of teaching lessons, mine i guess come through running.
My training so far has had a lot of 3 mile runs. I am talking the American distance, yes i succumbed to it.3 miles would be other wise 4.8Km. So its best to compare the difference between the 3 mile run three weeks ago and the 3 mile run on the 3rd week. I ran my first 3miles in 36 min, was struggling a bit for breath, and dreaded my fitness levels. Specially after having faltered miserably on the basic running fitness one is advised to have before the training starts.However, 12 runs later, after having run various combination of distances (more on weekends) the 3 mile took me 33mins and i was struggling, but to control my energy.
This Saturday however will be my longest run in the training so far, 9 miles (14.4Kms). Writing it makes me a bit nervous....i am expecting running it will not.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
If i could....
A year ago, I sat wondering of life's uncertainities in an empty waiting room of a hospital in the middle of night. My nephew of one and half years lay struggling against an odd bout of fever. A year has gone past. A year that had my certainities lose to life's reality. That had a hope against hope that my consequences would favour my risks, my efforts and my hopes. That taught me the unexpected places and people holding with them a key to make my life better, or worse. That taught me to stop trying so hard that by the time you get it you would have struggled to understand why you tried so hard. A year that rewarded and punished me when i expected the least. That made me realise of this life and its consequences i would need to always confront entirely on my own.
Right now, a year later, i sit waiting in the middle of the night at the same hospital waiting room with my nephew of now two and half years, fighting another bout of fever.............wondering of the uncertainities in store for me this year and the chances of all of my years past repeating itself.
I would take it all, all over again, and worse, only if life could spare me the uncertainity of sitting here a year later wondering if my nephew would recover just fine.....
Right now, a year later, i sit waiting in the middle of the night at the same hospital waiting room with my nephew of now two and half years, fighting another bout of fever.............wondering of the uncertainities in store for me this year and the chances of all of my years past repeating itself.
I would take it all, all over again, and worse, only if life could spare me the uncertainity of sitting here a year later wondering if my nephew would recover just fine.....
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Running Diaries etc...
Training for the Training
Training for the training, is not as easy as i expected. Marathon is many months away, training program that i intend to follow isn't. Its expected that my fitness is at a certain level for me to start the training. While i would be cheating a bit on that, given that i have not been running as regularly as i should, i seem to have extended it by not running the entire distance as i promised myself for the week. I fell 4 kms short. But that's about all the negatives that there is to it. Rest of the picture is bright, as i see it. I have come through the first week of training for training. In five weeks, i should be ready enough to start a marathon training program.
Hal Higdon will be my virtual coach. Not that i have signed up for his one-on-one training program, but i have after certain deliberation decided that his program as against Jeff Galloway is what would suit me better. I am told by a trusted source that these two are the best that are available in the online world to train you for the big 42. In this i also ordered my first book online - Marathon : The ultimate training guide, by Hal Higdon himself. Like any other American, he does a good job of promoting himself. That apart, i like what he has to say. My journey to work every morning now has a regular dose of tips and thoughts and experiences on running as narrated by Hal. Not something i can recommend to all. They may seem boring to most, not a leisure read you see. Though the book is running faster than my training pace. I should expect that, given the one discipline i had developed in past few years is reading, not running. Running, i had left that behind, 11years ago, in BHEL Bhopal. The exceptions were past four years, those few days and months, that i trained for 21km. As much as i thought i would not need a reason to hit the road, it took Standard Chartered and Procam to give me one, as commercial as it sounds, but what the hell. It is doing some good. I am not sure if i would have been doing this had it not been for me staying in this city itself. Some luck is a must.
The Bet
My last run was on Saturday, 9 km, longest in this leg of training. This was a mid morning run, between 1100 & 1200 hrs. The pride of it is the heat i managed it in. I mostly run at nights, almost always. The thought of running in the heat of day is scary. Which does not strike you till you have hit the road and into your 2nd or 3rd kilometer. Its too difficult to stop though, for your working against a goal. The mind keeps making it tougher to go on, while still with-standing enough to not stop. Imagination runs its own race. This time i could think of wind and sun, betting on me. The bet was on whether i would finish 10k or give up midway. The patch on road that climbed was where the sun had set its traps, releasing heat that was beyond what my running generated (one reason why i don't like running day-time). Wind would pep me hard with the most encouraging gust when i ran the flat patch of road. They had both placed themselves so strategically well that it was almost impossible to call it a coincidence, or to say that this cant be happening. The sun stood right at the starting point of the 1.45km road, the point where i decide on whether or not to run "one more". This is also the point from where the ascend starts, the hill patch, where i feel most tempted to give up. The wind on the other had took the flat road patch before the end of one round, the part where i am generally the fastest, most confident and clearly contemplating running one more. The sun pulled me down every time i climbed the hill at the start of every round, and the wind pushed me with a smile and a clenched fist, asking me to hold on. This went on for every round i ran. I would want to give up and still not do it entirely.
