Friday, July 31, 2009

A "Concrete" story

More evidence that running can be very hazardous to one's health and wealth...one can modify that to say running on concrete...
There have been quite a few times when I have been running on concrete surfaces, including sidewalks and roads, and have taken quite nasty tumbles. The runner assumes that the surface is going to be level, but the great forces of nature and humans can make one slab of concrete slightly higher than the next. The unsuspecting runner promptly hits the raised slab with his shoe and promptly goes down. A fall on concrete is rather hard and painful, and takes a while for the runner to recover.
A friend of mine suffered the same accident recently. It is a bad thing that most runners are not too interested in filing lawsuits- otherwise the city governments would be busy coughing up concrete analysis and putting in decent engineering crews to fix the problems.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

When distance is no object...

While distance is the main object of a physical run, it is irrelevant when one races the mind towards an accomplishment, like solving a samurai sudoku...

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Running backwards...to Aandhi, Chit Chor, and Born to Run

Read a report recently that the Boss was going to do a concert in Chicago and play the whole Born to Run Album. Going back in time I realize how much I love the music of yesteryear, including the wonderful songs from Aandhi and Chit Chor and so many other gems.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Running Out of Time, if Not out of Luck

After a month into the course, a number of students came to see me today- the day before the mid-term exam. Each one wanted to know what chapters were going to be covered, and whether they could borrow my book, or if I could get books from the library for them. It is amazing and disheartening to see such supreme lack of effort, and the confidence that one can get away by just reading enough to get through the exam.

Monday, July 27, 2009

French President Nicolas Sarkozy'a jogging debacle has prompted the story-less writers to write about the dangers of jogging. BBC News has one on the topic. However, the writer does report good stuff..
"...

"The current advice is to drink only when you feel thirsty, because the body acts like a sophisticated sensory device and you'll get a dry mouth and feel dehydrated when you need to drink.

"And at the end of a run, rather than just stopping dead, it's better to run a bit more slowly and slow down until walking fast, allowing the body to adjust gradually back to rest."

BENEFITS OF RUNNING
  • Increased fitness levels
  • Good for weight control
  • Heightens sense of well-being
  • Reduces long-term risk of cardiac problems
  • Good way to explore a city or enjoy the countryside Source: Runner's World
  • A more common complaint among runners than fainting is the impact on joints, says Mr Dixon, although the risks should not be exaggerated.

    "It's a high-impact activity but the more you do it, the stronger your joints get. There's a fallacy that it wrecks your knees and ankles but there's a long-term study that says the more you do it, it ends up strengthening them."

    Dull pain

    The so-called Big Five complaints are shin splints (sore shins), runner's knee (also called patellofemoral pain or PFP), plantar fasciitis (foot irritation), iliotibial band syndrome (thigh irritation) and Achilles tendinitis (lower leg irritation), he says.

    "These are generally wear-and-tear injuries," says Mr Dixon, who says he has never experienced any of them himself.

    RUNNING SAFELY
  • Don't overdo it - faster than a walk is sufficient for a beginner
  • Don't use an iPod when running in the street or road because you need to be attuned to your environment
  • Scan the ground in front of you to detect uneven surfaces Source: Runner's World
  • ..."
  • (From BBC News)

    Sunday, July 26, 2009

    Lack of Will

    I have been asked to give a talk on India in October, and have been thinking about the picture I should be constructing for the audience. One striking aspect of India is that despite having nearly 1.2 billion people, a tough tropical climate, and interesting terrain, it has never produced any runner of world acclaim. On the other hand, Kenya, which has 1 person for every 20+ Indians, and has a GNI ($680, 2007) that is much less than that of India ($950) has produced many exceptional runners. In fact, Kenyans, both men and women, would be tipped to win any major world race. What makes the Kenyans run so well? Running, as a sport, does not take much investment- a good pair of shoes does it. Many Kenyan runners train barefoot as children. Over the past fifteen years, awareness of sports as an occupation has grown - the money made by cricketers is a good example. One is forced to draw the conclusion that at the core, Indians do not have the heart to put in brutal efforts over a sustained long term- especially when it comes to physical exertion. While there are many laborers working in hard physical and environmental conditions, the spirit to put in dedicated hard work now, with the hope of a payout much later, is simply not there. Taking a short-cut here and now, seems to be the motto/

