Dhammonia

China by John Keay...

2012-01-21T05:36:00.000-08:00

...was added to the now almost static collection, courtesy of a coupon from Crossword due to some prize I won while running! Yeah, now you get book coupons while running!

Now to go and read it

Books read & other interesting things on my train trip to Mumbai

2012-01-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, fine, I didn't exactly read The Burma Chronicles by Guy DeLisle on the train but while I was packing, but WTH... It is a lovely read and has great sketching. I recommend it strongly and will give Vaish a hug for lending her book to me.

I also managed to read (on the train) The map that changed the world by Simon Winchester (who is now amongst my favourite authors) about William Smith, whose incredible story is inspiring, funny, poignant by turns. For someone who realized geology can be so interesting only due to the attention bestowed on it by Bill Bryson in his book, William Smith's story is an eye-opener. Fantastic read.

Am also finishing Adil Jussawalla's Trying to Say Goodbye (poetry collection) thanks to my man, Jerry, who got me a signed copy (Woo hoo!). Nice read if you like poetry. Nice read, even if you don't. Not a bad book to start reading poetry anyways.

And finally, Six Impossible Things before Breakfast by Lewis Wolpert moves off my "Books I am currently reading" list after spending some two years on it! Extremely smooth writing and convincing arguments by the author. Must read! For those who find Dawkins' a little too in-your-face and hence perhaps not very readable, Wolpert presents a much smoother & hence better digestible stance on why we believe what we believe, how we develop those beliefs, etc.

I guess one of the cooler experiences on this trip was to meet this 60-yr old priest who solves the Rubik's cube in less than 3 minutes on my way back. He gave multiple demos of the same :) And he is quite tech-savvy too.

Now, to finish off the Honourable Company sometime soon...

Mumbai Marathon 2012

2012-01-16T10:01:00.000-08:00

What a difference a year makes!

Last year around this time of the year, I was pining for a sub-4 finish and ended up 5 mins outside 4 hours and was quite pleased since I was making steady progress towards my goal.

This year, I set my PB for a marathon in India and I am far from pleased.

Lets look at some data first.

My goal for this year was to pace my running buddy, Bhasker to a 3:45 finish. Nothing fancy but a good challenge given Mumbai's conditions. My PB for a marathon is 3:09:46. My PB for 20 miles is around 2:20-2:21. So I thought hitting 20 miles in 2:51 which was our target pace was doable. I was right on that account.

Our targets were 21K in 1:48-1:49, 35K in 3:08-3:09. I did exceedingly well on these intermediate targets. In fact, I did so well that I left the man I was supposed to pace, behind at around the 23km mark!!! I hit the HM mark in 1:48 and the 35K mark also around 3:08. So far so good.

I have alluded to my glute injury first sustained during my BQ attempt in the past. I was quite anxious about whether it would trouble me during this race. It hadn't till that point although at several points I felt a pull in the arch of my left foot due to the hamstring and quadriceps getting pulled due to the pain in my glutes. At around the 33K mark, both my quadriceps felt like lead. But I had exactly 54 mins for the last 10K, 42 mins for the last 7K and that fit well into Bhasker's plan to leave 42 min for the last 7K. So I kept pushing through pain.

While my mins/mile kept climbing, I thought I should get as close as possible to 3:45 even if I missed it. At the 24 mile mark, I had run for 3:25 (exactly like I had in my training) and had 20 mins for 2.2 miles. I contemplated pulling out of the race at this point since I had not achieved my objective of pacing Bhasker anyways and I had excruciating pain each time I lifted my legs. So I stopped lifting them. And this is when quite a few of my running buddies from Bangalore passed me. While they muttered encouragement, there was no way I could describe my pain to any of them. In fact Bhasker who had caught up b/w the 35-36K mark pulled ahead of me sometime here.

So I began just counting step after painful step. When I neared the last 1km left mark, there were just too many people from the half marathon and other races heading to the finish. Since I had no energy to even ask people to make way, I began walking rather than run and stop. After I saw the 500m left mark, I noticed that the full marathon guys were running in a separate channel next to me, but beyond a divider. I had to look for an opening in the divider since my quads were too weak for me to lift them and jump over.

I did manage something of a running finish to finish in 3:54:21 but for a distance of 26.55 miles. Surely that last misdirection must have cost me about 30 seconds+50 m or so, but it is not like I would be happier with that. 3:45 was missed and I was disappointed anyways. And more so by the fact that I couldn't hold my pace for just 2.2 miles more. I took around 28-29 mins to cover that, which means I lost most of my pace only then.

Once I finished, I went to the medical tent for some help but an ice-pack and some spray provided little relief. And Procam's messed up finish line leading up to the medal collection left you wondering if this is the same team which has done India's premier race for 8 other years! I even thought of ditching the medal this time but then decided against sulking.

I am mostly bewildered by why my quads are so shot since I neither did hills too close to the race nor did something in my prep show a weakness in quads. If anything, my hamstrings should have gotten pulled and they stayed ok. And I had done all my miles.
I had done both a 22 & a 24 miler right on target pace although I had not done 1:48-1:49 for those runs. I had run them as steady runs. In this case, I chased that pacing pattern since we had predecided that we wanted a buffer for the last 7K, based on our history. And I would love to think I am better than being pooped by a 1:48 pace for a half now. My pre-race nutrition was quite good too unless eating an extra apple for breakfast screws your quads! I had 2 GU gels during the race and enough water. My post-race pee bears me out. So no hydration issue either although I had mild nausea due to marginal overhydration for about 30 mins post-race.
This requires a little digging, but for now, I am happy to just lie back and chill out.

And thanks to Harini for that awesome coffee, without which I would not have started the race. Thanks to Sacheendran for the company at Soam for my first post-race brunch. Thanks to VVS & KCP for that amazing lunch at Oh Calcutta! Jaggery Icecream rocks.

If someone in Mumbai finds an RFL running jersey in a taxi, you know whom to contact :(

Congratulations to several members of the BHUKMP gang who set PBs in such a tough race (you are all certified nuts now). I will still pick what I call "sissy" races (cold, flat courses) to set mine :) Congrats also to friends elsewhere like Srinath (who smashed through the half in 1:27 or so). Commiserations to some other friends who had ordinary days and some who didn't make it to the starting line for various reasons.

The BIG & good news for the day however came in the form of my trainees both smashing through their races for PBs. Guess I did a better job of coaching!

Keep running!
Update: Thanks to comments from observant bloggers, I made corrections as required above

what you should tell your children about today's match

2012-01-06T06:34:00.001-08:00

Too often, we whine (ok, I whine! you whine too!) about India's utter lack of nerve in standing up to a daunting task or being diffident in their chase. And that is not without reason. Most of the subcontinent teams usually do the Goran equivalent in cricket. Destroy the opposition on one day a la Sehwag or be devastated so badly that the fans think twice before buying tickets for their next match.

Today's performance was such a welcome change in this regard. 3 of India's batsmen (Gambhir, Sachin and Laxman) played such amazing knocks that I would be delighted to show my kids (and yours) this chase as an excellent way to play the game. The shots by Laxman and Sachin were so outstanding off such good bowling that I have no hesitation in saying that very few Indian chases/attempts to save the match (at least in close to 2 decades of watching India play) would be anywhere close. For lack of anything better as an expression to sum this up, India chased this the "Brian Lara" way. Absolute style and talent shown fearlessly (ok, fine, except for Sachin's dismissal). In any other game or a first innings, this would be potentially match-winning or setting up one such. We were just hampered by one magnificent performance by the Aussies in the first innings.

But it is ok.

One can sleep in peace today having seen our heroes (at least some of them) play a beautiful game. You win some and lose some.
And of course Ashwin must be gutted. What a lovely start to his career!

Look at this way. Pattinson is out for the next match. Sehwag must be raging inside and Rahul will come good once in the next 4 innings. Australia is not flawless. In fact they were only just trying to pick up their pants before we decided to do them a favour by sucking till this innings. They dropped enough catches and their bowlers are not unplayable. We will go to WACA but Sehwag does not even know what a good or bad pitch is. So he shouldn't care. And people like Nathan Lyon can be destroyed when there aren't 3 fast bowlers who have done the damage. So who will bowl us out? Hussey and Clarke?

I am willing to bet that India can still turn this series around.

I am somewhat emotional at seeing Laxman & Sachin bat so beautifully. I have never been so happy seeing a losing team playing. If this is the way to lose, I am ok if we get beaten in this series 4-0. It means that Australia will need to play better than us for 4 more innings. That is unlikely to happen.

Come on India!

P.S. And drop Kohli! Let him take that finger and shove it you know where. I am ok if he is shunted for a while and comes back as another "Ganguly". Look at what Ganguly did in his 2nd outing. May do Kohli a world of good to make his wicket count. And what was Warner on?! He must have saved some 50 runs!

Books in 2011

2011-12-31T10:22:00.000-08:00

1. Dare to Run by Amit Sheth

2. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

3. When Genius Fails by Roger Lowenstein

4. Moneyball by Michael Lewis

5. Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger & Scott Douglas

6. Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald

7. Why We Run by Bernd Heinrich

8. The Lore of Running by Timothy Noakes

9. Running with the Buffaloes by Chris Lear

10. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

11. The Fixer by Joe Sacco

12. An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks

13. The man who mistook his wife for a hat by Oliver Sacks

14. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

15. Safe Area Gorazde by Joe Sacco

16. Once a Runner by John Parker

17. In Spite of the Gods by Edward Luce

18. A race like no other by Liz Robbins

19. Strides: Running Through History With an Unlikely Athlete by Ben Cheever

20. Faster by James Gleick

21. The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb

22. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

23. Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco

24. Under the Frog by Tibor Fischer

25. Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman

26. Send in the Idiots by Kamran Nazeer

27. Bangalore Calling by Brinda S. Narayan

28. Triumph and Tragedy in Mudville by Stephen Jay Gould

29. Playing for Keeps by David Halberstam

30. Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas

31. Boston Marathon by Tom Derderian

32. Running to the Limit by Jurg Wirz

33. We might as well win by Johan Bruyneel

34. Rashmi Bansal's "I have a Dream"

35. Dov Seidman's "HOW"

36. Jay Elliot's "iLeadership"

37. Julian Crandall Hollick's "Apna Street"

38. CY Gopinath’s The Book of Answers

39. The Emperor of all Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

40. The beautiful and the damned by Siddhartha Deb

41. The Next Convergence by Michael Spence

42. Our Lady of Alice Bhatti by Mohammed Hanif

43. Run Less Run Faster

44. Personal Record by Rachel Toor

45. The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson

46. Laughing without an Accent by Firoozeh Dumas

47. Entrepedia by Nandini Vaidyanathan

48. The Greatest Show on Earth - writings on Bollywood edited by Jerry Pinto

49. Reading like a Writer by Francine Prose

50. Entrepedia by Nandini Vaidyanathan

51. Brainiac by Ken Jennings

52. The Genius Factory by David Plotz

53. The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas

54. The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco

55. Anila's Journey by Mary Finn

56. Is it all about the hips by Sangita Shrestova

57. Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T05:23:00.001-08:00

Wish all the readers of my blog a very happy new year 2012.

