So, we decided to register for the 10K at Auroville Marathon as an incentive to get back to running shape, and, boy,  did it work. In the last one month, I had become fairly regular at weekday runs, it took a long time to shake off the laziness that had set in the last 8 months. I was back doing 6km weekday runs.

Finally, it was time to do the 10K yesterday. And I did well.

The worst part of any run is the wait before it starts, it’s just so unsettling. You can look at each others’ faces and almost read “Just start the goddamn run!”

There were surprisingly less number of people for the 10K, about 100 people or so. Comparatively, there were 400+ people for the half marathon (21K)!

The run started. As usual, seeing people run past you really gets to you. I had to be conscious about not burning too much fuel at the start, so I kept myself under check.

As per expectations, the trail was really beautiful, straight into the forest.

I started off listening to Raghu Dixit’s  “Yello Jhinugiruva” song from “Just Math Mathalli” movie (Side note: I was kicking myself because I had to miss their MahaShivratri night performance because I had to travel to Auroville). That song set the pace for me. Soon, I was listening to “Going out of my mind” by Fatboy Slim and other awesome songs in my running playlists.

Another entertaining factor was the names of the places in/around Auroville such as “Transformation” (see below) and our favorite sign said – left goes to “Surrender”, right goes to “Vikas”

Around the 3 km mark, I started settling down into a pace, through the patches of uphill and patches of heavy sunlight amidst the countless trees.

The one thing that kept me going steady was RunKeeper. RunKeeper’s voice would tell me, every 5 min, on how much distance and time I had covered and what was my average pace so far. This was an amazing motivator for me. Every time I started feeling slow, the every-5-min voice would kick in and tell me whether I’m doing well or not, and I would increase my pace automatically. The best advantage it gave me was that it was mentally preparing me on how much more distance I have to cover.

I also remembered some old tricks I used to use – like consciously having longer strides to cover more distance. Another trick was to alternatively run fast and slow every kilometre, this helps keep it fun as well as increases the average speed.

It was around the 8km mark, that I started experiencing fatigue. RunKeeper was telling me that I was maintaining 7 min 30 secs per km, and I made a quick calculation that I’m just 15 min away from the finish line. I said to myself “Forget the fatigue, the finish line is so close.” And I started running faster – that would’ve never happened without RunKeeper.

Towards the finish line, a new friend I had made in this trip, Ajay, goaded me in the last 300m, and made me both happy and nervous.

At the finish line, the Auroville volunteers did a nice touch – they immediately put a medal on you for finishing. That makes you feel so good!

I was smiling at the end of the run, because I had maintained an average pace of 7 min 24 sec per km – I had run 10 km in 1 hr 14 min. This timing is nowhere close to the other runners, but I had improved my timing from an average pace of 7 min 45 sec in the past few weeks (that too over a longer distance, remember that the difference in average pace adds up for every kilometre), so I was happy. More importantly, I had a strong run and did only 1-2 stops or walking. That was critically important to me, so I was most happy about that.

After a full marathon, 3 half marathons, a 10K and a duathlon, I’m back struggling to do a 10K. I guess that’s what “muscle memory” is all about – if you’re not regular, your muscles forget what they’re capable of. It always reminds me of a quote:

“Running is the greatest metaphor for life.” — Oprah Winfrey

The secret to a good run is:

I tell our runners to divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart. — Mike Fanelli

I had a wonderful trip and a good run, all thanks to my running partner and my new friends at the Runners High club.

Side note: I’ve heard that the latest mass trend in Bangalore is cycling, but I think I’ll stick to running[1] because:

“I always loved running – it was something you could do by yourself and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.” — Jesse Owens

If you really want to exercise, please don’t wait to buy a 25,000 rupees cycle (I have seen so many people in this thought process). All you need for running is just yourself and a pair of good shoes. And then off you go!

[1] Although I have cycled to work, for > 3 years (since 2006), and no longer cycle because my current workplace is too far. So does that make me ahead of the trend?

