When I arrived at the start venue for our long run at Aarey in my car, little did I know that some of my runner pals had a surprise in store for me. I felt sheepish considering that I actually drove there so that I could carry the "Anjir" and "Chocolate Barfi" box/es. We were a group of about 20 runners and it felt especially good to run since it rained hard in the later part of the run. I finished an exhausting 21K with the same goddamn hypoglycemia surfacing. I gotta do something about it.
The surprise was that my good friend Raj went out of his way to bring a huge (eggless) cake with candles that wouldn't blow out:-) Oh it was really touching to have them sing "Happy Birthday" and talk about birthday bumps in the wet sludge. There was a lot of laughter and banter on races, training and running in general. There was this magnificent card made by Madhu, all of 2ft x 1ft and it was a veritable catalogue of my running life. She must have spent hours putting it together. As my runner friend Venkat said, "What more can one desire more that the love and affection showered by friends such as these". It was the best birthday I've had in a long time.
The evening was spent at the newly renovated "Sai Palace" with its gourmet cuisine and prices to match. I had Allen' family and Rajni join us. The Old Monk, mixed barbeque platters, biryanis, lasooni palak, rotis and dal maharani was enough to floor me when I plonked on the bed that night. I wondered how I would join Srinivas and Raj for a run the next morning. Well, I dragged myself out of bed and took a while to get my breath back. I then went out and reeled a 15K. Dan, the force is still with you and you've proved your point on your birthday - now just rest up ok?
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
New begining
I spent the weekend (which turned out to be pleasantly long, thanks to the "Bharat Bandh") catching up on mileage and deep introspection. I had a nice group run on Saturday with about 22 runners turning up enthusiastically for that elusive PB, which, they have been made to believe by me, will come if they train on the undulating and unforgiving route at the Aarey forest:-) I am convinced that all of them will surpass their own expectations in their next race - as long as they are consistent in training with this group.
Sunday was "lazing-in-bed day" because I woke up at 5:25am to the sound of a howling wind, the roar of a heavy downpour and the gurgle of water spouting from the flooding terrace - I live on the topmost floor. I contemplated all this on the comfort of our porta potty and then decided that I am better off going back to snooze. I knew that setting out in this rain would mean running mostly thru' ankle deep water at the many rivulets that form inside Aarey. It was a good decision because I slept like a log and woke up refreshed at 8am. I then went out and belted out a scorching tempo and came home to a standard Sunday morning breakfast; ham and eggs:-)
In all this I have been searching my mind and heart for a break from everything. I would like to start anew with many things. Most of this is of course, wishful thinking. I'd like to can the corporate career and do something on my own; something as simple as teaching math, physics and chemistry. I also need to take stock of all the things that perturb me and put them aside with a refreshing look at life from a different perspective. Over the last two years there are about five people that left the running group that I coach and I am surprised that they (except one, a woman, who displayed real decency) didn't feel the need to show common courtesy and say "Goodbye". Maybe a coach is not a "guru" that deserves respect but someone who gets paid to do a job:-) Well, no point in fuming over it all; just do some spring cleaning Dan - although autumn is round the corner.
