Bengaluru marathon - return of a recovered runner

42 km at Bengaluru

42 km at Bengaluru
Rule number (0): Start run keeper on mobile. Keep in Silent mode and continue as if it does not exist. Watch the reading only at end.
Rule Number 1: Vary my speed using few short bursts.
This got me 10.5km at 54min 54 sec including 1 pee break. (Much better than all of the earlier marathons.)
Rule number 2: 10 km onwards, treat 10 km mark as 0 km and continue repeat bursts. Cool down when feels exerted. Watch the body.
Met Thomas. Four bare footers jogged in a line. And then Thomas said, We are in between 4:00 and 4:15 bus. (It is too good a feeling to be true. I never dreamed of this.)
Half marathon in 2:02:03 which is my 21 km PB.
Rule number 3: Drank water on most of the booths between 5km to 20 km. 20 km to 30 km did not need much water.
Rule Number 4: Remembered ‘Ustaad’. Use the Butt force during run. Straight back. Thighs should take load. Reduced step distance.
But then we do not live in a very organised world that works only with rules. Always some things to maintain imbalance.
AT 31km (PB 03:02:07) a piece of glass entered my left toe. Has happened many times I pull it out and run.
ONLY this time it broke inside. I tried but could not remove.
Rule number 5: Don’t count your chicks before they are hatched.
I continued to limp, stop inspect.
Rule Number 6: Use all the resources you have on your body.
A foreigner felt sorry and offered me his mobile arm band. That was when I realised I too had one wink emoticon. Wound my mobile band around left foot.
ALAS: I had safety pins which could have dislodged the glass easily when it entered. It just did not occur to me. I could have taken titanus shots later.
Kept pressure on outer ridge of the left foot…heavier landing on right foot. Weaker legs. Was forced to walk run.
So the little bit of progress I could make for the rest limping with a Mobile arm holder tied up to the toe to reduce pain.
Ash Nath passes by and gestures me to keep going strong.
Rule Number 6: Drifting is OK. But Back to reality.One thing at a time.
Cubbon park is beautiful, I envy Bangaloreans, but I am not here to paint. I wish I were.
4:45 bus overtakes me. The end is just 5 kms and I let this bus take over. That was all I wanted, a 4:45 marathon. Could have been 4:30 but that still feels a long call.
I continue to walk. Have removed the mobile band, as it slips all the time. Body is cold and feet have started complaining for last 3 kms. Can’t keep the body warm as I can’t run.
It ended in 5:19 marathon.
As I say its God time.(again)! Even if you plan and progress something could still go wrong. Am happy with my perf for 21km AND upto 31km..From then on I tried to complete to best of my ability. It is easy to give up at 6kms from end line. But should we ever DNF because your dreams did not turn real? Perhaps I could have tried to ignore the pain and run. Perhaps, continuing was too foolish.
I went for first aid in the stadium..The ‘Doc’ bent a syringe in many attempts to get the piece out,Thick alligator skin sole. How it hurt then and made me cry like a kid.
Glass better than needle.

Afterthoughts:

Sometimes I really look at the money I invested in an event.
I was not shot by a bullet in the leg. It was just a tiny piece.
I know of guys who could bear more pain and would still do it in 4:30..
We could look at Army guys! I am lot more relaxed about my goals. But I know, it is easy to get morose if you think of target that you wanted to achieve.
I have also known people give up a run in between just because they prefer DNF rather than a black mark on Time. I do not understand this attitude. If you are doing your best in circumstances Should time ever matter? Is this something that I had learned earlier and relearned yet again?
We should think about it as the best judgement in circumstances..forget the rest!
It hurts to slip off track for sure . Dark thoughts of giving up the run 6km premature did cross my mind. I could still think that I could have done an easy 4:45 .
I did not have guts to do that.

wibhajan ke baad shasan- ek dushtachakra

एकला चलो रे ..

पिछले कुछ दिनों से, एक घुटन सी महसूस हो रही है. शायद इसकी वजह फेसबुक पर चल रही कुछ बहसें. सोचता हूं, की अज्ञान रहने में ही सुख है. प्रचार करने वाले लोगों को देखकर यह सोचता हूं की, इन्हें तो फायदा होगा, लेकिन मुझे या मेरे परिवार के नुक्सान के बाद ही.

विभाजन के बाद शासन, यह राजनीति का एक अंग, अंग्रेज यहाँ छोड़ गए और यहाँ वह पल कर अपनी जड़ें मजबूत कर रही है. अनेक झुण्ड बन गए और हर झुण्ड को बस अपनी ही पड़ी है. (बात केवल धर्म पर सीमित नहीं रही.)

आरक्षण की व्यवस्था जब तय हुई, तो यह केवल दस साल तक नियंत्रित थी. उसके बाद तो समान कायदा लागु होना था. लेकिन...

किसी भी विषय के कारण, आरक्षण जिस काल से चालू किया जाता है, तभीसे सर्व “नेता” अपने अपने गट अलग करने पर टल जाते हैं, कुछ चंद वोटों के लिए. (और यह संसर्ग हमेशा के लिए चालू हो जाता है.).

कुछ चंद नेताओं के फायदे के लिए देश का विभाजन करने लायक परिस्थिति बनाई गई. एक देश स्वतंत्र नहीं हुआ, बल्कि दो देश विभाजित हुए. विभाजन के बाद गठबंधन बहुत ही मुश्किल है. विभाजन करनेवालों की नीति कितनी गिरी होगी, जो इंसान को इंसान से अलग करने पर तुली हो.