    Saturday, July 25, 2009

    A Run of Luck

    Luck is essential for any runner. Good weather can make any run fun. Nice road conditions help too. Good runners can push others to better performances. A similar analogy can be drawn in romance- good luck goes a long way in pulling people together. However one concatenation of unfavorable circumstances can undo a lot of hard work too.

    Friday, July 24, 2009

    Running up - Laziness

    Several interesting spectacles abound when one goes running here in the morning. It is common to see moms and dads loading their precious ones on to the school buses that come to the gated communities. Every day I do see quite a few people who drive their not-so-little ones from the apartment to the bus stop- all of one or two blocks. Our parents expected us to walk a kilometer to the bus stop- no questions asked. If we were late we missed our regular bus and had to take a later one. Parents- too much attention can result in too little values in your tots.

    Thursday, July 23, 2009

    Runnin...in the Rain

    Today started off as a run-of-the-mill day in Gurgaon - hot,s steamy, and sunny at 7 AM. However anyone stepping out at 5:00PM would have seen dark ominous clouds overhead. It then started pouring heavily. As I got ready to leave, our admin assistant got a car to come around to take me to the guest house. As one who does enjoy getting drenched, I walked to the car, to savor this rare occasion of rain. However a few others ran fast to avoid getting wet....perhaps the few situations where they run.
    The streets got flooded, even though it rained for just half an hour, and pumps were used to take out the water...Into every life some rain must fall...

    Wednesday, July 22, 2009

    Running against the wind, in all directions

    A puzzling phenomenon for this runner is that on cold dreary Chicago days the wind always seems to be in the runner's face- whether the runner is heading out or turning back. Either the wind changes direction just to annoy the runner, or there is a deeper physio-psychological phenomena at work. Even in life, it appears that one is always going against the wind, no matter which direction one goes.

    Tuesday, July 21, 2009

    Sprinting..to or away from the finish line...

    A key part of running is to finish the run. In a race, the objective of every runner is to keep enough fuel in the tank to put on a big sprint towards the end of the race and hurtle past the finish line. In romance, the race is never so simple. As one feels that the race is developing well and the runner feels good, the fear factor sets in...should he/she sprint towards the finish line or get scared and run the other way? No guts, no glory, as one friend aptly put it!

    Monday, July 20, 2009

    Running Hot....

    New Delhi and Amritsar have been boiling hot recently, with extremely high humidity levels that makes life very draining. Any kind of physical activity outdoors looks very unattractive. After having had many "sweat showers" over the past twenty four hours, a break in the weather is being eagerly sought after.

    Friday, July 17, 2009

    A thoughtful runner

    Needs a challenging vista every day - people, scenery, or a situation. I found plenty of those the past few weeks, mostly disturbing ones.

    Thursday, July 16, 2009

    running to catch a moving bus...

    WHen I was in school, running and catching a moving bus was the mark of coolness- many a time did I do that. On one occassion I was on the footboard when the bus was fairly empty- the conductor came by and said that "hawa khane ka hai to bus rokenge" Now, there are very few buses on the roads- cars are the overwhelming majority of vehicles, and no one even tries those stunts.

    Wednesday, July 15, 2009

    Hauling oneself

    In this warm and humid weather running feels more like hauling one's body....not a pleasant thought. The moment one stops to stretch, sweat runs like a river.

    Tuesday, July 14, 2009

    5 to 8...

    Nothing is more frustrating to a runner than getting up early in the morning to go running and finding that he is locked inside and cannot get out. When the runner eventually gets out a few hours later, he finds that the environment is quite different that what he had planned for, resulting in a rather hot view of the world.