Sunday was "lazing-in-bed day" because I woke up at 5:25am to the sound of a howling wind, the roar of a heavy downpour and the gurgle of water spouting from the flooding terrace - I live on the topmost floor. I contemplated all this on the comfort of our porta potty and then decided that I am better off going back to snooze. I knew that setting out in this rain would mean running mostly thru' ankle deep water at the many rivulets that form inside Aarey. It was a good decision because I slept like a log and woke up refreshed at 8am. I then went out and belted out a scorching tempo and came home to a standard Sunday morning breakfast; ham and eggs:-)
In all this I have been searching my mind and heart for a break from everything. I would like to start anew with many things. Most of this is of course, wishful thinking. I'd like to can the corporate career and do something on my own; something as simple as teaching math, physics and chemistry. I also need to take stock of all the things that perturb me and put them aside with a refreshing look at life from a different perspective. Over the last two years there are about five people that left the running group that I coach and I am surprised that they (except one, a woman, who displayed real decency) didn't feel the need to show common courtesy and say "Goodbye". Maybe a coach is not a "guru" that deserves respect but someone who gets paid to do a job:-) Well, no point in fuming over it all; just do some spring cleaning Dan - although autumn is round the corner.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Biting more than I can chew
I returned from travel last week and feeling lethargic, I decided to go to the Gym and pump up my delts. The next morning, and since I felt I was going thru' withdrawal symptoms, I ran about 12.5K. On Saturday, I joined the group for our weekend run at Aarey and did a 10.7K. I wished I could have done more but then I was slacking off on Saturdays a bit too often and didn't wish our HR guys booting me in the **s. I had a hearty lunch and just one large swig of "Glenlivet" before drifting off into a deep afternoon siesta. I woke up and whaddya know, I went out and did a 10K run. I must be losing it but then I felt superbly refreshed! A non-runner will frown and say, "This guy flogs himself with two 10K runs in one day and says he is refreshed??" Well, thats our world and only the running fraternity will understand:-)
I woke up on Sunday at 5am for a session at the NIKE RUN CLUB. It was a day on which I was to demo "Boot Camp" fitness routines to the people. I was a bit disoriented with my sleep deficit and exhaustion thru' flogging my body these last 48 hrs. I sat a while after making my cuppa java and was suddenly overcome with melancholy. I guess it was the sound of the teaspoon striking ceramic that triggered nostalgia. I remembered my times in Goa as a school kid, with my brothers, sisters and parents. I remember the early morning twitter of birds and the first rays of dawn lighting up our french windows. The sound of mummy' leisurely chores in the kitchen; the sound of copper pots, the squeak of the pulley on our well as she drew water, the funny sounding horn of the "Poder" (bread-man), the arguments with the milkman that he had added too much water to the milk delivered that day and the gentle purr of the cat at my feet. The same melancholy dragged me back to reality with recalling the recent internal squabble in one of my running groups; I seemed to have been drawn into an unseemly and internal controversy on "credits". I was affected by it and it took me a while to digest it.
The routine at NRC of which I partook, seemed to have enervated me completely. I woke up on Monday morning, thinking that I should go out for a recovery run and little did I know, how much two-a-days affect the body; I was brought to a grinding halt after just 2K into my 7K run. I felt humbled by this realization and decided to do a sensible thing; walk more than run the rest of the distance. I guess I also saved myself the ignominy of doubling up in extreme exhaustion, had I persisted with my usual but deplorable penchant for risk-taking. All in all a well "spent" weekend:-)
I woke up on Sunday at 5am for a session at the NIKE RUN CLUB. It was a day on which I was to demo "Boot Camp" fitness routines to the people. I was a bit disoriented with my sleep deficit and exhaustion thru' flogging my body these last 48 hrs. I sat a while after making my cuppa java and was suddenly overcome with melancholy. I guess it was the sound of the teaspoon striking ceramic that triggered nostalgia. I remembered my times in Goa as a school kid, with my brothers, sisters and parents. I remember the early morning twitter of birds and the first rays of dawn lighting up our french windows. The sound of mummy' leisurely chores in the kitchen; the sound of copper pots, the squeak of the pulley on our well as she drew water, the funny sounding horn of the "Poder" (bread-man), the arguments with the milkman that he had added too much water to the milk delivered that day and the gentle purr of the cat at my feet. The same melancholy dragged me back to reality with recalling the recent internal squabble in one of my running groups; I seemed to have been drawn into an unseemly and internal controversy on "credits". I was affected by it and it took me a while to digest it.
The routine at NRC of which I partook, seemed to have enervated me completely. I woke up on Monday morning, thinking that I should go out for a recovery run and little did I know, how much two-a-days affect the body; I was brought to a grinding halt after just 2K into my 7K run. I felt humbled by this realization and decided to do a sensible thing; walk more than run the rest of the distance. I guess I also saved myself the ignominy of doubling up in extreme exhaustion, had I persisted with my usual but deplorable penchant for risk-taking. All in all a well "spent" weekend:-)
Monday, June 21, 2010
Ambivalent forerunners
We were four runners and it all began with a plan to do a recce of the route for a future group run in Lonavala, on the road leading to Amby Valley - and that' the origin of the title:-). So we piled into my car on Sunday and set out at 6am with our kit-bag comprising a change of clothes, towel, umbrella, electrolyte and of course, I carried my hip-flask for good measure:-) We stopped for a snack on the way because Amit complained about rumbles in his stomach. The snack was an expensive one costing Rs 20/- per Idli!! Well, it is the most expensive pre-run carboloading any of us had ever done.