विभाजित रहने के लिए जो कूटनीति इस्तेमाल की जाती है, उसमे लाभ केवल नेताओं (और उनके चमचों) का है. अगर, हर सामान्य व्यक्ति एक दुसरे के साथ जुल मिल जाती है, तो नेता को प्रचार के लिए कोई भी साधन नहीं मिलता. सामान्य इंसान अपने फायदे की सोचता है. ज्यादा कष्ट बिना काम कैसे हो जावे. वह उस गुट का सदस्य बन जाता है. उसकी निष्ठा उसके गुट से बंध जाती है.. हमेशा के लिए.

(शायद वो अपनी गहरी नींद से जग जाता है, तब, जब उसके पल्ले कुछ नहीं आता.) ऐसे अनेक खाली हाथ लोगों के लिए एक नया नेता हमेशा उगता है. :)

आत्मविश्वास की कमी के कारण, कोई भी इंसान अपने गट से अलग विचार करने का प्रयत्न नहीं करता. उसका खुद का अस्तित्व गुट से जुड़ जाता है और वह और कमजोर होता जाता है. लेकिन, जब वह खुद अपनी दृष्टि से विचार कर पाएगा, तब संसार में वह सबसे सर्वसम्पन्न व शक्तिशाली होगा. उसे किसी गुट का भय न रहेगा. वह दुसरे इंसान के साथ एक इंसान की तरह बर्ताव कर सकेगा.

यह झुण्ड अथवा गुट व सम्प्रदाय एकता की भाषा करते हैं किंतु एक जगत की नहीं. दूसरों से अलग करने के लिए अपने झुण्ड की एकता का विचार. यह खयाल भेडियों से एक कतरा भी अलग नहीं. भेडिये पेट भर की शिकार कर चुप हो जाते हैं.

देखता हूं, की हर दिन कुछ नए सम्प्रदाय बन रहे हैं. एक दुसरे से भिड रहे हैं.

एकता की बात तब होती है जब बाहरी झुण्ड से खतरा बढ़ जाता है. उस झुण्ड को उकसानेवाला खयाल में ही नहीं आता.

इस सभी से अलिप्त रहने के लिए केवल एक ही मार्ग बचता है.

हिम्मत न हारो पर एकला चलो रे..

तभी विचार अपना खुद का होगा!

-पराग

Blazing Saddles Part 3

The 7 September 'Duathlon'

Sujit was up at 4AM. I lazed thinking, “ We have 2 Bathrooms in 9 people. It was going to take time.”

I had couple of Bananas as Fuel for the 21km run and other obvious reasons.
It worked like a charm.

5 of us crammed in an Auto to reach the marathon start point.
It seemed like too many people per square meter. People were running around doing warm up. Some were religiously doing stretches.

We joined the queue. Sujit was lucky to get into ‘A’ section. Umesh and I joined the exodus of section C. After the start of the marathon, it took us almost 4-5 mins to get to the start line. So many people ahead of me..not moving fast enough. I hate to walk but as a descendant of section C Few of us did not have a choice.

It was not a very eventful run. I remember that I started running and dodging at times run on gravel as the path was taken by the shod. It was good to See Jeetu Running Strong with 2 km bus. Few other Freerunners were doing great, as well.

On way down, I made real good progress. As the crowd got sparse I took the chance to cover up lost ground by running in sprints and a deeper breathing to cool fast. I soon reached 3 km to goal and met Nikhil’s 2:30 Bus. I ended the affair with a final sprint. When I reached it was 2:28 past gun time.. I lost 4 mins to reach the start line so it may be 2:24. Not bad at all considering the effort on earlier day.

However, now was the crucial time to relax, as there was a bigger ordeal in the wait. As soon as Bhari and Ashish finished their run we went to a hotel to have a quick bite. Later to the lodge to have a quick bath. On came the Bib shorts the Tee and the helmet. Soon we were weaving our way out of Satara.

We were cycling back to Pune in terrible heat  at 11AM.At the start there was less wind and I cursed. On the highway there was a  Lot of headwind and I am no cyclist. The marathon now seemed like a easier deal.

Few Marathoners cheered us on our way back. (The Cheer lasts for a few pedals at higher torque.)
Oh Yes.. Height of the day was riding thru the Khambatki tunnel and an inviting slope to Shirwal.

Unfortunately when we reached Kamat hotel somewhere later than Shirwal..after .. bridge across the river Nira.. I was Extremely tired and started yawning on the cycle. (Perhaps, I am still not built to wake up at 4AM on two consecutive days)
I took a ride till the start of the Katraj ghat and gave up on my plan of inflicting myself with more pain.

I rode the ghat to Kondhwa for little consolation. The heat had died by then and my sleepyness had vanished. I wish I had not yielded to 26 km of give up.
..Sujit Kolke and Umesh completed the ordeal with an added ride up Chandani Chowk. The men of Steel who go by a fewer words, that have chased me to find a better myself.

The next day I am back at work with full energy, with absolutely no cramps or leg pain, I am planning for an run at evening. The bike event + marathon are cross training activities that can get the better part of you.

I would not advice cross training to other horses. But they will surely find it out when they try.

Sujit and Umesh With Bhari

PTC and Ex- PTC With Rafiq Somani

With Ashish Arora

The long Long way to home