Runner's Log: 4 October 2010

Ah.  It has been a total washout in September.  The first two weeks were spent holidaying and coming back to a routine had just started when I was hit by a severe viral and flu.  This saw me on my back for almost a week and a half consuming pills of various shapes, sizes and strength.  I have been out for almost a month!!

I am better today and will be starting training again this week, albeit slowly.

Onward and upward.
S

Come September . . .

September started very well. I wanted to start running/walking with weights as well as delve more extensively into the core area. The schedule for September therefore looks somewhat like this: 
Monday: Walking/running with 6-8kg weights - easy pace 7-8km/hr - covering a distance between 13-15km (cross country course on the treadmill)
Tuesday: Warm up run of 4-5km - strength training - Wind down run, 2km
Wednesday: Repeat Monday routine
Thursday: Repeat Tuesday routine, warm up variant being cycling for 30 minutes
Friday: Easy paced run, covering a 20-25km distance
Saturday: Easy paced run. covering a 25-30km distance
Sunday: Rest
The weekly routine is accompanied by yoga and stretches, primarily for the back as well as exercises for the core, about 15-20 minutes to a session.
So against this plan, how did I stack up. I managed to run a little over 85km through the first week, about half of it with a back pack weighing about 7kg. The Friday and Saturday runs also went off nicely as planned, only I was running on a treadmill at a slight incline. The weather has been very inclement in Hyderabad with rainfall in the early morning and I am hoping it gets better this week onwards.
The second week was a washout totally as I was vacationing and out the whole week at a family wedding, a full 4-day affair!!! I will restart again today.
Nutrition during exercise comprises Hammer's Perpetuem or Sustained Energy as well as Endurolytes and my body is adapting to these quite well. Plus, water intake of about 2-3 litres during the training itself.
All told, the first fortnight has been a sort of one step forward and . . . Well, onward and upward.
More later.
S

The Overage Cynic

I was reading an article titled "Please don't cheer the loot-fest" by Chetan Bhagat in this morning's Times of India (couldn't locate the link, sorry).  In it, he argues for the boycott of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi by not "watching them . . . not going to the venues . . ." and so on.

Crap if I ever heard of anything.  It reminds me of the arguments propounded by some idiots a few years ago to boycott the purchase of petrol for a single day as a protest against rising fuel prices.  What those idiots did not realise is that the loss suffered on account of one day's missed sales will come back and bite us in the arse in the form of income taxes (or some surcharge) to help futher subsidise the three oil PSUs.  I had argued for an increase in petrol and diesel prices way back then but let me not digress. . .

As regards the CWG, a similar simplistic view point emerges before my eyes.  If the games do not make any (or even a little) money, who's going to be burdened for that further deficit.  I believe it will be the Indian citizen.

And whilst I am at it, this is also an appeal to the Times of India.  You are an almost crappy paper, saved by the writing of the likes of Messrs. Aiyar, Akbar and Dasgupta, from time to time.  Please do not waste print space on arm chair intellectuals like Bhagat.  At least, use the column inches to run a few ads.  You will make some money.

S

P.S. Am not advocating any solution, just ranting against Bhagat because I do not like him. So, there.

Runner's Log 31 July 2010

So this week was good training.  I ran a 25km circuit this morning across an interesting track - home all the way to a place called Lingampally with a turn and then onto a road that took me to the Vijaybhaskar Reddy Botanical Gardens.  Good weather and a fairly traffic free road for the most part helped a great deal.

Couple of points - the endurance levels are slowly increasing and I can feel it in terms of the distance I am able to cover without stopping for water or a breath break.  Secondly, the training tights are a real boon.  Thanks to CW-X, I do not feel uncomfortable running anymore.

So, in summary, I ran about 66km this week with a fair bit of strength and resistance training thrown in as well.

Music has been a brilliant companion - mostly rock and metal and songs themed around time and space.  Focused on running while listening to the music makes it more enjoyable.  I hardly notice the km slip by.

This coming week will be good as I will be testing an endurance fuel for continued use.   This will help me up the scale to an 80km/week level in all of August, patterned on a weekly 25-25-30 format.