At the sixth round, when i touched 9km, i decided that this was all the heat of the day i deserve. A distance of 9km in heat meant at least 11km in normal temperature. Anything more could have given me the high for the day and injuries for the night and beyond.
I cant say for sure if Sun won the bet, for it was not entirely convincing, i did not give up mid-way. Neither can i say that Wind won it, i did not finish convincing.
What i think i did was give them a good time and a chance laugh it over a beer .
Kingdom of Goat
When i run , I pass a quiet part of road that has small hill patch, part of which is cut to make the road. Whatever that remains of that small hill is steep (almost vertical), covered with little green plants with light green leaves that almost glow during the day . The hill, that patch, is also covered with a net. I guess both are done to protect against a minor land slides.
This time when was running by, i noticed a goat, a white goat, as uninterested yet as active as they look, roaming around the area. By the time i passed by again, running, i noticed the goat trying to climb the hill. I have no clue whats with goats and hills. What is it that makes a goat want to climb? We have heard and read endless inspirational talks that try to inspire us with this act, but no one knows why a goat does it at the first place. That was not what i thought then though. I was too busy running and could only afford to notice. I would notice this goat everytime i passed by. Once i saw it roaming on road, then i saw the goat trying to climb, and then next time i see the goat was struggling to come down. And finally it disappeared, don't know where. Didn't search that hard. My fascination to the hill was clearly beyond the goat. I just liked the fact there was such a picturesque little patch close to where i live.
The hill as far as i can make out, does not lead to anything. Not another building or structure starting from where the steep surface makes way for the flat surface. So i was a bit puzzled when i saw a small line of iron stairs rising from the foot-hill all the way up, winding and curling a bit, negotiated with the hard rocks that refused to make way for it. The stairs simply ended at the top, to a trail, after its 30 feet journey. The trail ran parallel to the road, appearing like a thick line from 30 feet below, where i stood. After my 9km run, during the walk i took to cool-down, i passed the patch and noticed the watchman coming down the stairs. This chap is silent observer to my runs as he mans an odd building labeled as Municipal Corporation Training Center. I rarely look or smile at anyone when i am running. Small talks or gestures are not for me. But this time, given the leisure of walk and the power of curiosity, i asked -
Me - what does this stair lead to?
Watchman - Nothing. Its just a cage there.
i notice a small iron cage in the middle of the trail on top
Me - what's in that cage ?
Watchman - the goat, i put it back in the cage.
Me - Why do you have a goat
Watchman - its not mine, its company's.
Me - Company's goat!!? what does Municipal Corporation Training Center keep a goat for!!
No reply.
The lone goat in its kigdom of small hill.
Training for the training, is not as easy as i expected. Marathon is many months away, training program that i intend to follow isn't. Its expected that my fitness is at a certain level for me to start the training. While i would be cheating a bit on that, given that i have not been running as regularly as i should, i seem to have extended it by not running the entire distance as i promised myself for the week. I fell 4 kms short. But that's about all the negatives that there is to it. Rest of the picture is bright, as i see it. I have come through the first week of training for training. In five weeks, i should be ready enough to start a marathon training program.