I did the 10 km running + 20 km cycling thing.

I was the last-but-one guy to finish and I did take twice the amount of time as the first guy to finish.

But I didn’t care about that. I expected to finish in 3 hours and I completed before that. And I finished strongly, not crawling to the end as I used to. I enjoyed the run, I enjoyed the cycling and I was satisfied.

Photos by Vikram:

It reminded me of the book “What I talk about when I talk about running” by Haruki Murakami that I read recently (borrowed from Varun).

I really liked the book, because Murakami puts into words the things I have felt as a runner but is almost impossible to truly explain it to somebody else.

Just to put things into perspective – Murakami started running in 1982 at the age of 30, running everyday since then for nearly 23 years. He has run at least one marathon every year, i.e., 23 marathons till date [when the book was published], and many more long-distance runs.

Some of my favorite passages from the book are below.

About the rhythm:

As long as I can run a certain distance, that’s all I care about. Sometimes I run fast when I feel like it, but if I increase the pace I shorten the amount of time I run, the point being to let the exhilaration I feel at the end of each run carry over to the next day. This is the same sort of tack I find necessary when writing a novel. I stop every day right at the ponit where I feel I can write more. Do that, and the next day’s work goes surprisingly smoothly. I think Ernest Hemingway did something like that. To keep on going, you have to keep up the rhythm. This is the important thing for long-term projects. Once you set the pace, the rest will follow. The problem is getting the flywheel to spin at a set speed – and to get to that point takes as much concentration and effort as you can manage.

About why we run:

Most ordinary runners are motivated by an individual goal, more than anything: namely, a time they want to beat. As long as he can beat that time, a runner will feel he’s accomplished what he set out to do, and if he can’t, then he’ll feel he hasn’t. Even if he doesn’t break the time he’d hoped for, as long as he has the sense of satisfaction at having done his very best – and, possibly, having made some significant discovery about himself in the process – then that in itself is an accomplishment, a positive feeling he can carry over to the next race.

… Marathon runners will understand what I mean. We don’t really care whether we beat any other particular runner. World-class runners, of course, want to outdo their closest rivals, but for your average, everyday runner, individual rivalry isn’t a major issue. I’m sure there are garden-variety runners whose desire to beat a particular rival spurs them on to train harder. But what happens if their rival, for whatever reason, drops out of the competition? Their motivation for running would disappear or at least diminish, and it’d be hard for them to remain runners for long.

For me, running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself. At least that’s why I’ve put in the effort day after day: to raise my own level. I’m no great runner, by any means. I’m at an ordinary – or perhaps more like mediocre – level. But that’s not the point. The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday. In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be.

About running as an outlet:

When I’m criticized unjustly (from my viewpoint, at least), or when someone I’m sure will understand me doesn’t, I go running for a little longer than usual. By running longer it’s like I can physically exhaust that portion of my discontent. It also makes me realize again how weak I am, how limited by abilities are. I become aware, physically, of these low points. And one of the results of running a little farther than usual is that I become that much stronger. If I’m angry, I direct that anger towards myself. If I have a frustrating experience, I used that to improve myself. That’s the way I’ve always lived. I quietly absorb the things I’m able to, releasing them later, and in as changed a form as possible, as part of the story line in a novel.

What do we think about when we run:

… The hour or so I spend running, maintaining my own silent, private time, is important to help me keep my mental well-being. When I’m running I don’t have to talk to anybody and don’t have to listen to anybody. All I need to do is gaze at the scenery passing by. This is a part of my day I can’t do without.

I’m often asked what I think about as I run. Usually the people who ask this have never run long distances themselves. I always ponder the question. What exactly do I think about when I’m running? I don’t have a clue.