More later

S

Runner's Log 24 July 2010

The last 10 days have been an on again - off again exercise.  Last Saturday, I managed to run about 29km, on what was a pretty straight road - from Home all the way to Lingampally MMTS, a quick u-turn and then upto the Vijayabhaskar Reddy botanical gardens in Kondapur.  The road was pretty much empty barring a few early morning travellers and buses.


During the week, I managed to run evenings Monday - Wednesday, clocking in about 44km so far, with a couple of days at the gym as well.  Have been off Thursday and Friday, which left me quite depressed and feeling like a sloth last night.  Running is a better high than caffeine and I go nuts without my weekly fix.


This morning has not started off well either.  It's been raining through the night and the roads are quite wet.  My usual haunt, KBR Park is also quite slushy and a bit slippery, so I gave the morning run a miss.  I am now looking forward to running later in the day, probably a short run of c20km or thereabouts, either in the open or on a treadmill.  Either way, need to get this sorted.


Next week onwards, the step up to an organised 70km per week starts in right earnest and I am confident of meeting that requirement properly.


Onwards and upwards, more later
S

The Concerts of My Livetime

Ok, so a friend of mine asked me what concerts I've attended. It set me thinking for a good day and since I was a little unoccupied, here goes. The most memorable concerts I’ve attended:

Uriah Heep - Chennai (this was in 1983 at IIT-M) and more recently in 2006 in Mumbai (review here)   Rush (30th Anniversary Tour) - Darien Lake PAC, NY (see ticket here and review here)  Eric Clapton - 2001, Los Angeles, CA   Iron Maiden - 2003, Madison Square Garden, NYC and more recently in Bangalore, IN in 2007 (the one I saw in Bangalore sucked a bit and I was saddened but well hey, "we will live to fight another day", eh)  Judas Priest - 2005, Darien Lake PAC, NY (review here)  Phish - 1998, Worcester, MA  Dream Theater - 2004, Madison Square Garden, NYC (review here)  Black Sabbath (1999 Reunion Tour with Ozzy Osbourne) - 1999, San Bernadino, CA  Dave Brubeck - 2005, Rochester, NY (review here)  Ozzy Osbourne and Korn - Ozzfest 2003 (Korn was pretty F-all)  Metallica - March 2004, San Francisco, CA  Queensryche - 2005, Darien Lake PAC, NY  John Lee Hooker - 1997, Chicago, IL  Buddy Guy - 1998, Chicago, IL and more recently Mumbai, IN (Good concert. Wifey and I loved it!!!)  Jean Luc Ponty - Bangalore, IN (forget year, played with LS)  Deep Purple - Bangalore, IN (forget year)  Pink Floyd - Bangalore, IN (forget year, smoked up at the show)  Scorpions - 2001, Bangalore, IN  Jethro Tull - 1998, Hammersmith Odeon, UK  Yes - 2002, Prague, CR  G3 - 2004, NYC (Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci and Neal Schon) (review here)  Ted Nugent - 2004, Rochester, NY  Journey/Foreigner (back to back) - 1997, Austin, TX  Doobie Brothers, Stevie Nicks - 2000, San Francisco, CA (This was a private party hosted by BankAm and the performance was a blast!!!)   Chick Corea - 2005, Rochester, NY   John Scofield - 2005, Rochester, NY   Zappa Plays Zappa - 2006, Royal Albert Hall, London (review here)   Remember Shakti - 2006, Mumbai, IN (complete and total balls up without parachutes is how I summarise this one - saving grace were Ustad Zakir Hussain and John McLaughlin. Selva Ganesh, welcome addition as was Mandolin Srinivas. Shankar Mahadevan was a disaster vocally, why oh why?)   Alan Parsons Project, 2007, Mumbai IN (review here)   Walter Trout and the Radicals - 2007, Mumbai, IN (review here)   Ustad Zakir Hussain and Ustad Sultan Khan - 2007, Mumbai (review here).   I enjoyed every one of these but the ones that stand out are Zappa, Rush, Clapton, Phish, Sabbath, Dream Theater, Brubeck and Hooker (in no order).

