Germany wins!!!

I believe that this will be the best match of the World cup, it can’t get any better. And after this victory, I think Germany has a very good chance of taking the cup. And from the way it started out, I could have actually missed the live telecast of the match thanks to the TV screen going blank courtesy my cable operator. The good old radio ( All India Radio FM telecast through a borrowed feed from BBC) and not the internet helped get me as close to the match as was possible in the given conditions and this went on for 60 long minutes.
And just like the German team the good old cable guy rose to the occasion and got the connection through after the first 60mins, and the match was one hell of a roller coater ride all the way after that…
This week I have run only twice and there is no chance of me being able to run anytime before the coming Sunday. I actually decided to skip my run today, so that I could catch up enough sleep, to be able to catch the four quarter matches over Friday and Saturday night.

Running on sand can cause injury!

As decided I did manage to go for my run on Sunday night and had a good run. I might do one more mid-night run during the world cup and after that will discontinue it, not really worth the mental stress running with the fear of stray dogs!!
I happened to read a newspaper article recently which mentioned that running on the beach may cause injury (according to some orthopedic experts). This is against the popular perception that sand is soft and hence easier on the legs (knees and joints) than a hard pavement. But according to orthopedic experts the opposite is true. The inconsistent surface of sand causes the forces to go through the feet, ankles and hips in a dramatic & uneven/consistent manner, which can predispose an athlete to injury in any one of these body parts. Sprains and tendonitis are commonly diagnosed injuries after running on sand on a regular basis. So basically you can't run on sand or pavements (the damage they both cause), the other options are to run on a treadmill (which can get very boring) or find some grass or mud track (which is not easily available & even if it is, its usually too short, which makes it boring!!). Maybe running on water might be the best option!!!>>>>
Looking forward to my run tomorrow morning....

Singapore marathon registrations to open soon

Just found out the that Singapore marathon registrations start on July 21, 2006. Hope I manage a confirmed participation in it before the end of July. Am a little disappointed as I didn't get any communication from them despite registering for their newsletter. Thank god for the Indian instinct of checking, double checking and followups.
The Great Tibetan marathon does not seem likely this year, maybe next year. There is no communication from the organisers despite repeated reminders. Plus the fact that I will have to take about 12days off which includes about 4 days of travel (to and fro). I have not yet taken a final decision on it as yet, will wait and see...

I did manage to get up early for my sunday run, despite the late night match. Very disappointed with the way Argentina played yesterday and they delayed my sleep time by an additional half hour an hour. Don't think they will go beyond Quarters.
I did 10kms today in 1.03hrs, could not do any more as I was exhausted. I was completely drenched, and this happened without a drop of rain the whole morning. I need to run more regularly and rebuild my stamina & mental toughness. My legs could have taken much more today but it was my stamina & mind that gave up. Lotsa hardwork in store, might actually run again tonight, lets see...

Lightening strikes!

I had a good run on Saturday, did my regular distance in good time. The only problem was that it was only the second run of the week. Managing my running schedule with football viewing has been a tough challenge and its only going to get tougher next week with the knockout stage at its peak.
Its starting to rain almost everyday, but there has been more thunder and lightening than rain during this week. One girl in Bombay even lost her life during to lightening along with many more in the state (and she was carrying about half a dozen mobile phones, as her friends had gone for a dip at one of the local beaches). Pretty scary thought, trying to dodge lightening in addition to dogs at night! As a precaution I plan to carry my mobile phone in the switched off mode during my mid night runs (have lost faith in the one in a million probability of being struck by lightening!!). Plan to do many more of my mid night runs during the world cup next week.

Mid-night run & stray dogs..

I had a good 7km run (4km pre coffee break and 3km post) tonight. It was very pleasant (the temperature was a decent 25degree Celsius and was not humid) and calming, except for the fear of stray dogs. My route has more stray dogs than humanbeings in the night. I only wish someone would just remove them, as most of them move in packs and can scare the hell out of you. There are just soo many of them, the local municipality needs to do something about them (my apologies to the welfare of stray dogs association), but they are a menace in our urban landscape. Not sure if the sterilization campaign to reduce their population is really working, as over the last two years, I have seen their population more than double in my locality.
Now I need to focus on today's match...

