Running #29, 30

#29
Distance: 8 km
Time: 47 min 57 sec

#30
Distance: 9.5 km
Time: 54 min 51 sec

Catching Up

I haven't posted here in the longest time and I've missed being here. It's busy working independently and I'm still enjoying it.

Apart from work, I've started playing tennis at the MSLTA which is close to home on some evenings. My friends and me really suck at it, but it's good to get the adrenaline pumping in the evenings for a change also.

The running is fun as always. I've started interval running with this enthu bunch of runners at PDP on Wednesday mornings. I haven't posted my latest running times here so I'll have to catch up on that too. Gymming is on in the mornings as well so my day always starts off with an endorphin rush. :) I'm also back to playing football.

I'm going through this phase in my life where I'm ready to play almost any sport. (I don't consider chess and carrom-like games "sport".) I'm dying to play frisbee with someone! I love playing frisbee! I could do it for hours. It's a trance-like activity. Meditative at some level if you're playing with someone who's decent. Any frisbee enthusiasts out there? Hello???

I've all this energy suddenly these days that I don't know what to do with it sometimes. I've even been called an "Energizer-bunny"!

I'll Never Get Over You

This is one of my favourite songs ever from the 'Garden State' movie soundtrack. It's called 'I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You' by Colin Hay.

I'm taking the song out of its romantic context and dedicating this to my father who passed on in June 2006. We had a puja (prayer ceremony) for him the other day commemorate the anniversary of his passing last week (according to the Hindu calendar).

Listen to the song if you've the time. If you've loved and lost someone, the lyrics, the guitar strums and the sad musical strains will touch you. Not in a bad way, but in a sad yet beautifully ironic way.

I hope you like it. Here is the video along with the lyrics. (There's a couple lines in the song that are inappropriate for the context I've chosen, for Papa, the one about being asked to dinner and the line after.)




I just watched it and it's brought me, nearly, to tears. Love you, Papa. Wherever you are, some of you will always be with me.

Going Guerilla

Aside
A bunch of my friends and I went out to Khopoli (a place about 50 km away from Mumbai) to a friend's farmhouse last Saturday.

It was beautiful! Cool, surrounded by lush greenery and the bungalow was on the banks of a smallish river.

After we loaded up on vada paos and poha, we got ourselves our favourite drinks, mine is a vodka tonic loaded with ice, and goofed around in the bungalow.

Then we went swimming in the river! It was so much fun!!! Rocky, strong current, slippery and mossy, shallow. We had get down on all fours to get through some parts. There was this one moment when I got swept away by the current and took another friend down with me. I swear, we could've died if our heads had hit one of those rocks at that speed. But we came away almost unscathed, with a few cuts and bruises. One of THE scariest experiences of my life. I thought I was gone for a second. I guess that wasn't to be, I'm here writing this post. :)

In other news, I've started playing football again. Went to join my buddies this morning and it was just superb being out there, running in the muck and rain, shouting and screaming... I felt like I was back in school. I think that's one of the small reasons that keeps me going back. We're not like a professional or even amateur team or anything. We practice and play for the love of the game and to stay fit. The coach and the gang we happy to have me back. It felt like going back to family. Fabulous!

Main Story:
Besides football, I've been crazy busy getting my little company going. Thinking of names, logos, bank accounts, meeting potential clients and doing a bit of running around to get it off the ground. I might have to hire a couple writers soon. Let's see.

I already have a project I'm working on and it's quite exciting. So I'm enjoying that.

Going independent has been a great experience until now. I just feel like I'm able to express myself through my work so so much more. It's like breaking the shackles. Honest to god, I don't know how this venture will shape up. But I'm dedicating my effort to Papa who sadly isn't with us, Amma, my grandparents and to another special person.

I'm going to give this everything I've got, my best and will leave the rest to destiny. I'm not scared of not making it. If there's anything I'm scared of, it's not giving my best.

I'm going guerilla.

Running #26, 27 and 28

#26
Distance: 8 km
Time: 48 min 6 sec

#27
Distance: 8 km (My stopwatch got busted, more about that later)
Time: ?

#28
Distance: 8 km
Time: ? (same reason)

Running #24 and 25

# 24 Tuesday's Run:
Distance: 8 km
Time: 48 min 52 sec

I've decided not to think about the timing on my runs any more. I just want to enjoy my runs like I used to earlier. I've started obsessing over the timing and have struggled to accept the slower times I've been running since stopping the protein supplements.

I think I'm finally over both. This run was nice. Relaxed and easy. I don't have a runner's build. I've heavy bones. Most people can't believe I weigh 72 kgs. I don't look it at my height.

#25 Today's Run:
Distance: Unknown (13 km approx)
Time: 1 hr 17 min 42 sec

Outdoor. One of the most beautiful runs I've ever done. I ran with a couple of friends from the gym and we charted out a nice fun route.

