Intro
This blog as might be apparent from the title has to do with running, biking and basically other outdoor individualistic sports, sometimes extreme, such as rock climbing . But don't be surprised if you find articles on work, personal life, music and even philosophy, this blog is an exception in this aspect in the blogosphere of running blogs and I am trying to revamp the blog to make it more runner friendly. You might want to look at the sidebar titled 'categorised', which as is obvious, categorizes my posts into different areas of interest.
The other thing that might interest many people is a section on 'running videos' and 'general videos' on the side bar, which I keep updating now and then.
I plan to bring in more posts on running and biking, with some added colour, so as to make them 'complete'. That's about it for now.
As a post-note, I have run a half-marathon, but I am yet to attempt a marathon, which through some concerted effort and time should happen in the future, but that ofcourse is not the culmination of this blog, it would on the contrary be something to jumpstart this blog onto new vistas.
It's actually more than one week since I stepped foot in ahmedabad. The weather here is comparable to that in hyderabad..hot,dry winds that can give you a stroke if you stay out for not so long a time.
The room in which I am put up now is on the 2nd floor of a building that is a part of the newly constructed 'new block' in the IIMA campus. What is pathetic about the construction is all the walls are plain concrete which absorb the heat during the day and radiate it through out the night. (Also the entire width of the walkway(20 metres) in the newblock is fully paved except for some plants in the divider, radiating a lot of heat, more green cover would have helped the guys staying in the rooms ).
This problem is compounded by the fact that my room is aligned in the east-west direction and thereby I incur the wrath of the sun at around 7 am everyday when the first ray of light strikes my body, giving me a jolt of pain....
Well I have decided that terrace shall be my abode for atleast as long it is more comfortable than the room, which is quite large by hostel standards.
Thinking of my room, I miss IITM, where I have been for 4 years and will be for one more year..I am already thinking of getting back there and enjoying the relatively (chennai is definitely hot) cool surroundings that my campus has to offer.
The grub after my 40 minute run today in the campus was really amazing..salads, gulab jamuns and ofcourse lots of curds (apart from chappatis).
That's the only thing cool out here............
Well, that's one good thing that I have been doing here as frequently as possible in between the hectic schedule and the searing heat of ahmedabad. One of my friends not used to such extravagant food, has had more than his share of delicacies and has taken the punishment of frequenting..er..the loo. Ofcourse, he is very cautious now and we keep teasing him now and then, and that keeps him checked. As for me, I have managed to stay below the threshold, but yesterday after a 30 minute run, I gulped many servings of curds and downed lots of water and still managed to have the main course of chapattis with three side dishes, halwa and salads, due to which I have a temporary potbelly! Commented a friend of mine who doesn't run, "I have to start jogging from tomorrow, else I will put 10 kgs in 1 month"...quite possible.
Came here on may 7th for a summer course and project. It has been hectic so far and I think it shall continue to be so for another 50 days.
Well IIMA has some awesome architecture- you can see a lot of arches around and all the buildings are built solely of brick and cement and the outer surface is left as such to give it that natural look. The campus is not very big(as compared to iitm standards), but there are many lawns out here and again amazing buildings...there is even a subway passing below a ring road connecting the old block to the new one.
I was disappointed to find that there is no dedicated track for running available, though there is a football ground which won't serve my purpose..
Anyway, I ventured out the campus yesterday to check out the gujarat university grounds. The traffic was nauseating, i guess the peak hour time, and I lost my way thanks to the directions of a security guy inside. But, that was in a way good as I got to run for a total of 20 minutes. The gujurat univ. grounds is a massive two grounds with only one of them under use for running . It was dark by the time I reached it and I decided to come back the next day to hit the track...and set it ablaze!
Not exactly, I could run on road as well, but that's not important. What is, is that by this weekend I would have had a week(9 days to be precise) of nonactivity, which is simply uncomprehendable....!
Well one good thing is that, I would have sufficient time to heal any residual injuries that could be lurking out there and which only show up when you run!
This last week has been tough and shall be so till wednesday when my I would bid farewell to my last endsem and heave a big sigh of relief.
I am headed to ahmedabad after the exams and hopefully shall have a good experience( running esp.) there.
All ye runners out there who have had their daily run, I envy you...it's like not having your daily cuppa of tea late in the night.
Well, the other day I was wondering why I liked running so much. I came up with the following:
1) There is always something to look forward to any day of the week.
2) Running is a great stress buster especially when the afternoons have been tough(presentations, labs,etc.).
3) I don't have to look for adventure, running gives me enough of it.
4) I feel itchy and irritable if I don't get my usual run!
5) I don't have to worry about the food, I can have any amount any time without even giving it a thought.
6) My abs have started shaping out well(I don't go to gym) and I love it.
7) I have recently started running competetively and hence my basic speed has been gradually increasing. To run at a faster speed every day is always enticing.
8) I have a few goals that I like to accomplish, a few of them being to run a marathon, to run it faster the next time and faster the next time ad infinitum.........., to run a 100Km race within the next 5 years(I dream big!).
I would have looked at someone wierdly if they had given me the same reasons as above 1 year ago. Becoming regular needed some motivation then, which came in the form of being a part of Inter-IIT team, athletics. Though I didn't get any medals, it was a thoroughly positive and enjoyable experience which I shall take forward to the next year's meet(at roorkee).
Kennenisa Bekele with the WR
A favorite in 1996 and 2000 olympics, El G finally realised his dream at the 2004 olympics with a double gold
