Auroville half marathon

okhay....I actually came really close to getting dropped out. After the Bangalore midnight half marathon I didn't run at all if you don't count the occasional 3 miler. Also I had injured my back. So I was kinda apprehensive if I can make it. Also some last minute changes meant I was going with some of my runner colleagues instead of driving down myself. The drive till the awesome till Krishnagiri. Then onwards began the nightmare involving potholes er..pot-craters.We finally reached Pondicherry by lunch time. The next day morning was spent frolicking in the beach, hanging around with runners and collecting bibs. The morning of the race was really pleasant and the race started well on time around 6 am. It was still dark and a cool breeze welcomed all the runners. Dont know if it was the spiritual aura of the place or what all the runners seemed relaxed and having fun. Few km into the run a rustic beat of drums started to approach us (or we were approaching it). Never ran to such a beautiful piece of music so early in the morning. It was exhilarating. At a bend in the trail there were these bunch of drummers drumming away and welcoming the runners and cheering them up.They were from Swaram of Auroville. I was like "WOW!!!". A few familiar faces from the previous runs made me feel at home.The trail was beautiful, thick growth of foilage provided lot of cover from the morning sun. But for a small bad patch towards the end my vibrams were doing a good job keeping my feet intact while providing me with all the tactile feedback from the ground below. I had yoga vashishtam running on my ipod. What better way to run than while listening to what Vashishta taught Rama about raja yoga.I finished in 2:15 mins which is better than my last half by over 10 mins. That was surely a cause of celebration :). Had sweet milk tea and peanut butter jam on bread. The bread slices were thick and huge and the yummiest I have eaten. Am sure anyone after a 21.2 km run wud feel the same with any bread....but no the bread was really good. Caught up with friends who had finished already. Took some pics before I was rushed into a car to get back to the hotel. I wished I could stay around for a while and enjoy the crowd. I later regretted not doing that. The way back was fun with friends, way side coffees, dosas etc. But for the bad road to Pondy it was an awesome trip

Midnight marathon

This was my first mid-night marathon. I was running a half. The plan was to catch-up on sleep on Saturday night before I set off for the run. But I couldn't sleep a wink. Almost thought of giving up the run. Rendezvous with other folks was fixed as Manipal hospital at 10:45 pm. By the time we reached the venue it was past 11:15 pm. The place was chaotic indicating lack of proper organization by Crossover. TOI was the sponsor. The run was a 5.5 k stretch cordoned off by the police. There were steep gradients all along. Water was supplied adequately although I hated the smoke spewing generators meant for the fancy lights lighting up the road. For most part of the run there was no electral or glucose supplied. And when it was, volunteers were standing far away from watering points. Which meant I had to run a km with white powder in my hand.The weather was cool and I was enjoying a no-sun run for a change. My hands got awfully cold and I reminded myself to take gloves the next time i do this.I clocked an average pace of 11. There was ample crowd cheering the runners. It was sad that no refreshments were provided at the end of the run. Most RFL runs are much better organized than this.I drove back and reached home by 3:45 am. Looks like I ended up injuring my IT band. It was paining really bad. On the whole the midnight run was really memorable

25km - 2 memorable runs

9th Nov:
16th Nov was the date for Bangalore ultra - a trail run of 25/50/75/100k. The feedback from earlier years was that its a tough trail. So a few of us decided to do a 25k trail somewhere else. The spot chosen was belandur forest. I didnt know what to expect till we reached the spot.The place was a small thicket with a patch of forest in the middle. The forest led to a asphalt road. The whole stretch was out and back 25 km. The best part of the whole run was in the forest and along the fields. The morning mist added to the whole magic. The dew drops collected in spider webs made them look like white shiny hammocks for little people. It was cloudy, misty and all magical. The run itself was a pleasure trip in itself. Vibrams helped me absorb all the tactile sensations the ground could offer. The villagers we passed by were amazed at people running with ipods in their ears.I finished the run in just under 3 hrs.

