5k run adventure....

Where have I reached!!!???
I have still not managed to run for 20mins continuously. I decided to change the focus to distance from now on. So the aim is to cover 3kms run in 20mins. As of today....Not anywhere close. Currently I am able to cover 3kms run-walk in 35mins. It took 3 days to reach this.
At the moment I am definitely disappointed. I am struggling to get there. I haven't given up yet. But the frustration is building up. Many online videos of new runners say the same thing. They all have hit the frustration point.....kept pushing themselves and then reached success. I am assuming it would be the same with me as well.
So I have made some more changes from a week. I stopped jogging and I run at a convenient pace. I focus on the distance and trying to reduce the walk duration. I have cut down on the breaks. I am trying not to stop. I keep changing the location. I have also started to run everyday. I am more stringent at the stretching exercises.
I have also made some changes to my diet. I am consciously drinking more water. I am taking Chia seeds as it's very rich in protein. I have reduced the intake of rice.

What do I want to change further....
Find a way to drink water during the run
Eat more raw vegetables and fruits
Find company to run
Try and run early morning instead of evenings

Further updates....need to wait

5k run adventure Week 2 3 4 and 5

I was a bit lazy to blog regularly...so here is a quick run through of the progress from week 2 to week 5.

Week 2 90sec jog and 2mins of walk
 Again the same mind block. I thought I can't do this but on day 1 I realised it was not tough at all. So week2 went smooth. Just about 600ml of water was sufficient to keep my body hydrated.

Week 3 90sec jog 90secs walk 3min jog and 3min walk
This was a challenge for me. 3min jog was a big jump. I could not do it on the first day. Not even close. I think I broke at 2mins. So I knew it was going to be tough on day 2. I had convinced myself to repeat this week. But then my body surprised me again. Day2 I could meet the 3mins jog. Infact on day 3, I was willing to run a few more extra secs. I didn't push for it.... I wanted to take it at the right pace without demotivating myself.

Week 4 3mins jog 90secs walk 5mins jog and 2.5mins walk
Here again 3mins jog was easy but 5mins was not. I couldn't do it on day 2 as well. But day 3 I was able to run for 5mins but that felt like my best ability. I was scared to move to week 5 practice. Going by my past experience I hoped to get surprised again.

Week 5 day 1 5min jog 3min walk
This I was able to do. But again it felt like the limit and I was not sure of day 2.
Day 2 8mins jog and 5mins walk
I was not even close. I could extend my first cycle of run to 6mins then I had to pause. The rest 2mins was also not easy. 2nd cycle was just 3mins jog. I couldn't push beyond that. So I am going to repeat this today.

Here in this week 5, I am facing following issues
1. Surprisingly I am able to manage my breath. Thanks to the 1month of yoga that I practiced. However my cuff muscles and ankles hurt a lot. That's making me break my run. From the online tips I understand that the stretching after the run is insufficient. I am going to add that and update the improvement. Had I made it a routine... I would have probably hit this week target as well.
2. I need to hydrate my body a bit more. I don't want to carry a bottle with me while running. So I am still thinking how to deal with this.... Going ahead I may need a solution inevitably.
3. I have not lost much weight. It's almost negligible. I guess it's the diet part. I need to fine tune the diet further. I also need to do my yoga more stringently on the other alternate days.

What has been helpful so far are the online videos and tips. They are motivating and informative. Do keep browsing especially the YouTube videos for tips. It's useful for the beginners.

I will update the week 5 progress on the same blog. So watch out for the update....
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Repetition 1 didn't meet the target. I could run a max of 6mins and a few secs.
Repetition 2 was semi successful... Meaning I was able to run the 8mins in the first cycle. I did feel like this was the limit. I can't do it anymore. 2nd cycle I didn't have the stamina.
With one day gap I went again for Repetition 3. But my muscles were still hurting from the previous run. I couldn't run for more than 6mins. I plan to take a break of 3 days this time. I will rest and start the run on Monday. I am pondering if I should just move to the day 3 practice. That would be 20mins run. I know it's not very practical but I am thinking if it would be good to just train for the 20mins run directly.
I am also thinking of changing the location. I have been going to the same park Everyday. I think I will just run a route instead.
Update in the next blog....

5k Run adventure -Week 1

I am not athletic....I have not shown interest in the sports in my childhood... But then something happened!!!
I remember my college days when I would miss the bus because I refused to run. I did not one bit like the muscles on my legs getting strained and contracted.

