Two half-marathons

I have been "long time no see" as regards this blog and blogging in general.
Life has changed...Quite a bit. I have been humbled, yet in a good way.

My previous post, was on intensity. I mentioned that I had an intense hike while going down Tiger Mountain. I said that I would like to see this intensity in my life, albeit a sustainable one. Fast forward two years to now... I am living many moments with intensity these days... My research is exciting, challenging and engulfing me at the same time. I meditate every day to help me keep calm and centered, while I run over the weekend to keep fit.
Yes, running has been relegated to a "once a week" thing. However I started training for half-marathons last year end and have run two of them since.
Seattle half marathon - 2010 and Mercer Island half marathon - 2011.
Both were good experiences, finished in around 2hrs 10 minutes.

I plan to run and hike more regularly in the future. Summer's coming up and nature's calling in Seattle.

On Intensity

Just finished my spring quarter. Pretty intense 5 days I had finishing up projects. I went hiking to Tiger Mountain I, two weeks back. It's one of my favorite spots. Tiger III is the more popular one during the weekends. But Tiger I is usually deserted. Atop Tiger I is a small bench and there is also a hut made of aluminum sheets nearby called hiker's hut for shade. This trip saw me enjoy the sunny weather. I reached the top at 5:15 pm and sat on the bench, enjoying the view of Mount Rainier and the valley nearby. I then settled down for a pleasant 30 minute meditation, with little birds chirping around and the wind brushing against my face.
Coming down from the Tiger mountain was pretty intense. Why? I had a deadline to meet!!
I had to catch a bus at 7 pm(the next bus was at 9 pm) and I left the top at 6:15 pm. I under-estimated the time it would take me to get down. Jogging down the trail is not easy with lots of small stones, wood, and slippery edges around. You have to be totally focused on the trail. A second's error could mean a slip which may or may not be fatal. It was pretty intense for me for this reason coupled with the fact that I had to meet the 7 pm deadline. 6:50 pm I had almost reached the base of the hill and the highway in sight. Now I had to just make a sprint to the finish. Wow, this reminds me of my undergrad running sessions of around 5kms.. It was pretty intense. We were three guys and we started off slow, atleast I did, but I would catch up with others and then towards the end, in the last 1km stretch we would be pushing our limits in order to beat the other guy.
This 7pm deadline of catching the bus reminding me of that intensity... It's like, when you are done with it, you tell yourself, you are not going to do it again.. Not at that level of intensity anyway, but you do it anyway. Intensity. It's good to befriend it.
Coming back, I reached the bus stop at 7:01 pm. But guess what? The bus was late by 10 minutes!! But this intensity that I felt while jogging or sometimes running downhill (going with the grade) made me wonder if I could apply the same intensity to my work more often.
I had the opportunity this week.. One of the most intense weeks I have had. But it's a different kind of intensity, involving lack of sleep and stress. I prefer a quiet kind of intensity, an inner intensity, that doesn't necessarily express itself as stress in the body, and an intensity that's long-term, and an intensity that's sustainable.

Long run at greenlake

It is a sunny day today and what a perfect day to go out and enjoy the greenlake experience. Running around the edge of the lake, with people of all ages, with dogs of all sizes and breeds, with all kinds of colors (differernt shades of green and orange on trees, pink and yellow spring flowers bloom, etc), is quite an experience. I finished off my run, by finding a chair near the lake to sit on and meditate for a while and enjoy the silence within. If I could use just one word to describe the total experience, it would be awesome.

Shifting to Green lake

Green lake is one of the really beautiful urban spots in seattle. The name is suggestive of the geography of the location. It's green all around and in the middle of it all is a large sized lake.
And the new place I am shifting to is right next to the lake, just a block away!

And, this place is a runner's haven and heaven!!

Rocking fun are there.

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Hiking near Granite Falls

Hiking through trails,
Walking through forests,
What do you seek?

I seek to experience the nurturing hand of nature,
The hand that shows up as soothing sounds
of gurgling water in a nearby brook,
The hand that shows up as a bird singing it's song,
The hand that shows up as the beauty of mountains, valleys, and lakes, beckoning you forward.

I seek to become aware of the jarring noise of my thoughts
in the deafening silence of nature,
I seek to internalize the peace that I find in the forest trails,
I seek to put things in perspective by realizing
the ignorance of man in living life monotonously,
while nature beckons, as always.

Did a solid 4 hr hike in trails near a place called Granite Falls, around 40 miles from Seattle. I noticed a lot of logging going around this area and also heard a few gunshots. I came across a fence with a few horses idling around inside. I stood at the fence and the horses came around and said hello! As I reached my hand out towards them, they first thoroughly whiffed their noses around my hand before letting me touch them.
Also saw a coyote and a black bunny along the way. I wasn't hiking to any particular destination, just randomly exploring the trails nearby. I guess I walked the half-marathon distance of 21 kms today.. Pretty tiring!