Hal Higdon will be my virtual coach. Not that i have signed up for his one-on-one training program, but i have after certain deliberation decided that his program as against Jeff Galloway is what would suit me better. I am told by a trusted source that these two are the best that are available in the online world to train you for the big 42. In this i also ordered my first book online - Marathon : The ultimate training guide, by Hal Higdon himself. Like any other American, he does a good job of promoting himself. That apart, i like what he has to say. My journey to work every morning now has a regular dose of tips and thoughts and experiences on running as narrated by Hal. Not something i can recommend to all. They may seem boring to most, not a leisure read you see. Though the book is running faster than my training pace. I should expect that, given the one discipline i had developed in past few years is reading, not running. Running, i had left that behind, 11years ago, in BHEL Bhopal. The exceptions were past four years, those few days and months, that i trained for 21km. As much as i thought i would not need a reason to hit the road, it took Standard Chartered and Procam to give me one, as commercial as it sounds, but what the hell. It is doing some good. I am not sure if i would have been doing this had it not been for me staying in this city itself. Some luck is a must.
The Bet
My last run was on Saturday, 9 km, longest in this leg of training. This was a mid morning run, between 1100 & 1200 hrs. The pride of it is the heat i managed it in. I mostly run at nights, almost always. The thought of running in the heat of day is scary. Which does not strike you till you have hit the road and into your 2nd or 3rd kilometer. Its too difficult to stop though, for your working against a goal. The mind keeps making it tougher to go on, while still with-standing enough to not stop. Imagination runs its own race. This time i could think of wind and sun, betting on me. The bet was on whether i would finish 10k or give up midway. The patch on road that climbed was where the sun had set its traps, releasing heat that was beyond what my running generated (one reason why i don't like running day-time). Wind would pep me hard with the most encouraging gust when i ran the flat patch of road. They had both placed themselves so strategically well that it was almost impossible to call it a coincidence, or to say that this cant be happening. The sun stood right at the starting point of the 1.45km road, the point where i decide on whether or not to run "one more". This is also the point from where the ascend starts, the hill patch, where i feel most tempted to give up. The wind on the other had took the flat road patch before the end of one round, the part where i am generally the fastest, most confident and clearly contemplating running one more. The sun pulled me down every time i climbed the hill at the start of every round, and the wind pushed me with a smile and a clenched fist, asking me to hold on. This went on for every round i ran. I would want to give up and still not do it entirely.
At the sixth round, when i touched 9km, i decided that this was all the heat of the day i deserve. A distance of 9km in heat meant at least 11km in normal temperature. Anything more could have given me the high for the day and injuries for the night and beyond.
I cant say for sure if Sun won the bet, for it was not entirely convincing, i did not give up mid-way. Neither can i say that Wind won it, i did not finish convincing.
What i think i did was give them a good time and a chance laugh it over a beer .
Kingdom of Goat
When i run , I pass a quiet part of road that has small hill patch, part of which is cut to make the road. Whatever that remains of that small hill is steep (almost vertical), covered with little green plants with light green leaves that almost glow during the day . The hill, that patch, is also covered with a net. I guess both are done to protect against a minor land slides.
This time when was running by, i noticed a goat, a white goat, as uninterested yet as active as they look, roaming around the area. By the time i passed by again, running, i noticed the goat trying to climb the hill. I have no clue whats with goats and hills. What is it that makes a goat want to climb? We have heard and read endless inspirational talks that try to inspire us with this act, but no one knows why a goat does it at the first place. That was not what i thought then though. I was too busy running and could only afford to notice. I would notice this goat everytime i passed by. Once i saw it roaming on road, then i saw the goat trying to climb, and then next time i see the goat was struggling to come down. And finally it disappeared, don't know where. Didn't search that hard. My fascination to the hill was clearly beyond the goat. I just liked the fact there was such a picturesque little patch close to where i live.
The hill as far as i can make out, does not lead to anything. Not another building or structure starting from where the steep surface makes way for the flat surface. So i was a bit puzzled when i saw a small line of iron stairs rising from the foot-hill all the way up, winding and curling a bit, negotiated with the hard rocks that refused to make way for it. The stairs simply ended at the top, to a trail, after its 30 feet journey. The trail ran parallel to the road, appearing like a thick line from 30 feet below, where i stood. After my 9km run, during the walk i took to cool-down, i passed the patch and noticed the watchman coming down the stairs. This chap is silent observer to my runs as he mans an odd building labeled as Municipal Corporation Training Center. I rarely look or smile at anyone when i am running. Small talks or gestures are not for me. But this time, given the leisure of walk and the power of curiosity, i asked -
Me - what does this stair lead to?
Watchman - Nothing. Its just a cage there.
i notice a small iron cage in the middle of the trail on top
Me - what's in that cage ?