On cold days I guess I think a little about how cold it is. And about the heat on hot days. When I’m sad I think a little about sadness. When I’m happy I think a little about happiness. As I mentioned before, random memories come to me too. And occasionally, hardly ever, really, I get an idea to use in a novel. But really as I run, I don’t think much of anything worth mentioning.

I just run. I run in a void. Or maybe I should put it the other way: I run in order to acquire a void. But as you might expect, an occasional thought will slip into this void. People’s minds can’t be a complete blank. Human beings’ emotions are not strong or consistent enough to sustain a vacuum. What I mean is, the kinds of thoughts and ideas that invade my emotions as I run remain subordinate to that void. Lacking content, they are just random thoughts that gather around that central void.

The thoughts that occur to me while I’m running are like clouds in the sky. Clouds of all different sizes. They come and they go, while the sky remains the same sky as always. The clouds are mere guests in the sky that pass away and vanish, leaving behind the sky. They sky both exists and doesn’t exist. It has substance and at the same time doesn’t. And we merely accept that vast expanse and drink it in.

About the last 20%:

… Rereading the article I wrote at the time of this run in Greece, I’ve discovered that after twenty-some years, and as many marathons later, the feelings I have when I run twenty-six miles are the same as back then. Even now, whenever I run a marathon my mind goes through the same exact process. Up to nineteen miles I’m sure I can run a good time, but past twenty-two miles I run out of fuel and start to get upset at everything. And at the end I feel like a car that’s run out of gas. But after I finish and some time has passed, I forget all the pain and misery and am already planning how I can run an even better time in the next race. The funny thing is, no matter how much experience I have under my belt, no matter how old I get, it’s all just a repeat of what came before.

I think certain types of processes don’t allow for any variation. If you have to be part of that process, all you can do is transform – or perhaps distort – yourself through that persistent repetition, and make that process a part of your own personality.

About pain:

… Of course it was painful, and there were times when, emotionally, I just wanted to chuck it all. But pain seems to be a precondition for this kind of sport. If pain weren’t involved, who in the world would ever go to the trouble of taking part in sports like the triathlon or the marathon, which demand such an investment of time and energy? It’s precisely because of the pain, precisely because we want to overcome that pain, that we can get the feeling, through this process, of really being alive – or at least a partial sense of it. Your quality of experience is based not on standards such as time or ranking, but on finally awakening to an awareness of the fluidity within action itself. If things go well, that is.

About the life lessons from running:

Most of what I know about writing I’ve learned through running every day. These are practical, physical lessons. How much can I push myself? How much rest is appropriate – and how much is too much? How far can I take something and still keep it decent and consistent? When does it become narrow-minded and inflexible? How much should I be aware of the world outside, and how much should I focus on my inner world? To what extent should I be confident in my abilities, and when should I start doubting myself? I know that if I hadn’t become a long-distance runner when I became a novelist, my work would have been vastly different. How different? Hard to say. But something would have definitely been different.

My time, the rank I attain, my outward appearance – all of these are secondary. For a runner like me, what’s really important is reaching the goal I set myself, under my own power. I give it everything I have, endure what needs enduring, and am able, in my own way, to be satisfied. From out of the failures and joys I always try to come away having grasped a concrete lesson. (It’s got to be concrete, no matter how small it is.) And I hope that, over time, as one race follows another, in the end I’ll reach a place I’m content with. Or maybe just catch a glimpse of it. (Yes, that’s a more appropriate way of putting it.)

Murakami explains beautifully on how running and life lessons are so intertwined. I like to think on the same lines too.

For example, if you find the concept of running boring – I can argue the same applies for life – get up, go to work, come back, watch TV for a few hours, repeat 5-6 times, then go out for a movie on the weekend. Most people follow the same routine every week. How boring, isn’t it?

If you find getting started with running difficult – the same applies for getting started with any new activity. Whether it is learning a new subject in school, learning a new technology or process at work, or learning how to become a good husband or wife – getting started is always difficult. But it doesn’t mean you give up, right?

