SCMM2016

A month to SCMM..I laze in Nagpur, feasting on bengali sweets for an entire week..Absolutely no running.

After getting back to Pune I did a 13 km on racecourse..No harm done..The body can still take it.

Fun starts after a week. It is Shin splints this time. Calves get stiff in a usual 9 km run at racecourse. 

A frozen shoulder that cribs now and then. Life is pain! Aging and cribbing.
Graceful aging? my foot.

A week before SCMM.. I do one round of racecourse  (of which I walk a quarter), It is just 2.2km loop. The body has rebelled, as it was not used. (Or perhaps I overused it in one stiff position  to stand and paint the large canvas). I mail my friends of a 90% dropout chance. 

I focus on another large painting and give the body absolutely no exercise (apart from standing for 6 hrs and paint.

I repair my treadmill and give it a go... no pain (for a while). “If I can take pain during the run, its OK. Perhaps I might take 6 hrs to complete.” ‘Ability to take pain ‘...Zatopek come to mind.

To play safe, I am wearing compression sleeve even at work.

Pain reduces. Friends are pressing. Sujit resends me his last years blog..his mention of how he missed Umesh and me. We have been together for so many years and absence of one  is painful. (I skipped my last SCMM due to a small accident, as my Toe twisted and got swollen.) I have decided to give it a shot, enjoy with my PTC friends.

As the pain reduces, the 5:45 mark comes back to my mind. Crazy mind disillusioned by goals. I decide to keep the goal shoved at the back of my mind..Perhaps I can still do it, but not at the cost of another injury.

Pre Marathon dinner is at Amdar Niwas. I feast on a Fish Thali. As a ritual, we take snaps of the food and message them to friends not attending the marathon. A teaser for what they miss.

Before sleep, a digene and a combiflam.

By 4 AM the body feels supple and “God” has given me a painless window to bear the arduous run.

I join the queue of runners moving to the start point. It is dark..I try saving my bare feet. I switch on music. (It is a deviation to keep the mind occupied ..if pain returns.

4:45 bus I ts something I should keep behind. Maybe, I should stay ahead of 4:30 bus. A gradual warmup has changed the “target” to what seems promising.

The Sea link..15 km+ I removed my T shirt and wrapped it like a cloak. (Who knows me in Mumbai!)

The 4:30 bus drones behind me.  I shoot ahead again. At the end of the sea link, I can’t keep up with the pace and slow down. All along, I ran alone. When I feel weak, Mangesh glides with me ..At points I remember my eyes welling up with tears, that I suppress with deep breath. We had planned to run together and we do that many a times A parallel run in different worlds.

Worli Seaface. 4:45 bus has overtaken me. A group of runners catch up. “Run with Milind”. I watch the Adonis running besides me. They overtake me. I have been consuming water, Enerzal at every booth. Yet I notice some level of crampiness in my thighs. I take a fast walk as this kind of stretching is useful. Milnd Soman is now back with me. I glance at his feet. Vibrams with a cut for Fingers.

I do not know what to talk with a celebrity. I continue with my solitude. Girls cheer at him , get water bottles which he declines. I can understand the cost of glamour. What I pick from him is the way he glides.  I reduce my stride and it improves my efficiency.

I start walk run. It prevents cramps. Ash Nath is besides me. This gentleman met me in Bangalore when I was limping with the glass in my foot. He is with me again. Gives me a tip again. ‘It’s just 9 kms. Roll it in your mind again and again. You can do this easily.’

I chant this mantra and develop a jog. I run up all the way on the dreaded flyover.

Marine drive where the sun hits , the road gets ugly for barefeet. I know why Milind wore cut vibrams. The 5 hr bus crossed me. I jog only as much as I can. 

“Pendharkar Saheb!” It’s my Free runner friend Rupesh calling me with a humorous note. “Lets run 3 poles Walk one pole”. I run 3 poles walk one. Then decide to keep running. 

Turn for Churchgate. Run with Amit Seth for sometime. A van with Movie camera is shooting the end. Cramps come back as soon as I increase pace and I run thru the finish line. Take a chair pull out the mobile. Switch on SCMM 2016 app. I timed 5:02:45

I feel Happy to have run and given it my best. I re-learn not to decide targets or plan too much in ahead.

There is always a window of chance.

The best cheering boards that I read during SCMM

"Did you hear
RUM?"

