Friday, December 27, 2013

The year that was

Another year rolled by, another year to look forward to. This brings me to the junction where I look back upon the year that was (for me).
This year passed by real quick, I can say in a blink. It all started with me completing the Mumbai Marathon. The high from this completion stayed on for almost a month. I learnt to swim and became a good swimmer. Good because I could not float on water and now I can swim a kilometer. It was always a dream.
 I trained hard and reached a stage where I could call myself fit. There were times I was inspired to run more, swim more on the same day. Another dream.
 I started working in Mumbai, living the usual Mumbai "fast life". Waking up timed by the locals, leaving work to catch a particular local, scheduling things this way. This left me no time to run nor swim and I came back square one (fat from fit). Well, another dream.
God was kind enough and blessed me with a baby girl. After giving us some tense days she is playful and back to her normal ways. Now all that is left is to set good examples all through life and make her a good human being. Another dream.

It is said that, do not make resolutions you cannot keep. It is also said that, make resolutions and push ahead to chieve it.
I am making some ones which are fun for me to achieve. To clock atleast 1500 kilometers by 31-12-2014. To participate in a triathlon (preferbly Olympic distance as that is the easiest).

This has been a real good year with all of my wishes coming true. May the one looking from above continue to be kind.
Happy new year folks. Live your dream

Friday, June 14, 2013

Of the joys of running and of the joys of minting money

I guess I am qualified to call myself a runner now having run at 4:00 AM,just to show off. Now that we have established me as expert in this area, let the rant begin.

I always make it a point to run the KTM and Bangalore Ultra (atleast one). It is always a good practice run an build up for the Mumbai Marathon. Both these races can be undoubtedly classified under the tough races category. 

People run for fun. Very few run to prove a point to others while mostly prove a point to themselves. I do not know where to begin with on the topic of joys of running. 

Making money is also fun. If you are the best at that job you sure can demand a premium. But when the same job is done by others in a equally good (if not better) way for less,you would look for the cheaper one. Now comes my point. I feel running is getting expensive. Already with the costly shoes, GPS', family time lost etc etc, you shouldn't be charging too much for facilitating a run. I am not taking away anything from the organisers here. I love them, I love their races, I loveir punctuality, organisation, shirts and what not. I always knew their races were expensive. But this time they have crossed a line.

Yours truly,
a runner paying through his nose

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

We now operate from a new location

The same quality of service but at a our new location ;)
For  along time I have been thinking on moving this blog to wordpress. I like the way wordpress renders blogs. O also like the multiple options provided by wordpress.

Why?
Because I like it, that's why.

Where?
Here


Will this blog stay?
Yes. I will update both for sometime. I will decide on what to dump at a later point.

Comments?
Always welcome

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

What would you tell a 20 year old you

I would tell this to a 20 year old me.

1. Be adventurous
2. Don't be afraid to try out new things
3. You might fail,so what.
4. Become mentally strong. You are gonna need it for all the heart breaks that come in.
5. Become physically strong. It will be needed for one particular nasty incident in 2007.

What would you tell yourself today

1. Don't care what comes out of your mouth
2. Be persistent, don't quit too early. 
3. Love the ones who you really care for. What? You do it already? Well, express it.
4. Don't be afraid to try out new things
5. Stand by the people who do anything for you

These are on top of my mind now. Will add as I remember.
Will i revisit this in another 10 years. Let's see.

Monday, April 22, 2013

A hill workout


A long time wish of mine came true this weekend when I ran the Kharghar hills as part of a group run.I had heard about this hill a long time ago and also was tempted to run it. It however helps to approach this run with humility. The initial elevation is enough to dampen the spirit. However if you persist, the rest of the run is "smooth"considering the initial ascent. The hill goes upto 4.5K and then almost flattens. If you go all the way to the top and return you would cover 10.5K in one loop.

On the way back you feel as if your legs are charged up with some new found energy. This is a bit risky if you are not careful. There are cases where runners have fallen due to the uneven surface. I also saw 2 runners lose their balance but luckily did not fall. Going back for a second round takes a lot of mental strength than physical.

I ran up the hill slowly,gradually increasing my speed. After about 3k I was at my usual speed. I complete d about 7 K and decided to walk and accompany my wife who is new to running. I ran along side her for about 3K and then she picked up speed from there. I would not be exaggerating if I say I was very impressed with her when she complete the 10K. I returned for a second round and complete it comfortably.

You would be surprised about the amount of open space we have in this area. Luckily it is untouched so far. check out some pics to see for yourself. I will write about another green space I discovered through a running group some time soon.
 You go all the way to the top
 Your's truly
The killing ascent

All photos are courtesy of Ashok Someshwar

Monday, January 21, 2013

Among other things..


This 20th I reached one of my long time dreams of crossing the finish line at the Mumbai Marathon. Crossing the finish line meant so much to me for many reasons. One of them being scary.  This race has a deadline of six hours. What it means is you need to complete the run by 11:40AM. All support is taken off and traffic starts on these roads. I was scared that I would have to run between the vehicles and also not knowing the roads in Mumbai did not help ease the fear.