An year back, in the month of Jan, one of my friend suggested we will enrol to a 5k marathon. I think it was called Pinkathon...5k run for ladies. The marathon was held in the month of December so we had ALL the time in the world to practice and enrol. Well..... all the time in the world is always deceiving.. As expected... I practised for a few days and then didn't even think about it for an year. Then obviously the new year resolution to run this year.....The mood cycle was pretty much repetitive and I was falling back to the same tendencies.
At the right time my friend came for the rescue.... :P She enrolled for the marathon and pushed us to do the same... So yes now the target date was fixed as 15 Oct 2017. Initially I focused on Yoga practice for a month. Then my sister recommended a run plan she found online. That triggered more interest in me. Its always good to have a plan...;) Its different if you will follow it though.

Then came the app Poochto5k google app to my rescue. I used it for a week (3days) and uninstalled. This app is for free but it has no voice record. I noticed that I sometimes lost record of whether I should run or walk....It was a bit confusing. So I found another free google app C25k with a training plan to run a 5k marathon. I liked the app as it has a neat voice record, it tracks plan execution, you can pause it, rewind or forward.

Now let me tell you about my running practice. I had completed 1 week of run with Pto5k app. But as mentioned earlier, I have no prior experience to run. So here are my learnings....

Day 1 week 1
My whole body was aching. I had a tough time managing my breath. I actually skipped 2 cycles of run. Next day I had severe knee pain. One day rest was not sufficient. So I took a break for 2 days.
Day 2 Week 1
I somehow managed the workout with lot of cheating ;) Knee pain was again a problem. This time I took 3 days break.
Then I spoke to a trained runner. She suggested that the knee pain could be weak thigh and cuff muscles. Either meet a physiotherapist or do exercises that can strengthen these muscles.

Here Yoga helped a lot. The simple Yoga practice combined with some Pranic self healing sessions, resolved the knee pain issue completely.

Day 3 Week1
I completed the workout without any cheat...no knee pain but I found it very hard to complete run. There was no point in simply jumping to Week 2 as I was sure I cant extend my run duration.

I uninstalled this app. Installed the new app C25K which was more fancy and decided to repeat the Week 1 practice. This time, as suggested in many of the online articles, I did some stretching exercises and yoga the previous day. BINGO.... Day 1 Week 1 repeat cycle went great!!! I was easily able to complete the Week 1 practice.

Day 1 Week 2
This week Monday was Day 1 Week 2. Guess what!!!! Wooooohoooo I did it and I did it with ease. No muscle strain, no body pain, no knee pain. Only mistake was, I forgot to hydrate my body sufficiently. Its important to drink good amount of water before you start the workout.

Its a record break!!! No not Guinness just my own self record. Earlier I have not been able to run for more than 2 mins. I have successfully been able to run for 9 mins!!!! Can you beat this??? Yes of course I will beat it ;) Tomorrow is day 2 and I am looking forward for it!!!!! The aim is to reduce the 2mins break I take after every cycle...

Its an interesting learning about my own body. Human body is so adaptable....so is the mind. We just have to execute the Will to discipline and train it. This time I am going to add some diet tips to my practice.... For now my learning is to drink good amount of water. Will update the rest after I experience it.....Keep an eye here for more :)

Rumi's Quote

Fall in love with
the agony of love
not the ecstasy
then the beloved
will fall in love with you. ~ Rumi

RUMI on Love!!!

I was dead
I came alive
I was tears
I became laughter

All because of love
when it arrived
my temporal life
from then on
changed to eternal

Love said to me
you are not
crazy enough
you don't
fit this house

I went and
became crazy
crazy enough
to be in chains

Love said
you are not
intoxicated enough
you don't
fit the group

I went and
got drunk
drunk enough
to overflow
with light-headedness

Love said
you are still
too clever
filled with
imagination and skepticism

I went and
became gullible
and in fright
pulled away
from it all

Love said
you are a candle
attracting everyone
gathering every one
around you

I am no more
a candle spreading light
I gather no more crowds
and like smoke
I am all scattered now

Love said
you are a teacher
you are a head
and for everyone
you are a leader

I am no more
not a teacher
not a leader
just a servant
to your wishes

Love said
you already have
your own wings
I will not give you
more feathers

And then my heart
pulled itself apart
and filled to the brim
with a new light
overflowed with fresh life

Now even the heavens
are thankful that
because of love
I have become
the giver of light.