We reached Bushy Dam and pulled into a wayside restaurant that offered pay-n-park. A quick check on water, belt-bag and vaseline, and we set out at a canter. As it turned out, the first four kms were a steep and winding climb; something like what you see when you do the Ghats on the Bombay-Goa road. While Amit and Raj seemed to float up this tortuous path, Ashok and I could barely shuffle even as we heard each other' raspy exhalations. I wondered whether, after the two loops at Aarey yesterday, I was set to disappoint the group. After an eternity the road levelled out a bit and I felt my "groove" set in. We were now running in wispy clouds that seemed to kiss the road and the adjoining meadows. The air that seemed to be below its "Dew-point" shed its cool moisture on our damp bodies; pure bliss suffusing our being, allowing us to shift gears a notch upwards. It was heavenly in every sense of the word. I quickened pace to catch up with Amit and Raj. We were now cruising along and the wayside eateries had hordes of girls and guys watching us in awe. I'm sure they had never seen people come to Lonavala to "torture" themselves, cause that' what they surely felt from the expressions on their faces. Raj' skimpy shorts elicited hoots from the girls as well as the guys:-)
After about 50 mins we stopped to allow Ashok to catch up so that we could check on his Garmin for the distance we'd done. He announced that we were at 8.16K and that was the plan; to do a loop of 16K and then allow runners to do it twice, if required. But our ultramarathonman, Amit had other plans:-) He coolly suggested, "Lets keep going and do at least 10K" and in a lower whisper to me, "Chalo, Amby Valley tuck jayenge":-) I gave him a looney look because AV measured 17K from where we started and he was certainly not suggesting that we do 34K! I realized he meant it when spotted an ST bus coming towards us and suggested, "Why don't we go up to AV and return in an ST bus?".
We reached what we thought was 10.15K but there was a lot of confusion as to whether Ashok' Garmin was accurate. We turned around now and the going was a lot easier. Amit and I were now flying at close to 5:15 mins/km and he seemed to quicken pace everytime he got an uphill:-) At one point, he turned and said, "I don't feel a thing and I can keep going for hours!". I had to agree because despite doing a close to tempo pace, my RPE was just 5, after 15K of running with steep uphills. We managed to shave off quite a few minutes on the return leg and met up again in the car park feeling as Arthur Lydiard puts it, "comfortably exhausted". A quick change of clothes and we settled in the restaurant to eat a breakfast of egg omlette, Poha and mixed bhajias.
On the way back, Raj stopped and brought back some beers to share with Amit and an Apple juice for Ashok. I emptied my hip flask into my "Gatorade" bottle, added some dilution and settled in. Time flew by with inane banter to the accompaniment of songs from Bee Gees, Eagles and finally R D Burman, to which Amit seemed to feel that, "Jaam mein dub gayi hai yaaron mere, jeevan ki har shaam". It was time to say "See ya" and shake hands a tad too vigorously, as each runner got off. All in all, a memorable (nay trancendental) run. Cheers!
We reached Bushy Dam and pulled into a wayside restaurant that offered pay-n-park. A quick check on water, belt-bag and vaseline, and we set out at a canter. As it turned out, the first four kms were a steep and winding climb; something like what you see when you do the Ghats on the Bombay-Goa road. While Amit and Raj seemed to float up this tortuous path, Ashok and I could barely shuffle even as we heard each other' raspy exhalations. I wondered whether, after the two loops at Aarey yesterday, I was set to disappoint the group. After an eternity the road levelled out a bit and I felt my "groove" set in. We were now running in wispy clouds that seemed to kiss the road and the adjoining meadows. The air that seemed to be below its "Dew-point" shed its cool moisture on our damp bodies; pure bliss suffusing our being, allowing us to shift gears a notch upwards. It was heavenly in every sense of the word. I quickened pace to catch up with Amit and Raj. We were now cruising along and the wayside eateries had hordes of girls and guys watching us in awe. I'm sure they had never seen people come to Lonavala to "torture" themselves, cause that' what they surely felt from the expressions on their faces. Raj' skimpy shorts elicited hoots from the girls as well as the guys:-)
After about 50 mins we stopped to allow Ashok to catch up so that we could check on his Garmin for the distance we'd done. He announced that we were at 8.16K and that was the plan; to do a loop of 16K and then allow runners to do it twice, if required. But our ultramarathonman, Amit had other plans:-) He coolly suggested, "Lets keep going and do at least 10K" and in a lower whisper to me, "Chalo, Amby Valley tuck jayenge":-) I gave him a looney look because AV measured 17K from where we started and he was certainly not suggesting that we do 34K! I realized he meant it when spotted an ST bus coming towards us and suggested, "Why don't we go up to AV and return in an ST bus?".
