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Running a marathon is all about endurance and strong will power. For me, it was a lifetime experience.

I took up serious running less than 18 months ago. Completed a 10K , thanks to Coach Beedu and Reeth of the Nike Run Club fame. Did multiple 10Ks and a 25K at the ultra last year. I wanted to do a full marathon, one of my bucket list items. The next couple of weekends, I did a 25k+ and a 30K+. That gave a little bit of confidence but I was still not very sure if I would be able to do the full in the stipulated 6.5 hours in trying conditions. Vasu and Gopal nudged me to go for the full and I thought, "Let me attempt it. If I finish, well and good, else I would know my limits". One thing was clear, I was not going to get tensed and freak myself out over it. I was just going to get through the day and take it 1Km at a time.

We drove to Mysore on Sep 18th, along with a couple of friends. After dropping them at their hotel, we checked into Dasaprakash Paradise. Found out a place called Olio, serving Pasta nearby. The ambience was nice and the food was delicious but pricey. Packed a sandwich at CCD, bought some bananas and retired to bed early in a desperate attempt to get some sleep. But then, I ended up tossing and turning.

Woke up next morning and landed at the run site by 6am. The run site was buzzing with activity. Met a lot of folks from Nike Run club, Hashers and RFLers. Arvind from RFL warned us that even though the sky looked clear and the water calm, it is going to be a difficult terrain and advised runners not to attempt their personal best. I caught up with Gopal and we decided to run together maintaining a decent pace.

At the stroke of 6:30, what I call now, as the run of my life, was flagged off. Gopal and me started in the last group and were doing about 6 mins per KM. The first couple of KMs was nice and easy but the uneven terrain was making life difficult. I had to really concentrate on the path to avoid tripping. Around the 7KM mark, Gopal had a minor fall and he started slowing down. One of my biggest problems in running has been that, if I stop for a while, I find it hard to resume at the same pace. Found another group doing between 6-7mins per KM and joined them.

Around the 10K mark, there was a really bad patch and I struggled crossing that. Met a bunch of half marathoners and ran the next few comfortably. I started tiring a bit around the 16-18K mark and was doing slow. I saw Vasu and K cheering everyone.

The route was a 10.55K out and back. For the full the marathon, we had to do this loop twice. I had completed the first half around 2hrs 20 mins and started the second. Around the 23KM I was completely tired. I was not used to the sports drink and had a feeling it was just making me feel thirstier. By now, started doing a run-walk, with fellow full marathoners, and was drinking a lot of water. Got completely exhausted and started having doubts if I would be able to finish.

There were 3 people whom we all saw during the run - A man running without shoes, a woman doing a half with her kid on a pram and another man running a half with a fracture, wearing a sling. If these people could do it, I better be able to do it, said my mind voice. My motto throughout the run was, If I could not run, I would walk. If I could not walk, I will crawl, but I will finish.

I was mostly walking from 23rd till 28th Km. Then got a sudden bout of energy and pushed myself till 32K in 4 hours. Saw a lot of folks, tired and with cramps but with the never say die spirit. We were joking that we all have run a 10K under an hour, and we would do it today too. But easier said than done, after the 32k. Despite the scorching sun, tired legs, thirsty throat and about 6 miles between me and the finish line, the only comforting feeling was the confidence that I would be a finisher today..

Around the 38KM mark, saw Vasu. Started a walk-run back with her to the finish. Every beep on my Garmin watch was cheered since I was one step closer to the finish. I was about 500m away from the finish when someone said, "You are less than 500m from the finish and you should be sprinting now". I have no idea where I got the energy but I started running, counting every step, pushing myself till I could cross the finish line. And finally was home. A full in 6 hours and 7 minutes. This moment will be etched in my memory for ever!

After the run, the limp on my feet left me in a few days, but the grin on my face remains.

Since school days learning to swim was a fascination to me but never had the opportunity to learn. I thought I would learn this once I joined college since river Cauvery was nearby. But that too never happened thanks to the sound reprimand I received when my parents discovered about it. The wish remained as one of the top priority bucket list items for a long time. I had tried on and off venturing into the pool but never learnt the nuances.

A couple of months back when I was talking my running coach Beedu, he suggested me to go and learn swimming. The nonchalant yet firm way he talks pushed me into signing up. I signed up with a lot of apprehension and much against the approval of my parents but S pushed for it. With July feeling as if it is peak winter and with the rains, I was not very sure but decided to put my best foot forward.

I finally made it to 19 of the 20 sessions. After completing the course, I am confident that atleast I know the nuances and can swim the breadth of the pool with confidence. Needs practice and I will get to once I am done with KTM.

KTM, here I come.

A couple of years back, my only running was from my apartment to the main road where the office cab stops. Hardly about 250 metres. I will huff and puff to reach there in 3-4 minutes. Slowly, I started running at the gym. I was able to run with great difficulty, a KM under 10 minutes. The Fitness One guys started pushing me and I did a mile under 10 minutes once. I slowly started increasing the time I could run continuously and after a while I was able to run around 30-40 minutes continuously. My best on the treadmill was 5K in 32 minutes.

