Monday, November 17, 2008
25km - 2 memorable runs
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
Saturday, November 1, 2008
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.
Friday, October 24, 2008
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.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Kaveri Trail Half Marathon
From Kaveri Trail Half marathon |
Friday, October 17, 2008
Flower thieves
Thursday, October 2, 2008
waiting for Godoth
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
its not about the shoes
Vibram five fingers
As promised here is a review of running in Vibram five fingers (VFF). First a little bit about VFF. VFF is a "shoe" sold by a company called Vibram. Vibram has been into soles for a long time. And this is one of their very recent foray's into direct to consumer products. VFF is fashioned to be the closest thing to being barefoot. It has a rubber sole with a cloth/polyamide upper. What is unique about this shoe is it is more like a glove to the feet, with pockets for toes and all. So once you wear it your feet will look like they have a snugly fitting glove on them. There is no cushion in the sole and you can literally feel the texture of the ground when you walk in them. You can get more details on how they look and various styles they have available at http://www.
I came across these on my recent visit to US a few weeks back. Their appeal to me was in the fact that they are the closest thing to barefeet running and I have been yearning to run barefeet but was daunted by the fears of injury and feelings of vulnerability. I was excited to find a product that could fit my needs. So I went to a local store in Lexington KY which was listed as the local stockist on the VFF site. But to my frustration I figured they didnt carry my size in the style I wanted. They offered to order them for me but werent sure if they could deliver before the end of the week, which was when I was heading back home to India. So I spent good part of an evening online to find a shopping site which offered to get them delivered to me in 2 days. I placed the order and waited, but they couldnt ship it on schedule. After multiple phone calls they offered to ship them to India without any additional shipping charges. I knew it would be sometime before I can lay my hands on them, but I didnt have a choice. So I agreed not to cancel the order with the condition that they ship them asap. I reached India last Monday and was eagerly waiting for any news on the shipment. To my further frustration USPS didnt have any update. So I was in a state of limbo for 4 days waiting on my toes for the weird looking shoes with toes. Finally they arrived on a cloudy evening and the mailman had a grin on his face seeing my excitement.
The initial attempt was a bit clunky with multiple toes trying to get into single toe pockets. After a few attempts and expert suggestions from my dear wife I could finally fit my feet into the shoes. First impression was they looked as if I had artificial feet on, but were surprisingly comfortable and true to the review I had read it was the closest thing to being barefeet while still having my feet covered.
Thanks to my body's inability to cope with jet lag on traveling back home I was up and ready for a run pretty early next morning. I also decided to use the nike+ ipod chip with VFFs as I like to log my runs on the nike site. A good half hour was spent before I figured out a way of achieving this feat. Basically I stuck a velcro onto the back side of nike+ chip and stuck it onto the adjusting strap of VFFs. It felt secure and seemed like it would work. I decided to do a small 2 miler as I had a longish bike route planned for the morning with a friend of mine. Also I was a bit apprehensive about foraying into the unknown. With my ipod nano blazing Abida Parveen's sufi numbers I set off on my run. The initial warmup was a bit clunky before I got the hang of it. Then I started to enjoy it. The ground beneath my feet felt alien as I could literally feel it. I could even feel the gulmohur buds strewn on the road due to a morning wind. The roughness of asphalt, softness of a muddy track, an occasional pebble, a gulmohur bud, stalks of dry leaves all started to make my tactile perceptions come alive through my feet. It was like an un-explored land which was always there but was never ventured into. Once my mind was past the sensual pleasures the run was offering I started to observe the differences between running in normal shoes and running in these foot gloves. I felt I wasnt pounding the ground as much and the flexibility of the my toes and arch was helping me glide forward and taking pressure off my knees. This seemed to be enabled by the lack of a hard shoe cushion and shoe upper holding my feet back. But my calves were bearing the brunt though the pain of lactic acid accumulating in the calves was only a reminder that I might be using muscle groups which I hadn't so far much used in running. Despite the lack of cushion my feet felt comfortable and natural and I was surprised that there was no portion of the shoe which pinched or made me feel I needed to adjust. It was almost perfect, a literal glove-fit. Of course I did attract lot of stares from people taking their morning walks. The 2 miler which I averaged at a pace of 7 didnt feel like a 7 it felt much slower. I don't want to jump the gun and attribute it to some magical alteration in the way the shoes helped me run. Atleast not before I run more in these over the next few weeks. But overall it was comfy, felt natural and am already looking fwd to my next short 4 mile run the day after. Am trying to gradually move up the mileage and keep testing the waters in this un-chartered territory of running without cushioned shoes.
Day 3: I decided to do a 5k today feeling more confident from the last run. Getting into the shoes was easier than earlier. My toes slipped right into the pockets. Its amazing how body learns new stuff. The warm up was not as clunky as the last run. Looks like my feet and body are getting used to these new contraptions. It was a fairly cool morning and I found that my legs warmed up faster than usual (it could be due to anything ...cant attribute it to the shoes...yet). When I hit the uphill portion on the route I could feel an increased strain in my calves. I also realized I had a tension in the body, which may be due to the fact that my feet are relatively unprotected. But I eased up a bit and the rest of the run was a breeze. I am seeing a definite 10% improvement in my pace.
Despite all the good things I seem to stress upon I would suggest a definite easing-in plan rather than a big-bang approach in adapting to these shoes. Especially if you are not used to walking barefeet for extended period of time. Small initial runs should help you understand what works for you. Our feet are used a thick cushion beneath them and a change to just a thin sheet of rubber is drastic and needs a slow and steady cajoling. But its definitely worth it...I cant wait for my next run. This time it will be a little longer one...you can see am getting impatient :)
Some pics that i took to give an idea of using the nike+ chip http://picasaweb.google.
PS: Do not drive wearing them ...the rubber is not thick enough to shield your feet from the hard pedals....and the clutch (if you live in a country where Auto transmission is un-common)