2011 was the best year of my life thus far. I did most things I set out to do at the beginning of the year - read a bunch of books, write a bit and qualify for the Boston Marathon. It was made possible by two of the best people in my life - Tony Fong, my running coach and Jerry Pinto, who was my best friend in Mumbai, in addition to pushing me to write down my story.

I quit my job and started working for myself as a running coach and a freelance writer. The next few months will show how that decision works out. But I have had great fun so far. I also had a big scare in the form of jaundice, just weeks after I quit my job - thereby leaving with no job, no outlook on the future (since jaundice is a stubborn disease which doesn't go away quickly) and the very basis of my business model - "me" in poor health. But then things turned around, a little slower than I wanted, but surely.

My family made it possible for me to experiment with all this - my brother who has been my generous sponsor and my parents - who went thru a tough patch while I was running to my heart's content in the US.

In general, 2011 was largely fun due to the wonderful & generous friends both in India & the US, who had a role in every nice thing that happened to me. Thank you all.

Here's hoping for more of the same in 2012.

Just like quite a few runners worldwide, I was upset with the death of Sammy Wanjiru who redefined how marathons would be run. It was like the death of Jimi Hendrix if you are a rock buff. I was mostly too shocked to say much when Sammy died as suddenly as he did. Of the several notable personalities who died in 2011, Sammy's is the one that affected me the most. He was a fearless, strong and graceful runner. He apparently had a dark & troubled side too.

My commiserations to those who lost someone they admired & loved. Lets hope for a better year ahead.

Stay healthy. Stay happy. Keep running!

Training for the World 10K

2011-12-31T04:36:00.001-08:00

On 27 May 2012, India’s most popular 10K race will be held in Bangalore. From the 1^st day of the year, that will be about 21 weeks to raceday.

This race is perhaps the best race in India for beginners who are interested in running as well as those experienced runners who intend to better their timing, since the distance is not as daunting as those in longer races round the country.

I am looking at taking on a batch only in Bangalore of not more than 50 runners for training for this race, starting in the 1^st or 2^nd week of January 2012, by when there will be about 20 weeks to train. For the experienced runners, 16 weeks may be adequate to train. So you can start from February 1^st week but you need to sign up asap.

In short, the following will be key features

1. You will train for 3-5 days a week, of which you will do two runs a week with a group*. The two key runs will be a speed workout and a tempo run.

2. For those who have already run a 10K in the past and are looking at improving timings, I may have a 3^rd run every week.

3. You will get a customized training plan in line with your capabilities (to be assessed using a time trial) and supervision of your training sessions.

4. You will get feedback as needed both at the key runs and at the end of the week.

5. We will set a mutually agreed target in line with your capabilities and performance for the final race.

* You will run on your own on the other days. You are welcome to join me on other days too since I run on 6 days of the week and sometimes all 7 days, but the locations/timings on those days will be at my discretion on the other days.

If you are vegetarian, I can also help you on planning your diet based on my experience. We could examine your diet even if you aren't but since I am not non-vegetarian, I have little experiential advice to dole out.

If you are interested mail me at dhammonia@gmail.com and we will work out specifics like locations, timings, fees, etc. In case you are outside Bangalore and want to work out some unusual arrangements based on email-based coaching (Yes, there is such a thing. Even some sub-elite athletes train like that) wherein I design a custom-training plan, visit you once a month but track you on a daily basis, mail me and we shall work something out.

About me:

I am 33 years old. I used to work as a manager in a premier Management Consulting firm until recently. I just found running more enjoyable and quit my job to become a full-time coach. I have been running for over 10 years. I had no running history before 2001. For that matter, nobody in my family has ever played any sport with any competence. I used to be a plump kid for a while. Then I just grew up to become a fat adult. I just decided to change this one fine day. So I know what it is to train as an ordinary person who has no sporting history. I have run 14 marathons and run a half marathon at least once a week (sometimes two). I started with a half marathon in 2 hours 34 minutes in 2004 and a full marathon in 2005 (in 5 hours 4 minutes) with little training or even an idea on how to train. I just ran them on a whim. So I began training since I thought I could improve with training. As recently as in 2009, I ran 10K in 47 minutes and 51 seconds.

However I ran without a coach till January 2011. My best marathon till then was in 4 hours.

In 2011, I found an amazing coach and trained under him in the US. I ran 2 half marathons in about 1 hour 30 minutes each and a full marathon in just 3 hours 10 minutes, qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

I would love to show you what you can do with targeted training.

I am currently training my first ever batch of runners with a broad range of abilities, who are running in the Mumbai & Auroville Marathons, for both the half and full marathons.

I love to run. It has changed my life. It could change yours too.

Update: One of my trainees who is Singapore based, came up with interesting names for my coaching options - remote and on location in Bangalore. He calls the remote model (email/telephone based) as the "Ekalavya" model and the on-location one as "Arjuna" model. I have loved the terms enough to quickly appropriate them

my article on running in Bangalore

2011-12-07T04:06:00.001-08:00

http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/3630-bengaluru-marathon-runn...
#Running #Bangalore

Better by Atul Gawande

2011-11-26T05:22:00.000-08:00

Bought this book from Book Worm y'day. Am a self-confessed Gawande fan. And the book so far has been brilliant. Am willing to post a detailed review for anyone willing to pay for it :)

Ross Tucker of Sports Scientists on Barefoot Running

2011-11-23T22:05:00.001-08:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/nov/22/barefoot-running-science-guardian-sport-network

A special block run with the Kenyans

2011-11-19T01:16:00.000-08:00

We often read and come across articles on how to run the Kenyan way.
There is not much of an elixir, sadly.
It is ball-busting pace, day after day, sadly.

Read this happy piece

Get blessed with some athletic genes and work like mad to make it big. And Moses Mosop is as big as it gets. Mosop is in fact way too muscular for an elite Kenyan. Perhaps sign of things to come?

Expensive Coffee?

2011-11-19T00:56:00.001-08:00

Ok, first I want to be a multimillionaire. So wire me your dollars.
Next I want to be in Venice, CA to be at the Slow Bar!

Read this to see why. Now you will know why I want to be a multimillionaire first

Aman Sethi’s “A Free Man”

2011-11-18T01:30:00.000-08:00

Aman Sethi’s “A Free Man” is a disturbing tale of the life of an itinerant labourer, told painstakingly by the young author. In fact when I began reading the book, I didn’t even know it was non-fiction.

The book bubbles with dark comedy and sadness. It is a movie waiting to be made, a la Peepli Live, an urban version, if you may.

My favourite part of the book isn’t even about its protagonist but it stays with you long after you have read the book . Here it is

“…Though the tender had mandated a “scratch resistant” scanning surface, the scanner - as befitting any high-tech gadget – was extraordinarily sensitive to dust. It worked best when recording images of clean, slightly moist thumbs that when pressed down onto the glass surface, flattened ever so slightly to allow for a true record of the fingerprint in question. ‘But these beggars’, the exasperation in Sharmaji’s voice is palpable, ‘their hands are so dirty, so filthy, that the scanner just cannot pick up the image.’ All they got were blurry smudges that the machone was unable to identify, let alone catalogue and search. ‘So we started washing their hands before registering them. But that took long. ‘ The department also tried bathing them – but after a bath, the beggars look ‘just like anyone else’. How then can the judge make his decision?...

In the course of 140 words, Aman Sethi paints a whole canvas ranging from irony to despair to absurdity. And that is how the book is. Must read.

Ryan Hall vs. Ryan Hall

2011-11-15T19:52:00.001-08:00

In addition to the fact that this is a running related video, it is also a very creative way to engage the audience in an outdoor advertisement.
And I like ASICS shoes too!

BILLY MILLS “Gold Medal, 10,000 meter-run. BELIEVE. BELIEVE. BELIEVE.”

2011-11-15T19:34:00.001-08:00

First see

And then read http://goo.gl/lhEgA

Run the Edge by Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano

2011-11-10T20:08:00.000-08:00

Just bought the Kindle version of "Run the Edge" by an athlete, of whom most readers form a fantastic image of, thanks to Chris Lear's great book "Running with the Buffaloes."

Had been planning to buy the autographed paperback but plumped for the Kindle version, which I have begun reading right away.

Given that Adam Goucher retired y'day, just couldn't wait to read the book. Besides the several inspirational quotes by Galen Rupp, etc being put up by readers got to me...

Everybody experiences orthopedic mysteries during a taper

2011-11-08T05:02:00.000-08:00

Nice, Endearing piece on Lauren Freshman's maiden marathon in NYC
My favourite line from the article is what I used as the title as this post

5 book reviews

2011-11-05T00:39:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more book reviews I have done in the recent past

Mohammed Hanif's Our Lady of Alice Bhatti
The Greatest Show on Earth edited by Jerry Pinto
Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of all Maladies
Siddhartha Deb's The beautiful and the damned
Nandini Vaidyanathan's Entrepedia

'Marathon Boy' review by WSJ

2011-11-03T10:20:00.001-07:00

http://goo.gl/XN9Xm

Tragic Story of Budhia-the marathon kid

2011-11-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

Most Indians who read the papers would be familiar with the story of the child named Budhia who captured the public's imagination a few years ago with his incredible feats.
This movie tells the tragic story.
One can only lament about what could have been, say if Rob Castella's program for Indigenous Runners had been emulated
HT: Letsrun.com

Damian runs for Lewa Children's Home of Kenya

2011-11-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

This is a post which combines two of my current interests - Running & Raising money through running.

Damian who is a fellow runner from Bangalore is running in Sunday's race at NYC. Here is his own take on what he is upto.

"

It's that time of year again - time for the New York City Marathon! After last year there were so many reasons I wanted to run it again. Simply put it was a fantastic event, and who wants to miss an opportunity to take part in such festivities again. Also I didn't get to my target time in 2010, so that left me with something to chew on through most of 2011. But most importantly, it gives me the opportunity to again run for the Lewa Children's Home of Kenya.