But then, running on the treadmill was no fun. Late last year I started venturing out into the real world. It was a completely different experience. I was back to square one. I could hardly run a couple of kilometres. Then subbuj joined me as my running buddy. We started slowly pushing our limits. Subbu has a Nokia N95 with Sports Tracker installed and that helped us track our progress. I was planning for training with Runner's High, but then a sudden trip sent me to San Francisco. Thankfully, it also helped me continue my running and I enjoyed every bit of my stay there. I also picked up a good running shoe there.

Once I came back, we started running at the Cubbon Park. One fine day, we decided to check out the Nike Run Club. They were just beginning to ramp up their training sessions and it was a blessing. Coach Beedu and Reeth were helpful with tips and helped in the training. Nike took really good care of us during the training sessions. They did a gait analysis, arranged pep talks, provided trial shoes and finally ensured that everyone gets mentally and physically ready for the run.

The day before the event was just like the day before an exam. I was a bit nervous and was also tired. It took me a while to realise that the main reason why I started running was to have fun and if I get tensed I would miss the fun. So the next day, I went to the run with only thing in mind. Finish it and if I can finish in 90 minutes I would be happy. Subbu and I started running on the race day and after a couple of KM, I felt that I could run faster. I slowly picked up the pace and got into a nice rhythm. Went to the 5K mark in 28 minutes and I was nicely pulling along. Then came the difficult part of the run, since the road was slightly steep from Dickenson Road to Kamaraj Road to Cubbon Road. I slowed down and after a few minutes started walking. I walked for a couple of minutes and then started running again. After entering into the Cubbon Park, it was the regular trail and I picked up pace. The last KM was the fastest pace and according to my watch, I finished in 58:28 minutes. Woohoo! We then went into the Nike Lounge and were royally pampered. There was one guy handing out cold towels, another guy taking pictures, a sumptuous breakfast, a foot message and some very nice music. It turned out much better than what I had imagined. When the official timings came out the next day, I found that I had done it in 57:43 mins. Nike has also promised that they would give a specially designed T-shirt, "I'm a finisher" for everyone registered with NRC.

So what are you thinking. If you want to start running, drop in tomorrow, 13th June, at Kanteerava Stadium at 6AM and join the Nike run club.

--
Pain is temporary, Pride is permanent.
          -- Saw on poster by someone cheering for Runner's High

A cricket update for a long time. With Mumbai Indians refusing to put up a fight, here are my predictions for the semi finals.

• Delhi Daredevils
• Chennai Super Kings
• Deccan Chargers
• Rajasthan Royals

Delhi and Chennai will go for the finals and I expect Delhi to win. Let us see how it goes

Read on cricbuzz.com chat:

wen da hell is SRT cumin in wats rong wid dat guy!!!
well its the wear and tear of the groins due to adjusting it every ball srt has faced for last 18 years :)

And here is an interesting read on the so called icon's players.

I was casually asking the score yesterday and someone said Sehwag was on fire. I spent rest of the day on cricinfo / cricbuzz and lamenting about why isn't Neo sports available in office. In the night I went to a friends place to catch the highlights of the match. Man, Sehwag was really scintillating. He butchered the bowlers and took the initiative away from SA. In the process, he smashed a few records. In another wise dead match, Sehwag made it very interesting. Today morning I saw the few overs and looks like he was very tired. He was struggling and soon got out. And Indians tumbled afterwards. If he stayed or if India had taken the initiative, they could have scored 700+ and could have put SA on pressure. Now it is again going to get boring. But this has been a fantastic match for Sehwag. In the last three test matches, he has played nicely. Let us see how long does he continue.

Busy. That one word summarizes how I have been for the past month or so. The shortest month of the year flew by like a minute. Its just not work but things outside work also has kept me busy. Just now someone called me to say that we haven't met since New year. He is the one whom I hang out with every week :-) March is not going to be better. Two friends visiting, a work related trip to Cochin, a marriage to attend in Trichy and whole lot of PHB work.

Had a coworker travel from Sunnyvale and spent two weekends roaming around with him. After a long time, I met someone who thinks and works very much like me. I guess he is the second person after Mr.H at Honeywell who approaches, thinks and executes just like me. Visited Mysore, dined at half a dozen restaurants in the city and loafed around.

Cricket: Let me also join the bandwagon by writing about it. It was an amazing couple of games. I never that India will drive home the cup with a thumping win. They played very ordinary in the initial stages and I was not even sure if they will qualify for the finals. They finally qualified, without depending on the SL-Aus match result. But in both the finals they played like real champs and made Ponting eat his words (though I have not seen a news article Ponting saying three finals will not be required). In the first game, when we were chasing, I thought we had to play with 10 players thinking Tendulkar was out of the equation. But man, the way he played was awesome. I have never seen him play like this in a long time. It was a mix of caution and aggression. He did the same in the second final as well. In all, India did a great job in Australia. Let us see how this team progresses.