We reached what we thought was 10.15K but there was a lot of confusion as to whether Ashok' Garmin was accurate. We turned around now and the going was a lot easier. Amit and I were now flying at close to 5:15 mins/km and he seemed to quicken pace everytime he got an uphill:-) At one point, he turned and said, "I don't feel a thing and I can keep going for hours!". I had to agree because despite doing a close to tempo pace, my RPE was just 5, after 15K of running with steep uphills. We managed to shave off quite a few minutes on the return leg and met up again in the car park feeling as Arthur Lydiard puts it, "comfortably exhausted". A quick change of clothes and we settled in the restaurant to eat a breakfast of egg omlette, Poha and mixed bhajias.
On the way back, Raj stopped and brought back some beers to share with Amit and an Apple juice for Ashok. I emptied my hip flask into my "Gatorade" bottle, added some dilution and settled in. Time flew by with inane banter to the accompaniment of songs from Bee Gees, Eagles and finally R D Burman, to which Amit seemed to feel that, "Jaam mein dub gayi hai yaaron mere, jeevan ki har shaam". It was time to say "See ya" and shake hands a tad too vigorously, as each runner got off. All in all, a memorable (nay trancendental) run. Cheers!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Eyes wide awake
I drifted up from the depths of a slumber and seemed to hover just below the surface for a while. Finally, I broke thru' and was wide awake. The room was dark and quiet and I just heard the wind making a muted howl at the window. I turned to look at my watch and mouthed a silent entreaty, "God, please let it be 5am" but I had to muffle a groan as I saw it was 3:30am. Well, I would have to wait this one out:-)
At 5:30, after a stormy sesssion of thoughts and zilch sleep, the alarm beeped. I made Bryan his cup of chocolate milk and headed out the door. The rain was a steady drizzle and I did not spend too much time wondering how cold it would be, as I stepped out to get wet. The first two kms made it seem like I was doing fine and then suddenly, I felt this slowdown; as if my muscles were being restrained. I realized then that it was the lack of sleep and my HR was high because of it. I finished a loop of 11K and headed home for a hot cup of Tea and some chappatis. Today, I'm going to feel tired at work!
At 5:30, after a stormy sesssion of thoughts and zilch sleep, the alarm beeped. I made Bryan his cup of chocolate milk and headed out the door. The rain was a steady drizzle and I did not spend too much time wondering how cold it would be, as I stepped out to get wet. The first two kms made it seem like I was doing fine and then suddenly, I felt this slowdown; as if my muscles were being restrained. I realized then that it was the lack of sleep and my HR was high because of it. I finished a loop of 11K and headed home for a hot cup of Tea and some chappatis. Today, I'm going to feel tired at work!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Thundering hooves
I rose this morning even before my alarm went off, to the pleasant pitter-patter of rain drops. A quick cuppa and I was out the door. In the lobby I met my neighbour and even as I assumed he was back from his walk, I noticed that his Tee was crisp and starched. I brooded this in my cloudy state of mind and realized that the guy was a wimp and had just turned back after deciding not to walk in the rain. I guess the newspaper and a hot chai was more attractive. I then thought that I have been a bit harsh in judging him. Afterall, not many want to walk or run in the rain and perhaps their point of view that eating hot Bhajjias and drinking chai is a better buzz, may be the view held by a saner populace.