Watchman - the goat, i put it back in the cage.
Me - Why do you have a goat
Watchman - its not mine, its company's.
Me - Company's goat!!? what does Municipal Corporation Training Center keep a goat for!!
No reply.
The lone goat in its kigdom of small hill.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
And he spoke..
"Welcome to rickshaw MH-04 1425 .I will be your captain for today. Please be seated. You must wonder why i call myself that, captain, and not driver. Let me ask you something. Have you ever wondered why we drive as fast as we do? I can tell from that look on your face that you not just have, but worried to trauma over it. haha! You know, we rickshaw-drivers believe that at some point, if we continue breaking speed barriers, we will fly........... you must think its stupid, but then you know a dragonfly cant fly, it just does not know that it cant. Now if you think Rickshaws have never flew yet they continue to think they can.........i will call it your good humor, and carry on believing.
Is that a book that you took out to read. Please don't, its not recommended. Your focus should be on the road. Ya i know you may think its my job, but you would be surprised to know how its yours too! Well, you see every time you are not looking at the road, you tend to not be prepared for that sudden swirl i make to overtake or to negotiate that pot-hole i saw 30 meters ahead but did not tackle it till we were a meter away from it. Notice the "we" here, :) , this implies your as responsible for a safe ride as i am. Actually i am not , i am only responsible for my fun ride...hehe, just kidding. Coming back to the unprepared swirl while you are reading. It jerks you to sides, needlessly, spraining your neck. Price you pay for unpreparedness. And when i brake, yes, you would not know when, not that you will know otherwise, but imagine how your unprepared reading head will come and hit the back of my head when i break...haha......that would be funny. And if you still insist on reading then your really pushing your luck. This is not a plane, i mean it is, i mean i wish one day. But no, you cant read, or even listen to music, because you wont enjoy any of that. These rickshaws are not made for those. I don't think you have ever wondered why Bajaj, our providers, never took the little trouble of fitting those springs over the wheels called shock-absorbers. Either they did not want you to do your thing, or they simply understood our boredom and did this to ensure you and me have more conversation. Do you realise the only time you speak to me is when i hit a pot-hole or speed or brake? Ya, we need that conversation. It lets us know that we are special too :) . So don't be surprised if i speed at least three times in spite of your demands to not. The reasons are two - a.) i want to fly & b.) i want to talk.
There is much more that you would need to know for a happy safe ride. But i guess we will leave that for later.
Welcome aboard! "
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Motion Motivation
The energy of travel. One that overcomes you when your mobile.It happens to me all the time.Its a moment i crave for.Rickshaw, Taxi,Bus,Train.The high of movement.That feeling of arriving somewhere and planning for it, before you have arrived.I am filled with determination to do something significant for the day, or just very confident of doing what i am headed towards. At times i have thought it to be so common that i presumed all feel it.But am not sure.
Psychologically, i would think this emotion occurs for it covers you in excitement of an action while your im-mobile.You are doing nothing nothing yet moving,we all would wish for that in life - to do nothing yet to keep moving ahead.It takes you somewhere without an ounce of effort from you. Physically, i am moving yet i have all the energy to think.What else can you "do" that can let you have the freedom of thinking about anything other than that very act? Security of the fact that your direction is taken care of.You are undoubtedly headed the way you desire,so what are you going to do, think free, invite optimism.
I found it to be the best time to dream, to fill myself with ambition and confidence, and all these leading to make me my creative/motivated best.Its a charge, that leads me through any matter.Fills me with ways and means, however impractical, but a way nonetheless.Its almost like you brain, heart and gut's most preferred time to come together
Rarely however, have i managed to sustain it. Well, for the merit of it(those ambitious thoughts), i guess doing is never as easy.But i never stop thanking that moment, when i was in it, quiet literally on top of the world.
It seems too good to a state to be true. And i am not under the influence of any substance, making it more desirable. Is there anything better than a self-high. Sustainable, cheap, independent.......and a great feeling to share.
Psychologically, i would think this emotion occurs for it covers you in excitement of an action while your im-mobile.You are doing nothing nothing yet moving,we all would wish for that in life - to do nothing yet to keep moving ahead.It takes you somewhere without an ounce of effort from you. Physically, i am moving yet i have all the energy to think.What else can you "do" that can let you have the freedom of thinking about anything other than that very act? Security of the fact that your direction is taken care of.You are undoubtedly headed the way you desire,so what are you going to do, think free, invite optimism.