Crazy Shopping

I am shopping books like crazy...........................
I already spent 7k+ on books despite having so many unread books in my shelf. Now found lot of free eBooks on Flipkart and Amazon. I have downloaded 30 books on Amazon Kindle, 14 books on Flipkart and 7 books on Google Play book. I still have 23 unread books on my book shelf...
GOSH!!! Whats the total!!!!!!!!!!!! 74 unread books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are more beautiful than you think

Amaizing!!!!

The Most Amaizing video

The Most Amaizing video I have ever seen!!! Can touch the heart with so much tenderness....

हिन्दी हमारी राष्ट्र भाषा - Hindi: Indian National Language

Hindi is the Indian National Language. This is one statement that has been mistaken to the core. I often get to witness the stupid fight between North Indians and South Indians on this statement.

Here is my effort to clarify a few things on this on this topic.
III std Social Science text book of CBSE syllabus clearly states that there are 16 Indian National languages. yeah that's correct its 16 not just Hindi. As per our constitution, there are 2 major criterias for the language to be declared as Indian National language:
1. It should be a spoken language in our country as mother tongue.
2. It should have its own लिपि (scribal)

Strictly speaking Hindi does not satisfy the above 2. The Devanagari lipi of Hindi belongs to Sanskrit. But there is a reason why this language is an exception.

This language is not just the National language but also the OFFICIAL language of our country. Which means, if you have to make an official communication, anywhere in India, apart from English and the local language of that state, you are authorized to communicate it in Hindi. Egs: Submit an application/ resignation/ leave letter. Legally, such submissions cannot be rejected. You will find all the Govt official forms printed in English, sometimes in the local language and as well as in Hindi. 
Our constitution has been translated to all the local languages/ National languages but they are considered as translations and copies. Only the English and the Hindi versions are held with the highest regard as Indian Constitutions.

Our constitution also says, we are a democratic country. With due respect to this statement, in my opinion, it is illegal to force anyone to speak or learn Hindi. Respecting the local language is a must and you cannot establish the importance of the official language of our country, until and unless you hold the local language with the respect and high regard. Over powering a linguistic tradition of a state is the most unprofessional approach to spread the acquaintance about Hindi.  

Having said that, I totally support the concept of having one common official language across the country. Have you visited other countries where they don't speak English? Do you feel like an alien? Do you feel like a foreigner in the true sense? How many of us experience this discomfort when we travel a few kms from a our state and visit a neighboring state? How many of us feel like a foreigner in metropolitan cities like Bangalore or Chennai when we are here to earn our living? Its ironical that we feel like a foreigner in our own country. Its a big hit on the integrity of our country just because we have a gap in communication even though we share a common and rich cultural background.

Its peak of bull headed stupidity to fight over our local language to be declared as the official language. Hindi is the most apt language for this. Consider the below points with an open mind:

> Hindi uses Devanagari lipi, which is widely familiar in the country, since Sanskrit is the sacred language across the Nation. Most people from North to South, are aware of the scribal and can there by read Hindi with least difficulty.

>Hindi is the language which has emerged with the contribution of almost all the major languages of the country, which makes it easy to understand and learn.

> Most of the North Indian states of the nation are already familiar the language and therefore its only the South Indians who need to put in a little bit of effort to learn this beautiful yet very simple language.

Some of we South Indians  who know Hindi reasonably have traveled to North Indian states, and yet feel belonged. For the integrity of the country, to have the mutual acceptance in our neighboring states, to feel at home in our own country, its essential to have a Hindi as our official language and make a clean effort to learn it. Does this make sense why Hindi has to be the official language? Is this a more convincing approach to bring better acquaintance of this language rather than forcing people to adapt to the language?

I hope .....:)

Choosing between mom and wife!!!! Why???