Started at Marine Plaza Hotel on Marine Drive - Chowpatty - turned right at Kulfi Centre towards Opera House - then over Kennedy Bridge - Cumballa Hill - up the Hanging Gardens road up to Walkeshwar - down Walkeshwar back to Chowpatty and then back to Marine Plaza.

The weather was perfect. Overcast, windy and very few people out on the roads in the early morning. The most magical moment - the rain beginning to pour down as we struggled on the uphill past the Tower of Silence on the Hanging Garden road. The road is beautiful even without the rains, trees bending over the street to form a beautiful canopy with gaps just big enough to let a few rays of light through. And when it rains! Ohhhh!!! The smell was trippy.

There were moments during the run when I was in a trance, I had forgotten myself as I took in the sights, the smell of the wet earth and the cool rain hitting my face as we pounded away on the streets. I wish you were there.

P.S. Haathi, next time you're in town, get your running shoes! Mee, you're welcome to join the running group! :) So is anybody else! If anyone in Mumbai City wants to join us running on Saturday mornings, do let me know. Cheers!

A Life is Lived in an Instant

Just came across this super article about how life must be lived for the now. I often balk at these modern ideas of retiring at 40 and early retirement to move to this fancy house on the beach you've built for yourself.

40 is too late. What if I don't make it to 40? I don't mean to be fatalistic but it's a possibility. It's a lot of thoughts like this that have changed the way I live my life. I live for the "now". Earlier, I would spend hours and hours thinking about whether I should say something to someone, labour over how the other person would react, what the other person would think of me if I said what I wanted to and all kinds of other useless thoughts. Today I ask myself one question, 'If I were to die the next moment, would I say/do what I wanted to?'. The answer isn't always yes. But it makes my life a lot simpler. No doubt, there are times when I look back and think how stupid it was to say or do what I did, but people make mistakes. I try and learn from them. No regrets.

I'll shut up now. Go read.

The Hike

Fog, hills blanketed by green trees, waterfalls, a lot of sweat and heat, welcome drops of rain, yummy choco-chip cookies at the summit, slippery rocks, helping folks climb up/down, simple, beautiful village people, the gurgling stream, great company...

What an unforgettable Sunday.

Exercise Ideas

Now that I've quit my job, I'm going to have more time in the early mornings.

One of the things I'm definitely going to do is start swimming again. I went for a swim this morning and it felt great! There was only one other person in the pool, I got a nice big wide lane and I gave it a good go considering I was swimming swimming (that's intentional, like properly swimming) after a long time.

60 lengths of a 25-metre pool was fun. And not too tiring either. (I took three brief 1-minute stops after a set of 20 lengths. 40 freestyle and 20 breast-stroke.) I've really missed swimming and it felt so good to back in a pool again. Besides, it's great to cross-train with running.

Another thing I'm going to do is get me a cycle. One of the little things that annoyed me about my job was the amount of fuel I'd have to burn to get to work everyday. (I drive about 56 kms a day right now.) Contributing to pollution, global warming and all that. It may seem stupid to you but it was this little thing always sat at the back of my head.

So anyway, once I get my cycle, I'm going to try and cycle short distances. I stay eco-friendly and I get exercise.

On a completely different note, I think I've got the soul of a hippy. Sometimes, I think I belong a world that wasn't so fast. Like my parents' generation or something. Blues and jazz, people had time for each other, idealism, romance. It all sounds like a dream now. Everything is so fast. The food, relationships, dating, cars, reading, work, deadlines. Where are we going in such a hurry?

Running #23

Today's Run:
Distance: 8 km
Time: 47 min 9 sec

Outdoor. Tiring. But I feel good now.

I'm not quite sure why the outdoor runs are taking longer. The wind or weather? or do treadmills make it easier? Not sure. Either way, I'd like to work on getting better times. I hope they improve with practice.

The Secret

I was rained in yesterday so I decided to watch 'The Secret' movie.

I'd read about the law of attraction a little earlier but the movie was quite interesting. I'm not entirely convinced about it, but it has certainly got me thinking.

Basically, the movie/book says that you attract whatever happens to you with your thoughts. So if you're thinking of good things happening, chances are that they will happen. Likewise with bad stuff. What you "feel" is feedback on your thoughts.

Another very interesting point in the movie was that we should focus more on asserting what we want rather than thinking about things that we do not want. For example, instead of thinking 'I don't want to get stuck in a jam today.', I could probably think 'I'd like my ride to work to be smooth and quick.'

Why am I not fully convinced about all this? Mmm... I think my main question is what about all the people who think good things will happen to them or want good things to happen to them and they never happen. For some people, it could be earning lots of money. For others, it could be a dream holiday. I don't know. What about all those people?

My counter-question to my doubt is 'How do I know exactly what all those other people were thinking? Suppose they were just saying it on the outside but had some negative thoughts in their heads?'