I have not been able to run this week for some or the other reason. First it was because I was reaching home late and then it was football. I now need to pull up my socks and get down to running, so will definitely go out for a late night run today before the Argentina v/s Holland match.
Actually I was hoping to run yesterday as well, but it did not happen. I try to have a light snack before 9pm and then catch some sleep from 9.30pm to 11.00pm or so and then go for my run, followed with some latenight coffee at my favourite cafe and finishing off with the match (and my dinner along with the match). Yesterday, I managed to do everything except for the run and coffee. But the night match was mind blowing, a well fought match with lots of ups and downs. Thank god, England managed to draw the match.
Today I am doing it a little differently. I had my snack at 9.30pm, after which will follow it up with some TV and then the run, coffee, dinner & football in that order, hope things turn out as planned this time.
Its impossible to get up in the morning for my run, after sleeping at 2.15am, so the only choice I have is to run at night (which also helps me keep awake for the match).

Finally, I am able to write my blog after two days of tweaking to my computer, have managed to get the posting feature to work. My home computer has been giving me trouble for the past few days. Not sure what is wrong with it (hope its not a virus problem).
I had a very exhausting run this Sunday. With great difficultly managed to do 10kms in about 1hr 5mins, which was a big effort as I was almost totally exhausted after the first 30mins. The weekend had been hectic due to work, having to catch up on football matches, plus late start to my run (at 9am) & and hot & humid weather ensured that things were very difficult. Hope the monsoon arrives soon and the temperatures drop dramatically.

New city new route..

I had a very refreshing run after a long time yesterday. It was a big positive change from my regular route (both in terms of weather & greenery). I happened to stay at a place which was inside a residential colony. My route was around a rectangular block, with a perimeter of 2kms. I did a little under 6 kms in about 35mins.
And today I am back in Bombay for my regular Sunday run, plan to do about 15kms.

I did manage my second run of the week today. I could not go for my mid night run day before yesterday (Brazil v/s Croatia day) as planned due to a heavy downpour. But I hope to do it a few times during the World cup month, whenever there is a good match at mid-night. For the past one week its been raining or drizzling during the nights and days have been extremely humid (and that is an understatement). I did manage my regular distance in about 32mins 40secs, I hope to increase the distance a little on some of the weekday runs. I wont be able to manage a run tomorrow, but hope to run on Saturday on a new route. Lets hope I manage to do it.

Spam trouble...

I ran 5.5km in an impressive time of 32mins 30secs (despite stopping twice, once due to stray dogs and other due to some traffic). It felt very good getting back into the sub 33mins zone. I plan to go for another run in the night today at 11pm or so and will finish the run with some Coffee at a coffee shop and return well in time for the Brazil v/s Croatia match at 12.30am! I had an early dinner to ensure that I have atleast 3 hours between my run & dinner. Tough schedule today...
That reminds me, I had to activate my word verification tool on the comments section. Two days back I got some 6 messages from the same person at the same time on different postings. Not sure how they managed to do it, but am sure it must have been some silly automated comment posting tool to drive traffic to that person's website.
More after the midnight run!!!

Today again was hot and humid, no sign of rain... I did a little over 13kms in 1hr 23mins. It felt good, though I felt a little exhausted thanks to the weather.
I finally got the opportunity to wear my new shades and they felt quite comfortable, much better than the previous one.
On a different note, I finally did manage to catch Da Vinci Code. A pretty average flick and I failed to realise what the fuss was all about. Am really surprised why so many countries had banned it (including some states in India, and this was despite the movie being cleared by the central government and censor board, thought we were in a democracy!!). Had the movie not had the Christian faith angle(and the controversy), it would have done quite badly on the box office (internationally).

I take my reader feedback and comments very seriously, so have decided to let go off acronym and shortforms going forward.
The third run of the week was also smooth, did my regular distance in 33mins 40secs. Its again very humid, off late it rains only the night and the mornings tend to be very humid. Am just waiting for the world cup to start, with Germany v/s Costa Rica match. My favorites are - Brazil, England and Germany, am sure it will be one of the three that would win the cup. Depending on how this match goes, I will take a decision on tomorrow's run.

My second run of the week, went off quite well. I did my 5.5kms in 33min 10sec. Plan to run tomm. as well and then directly on Sunday. Hope to do a 15km run on Sunday. I hope it rains on Sunday. Plus, I also need to quickly buy another pair of shades, preferably before Sunday to protect myself from harsh sunlight.
No news or fresh update from the Great Tibetan marathon (GTM) and Singapore marathon guys as yet, waiting to hear from them, so that I can start planning my trip. The GTM marathon looks a little shaky as the website gives the date for 2007 marathon and there is no mention of the 2006 one. I am trying to find some people who have done high altitude running on the Net, to get some tips for the GTM run, no luck yet.