An Evening With Slain: HRC Hyderabad

Last evening found me at the Hard Rock Cafe, Hyderabad out for a late evening of fun. When I got there I did not expect to find a live gig slated for performance. The band was Bangalore-based Slain and you can find more about them here.

I ordered my customary evening drink when I am at a low-mid budget place - Vodka with soda and sprite (yeah I know, but except for the Dublin at the ITC Kakatiya and the Seasons Bar at the Taj Krishna, the rest of the places serve absolute swill in the name of single malt, I mean I would not even serve house guests some of the stuff that they carry on their shelves) together with an order of plain olives and the HRC bruschetta.

The bartender excitedly gave me a rundown about Slain and their opening for Maiden last year in Bangalore and I was like - yeah, ok we may have a show here. First track started off at 9.30 PM, accompanied by the yells and catcalls of the (under-the -circumstances) "mosh pit" crowd - a few dozen teeangers, some of whom were of indeterminate sex (and no, I was not drunk by then!!)

My impressions: Terrific fucking bass - I could not hear the hear it at first and then I sent a message across to the console to have them check the audio. The bassist, Naresh I think his name was, rocked - both on Slain's own compositions and on the covers (usual Bon Jovi, couple of Metallica and some other group I cannot remember). Loved the bass on Metallica's Enter Sandman (that has now got to be among the most ass-whipped song for today's metal bands, toppling GnR's Sweet Child o' Mine ;-) ). Anyways, not to digress, tight bass - I loved it.

Vocals: Bad. Come on man, you are influenced by several metal leads and trying to play catch up. And please do not try (what sounded to me like) a Dee Snyder-Bruce Dickenson combo, it failed to impress.

Percussion: I liked the solo bit with the keyboards accompanying it (well, admittedly, it was a very very pale version of Portnoy-Rudess, but wtf some musicians having fun, am only to happy to play along), which gave me an opportunity to appreciate the drummer. My sole gripe was on the main tracks, he was playing a laid out structure from the album track. Come on guys, that's the whole fucking point of a live gig, you are not bound by studio rules or time-to-track and all that shit. Improv a little, explore a bit - do a double hand ride or a cymbal ride or experiment a bit more with the time signatures - don't just stick with a thrash version of the ādi tālam or staccatto beats that only sound good when Lar Ulrich or Tico Torres play them.

Leads: Twin leads and both quite decent. I briefly chatted with one of the leads, Manek at half time and asked him if they would consider playing Dream Theater (after all they had the line up - leads, bass, keyboard and percussion) but he was like hmmm, lotta effort man, we play the usual covers y'know. Hmm, Ok. Just see what I said to the drummer - "improv man, improv on a live gig. You have all licence."

Keyboard: Not much to say, kept tinkling in the background and I could only hear one full piece on the accompaniment with the drum solo.

All in all, a performance garnering five and a half to six points (including a point and three quarters for onstage energy), on a ten scale. Slain are releasing a debut album sometime in August. Decent talent but a long way to go.

Cheers
S

Runner's Log - 14 July 2010

It's been almost over a month.  The last fortnight was not upto my liking.  I was ill for the most part and travelling severally so I could not keep to a schedule.  I did manage to run one long distance (25 plus km) in Bangalore which I quite enjoyed - all the way from the Forum Mall in Whitefield to Cubbon Park, off MG Road in the heart of the city.  It is one straight road (well, almost - if you were to excuse the mild curvature off Old Airport Road through to Trinity Circle).  I also bumped into a friend I had not met for almost 6-7 years during the run (he was coming opposite ways) and reconnected with him just today.  Felt good.

Recovered just two days ago from a week long spell of indigestion and general lethargy.  At the gym on Monday, struggled with the exercises and was feeling a bit giddy so I sort of took it easy.  I have a practice run coming up later this evening, roughly 12-15km so let's see what that does for me.

This week promises to be exciting - two long runs  and some fascinating yoga exercises.  Hmmm!!!

More later
S

England vs. Germany, 27 June 2010

Watched the game between England and Germany last night.  The game was a disappointment for me at various levels.