If you think running is too much effort for nothing, the same applies for life – you struggle so hard to survive and keep moving forward in life… for what?

Running requires a certain rhythm to be achieved, only then you can truly enjoy it. Same applies for life. If you’re going fully strong, only then will there be a stride in your walk.

The last 20% is the really difficult part of any long-distance run. Same for any long-term project. Really taking things to completion will give you a high like nothing else will.

Running is about competing with yourself, not with others. Same applies for life. If all you care about is being in the top ten, then you’re not truly enjoying the run itself, your focus is on the finish. But every wise man has already said that it is about the journey, not the destination.

Running is most fun when you cross the finish line strongly and knowing that you could’ve done more. Same applies for life. It is depressing to have given up in life and just waiting for the end, it is much more invigorating and worthwhile to be moving strongly.

“I do not run to add days to my life — I run to add life to my days.”
— Ronald Rook

Here’s a photo essay of the trip:

When we were reaching our camp area, the entrance itself was impressive, and I was excited by such clear blue water.

We had Breakfast and “kashaya.”

A short swimming session as an icebreaker, getting used to lifejacket and basic lessons for those who don’t know to swim.

We spent most of the afternoon learning how to paddle a coracle (a fibre one for safety). It was difficult at first but this quickly became my favorite.

Scrumptious lunch by Dharma.

Resting after all that exercise.

We went to another island to get a good view of the sunset.

Explored the island a bit. It felt like we were one of the first humans to trample on some of the grass there. There were no humans on any of these islands.

Driving away bisons, apparently.

Coracling back to the camp.

Campfire at night

Sleeping in dome tents on an island next to the water with a zillion stars in the sky.

On the Second Day, we learned how to paddle the Kayak and Raft.

The kayak is easy to get started with, but once a little wind blows, it throws you off completely. It takes a while to learn how to counter this.

The raft was fun too, especially to fall off into the water whenever you felt like it.

We trekked to the top of the hill and then back to Sagar to catch the bus back to Bangalore.

I had a lot of fun thanks to the gang of people I met there:

That’s Venkat, Arun, Vinayak, Mihir, Abhishek, and Saurabh (from left to right). And, of course, I’m the one clicking the photo.

Special appreciation for Sampath and the whole organization for organizing this as well as doing it for the right reasons:

We anticipate your continued active support and blessings to improve the activities further. Our aim is to expand the direct rural employment further and there by contributing to rural household economy. Our One more greatest achievement is that, we were able to convert small time timber smugglers in to force which is fighting against the tree cutters in the Sharavathi Backwaters by providing the alternate livelihood for them. We promise to work for the over all rural development and nature conservation. Also to serve the true nature lovers with renewed vigor.

To know when is the next activity weekend, join the sharavathy-valley-trekking list. Highly recommended.

Note: All the photos shown above are from:

• Me
• Vinayak Hegde
• Arun
• Abhishek Sahai

Had to get up at 3AM in order to reach Cubbon Park at 4:30AM for the buses to take us to ‘Our Native Village’ resort in Hesaraghatta. We reached early at 6AM and were waiting for the day to begin.

The 37.5, 50, 75, 100KM runners started off at 6:30AM, and everyone were cheering them on. There was one person Santhosh who was running from 6PM on the previous day doing a target of 24 hours or 200KM. Phew.

On a random whim, I decided to tweet during the marathon.

6:59 AM: Waiting for the 25K run to start at 730, it sucks to wait for an hour after the 50+ K #ultra runners

7:30 AM: Start!

I decide to run without music for the first 20 min.

After a while, I started listening to a talk by David Heinemeier Hansson on ‘The Great Surplus’ which is a really good talk that I recommend any dev should listen to. After that was over, I didn’t have the mental processing energy to listen to more podcasts, so I switched to listening to music.

I think the majority of runners here were either listening to music or running in groups.

Life Lesson learned: Do whatever it takes to keep your motivation high.