As many of you know, last year we raised 7500 GBP, which was matched 1:1 by Bread and Water for Africa. With a total of 15,000 GBP (!) Lewa was able to complete it's water security projects (two very impressive reservoirs) that are key to its self-sufficiency in food, and to earning an income from its agricultural surplus. I had a chance to visit these completed projects just 2 weeks ago, and can vouch they have been done to the highest standard, and are already transforming the prospects of the Lewa Home, and associated school.

I'm a big believer in funding activities that enable a philanthropic organization to become financially self-sufficient. And so this year I am running for a similar project: Lewa's expanded Cheese Factory! That's right, the Lewa Children's Home, and it's associated farm, already makes the best Gouda cheese you will find in Kenya, if not in Amsterdam! (sorry if that offends any of my friends from the Netherlands)

Lewa needs to expand this Cheese Factory as they have more demand than they can cater for. I'm running to raise 7500 GBP to enable them to complete this project. And again, this money will be matched 1:1 by Bread and Water for Africa. So you know that any donation you make will go twice as far.

There's only one week now (actually a little less!) until the New York Marathon kicks off. I'd like to ask you to please take this opportunity to make a donation – no matter how small! To do so, please click on the link below, where you will also be able to see some photos and a write-up to better describe the Home, its children, and its activities. Donating is quick and easy, and it will have such a huge impact on the lives of little ones in Kenya.

http://www.justgiving.com/damianmiller/

Since its inception Lewa has taken in hundreds of abandoned or orphaned children, and profoundly touched the lives of thousands of families in its local community around Eldoret in Kenya. By making this contribution you will help Lewa build a sustainable foundation for continuing to help and secure the lives of profoundly disadvantage children, and give them a future they otherwise simply would not have.

Thank you on behalf of Lewa for your support. And I look forward to your encouragement on race day!"

God speed Damian. May you set PBs and may your fund set a record too. Do your bit. Click on the link and contribute to Damian's effort. Remember that no amount is small.

Books from Quizzing

2011-11-01T10:18:00.001-07:00

Thanks to a coupon at Blossoms from last week's Ganesh Nayak finals, I managed to get
Nathaniel's Nutmeg by Giles Milton (whose "Samurai Williams" I have).

And then today's slightly disappointing performance* at the Bangalore Landmark finals yielded the following

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby (supposedly a classic in travel writing)
The Feud that sparked the Renaissance by Paul Robert Walker (seems super interesting)
Poplorica by Martin J Smith and Patrick J Kiger (had to bring up the 500 total!)

So I go to a quiz, get a coupon, buy a book, read that book, answer some question at a future quiz based on something I read in that book, get another coupon and so on, ad infinitum ;)

* Unlike last week's performance at Hyd, where we almost didn't score at all in the 2nd half, we scored about once each in both halves of the quiz. So we are improving!

Frankfurt Marathon - Kipsang falls 4 secs short of WR!

2011-10-30T05:25:00.001-07:00

First read this, http://www.globerunner.org/index.php/10/fireworks-in-frankfurt/ and then see this http://live.frankfurt-marathon.com/2011/index.php?pid=list

Just what will the Kenyans do at NYC and more importantly what will they do at the Olympics?!

Too bad to see that at least 1 of the guys who has run faster than the previous WR will perhaps miss out on a spot.

What Happy Diwali?!

2011-10-27T08:16:00.001-07:00

Years ago, when I was in class 8, my class teacher who was also the school Interact Club coordinator took our school Interact club members to a facility which housed an orphanage and an old age home. The kids were given sweets and crackers like all other kids and some of my schoolmates spent time playing with the kids helping them burst crackers. Some of us, went to the old age home. The old people there had very simple expectations. On that Diwali, all they wanted was someone to read to them, spend time talking to them. That was a life-altering experience for me. I had given up on crackers voluntarily in class 7 opting to take money instead from my parents. But in class 8, it dawned on my not-so-old head that there were people in this world who didn’t have such a happy Diwali at all.

And not so long ago, I actually sniggered at someone who had voiced concern over crackers affecting dogs. I thought of that person as the animal equivalent of a tree-hugger. I mean, not just an animal lover but someone who would get in your way if it meant that that animal could be less affected. I have three dogs inside my house gate right now, sitting in my porch scared to shit by the noise of crackers around my place. Of course they are sitting there since they have figured out ours is the only house on the street which doesn’t burst crackers.

There is no moral high ground here. But it does pain me immensely to see a dog cower helplessly with every single sound from a cracker. It also pains me occasionally to see someone helpless when I am in a state of comfort.

So when you wish someone Happy Diwali today, think of the less fortunate and the creatures around you without a voice. Make a difference to their lives too.

Be grateful for what you have today.

And for all those friends who are not here today, god bless your souls. I miss you and wish you were here

Even More Books

2011-10-23T08:44:00.001-07:00

A generous Blossoms coupon from the KQA for a quiz last weekend allowed me to buy

Footsteps by Richard Holmes

The book subtitled "Adventures of a Romantic Biographer" is about the author's retracing of RL Stevenson's journey thru the Cevennes, Mary Wollstonecraft's being marooned in Paris as well as the author's stalking of Shelley & his band of Romantic idealists.

And then y'day's mildly disappointing performance at the Landmark finals in Hyderabad, yielded some Landmark currency which allowed me to dig thru the sale yet another time. Today's spoils were

The Man who loved books too much by Allison Hoover Bartlett (true story of thief, a detective & a world of literary obsession)
The Prometheans by Max Adams (John Martin and the generation that stole the future)
Not so funny when it happened edited by Tim Cahill (travel humour & misadventure incl. pieces by Bill Bryson, Dave Barry, Douglas Adams, Anne Lamott, etc)

Now I have run out of space on even my tables and the floor of my room. Need some generous grant from some bookshelf maker to accommodate all the books.
But each of the above books promises a different kind of fun. Hurrah for quizzing

more books from Landmark sale

2011-10-23T03:55:00.001-07:00

Was in Hyd for the weekend and ended up picking
Everyman by Philip Roth
Animal's People by Indra Sinha
The Perfectly Useless book of Useless Information by Don Voorhees

for Rs. 49 each. I don't buy books like the last one usually but on seeing the 1st page which had an entry for the name of the ice hockey team of the Rhode Island School of Design (Nads) & its cheer (Go Nads!), decided it was worth the amusement

Fauja - excited at 100

2011-10-16T18:01:00.001-07:00

So someone must have said "Sau saal jiyo" to him sometime earlier in his life. See what happened. Funny that he should describe the feeling like getting married all over again!

Laughing Without an Accent by Firoozeh Dumas

2011-10-14T07:05:00.001-07:00

If Funny in Farsi was laugh out loud funny, the 2^nd book by Firoozeh Dumas (FD) shows that her first book was not a fluke. My parents thought that something was definitely amiss when I was laughing out loud at 11 in the night, alone, well past my sleeping time (I am an early sleeper and early riser).

The book introduces us to the extended universe of FD and shows us she has a limitless supply of funny anecdotes laced with self deprecation and an incredible memory (or imagination or both!). The one difference in this book with respect to her first book is that it does have some serious elements as well - be it her concern over the world her children are growing up in or her endeavour to remedy the perception of Iran and Iranians in the US. Iran couldn’t have found a better ambassador in the US.

Like most good things, one feels miserable when the book ends. As someone who had the outrageously good fortune of meeting her, I happen to know her next book is not in this genre. But I still can’t wait to read it. Now if someone could only figure out a cheaper option for her books in India, I could spread her gospel in India.

I strongly urge every one of you to read this book (especially the penultimate chapter called “Pomp it Up” which is written with so much love and empathy) and her first book.

#Books

Chicago Marathon 2011

2011-10-09T07:39:00.001-07:00

Moses Mosop wins in a somewhat tame timing (by his own standards) although he did set a CR.
Kenya goes 1-2-3.

Pity the women's race doesn't have even 1 Kenyan in top 10

Landmark Sale - part deux

2011-10-06T03:11:00.001-07:00

As planned, went again to the Landmark sale today and true to their advertisement, they had fresh stock. Picked the following
The Lives of a cell by Lewis Thomas (upon Ramesh's tip. Ramesh is a fine tipster as well as a fine tipper and in his words Lewis Thomas is like Jay Gould, only better)
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively - thereby enriching my Booker collection
Brainiac by Ken Jennings (the trivia giant who famously occupied a seat on Jeopardy)
Mrs. Dalloway by Virgina Woolf - seen way too many references to the book to not pick it up & read it finally

Also stole my pal Prateek's A Chapter of Hats and other stories by Machado De Assis (which has Salman Rushdie raving about it on the cover). Prateek doesn't know this yet as I conned him into a fraudulent "buy and leaseback" scheme wherein he bought a book at my behest and lent it to me ;) Now it shall not go back to him....

As always, my thrill is mostly due to the fact that I spent only Rs. 51 on the first 4 books and none on the stolen one, thanks to credit card points :)

Steve Jobs RIP

2011-10-05T16:53:00.001-07:00

As someone whose life and work was an inspiration to millions and who changed 3 industries (computer, mobile phones and publishing) as we know it, Steve will be missed.

He was only 56.

If you remember his Stanford speech, he talks about believing in something even if it is karma.

Well Steve, you definitely made enough people happy. You should be in heaven.

God bless your soul.

Landmark Sale - first pickings

2011-09-30T01:08:00.001-07:00

Went somewhat tentatively to the Landmark sale today (1st day). I needn't have worried about burning a hole in my pocket, given my unemployment status. The selection of books is not very good as it has been in the past. Although there are books available at Rs. 50 (mostly old foreign magazines) and Rs. 99 (fiction), Rs.199 seems to be more common as a discounted price. Given my bargain hunting tendencies, I was not biting much.

However still managed to pick up the two below

Aman Sethi's A Free Man (Jerry was raving about it - reason enough)...The jacket says "Mohammed Ashraf has studied biology in college and after college has learnt how to repair television sets, cut suit lengths and slice chicken... How can you not want to read further?

The Genius Factory by David Plotz (subtitled "Unravelling the mysteries of the Nobel Prize sperm bank")... For those who didn't know, an eccentric millionaire in CA tried to reverse what he saw as the country's genetic decline by using the sperms of geniuses and artificially inseminating women... Read the book to know the rest. I had read about the book years ago in the TLS and perhaps heard a radio program also about it - The nutcase theme seemed a worthy read!

Thanks to some Landmark loyalty points, spent only a total of 267 on both books. Now to start reading...I might just return to the sale if my CITIBANK credit card points add up in time

Austen again?