"Touch to recharge"


A note for running free:

I ran bare chested today. May feel awkward to some. I have just one family pack to display, so it was certainly NOT to lure attention. I find ..I am NOT a runner. I am more an artist.
I wanted to FEEL FREE and I feel this was the right expression, in the heat of the day. Yeah.. When I hit the The sea link ..it was bit of chill.
I tried to get way ahead of the 4:30 bus But it drove me down..Practice...is what I lack.
Statistics apart.. (I saw 3 other bare chested men) ..I should say..It was one of the happiest runs in my life. ( As an artist, I know that the Nudism day was just a day before).Free expression is more imp. Thanks for bearing with me as a blot of the scene. But I think..(and dare you).. you should try it some day..To nurture the freerunner in you.
It really feels great. (and natural).

Social pressure

At the start of the new year, everyone around me seems to be setting new targets. End of the year in proving their mettle. (I think I did it too, publishing the best of my paintings).

It has been a ritual : many of these friends, their wishes die quick. Few who stick around perhaps due to the social media pressure, they shall keep posting to show that they live to their wish. An iota of the whole lot, sticks to their resolutions, fueled by the carrot of their own dreams.

But, the real lot, dreams and makes them real and there is no steam spent on Talk, social updates, but on Real work on their dream.
(No. I do not belong to this lot as I am writing all about it to post on FB/G+ .)

I recall, that I used to resort to social media to maintain pressure on myself to keep up with my runs and my drawing, rather than spend time watching TV and lazing around. This has worked for me. the only time I 'waste' now, is when I sleep. I was much laid back to try a sketch a day, before Facebook arrived. Then, there was one such forum ‘1 sketch a day’, that started it all.
Social media can be a blessing i.e. if you use it to develop and appreciate the world around you.

Unfortunately, most of us spend too much time bitching , ‘knowing’ too much and watching the dark side of the moon, fencing the "shwartz's" in the name of your King..defending territories..But not much in creativity....Blah Blah…..
Uhh..Resolutions! I forgot..

I trust in continuous progress..overcoming failure (strain points), when it feels like. No force! You always have a large margin with the best, at what you chose as 'Hobbies'..(the things that you do for fun). Important, that I get fun out of everything I do perhaps, by changing the way I do ‘things’.
I get lesser "fun" in a race as I am not born to race. . I DO NOT believe in scientific measure of progress and checking the targets with actual. It is for robots not for human beings. Rebellious?

It may be ok for starters, as a discipline. OR it also depends, on who, you want to shine your beam of achievements upon. My kids have taught me lot more important lesson. They mention that they never want to top in the class. They would be raising my expectations by doing too much and develop pressure upon themselves and further run the rat race. (They, I observe, keep more pressure on themselves than not “competing, and knowing what is good for them.”)

A rank brings in pressure due to the recognition that you did best sometime back.. but you become desperate to keep up with it. This is bonded labor to Social pressure.

You would not race if you were alone? You would just run or even walk..!

I wish, I was a silent, lone spectator of my own game, but, the artist screams to express and let the world know. Perhaps it’s the age that allows me to express only the creative part of it. I found my refuge in creativity. I hate to set targets to be “more creative”. It ought to happen by practice AND by being in circles of more creative people. The more I meet, the better.

My work would reflect the people I have met. I learn to be that kind of mirror.

Pune 50km Ultra marathon..Where many dreams come true.

