Haile Gebrselassie is arguably the greatest distance runner of all time. With an amazing 26 world records to his credit, from 2 miles to the Marathon, he has done it all. Having been a sports buff myself and a long distance enthusiast in particular, I have followed his career with utmost interest and admiration. He recently bettered his own record in the race that he calls "the king of distance", the Marathon. And he bettered it by a whopping 26 seconds.
If put to a layman, bettering 26 seconds in a 2 hour 4 minute race might not sound as a news that deserves the kind of excitement and admiration. But, like any other sport, one appreciates the nuances better if one plays or at least dabbles in it. Been into long distance running for quite sometime now, I can really appreciate the significance of this delta. To make up for that small difference, not only must the race be planned well beforehand, the plan needs to be executed to perfection as well. And given that the race spans over two hours, there are ample opportunities for Murphy's laws to strike and things go wrong. While some factors are under the runners control, there are quite a few like weather that are outside the runners control. Conquering them all and posting a World Record time in a Marathon is no mean achievement. Really hats off to him.
Here are some really interesting and detailed analysis of the run for those who are interested.
World Record 1
World Record 2
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Reality Check
I just finished (for the second time) the book "Who will cry when you die" by Robin Sharma. A really good read and thought provoking. The topic obviously just asks you what your contribution to your family, friends, community, or in your area of interest has been? Will anybody feel the loss at all, should you hitch a hike in the next spaceship and disappear from the face of this planet?
A very interesting question. For those people like me, who are still wondering what their call in life is, those motley group who are still struggling to identify what their goals in life are, this is one quick reality check. It makes those people who take life as it comes, without any specific purpose or direction, sit up and take notice.
It is common sense that time, especially in this age, just flies at such an amazing speed that before one realizes, one has lost all those vital years where one could have made that difference -- the difference of having actually done something to being an "also ran".
I think the main problem here is that we are somehow trying to identify that one big purpose, goal that would set us apart. It probably never happens that way, the big goal in fact should just be an aggregate of much smaller goals. It definitely is good to identify those small/minor things and accomplish them instead of just trying to spend time identifying that "big thing" and doing nothing at all.
Another realization that occurs evidently from pondering on this subject is that every minute is important, and that we should use time efficiently to do those small things that hopefully will add up to something substantial at the end.
I personally hope that these realizations are for good and is not just another fly in the pan and I translate these into action.
Monday, September 1, 2008
BarCamp7, Hyderabad
Over the weekend, I gave a small talk in BarCamp7, Hyderabad. I had not heard of barcamps before, so it was really a revelation. I was surprised by the quantity and quality of the participation. The event was a mix of talks and demos and the participation was certainly not casual, rather treated with a serious intent of sharing and learning. I was lucky to be granted the first slot and had an attentive audience. I thought that my talk was fairly well received.
Some blogs on the event
Blog2
One other new thing about the trip was that it was my first visit to the new Bangalore International Airport and the new Hyderabad Airport. I agree with the general public opinion that the Hyderabad airport appears to be a better planned and executed project than the Bangalore one. It is more spacious and has a more International look. One thing common to both is the distance from the city. Even then, I could see that the AP Government is building an elevated highway that directly connects the airport to the HiTech city and another highway to the heart of the city. I hope the Bangalore officials do take some cue from their Hyderabad counterparts.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
100% Effort
Have you ever wondered that sometimes it does take 100% effort to achieve something -- 70% or 80% would not do. For example, if you are dieting and want to reduce your weight in a given time frame, it is not possible to say "I will diet 5 days in a week and indulge myself the other two days" and still expect to achieve the desired outcome. You might be tempted to say "After all I have kept my deal 70% of the time". No, it does not work that way. Dieting 5 days would certainly help as compared to not dieting at all, but the difference between dieting all 7 days and 5 days is too wide. The pay off drop between a 100% effort and a 70% effort is not linear, rather exponential.
This phenomenon is even more interesting when applied to the moral and ethical fronts. For example, can you say I would be honest 80% of the times? I would be truthful to myself and others 75% of the time? Is such a line of thought possible? Can person's character be evaluated by some averaging technique? I am inclined to say to no, but then I also realize that there can be no "Lakshman Rekha" on such matters. But I do realize that a truly great person of character will do the right things 100% of the time. Mahatma Gandhi is revered as much for this ability as much for his leadership skills. He did not do the right things (right things as per his own judgment) almost every time, but he did it every time. That is probably the difference between a good and a great person.
