In pursuit of consistency...

Should one focus on making that "once in a lifetime" performance, or should one strive for consistency? A philosophical question that always haunts athletes, runners, writers, and many others. It is also possible that one cannot exist without the other- i.e. consistency and an "outlier" performance are necessary for each other...

Running into Faces...

This evening, I was in a Trader Joe's when I ran into a person whose face appeared to be familiar. He turned out to be a colleague from one of my past occupations. Prototypical of these occasions, we caught up with our present lives and peeked into the past. Mark M. remarked that it would be interesting if we wrote a book on where our past colleagues were and what they were up to. A TITAN of an idea- one well worth writing about!

Running fast...to Old Shows...

These days, this runner is combining workouts with a healthy dose of Get Smart, As Time Goes By, Mary Tyler Moore, and recently the Dave Allen Show clips available on YouTube...

The wonderful world of shows...

'Gut'sy Run...

One consequence of not running for a few days is that one's gut is gutted. So the next time the "gut"sy runner goes out he really feels the weight. Takes a while for the body to match the mind's pace.

Running habits..

Running is one habit I would like to keep doing, even though it is getting sacrificed more often these days. Picking arguments with my siblings is another habit I would like to keep going too- makes life fun.

Running Green...

Green is the new "in" thing...and runners have to be green too. We have been recycling our old shoes and other running gear.

Come September....

Usually means logging miles on long runs during the cool fall weather...right now it means listening to the wonderful Come September tune of Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra. This and Berlin Melody were two of my father's favorite tunes, and we used to play this record all the time in India.

Over-commitment to other things is forcing running into reverse.. something which has to be reversed shortly.

Running gags

Airplane has a non-stop series of gags- it is the most hilarious movie I have seen.

Today my brother pulled a "surprise" gag that ran remarkably well...

Brainy Food Needed...

Reducing the food calories, raising the brain calories...

Reminds one of Jeeves..who used to get his brainpower by eating fish.

Owner of a Lonely Heart...Yes!

This was a popular song in the early eighties...

Running seems to be a chore these days...the heart does not seem to be in it, and the legs feel like lead.
One can always reminisce and sing "Glory Days" courtesy The Boss.

Marathons galore...

The big marathons are coming up- it is exciting. In the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, the big dog Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia won for the fourth year in a row, but ran 2:06+, a little slower than his 2:03+ world record.

A "Ped"antic Runner's Romantic Summers...

This summer has been quite different from all my previous summers, even though there is a common thread of "romance" during summer time. In the summer of 2007 I visited a young lady in New York in a "budding" relationship that never opened, and in the summer of 2008 another relationship went awry. During all the past summers I have been able to log some serious running, especially distance running. This summer I was involved in one romance and had fun interacting with students in India. While I ran on most days, I never did any long runs, and now the season is winding down fast.

Memories..of a long run

As the Chicago marathon draws nearer, I am reminded of the many long runs I used to do. Some of these exceeded twenty two miles, and would take me more than three hours. I would be wiped out when I returned, but would have a great feeling. Getting a newspaper and a soda and sitting and watching sports afterwards was the way I spent many an afternoon after those long runs.

Back to the nineties,and the Svetlanas...

Back in the nineties, I was romantically interested in an interesting young lady who loved sports, especially golf. While I have played a few rounds of golf, I have no patience for this sport. One day, we discussed names that we liked. My favorite is Svetlana- I like the way the word sounds. When the word following Svetlana is Boginskaya, it is special- she was an amazing gymnast. I remember her performance in the Olympics. Her successor, Svetlana Khorkina was no slouch, either.

Freedom to run away...

Yesterday our first year students were engaged in a discussion on liberal education. One group brought up the notion of freedom and its importance. I asked the obvious question- what do we need freedom from? One student said we should be free from limits we impose on ourselves; another said that we should venture beyond the cultural norms and limits set by society and expand our horizons. One is inherently free- the only limits are what one sets for oneself.

Out of Step

Running is all about rhythm and movement. After returning from India my personal running has been sporadic, spotty, and consistently inconsistent. A good runner finds a way- I have yet to find mine.