And see this picture of Harbhajan. Man, he is one funny character. And he had his moments in the finals accounting for his friends dismissal.

That is it. India has done it. They have have stopped the Australian onslaught, for the second time. This has been one heck of a match. Stuart Clarke and Mitchell Johnson put on a brave fight and caused some concern. But then Indians had the last laugh. Poor Ponting, he did not have Bucknor to help him this time.

Who thought Sehwag would strike in his first over? Kumble has got it spot on. Go on folks. Rock on and choke them. This is amazing cricket.

It is a pity that Australia needed 13 players to win this test and equal the record of 16 test wins on the trot. It was India who broke their run last time. I hope they turn around and break this one too. And someone wrap Bucknor and Benson on their knuckles.

India seems to be making some decent progress in the second test. After the initial three wickets, England tried to pull back but two quick wickets has got India back on track. And I guess the reason why India is doing well now seems to be because of this.

S Ganguly 8-4-11-1
S Sreesanth* 11-6-16-1

Runs seems to have dried up. Let us see how things goes .I do not know what has created the sudden interest in cricket for me now. Its been a while since I followed cricket, but I am watching these two matches closely.

India needed help from the rain god to save the test match. I was really surprised to see the Indian team struggle against a depleted English attack. The famous four failed miserably :-( I guess this is the first time that rain has come in India's favour. Let us see how the rest of the matches go.

It was cricket time again at office. We played a day of cricket at the National College grounds. We played three games in all and it was fun to try my hand at bowling. Some photos by Abhinav on Flickr. This might not tell the true story, but Mahesh was one of the top scorers that day. He was furious with Abhinav for having missed out some of his good shots!

Does anyone find this program, "Dhuniya Goal Hai", funny? This is telecast between matches and I find it irritating. But the only good thing about this program is when Varun gives that fabulous gift to the person's mom who answers the question correctly. I love that one :-)

Damn. The rain saved them this time. And then Lara seems to have played a pateint innings. Hopefully in the next two tests will produce a result, in India's favour.

I was wondering about the dual stance Jeff Crowe took in the first test. Or how could have he let off Lara was his behaviour on the field and fine Sehwag for celebrating a dismissal without appealing to the umpire. Siddhartha Vaidyanathan writes about this double standards here. If Jayawardene was fined, even after apologising for knocking over the stumps in frustration, how can Lara be let off?

Atlast India seems to be salvaging some pride in the second innings. Jaffer has just a hit a double hundred and Dravid has gone. The lead now is 223. If Yuvraj and Dhoni can show some fireworks and get the lead to 320+ in 20 overs and if they can put in West Indies to bat for about 25 overs and get a few wickets, the game might tilt our way. Too many if's but let us watch and see. Dravid sometimes can get too boring. Yes, he has steadied the Indian innings but 62 runs in 177 balls. Come on guys, the strike rate can get a lot better.

In the England SriLanka series, Murali took eight wickets to level the series 1-1. 104/1, 125/6, 153/9. And a battle by Plunkett and Panesar took the score to 190 all out. SriLanka won by 134 runs.

Pointing must have been happy after guiding Australia to a total of 434, a world record,with his 164.He must have thought that SA would collapse much like how India did on its last encounter with Australia here at The Wanderers. But on a day that saw records tumble, South Africa has won this thriller beating the record for the highest total and the best ever chase with a wicket and a ball to spare. Fantastic batting by Gibbs and Smith and some lower order hitting with a cool headed Boucher on the other end saw history being created.

I always thought that a 400+ total record would be created in the subcontinent. Let us see who becomes the first to score 200+ in an ODI.

While we were watching the Test match yesterday in office, we were discussing Chappell's recent interview to Guardian about Ganguly. A guy suddenly jumps in to the conversation saying "Whenever there is a new series beginning, to save India's embarrassing performance, Chappell starts of a new controversy so that the entire media attention is diverted".

This was way too off and India's performance has not been so bad in the recent times, but yes, Chappell should not have gone to this extent. And why not talk about this to an Indian newspaper or Indian media? Ganguly has been the most successful captain of India and I would have loved to see a befitting goodbye to him.

This is how the last four overs looked like in the second final of the VB Series between Australia and Sri Lanka.

4 4 1 2 3 1 | W 1 4 1 4 2 | 2 2 1 N6 4 1 4 | 4 1 4 . 2 4 |

And this is another interesting figure as well.

Muralitharan                10      0     99      0 (1nb)

Ponting, Symonds, Clark and Hussey seems to have belted the Lankan bowling attack. Rather than sleeping, I should have watched this match.Let us see how Sri Lanka comes back.