How many of you have heard men say "You can get another wife but not another mother"..... Huh what a profound statement, I am such an adorable human being for having stated the world's deepest truth!!!. That's what you guys think when you state this right? 
Please sit down, take deep breath in and think again!!! Ponder... May be by God's grace some light will glow...
Why do you want to choose between the two?  Some of you are managers in a company managing a team, who trust me hate you....Then Why is it so hard to love 2 people in your life who actually love you? 
I am sure you have made this statement in the presence of your beloved wife and your divine mother. Now think for a moment...Your Mom will be insecured coz she has seen you choose your wife over her, when you want to enjoy life. Be it parties, vacation, official functions, movies; ...I am sure you are with your wife and not with your mom. You have made your priorities very clear to her. When was the last time you took  your mom out for a temple, a general health check up, a vacation, ok forget just a simple walk in the park???? You may want to ask your wife the same question, I am sure she will score better. Take a look at the old age homes. Most of them are abandoned by sons, who pose to be loving sons.
On the other hand, your wife must be red alert with all the fear in heart that you may bring in someone to replace her anytime. After all you made this statement LOUD and CLEAR... Isn't it? Put yourself in her shoes, she left her home, family, friends, relatives and changed her Name just for you. I wonder how this profound truth has not been an eye opener to your wife....!!! Oh come on, going by your statement, she can find another husband but not another mom. Ideally, going by your truth, she should just go back to her parents and leave you with your loud priorities.
By the way, in future, the same truth will be applicable to your son. Your wife should be his priority. Not you or your mom. You and your mom will have to gulp this every moment...ehem...ehem...
2 insecured people asked to Live together who are both extremely possessive about you. What do you expect? peace and harmony??? You deserve to be smashed between the two. If the 2 loving people are fighting over you, its clear that you are the Moran who has miserably failed to bridge between the two. If your wife and mom are in harmony, you are the one to be the most happiest. 

Strange that you have not perceived this oblivious truth. I hope some light glows. I hope you open your heart....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M7hiNGGn9A

RockStar Movie

WHAT A MUSIC!!!! Yup I am in love with the Rockstar movie music. AR Rahman is the best and there is no doubt about that. Mohit Chauhan singing is fab!!! And HUH!!! Finally Ranbir Kapoor makes his debut in acting!!! Made me say WOW for his performance in the movie. 
Having said all that, what a pity... the storyline is missing!!! Beautiful actress with no sense of acting! I actually lost all the interest in the second half of the movie. It didn't hold my attention. The emotions didnt touch my heart. So my eye liner stayed intact ;)
Overall, I would say 5stars for Ranbir, 7 stars for the music and no stars for the story.


Its not a must watch movie. You may just want buy the music of the movie and enjoy. Its worth it!!! But if you want to appreciate Ranbir, may be a 1 time watch.

No Title for this Day

Have you ever been NERVOUS to the core....I did for the first time...Yeah I know I know... Life mein bahut kuch first time hotha hain.....
Ok this is what happened to me....First my mouth dried up...I drank water but it would dry up instantaneously. Then my throat dried up and then even my stomach dried up...HUH never thought that could happen.


Then the stress pitched to the next level. Now my lungs forgot to breath. I had to consciously inhale with some force, to fill the little space that my lungs gave. But then, as if it was some unwanted filthy food force stuffed into mouth, my lungs would breath out instantaneously. Before my nose could breath out that air, my mouth would open up to ufffff and hufff it out. So I was actually breathing in with my nose and breathing out through my mouth with a rather high frequency and an awkward rhythm.


Now comes the topping to the whole situation. Most people who know me have noticed a manufacturing defect in me. I can blush for no valid reasons. My face easily turns red. But Jesus Christ, this was no defect. The blood gushed to my face, turned red, ears were feeling warm, rather hot, eyes filled with water, forehead and nose started to sweat in the chill cold AC room. By the way, it was drizzling outside. So it was not a hot weather to sweat at all.
By now since my nose was anyway half the time free not breathing out by the grace of my mouth, decided to give company to my eyes. Yeah it started watering like a leaking tap. OMG!!!! I forgot my handkerchief, I could see no tissues around.
Can it get worst?? Yes it did.... My voice box refuse to make sounds from then on. My mind blanked out, so I forgot what I had to say. Oh wait a sec...that didn't keep my mind silent. It raised a HAZAR question. What are you going to say now? Lets start from the beginning, but what is the beginning...Anyway just say something, anything....Do you realize you appear like the world's best moron? Whats the point, you have anyway ruined it so say anything...Look into the eyes, when you talk....Or if that is making you nervous you can just put your head down...Huh.....ON and ON and ON...............


THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE........... :(
  

ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ಕಗ್ಗ

ಬದುಕು ಜಟಕಾ ಬಂಡಿ, ವಿಧಿ ಅದರ ಸಾಹೇಬ, ಕುದುರೆ ನೀಂ ಪಯಣಕೆ. 

ಮದುವೆಗೋ ಮಸಣಕೋ, ಪೋಗೆನ್ದಕಡೆ ಪೊಗು.

ಪದ ಕುಸಿಯೆ ನೆಲವಿಹುದು ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ||

Life is a Horse driven cart, Fate its owner
You're the horse for the journey
Tread the path as guided: Towards marriage, or towards graveyard
If the step fails, you will have the earth beneath to support.