2011-09-28T09:18:00.001-07:00

While reading Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer (which I started about 4 months ago when I was in the US upon Arun's suggestion), I came across a passage from Pride and Prejudice which has a hilarious exchange between Mrs. & Mr. Bennet. Like most things I read, I have little recollection of what I read (after about a week), except for maybe one standout sequence or a memorable character (like say Sandor from The Last Frontier by Alistair McLean), etc. Considering that I read Austen a really long while ago and have only a mild memory of it being really popular among women (and that perhaps largely due to Colin Firth!), I am wondering whether to try reading Austen again.

Inspiration from some runners

2011-09-27T07:45:00.001-07:00

Given that I don't follow short distances so much, hurdles are a further step removed. But I decided to look up Dai Greene since Paula mentioned him as a medal hope for Britain. Read this story

And of course, if you are a marathoner you would know of Patrick Makau unless you have been sleeping since Sunday. Patrick Makau is paying back much like several Kenyan and Ethiopian champions before him. I am sure I would raise more than a few hackles when I question how our own Indian sportsmen (cricketers in particular) are paying it forward. I know of one in hockey, one in badminton, a couple in tennis, but for the amount of money in cricket, hardly any flowing back into society.

Boston 2013 then?

2011-09-26T11:11:00.001-07:00

After months of waiting in anticipation, I finally got the one email I was dreading - the email from the BAA regretting that I won't get to run in Boston in April 2012. The cutoff was close - 3:08:46 against my 3:09:46.

Since I expected this ever since I got a clarification from the BAA on age adjusted timings, I am not exactly devastated. But nothing in a long time has been this disappointing.

After all I quit my job expecting this.

There are so many ifs.

And I am in some illustrious company. There are some unlucky souls who missed by seconds vs. my margin of exactly a minute.

Guess I will need to lace up and set a PB next year to make sure I get into the 2013 list. I have a much better idea now of what it takes to get a confirmed place and not just qualify. It is encouraging now to think 3:10 is no longer my target. So much has changed in less than a year. But still ...

Once I finish sulking I will begin planning for that all important race in 2012. I might even go back to Avenue of the Giants or perhaps New Jersey, both races I have found are good for fast times and favour me.

And both are in May. So I can only pick one of them.

Good Luck to all those who got confirmed places through qualification.

Paula's advice to Mo Farah

2011-09-25T23:58:00.001-07:00

Just do mo' of the same ;)

A Year of Reading & Writing, Running

2011-09-25T10:32:00.001-07:00

Each year by end of year, I write a post in which I just tally up the books I read in that year. This year has been an extraordinary one in my life in more ways than one. So it is almost expected that my reading would reflect that as well.
My previous post lists the books I have read (almost finished 2-3 books towards the end and hence have cheated and counted them as well) thus far in this year.
There are 48 of them. There are 14 weeks left in this year. I expect that I will cross my much cherished target of a book a week, I set years ago.

However there is an additional reason to make this post. If you look thru the list you will notice that quite a few of the books in the first 20 pertain to running. Obviously they were guided by my mission to qualify for the Boston Marathon which I did. They also instilled enough confidence in me to start a career as a running coach. But quite a few of those are also books I receive for review which I do for Business World, which brings me to my other revenue stream - book reviewing. By listing my books, I am also drawing your attention to the fact that I can do book reviews. So if you are the sort looking for reviews for which you will pay, get in touch with me via email. I take about a week after I receive the book to complete a review for a book of around 500 pages or less. We could discuss other terms once you get in touch with me.

For those of you wondering about the other books which have nothing to do with running or ones I received for reviewing, yes I do try and read a fair bit out of sheer love for books.

Voluntary contributions to my retirement fund are also welcome :)

4 book reviews

2011-09-24T20:44:00.001-07:00

Here are reviews of 4 books I have read in the recent past. More are on their way.

Rashmi Bansal's "I have a Dream"

Dov Seidman's "HOW"

Jay Elliot's "iLeadership"

Julian Crandall Hollick's "Apna Street"

Let me know what you think of them

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson

2011-09-23T07:19:00.001-07:00

How quickly does one fall in love?

If this book had been a woman, by this time, I would have sworn my undying love for her and beseeched her to marry me.

I bought the book not because it won the Booker (although I did cultivate that fetish once) but mostly since it had the tone of melancholy, wicked humour and intelligent people, all of which I had liked in Amsterdam, another book I like more than most people who like McEwan otherwise. And I haven't found a book since, that had that tone. But this one does.

Sample these lines and assume that you are having a conversation with someone intelligent...How can you not love it?

-> The BBC, Treslove believed, made addicts of those who listened to it ... As it did those it employed...Only worse in the case of those it employed - handcuffing them in promotions and conceit, disabling them from any other life. Treslove himself a case in point. Though not promoted, only disabled.

->On finishing his studies, on account of no one at the university being certain how many modules made a totality - Treslove found himself with a degree so unspecific that all he could do was accept a graduate traineeship at the BBC.

->Don't I look after you when you're ill? You do, You're marvellous to me when I'm ill. It's when I'm well that you're no use.

And all this in the first 12 pages of a 370 page book!

So finally I have a book that I shall perhaps read all the way and finish merrily. And yes, you should read this book too.

Book buying resumes

2011-09-23T06:06:00.001-07:00

Given my generally unemployed status , I have placed my book buying on hold for a while. But thanks to a book that I could return to a bookshop since I had two copies of the same, I went and bought The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson today.

After a rather reckless bout of buying of books on poetry that I bought under Jerry's evil eye, none of which I have even touched as of date, this is the only other book I have bought this year.

Hope to continue it in a trickle henceforth. The one positive about me and my books this year is that I am reading way more than I have bought

Bad Habits - Reading & otherwise

2011-09-22T09:44:00.001-07:00

Before I quit my job, I assumed that if I didn't work full time I would be reading feverishly and be able to knock off a book everyday or worst case - every 2 days. It has not turned out that way exactly. For the first week, I was in such bad shape that I could barely read 2 pages at a time. I would start reading before mental fatigue would set in or I would get distracted. Part of this may be due to some accumulated frustration at not having run for a while now, leaving me listless but some of it is just recently formed bad habits since I am better now, but still can't read a book a day.

As a result I have started on all of the following in the last two weeks but finished none

David Mitchell's Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (actually started on this last year, but never picked it up again till last week)

Samurai Williams (incredibly also about a westerner in Japan)

Firoozeh Dumas' Laughing without an accent (started on this when I was in the US, but never finished it and then someone borrowed it!)

HItchhiker (Douglas Adams' bio)

Our Lady of Alice Bhatti by Mohd. Hanif (considering how much I liked his 1st, thought this would be a breeze...)

Does Anything eat Wasps? (from the New Scientist - yes, that's how desperate I am to read!)

The Greatest Show on Earth - writings on Bollywood edited by my man, Jerry

It is a telling comment that the only books I finished were both focussed on running.

Somehow I managed to finish seeing two full movies - again this is very unsettling for someone who has done 24 hr movie marathons with ease. I can barely sit for 15 mins for a movie now, although I have now managed to start reading 50 pages at least at one sitting.

True Grit (the Coen brothers' version) - fantastically made movie. Of particular delight is the rattlesnake scene...Everyone does well - Brolin, Damon, Bridges and Hailee...

The Lincoln Lawyer (a little pulpy but definitely watchable)

Have also seen random reruns of several B action movies on kungfu, assassins and the likes but never what happens after 15-20 mins. At one point, insanity & desperation connived to make me watch Singham on TV.

Phew!

In short my world is a little messed up right now. God knows I need a run!

Rachel Toor's Personal Record

2011-09-22T08:57:00.001-07:00

I was recommending books on running to someone who asked for recos and as an afterthought mentioned this book I had but hadn't read simply because I knew nothing about the author to persuade me to do so. However since that lingered in my mind and since the book was less than 200 pages, I figured I could knock it off in 3-4 hours and did exactly that. The author is a self-confessed sort of mean person who started running only in her 30s. However she has done over 40 marathons incl. several ultras. The book is an ok read, sort of like the movie you would watch when you were in some town for the first time and you saw a movie on sports and saw it for the simple reason that you are a sports buff.

However the author despite her confession endeared herself to me not just for being a runner, but also because she discusses a runner's universe - obsessing over timings, running magazines, crewing for other people, pacing, qualifying for Boston, coaching other runners, etc most of which I have experienced in a rush in the last year.

And while the author is a woman, she says herself that she prefers the company of men. Despite that the book is a decent book on running, even for women starting out to run, especially in their 30s.

Indian cricketers need a little self-discipline?

2011-09-18T02:01:00.001-07:00

Given my own prejudices against Indian cricket, I am inclined to side with Roebuck here ->http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article2459529.ece

The only concession is that the ODI series was largely a Duckworth-Lewis contest rather than a keen battle in each game.

I don't think it is too optimistic to expect that India would have done well even in the game in which England hit 230+ in 32 overs.

However, we haven't even recovered from the humiliation of the test series and the other games when this CL T-20 circus is upon us. I hope they discover some scam and just abandon the bloody farce for a few months.

Ad spoofs I am dying to see right now

2011-09-17T06:30:00.001-07:00

The first one I want to see is one of that seriously irritating ad (mostly due to infinite loops on multiple channels) of Max New York Life with that "Sanju..." I want to see one ad with that Sanju slaughtered a la Kill Bill and wife claiming insurance. After all, good stuff gains more respect with spoofing.

The second one is that reasonably awful ad for Airtel (mostly for its dull premise of everyone needing some infinite friends). Surely someone must be itching to do so. I have already read some mail forward spoofing the premise but to see in video would be fun altogether.

The third one of course, is that random Broadway style ad for Vodafone Blue. Seriously someone actually authorized a phone for a website? With generally poor and expensive bandwidth in India, consumers will buy this phone? Would love to see how many phones they sell in a year from today.

Actually a bunch of jewellery ads need spoofing too, but they don't appear so often. So no venting on them yet!

Salaam Bombay and all that...

2011-09-09T09:06:00.001-07:00

For the first time since I finished engineering in 2000, I am unemployed. Today was my last day at work in what turned out to be my longest job till date. And based on my future plans, may be for a while.

I am leaving Bombay/Mumbai t'row and won't be back for a while. When I make a brief visit it will be to participate in the Mumbai Marathon 2012 on 15th Jan - which brings us to my career change.

I am moving to Bangalore to become a running coach among other things.

Things have been a whirl in my life. After a few days of random fever, I got diagnosed with jaundice 3 weeks ago and had been resting & recuperating mostly at home in Bangalore. While that has ensured I haven't run a mile for over 3 weeks, I am hoping to be better in about a month when my first batch of trainees begin training for the Mumbai Marathon.