9:00 AM: Finished first loop of 12.5 km in exactly 1.5 hours. Not sure if I can complete within my target time of 3 hours.

9:25 AM: Body begs to stop. Mind says hell no.

Life Lesson learned: It’s all in the mind.

9:37 AM: Starting to feel that good pain in the knees.

Life Lesson learned: You need to cross a certain threshold of activity before you start feeling positive and energized. Activity precedes motivation.

9:52 AM: Reached 3/4th mark. 2 hours 23 minutes. There are a few people retired hurt on the mats and doctor is treating them… Getting some electral.

Life Lesson learned: I strangely found tweeting through the marathon actually helped me being more positive. It had the same effect as journaling. In this case, I got to vent my pain and frustration. After that, I felt lighter, felt like I had a fresh start and felt the need to do something more/better that is worth tweeting about.

9:55 AM: This is one beautiful location. Green everywhere.

Life Lesson learned: The right environment matters.

10:04 AM: 50+km runners whizzing by. How do they do that.

Life Lesson learned: There will always be people better than you but you shouldn’t get bogged down. As Bob Parsons says “Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.”

10:40 AM: 2km to go. Signs of cramps.

Life Lesson learned: As Bob Parsons says “When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: ‘The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.’”

10:55 AM: Finished. 25 km in 3 hours 24 minutes. More than I wished. But ran better than expected. So happy.

11:04 AM: Nothing like pushing yourself beyond what you think you can. Amazing what the human mind and body can do.

Life Lesson learned: Life is more meaningful and fun when you have big hairy audacious goals.

The best part was that my timing had improved significantly from last time where I finished in 3 hr 52 min – an improvement of nearly half an hour! I usually berate myself on not performing well, but this was something even I was happy about especially because I finished strongly and not limping to the finish line as I had experienced in previous marathons.

Life Lesson learned: (Again) As Bob Parsons says: “Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.”

Life Lesson learned: It’s tough. Are you?

You’re running on guts. On fumes. Your muscles twitch. You throw up. You’re delirious. But you keep running because there’s no way out of this hell you’re in, because there’s no way you’re not crossing the finish line. It’s a misery that non-runners don’t understand.

– Martine Costello

Update: Santhosh finally completed 156KM! Also, Tanvir has compiled a list of blog posts by various Ultra runners.

What was interesting was that nearly 35-40 people had shown up, which was quite unexpected.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes/trailer of the movie:

Rohan Kini and gang are basically running this cycle shop on Saturdays to encourage cycling and to help people buy and maintain their bikes. If you are interested in taking up cycling, you know whom to contact.

I had taken some photos of their “Bike shop on the Roof Top” the last time I visited:

including Rohan Kini unpacking and assembling a 40,000 rupees worth Trek 6000-series cycle!

Thanks to Bums on the Saddle for hosting the screening of the movie.

I used to call it ‘The Last Samurai’ because it is one of the few Samurai bikes that I could see on the roads.

Sigh. It feels like I’m giving away so many memories.

Now that I have to move on to a new mode of transport, I’ve been looking at the various alternatives:

• I’ve become a big fan of city metros ever since my visits to Singapore and Delhi, but Namma Metro is scheduled to be completed only by 2011.
• Local buses are a good option. For example, it took me just 16 rupees to travel more than 10 km. And it was far more convenient than inquiring 5-6 auto rickshaws before getting one auto-wala guy to agree to take you to your destination.
  • However, the biggest problem is finding out which bus goes to your destination as well as finding out the timings/frequency of that bus. I had bought one of the 30-rupees “Bangalore Metro Transport Corporation Travel Planner” maps but I still haven’t understood how to use it to take you from Point A to Point B, even though all the points are plotted on it.
• A car is out of the question, because
  1. I can’t afford one (because, uh, I don’t have a salary…)
  2. It just adds to the already-high traffic on the road.
  3. It is not cost-effective – 15 kmpl vs. > 50 kmpl for a motorbike.
• A new good motorcycle still costs upwards of 50,000 rupees. So this is the best option so far.
• But what about an electric scooter?