This phenomenon is even more interesting when applied to the moral and ethical fronts. For example, can you say I would be honest 80% of the times? I would be truthful to myself and others 75% of the time? Is such a line of thought possible? Can person's character be evaluated by some averaging technique? I am inclined to say to no, but then I also realize that there can be no "Lakshman Rekha" on such matters. But I do realize that a truly great person of character will do the right things 100% of the time. Mahatma Gandhi is revered as much for this ability as much for his leadership skills. He did not do the right things (right things as per his own judgment) almost every time, but he did it every time. That is probably the difference between a good and a great person.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Story of Stuff
One of my friends forwarded me the link to this website http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html. I really liked the site, Annie Leonard makes a pretty powerful presentation. I would strongly recommend visiting this site if you have not already.
This presentation certainly got me thinking. Is there something in that presentation that I did not know already? Not really. I might not have known the finer details, but I certainly knew the overall picture. Have I done anything about it except for occasionally feeling guilty about not doing anything? Not really again.
Why? Am I too lazy? Probably yes. But I think the most important reason is that subconsciously I feel that it would take a huge effort to do something. Somehow I get into this mental framework where I convince myself that the only sensible thing to tackle the problem is to do something grand -- like gather people and organize rallies to raise awareness. Or something similar. Since I can easily convince myself that I do not have the time or energy to organize rallies now, I conveniently wait for the guilt feeling to subside and just get back to doing nothing.
While raising awareness a la Mahatma Gandhi would certainly help, is this the only solution? I am sure that this is not true, this is just a way to deceive myself into not doing anything. Can we do something in our day-to-day life (without any special or extra effort) that would help reduce this ruthless abuse of Mother Nature? I decided to come up with some things that can be done in our normal routine life with minimal effort. Here is a list of actions that I came up with in no time.
1. Switch off unused lights, computer monitors, any other electrical gadgets.
2. Use a mug of water while brushing teeth/shaving instead of just running the water off the tap.
3. Use own cups/plates in office instead of using disposable plates/cups.
4. If disposable cups need to be used (say while going to picnics), use paper ones instead of plastic.
5. Take own cloth bags while going for shopping instead of relying on plastic bags from the shop.
7. Use refills for Pens and use till the ink has dried up completely. Promise to use only one pen, pencil a year by using refills.
8. Recycle paper. Avoid unnecessary print outs. Make a scrap book out of discarded one-sided printouts instead of using a new notebook.
9. Walk instead of riding a car or a motorbike. Cycle if the distance is not walkable. Use public transport if cycling is not possible.
10. Plant at least one tree (and take care of it) a year.
I am sure many more items can be added to this list, but this is what I came up in about 15 minutes. I already follow most of the items in this list, but then this list is just a starting point. Well, I do agree that might be item 9 needs some resolve. But then, you get the feeling that you are doing something for Mother Nature, don't you? That you might save some $$ and get healthier in the process is an extra bonus.
As I re-read this list, I am convinced that I should add one more item.
11. Try and convince as many people to follow these ten points as possible.
This item might be the most important of them all. This would not only enable me a sense of satisfaction that I am doing something for the cause, it will also ensure that I follow all the 10 rules myself as I cannot preach what I do not practice :)
This presentation certainly got me thinking. Is there something in that presentation that I did not know already? Not really. I might not have known the finer details, but I certainly knew the overall picture. Have I done anything about it except for occasionally feeling guilty about not doing anything? Not really again.
Why? Am I too lazy? Probably yes. But I think the most important reason is that subconsciously I feel that it would take a huge effort to do something. Somehow I get into this mental framework where I convince myself that the only sensible thing to tackle the problem is to do something grand -- like gather people and organize rallies to raise awareness. Or something similar. Since I can easily convince myself that I do not have the time or energy to organize rallies now, I conveniently wait for the guilt feeling to subside and just get back to doing nothing.
While raising awareness a la Mahatma Gandhi would certainly help, is this the only solution? I am sure that this is not true, this is just a way to deceive myself into not doing anything. Can we do something in our day-to-day life (without any special or extra effort) that would help reduce this ruthless abuse of Mother Nature? I decided to come up with some things that can be done in our normal routine life with minimal effort. Here is a list of actions that I came up with in no time.
1. Switch off unused lights, computer monitors, any other electrical gadgets.
2. Use a mug of water while brushing teeth/shaving instead of just running the water off the tap.
3. Use own cups/plates in office instead of using disposable plates/cups.
4. If disposable cups need to be used (say while going to picnics), use paper ones instead of plastic.
5. Take own cloth bags while going for shopping instead of relying on plastic bags from the shop.
7. Use refills for Pens and use till the ink has dried up completely. Promise to use only one pen, pencil a year by using refills.
8. Recycle paper. Avoid unnecessary print outs. Make a scrap book out of discarded one-sided printouts instead of using a new notebook.
9. Walk instead of riding a car or a motorbike. Cycle if the distance is not walkable. Use public transport if cycling is not possible.