The solution to this is to experiment with this Secret thing myself. I haven't really paid attention to my thoughts like this. But let's see how it goes. I think it's worth a shot.

Do you have any thoughts on The Secret? Have you experimented with it?

Time for Change

After a year, it is with great sorrow (okay, too much drama) that I move to a new gym. A few factors that played a part in this decision:

1. The new gym has a swimming pool so I don't have to go all the way to the other side of town just for a swim.
2. It has a nice garden view from all parts of the gym so that's a really refreshing change from the old one.
3. I've quit my job to work on my own so I'm expecting a financial hit in the first few months that I'm on my own. The gym that I go to now is crazy expensive but very good and walking distance from my home. Moving gyms will save me around 15-17 k a year so it's totally worth it right now. I can take the various routines I've learnt over the past year and use them at the new gym I guess.

I'm sad because the instructors at the current gym are good and are nice folks and I know the early morning regulars now. I guess breaking any routine is a small challenge.

But I have a good feeling about the new place too. Hope it works out.

Running #22

Tuesday's Run:
Distance: 8 km
Time: Sub-45 min

Indoor, but I couldn't get the time right because I had to switch treadmills after 1 km. The one I was on sounded like it was working out harder than me.

Time for the Outdoors!

Prabalgad

After many months of waiting, it's finally here. The monsoons and trekking season! I'm not much of a trekker but I really love being outdoors in the rain.

Hilly landscapes covered in every imaginable shade of green all looking so clean and fresh, waking up early on Sunday morning to a calm, quiet Mumbai, the picturesque ride, and best of all, walking up the hillsides through the gleaming streams as they bubble and chatter away over rocks and stones.

Mountains, fog and trees uninterrupted by human intrusions are a sight for sore urban eyes. I could spend hours just looking into the distance from the edge of a mountain, just losing myself in the scenery. I really need a nice rainy trek.

I think we are closest to ourselves, when we are close to Nature.

I'm off to Prabalgad Fort this Sunday. Really excited! :)

Running #21

Today's Run:
Distance: 8 km
Time: 44 min 31 sec

Indoor. The best time I've done in a while but I haven't been working out regularly so that's been at the back of my mind. It's a bit annoying. I feel lazy and lethargic when I don't go out exercising. Bleah! I've slacked a little on the exercise routines because I've been staying up late to watch the Euro '08 football matches. Thankfully it's getting over on Sunday. Looking forward to the weekend.

Tinkering

I spent a good part of yesterday tinkering on the Internet. Here's what I discovered through my Internet guru, Mandar:

1. Foxmarks: If you use Mozilla, you can save your Bookmarks (a.k.a. Favorites for IE users) online using Foxmarks. What that means is that you can import your bookmarked links from your office computer to any other computer (or vice-versa) without having to visit any of the many many bookmarked links again. Basically, you're Bookmarks are accessible no matter which computer you work on. Such a boon! Sorry if you're already familiar with this stuff, I'm a bit of a novice here.

2. Del.icio.us: A great place to post links that are interesting, but may not be bookmark-worthy. Again, very very useful.

3. RSS Feeds: I finally understood, somewhat, RSS feeds and how I could use them. I'm currently experimenting with an RSS feed from the BBC Football website. You can see it in the column on the right below the hit counter. Quite interesting.

I am also a recent convert to Firefox and I love it! Three cheers for Firefox 3! :)

In Bruges

Watched In Bruges twice in two days and I loved it both times!

I love British humour! Understated, caustic and stinging.

It's a dark, completely mental and hilarious movie with a bit of blood, gore and expletives thrown into the mix. Brilliant!

Two hit-men. One gay, the other with the brain of a 5-year-old. The gang leader, Harry, who calls his wife "an inanimate fuckin' object", a Russian gun-runner, Yuri, who calls dum-dums dim-dims, a racist midget (the same one from Death at a Funeral!!!) on ketamine... the list is endless.

The beauty of the movie is that it comes across as idiotic. But beneath the surface, there is a lot of serious thought, wit and darkness.

Please do watch! Blood, gore and expletives notwithstanding. DO NOT miss the last few dialogues of the movie!

P.S. There was this stupid teeny-bopper who actually cried at the end of the movie! The world never ceases to amaze.

Running #20

Last Thursday's Run:
Distance: 8 km
Time: 48 min 30 sec

Outdoor. That's all I remember of it.

Running #19

Today's Run:
Distance: 8 km
Time: 45 min 34 sec

Indoor. Inspired.

The right tracks playing at the gym, a longish rest and general feel-good factor all sort of came together to help me run this time. I don't know if I'll be able to match this on an outdoor. We'll see.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Apparently, the Internet is changing the way we think. And they may be right.

Read more about it here.

Link via: Inkscrawl