I found it to be the best time to dream, to fill myself with ambition and confidence, and all these leading to make me my creative/motivated best.Its a charge, that leads me through any matter.Fills me with ways and means, however impractical, but a way nonetheless.Its almost like you brain, heart and gut's most preferred time to come together
Rarely however, have i managed to sustain it. Well, for the merit of it(those ambitious thoughts), i guess doing is never as easy.But i never stop thanking that moment, when i was in it, quiet literally on top of the world.
It seems too good to a state to be true. And i am not under the influence of any substance, making it more desirable. Is there anything better than a self-high. Sustainable, cheap, independent.......and a great feeling to share.
Friday, May 29, 2009
99 - Review (dont miss this experience)
i saw 99... i don't know if u have heard about it...its a Hindi comedy movie. Starring Kunal Khemu, Cyrus Brocha, Soha Ali Khan, Mahesh Manjrekar and Boman Irani. Its a very refreshing movie, with some slice-of-life sense of humor. I really liked the film. If u have enjoyed watching Khosla Ka Ghosla and Bheja Fry, you would appreciate the beauty of this movie as well. There is so much untapped real life humor in and around our lives that most of bollywood has never used, for they have created their own damn world. Movies like this bring out that slice of daily funny culture that we all live, notice and associate so well when someone makes a movie around those. There are some writer/directors who have realised that the real humor lies in noticing those simple nuances that are unique and integral to our mixed culture, humility, unpreparedness to handle the west, selfishness etc. This new wave of Hindi "multiplex" movies remind me so much of the entertaining Malayalam cinema that i have grown up watching and wondering why don't Hindi cinema make movies like them. Though in that sense I would say there is miles to go before Hindi can match that kind of cinema. And thanks to the deteriorating Malayalam cinema quality, there will not be much of an inspiration left. But movies like 99 stand out, for their essence, detail, simple portrayal of characters, and reactions that play in your mind more than on the screen. I heard the most heartiest of laughs around me while watching this movie. What more can you ask post a stressed day at work. The tickets are cheap (being weekday) and the movie is, in one word - fun. I will give it a 4 star. And i can watch it again. Sadly, there is not much of a word going around about the movie's popularity, so i would presume our "cinema viewing system" will ensure that such efforts get discouraged enough to not be made as often. Sad. But i would do my bit on promoting it through this blog . Lets hope rest do it too.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional
I am back at it. A half marathon, an inspiring book and 4 months later, i am sure i want to do it, but i am not entirely sure if i can. I have to leave that to my undiscovered will , to complete a Full Marathon, in an acceptable time, or better.
Being out of touch shows. I went for my first few runs. And while i was not entirely disappointed with how much i lost for not having run for the past few months, i could see an in-satisfactory difference. Given the task this year is doing the double of what i am otherwise used to preparing for, it puts me back much further from my goal. Well that's one reason why i started much earlier. A 21k would not mean training beyond three to four months at best, and that too a very self pleasing training.
41km is a process, with no short-cuts or loose-ends.Given my life and job, it will only mean a greater effort.But it is this very life and job that inspires me to try it.
First step is to build up stamina and consistency, before i subscribe to a program which will shape the rest of the preparation.
It would all get slightly more mechanical and routine-filled than what i would want, for running to me is being in the center,my comfort zone, being where i desire or regret the least,where every will finds a way or every way fits the will. Equilibrium.I mostly expect a thoughtless experience (when i run) but cant help thinking good. Am clearly against running to escape stress or toning health.They are the fall-outs, of doing what you like to do.And its running for me (so far/ right now). I was reading about Murakami(famous author & runner)loosing his will to run for a long time after he finished an 'Ultra'-marathon. No business wondering how it must be for a 100km (ultra marathon)road to make you trail it first and then drain you of any desire for it again, or any road.
I do agree that toning health and freeing stress are great reasons to go active (running or anything).........in fact i have on many days killed last evenings beer with next mornings run (same for last evening's fight). Well if you can, you should right :) ?
But marathon is more than any regime that has a purpose. Marathon is the purpose.And so is for me.