Negative frame of mind takes a toll on my training and to top, a week at Kerela with absolutely no exercise and plenty of eating did not better the situation. Yet, it would not be just to put the blame squarely on the trip. It improved the frame of mind and the outlook became more positive.
A friend requested for a blog .. frankly at this point, I am at loss of words. So let me start typing and a rabbit might come out of the hat all by itself and surprise me.
I had a target to run 50 km before I crossed the age of 50. I was able to do this today.
No! Not on a plain road, but in a Ultra terrain. Good part is that I can walk around on my feet without much pain.
3 days before the race Dr Sandesh Doshi gave me a call. He asked me about my strategy for the upcoming ultra.
Strategy? I had almost made up my mind to not run this ultra. Further.. I never have any strategies for any race because I try to last with whatever I have. I have not reached that stage to plan and execute. Body doesn't listen if brain commands and vice versa. At this stage in life..I do not like to plan too much. Every plan can be debated and the outcome may not be what you like even if you gave it the best. So, I would rather be a surf boarder that rides the wave, as the ocean and the wind casts. This is the only agility that makes sense to me. So, all I plan is to get the best possible line in a given situation and accept the yield.
The call gave a positive impulse to my mind. I would have felt bad to betray my PTC running mates Umesh and Vijay so I decided to give it a try. I had two-three weeks of pathetic running schedule to back me up.
On the day before the race, I ran in my floaters on Nibm- Ramtekdi trail..and then returned home via road..more so because of the guy from SRPF who was on the guard on the trail to wane of any civilians. I did not want to get hit by stray bullet on day before race. I was not aware that the hillside on left was used for Firing practice. It was an effortless 12km run (without water). I drank a jug full of enerzal to keep me hydrated through rest of sat.
Sunday morning 3AM alarm wakes me up. I am in a good mood. A cup of tea and two slices of bread with one egg. I choose to go to the venue on my motorbike. Its wet outside and it has rained the earlier night. I reach Innovera School. Join the race participants.
Naveen is explaining the rules of the game. Two loops with preset time for completion. You miss the time ..You get marked as Did not finish. I like the rule. Its an ultra and should be treated so.
At 6AM the race begins. It is a very different race than I ran before. The path winds through an unwoken village. Smell of cow dung. Few dogs bark just because its their duty.
We come across a canal. When I feel slowed down..I take deep breaths swooshing through the mouth as a capillary. It cools the breath and I found it very effective during last marathon.
Soon there is a support station and then the road climbs towards Ramdara temple. Ramdara temple and the lake are very soothing to the eye. There is very little sunlight yet. I should come here with family for a sketching session. There is a stone path that skirts the temple and ends into the real ultra world. The path winds through fields. It is still dark and I cannot make out the crop. I wonder how Umesh copes with such terrain, with bare feet. Vijay is wearing sandles just like me.
The 12.5km trun around point arrives and I get a colored band as certificate.
It is a rush from here to the start point as I need to be there at 3:00Hrs cutoff for 25 km. The path along the canal now seems never ending. Dr Sandesh has caughtup with me. I inflict some of my negativity on him abt this path not being “very Happening one”. He jollies me to keep going as it is a slope that we should take advantage of.
Innovera school appears, I have made it in 3:00hrs, and have 5 mins bonus. Sophia douses my head with ice water from the sponge. Its instant relief and I forget the loop ahead of me. It is just a fresh start..km 0.
Navin gives me a hug and advises me to take off the T shirt. “Its an Ultra..and should be run bare chested.” Chandan advises, “ All of us are 8 pack or family pack. Forget the pack and take off the T”.
I am still too shy, but by the time I reach the canal, there is a nice breeze and a burning sun. Naveen’s advice worked and I take off my T shirt and hang it like a cloak. I least care that I am a blot on the scene with packets of fat, where ripping muscles ought to be. When I get to the road I get into a new Avatar with Sandles on my palms. A motorcyclist hoots me and I ignore.
Barefeet have started relaxing the foot and the calf muscles. I am in a walk run mode as I am well beyond a continuous run. The fields are in sunlight. Birds Chirping at Ramdara. It’s a bliss if I forget the pain I inflicted upon myself voluntarily.
I started the run without a watch. I have lost sense of time. I have worked on only one strategy. Ride the wave as it is. How long? Surfing certificates? I do not need them. All I need is a 50 KM run before I turn 50. Its a simple goal that gets completed once I get to innovera school.
The terrain is almost like a trek. It also reminds me of Taljai Pleateau where I used to train in late 80s. It was a rough place to run. I collect my third band at the turnaround point. I have now using Walk only strategy. 12.5 km walk will not kill me. I enjoy the fields..Bringals, Spinach..A jeep arrives and Nitin warns me that he shall be pulling off support. I am fine with this. I have 1 litre water that shall suffice. (ie if I do not run.) At Ramdara, my Free runner friends give me a last offer..i.e to ride with them. They make it very clear that I am now in a did not finish state. I cannot make it in cutoff time. Also, that there shall be no support. I ask them not to worry. I cannot explain to anyone but myself. ’I am not here to earn a cert. I am here to ride the wave of 50 and get to innovera. If it is thru walk I am fine.’
Nitin has pulled in the last guy behind me. He again makes an offer. AT least 5 times in my travel to end point I was asked if I need help. Perhaps my stubbornness is at their cost, which I realize. To one I say..I ran my 1st Pune marathon from 25 km to end without water. So the last 8km is no big deal with 1 lt of water. I am embarrassed by my own goal..All I wanted was to get all support on road and do my 50. Nitin arrives on Motorbike. We talk about mutual friends etc..He is not willing to let me go alone. Innovera arrives. My friends and participants give me a good applause. I feel very happy to complete my 50 before my 50.
A goal to tick off. Thanks to Free runners who made it happen. Their love and comradeship is unbeatable.
Why can’t I be as carefree? Perhaps it should be my next “goal” ? smile emoticon
Jeetu has a very special moment. His Pune Ultra dream is now rolling in real sense. Not a flat road 50 km race.
An Ultra in Ultra terrain. With Cutoffs to make it challenging!