16th Nov:
The day of the ultra. I had hardly slept the previous night. Plan was to meet at a frnd's place at 4:45 am car pool and drive down to the venue at Our native village. ONV is a resort around 30km outside bangalore. The surrounding area is woods. The drive was pleasant except the worry of impending rain. But the worst we saw was just a drizzle.It was about 6:30 by the time we reached ONV. The place was a nature lovers delight. There was lot of forest cover and the morning was pregnant with cooing of birds and cool wind. It was a bit cloudy with nice breeze and the sun wasnt out yet. The whole place was abuzz with activity. 100k and 50k runs had already started. From the look of it the trail looked tough with hills and hard rocky ground. My experience with Kaveri said vibrams are ok as long as I know where my feet are landing. The run started at 7:30 am. I was running with my frnd and decided to do the first loop (12.5km) easy.In retrospect that seems like a mistake as we took it too easy. We covered 12.5 km in almost 2 hrs. But the rest of the run was a breeze. The total time came to 3 hrs 12 minutes

Carb Loading - a gastronomical tour

Well it wasn't actually meant to be carb loading. But as this blog is about running I had to fit it in :).
Last week my friend and I decided to do a gastronomical breakfast tour of old bangalore. We chose a Saturday as it fits well with our day jobs. The plan was to leave around 6:30 from my place and take a bus to KR market. But my frnd got delayed and we ended up catching a bus at 7 am which wasn't too bad. Reached KR market at around 7:20. It was a good 15 min walk to Vidyarthi Bhavan (VB) in Gandhi Nagar. The street was lined with all kind of hustlers selling flowers for early morning pooja, some selling road side bun-maska to workers who dont have the luxury of enjoying a leisurely breakfast. As soon as we entered the place we were hit by wafting smells and sizzling sounds of dosas getting made on huge pans. Waking up so early and the physical exertion of a bus ride and walk made us really hungry. So we found a table and asked the waiter in a blue shirt and white lungi (VB's waiter uniform) to get use 2 masala dosas. The place was packed to the gills. Was nothing fancy about the place, the tables were white granite/marble topped with four seater decolum lined benches for seating. The walls were bare except for an occasional picture of Ganesha or some pencil portraits of, whom I assumed to be, former owners of the place. The place had a well worn feel to it and most customers looked like regulars. They were greeting each other and sitting next to perfect strangers and waiting for their dosas to arrive. The common dish ordered seemed to be the masala dosa.
We had to wait for atleast 20 mins before out dosas arrived. It was a small steel plate with a circular dosa on it folded right in the middle. The fold contained the masala, a semi solid curry of onion and potatoes. We had to wait yet another 5 minutes before the chutney was served. The waiters seemed to mean all business, no small talk or fake smiles to greet the customers. And the customers looked like their business was to get their hands on their favorite dishes. We started gorging on our food. The dosa was thick and grainy with oodles of ghee on it. The taste was really good and the chutney only enhanced the flavors of the potato onion curry. I cant say its the best dosa I have eaten but it was much better than most. The size was a tad smaller but given the fact that it was so rich with ghee and masala I would not have asked for a bigger size. We downed the food with a steel glass full of filter coffee which was a perfect way to end the first session of our tour.
Our next stop was supposed to be a place called Raghavendra Tiffin centre. We knew only vague directions so kept walking. On the way stopped to take in the beauty of an all marble Jain temple, we lamented at the cutting of trees to make way for a metro station, drank a coconut and haggled with an old lady selling sea shells. We also came across an old fort called Bangalore fort. It was more of an army camp and was built around 1700 AD. The gardner and gaurd were kind enough to let us in and show us around. Nothing marvelous but some weird etchings caught our eye. There was a wall covered with 3 fish sharing a single head, another fish with a trunk and a human foetus. It was a bit bizzare to say the least. Looked like ramblings of an artist etched in stone. On our way out we tipped the people there. We still couldnt figure out the way to Raghavendra Tiffin Center so our walk continued.On the way tender coconuts provided us the much needed hydration.There is something so refreshing about the water inside which no other drink can match.
One of the streets had a Jodhpur Sweet House selling hot kachoris. Though it wasnt a part of the plan we decided to dig into some kachoris. The decision turned out to be a gastronomically delightful one. The kachoris were awesome with right crispness yet melting in the mouth and the spicy concoction inside attacking our taste buds to create a pleasant after effect. We packed a few for families back home and set off yet again. The place we were going through was a perfect scenario of order in chaos. There were people all around hawking, buying, fighting, or just plain loitering.
We finally found R Tiffin center. We draged ourselves into a seat and ordered idli vada and coffee. The idli was good but the rest of the fare seemed average at best. By the time we came to coffee both were full to our cheeks so left a nice tip and decided to head back home.
The way back was uneventful and a pleasant ride in a city bus. Reached home by 11 am savoring the tastes we encountered on this weekend morning.