It is one strange feeling of relief and panic about the lack of steady income - not to mention a notional pay cut of over 90%. And being in bed being sick is not helping matters. I have also lost over 2.5 kg in 2 weeks of being sick, although I am getting better now.

Amongst various memories that will bind me to Bombay will be one from this evening - that of this elderly Bengali lady at Mumbai Central who blessed my new venture, wished me a good bride and marriage and generally wished me a good life, only since we shared a taxi, one that we struggled to get. Leaving Bombay is emotionally harder than leaving my job. I have not liked any other city outside Bangalore as much. I will miss the taxi drivers and their stories. I will generally miss the buzz of Bombay and of course the mad rains. It is the city in which I started writing, harbouring ambitions of writing for a living. I also met Jerry, my friend for the last year who vastly contributed to the enhanced quality of my life in Bombay. And then of course my running pals from Shivaji Park & elsewhere. And how can I forget the trains and Ganapati? It is also the city from which I took my sabbatical to fulfil my life's biggest dream, till date. Now I am embarking on something even bigger.

Only time will tell.

Adios dear Bombay. We shall meet in the new year

IAAF Daegu 2011 - Men's 5000m

2011-09-04T03:58:00.001-07:00

Mo Farah - 1
Lagat - 2
Merga - 3

No Kenyan medals :(

IAAF Daegu 2011 - men's marathon

2011-09-03T19:09:00.001-07:00

Abel Kirui does Kenya proud and how!
He ran a 5 km segment (apparently the 30-35 km segment) in 14:40 which just destroyed the field.
And he then followed it up with a 15:15 for the 35-40 km segment. During this, he also widened the gap on his chasers from 1:01 to 2:34!!!
He finished in 2:07:38 and actualy looked back to see if someone was behind him! Some Kenyan sense of humour I think.
At the time of my posting this, Kipruto was on his to 2nd. Lets see

IAAF Daegu 2011 - Men's 200m

2011-09-03T05:30:00.001-07:00

Usain Bolt makes up for his mishap in the 100m and wins in 19.4

IAAF World 2011 - Men's 1500m

2011-09-03T04:22:00.001-07:00

Kenya 1-2 again!
Kiprop 1, Kiplagat -2 Centrowitz (USA)-3

Kemboi celebrates after winning 3000m steeplechase

2011-09-02T07:40:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/Kovi421#p/a/u/3/_U0c7ObDB5c
Apparently, he was making up for Usain missing as well :)

Must be the first Kenyan I know who has such a haircut and also does shirtless celebrations. Eat this Salman!

IAAF Daegu 2011 - Women's 5000m

2011-09-02T04:46:00.001-07:00

Kenya 1-2
Vivian Cheruiyot also completed a seemingly effortless double gold in 10K and 5K

IAAF Daegu 2011 - Men's 3000m steeple chase

2011-09-01T04:41:00.001-07:00

The 3000m steeplechase is one of the first events in which I began following the Kenyans years ago. So to return to it completes a sort of full circle.
Kenya won gold & silver

Daegu World 2011 - 800m Men's, Kenya again

2011-08-30T05:05:00.001-07:00

David Rudisha 1:43:91. Kenya rules!

Daegu - day 2, men's 10K finish

2011-08-28T09:03:00.001-07:00

What an astonishing finish!

Fascinating duel b/w Mo Farah and Jeilan (hitherto relatively unheralded) on the last leg of a 10K.

Watch for definite inspiration.

So apparently money has sucked most good Kenyans to the Marathon from the 10K. So not much of a Kenyan story here despite 2 finalists.

So score for Kenya:2. Ethiopia:1

I will try and update on all events b/w 800 and the marathon over the next week taking a ETH vs. KEN perspective on this. Due to the charm of Tergat experienced first hand, my loyalties are with Kenya

Wait for Rudisha next!

IAAF Daegu 2011 - Day 1

2011-08-27T19:56:00.001-07:00

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2011/08/iaaf-world-champs-kenyas-day.html
There were 6 medals given out at Daegu y'day. Kenya took them all.
Day 1. Game Over. Bring on the other days

Actually in the 10K, Kenya took 1-2-3-4. I hope they give the poor 4th lady something too

The Fierce Intimacy of Tennis Rivalries

2011-08-27T00:43:00.001-07:00

http://goo.gl/Rmlsn
Nice long read for the weekend
HT to Prem Panicker

#If_India_were_China

2011-08-24T01:39:00.001-07:00

If India were China, all corrupt officials would be unconditionally fasting to death under the state's supervision rather than the state having to fight with ordinary citizens to not fast against corruption

#just saying

TV- Facepalm

2011-08-21T09:26:00.001-07:00

Am not even watching whatever I am writing about, but I can overhear the loud TV downstairs. So let me vent. Pick one only from the three unequally agonizing choices below
1. Rahul Dravid being given out despite nothing being conclusive on Hotspot. Eventual Indian innings capitulation threatens
2. Endless Anna Hazare on various news channels on a suspiciously expensive looking stage
3. Kannada TVs show by a beautiful actress of yesteryear whose today's show's topic was debating maid-servants

Before I vent any further on what has locked me into an infinite loop of facepalms, sample this.

One apparently harassed woman says how maids refuse to work without coffee. One earnest sounding maid responds saying that she gets up way too early and has too little time before she heads out to work to make coffee for herself. Actress says she disagrees with maid and how she as an actress ... SERIOUS WTF-ness. Since when did actresses and maids have equal amounts of personal work?! ...Last heard the show was also discussing issues on sexual harassment, etc.

I hate to say this, but why don't more people watch NETWORK before getting into TV?! Lumet, RIP

Discworld's Terry Pratchett On Death And Deciding

2011-08-11T01:32:00.001-07:00

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/09/139262401/discworlds-terry-pratchett-on-death-and-deciding?ft=1&f=1032

Genes vs training: The secrets of success

2011-08-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

HT to the studs at Sports Scientists. An excellent post, not just as thumbing the nose at the pulp theorists like Gladwell but independently an excellent read, discussing as it does, darts and chess among other things -> http://www.sportsscientists.com/2011/08/talent-training-and-performance-secrets.html

One fasting swami you have probably never heard of

2011-07-24T07:56:00.001-07:00

Unless you are a reader of the Hindu, this is one story you perhaps missed.

And the guy didn't exactly fast from morning to evening. He fasted for some phenomenal amount of time (~144 days) from what the news item says.

And the cause was quite noble too. Pity we are too busy watching a media circus.

Depressing.

HT to Sanchayan

New Arrivals on my bookshelf

2011-07-23T09:56:00.001-07:00

To clean up some of the melancholy from the previous post, here are some shiny new additions to the bookshelf, part of which has been purchased thanks to credit card points :)

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The pillow book by Sei Shonagon

The Cilappattikaram (the tale of an anklet),

The absent traveller (Prakrit love poetry from the Gathasaptasati of Satavahana Hola)

The last 3 books were Jerry's recommendations and the last one in particular is perhaps the first work from Prakrit that I have laid my hands on. Merry times ahead

Boston Sadness

2011-07-21T09:07:00.001-07:00

In my mother tongue, there is a saying which has an equivalent in several languages. It roughly translates to, 'Who will protect the field if the fence grazes on it?" Essentially, who guards the guards, etc.

The title of this post is a reference to that long pending dream of mine to line up at the starting line in Hopkinton Square.

From my discussions with the BAA, it appears that the dream will have to wait for a while.

I had spent the last few weeks agonizing over my chances of getting a place to run in Boston in Apr 2012 given the new norms. Among various nutcase activities I had compiled the no. of people across my age category (18-34) for the top 10 marathons in the US to see how many would beat me. Now all that is irrelevant :(

I had known that the new norms favoured faster runners. I had not tried to explore the ambiguous territory of whether "fast" was an age-adjusted term. Apparently it is. And that breaks my heart. I had kept away from checking that out till today hoping to leave it for later, when I would find out in Sep anyways. In one reckless moment I wrote a mail to the BAA to clarify this and they did quite generously and clearly.

Running is the one activity that guards me from getting down due to various other causes. However that leaves me open to the risk of being vulnerable to something that saddens me and has its origins in running. Not getting a place in Boston 2012 despite making the 3:10 norm is a terrible pill to swallow.

This means that I will need to beat the 3:05 norm next year and by a large margin to ensure I am through. While that is infinite motivation to run faster in the future (I have been suffering from marginal complacency & some hubris in the past 5 weeks, since I got back from the US), it means that I will need to exceed my own performance by an order of magnitude.

Humility is never late in arriving

Of course, I will still apply in Sep 2011, but my calculations show that there is no chance of my qualifying since older folks will be able to beat their norm by a larger margin than my piddly 13 seconds

Mumbai Police appeal

2011-07-13T08:02:00.001-07:00

Don't drive for two hours so that emergency crews have empty road.

Help the authorities manage better. Don't panic

Bomb Blasts in Mumbai

2011-07-13T06:51:00.001-07:00

For those who didn't know, there have been 3 bomb blasts a while ago in Mumbai as reported on Rediff.

Check this http://news.rediff.com/commentary/2011/jul/13/liveupdates.htm

for updates

Take care everyone.

Just hope no one is hurt

IIT . IIM . Aaaiiiyaaiiiiooo !

2011-07-12T07:54:00.001-07:00

Inspired subject line shamelessly pilfered from the Opus' weekly mailer.

Some killer witty person pens these lines week after week for Opus.

Somewhat reminiscent of "British Intelligence, ... Average Intelligence" line from Cars-2

Pedder Road, old friend, we meet again

2011-07-09T22:18:00.001-07:00

After a 5 week layoff from running, necessitated by an injury, I resumed running y'day.

Ran about 5 miles - with the last mile being the fastest mile of the 5.

And then this morning, said hello to my old friend (I have spent more weekends running up Pedder Road and hence been in its 'company" than I have spent with anyone except perhaps my parents!).

Ran into several running buddies from Bombay who were all finishing up, thanks to my waking up late :(

And last night's monstrous dessert at a friend's wedding feast was just asking to be burned up.

But then, running 10 miles was made doubly tough since I ran in the rain for almost the entire return leg from Chowpatty...However the newer lighter me (despite the weight gained back in the last 5 weeks) found it much easier to go up Pedder Road twice, than I have ever found it in the past.

Good friend, we shall start meeting again, more often.

Man can be destroyed, but not defeated or could he?

2011-07-07T08:40:00.001-07:00

Hotchner on Hemingway - mildly depressing piece (read it to see why it is sort of recursive!)

