Mind Blogging. Mind Boggling.

I ran 240 km in 2020, which is the most I've ever run in a year. 

My most memorable ones were my gut busting run around Agara lake, which was 5.82 km in 28 mins, and the high altitude run in the undulating roads of Mashobra (town near Shimla), in the rain and amid the snow. 

The Agara lake performance is close to my fastest 6K. This was the third attempt at breaking the 5:00 mins/km mark in that month. However, it was not like I was breaking an unprecedented barrier- I had run 6 km at 4:50 at a PUMA 6K event in 2019, stoked though it was by the fires of a competitive race. So I was not really overly cock-a-hoop when I did it this time at Agara. It's not like I leapt a couple of feet and punched the air and hollered in unbridled joy, like say Virat Kohli after a wicket. In fact that's usually one of the common thoughts that cross my mind during runs, when the mind is in that other-worldly state, how I should celebrate when I hit my target? The fantastical concept that comes to my delirious run-mind, is that I end up getting very pepped up upon hitting the targeted distance, and perform this leap of celebration! And if I'm not doing it myself, I then hope that I atleast see someone else near me doing it on the trail. This over-the-top celebration would be an outward expression of what would have been a completely internal battle - a titanic battle of mind versus body in which the mind comes out on top, and has thus commanded the body to celebrate wildly at its behest : 'Legs, jump! Hands, spread out wide, head- bob around wildly! '

Also, this seems to be the current limit for a 6K for me: a pace of 4:50. Beyond this, I would have to train seriously - 'interval training' - which the runner Prof at the IIMB marathon suggested, who we will meet a little later. Essentially, if I'm targeting say 4:40, I will have to do 6 or 7 intervals of 800 m each at 4:40, separated by brief breaks for some respite from all the panting. I am not yet up for that. Perhaps I will do it in preparation for my next 10K race, where I would want to break 50 mins. I am currently far from 5:00 pace for a competitive 10K- I am at 54 mins as of now. 

While the Agara run was memorable from achievement perspective, the Mashobra run was the most exhilarating run I've been on. It was around 5.5 km on typical undulating mountain roads. . It was really cold- at around 7-8 degree celsius. There was a persistent drizzle. It had snowed the previous night, prettying up the landscape . I put on my waterproof down jacket and waterproof pants, my waterproof hiking boots which in fact are quite heavy for a run, and set off. I realized that in the mountains, its an altogether different level of workout for your lungs. I went off the tar road a few times- some 200 m into some of the trails- and then got back to the road. I did not go deeper than that offroad because I was worried that I would be attached by a bear, because it was a proper forest once you went in a bit. The run made me feel fresh, excited and energized. I went a couple of days again- but it was not as exhilarating as the first. Upon my return home as I tore off the wet apparel, I realized this was the brightest moment in the lives of the expensive pieces of my wardrobe- the waterproof down jacket, pants and hiking shoes.

This year, I also read Murakami's 'What I talk about when I talk about running'. I think that read is inspiring this post. Also, that lends another dimension to my thoughts when I look back on the running journey of the year- for the reading of this book was also a part of the running journey. The book was philosophical, well written, and a pleasant canter through Murakami's journey as a fairly accomplished runner. The book takes you on a journey, through the stories of H.M's runs, through Tokyo, rural Japan, Cambridge (MA) and Hawaii.   

2020 started with my participation, with Sweatha, and couple of friends Nidhi and Vivek, at an organized race- the annual IIMB alumni run, in the IIMB campus. I met a couple of my professors over there- but was disappointed to not see a single batchmate (out of the 400 odd batchmates that exist). This was a big difference from another 10K which I ran- where I had registered with two batchmates Rohit and Ankit and had their company for post run revelries of photos, conversations, and a luxuriant breakfast. I had an interesting section in the run when at around the 7K mark I overtook this barefoot runner. But maybe 500 m later, he overtook me again. It seemed like two competing schools of running were going head on- while he was barefoot, I was wearing a PUMA Speed Orbiter- a fully loaded running shoe . However, it is on the chunkier side and preferred more by runners who want cushioning and dont mind the cost of extra weight. This does not suit me- I realized during this run. In this case, he won. However, if I had my regular PUMA Flash Ignite, which is lightweight and my gun-shoe, I feel the outcome would have been different. 