10. Plant at least one tree (and take care of it) a year.
I am sure many more items can be added to this list, but this is what I came up in about 15 minutes. I already follow most of the items in this list, but then this list is just a starting point. Well, I do agree that might be item 9 needs some resolve. But then, you get the feeling that you are doing something for Mother Nature, don't you? That you might save some $$ and get healthier in the process is an extra bonus.
As I re-read this list, I am convinced that I should add one more item.
11. Try and convince as many people to follow these ten points as possible.
This item might be the most important of them all. This would not only enable me a sense of satisfaction that I am doing something for the cause, it will also ensure that I follow all the 10 rules myself as I cannot preach what I do not practice :)
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Marathon
Experiences running the PF Chang RNR Arizona Marathon 2008
Last week, about the same time, I was sitting in the same couch as I am now, with paining knees and quads, but with a sense of achievement. I had just completed the PF Chang RockNRoll Arizona marathon, 2008 (http://www.rnraz.com). Running a marathon had been a life-time ambition and completing it was a really good feeling.
The day (13 January, 2008) started with my cousin dropping me at the start area at around 6:30 AM. It was dark, cold and buzzing with activity. People were there all over the place, in stalls, in those temporary rest rooms, everywhere. Because I was hitchhiking a ride (I do not have a car), I was alone without any family or friends, but just being there at that point of time gave me a sense of exhilaration and excitement. I kept repeating to myself that I should take in as much of this atmosphere and ambience as I could and not let the nerves of running my first ever marathon overwhelm me.
I had a banana and a sports drink about 45 minutes before the run and just walked around the place trying to soak in the experience and most importantly to keep myself warm. It was about 40F and I knew I would do better to keep myself warm. In fact, in my determination to keep myself warm, I kept on my jacket and sweatpants till about 7:20AM and then deposited them to the UPS counter. I later headed out to one of those temporary rest rooms only to be surprised by the huge queues. By the time I was finished, the race had already started and I had to run to join my corral. I was slated to start at corral 8 as I had indicated a projected finish time of 4:30 in my application. My corral started moving about 4 minutes after the official gun shot and so I just managed to get to the start in time.
Once the race started, the first mile went off without my realizing it at all. I was determined to run the first few miles slowly so that I do not run out of gas towards the end and even though I was doing that, the crowd and excitement did not make me realize that about 10 minutes had elapsed since the start. I was targeting a steady 6mph speed through the race (10 minutes/mile pace) so that I could finish around the 4:30 mark.
The next few miles were steady and I reached the 10K mark close to the 1 hour mark. Since this was my first marathon, I was still unsure on what my strategy should be towards using the sports gel. I had read in a lot of posts that on an average, the body can consume the carbohydrate content of about 30 calories every hour and not much more. The average gel contains about 25 calories and so a good rule of thumb would be to consume one after the first hour and one every hour since. Since I had not tried using these gels before (which is actually a stupid thing to do), I was planning to use only 2-3 gels for the whole run and not more. So, I consumed my first gel at around the 9th mile mark (approximately 90 minutes into the run). I ensured that I took it with a lot of water as carbohydrates are better assimilated when taken with water. I was not actually feeling tired, but then wanted to make sure that I do everything needed to complete my first marathon.
Around the 1o mile mark, I was feeling a slight discomfort on my right knee and also felt a slight twinge of pain in the right thigh. I was not sure if the pain was real of if my mind was playing games with me. I had run up to 19 miles in practice, but then in the actual race, the mind can really start playing tricks. I decided that I will run a couple of miles and then walk for five minutes if the pain did not subside. But luckily for me, after about the 11th mile, I started feeling pretty good and the pain (or the imagination) disappeared. I was still continuing the 10 minute a mile pace and was doing well. I crossed the 13 mile mark at about 2:10, almost bang on target.
I ran steady for the next 6 miles but at the 19th mile, out of nowhere, both my knees and quads started paining. It just hit me very suddenly and I was taken aback at its onset. I tried stretching, but it only made things worse. The crowd was egging and cheering, but this pain was something pretty different from what I have endured during the practice runs. I crossed the 20 mile mark by 3:25, still pretty much in target for my predicted finish time.
However, the last six miles changed the equation completely and I was alternating jogs with walks now. I was no longer enjoying the run and it was getting increasingly difficult. I consumed another gel at around the 21st mile and at that point I kept telling myself that if I manage to touch the 24 mile mark, the adrenalin will carry me through the last two miles at a reasonable pace. However, that was not so. If I were tired, that probably could have been true, but the problem here was with the painful knees and quads and no adrenalin could possibly tackle that. My frequency of walks kept increasing and even the sight of the 40K mark did not make me do the last sprint to the finish line as I had expected to. I however started jogging slowly and when I finally crossed the finish line, it was more a sense of relief than accomplishment or euphoria.
