30 April 2017

One good turn deserved another…

I ran a 5K race after a long time this morning. To make sure that I did not wait for that long a time for the next one, I went ahead and ran a second one this evening. Morning one was on a flat surface and I was able to post 8:13 min/mile. The evening one was on punishing hills and I had to slow down to 8:41 min/mile. But there was wine at the end of it 🙂

Nikita and our dog Jay Jay came to cheer me up. (Sharmila is visiting Natasha in New York).

Your probably remember some of the inspiring pictures of kids running in the morning. The evening one was no different. The evening run was to raise money for differently abled kids who are financially disadvantaged. There was one kid who clearly was differently abled who showed up (for the shorter version of the race) to raise money for his brethren.

I was touched by him enough to hang around till he showed up at the finishing line. I was completely humbled by the fact that somebody who can barely walk properly would show up for a race just to raise money for kids like him but in a different financial situation.

What blew my mind was the sight of his mom walking step for step with him all the way. What sacrifices must she have made to raise her son all her life!

Every time the next hill in my run threatened to take my breath away, all I had to do was remind myself of what I had just seen. The world was very even after that.

Let the records indicate that for all the divisiveness we have pushed ourselves to in the garb of so called knowledge and intelligence, our basic instinct of just being humane is often still intact!!!

Category: Our Best Friend, Running | 3 Comments on One good turn deserved another…
29 April 2017

Race to beat ALS (Lou Gehrig’s syndrome)

It was extremely heartening to see so many people come out to run to raise money for research and cure of ALS. Quite a few of my friends have one or the other parent affected by this and some, unfortunately, have eventually lost the battle.

There were some very cute kids who came for the Fun Run. The youngest one divided her time between taking a few steps and focusing on her pacifier!! It was very encouraging to see the sense of camaraderie among all the young participants.

In the 5K run itself, there were kids around 10 years old on one hand and there were septuagenarians on the other. There were a few who finished it in their wheelchairs – and one of them is currently afflicted by ALS. There were people sprinting, people jogging and people walking. Regardless of their capability, they came out to show solidarity in the fight against ALS. A few dogs, not to be outdone, ran the whole race with us!

If medical technology cannot find a cure soon, I am sure the human spirit will.

Amitesh ran after a long time and posted one of his career best times. I ran a 5K race after a long time too (these days, I focus on the long distance runs instead of the fast ones). Mine was good enough to get the 3rd prize in my age category.

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6 April 2017

Unique exercise inside an airport

Well, first of all, it was not a run really. Although, after I checked into the Skyclub in the airport – weary from a 8 hour translatlantic flight – and realized that I had a lot of layover time, my first instinct was to take out the running shoes and clothes from my carry on and go for a run inside the terminal.

A few minutes later, it dawned upon me that a brown guy like me running up and down Schipol airport without any apparent reason (or luggage for that matter) would undoubtedly get the carbine-toting security guards on my heels in a jiffy. So, decided to do the next best thing – go for brisk walking.

I think technically, the difference in brisk walking and running is less of speed and more about both feet being ever off the ground at the same time or not. But today, my walking speed varied between 14 minute mile to 18 minute mile depending on the crowd in the terminal. At the end, I had finished all the 6 terminals I was allowed to access (the other two required me to go thru immigration). A little over 5 miles, about 11,000 steps in about an hour and 20 minutes.

Now for a little glass of the bubbly and wait for my turn for the shower…

 

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