I took a test drive of the ‘Yo! Speed’ bike and it was pretty decent. It did not have good pickup, and it takes some getting used to the quick movements it does. The positives are that it made no noise, no pollution, has no gears and requires no petrol! You just have to charge it for 6-8 hours at a stretch and it will run for 50 km.

Rediff says YO! Speed is twice as cheap as an equivalent petrol scooter. On the other hand, the manufacturers claim that “YOSpeed runs for 500km in Rs. 50″. I’m not sure which one is more accurate, but it is definitely far cheaper than a petrol two-wheeler.

I’m also looking at vehicles which are a combination of a bicycle and an electric scooter – pedal when you want to, when you’re tired/bored, you can switch from human power to battery power, and it’ll whiz along.

I have been looking at the EVFuture website, and it really looks like electric vehicles are going to be a major wave in the future. I’m surprised there are so many electric scooters in India, including models by Hero Electric and TVS. My understanding is that the business, the technology and the market are yet to mature before it can take on the petrol and diesel two-wheeler industry.

The only question is which ones are viable today? And I’m talking about viability in terms of reliability, quality, service, spare parts, safety, etc.

The idea by Pradeep to have it in the open area outside the cafeteria just after lunch was a brilliant marketing ploy, because people would just walk out of the cafeteria and then they would see all the cycles and then out of curiosity, they would come closer and end up chatting with the cyclists. It was nice to see people hopping on and going for rides just to check out the cycles.

The stars of the show were undoubtedly Vikram and Varun because of their cycling clothes and their advanced bikes which have features such as special shoes that lock into the pedals as well as ability to unhook the wheels for easy transportation.

We had a lot of fun talking to people and answering many questions from curious Barcampers and turned out to be a successful session. Among the curious people, there was also a reporter from the Bangalore Mirror. It turns out that we ended up in an article in their Sunday edition yesterday:

BANGALORE MIRROR, SEPTEMBER 21, 2008, Page 9 : Rising fuel costs, never-ending traffic jams, have made travelling quite a problem in Bangalore. So it came as no surprise that young techies, who cycle to work, created a stir at Barcamp 7 in IIM last Saturday – Renuka Phadnis

The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore was full of activity last weekend. The auditorium was the venue for an interactive session of Headstart, a group that supports entrepreneurship in the technology sector. In the corridors and break-out spaces of the management school, there were parallel discussion sessions going on of Barcamp 7. But the one group that attracted the most attention here was the one that pedals their way to work. Varun, Vikram and Swaroop, the three directors of Ion Lab, cycle to their workplace.

And when they are stuck in any of Bangalore’s infamous traffic jams, the trio simply lift the bikes and walk out of the jam. Vikram used to cycle to his office in Bosch earlier and is still cycling to his new workplace. He cycles up to 50 km a day and has even pedaled to Mysore. The cycle he uses is a ‘Giant’ that has as an accessory shoes that swivel into the pedals of the cycle.

Varun has been cycling in Bangalore for six months after he got hooked on to it in the US.”A lot of people complain about the traffic but I like it,” he says. Once in a jam, he lifted the cycle and a guy in a car told him, “Dude, I am here stuck in this traffic and you are getting away?” He likes the fact that cycling keeps him fit too.

When you ask Swaroop if he does not find cycling a challenge in Bangalore, he says, -”Cycling isn’t, but driving a car is!” He says it is a lot safer and easier in the city. He has been cycling from Jayanagar to Domlur for the past two years.

… (see the picture for the full article)

Factual errors aside, it is a good article and really encourages non-cyclist skeptics to consider cycling. The other upshot is that the red bicycle you see on the top of the page is mine, so if I ever want to sell it, I just have to say “As featured in the Bangalore Mirror”, heh. And also, this is the first time ‘Ion Lab’ has been mentioned in the press.