HT to someone on my twitter TL that I can't recall ...

roger bannister in sports illustrated, 57 years after 'the moment' in modern running

2011-07-06T08:35:00.001-07:00

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1187805/index.htm

Joga Bonito

2011-07-06T08:23:00.001-07:00

http://meretricula.tumblr.com/post/7244678139/stickmarionette-copaamericanepsport-tango

HT to Prem Panicker

Radical Honesty

2011-07-02T09:01:00.001-07:00

http://www.esquire.com/features/honesty0707

HT to Prem Panicker

Bharat Matrimony & LinkedIn

2011-07-02T08:42:00.001-07:00

In one solid WTF headline I read that BM & LI tied up. As one smart friend wagged, you can now send your horoscope and resume to your future father-in-law and say, naukri nahi to chhokri to de do!

The Azarenka Test

2011-07-02T08:40:00.001-07:00

Just a few moments Petra Kvitova passed what is now termed the Azarenka test. Essentially in 6 of the last 8 tournaments, the player who beat her has gone on to win the tournament. Fodder for a bunch of journalists and bloggers including yours truly. While I read this when she got beaten, the latest link I chanced upon is from the wackily named 10sballs! Read http://www.10sballs.com/2011/07/02/the-azarenka-test/

Me, Shyam Benegal and Glenlivet

2011-06-21T09:01:00.001-07:00

I know there is at least one post pending about the end of my sabbatical but this one is really fresh, like 10 mins ago. So that one will have to wait.

Warning: This will read terribly like a fanboy post!

Today I met Shyam Benegal. We had drinks together, well, almost. Better still, I had Glenlivet whisky and so did he!

I was at the book launch of Amitav Ghosh's River of Smoke which was sponsored by Glenlivet. So this is what happened.

Shyam (yeah, yeah!) and I are standing at the bar where Glenlivet is being dispensed. He remarked that on this day there was no chance that on could even get in edgeways to the counter given that Glenlivet is being handed out free. He was behind me!

And I did what any fanboy should do. I told him that I was in no hurry to get to my whisky and that I see less of him than of Glenlivet! Come on - I have met him once and I have had Glenlivet several times! So he could go ahead and have his whisky ahead of me, especially since he was being the gracious husband and getting his wife a drink.

After that surreal moment or should I say real moment, I was in a different world altogether.

Thanks to Glenlivet whisky ;) Whoever thought that a single malt could create such a memory! Woo hoo!

Of course, there is tonnes to write about Amitav Ghosh and the book, but this post was about me!

Rock N Roll San Diego 2011 - Pain is weakness leaving your body

2011-06-07T11:33:00.001-07:00

It is 136 days since I left India.

I have done about 800 miles during 19 weeks of training . My OCD driven mind wants me to insert a note which says I didn’t do 4 weeks of training which was scheduled in which I would have done 150 more miles. In fact I ended up doing 700 of those 800 miles in the first 14 weeks. The last 5 weeks were mostly forced rest due to an injury I picked up during my 1^st attempt to BQ. But I had been hoping that it would heal before the race and at the minimum, not cause significant distress during the race.

The race was on Sunday and my last run before the race was on Friday and just 2 miles to just shake up the body. Sometime on Friday, the pain surfaced on the right side of my lower back extending to my lower glute muscles and stayed there. And then on Sat, a completely forgettable series of mishaps beginning from my forgetting my mobile phone at the marathon expo spoiled most of my Saturday. By the time I sat down to have my pasta meal on Sat, it was dinner time! But I was not very fazed.

When I got to the starting line at 4:45 am, I was the 1^st person in the corral 1, just behind the E corral for elite athletes. And I had done all the right things – light breakfast, warmup followed by stretching.

I started promisingly enough. The first mile went by in 6:30! My heart rate was elevated and usually the first mile is fast. I could feel my butt hurt and consequently the legs tense up even during the first mile but as described earlier it was not unexpected and I was just hoping it would not affect my strides. It didn’t really till mile 17. I had gone by the halfway point in 1:30:14, 30 seconds faster than what I had managed at the Avenue of the Giants (AOTG). I should have detected something was amiss since I felt I was going much faster. Evidently my body was not recording the right reaction to pain emanating from my back while the data was showing my feeling was not in tune with actual performance.

From around mile 15 or so, I began to feel a level of discomfort which continued to increase. While my heart rate didn’t spike, I felt I was running up an incline when it wasn’t really so. That’s when it struck me that my leg turnover had dropped as had the range of motion that I had in the beginning. Clearly, the issue with my lack of exertion had more to do with additional effort rather than speed.

For the next 4 miles, I tried to convince myself that this pain was expected. So I would run through it. After all, there was no running planned for at least 2 months after this race. And even if I went at 7:30 a mile from mile 15, I would still make the finish line in 3:10. I was at mile 14 in 1:37 or so.

But from mile 18, I could feel shooting pain each time I lifted my leg for longer strides. The pain was not as sharp if I did a shuffle. At mile 20, my race was officially over since I got there in 2:23. Even I couldn’t make 3 mins on my target of 2:20 for 20 miles and run the remaining 6.2 miles in 50 min as I had done in AOTG. And those 6.2 miles had come on the back of some solid training. But one could also argue that this race was done on almost 4 weeks of taper! So rest should have given me fresher legs. Whatever the reason, the injury eventually guided the outcome of my race. I have never contemplated pulling out of a race as many times as I did during this one. I did occasionally try and bitch to myself over the race weather. It was warmer (65-70 deg F) at the starting line than it was the finishing line in AOTG (60-65 deg F). But this argument was gibberish. After all I did manage to get a searing fast first half and I wasn’t sweating.

I began walking from mile 21 and then all the way from mile 22. At around the 23 mile mark, I saw one runner by the side of the road who was delirious and was sitting and plucking some plants out of the ground! Another runner was trying to soothe him and then telling him to manage for a few minutes while he fetched water. He did ask several runners passing by but there was none carrying water. Eventually I went to the next medical tent and told them to send medical help. A few minutes later I did see the ambulance going his way. I hope he is fine. That was an unsettling reminder of how lucky I have been in my last two races.

This has neither been my ugliest race nor has it been my most courageous. It falls somewhere along the spectrum ranging from “Oh god, I can’t wait for this run to start” to “F* man, when will this misery end?” In the end the determination to ensure this was not my first DNF won over my new philosophy of pulling out of a race if it doesn’t meet a time target like pros do. After all, this race was supposed to be the icing on my preparation. But I am no pro and this is not the last marathon I will run in my life. Despite myself, after so much reading and training, I know that much. But I don’t see myself running in San Diego in the near future.

I had a major temptation to get all self-sympathetic and ended this post with those oft-misused lines from Hollow Men by TS Eliot, since they did sum up my feelings between mile 17-22, but no, I won’t. I will kick this timing’s butt and run faster some day. There is this awesome line that the US Marines use as a recruiting slogan, “Pain is weakness leaving your body!” Hope my weakness has had its arse kicked. As I write in my book, before my previous race my coach had inspired me with the lines about having respect for the marathon, regardless of performance. He should know. He has done nearly a 100 of them! This was my 14^th. If anything, I have more respect for every marathon, regardless of timing. I am a little sad but I won’t die because of this. As I have said earlier in this post, this injury was expected. The only hope against it was to delay it till I could get through most of the miles. That didn’t happen. I know I will run a better & faster race when I recover. Till then bring on the cheese cakes, chips and alcohol. It has been less than 48 hours, but I am consuming calories like there is no tomorrow. Celebrations delayed for a month now are in progress.

Try and sign up for my book now.

Some thanks to those sweet spectators and residents of San Diego whose kids offered fresh cut watermelons and the medical tent which gave me their own fresh fruit which I ate gratefully when hungry. God bless you all. So this is the end of my Mission to qualify for Boston in 2011. If all goes well, in Oct you will hear more about whether the BAA will let me line up in Hopkinton in Apr 2012.

Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen

2011-05-31T17:35:00.001-07:00

Midnight in Paris is Woody Allen's latest movie and is a completely self-indulgent and utterly delicious movie.

Woody Allen, you b****!

That was my first reaction to the movie. (Spoiler alert in general, but this is not a thriller like say, Match Point. So I am hardly giving anything away).

Woody Allen has made perfect use of the fact that he could get anyone to act for him and will and made perhaps his best movie in two decades. The movie seems to be his way of saying "I know I can get away with anything in my movies, but this time I will entertain you and I will get away with a lot."

Marion Cotillard....ooh! Such devastating beauty!

I am sorry Owen Wilson but you belong in Wes Anderson movies more than Woody's. You didn't do bad though. It is just that someone with a more expressive face would have done. Michael Sheen who I loved in The Damned United portrays a pedantic prick with style.

A bunch of other actors not usually seen in popular movies except Marion and Kathy Bates (who seems to be smugly telling herself not to laugh while she plays out her excellent role as Stein) essay excellent characters although Brody was just ok as Dali. Even Carla Bruni does ok.

Not since Woody Allen totally kicked butt in Annie Hall with this scene (jump to 2:23 for the exact moment), has he made watching his movies as much fun. This is Woody Allen of 1977, but suitably updated for the present day - new and improved to use the cliched term. Despite the obvious nostalgic nods to Hemingway, Picasso, Fitzgerald, Stein among others, not since Stephen Jay Gould viciously attacked romanticism about the past and golden ages in his book Eight Little Piggies, has anyone made such a beautiful commentary on the past, yet commended the virtue of the present age.

This movie could spawn a new genre of art and literature which tips its hat to the past but is not necessarily stuck there like a relapsing alcoholic. It belongs right up there with Jasper Fforde's Nursery Crime series or say the new "Sherlock" series by Stephen Moffat.

The movie has a tongue-in-cheek reference to itself towards the end and runs largely like a Christopher Nolan (of Inception) meets Giuseppe Tornatore (of Cinema Paradiso or the retrospective from the Oscar awards) movie. And the movie is wonderful entertainment with such tastefully chosen music - you know Cole Porter made awesome music. but did you know how much fun you can have when you walk in Paris in the rain with Cole Porter playing in your head? Go watch the movie to find out.

Marion Cotillard....ooh! Such devastating beauty!

So my job* is stressful huh?!

2011-05-29T22:29:00.001-07:00

http://blogs.payscale.com/content/2011/02/most-stressful-jobs.html

* Of course when I do get back to work

Zonal Marking on Barca's victory

2011-05-29T16:01:00.001-07:00

As is the norm, an outstanding post by ZM. The graphics of successful sorties by Barca vs. a similar one for ManU tell the story. Edward Tufte would be proud if this were put up as the summary of the match with just the scoreline and the viewer left to interpret the rest

Notes on Barca's victory

2011-05-28T16:32:00.001-07:00

For once, Alex Ferguson was not really scowling when he left. At least he had a smile on his lips when he greeted Pep. He knew he had witnessed the beautiful game. It is hard to be upset when you have witnessed one of the most beautiful displays of football ever.