    Monday, July 13, 2009

    A runny delight...

    The other day I had wonderful mango ice cream at a friend's place. The host made sure I had seconds and thirds and fourths...
    If only one did not have to worry about how many more miles to run to burn off the ice-cream....

    Sunday, July 12, 2009

    Inspiring others

    I have been running regularly for the past two weeks in a gated apartment community. Every morning I encounter quite a few walkers, some of them in large groups. Of late, I have seen a couple of people attempt to jog...I hope I had something to do with that.
    The classic Indian contradiction is evident here too...Indians are very hospitable and sociable, but within their circle of friends. The same people can be cold and callous towards others. When I run, I am used to saying hello or smiling at people I encounter- I have made several nice friends out of these encounters. But here, folks try to avoid looking at another person, and a smile is not returned, especially when the other person is of the opposite sex.

    Saturday, July 11, 2009

    Running after Peace and Quiet

    Went to the Lotus temple today with a friend VI. It was very peaceful. The whole area is well-kept and clean. A great way to meditate.

    Friday, July 10, 2009

    Running Out ...

    Running indoors or in a closed area can easily make a person feel caged. Doing loops around a track is extraordinarily boring. Unfortunately, running in a foreign place with poor infrastructure means running in a small area and running many laps.

    Thursday, July 9, 2009

    Hea(rt) of the Run

    Finally stretched my running to 45 minutes this morning. Happened to run into another runner. He said he was training for a marathon, which is good.

    Wednesday, July 8, 2009

    No "Soon" in Monsoon....

    Everyone here has been waiting for the monsoon rains but after a few sporadic showers the heat is back up and the humidity is sweltering. Water is still being used liberally- the question is the long-term effect of water exploitation. Running in this climate is challenging, even if the runner gets up and gets out at 5:00 AM.

    Tuesday, July 7, 2009

    Doing a UofC...

    University of Chicago undergrads maintain an old tradition- streaking for a few hundred metres in little or no clothing, in January- when the weather is bone-chillingly cold. Here, the temperature is more than heart-warming, it is heart boiling, and one is tempted to run in little or no clothing- except that it is a sure way to get arrested.

    Monday, July 6, 2009

    Car Crazy..Run Lazy

    The sheer number of cars on the road and the traffic gridlock here in New Delhi is just mind-numbing. Going sixteen kilometres (10 miles) takes more than an hour. Pedestrians have no place to go- there are no sidewalks, and crossing the road is a high wire high risk act. The advent of the Nano will only worsen the situation. Indians should have learnt from the west, that road infrastructure development will never keep up with traffic growth, and it is proving to be the case in India.
    Why can't people walk a little distance? Why doesn't the public ask for investment in good sidewalks and walking paths or cycling paths, especially with so much new construction going on? It's no wonder there are no runners- there is no place to run to, and many places to run away from.

    Sunday, July 5, 2009

    Burning while Running

    is how I felt today while running in very hot humid weather..

    Saturday, July 4, 2009

    A warm run

    Running in 41 degrees C weather is not for the faint of heart. It took a toll on me today- even though I was out only for thirty minutes...The humid air makes it a challenge for the lungs.

    Friday, July 3, 2009

    In the Heat of the...Run

    Got up after a hot night and went for a run, but I forgot to take my apartment keys and found myself locked out. Had to wait for a half hour to get somebody to let me in. When it is hot, it pays to be cool....

    Thursday, July 2, 2009

    No Track for track

    Having watched TV here for a few days, I am surprised by the scant coverage sports gets, outside of cricket. Track and field events are certainly nowhere on the radar screen.
    It's time these events are organized, and promoted- they can contribute a lot to the overall health of the population. And also serve as the springboard for long-running romances.

    Wednesday, July 1, 2009

    Walk Don't Run

    Seems to be the motto in these parts. I encountered quite a number of early morning walkers, some of them quite serious walkers, but no one interested in running. More male walkers than female walkers too....