Training Week-4

This weekend my training schedule says I have to run 32K, never ran so much on a single day in training, I have run a 52K Ultra, but then that was on "the" marathon day, we have whole lot of different factors on that day, the enthu level, the Janta running around you. But this would be different, running 32K means that we would be running close to 3.5 hrs.

And with the uncertain Bangalore rains, I domnt know how it will turn out to be. So I am tensed for this week's 32K, but I am determined!

Running Log

Yesterday was a busy day in office, I came home, and wasn't in a mood to run, largely because, I had this weird pain in my heel and knee, so thought would take a day's break so I am ready for the weekend long run. But then I started to get bored, even Rathi had to go somewhere out to meet his old friends. Started seeing some running videos on Youtube (two of them are posted below). and in a matter of 20 minutes I was in my running shoes and shorts ready to go. I realized that running has become an integral part of my weekday evenings. This is my time, you think about a lot of things, sort out the hassles, at work, not at work and then chalk out the plans for the next day. And even if you are not doing any of these things it is a lot soothing. Talking about Weekends, those are generally the long runs with my runner friends, and man how much I love them, no matter what happens, even if I sleep at 2:30 am I am up at 5:15 to run.

Coming back to yesterday I completed around 4K and then the pain in the heel started to get worse, I wanted to run more, 4K is nothing when it comes to a decent time in Mumbai marathon, maybe I am not pushing my body to the limit. So I went on running for another 2K and then I thought that maybe I should stop, this pain in the heel can get me grounded for weeks. And this was the point when I realized , that what is my greatest fear? Yes you guessed it right, not able to run. I have met some of my friends in RFL, who were runners, I mean who used to run, mentally they are still runners, but some nasty injury got them grounded forever, what if that happens to me, what would I do ? Not being able to run would be something like not beimng able to breathe for me. I know I thought a little too hard yesterday, but then I wasn't wrong an injury could sabotage all my plans for the Mumbai marathon and Ultra. So I stopped, "walked" back home, switched on the TV and used an ice pack on my legs and my aching heel.

Surprisingly I didn't have any pain in my heel this morning, which I never expected ? Is it the magig of the ice pack ? or is my body just getting used to the new training levels, Well I wont dig much into it now, but I am happy that my legs are back to normal. Today is the rest day, have to run 21K tomorrow at GKVK.

I am a Runner.... and I am addicted.... Paula Radcliffe

Good motivational video, forget the Nike+ Part

Vodafone Delhi Half Marathon: 9th November 2008

Finally the mail from the organizers confirms that the Vodafone Delhi Half Marathon would be held on Sunday, 9th of November 2008. The Registrations for the same would open in end of august.

Dilli waalon... main aa raha hoon.

Rakshabandhan

Yes, Rakhi is here. I earlier titled this post as "Rakhi" but then I wanted a good rakhi photograph and I googled it, and was pissed off to find out that the search results google gives on "Rakhi" are all "Rakhi Sawant" photographs.... what crap :-(

I am missing the Allahabd streets, where all you can see are the colorful rakhi shops on the roadside, the sweet shops which extend their counters and people who can kill each other for half KG of sweet, there are no such traces in Bangalore.... hmmmm we are too advanced now, this is the IT city :-(

Anyways this would be my 3rd Rakhi when I am not with my sister, yes I am missing her :-(. Today I recieved her Rakhi by courier, with a hand written letter!!! And more Rakhis continue to pour in with the haldi ke tika ki pudiya! What I really miss from my other sisters is the hand written letters, earlier each would take the pains of writing a customized "hand written" letter for each brother, but I guess now this is not the case. The worst feeling is when you recieve an e-rakhi. I never open that and do a SHIFT+DELETE, from my mailbox. I think that the internet is eating up these small festivals, the excitement of recieving a hand written letter and then reading it is totally different.

Now you recieve the Rakhi by courier and then an e-mail would follow.... It might have the same feelings from the sister's side, but surely is not conveyed with that warmth.