In the first place, what should have been a final clash was advanced to Stage 2.  For this, I am sorely upset with England - having seen them play like a bunch of bumblers in their Group.  If England had topped their group, it would have meant they would be advancing from the left-hand side of the grid (see here)

Being an avid follower of the EPL (and rooting for the “Gunners” there), my natural choice of team to support would have been England, or so my heart said.  My head said, Germany - because of the way I had seen them play in the group stages and for the evident fact that they had practised well with the new Jabulani ball - a key feature being its weight is almost in the higher end of the FIFA approved spectrum - they knew how to make the ball work for them.  I went with my head ahead of the game and was rooting for Germany.

The game itself was a second disappointment.  I have never seen a more inept English side, fumbling to take control and retain possession of the ball at critical moments.  The German side was simply brilliant, their passing and mechanical teamwork evident in the way they got past the English defences time and again.  It’s been proven again that the football played on the “other side of the pond” is certainly a couple of notches ahead of the EPL.  The EPL is for a bunch of overgrown schoolkids who've never really outgrown their knickers.

Finally, the third disappointment - Lampard’s “not-a-goal”.  FIFA has this to say and this as well and I politely disagree.  Take other games (read, Cricket primarily), they clearly appreciate and recognise the need for video technology, especially in crucial games such as these.  Whilst it helped Germany, it was unsportsmanlike.

I would like to believe that if England had been given the equaliser (on Lampard), the course of the game could have been altered and would not have been the linear 4-2 victory for Germany as pundits predicted.  For all we know, it could have been an English romp home but hey the cookie crumbled differently last night.

In other news Argentina beat Mexico 3:1 to set up a quarter-final clash with Germany.  Again, an outcome I am disappointed about as this is a potentially classic semi-final stand-off.  As I can't have every game play out my way,  I take solace in the fact that there is a great game ahead to watch next weekend.

Cheers

S

Runner's Log 19 June 2010

This last fortnight was very good for me training wise. I have been running on alternate days, averaging between 15-18km on the weekdays and over 20km on the Saturday runs. The idea is to continue to build “distance-endurance” and therefore I am currently not too concerned about speed. The running highlights of the fortnight were two “long” runs.

The first was in Bangalore, last week. My route was Home (Koramangala 1st block)-Koramangala Inner Ring Road-Domlur-Command Hospital-Trinity Circle-MG/Cubbon Road-Chinnaswamy Stadium-Cubbon Park-Church Street-Vellara Junction-Johnson Market-Adugodi Signal-Forum Mall-St. John's Medical College-Sarjapur Road-Aishwarya Departmental Stores-Home, a total distance of c21.73km in a little over two hours.


The second was this morning, in Hyderabad. My route was Home (Road No. 14)-Jagannath Puri temple-Road No. 45-State Gallery of Fine Arts-Inorbit Mall-Hitech City Main Road-Mumbai Road-Gachibowli-Miyapur Road-Botanical Gardens-Kothaguda-Shilparamam-Hitech City Road-Road # 36-Jubilee Hills Check Post-KBR park periphery-Home, a total distance of c29.2 km in a little under three hours.


This morning’s run was a bit more tiring than usual, primarily because (a) I was running a distance greater than 25km after a very long time, (b) zero electrolyte replacement during the run leading to a higher fatigue level and quicker burnout (mistake, I know), and (c) it was a new route for me and the road undulates like crazy at several points during the run. My hamstrings and buttocks are still sore ;-).


On the electrolytes, am waiting for the Endurolyte shipments to arrive next month, which should definitely help up the game a few notches. As for the route itself, I had driven with Atri yesterday AM and scoped the entire route I was planning to take. I recently purchased a Garmin unit, the Oregon 550 and used it to create the track with all waypoints and so on and so forth marked up. It rained quite heavily last night and the roads were wet or still water logged, so I did get a bit drenched what with the oncoming lorries spraying water on the roadsides - a definite mood dampener. All told, an experience of a kind, ha!


I have also been able to work out at the gym regularly, currently concentrating on my core, back and shoulders. It’s strange because I’ve never really appreciated resistance and strength training but I can see the benefits, having practised this for a little over a month now. The results are slowly but surely beginning to show in my running. The endurance levels are slowly improving and I am able to maintain a steady 8-9kmph pace for over two hours, without any major pain in the hamstrings, glutes or lower back.