I shook these thoughts off as I had a lot on my mind and rued their misfortune in not experiencing a buzz, by running in a forest when its raining hard. I saw a monkey that has made an appearance over the last one week. He was sitting quietly on a culvert with his eyes darting around. He watched me zip by and didn't respond with any aggression. He has seen me doing this and perhaps feels he is better off having no truck with me. I ran a bit longer than I had planned because it felt bloody good. I was able to analyse and corroborate, on the run, what I'd always believed in; in life, nothing is as it seems. With such a philososphy, you avoid "being had". I clip-clopped back to my start point and smiled at Sohanlal who was waiting for me. I'd forgotten that he wanted some money for his travel to his native. I called him over to my place, handed him the amount, turned and walked back to the elevator. The truth, even if you expect it, is always bitter.
I shook these thoughts off as I had a lot on my mind and rued their misfortune in not experiencing a buzz, by running in a forest when its raining hard. I saw a monkey that has made an appearance over the last one week. He was sitting quietly on a culvert with his eyes darting around. He watched me zip by and didn't respond with any aggression. He has seen me doing this and perhaps feels he is better off having no truck with me. I ran a bit longer than I had planned because it felt bloody good. I was able to analyse and corroborate, on the run, what I'd always believed in; in life, nothing is as it seems. With such a philososphy, you avoid "being had". I clip-clopped back to my start point and smiled at Sohanlal who was waiting for me. I'd forgotten that he wanted some money for his travel to his native. I called him over to my place, handed him the amount, turned and walked back to the elevator. The truth, even if you expect it, is always bitter.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Tough weekend
Watching world cup football and running back-2-back runs took my breath away. On Saturday morning, I met the group for a run at Aarey and with just 3 hrs of sleep, I felt even two loops was ambitious. In fact, it turned out to be so for me. I did a walk-run in the last 4K, including the hill climb. My blood sugar was extremely low and I must have looked pretty beat up because Srinivas exclaimed that I was looking pale! The post-run chit-chat was fun with jokes and anecdotes. We must have rested and talked for more than an hour.
On reaching home, I quickly ate a decent breakfast and tried to sleep. My HR was high and I felt extreme exhaustion. An hour later I woke up to hunger pangs, ate lunch and went back to sleep. I felt refreshed in the evening but then there was the meetup with Ryan and Malcolm, with family at Bandra gym. We had a fine time eating only meat from a "world cup" menu, comprising spare-ribs, beef chilly, mutton chops, lolyypops, chicken crispy, etc. The rum did a lot to prevent inflamation ( :-)) in my leg muscles. It must have worked because the next day' run was a cake-walk. I reached home at mid-night and was out like a light.
I woke up at 5am feeling like I had eaten rust; my mouth felt wooly and sour. I dragged myself off the bed and quickly made a cuppa java. I had to meet Raj at 5:45 at Goregaon. I was not sure whether I would be able to run at all. It was nice meeting a large group of runners at National Park. I started out with Apurba and soon realized that my legs had recovered enough for me to zip along. I don't know how this could be! Yesterday, I was completely beat up and there was no way I could run this fast today. Does alcohol really help recovery?? I hope not; I don't need anymore encouragement:-)
On reaching home, I quickly ate a decent breakfast and tried to sleep. My HR was high and I felt extreme exhaustion. An hour later I woke up to hunger pangs, ate lunch and went back to sleep. I felt refreshed in the evening but then there was the meetup with Ryan and Malcolm, with family at Bandra gym. We had a fine time eating only meat from a "world cup" menu, comprising spare-ribs, beef chilly, mutton chops, lolyypops, chicken crispy, etc. The rum did a lot to prevent inflamation ( :-)) in my leg muscles. It must have worked because the next day' run was a cake-walk. I reached home at mid-night and was out like a light.
I woke up at 5am feeling like I had eaten rust; my mouth felt wooly and sour. I dragged myself off the bed and quickly made a cuppa java. I had to meet Raj at 5:45 at Goregaon. I was not sure whether I would be able to run at all. It was nice meeting a large group of runners at National Park. I started out with Apurba and soon realized that my legs had recovered enough for me to zip along. I don't know how this could be! Yesterday, I was completely beat up and there was no way I could run this fast today. Does alcohol really help recovery?? I hope not; I don't need anymore encouragement:-)
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