Let’s reiterate over the benefits of cycling to work:

1. You do not need a separate time to exercise, because you’re cycling to work. You save one hour everyday.
2. Save on fuel costs, and in turn make the world less reliant on oil fuels.
3. Reach your workplace faster. It’s a myth that cycling is hard and slow and you’ll be late. On an average, I used to motorbike to my (ex-) Yahoo! office in Domlur in 45 minutes, but used to take 30 minutes on cycle.
4. Don’t get stuck in traffic jams. Just lift your cycle and push it along on the sidewalk. (Please do not cycle on the sidewalk, you’ll be annoying pedestrians)
5. A good exercise before you reach your workplace will really pump up the endorphins and put you in a positive mood to get lot of work done throughout the day.
6. And you’ll be a lot healthier!

Convinced yet?

More photos from the event:

The direction from Bangalore towards Thalagattapura was generally downhill and we started to enjoy the cycling when we saw good green fields on either side and surprisingly, lessening traffic. It’s always fun for me to cycle to the pounding music of The Chemical Brothers.

We crossed Thalagattapura and Kaggalipura and stopped at the lake immediately after Kaggalipura.

This was one of the best spots to stop at. A nice small lake. Some people on the other side were washing their cows, we were relaxing and our bikes resting beside us. After a few minutes, we sat under the shady trees and watched the beautiful water. I was amused at the contrasting situation with so many people just zipping by. Everybody’s in a hurry.

After 15 min of rest, we started cycling back to Bangalore. Since we enjoyed the downhill journey already, now it was time to face the uphill journey. It was a killer.

We stopped at Thalagattapura to have good vadas, bad dosas and refreshing maazas.

Eventually, we huffed and puffed and reached back at the Kanakapura junction at noon, making it a total of 4 hours and 30 km of cycling (which inevitably meant good sleep after I reached home).

All in all, a good Sunday. I hope I eventually become fit enough to join the Bangalore Bicycling Club on their adventures.

I always have my ol’ iPod Nano with me while I’m cycling. As usual, if I want to listen to a song again, I click the left button to repeat, if I don’t like a song, I click the right button to skip to the next song. But while cycling, I have to do this without looking at it. It is possible because I can feel the click-wheel and it has a good feedback so that I know when the press has worked.

Compare this with the touch-screen rage – can a person use the iPod Touch/iPhone without looking? From my limited usage of a friend’s iphone, I do not think it is possible.

It makes me wonder which is really the “Touch” – the one I can use without looking (using only sense of touch), or the one that has a touch-screen UI (requires both sense of touch and sense of sight)?

Best of all, it was a good run. I didn’t have any of my usual performance anxiety symptoms, mostly because I made sure that I didn’t plan or think about the run. I’d just get up late, hurry and reach the place, just wait to run and hope everything goes well.

I’m thankful that it worked out exactly to a T and it was a good run. A really feel-good steady-pace run.

I needed an extra boost in the end to bear the searing sun and that was provided by “Get Up! Go Insane!”. Thanks Fatboy Slim!

There were people running for their charities, people running for fun, people running in costumes, and even people running out of curiosity. I was running to fight against my off-late tendency to give up easily.

On a different note, I must appreciate how well-organized the entire event was. After the run, they gave everyone bun and biscuits. It may not mean much in a normal situation, but after a run, it’s really important and I was thankful they had thought to this level of detail.

After I came out of the Kanteerava stadium (the start and end point of the run), I bumped into an old school mate after a really long time. He looked at me and asked:

Him: Oh so you came for the run?
Me: Yeah
Him: So you completed?
Me: Yeah…
Him: (has the ‘not bad’ look) So how long did you take?
Me: 70 min.
Him: Oh. (face expression changes) I took 90 min. Okay. cya later.

So next time, don’t underestimate that fat people can’t run.

Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.

– Oprah Winfrey