Details of this -
Event : Mumbai Marathon
Date : I guess 17th Jan 2010
Time left : 8 months
Expectation : To finish it
Dream : Finish in under 5hrs
Facts : 1.)Ran a 6km in a fair time yesterday 2.)Have ran a half marathon in under 2hrs.
At a current physical condition that helps me only finish 6km with reasonable comfort and a history and passion for running, its a mix of odds.I certainly feel more confident about it when i think than when i run. I hope to lessen this gap.
And every athlete who has ever ran one will tell you, it always seems impossible. You always want to give up. You always fall short of what you expect.Its a race against yourself and there are no fall-outs but you, and no gains but for you.And its always about will.And like Murakami said about running - Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.
So i would just let my will take over.
Being out of touch shows. I went for my first few runs. And while i was not entirely disappointed with how much i lost for not having run for the past few months, i could see an in-satisfactory difference. Given the task this year is doing the double of what i am otherwise used to preparing for, it puts me back much further from my goal. Well that's one reason why i started much earlier. A 21k would not mean training beyond three to four months at best, and that too a very self pleasing training.
41km is a process, with no short-cuts or loose-ends.Given my life and job, it will only mean a greater effort.But it is this very life and job that inspires me to try it.
First step is to build up stamina and consistency, before i subscribe to a program which will shape the rest of the preparation.
It would all get slightly more mechanical and routine-filled than what i would want, for running to me is being in the center,my comfort zone, being where i desire or regret the least,where every will finds a way or every way fits the will. Equilibrium.I mostly expect a thoughtless experience (when i run) but cant help thinking good. Am clearly against running to escape stress or toning health.They are the fall-outs, of doing what you like to do.And its running for me (so far/ right now). I was reading about Murakami(famous author & runner)loosing his will to run for a long time after he finished an 'Ultra'-marathon. No business wondering how it must be for a 100km (ultra marathon)road to make you trail it first and then drain you of any desire for it again, or any road.
I do agree that toning health and freeing stress are great reasons to go active (running or anything).........in fact i have on many days killed last evenings beer with next mornings run (same for last evening's fight). Well if you can, you should right :) ?
But marathon is more than any regime that has a purpose. Marathon is the purpose.And so is for me.
Details of this -
Event : Mumbai Marathon
Date : I guess 17th Jan 2010
Time left : 8 months
Expectation : To finish it
Dream : Finish in under 5hrs
Facts : 1.)Ran a 6km in a fair time yesterday 2.)Have ran a half marathon in under 2hrs.
At a current physical condition that helps me only finish 6km with reasonable comfort and a history and passion for running, its a mix of odds.I certainly feel more confident about it when i think than when i run. I hope to lessen this gap.
And every athlete who has ever ran one will tell you, it always seems impossible. You always want to give up. You always fall short of what you expect.Its a race against yourself and there are no fall-outs but you, and no gains but for you.And its always about will.And like Murakami said about running - Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.
So i would just let my will take over.
Monday, May 18, 2009
cinema that leave a mark…
I am writing this after having gone through one of the most disturbing experiences in my life which did not involve me in any sense. A movie. As simple as that, but one of the most difficult one to sit through. I have a habit of exaggerating myself into feeling too much, of another persons’ experience, well told. But anytime you watch a movie that has been adapted from a true incidence, a struggle that ends in victory inspires you. And a struggle that displays pain, bothers you, the most, like in this case it has. A true incident of a girl being tortured endlessly without reason, by the most unlike of humans around her.
Movie : An American Crime. That’s what it’s called. I would not really know what kind of an imdb rating it would fetch, for once I don’t care. It takes an exception (I really hope) for someone to behave like it has been bought out in this movie, and it takes another exception for someone to have attempted to make this movie for all to see and probably learn, oppose, protect to avoid anything such again. Suddenly the word violence has taken a new meaning. It’s a fate you will not wish for your enemy in your most sinister moment.
There are times when I have sat through conversations about cinema that brings out the craziest and scariest of fantasies, the likes of Saw (one to infinity) and their French and Japanese bothers who seem to have mastered it. I never watch them, can’t bear it. Even if I can or those who do, would somewhere have a clear understanding of it not being true. Now only if someone were to show a fact, as it happened, how will it be. And that is what An American Crime brings out. A soft and simple portrayal of a gruesome act. Its making must have been a tough act. It has the capacity of leaving a few from the cast in depression or some other trouble for sometime. It’s certainly not an effort that makes you feel like an accomplished actor as much as it makes you feel like a contributor to making people realise the need to speak up. I wonder how much help education, religion or law & order is to people if there is still a likely hood for such as exceptional act.
