Quo Vadis?

(Disclaimer: After a long break I have used a style of some random incidents tied by a thin thread in a post again.  If you do not find any thread, then it is an unconnected random post.) Irom Sharmila or the Iron Woman of Manipur is homeless and friendless now that she has decided to give up her fast of 16 years. Apparently the government which was force feeding her through that nasal tube is also no longer interested in looking after her.  For a lady who was deemed as an international icon it is shocking that she is now unwanted. Why did public opinion change so fast? Why can a lady who was selfless not choose to focus on herself? If she has conceded defeat in her fight is this the way losers are treated? This constant focus on winning and disparaging the losers is now becoming the favourite armchair sport of the day especially since the Olympics is into its 5 th day today. After all the expectations when we see India losing people are now trolling, abusing, moc...

Dear New Runner, Let me congratulate you for making the decision to run. You may have taken this decision for various reasons but the usual and most popular one of losing weight is a good reason and it will surely make this extra effort of yours fruitful. However please remember that there are no quick fix solutions and you will lose weight gradually over a period of time with sustained effort. Y ou have decided to run and you may have joined one of the many mushrooming running groups across the city and one day you have actually joined them for a run.Hey congratulations on getting so far!!! Make no mistake that the most important activity of a running group is simply that, "running" everything else if not related to running are avoidable diversions. Here you must keep in mind that cross training and core strengthening activities are crucial to running. By now you must be wondering at the new terms that have come up and chances are if you are in a running group yo...

Yesterday I became another year older and hopefully a little wiser than the same time last year. Yesterday was also the second day of my restarted running journey after a long break. Running has given me a lot in the last 12 months and the break managed to undo some of the good; therefore it was good to get back. I run because it is therapeutic almost meditative, a run can start off with self- doubts, negative thoughts, some aches and pains but slowly the body starts cooperating with the will and after some time the mind takes over and the body starts to move in auto pilot mode. I run early in the morning when the clean air and the cool breeze helps to get into this state faster though sometimes the sapping humidity can delay it. This state when I feel I am in “the zone” helps me to think clearly after I manage to empty my mind of its clutter. I meditate at times, plan my day or just soak in the moment while burning calories and holding a conversation with the fellow runners...

It's going to be a year since I took a first step towards fitness. It was in the beginning of March 2014 that I started walking & slowly moved on to running inside my neighbourhood park. Thanks to the internet I landed on the Chennai Runners page on Facebook & so on April 2nd 2014 I joined a group of runners and started running regularly. From a barely 3km initial run, I started doing longer runs and decided that by December 2014 I will do a 10km in TWCM & lose some weight. I ticked both those boxes earlier than I thought. By December I had completed 2 half marathons & lost 14kgs weight. A lot of people helped me in this effort but Venu Sir who guided me initially & George who trained me on the basics of better running stand out. I will always be grateful to them. Another person who helped me run was Lakshmi who trained with me under George & slowly we ran together & still do. A running buddy can be a great support for new comers & the high ...

The story of my second race. I completed my second half marathon yesterday. This was part of the Chennai Trail Marathon 2014 held near the Chembarambakkam lake. This event is different from other marathons because it is a trail marathon and by trail it means you run where there may be no road just a trail. Having signed up for this run, I was determined to train for it and I managed to complete a 21 two weeks before the event. As it was a LSD I was not looking at the time;  I did a strong first half and took it easy on the return, however I felt that I was in good form for CTM despite never running on the trail before. Few of the others in my team had done a practice run on the route earlier but I missed it for various reasons. Work and travel ensured that my training took a backseat and then when I least expected it I got a viral infection that forced me to rest just before the run. So on the eve of the run I was out of practice and the illness had left me drained. ...

One look at the profile pic and you will know what is to follow. However it is a story that merits a telling, so here goes… After just three months of running and a rather ambitious decision to run a half marathon I was having a lot of self- doubt s on the eve of the race. There were only two objectives for the next day:  1. To complete the race  2. To complete within three hours Simple as they may sound, for a beginner like me who had only done 17 kms as the highest distance in the three months and with no previous race experience this was a sizeable challenge. My excessive weight, weak knee, a history of a slipped disc were some of the deterrents from my running but having run for three months I wanted to challenge myself. Another minor detail was my dislike of running by the beach, in my limited experience the route by the beach tends to be more humid than the routes I am used to running regularly. However there was a bridge to be crossed and I decided to c...