Music to my Feet

A supremely gorgeous day- 24 C, sunny, pleasant breeze. Went out running and thought about the criteria to use to select the 10 songs to put on the cell phone to listen to when stranded in a place with no network. Had a fine run, and came up with the following filters the songs have to pass to make it to the list.

1. Should be able to listen to it anytime, anywhere, in any mood.
2. Should move the listener
3. Should be outstanding on at least one attribute
4. Should connect one to faces, places, or times
5. Of the songs that pass 1-4, songs with multiple singers preferred to solos (more bang for the buck).

Tsvetana Shines, Announcers Whine

Tsvetana Pironkova, an unassuming tennis player from Bulgaria, played intelligent tennis to defeat the brute force driven tennis of Venus Williams. She was polite and controlled when answering questions after the match.

On the other hand, the extremely partisan ESPN announcers volleyed one cliche after another throughout the game. Getting paid by the word appears to be the modus operandi.

According to Yahoo, Ms. Pironkova is from Bularia...

A year ago...

Running in Gurgaon, in Delhi's intense heat, and experiencing the life of a fast growing city. Running in the complexes in DLF Phase V was quite an education.

Running ugly

is when the mind is not into running and the legs feel tired, and one's compulsive need pushes him forward.

Mind-ful(l) of tricks

The mind can play a lot of tricks on the runner. If a runner is used to a particular route, a route between the same end points that is technically shorter can feel much longer.

Shoe-in not a shoo-in

Finding the "proper" running shoe is one of the most challenging tasks for a runner- it's no shoo-in.

Runner's Delight

Good food with great company.

A good finishing kick

has allowed the USA football team to advance to the knock-out stage. Good going.

RUnning in Wheaton

A Run for the Animals 4K in Wheaton quite a few years ago, in the nineties, was memorable. The 4K is a distance where one can run fast without worrying about finishing.

Men, today we die a little...

Emil Zatopek, one of the greatest runners of all time, also gave us some memorable, philosophical quotations...

A runner must run with dreams in his heart, not money in his pocket.
Emil Zatopek

An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.
Emil Zatopek

Great is the victory, but the friendship of all is greater.
Emil Zatopek

If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then will power is no longer a problem. It's raining? That doesn't matter. I am tired? That's besides the point. It's simply that I just have to.
Emil Zatopek

If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.
Emil Zatopek

It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys.
Emil Zatopek

Men, today we die a little.
Emil Zatopek

My running was very simple; it was out of myself.
Emil Zatopek

The athlete of today is not an athlete alone. He's the center of a team - doctors, scientists, coaches, agents and so on.
Emil Zatopek

There is a great advantage in training under unfavorable conditions. It is better to train under bad conditions, for the difference is then a tremendous relief in a race.
Emil Zatopek

To boast of a performance which I cannot beat is merely stupid vanity. And if I can beat it that means there is nothing special about it. What has passed is already finished with. What I find more interesting is what is still to come.
Emil Zatopek

We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.
Emil Zatopek

What has passed is already finished with. What I find more interesting is what is still to come.
Emil Zatopek

When I was young, I was too slow. I thought I must learn to run fast by practicing to run fast, so I ran 100 meters fast 20 times. Then I came back, slow, slow, slow.
Emil Zatopek

Why should I practice running slow? I already know how to run slow. I want to learn to run fast.
Emil Zatopek

You can't climb up to the second floor without a ladder. When you set your aim too high and don't fulfill it, then your enthusiasm turns to bitterness. Try for a goal that's reasonable, and then gradually raise it.
Emil Zatopek

RUnning by IIT

The old Chicago Marathon route used to take one past the Comiskey Park area and by IIT. Have k pleasant memories of running in interesting neighborhoods- one restaurant which served tea was very tempting to stop by during the run.

Enjoy now...Pay Later

Today was one of those days when the body moves effortlessly and running becomes a genuine pleasure. However, like all enjoyable things, there is a price to be paid. IN this case, one runs too fast and pays the price the rest of the day.

Runners' High

Top athletes in a number of sports run quite a bit. Jeff Thompson, the feared Australian fast bowler, and Walter Payton, the great Bears running back, used to run quite a bit during training.