Of course it was not 90 minutes of Barca domination. ManU shone for brief moments. I really liked Park's tenacity, especially in the first half and if you had seen the first half, you could have been forgiven for harbouring the notion that ManU were up to it. There will be enough people harping over ball possession. That is illusory. Remember what Jose did to Barca last year. Even then, Barca had more than 2/3rd possession. But last year was last year. This year we kicked him in the teeth and that when he had Ronaldo playing for him, no less.

A good coach (as a memorable podcast on NPR discussed) does 3 things - improves the player, improves the team and improves the game. Remember Maradona (the suckiest coach in football despite perhaps the greatest player of all time) had Messi, Tevez, Di Maria, Higuain, Aguero and Milito!

It was like watching origami in water. It was clear Messi would be marked and ManU did well. Slowly but surely, Barca created their alternative game around Pedro, Xavi, Iniesta. Once Pedro fired, ManU had to release its grip and the game opened up. Then Messi showed us why we don't have to die with any regret about Argentina losing the previous WC despite having the best lineup ever. The game is bigger than any trophy including this one. The short passes that Barca uses makes for a mesmerizing display of tactics. While Rooney and his peers made long runs to be caught offside frequently, the Barca side didn't ever focus on one player. And after Messi scored, he was back to his familiar role, controlling the ball. And without a hint of jealousy that perhaps dogs most other top teams, Messi was clearly celebrating the goal of David Villa like some schoolboy who had been allowed on to the field! I guess such team dynamics help. I saw at least one run from Nani wherein he could have passed to Rooney to his right but he chose to take the strike which landed safely in Valdez's hands.

Barca added the icing on their cake even with their substitutions, bringing on Puyol with 3 mins to go (3 were added later). And Puyol generously let the captain's arm band go to Abidal, the man who has returned in nothing short of a miracle to not just playing football but the UCL final. And Abidal was finesse personified. Have you seen his legs? They are like a distance runner's - not an ounce of brawny muscle, just lean strength. I was almost moved to tears when Abidal was allowed to lift the trophy. If there are egos on this team, I guess one will need to get each of them drunk with a UCL cup worth of liquor each to see it. They are more like schoolboys on a trip having fun. And the silent work of Piquet in defence didn't go unnoticed by me either. If I go on, I will have to list every player but that's how good the team was. ManU showed why they are the top team in EPL by making steals which in any other game would have led to goals. Barca shrugged off all such moves and played like the champions they are.

Joga Bonito

Barca vs. ManU - Jonathan Wilson's comments

2011-05-27T22:38:00.001-07:00

Ever since I began reading "Inverting the Pyramid" - that masterpiece of football tactics by Jonathan Wilson, I have always thought of him as the finest writer I have read on football. Besides I am partial to anyone who begins his discussion with Argentina/Argentinians and if it is a woman journalist he is quoting, the charm is enhanced. And I am yet to finish that book!

To return to the title of this blog, this nearly 2000 word piece serves to showcase Wilson's understanding of football and his prescription to ManU for the match coming up in less than 12 hours. Read it and be prepared.

I am hoping that I shall be chanting "Barca, Barca, Barca, Messi, Messi, Messi" yet again. Once Pep moves out and the Barca team disintegrates in the 2011-12 season, I am not sure Barca will repeat their success. So here's hoping for one last hurrah for Pep at Barca. Come on, you magic boys!

Bizarre event - Indian diplomat's daughter to sue NYC, school

2011-05-24T22:33:00.001-07:00

This news item from Rediff which I had no clue about and read only moments ago is bizarre in so many ways. I am not sure whether there is a precedent to this, but I thought that families of diplomatic corps did have some privileges. Apparently not.

Does anyone know if say, the children of some US diplomat in India ever got stuck in similar circumstances and if so, how they were treated?

After the searching of at least one Indian diplomat not too long ago by the TSA ruffled feathers, this one is bound to agitate a lot of people in India, at the least.

Are Hjorungnes - RIP

2011-05-22T14:07:00.001-07:00

I met Are Hjorungnes for just about an evening when I was in Honolulu, Hawaii last month. I had never met him before. And sadly I will never meet him now. A common friend had set up a dinner with 2 of his friends from the university.

We found some common ground to talk about. I introduced myself and said that I was on a sabbatical. Are was too.I said I was a runner and Are was too. So we discussed each other's timings. I discovered he was in a different class altogether. He had been a fast runner in college.

I mentioned I was writing my 1st book. He had written two technical works, published by Cambridge University Press!

It was like kids playing with flash cards! Almost everything I could discuss found an echo in Are. I was so kicked.

He had a mischievous, disarming and almost permanent smile and said stuff as if he were surprised by it too. And another friend talked about Are's adventures on the beach. Are was so energetic that his life must have been eventful all the time.

While we waited for dinner, Are constantly joked around and then insisted that we all have his business card. Encouraged by him, the other friend also gave out his card. I wasn't carrying any since I was on vacation. But this was one of the various funny moments from our evening. It reminded me of the time when I first got business cards in my first job. I had to force it on people. We had even discussed that if he ever came to India, we should meet.

We walked around for over an hour in the Waikiki area and the company of Are and his other friend was so great that one didn't realize how much time had passed. Not for a moment did we remember that my host in Hawaii had been away for over an hour. To know that someone so interesting and who led such a rich and eventful life, is no more, is quite saddening and disappointing.

God bless his soul. May his family & friends have strength to absorb this loss.

Here is a blog which was setup by some of his friends, while they went around searching for him and a relevant news item.

California State Park Closure

2011-05-20T17:55:00.001-07:00

I read this news with more than a tinge of sadness. As per this blog post, the cut is about $11 mn which will be saved from closing 70 parks, which means nearly $150K/park/year. Surely that seems like a sum that can be raised by local neighbourhoods or donations (which is one of the options being explored anyways). But it is interesting to note that nearly 70 mn people visited these parks of which roughly 19 mn people paid in 2009. Assuming no major shifts in the nos, doesn't this mean that charging everyone (what seems like a reasonable sum of) $1.5 per year per person should remedy that deficit?

I know I make a simplistic argument, but I am sure runners across CA would not mind paying $1.5 as a park fee for the year for ex? After all several runners use parks for practice runs. Although I haven't been to many parks in CA, having run mostly on Steven's Creek Trail for the most part, I think this is something sellable. Another option would be try and get all marathons to raise an optional $1 per participant as park fee. After all, they do make donations to various causes even at the time of registration and they are usually more than $1.

Would love to hear opinions from readers (if any) in CA

University of Life

2011-05-20T07:22:00.001-07:00

I am an admirer of Alain de Botton, especially after listening to his earnest imploration in his TED talk. And I have read more than one of his works (How Proust can change your Life, parts of The Architecture of Happiness). So I was intrigued when I stumbled across this. I now have excellent ways to sum up certain friends of mine - Oh, he's my bibliotherapist! Inspired as it sounds, I won't be shocked if the enterprise folds up in a while. People succumb to peer pressure and work more often than they pick up nice books and help themselves get inspired. And paying for such services seems rather expensive. I have friends who do this for free for me :)

We might as well win by Johan Bruyneel

2011-05-17T15:17:00.001-07:00

Johan Bruyneel is almost always nearly mentioned in the same breath as Lance Armstrong. However he did have a bit of a cycling history himself having donned the yellow jersey once after a famous stage victory in the Tour de France.

The book is an excellent first person recollection of his experiences in Winning and Losing (the latter part being almost the same size as the former in the book) with Lance and to a smaller extent with Contador. Of course there are sprinklings of anecdotes of other legends including some of his contemporaries such as Indurain

One gets a insider's view, albeit in retrospect at the machinery at work behind the scenes, as riders race, pedal, crash etc at various races following instructions, relaying, transmitting & receiving messages, back and forth, from & to the Team Director.

While there are those who taint Lance who may taint Johan also, I would rather learn about the strategies for competing at the highest level, regardless of what the future may bring on the various investigations/scandals that keep cropping up in professional cycling, than stay away from such a tale. While my heart is with the likes of Graeme Obree, I find the astuteness and aggressiveness that comes with a certain brand of athletes also, a refreshing change. Bruyneel's tale is not exactly an ode to humility but winning 8 TDFs ( 7 with Lance and 1 with Contador) is unsurpassed.

And how many real Belgians (sportsmen or otherwise) do you know of? This is my first book about one such and what an example of success from such a small but impressive country!

Well worth a read.

Must get hold of a book on "the cannibal", Eddy Merckx, sometime.

Update: A not so minor error of omission on my part - the book is co-authored by Bill Strickland, a journalist who has made his own name in the cycling world

Paul Tergat: Running to the Limit by Jurg Wirz

2011-05-16T19:41:00.001-07:00

This book about Paul Tergat by German journalist Jurg Wirz, subtitled "His Life and His Training Secrets With Many Tips For Runners" is a very brief profile of Paul Tergat. It is as much a profile of Tergat as it is a running guide for serious as well as beginner runners.

It is barely hagiographic and is almost like a series of magazine articles, rather than a book. Tergat's early life as well as most of his big contests are described in brief detail. It is difficult to say what could be more detailed but there is hardly any detail on Tergat's upbinging or his family. There is not much discussion of the mental part of the preparation of Paul for his many races with Haile. There is very little on Kenyan running as a general tradition or description of Kenya in the 70s and 80s as Paul grew up.

The "running school" part of the book is precise and excellent but the reader is left hungry for more. The book also has a collection of pictures from Paul's life, previously unpublished. Worth a read if you are a fan of Tergat or an aspiring runner, but not much of a classy biography for reasons outlined above. Since I am a fan of Tergat and since this is my first book about him, I am obviously very happy to have read it.

I can say that the book completely lives up to its subtitle

Sammy Wanjiru RIP

2011-05-15T21:15:00.001-07:00

I had marked out Sammy Wanjiru as my choice to break the WR here and here. He had been beset by some domestic problems of late but seemed to have been turning around with that breathtaking victory against Kebede at Chicago. Despite whatever his personal problems were, it is a sad day for athletics. Sammy was just about 24! It will not happen now. He died a few hours ago.

As a self-confessed fan of Kenyan running in particular and marathoning in general, I will miss him. His win at the Olympics had underlined his potential. Now he will join the league of people whose lives could have produced many more great things.

Very sad day.

God bless his soul.