I had clocked 4:44, not very off from my predicted finish time, but the last six miles were certainly not something I had planned for. Nevertheless, I had completed a long cherished dream and garnered plenty of pleasant memories to savor for the rest of my life.
Last week, about the same time, I was sitting in the same couch as I am now, with paining knees and quads, but with a sense of achievement. I had just completed the PF Chang RockNRoll Arizona marathon, 2008 (http://www.rnraz.com). Running a marathon had been a life-time ambition and completing it was a really good feeling.
The day (13 January, 2008) started with my cousin dropping me at the start area at around 6:30 AM. It was dark, cold and buzzing with activity. People were there all over the place, in stalls, in those temporary rest rooms, everywhere. Because I was hitchhiking a ride (I do not have a car), I was alone without any family or friends, but just being there at that point of time gave me a sense of exhilaration and excitement. I kept repeating to myself that I should take in as much of this atmosphere and ambience as I could and not let the nerves of running my first ever marathon overwhelm me.
I had a banana and a sports drink about 45 minutes before the run and just walked around the place trying to soak in the experience and most importantly to keep myself warm. It was about 40F and I knew I would do better to keep myself warm. In fact, in my determination to keep myself warm, I kept on my jacket and sweatpants till about 7:20AM and then deposited them to the UPS counter. I later headed out to one of those temporary rest rooms only to be surprised by the huge queues. By the time I was finished, the race had already started and I had to run to join my corral. I was slated to start at corral 8 as I had indicated a projected finish time of 4:30 in my application. My corral started moving about 4 minutes after the official gun shot and so I just managed to get to the start in time.
Once the race started, the first mile went off without my realizing it at all. I was determined to run the first few miles slowly so that I do not run out of gas towards the end and even though I was doing that, the crowd and excitement did not make me realize that about 10 minutes had elapsed since the start. I was targeting a steady 6mph speed through the race (10 minutes/mile pace) so that I could finish around the 4:30 mark.
The next few miles were steady and I reached the 10K mark close to the 1 hour mark. Since this was my first marathon, I was still unsure on what my strategy should be towards using the sports gel. I had read in a lot of posts that on an average, the body can consume the carbohydrate content of about 30 calories every hour and not much more. The average gel contains about 25 calories and so a good rule of thumb would be to consume one after the first hour and one every hour since. Since I had not tried using these gels before (which is actually a stupid thing to do), I was planning to use only 2-3 gels for the whole run and not more. So, I consumed my first gel at around the 9th mile mark (approximately 90 minutes into the run). I ensured that I took it with a lot of water as carbohydrates are better assimilated when taken with water. I was not actually feeling tired, but then wanted to make sure that I do everything needed to complete my first marathon.
Around the 1o mile mark, I was feeling a slight discomfort on my right knee and also felt a slight twinge of pain in the right thigh. I was not sure if the pain was real of if my mind was playing games with me. I had run up to 19 miles in practice, but then in the actual race, the mind can really start playing tricks. I decided that I will run a couple of miles and then walk for five minutes if the pain did not subside. But luckily for me, after about the 11th mile, I started feeling pretty good and the pain (or the imagination) disappeared. I was still continuing the 10 minute a mile pace and was doing well. I crossed the 13 mile mark at about 2:10, almost bang on target.
I ran steady for the next 6 miles but at the 19th mile, out of nowhere, both my knees and quads started paining. It just hit me very suddenly and I was taken aback at its onset. I tried stretching, but it only made things worse. The crowd was egging and cheering, but this pain was something pretty different from what I have endured during the practice runs. I crossed the 20 mile mark by 3:25, still pretty much in target for my predicted finish time.
However, the last six miles changed the equation completely and I was alternating jogs with walks now. I was no longer enjoying the run and it was getting increasingly difficult. I consumed another gel at around the 21st mile and at that point I kept telling myself that if I manage to touch the 24 mile mark, the adrenalin will carry me through the last two miles at a reasonable pace. However, that was not so. If I were tired, that probably could have been true, but the problem here was with the painful knees and quads and no adrenalin could possibly tackle that. My frequency of walks kept increasing and even the sight of the 40K mark did not make me do the last sprint to the finish line as I had expected to. I however started jogging slowly and when I finally crossed the finish line, it was more a sense of relief than accomplishment or euphoria.
I had clocked 4:44, not very off from my predicted finish time, but the last six miles were certainly not something I had planned for. Nevertheless, I had completed a long cherished dream and garnered plenty of pleasant memories to savor for the rest of my life.
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