Luckily for me, this did not happen. I finished with an healthy hour to spare. I started off the run at 5:40 AM. I had aimed to finish in 5:30Hrs considering I took 6:15Hrs at KTM. My plan was to run 8 Kms every one hour. I clocked about 9.8 Km in the first hour. Every extra kilometer I cover now would come in handy at the end when I would not be able to walk. So I did not slow down and continued at the same pace. By the end of 2 hours I had 18.3km. I did the half marathon in 2:17. a bit slower than my last half marathon, but i was not dis heartened as I knew that I run the last KM faster. At the end of 3Hrs I had 27.1km and 34.6 at the end on 4Hrs. This is when I secretly started hoping to finish in 5Hrs.

Still at a pace of 8.75 to 9 KM per hour I had the luxury to watch around south Bombay where we were running. More than any thing else it was the spirit of the supporters who poured onto the streets of Mumbai which was heart warming. Kids had taken over the water booths from the appointed volunteers. Some residents had bought 5-stars and Cadbury bars for the runners. I was well nourished all through the runs. I distinctly remember a lady handing out almonds, cashew nuts among other things. An old lady was offering bananas. Some people were also handing out GU Gels. These gels are very expensive in India and very scarcely available. All these things reminded me what makes a great city. Having run some city marathons earlier, Mumbai marathon easily tops the list.

Every thing was well organised. Water and energy drink booths at regular intervals, well stocked aid stations, young girls and boys enthusiastically applying ice bags to bruised muscles of runners, those huge fans and air coolers in those 'cool zones' made the run enjoyable. Every thing was in place and I cannot think of any thing that was amiss. Crowd control was at its best. Kudos to the Mumbai Police and Traffic police. There was security to runners as well.

Coming to the show offs. I was awestruck by a lot of things all along the way. The show rooms of Rolls-Royce, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Ducati among others stood out. Houses along Peddar road, the elder Ambani's house, a couple of houses of bussiness families, the sealink, running along Nariman point, race course and Worli sea-face were also high points.

Having said all this, I could not have finished the race on 5:00:41 if not for the people cheering above their voices, volunteers and organizers. All in all a run  you should do atleast once.

Stats pasted below: Photos coming up shortly.
Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2013 - Marathon 5:40 Start            Back
Bib Number2518
NameMANJUNATH BHAT
GenderMALE
CategoryOPEN
Overall Rank1091
Category Rank773
Gender Rank1013
Split@3 Km00:18:24 at an Avg Speed of 9.78 Kmph
Split@15 Km01:36:35 at an Avg Speed of 9.32 Kmph
Split@20 Km02:13:39 at an Avg Speed of 8.98 Kmph
Split@27 Km03:01:56 at an Avg Speed of 8.9 Kmph
Split@28 Km03:10:45 at an Avg Speed of 8.81 Kmph
Split@29.25 Km03:20:10 at an Avg Speed of 8.77 Kmph
Net Time05:00:41 at an Avg Speed of 8.42 Kmph
Gross Time05:06:33
Average performance of the race
10
8
5
3
@3@15@20@27@28@29.25@21K
 Speed  9.78    9.32    8.98    8.9    8.81    8.77    8.42     
Overall Runners Statistics
1,000
750
500
250
33 - 44 - 55 - 6>6Total
 Runners  6    216    858    928    108    2,116  
Overall MALE Runners Statistics
1,000
750
500
250
<33 - 44 - 55 - 6>6Total
 Runners  6    207    791    857    99    1,960  
Overall OPEN Runners Statistics
800
600
400
200
<33 - 44 - 55 - 6>6Total
 Runners  5    164    648    699    86    1,602  

Monday, January 7, 2013

2012 - a look back


Keeping up with the tradition of better late than never "Happy new year, may all your wishes come true. May you follow the righteous path. May your health serve you well in the journey". Now that we got the pleasantries out of the way, I look back at the year gone by.

2012 has been a good year for me with Kareena Kapoor dancing to 4 item numbers. A lot of changes happened in this year. Work wise it continues suck better than ever. Personally, I started this year with a lot of travel. I traveled every weekend from Bangalore to Mumbai. I realized how tiring flight travel can also be. Being short on cash, I started travelling in Mumbai local from the airport. Finally things fell in place and I moved out of Bangalore. I was initially sad but looking at the bigger picture, I am very happy that I moved out.
A couple of dreams came true. I always wanted to run a full marathon. I ran one in Ranganatittu. Though I sucked at it, I completed. I always wanted to drive from Mumbai to Goa. Managed to convince the wife on this and finally drove to Goa and back. It was a memorable trip. I wanted to learn to swim. This year end saw me kick starting that as well. All in all it was a good year.

Looking forward to an eventful 2013 gupl, gulp, gul.....