Cross training - a sensual treat

With the half marathon behind me and a few easy 3 milers clocked this week I thought its time for some fun cycling in the name of cross training. Hooked up with a friend who was eager to ride on a saturday morning. The evening before the ride it rained heavily so we were skeptical of the next morning. I woke up and saw that it was turning into a beautiful dawn. So out came my cycle and within no time I was on the road with wind in my hair and thin rays of the sun on my face. The inner ring road to my frnd's place was almost empty and the sound of tires turning on the tarmac was music to my ears. Of course I had my favorite telugu songs providing pleasure to my ears from my nano. There is a soft delicate serenity in listening to "Mounamela noyi" while riding a cycle on an empty road. Its just you, the mute efficient means of transport powered by only human legs with its wheels silently turning, the soft cool breeze, droplets of sweat on the brow, tree lined wide roads and the soft music lilting in your ears. A glorious experience.
I reached my frnd's place around 7 am. Within five minutes we were out of the house and towards IIM Bangalore campus. People were coming onto the roads getting about their daily lives. We went through a vegetable, flower market with aromas of curry leaves, fresh ginger, garlic wafting through the air and filling the whole place. The festive preparations for diwali were obvious from the huge heaps of marigold piles on the road sides. The whole scenery was a treat to the senses. Then we passed by the madiwala lake. Thoroughly unmaintained and left to the vagaries of whoever fancies doing whatever with it the lake still didn't lack the natural beauty every natural creation inherently has. The hyacinth growing unchecked added lot of verdant green to the picture. We finally reached the campus. The very entry into the campus was surprisingly cool compared to the relative hot on the roads outside. The lush green environs, rain soaked trees, well maintained roads, grey buildings housing academic excellence, long verandas, pergolas, creeper lines stone walls gave the whole milieu a beauty unique to campuses. We found a small cafeteria run by a friendly mallu. Parked our cycles and ordered for some hot chai and bread omlette. Over chai breakfast sitting on a stone bench it was a delight catching up on favorite books, movies, everything under the sun. The surrounding Deva ganneru (Divine oleander) trees had abundance of birds looking for their share of food. Bird watching was a treat there and I tried clicking some pics of these feathered friends with my mobile.
The buildings in the campus are all set in grey concrete or stone. Some of the walls are lined with paintings to add a dash of color but time seems to have made an attempt to blend them with their surroundings. They all have lost their color and turned grey too.
After soaking in all that the campus could offer we headed back home. On the way we stopped to down a refreshing glass of freshly squeezed sugar cane juice with a dash of lime and ginger. That brought us to the end of a perfect beginning to the weekend. Yeah, we did plan to do something similar next weekend. Am also happy I got to ride about 30 km thus providing a harmonious perfect blend of physical exercise and sensual treats. I love bangalore for what it offers in the form of excellent weather conducive to such pursuits.