I am going to Munnar over the long weekend, so more on Munnar, and "Running in Munnar" on Monday!

Happy Rakhi & Vande Matram!!

Jane bhi do Yaaron

I was going through my friend's blog, when I found the link to Mohalla. 12th of August Jane bhi Do yaaron turns 25. Yes its been 25 years since this masterpiece was created by Kundan Shah. The lead characters in the movie, Sudhir and Vinod are named after the famous directors Sudhir Misra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra. They were freshers from Pune school of direction at that time.

Its been almost three decades, much has changed in the film industry, the films are technicall much better, now the average budget of a movie is more than 20 crores, but yet as Dipti writes in her blog, we have missed out on something. The reality, the characters of Jane Bhi Do yaaron are so real, it shows the struggling face of India. There is a fire in Sudhir and Vinod, which targets the Real Estate industry of Mumbai, the corruption prevelant in it. This movie deals with Corruption and inefficiency in a very sarcastic way, I remeber the dialogue after Commissioner D'Mello's death, the new commisioner is giving a speech on the newly inaugerated D'Mello flyover:

"Commissioner D'Mello ki yaad main ek din ke liye sheher ke saare gatar band kiye jaayenge, aap log peene ka paani pahle se bhar lein"

This sentence speaks a lot, it takes on the inefficiency in Mumbai in a sutle sarcastic way, it tells what was the standard the Mumbai slum dwellers were pushed in, and now not much has changed, they still need to store their drinking water if the gatar's go on Hadtaal.

But my favorite part of the film is the encounter between Commissioner D'Mello and Ahuja, when he is drunk out of his mind and is trying to help D'Mello in the coffin thinking that its a car!!!

Another popular dialogue from the movie "Thoda Khao thoda feko mazaa aata hai" this is again a sarcastic remark for people like Tarneja and D'Mello who gets the luxury of eating a swiss cake, and then throwing it, gives them a wierd kind of pleasure. Sarcasm apart, I really love the way this scene has been shot, and in the end Ravi Baswani's answer to the question "haan aaya!!"

Great movie, again one of my favorites after Chashme Buddoor

Ban on SIMI ?

Big chaos created by a Delhi court, thankfully Supreme Court is still active.
Mulayam Singh Yadav and his party apparently supports SIMI. Read it here. The key issue here is, who is a bigger threat to the country, SIMI or SP ? This is the cost that all of us have to pay to avoid early elections.

"Bhed ki Khaal main Bhediye"

Training Week - I

"It hurts to a point and then it doesnt get any worse - Ann Trason"

The first week of my training is over. Ran a 40K week, I know this is less, my target was 50K, but since I was partying on the weekend, celebrating Nitin's Birthday, This was expected. I didn't run on Saturday and Sunday morning, which were supposed to be my Long runs, I was dying in guilt, then Meghana threw the Idea of Doing a Hash run, well just to give an idea about Hash House Harriers this is what wikipedia has to say. And I was at the Bangalore Hash House Harrier's Run number 473. Well did around 10K at the hash run, which nowhere comes under the "lo9ng" runs, but atleast something is better than nothing. I overcame the guilt of not running on the weekend. But I must admit that the run was fun, it was organized on Clover Fields, this was a resort off Sarjapur Road, and the trail, as all Hash trails was a superb one!

Coming back to the training discussion, I am pretty satisfied with the first week. Now the schedule for this week says: 16 miles or 25.6K till Saturday, an then a long run on Sunday, probably around 25K. Lets see, I am already on a marathon Diet (to be read as Eating like a pig). So I need to keep my running consistent! I have slight pain after my runs in the heels, but I have got the ice packs and I hope that the regular cold therapy should work, or else some weekend I need to see Dr Rajat.

So Far So Good :-) I am satisfied :-)

"To a runner a side stich is like a car alarm. It signifies something is wrong, but you ignore it until it goes away"