This upcoming fortnight, I intend to add a bit of yogā and prānāyāmā to the routine. The yogā should help strengthen the back and spine and the prānāyāmā will help cool the body during the workouts.

This evening, I intend to celebrate a bit on completing the first 25km after many many months.  Nandita and I are going out to watch the ongoing FIFA world cup at a local sports bar and I'll probably have a few beers to mark this milestone.


Will write again soon. Onward and upward. . .
Cheers
S

Runner's Log 6 June 2010

It's been a great fortnight.  I have managed to run only 100km but have been able to increase my endurance levels a good notch upwards.  Also, something new for me, long runs inside - on the treadmill with a fair degree of incline - have enabled me to complete a gruelling 15m hill run yesterday, one which was quite a steep climb.

I've also started weight and resistance training - for the back and core primarily and for the chest and arms as a supplement - preparation for running with an 8-10kg backpack ;-).  Soon, I hope to be able to start running with 3-5 kilos strapped on to my back.  I can feel my core getting stronger slowly and steadily and the plank exercises have helped in great measure.

Monsoon's coming to Hyderabad, so most of the training for the next month or two will mainly be indoors. Am also looking forward, post monsoons, to a testing out a new pair of shoes - the Roclite 318GTX - as these will be my running pair for the main event.

The upcoming week promises to be exciting. . .  Have a 10 mile tomorrow, followed by some core work.  Travel mid week so the chance to run elsewhere for a good distance along a new route, although I do not much appreciate the street dogs that keep chasing me in Bangalore in the early hours of the morning.

Anyways, will post an update next week or so.

Cheers

S

Runner's Log 23 May 2010

Woke up yesterday at 4:00 AM to get ready for the first of many long runs.  The course I am training on is not high altitude - Hyderabad is situated a little under 1,800 feet above sea level - and is called the Kasu Brahmananda Reddy Park (you can google it) or KBR Park as the locals know it by.  The park has two tracks, the first is the outer track runs along its circumference and the second "inner" track.  The tracks have been created by breaking through rock.  The inner track is for the early morning walkers and is relatively flat and almost mundane to run on.  So. . .

I prefer the outer track for two reasons, first - its less crowded (especially at 4.30 AM!!!) and second and more importantly - it is almost like a mini trail that goes up and down, undulates and winds about quite a bit.  The distance, measured end-to-end is 10.4 km (if one starts at the main entrance opposite the TDP office, goes all the way up to the Jubilee Hills end and back again, it's roughly 8.2 km plus another 2.2 km on the other side).  A run anywhere between 12-15 km on this course is great for improving endurance - I've been able to knock off 30-45 seconds per km on a 1/2 M, running on plain tarmac after running here.

The running kit comprised a light running tee and shorts made of moisture wicking fabric (essential as morning temperature gets to about 28-30 C by 5.30 AM and climbs rapidly thereafter to about 35C by 7 AM). Shoes were my trusty Reebok Premium Running DMX Shear - It's everything Reebok has advertised.  I have been using these for over five years now and find them to be the best for long distance road runs with a little bit of light trail running thrown in as well.  Speed, distance, time, heart rate et al measured by another old faithful of many years - the Polar RS 400.  And for company, an iPod nano with some rock tunes.  Hydration comprised two bottles of water (one fortified with concentrated lemon juice) which I carried with me through the run and sipped off frequently.

There's two places I dread crossing on the track - the first is sort of diagonally opposite the Puri Jagannath temple at Road 12 which is a series of 50-60 steps at a steep incline.  This crossing takes my heart rate up from a stable 145-150 to nearly 180 in a span of 30-40 seconds, phew!!! The second is a cement stairwell that comes up a little ahead of Road No. 45 which has  a similar effect on my heart rate.  For those runners who are familiar with South Bombay, the uphill climb on Peddar Road near Jaslok Hospital and the closely following Kemps Corners flyover are a picnic - they start gradually and are not really in-your-face like the two I described here.  That said, there's a real sense of achievement completing these two sharp stretches and soldiering on.