Personal marathon

Pushing the body to its limit- is an interesting exercise. The thoughts that race through the brain, the legs that drag on...

Shrinking distance

All of us who used to do more than hundred miles a week are now down to twenty miles or so per week. Slowing times.

A complement of a Compliment...

Earlier this spring, I was going my office at IIT Madras one day by literally hanging outside a campus bus, with one foot on the bus step and one wrist holding a rail. Coincidentally the wife of a colleague of mine was inside the bus and noticed my acrobatics. Some time later, during a dinner, we talked about this event and she commented that I did not appear to have lost my touch with life at IIT. That was a compliment that complements my other compliments.

Speedwork...

May provide many benefits. The temptation to rest at home is tremendous.;

Driving runners crazy

Are people who drive imposing SUVs and are a) not sensitive to the people around their vehicle, or b) who like to intimidate the runners on the road or c) who like to hug the edge of the road. Of these b) is perhaps the most common reason for the excrescence to nearly run down runners on the road.

Paying the Price

The fees for running races have gone up quite a bit- $60 for a half marathon and $100 plus for a marathon are considered reasonable prices. Of course the event has to be organized, water stations have to be provided and many other elements of the race have to be accomplished.

Waste of running

The world cup opened today. Two games, 40 players (excluding goalies) running up and down for ninety minutes, and both games ended in ties.

Running Brooks no Sloth

Advertising - Brooks Sports Takes Aim at the Fun Run Crowd - NYTimes.com: "Fortunately for Brooks, running is booming. In 2009, 43.9 million people ran at least once, compared with 31.4 million in 2000, an increase of nearly 40 percent, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association. The number of marathon runners more than doubled from 1990 to 2009, jumping to 467,000 from 224,000, according to Running USA, a nonprofit group; half-marathon runners increased even more sharply over the same period, to 1.1 million from 303,000."

The Long Haul

It is interesting to delve into a runner's thoughts when he or she is going for a long run. Hauling the body over long distances takes some effort of body and mind. One lapses into thoughts and does not realize how the time passes, until the body sends signals of pain.

Running over Oprah...

Barbara Ehrenreich: Breast cancer diagnosis leads to an expose of positive thinking and the pink ribbon cult - chicagotribune.com: "n a phone interview, edited and condensed here, Ehrenreich talked about her latest book, High 'Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America' (Metropolitan Books,$23)."

...

"Q: You say you decided to look into the cult of happy out of a combo of anger and curiosity. Did you uncover any surprises in your research?

A: How widespread the ideology of positive thinking is in America. There's almost no problem for which positive thinking has not been proposed as a solution.

Q: You hang some of the blame on Oprah?

A: She's not the only one, let me put it that way. Her show has promoted one kind of guru after another or motivator, or something. But you could also put some of the blame on Larry King and Ellen DeGeneres and others that I'm not aware of."

A Round Robin Escape

Yesterday a baby robin was flying around in our garage. Frightened, it refused to leave, and we were concerned for its safety. Eventually, just talking to it made it get low enough to the ground and then fly away. It left a 'robinesque' picture in our minds...

An Uphill Climb

After more than a year, it was nice to be able to run till the end of centennial park and then go up the hill near the Tower housing the Carillon. Climbing hills gives an exercise to the stomach that cannot be obtained by sit-ups or ab crunches. It is also more entertaining than running on flat roads surrounded by McMansions.

An Italian Run

Francesca Schiavone became the first Italian woman to win the French Open. Her perseverance is quite impressive. One good run deserves another, and I hope she does well at Wimbledon too.

No rain-out when out running

This weekend is expected to see a lot of rain but one needs to push forward...one step ahead at a time.

Running...but not in elections

Why are elections referred to as races, as in "the race for the California governor's position...?" While there is a winner in a race, the runner is typically running against himself/herself. In politics, the race starts with the showering of criticisms on the opponents.

Running 8 miles

After many months, the old legs managed to get through nearly 9 miles in good shape. This is a good confidence booster- perhaps longer runs should be the goal for the future.

Stepping up

to a 1oK is a big deal if one has not been running the distance for a while.