Here's a tribute from the guys at Sports Scientists

100th edition of Bay to Breakers

2011-05-15T20:40:00.001-07:00

Amongst the few touristy things I have done on my sabbatical, I registered for the 100th edition of the Bay to Breakers (B2B) race in my first month in the US.

As my training progressed, I had planned to use it as a fast 12K. But with my injury in the last 2 weeks, my expectations changed completely. I was just happy to run in the race and use it as a shake-out run as my massage therapist called it and more importantly, finish the race with no injuries/aggravation of my existing issue.

Perhaps due to the fact that I registered in Feb, I ended up in corral C, which was set to finish in 90 min. I was quite disappointed about it and was quite uptight at the start when I got there at 6 am for the 7 am start.

However I had no idea how the day would turn out. Usually I end up at the start of races mostly all wired up and intent on timing. But within moments of my getting into the corral, there were gingerbreads, chapatis, tortillas flying about in apparently what seems to be a glorious tradition at the B2B race. Initially I was wondering what on earth were people doing. However after seeing some cheery 60-70 year old use tortillas as frisbees, my feelings changed. Soon I was an eager participant in the festivities. As if tortillas weren't enough (at some point in time, there were around a 100-150 tortillas in the air!), some people began to bounce beach balls around. It is something to see people scream "Don't touch it, That's mine!" and so on bouncing beach balls while waiting in the starting corral. Waiting for a race has never been so much fun. Some people who didn't really participate initially decided to plunge full in, when they were hit by a few tortillas in the head. It was like one large dormitory of kids let loose.

And then of course, there were the costumed runners - people in birthday suits, a permanent fixture in the B2B to people dressed as superheroes/animals/birds etc. After a long time, I ran a race with little attention to my watch and spent time looking around. Besides my back still hurts. So not much good news yet.

But much fun was had by all.

And yes, I did ok on timing too considering that the race was almost all downhill after a staggering ascent along Fell Street - a nearly 11% gradient up Hayes Street Hill.

If you are visiting SF during May, a strong recommendation to participate

Boston Marathon by Tom Derderian

2011-05-15T19:24:00.001-07:00

The book subtitled "History of the World's premier running event" is one amazing effort at archiving the evolution of what is arguably the world's premier running event.

There are so many things that I learnt for the first time from the book that is impossible to put them all down in one place w/o reproducing a lot of the book here. The author, no slouch himself, having run a 2:19 at Boston, has taken great pains at documenting the history of the event, year by year, while producing a decade-wise general summary of the world at that point in time.

It is fairly startling to know that Boston wasn't always the elite event of choice for most runners and also that they had so many problems common to events with less heritage. And it is almost incredible to know that the BAA almost lost control of the event at some point in time.

Wonderful book. Must read for any Boston marathon adherent such as myself. Enough lessons on racing strategy, heartbreak and running spirit in general.

It is quite a long book and very detailed and took more than a week to complete for me, at nearly 600 pages. I am thinking I should get a copy for myself now!

XKCD on Woman in science

2011-05-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

This one strip quadruples the average person's knowledge of woman in science

The real Kenyan secret

2011-05-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

HT to Runner's World.

Read this

"...try busting your ass two or three times a day, seven days a week. Try dropping your day job and devoting your life to running..."

This is eerie. It is almost like they were speaking to me. Now if only I could go back 20 years and lose 20 pounds!

Another reason to be in Argentina besides Messi & football

2011-05-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

Read this. HT to Nilanjana

Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas

2011-05-09T21:13:00.001-07:00

This book was picked upon Arun's mentioning it. It is a delightful read about a positively charming woman's experience of growing up as an Iranian in the US. As the author says, it is not necessary to have been a celebrity to pen a memoir. And she pokes fun about everyone including herself so smoothly that you get the feeling of being in the company of one of those cousins whose visits you look forward to, when you are kids, waiting to be regaled by their stories. Her love for her father whose sometimes hilarious sometimes poignant tales populate the book, shines through the book. And I think it is necessary to read such books, about someone from an extremely rich culture. This is my 2nd book by an author of Iranian origin. Look forward to savouring more. As the author argues, just because a few people give the Middle East a bad name, doesn't mean you lose your head and treat everyone just the same. If you listen to her interview on the Commonwealth Club podcast, you almost want to hug her.

Strongly recommended especially for aspiring authors.

I need to figure out a way to get the author to have coffee with me. She seems like someone who might agree to join me, considering she lives somewhere in the Bay Area. Such cool company can brighten up your entire day

Injury Time

2011-05-09T12:04:00.001-07:00

I am out of commission :(

After 14 weeks of training, during which I didn't miss a single scheduled work out and ran over 700 miles, I have decided to take an unscheduled & indefinite break. My lower back issue is now officially a derailer to race preparations.

While I know that I was not really India's bright hope for a medal at London 2012 or even 2016, in my mind, I was pretty much on a quest larger than that.

My mind is a falooda with emotions ranging from rage, stoicism, depression, frustration and of course, hope for a miracle in 4 weeks.

Just a week ago, I was all gung-ho about taking on a marathon in 5 weeks and going for 3:05. Right now, I will be lucky to get to the starting line with no injury.

I feel I have a bit of the legendary Irish luck when one knows that a bit of good fortune is usually an indicator of a disaster round the corner.

I know I am in good shape to repeat a 3:10 at least if I just manage to get to the starting line, but right now I can't knock out even 10 miles without pain. So after some discussion with my coach, I have decided to take this break and consult some sports medicine therapists. Lets see where that goes. In the past I have gotten over injuries by just resting and doing no running for a week or even two. But I was never chasing time in those races.So all I would do is rest and get to the starting line and then aim to finish the race with less mileage in training than planned. And that was fine. Even now I can perhaps run a 3:28 (~8 min pace) with some pain but no muscle pulls but what use is that?! I might as well go see Sea World while I am in San Diego

The rage is mostly being directed towards my considerable pile of unread books. I am knocking off my 2nd book in as many days now. Even Martin Meredith's doorstopper doesn't seem like a challenge now with the amount of free time I have on hand. But it is difficult to even eat food without guilt. And I no longer even need an afternoon nap.

And I am the first one to note that this could have happened earlier too and I wouldn't have even had 3:10 against my name. But humans are greedy and I am human!

As Carey says in Liar Liar, "And that's the way the cookie crumbles"

Playing for Keeps by David Halberstam

2011-05-09T00:26:00.001-07:00

The book is subtitled "Michael Jordan and the world he made". It starts off so poorly with a discussion of the owner of the Bulls, Reinsdorf in such a dull chapter on Michael's contract negotiations that it makes you wonder what has made Halberstam as famous as he was in the world of sports writing. But then he begins showing you why from the next chapter onwards. The book has great personality profiles like any decent biographical work should and not just of Michael but also of the supporting cast.

The book is not just about Michael Jordan but everyone who played in his era and also the people/organizations who were principal characters in his universe - Dean Smith who ran the basketball program at UNC, Phil Jackson who managed the Bulls so well#, Scottie Pippen who was perhaps the big reason Michael was as successful at the Bulls*, Rodman - the literally colorful character, the legends - Magic and Bird and their respective teams (Lakers, Celtics) of that era, Malone, Stockton, the Pacers, Michael's agent - Falk, Krause **, the NBA itself, Ewing and the Knicks, ESPN and Nike.

I would recommend it strongly for anyone interested in team sports (especially basketball, of course!) and also for those who watched/began watching basketball in the late 1980s-early 90s like I did. It is as much a documentary of the world of professionalism in sports as it is of Michael Jordan.

The book is an excellent read.

*not many realize that he was at the Bulls from 1981 and completely frustrated with the lack of success till Pippen and few others joined the Bulls

# It was a pleasant surprise for me to learn so much about Phil Jackson and his counter culture background

** who comes out looking like a slimy character

The spectrum from arranged marriage to dating for a price?

2011-05-07T16:54:00.001-07:00

As this article says somewhat dramatically - is paying for a date "open source" prostitution?

Stephen Fry being generally awesome

2011-05-04T20:24:00.001-07:00

This video where he sounds so loveable for his wisdom and sounds quite serious for someone of his disposition and then again, here on Wodehouse (old article, awesome still).

HT to Quatrainman who provides more evidence of his fine taste.

The video is a sort of a tearjerker because it addresses personal insecurities but given the phase of life I am in, I have utter respect for what he is saying and can relate to it so completely.

Steve Prefontaine's pictures and nuggets of his athletic performance

2011-05-03T22:25:00.001-07:00

Discovered this photostream on Flickr while trawling for pictures from my race last Sunday. Enough to spend a day admiring Pre.

Payton Jordan Invitational

2011-05-02T16:28:00.001-07:00

Here is an awesome race from the PJ 2011. HT to Flotrack. I saw it only because Matt Tegenkamp, my virtual teacher (he doesn't know that!) was racing his 1st big 10K race. See this and see from 20th min at least when some dramatic stuff happens. It is a 30 min or so video. If you like running, you will love it

Boston Qualification, wiggling big toe

2011-05-02T06:59:00.001-07:00

The title of this post is a nod to Kill Bill where the protagonist says before embarking on her venegeful spree that she must first wiggle her big toe first!

For those of you not deluged with my immodest status updates on FB, I ran in the Avenue of the Giants Marathon 2011 y'day. I finished in 3:09:46. I was 7th in my age group and 18th overall.

This is a PB by 50+ mins for me. Shows the quality of my superman coach.

Thanks are in order to various people who cheered me including over a thousand runners/spectators at the race.

My modest target from the race was to run 20 miles in 2:20, a pace of 7 min a mile, mostly since I was using this race as a tune-up to a more serious attempt at a BQ on 5th June at the Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon. I had run a maximum of 18.5 miles in training before this race. So my coach and I were keen to ensure I got a quality run of 20 miles and then anything better would be a bonus. I got to the 20 mile mark in 2:21. Alarm bells had begun ringing at around mile 17-18 itself since I pulled my left hamstring then. I had been carrying a lower back injury for a while now, ever since I got back from my trip to Hawaii. That injury induced stress moved down to my leg over the course of the race and morphed into a nasty strain. However our gamble to run 7 min miles till mile 20 paid off as we knew I would have 50 mins to run the last 6.2. It almost didn't happen as I was about a minute off the pace at 3 hours. But some amazing prodding by the superman and pacing by a fellow participant (Thanks Anya) who finished 2nd among women (we ran quite a significant part of the race either together or within a few yards of each other. We also finished within seconds of each other).

Phew!

Onto San Diego and some much needed rest in the meanwhile.

Of course, this is an opportune time to plug my book again. Publishers are welcome to enquire :)