-- DV Gundappa

How to offer a Cute Prayer :)

Fictitious protagonist in the camouflaged drama of life, enacting the monologue role which is still a self authored posthumous.


Since most of my friends who read this almost beat me up, I will make an attempt to explain what was on my mind with this one liner.....:)


Protagonist is the main character or the only character, on whom the play or story is based. Each one of us are the protagonist of our own life story. After all life is also a drama with lot of fake emotions and unreasonable turning points, which often makes me feel that the role in my own life is not real.....So I termed my role in my life as Fictitious protagonist.


Camouflage means to hide something to make it look natural with the surrounding. Like hiding an equipment or arm from an enemy. That is exactly what life does....Most times so dramatic and unexpected. The hurricanes and soothing breeze are cinematically  indulged into life with no foresee. 


Monologue is an act or play, where the artist enacts 2 or more characters. Like the ones in the talk shows and comedy shows on TV. All of us are biased and deeply influenced by our own state of mind and heart. The perception of the world around is obviously from our own point of view, which may or may not be real, but its the hard core only truth for us. People around talk, express emotions and ideas of their own but the perception is always from our point of view....I guess you will all agree to this. Its my way or no way!!!!......Hmm... so what am I saying.... I am trying to say that no matter whats happening around, standing in our shoes, life around is a monologue interpretation from our mind and heart :)


With all the freedom of thought speech and action, abilities, self sustained attitude, decision making abilities and above all the stubbornness to stick to our opinion, I often get deluded that I am in full control of my life.....Until the ego is blown off with a hit or a new flabbergasting unexpected twist....Then I begin to ponder, am I really the author of my life? Even if I am...is the story under my control.....Sometimes I feel, I am just enacting some self authored story. Yeah self authored....I believe its my own past karmas, calcified patterns of thoughts and emotions which have built up this story and now more like a dead puppet, I am enacting the whole play....Posthumous is a story continued after the death of the original author. So I am the original author of my life, but a dead puppet, but the story continues, but the author still remains me..........


HUH!!! that was sooooo not easy to explain ....:) But it was much easier to frame that one liner...:))

Laughter Awaited

Yes, when you see for the first time, a great laughter arises in you - the laughter about the whole ridiculousness of your misery, the laughter about the whole foolishness of your problems, the laughter about the whole absurdity of your suffering.
---OSHO
I am sooooo.... waiting for this laughter.... I really hope I can do this :)

When my mind and emotions get attached to a song and start listening to it over and over again, the lyrics of the song comes right through my heart. Yesss..., I am avid lover of music, but what holds my interest is the choice of the words. For the sake of the beautiful words I can compromise the voice of the singer many times......Then I go a step further and choose the best lines of the song and post it as my status message in gtalk.
Now these messages trigger strange waves around!!! Yeah I have followers to my gtalk messages. Why did she choose these lines, whats running in her mind, whats happening in her life....... Ohh Jesus!!! For God sake, its just my favorite lines and NOOOO I am not stating anything about my life!!!!
Hmmmm but one of my dear friend is gaining some strange pleasure in killing the flavors of my favorite songs. He titled the Yellow by Coldplay as (.....They were all yellow....)jaundice 
Constantly(....All day I'm walking in a dream I think about you constantly....) by Cliff Richard as Night walking, Better Man(....Lord I'm doing all I canTo be a better man......) by Robbie Williams as change of gender (heights!!!! HUH) ........

I stopped by my own side to ponder on all the waves of my life...

Did I initiate these waves? No came the answer...

Did I invoke for these waves? May be came the answer ?!$%%

If not you, could there be these waves? No came the answer...

Then did u initiate these waves? May be came the answer ?!@#$!

Then why is it that all of me is in the wave and you are not here? Are you sure came the answer.....

Is this a fare deal? Is this what I deserve? Yes for sure came the answer......

I took a deep breath and try to puffff away the density of the emotions, hoping to clear away the cloud, the fog, the mist, the smoke.....

I see a ray of hope, a silver line at the horizon where my life meets that light intense, bright and shiny...Dont know what to say...Is it love, is it fate, is it the end, is it the beginning, is it you, is it me myself......Searching the call of the Rhythm Divine that is so oblivious yet so obvious......

I support Anna

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_anna_hazare_fb/97.php?cl_tta_sign=8de3c9d6eeeeb0990e9c18e96e28a2e6