I may be over reacting, for there are a million crimes happening all around us of much drastic kinds, and I rarely shudder, as I have today. What worries me the most here; however, are the criminals in this case, the most unlikely of them all, children and women. The ones who stand on the better end of compassion. Or the humans who can be your neighbours. I will not be surprised if a few in man-eating tribes of the amazons traumatise over seeing something like this.
I don’t think there is any psychology that can explain this. Or if it can, it would mean these incidences are not so much of an exception. And also that education is making a few too spineless to do something about it.
You can’t give stars to a movie like this. Because that is not the point.
Movie : An American Crime. That’s what it’s called. I would not really know what kind of an imdb rating it would fetch, for once I don’t care. It takes an exception (I really hope) for someone to behave like it has been bought out in this movie, and it takes another exception for someone to have attempted to make this movie for all to see and probably learn, oppose, protect to avoid anything such again. Suddenly the word violence has taken a new meaning. It’s a fate you will not wish for your enemy in your most sinister moment.
There are times when I have sat through conversations about cinema that brings out the craziest and scariest of fantasies, the likes of Saw (one to infinity) and their French and Japanese bothers who seem to have mastered it. I never watch them, can’t bear it. Even if I can or those who do, would somewhere have a clear understanding of it not being true. Now only if someone were to show a fact, as it happened, how will it be. And that is what An American Crime brings out. A soft and simple portrayal of a gruesome act. Its making must have been a tough act. It has the capacity of leaving a few from the cast in depression or some other trouble for sometime. It’s certainly not an effort that makes you feel like an accomplished actor as much as it makes you feel like a contributor to making people realise the need to speak up. I wonder how much help education, religion or law & order is to people if there is still a likely hood for such as exceptional act.
I may be over reacting, for there are a million crimes happening all around us of much drastic kinds, and I rarely shudder, as I have today. What worries me the most here; however, are the criminals in this case, the most unlikely of them all, children and women. The ones who stand on the better end of compassion. Or the humans who can be your neighbours. I will not be surprised if a few in man-eating tribes of the amazons traumatise over seeing something like this.
I don’t think there is any psychology that can explain this. Or if it can, it would mean these incidences are not so much of an exception. And also that education is making a few too spineless to do something about it.
You can’t give stars to a movie like this. Because that is not the point.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Saved by a thought : Anti-Library
I suffered from guilt ridden exits from bookstores off late for I end up buying books more than what I can read, and there is a bigger set of them waiting to be read at home. I am buying them because i can and because i really want to read them. Eight, is the record i recently created in a recent such trip. The differnce between the books I have bought and the once i have read are ever increasing. Even if i include the many that i have partly read.
I have though, wondered how much of a book does one need to read to have actually read it. I mean Non-Fiction here, as that's what i read unless i need a break. Sometimes its enough to read a half of it and you would get your perspective. Now if you really are the kinds who thinks you need to get the full money's/pages'/perspective's worth, you would have a guilt left, still. I would fit in there, most of the time.
I am certainly buying as much as i can afford, and have only felt convinced while doing so. That conviction!yes, that's how i end up buying at the first place! That feeling!, It is very similar to the strength of a brilliant excuse you mind gives you, to call office and make, when you are too sleepy to get up and leave for work in an hour. And the guilt that follows, if you actually happen to bunk that day.
I have sometimes forgotten about some books i bought. A casual look at the book-rack gives me a realisation of combined pride and guilt.
I have seen better reading days, cheaper too. Any book lover who has spent time long enough in Mumbai has not stopped thanking, and now missing, the days when a short walk (Flora Fountain to Churchgate station) , 150 Rupees and healthy negotiation skills would see you heading home with two or three fine titles. You would read them and return a month later to buy more. I earned much much lesser and yet i learned as much or more (and there was no google in my life then, 7 yrs ago).
