Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon and me

It has been almost 3 months when I completed the Half marathon. Yes, I did complete the run; 21.6 KMs in 2 hours 30 minutes on 20th January and then left running for good :). After all it was only a temporary hobby. I have to thank wonderful people of Mumbai who came out of their home on a Sunday morning just to cheer the runners all along the running route providing banana, buiscuits, water and different kind of juices. Around Haji Ali, I also saw one guy offering Samosas to the runners :). The whole environment was energetic, be it the motivation with which all the runners came to the venue early at 4.30 AM or be it the sheer number of people who actually turned out to run. I also have to mention the amazing arrangements done all along the marathon route. Kudos to the management. 

Last but not the least, I have to thank that stranger who helped me in clocking this time. Well this stranger, a pretty girl in her mid twenties, nudged me around 4th kilometer  when I was slowing down at the end of the Bandra-Worli sea-link. This also came with an advice to keep on running and not to stop. I was not surprised as that kind of support from fellow runners was visible all along the marathon route. It amazes me that, this was a crowd of which every individual wanted to clock his/her best timing and yet managed to find time to motivate others and cherish the fact the fellow runners are also at their best. Now continuing the story of stranger, when I slowed down again at the end of 5th kilometer after coming out of the sea-link; surprisingly the same stranger met me again with the same smiling face and same advise not to stop. Well how did I respond, I told her that now onward I will run with her till the end of the race and asked her if that is ok :).

Pretty and benevolent she was; she smiled, then I smiled and I ran along with her till the 19th

14 Kilometers

Well, there was a cause and there was lethargy. Cause was to run for half-marathon on 20th Jan. It took me 3 months in starting the preparation for the same after publicly announcing that on the blog in October. All is not lost and I ran close  to 29 kilometers in December. Not a big milestone, but at least a start. My best so far is 14 kilometers in 2 hours. This was achieved through walking interspersed with occasional running. 

Few mobile applications have made these activities very easy to track and I must say that seeing the stats in a nice form motivates you to do better. I hope to finish the half-marathon under 3 hours, even if I need to walk for all 180 minutes. Next week will be crucial for practice as I want to complete full 21 KM on coming Saturday before the big day.

Here goes my route for morning runs and a snapshot of my outings in December.

I too want to run for a cause..

This is what I wrote for applying for a place in Mumbai Marathon and now I have been confirmed a slot for Half-marathon. All the energy shown at the time of writing the email vanished in a minute after seeing the acceptance :) . The event is scheduled on 20th January  almost 125 days away. But the idea of running 21 point something kilometers in less than three hour is itself too scary, to say the least. I dread the idea of just standing somewhere still for one hour.

Normally I go to gym thrice in a quarter and run for like 2.5 kilometers on treadmill in 25 odd minutes.  That roughly translates in 12 kilometers of aggregate physical running I do in a year. Besides this, I never indulge myself in any physical activity for the sake of fitness. No surprise, I weigh 82 kg now. BMI index falls just outside the upper range suggesting slightly overweight body. Last jeans I bought was 36″ in size which is a clear 4″ more than what I

A long wait, followed by some random Hindi poetry

Long time….yeah I know, but don’t have any explanation for this lethargy. Opened this page accidently only to find that 6830 people around the world have visited this page last year. Now, the fact that the last post was made some ten months back, does not do any justice with it, hence this post.

Lets revitalize this blog with one of the best lines I have ever come up with (as far as this fragile memory goes) and yes these are completely mine (COPYRIGHT :)). You are free to contact me to find out the other lines from this poetry at your leisure. Here it goes…

दिन नया है, जिंदगी की तकरार है

नयी है जरूरतें, और नया सवाल है।

पुरानी यादें और नये ख्वाबों के साथ,

जिंदगी आगे बढ्ने को, तैयार है।

Random status messages from one Facebook profile

1. "हीरों की बस्ती में हमने काँच-काँच बटोरे हैं,कितना लिखा फ़साना फिर भी सारे काग़ज़ कोरे हैं ।" : म. सिंह


2. ‎"रात की ओस दरख्तों पे गिरी होगी ज़रूर,. ज़िन्दगी अपनी भी कुछ यूँ ही कटी होगी ज़रूर|
ज़िक्र आता है तो झुक जाती हैं आँखें उसकी, मुझसे मिलने की खलिश दिल में छुपी होगी ज़रूर||" - ज़ैदी जाफ़र

3. "कहानी में तो किरदारों को जो चाहे बना दीजे | हक़ीक़त भी कहानी कार हो ऐसा नहीं होता ||" : निदा फ़ाज़ली

4. "अभी न पर्दा गिराओ, ठहरो कि दास्ताँ आगे और भी है" - Guljar

5. "जो वादा तूने किया नहीं, मुझे उस पे क्यों कर यकीन था।

ये तेरे हुनर की हद थी, यामेरे जुनू का था वाकया।।" - शार्दुला

ठहरो, कि दास्ताँ आगे और भी है

I used to be a voracious reader. Not that I don't read anymore, but the frequency of books has dipped to a all time low, barely managing a book each month.  Especially I miss reading good Hindi literature. Good books are not available in nearby bookshops. Pity, the city Mumbai is. But just few weeks back, I found one website called Kavita Kosh, which is a great collection of Hindi prose and poems, hence this post. I read few of my favorite books such as Rashmirathi etc on the website. I'll recommend this if you are really into Hindi literature.

One more thing. Despite spending a whole lot of good part of the day on internet, I still feel that reading a book in hard-copy is a completely different experience. I don't get the same feeling while reading books online. No upgrade of the e-book reader will be ever come close

You are beautiful

James blunt music, I was listening for last one hour. And this one was the best of lot..

"You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Few lines from the hindi books,

I am reading for last few days,

"टुकड़े-टुकड़े दिन बीता, धज्जी-धज्जी रात मिली।
जिसका जितना आंचल था, उतनी ही सौग़ात मिली।।

 जब चाहा दिल को समझें, हंसने की आवाज़ सुनी।

 जैसे कोई कहता हो, लो फिर तुमको अब मात मिली।।

 बातें कैसी ? घातें क्या ? चलते रहना आठ पहर। 

दिल-सा साथी जब पाया, बेचैनी भी साथ मिली।।

Freakonomics,

 ....Super freakonomics, What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money-That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! and Simply fly are the four books in line to read this week. What else, two episodes of LOST are also there to watch.

There are as many nights as days

“There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” : Random thoughts from internet