Kaveri Trail Half Marathon

This was my first trail run and the second half marathon. I was not my 100% when I woke up at 4am. Following the instructions of the RFL team I drove my car to Cubbon Park (Queen's statue) and parked it by Koshy's restaurant. It was too early for any traffic to trouble me so it was those rare moments when I made it through MG road at more than 20 kmph. There is something about early mornings that turns me on. I am totally a morning person and despite knowing that circadian rythms differ by individual, I just dont get why some people don't get up before sun rises. Anyway, I got the RFL bus taking us to Srirangapatnam. Between a few dozes and a few pages of a book I carried we reached the rendezvous. The whole thing started a bit late. I was worried about the sun and the rising temperature. But the verdant surroundings promised some shade and cool breeze. There is a small canal flowing next to the route, lots of trees, muddy path. The whole setting promised a great run. I wanted to try this with my VFFs (vibram five fingers) and so that were what i was wearing. I was a bit skeptical if they would hold up to the trail. We started about 30 mins late around 8 am. Had some friends with me back from work so it was a chatty few miles. I didnt know what was in store for me so my main aim was to finish it. Soon I found that my greatest nemesis on this run would be the rocky patches on the trail. Later someone told me the rocks were recently strewn around the trail to provide some solid ground to the bullock carts.

First 10k was an enjoyable run though I dreaded every rocky patch we came across. The rocks were on average the size of a cricket ball and had some painfully sharp edges. So along with the grass, mud and water I could feel the rocks too through my VFFs. And soon it began to hurt. By the 16km point (it was an out-and-back route so the actual mark was 4k I guess) I could take it no longer and decided to walk the route. I did come across some fellow runners who were curious about my funny looking shoes so the walk wasnt as bad. I tried running once I felt better but my feet just didnt let me. It felt like I was stepping on spears. I finally finished the run in 2:39 hrs.

The best part of the run was yet to come. After collecting the certificate and the lunch coupon I joined the group already frolicking the cold cauvery waters. There was a small catchment supply water to the fields and stepping into it was a treat to the bruised legs and feet. I checked my feet and as suspected they had 3-4 blisters on each feet. Am sure am going to flaunt them as some medals hehehe.

After half hr of fun in the water I came on ground and applied a medicated oil all over my legs and feet. The whole routine of cold water and oil massage seemed to have done wonders. The pain started to recede and I was back on my feet. The next stop before lunch was a coconutwallah. The huge tender coconuts by the banks of cauvery after a hard run was god-sent and I quickly downed the water and was smacking my lips.

Lunch was a decent fare at the nearby resort. The resort was also by the Cauvery river and everyone enjoyed the whole deal to their hearts content.

The bus journey back to bangalore was un-eventful except for a huge downpour. Overall it was a well spent Sunday though I was wishing RFL organize its runs on Saturdays so the we can nurse our bruised legs on a holiday :).

Well I ran my first trail run and live to tell a beautiful tale.

From Kaveri Trail Half marathon

Flower thieves

They sneak in everyday morning, plastic bags in hand

In their day lives they are fathers, mothers, sons or daugthers

But they work with the precision seen only in pros

When they approach the flowery boughs

With the deftness of a gymnast they lean over

Plucking flowers with one hand and bagging them with the other

They occasionally look over their shoulders with tact

To see if anyone caught them in the act

These flower thieves come in all sizes and shapes

Some are fair, some are dark, some fat and some are thin

Some are smug, some are sad, oh there are others with a sinful grin

The flowers resist the dastard act with all their might

But with all the tugging and plucking its a pitiful sight

Once the collection is done and the bag is full

They move on with their bounties to lay them at some altar

What an irony, a murderous act is done in the name of God

The flowers are cut, blossoms, buds all alike

The beauty of another morning destroyed with vengence

The trees and bushes sawy to the wind as if in protest

The same wind that should have carried the frangrance

Moves on disappointed yet again, wondering why

Man wants to posses and make his, all that is beautiful

I move on with the wind and start running again

Wishing to find a beauty untouched