24 April 2022

Shoe brand transitions are never easy for me

Other than the first Brooks running shoe I had started my running career with, the brand I have consistently stuck to – for most of the last 17 years of running – is Asics. There was one time around 2014 when I had switched to “barefoot” running and used Merrel shoes. That was a disaster. My calf muscles were not built for that. After a lot of injuries, went back to Asics. Recovered in time enough to do the marathon run in Greece with Asics in 2015.

Recently, I had a lot of runner friends singing paeans of the “ON” friend. They are twice the price of the shoes I normally buy. After dilly dallying for about 6 months, I finally decided to give it a try and went out today in my first pair of ON shoes. At around 2 miles, felt a pull in the right calf muscle that quickly deteriorated to the point I could not run any more. Sat by the side of the road and started massaging the area.

That did not help much. Soon, I started wondering if I would be even able to walk back home or would have to call for help. After some thought, decided to walk slowly for some time and see if the pain would subside. Upon dragging myself for about half a mile, I thought I was getting used to the pain. Started running slowly again. It was not a natural run. I could feel the body was trying to avoid putting too much pressure on the right step and was thus swiveling on the left hip.

After a mile of slow run, I could still feel the pain but by then it was bearable. Picked up speed and completed 4 miles. Then just to see if I could push a little further (I can be stupid that way), went for another couple of miles. The leg is hurting fairly bad but I am feeling much better. And that is the important thing 🙂 🙂

Shoe brand transitions are never easy for me.

Category: Running | LEAVE A COMMENT
23 April 2022

“Badal yun garajta hain”

First time I listened to the cassette of Betaab – right after finishing my tenth grade exams, I remember being struck by the pronounced sound effects of thunder in this song. Not one to watch movies much, I did not have the visual backdrop. That did not quite matter much, since I loved the tune of this song. And every other song of this movie. No wonder it became the biggest hit of that year.

Folks who grew up at that time listening to the songs of Betaab, did you have a favorite song? The others were “Jab Hum Jawan Honge”, “Teri Tasveer Mil Gayee”, “Tumne Dee Awaaz”, and “Apne Dil Se Badi Dushmani Ki”.

Got this vinyl from Kolkata when I was in India in March.

Category: Music/Poetry | LEAVE A COMMENT
19 April 2022

First time after Mar 13, 2020

Yesterday, while flying into Salt Lake City, I got a notification on my news feed that the mask mandate in planes had been struck down by a Federal judge in Florida. In the evening, I got a note from Delta that masks are optional in their flights. But they also warned that not all TSA agents and airline employees might receive the memos in time. So, we ought not to push the case for a day or two.

And I got on my return flight today – the first day of mask mandate not being there. 25 months after my last maskless flight! Be it the airport, security gates, Delta sky club or the plane – most folks had their masks off! Nobody bothered anybody. Even the Uber driver told me I did not need to put a mask on!!

Now I have to pay attention to shaving carefully 🙂

Category: Travelogs | LEAVE A COMMENT
18 April 2022

What is the difference?

My friend Somya commented on a previous post of mine about the beautiful fog in our area (we live very close by) that she found the mist very beautiful too.

That got me thinking – what is the difference between a fog and a mist? I often use them interchangeably. Or a haze for that matter. After doing some internet searching, here is what I have gathered.

A fog is essentially a low lying cloud. It is low enough that it touches the ground level (the ground you are on might up in the hills). Being a cloud, it forms slowly by evaporation of water from water bodies nearby and then condenses as water particles and hangs in the air. Visibility is usually less than a kilometer.

A mist, on the other hand, is caused by rapid condensation of water vapor – usually from volcanic activity or sharp changes in temperature and humidity. Because of the speed of condensation, the water particles are smaller. Therefore the visibility is higher and it disappears faster than a fog.

A haze, I found out is also suspension of particles in the air – but dry particles. Has nothing to do with water. Could be around a factory, as an example.

Do you know any more on this subject?

Thank you Somya – for helping me learn something new this morning!

Category: Musings | 2 Comments on What is the difference?