The Delhi Runs

I look back at my time in New Delhi and Gurgaon and my running there. Despite the heat and humidity I managed to put in my runs most of the time, and it was fairly enjoyable. I remember the laugh that the seniors would practice, as a health measure.

Amazing run....

As MJ was inducted into the Hall of Fame this past week, my mind went back to the glory days of Chicago basketball. I was lucky to see MJ play. My friend Jeff and I were reminiscing about it yesterday- one game we went to was the one where Michael came back from a serious injury. It was an exciting moment.

After the crude and obnoxious tirade of Serena and Mr. McEnroe's defense of her actions, all a sports lovers should rewind their memories and watch a Mats Wilander or a Stefan Edberg or Bjorn Borg or Chris Evert to see an educated person play tennis.

Getting beat...and lovin' it!

When I visited Turkey with students a few months ago, one of my students would race me, and would beat me as well. Today I had a few kids in my backyard and all of them wanted to race me. I could not keep up with the 4 to 8 year olds. I can still run distance, but the sprints are a kid's game. At the end, good times were had by all, punctuated with a healthy helping of Häagen-Dazs.

Running...An Organization

A few of my advisees have started a new group on campus, the Greenjays, that focuses on sustainability. It is wonderful to see the energy of a few students who passionately believe in the concept.

Ingrid.. Kristiansen, not Bergman.

Ingrid Kristiansen is perhaps one of the finest runners in modern hostory. On her website, she has a lot of useful information and electronically guides you through the world of holistic e-fitness, -the Scandinavian Holistic e-Fitness Concept- which includes your mind, your spiritand your body.

Running....Gags

I have been watching a DVD of the Get Smart show. It is hilarious, with gags running at a furious pace! Fabulous entertainment, and a great spoof on the Bond movies....

A marathon wreck

The fall marathon season is here, and the Chicago Marathon is round the corner. At this time of the year I always feel a deep sense of disappointment because I am not running in the marathon. Ever since I got hurt in 1996, my knee has not been the same, and I am not sure it can take the training required to run the marathon. it is rather sad because I was blessed with good speed and reasonable endurance for distance running. But the bigger race is the one that we run every nanosecond of every day. That race is still going on and one can emerge a victor, with or without injuries.

Running....great for friendships, not enough for romance

This upcoming weekend will find me entertaining some of my good friends- folks who were my classmates during my PhD days. We shared many good times, and all of us were runners- some more so than others. To this day, I turn to them when I need some assistance or moral support. All of us have been running either to or away from something in life. I always believed that if I found a woman who was into running, it would be a great bond, but this summer proved the fallacy of that assumption. Running is great for friendships, but is not enough to spice up romance...

Eat, Run, Play

Went out for a distance run today for the first time after leaving for Delhi. WHile tiring, it was also a pleasant experience.

Getting the maximum out of the mileage

Running can be fun when one does not take it too seriously- perhaps that can get one the maximum benefits. One can and should be disciplined, but one can and should also have a lot of fun doing anything.

Res Hall Run

I ran into one of my unique students today. She told me that she lives on the 3rd floor of her Res Hall and has been taking stairs to be in good shape to beat me in a race.

A week later...

Who would have thought that one could run more consistently in New Delhi than in Chicago? The warm weather can be a blessing and a curse- one can get out early in the morning without having to worry about a lot of clothing, and one can find plenty of people walking or chatting. It was easy to go out for a run in India- it was harder to actually run a serious distance..

Sunny Outlook

A gorgeous day in Chicago - sunny, with light winds, low seventies, low humidity- was simply irresistible to runners. I went out to run for the first time since returning from India. During my eight weeks in the old country, there was not even one day where the weather was conducive to running. But it all depends on one's outlook- I enjoyed running even in the hot humid Indian summer.

A Running Recommendation

Today being the first day of class, I took roll call in my marketing course. During the session I asked students for an example of a corporation and one student Maggie said Starbucks. I asked her if she worked there and she replied yes. I then asked her if she know my former student MS, and she did. MS was one of my best students ever. She graduated this year. Like MS, Maggie was also a runner and was doing track. Apparently MS had advised Maggie to take my course. Recommendations from former students are always revealing.