They had a nifty image recognition feature in the infrastructure for the race wherein I uploaded a picture of myself and then they sent me photos of myself during the run taken by the photographers of the race. The pictures are far from flattering- I look like a dead man walking (/running), the head is cocked to one side and there's an expression of compete pain.  I imagined a pleasant smile or a resolute frown!  This situation was just the complete opposite of the more common scenario of when someone adjusts their hair, puts on a smile and gets ready for the shutter-click! Perhaps I should do a better job of intimidating my opponents, and my lackluster body language was the reason behind the barefoot runner stealing a march over me. In fact - yes, he himself looked quite resolute. 

After the race, the four of us went to 'Taaza Thindi' and made quick work of some Idlis, Dosas and some Coffee. The place is supposed to be legendary, but I thought the fare was the usual. Well, I really like 'the usual' at Bangalore's fast food joints, so there's nothing wrong with that.

In terms of earworm during 2020's runs, there were a couple of short 15 minute runs when on the phone with parents. I tried Murakami's suggestions- Gorrillaz, RHCP and one another band. The Runners World podcast on Spotify was tried a couple of times, to moderate liking. I never ran with a podcast playing in the background. Also, on a couple of back to back runs (A/B testing)- one with music and one without- confirmed what I had suspected all along- that music slows me down. Also, I prefer listening to the sounds around- so I would have had something playing only on rare occasions. 

The most memorable t-shirt slogan I saw on fellow 'trail blazers' was one on Agara lake, which read"
"Some people make history- I use Incognito". Well- talk about Bangalore being India's tech capital! Reading this really gave me a spring in my step for the next minute or so. I wish more people wore fun tee shirt captions when on running trails- though that's hypocritical because I myself have never sported one. 

 Among people who I 'ran' into during runs, there were the couple of profs at the IIMB run. There was this batchmate from IIMB Hemanth who I ran into at Agara- who was doing a really brisk walk. I finished my run and walked alongside for one lap of Agara - that's around 2.4 km. We took a picture and sent it across to a mutual friend. I also bumped into another batchmate, Shriram, who I only waved but did not stop for because I had a hawk eye for my timing that time. I later looked for him but could not find him. During a December 5K in the Koramangala 3rd block Lake-cum-park circuit, I saw Dharmendra coming at me from the opposite direction and we did our fist bumps while not slowing down a beat. He's been to Boston and Berlin and whatnot- so he's a certified flyer. There was a serious Doppler effect as he came at me- his face appeared blueish as he approached me (and that wasn't because he was panting for oxygen), and as I craned my neck around to watch him speed away, his hair had this reddish streak. 

In fact, that's an idea for a running or cycling tee- the front is blue, the back is red, and it has the caption- "See the Doppler Effect, when I run". Maybe this could be one of the caption tee shirts that I craved for, earlier in this essay. 

This year, I look forward to some good runs in the Nitro series which PUMA is releasing around March. I've saved up my "New Year Employee Appreciation voucher" for this purchase. 

I miss the buzz of the 10K- the frolicing with company early in the morning, and the well deserved breakfast afterwards. In fact, I was imagining last year, that the IIMB Alum run in Jan would become a regular part of my calendar, and that of my friends. I hope that the vaccine rollout ensures that there are some good 10K races in the second half of 2021. 

# posted by Ashwin Ravikumar @ 11:52 PM 1 Comments

Couple thoughts:

• Happy with the diversity - many joyrides I've been on in 2020 :) 
• Re-reading becomes critical because some of these books have real nuggets which need to be revisited- on a mission to re-read the Kindle highlights/ book annotations- hope to complete that in January . 

More details below:

Labels: Books

# posted by Ashwin Ravikumar @ 12:50 PM 2 Comments