The scenery is not much to brag about but includes some small stretches of frangipani and some lush greenery that I quite like, its the closest I come to running through a trail.  I finished the first 10 km lap in 1 hr 6 minutes (including a warm up walk of about 1/2 km) and was feeling a little numb but thought I'd push myself for the next lap which I completed in 48 minutes flat taking overall time to less than 2 hours.  Was surprised by a bonus - Iron Maiden's "Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner" and Metallica's "Orion" randomly looped twice on the run.  Ha!

Dead beat after this run, so stretched for nearly 20-25 minutes before I headed back home. Feet held up well although the hamstring muscles were a little chaffed but recovered well overnight.  My biggest fear was losing my toe nails again (they've chipped off and regrown over the years and there's always that irritation when the nail's busted and the underpart is exposed).  Anyways, will start taping my feet soon on the longer runs.

Today was relatively simple - a 4 km run at 10 km/hr pace followed by 10 minutes of cycling at the gym followed by an hour of stretches and yoga for the back and core.  Worked out indoors and was spared the heat and dust.

Plan to run another 16-18 km tomorrow to make the most of the early morning hot weather before the monsoons set in Hyderabad.

Cheers
S

Its (T)raining again. . .

Started proper training yesterday for yet another of my runs.  Ran about 17km in under 2 hours.  Good to know I have not lost touch (yet)!!!  Thankfully no blisters.  The route remains the same - KBR park's outer running track.  Temperature in the AM is about 27-28C while it gets to about 38-40C in the evenings. 

Note to self:  Need more hydration and electrolytes. 

More later.

So What Do I Do Now?

Firstly, thanks for all the private mails from the few people who stayed in touch this last one year. I quit my earlier employment in the mining sector in June 2009 and more recently joined a group of social entrepreneurs, based out of Hyderabad. We work with rural agricultural cooperatives across the State of Andhra Pradesh - no, we are NOT a microfinance institution.

What we do is provide last mile services to members of these agricultural cooperatives, i.e. the farmers and other members in the areas of banking, insurance and agri-procurement. We help them obtain credit - for their cropping season, Rabi or Kharif or to buy farm equipment. We help them secure insurance for themselves, to protect their crops from weather and for their farm equipment. We help them sell their produce in a timely manner for a fair price and more importantly ensure they receive their money within 2-3 days of the sale.

The Indian government has also established the regulatory framework that enables organisations such as ours to work for rural upliftment through these and other mechanisms. It is a highly satisfying experience and one that I am enjoying. The smiles of satisfied farmers says a lot about our teams and the work we collectively do.

On the personal side, I spend more time with Atri (work is not too rushed and I rarely travel like I earlier used to). I also run a lot these days, averaging 80-100 km on a good week and between 60-70 km on others.

Signing off on this one with the Farmer's Song by Neil Young.

More later
S

In the interim. . .

Short post. Have been off blogging for a while as we had a son early December 2008. Life has revolved around Atri completely and I've had to reprioritise my likes and things I wanted to do to ensure I have enough time to be a good father. Here's a short snap of the three of us (Nandita, Atri and I) at a recent vacation in Kerala. As always, Atri evinces a strong fascination for cutlery of the pokey variety. . .

Our House

Woke up at 3.45 this morning with the tune of "Our House" ringing in my head. CSN remains one of my all time faves and so here goes "Our House".

I'll light the fire
You place the flowers in the vase
That you bought today

Staring at the fire
For hours and hours
While I listen to you
Play your love songs
All night long for me
Only for me

Come to me now
And rest your head for just five minutes
Everything is done

Such a cozy room
The windows are illuminated
By the evening sunshine through them
Fiery gems for you
Only for you

Our house is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy
'Cause of you
And our
la la lala la la la lala la la lala lala la lala lala lala la la lala la la la la la
la la lala la la la lala la la lala lala la lala lala la lala

Our house is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy
'Cause of you
And our

I'll light the fire
While you place the flowers in the vase
That you bought today

Back after a year and a half (well almost!!)

OK, the hiatus is over. Once again, have shifted jobs and industries. Working with some people in social entrepreneurship in the area of rural cooperatives these days. More on this later.