Yewoor trek pics 2

Due to popular demand, I have am uploading some more pics on the blog (clicked with my mobcam) from the Yewoor trip

Back to the weekly routine..

After the eventful trek and the hardwork to get the pics uploaded (and I must admit, I did get the pics colour corrected to ensure that the reproduction is accurate, all digital pics need some colour correction!!)
I did my 5.5kms today in a little under 34mins and it felt quite good, no sings of any after effects of the trek. Though I do have a sore throat, hope that does not lead to something more, might have been the water I drank during the trek.
And yes, I did manage to get a reflective vest after all, using some innovative means! Hope to do my early morning run in the next couple of weeks.

Yewoor Hills Pics, June 4, 2006

I did finally manage to download pics from my mobcam..

Yewoor trek...

Let me start off by saying this was one of the best treks I have had in a long long time. The best part was this was almost virgin forest (yes, a forest with deer & jackal (we saw their droppings) and dense vegetation), not a single trace of plastic, paper or glass bottles. During the entire 5 hr trek (incl. breaks) we did not meet/see a single local (tribal people who use the forest for firewood or others exploring the region). We did not have any definite well defined trail; the only good thing was our group of 11 had 2 people who had explored this region a few times. .
I started off the day very early and could manage only about 5kms of my Sunday run, did it in about 30mins and then had to join the group for the trek (20km from my running trail). We started the climb at 7am and returned around 12 noon. The climb was not very strenuous as we had a mixed group of participants, we must have done about 10-12kms over 5hrs with a few breaks in between. The climb was steep, hill was rocky and the ground was covered with thick bed of dried leaves shed during the season, all these three things also made the climb slow. And yes, I did manage to get some interesting pics during the trip (on my mobcam), I am unable to upload them immediately as my desktop at home does not have Bluetooth connectivity. Will try and do that at work within the next couple of days. If the pics turnout good, I think I should invest in a decent digicam to capture them in a better way. (but there is nothing to beat a mobcam, its soo convenient, always with you and instant results!!)
The climb was a healthy break from the regular routine and I hope to do more such treks going forward. The only thing I am worried about is hurting my chin or ankle when I slip, plus the pounding my legs would receive while coming down (down a steep hill) on uneven surface. But then, no risk no gain!!
Finally, I also did manage to leave my shades behind in the forest, as my contribution!!

Warning – Please do not try to do this (climb Yewoor hills) on your own, ensure that you have a trained local guide before you attempt it. Else you are definitely going to lose your way….

Pics work!!.

I have now realized that to get more comments on my blog, I need to add pics at regular intervals. Plus its much easier than writing posts!!
So I better come up with some good pics from my trek tomm. I plan to do a 8-10km run at 5am tomm. and then follow it up with a half day trek to a place called Yeoor hills (outskirts of Bombay). Its going to be tough running so early in the morning (esp. with barely any sunlight and lotsa puddles!!), but what the heck. I need to have my morning run on Sundays, the trek can't substitute a run. More on the run and trek tomm.
Need to get sleep now....

Rainy days again....

Did my 5.5km runs yesterday and today, in 36mins 50sec and 35mins 50 seconds respectively. Its been raining quite heavily and to ensure that I don't get injured my strides have got a little shorter trying to dodge 'n' number of potholes on the way. In addition the times have been a little slow due to last Sunday's hard 15km run, I went a little overboard! But, I needed it to get my confidence back.
This Sunday I don't think I will be able to go for my long run, as I might be going for a half day trek to a hill close by.

Monsoon arrives in Bombay...

Its finally here.... When in rains in Bombay, it pours! Rains have come with a big bang. It started yesterday early morning, but did not really affect my run yesterday as it was not little more than a strong drizzle. But today is going to be a totally different story. It rained hard whole of yesterday and there was water logging as many places in Bombay during the evening. Its rained all night and today is going to be very difficult day for the city. Thanks to the CNG conversion of all Taxis (and a number of public transport buses) in Bombay, heavy rains & water logging can make them almost inoperable. Diesel still rules in during the rains. The monsoons have arrived 10days before time and this has meant that the municipality is not really ready for it, you still see lot of cases of roads not fully completed, drains, nullas, etc not being cleared fully.
I did my yesterday run of 5.5kms in 35min 40sec. Though the road was not very slippery I did not want to take any chances, but today is going to get very tough. Looking forward to the run.