Recently however i came across a point of view that somewhere rids me of a lot of that bookstore-guilt. Its called an Anti-Library, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb has put it across in his book - The Black Swan. It says that a read book is far less valuable than an unread one, for the books that decorate your shelf is a research tool. Now i may not be researching as much as much as i would be , some day, in a mood to read a certain kind of book...which still makes it associable. One will accumulate more knowledge and more books as they grow older. It would only mean i would be stacking up as many good books i think i should "have" and not necessarily "have read". With age i would have better idea of what is worth having. Concluding therefore that more you know, the more would be the collection of unread books. He therefore called this entire collection an Anti-Library. And he says, which i found the most interesting of lines i have read in recent times (and the reason for this blog) - that a library should contain as much of what you don't know as your financial means :-) ............ and i like that! And can live it for some time.
... The Black Swan was one of the eight books i bought/invested in my last guilt ridden (not anymore) trip to the book shop :)
I have though, wondered how much of a book does one need to read to have actually read it. I mean Non-Fiction here, as that's what i read unless i need a break. Sometimes its enough to read a half of it and you would get your perspective. Now if you really are the kinds who thinks you need to get the full money's/pages'/perspective's worth, you would have a guilt left, still. I would fit in there, most of the time.
I am certainly buying as much as i can afford, and have only felt convinced while doing so. That conviction!yes, that's how i end up buying at the first place! That feeling!, It is very similar to the strength of a brilliant excuse you mind gives you, to call office and make, when you are too sleepy to get up and leave for work in an hour. And the guilt that follows, if you actually happen to bunk that day.
I have sometimes forgotten about some books i bought. A casual look at the book-rack gives me a realisation of combined pride and guilt.
I have seen better reading days, cheaper too. Any book lover who has spent time long enough in Mumbai has not stopped thanking, and now missing, the days when a short walk (Flora Fountain to Churchgate station) , 150 Rupees and healthy negotiation skills would see you heading home with two or three fine titles. You would read them and return a month later to buy more. I earned much much lesser and yet i learned as much or more (and there was no google in my life then, 7 yrs ago).
Recently however i came across a point of view that somewhere rids me of a lot of that bookstore-guilt. Its called an Anti-Library, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb has put it across in his book - The Black Swan. It says that a read book is far less valuable than an unread one, for the books that decorate your shelf is a research tool. Now i may not be researching as much as much as i would be , some day, in a mood to read a certain kind of book...which still makes it associable. One will accumulate more knowledge and more books as they grow older. It would only mean i would be stacking up as many good books i think i should "have" and not necessarily "have read". With age i would have better idea of what is worth having. Concluding therefore that more you know, the more would be the collection of unread books. He therefore called this entire collection an Anti-Library. And he says, which i found the most interesting of lines i have read in recent times (and the reason for this blog) - that a library should contain as much of what you don't know as your financial means :-) ............ and i like that! And can live it for some time.
... The Black Swan was one of the eight books i bought/invested in my last guilt ridden (not anymore) trip to the book shop :)
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
First Step (learning to walk)
This has been pending for long. A blog. At least that's what i was made to believe by some few who matter. And just as most things that i do come through after many contemplations, followed by obsession, followed by conflicting perspective, and forgetfulness, to finally a gut and a moment of impulse, this has too;come through.The moment is seriously odd. I have no clue why i have decided to. But like i said, now there is a gut.
Taking on to this will take time.Everything will. I liberally call myself a WIP ( Work In Progress) to allow me a guilt/conflict free experience. Experience, that's what i guess this will be.
I would either make life interesting enough to be able to write, or, make an interesting read out of a not so interesting life, or, trust myself to have a life that's interesting enough. Though i dont think its really needed that i be interesting. Not because i dont care for anyone who decides to spend time reading me, but because i have tremendous appreciation for boredom and un-interesting. For its true worth, i think these two words are underated. However, for me what matters right now is that i have decided to share.
Taking on to this will take time.Everything will. I liberally call myself a WIP ( Work In Progress) to allow me a guilt/conflict free experience. Experience, that's what i guess this will be.
I would either make life interesting enough to be able to write, or, make an interesting read out of a not so interesting life, or, trust myself to have a life that's interesting enough. Though i dont think its really needed that i be interesting. Not because i dont care for anyone who decides to spend time reading me, but because i have tremendous appreciation for boredom and un-interesting. For its true worth, i think these two words are underated. However, for me what matters right now is that i have decided to share.
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