So, I love to run. A friend introduced me to running 3 years ago and slowly, but steadily, I have gained immense appreciation for this sport. On twitter I follow all sorts of runners. From ultra runners to casual runners and each one has their thoughts on running so I guess it’s my turn to put in some thoughts of my own.
Some of my observation on running are :
Always keep an eye on the road. Since I run on the pavement, I always look over my shoulders to make sure there are no vehicles approaching when I am about to cross a road. This has become a habit for me and has saved my skin a number of times. And a few times when I know I have kept my eyes open and the driver has not, I have let the driver know what I think about him/her. :)
I work in an area which is surrounded by hills. So I have been trying to conquer the hills without compromising on my pace. It has not worked very well so far. When I run up the hill, I lean forward and keep my head straight. For some reason, this seems to be the least stressful position. And when I am running down hill, I lean back and look up which shifts my centre of gravity backwards.This lets me maintain my speed/momentum. However, I always, always get shin splints so maybe I am doing something wrong.
I always keep my head straight. I do not know what the body mechanics are but if I hang my head when running, I get tired very quickly.
My nipples chaff very easily. Something I learned from my last 1/2 marathon. The worst feeling EVAH!! And it took me 1 week to recover and had trouble wearing cloths…..so no matter what, I will never ever wear a new t-shirt for a run.
Music is very important to me. It’s been one constant in my life and I listen to it whenever I get an opportunity. But 3 years ago, the opportunities began dwindling because of added responsibilities in my life. I could have always kept on listening to music during my long commutes but for some reason I would always take a nap so that opportunity was lost too. It was running that saved my love for music. During a run I had no one to talk to me, no chance of falling asleep, no one telling me the music sucks so I should turn it down, no one to tell me how the music I listen to hurts someone’s ears etc. I began to consume music passionately.
After a run, the warm feeling is one of the most amazing feelings I have ever experienced. I know it’s mostly the endorphins but there is also a part in me that’s super proud of the run I just completed.
I am a weakling when it comes to food. I just have this propensity to hog and feel really guilty after my meals. But on the days I have had a run I do not feel guilty at all. In fact I use my running to justify a super big meal!!
Till last week my mode of running was to set a pace and keep at it until the end of the run. I do break into walks because I still have not learned the art of drinking water and running at the same time. Now I am trying something new that a colleague mentioned. During the week I am going to run short (5K to 8K) runs but run as fast as I can. And then after a couple of short hard runs, I will be going for a really long run (aiming for 20K over the weekend). Well, that’s the plan but god knows if I will be able to do it.
So, I found this site through stumbliing (what did people do on the internet before stumbling?) called 8tracks.com. This site presents itself as internet radio managed by you, the user. You essentially create lists of songs you like and then broadcast it to the world. That’s it.
As with every technology in the world, the ones that do well are the ones that are simple and intutive. You upload songs from your computer and then start mixing them up and create lists. If you like a certain mix by another user, leave a comment, follow that person’s mixes, or click on “next mix” and the site is intelligent enough to present you with a similar mix. Simple as ABC. There are numerous categories for you to choose from. And if you really like some music (e.g. I found I love CocoRosie‘s music), there is a link to amazon and you can purchase your music.
As per their Legal page, their site works because the bitchy organisation called RIAA (and it’s counterpart in Canada called CRIA) is paid for each song uploaded and played on the site. Which is probably why RIAA has not issued takedown orders to 8Tracks. (note : Isn’t it funny, RIAA does not care where the song originated. (I may have downloaded it ileagally and uploaded to 8tracks.com) But because RIAA gets paid, they say “aw shucks”).
Anyway, there are restrictions. Only 2 songs from one album and you cannot skip songs more twice on a mix which I think is fair. If I create a mix, please listen to it and don’t skip over and over every song. If you think the mix is not good, just skip to the next mix.
The things I like about this site it how easy it is to find music of your taste. All I had to was to click on my desired categorise and off I went. And I did create a couple of mixes for your listening pleasure (you do not have to sign on to listen – that’s another amazing part!!). Here are the lists. Hope you like them :
*This is my first review of a movie so please excuse the cliches!!
So, I was able to get away from my routine on Saturday and, with nothing much to do, I decided to go for a movie. I really wanted to see The Invention Of Lying but it’s not playing in too many theatres (- why?), so it was either some new horror movie (a genre that I cannot stand) or the new Clooney movie. I chose the later.
Thank god I listened to my inner self. What a fantastic movie!!
The synopsis of the movie is : back in the cold war days, the US government started a secret program to train soldiers with telepathic powers.The movie is about how the program started in the 80s until the beginning of Gulf War II.
The story is excellent and written brilliantly. But the way it’s told as a movie, falls short of the great cinematic experience it could have been. Up until 15 minutes before the movie was going to end, I thought it was one of the best anti-war movies I had seen in a long time, then, it fizzled. It almost seemed that the director/producer/who-ever-was-in-charge-of-the-movie could not decide what was the best way to finish the movie so they probably shot a few endings and let a popcorn-munching, happy-ending, crowd decide how the movie should end. The ending just makes the movie fall flat on it’s face.
George Clooney was excellent in the movie, a guy seeking meaning to his life through his “psychic” abilities. I thought he played a whimsical version of the character he played in Syrianna. Ewan McGregor plays a run of the mill journalist who happens to “fit into” the designs of these psychic soldiers. He plays his role excellently, as usual, and when there is a reference to Jedi Knights in the movie, you can almost see the twinkle in his eyes!
I have always loved Walken’s comic timing. It never ever fails. Even when he is playing a bad ass, it seems his inner comic is just bubbling under the surface. Here he is reading out the lyrics of a song Poker Face by Lady Gaga. First the original :
For some reason I am really missing India a lot these days. I guess not having visited my place of birth for 7 years would bring about the yearning. A part of it is because the places I used to love in India have gone through a drastic change (as everyone loves to tell me) and I want to compare the changes with the image in my mind. My hometown of Patiala, as my folks say is now unrecognisable. The places I used to hang as a youth have either been razed or have been altered drastically. Another place I really want to visit at my hometown is the engineering college I used to attend. I have a lot of wonderful memories of that place and visiting it after 7 years would surely bring all those memories rushing back into my mind. And to be able to share them with my daughter, who will be with me, is something I am looking forward to.
Delhi is another place where I want to spend some time. Again, a lot of memories. Delhi was the place where I really matured (stop snickering, mom and dad). I had a lot of tough decisions to make in Delhi and more often than not, I ended up making the wrong decisions. Those were moments that really taught me valuable lessons which I like to think I continue implementing to this day.
I am not really sure what the big noise is about NOT getting vaccinated against the swine flu. The argument seems to be that there are unknown dangers about the swine flu shot. But those risks seem to be unknown and the risk of getting swine flu and dying from it are very real.
So, once the rush at Ontario clinics die down a bit, I and my daughter will be getting the swine flu shot. Of course, convincing my daughter to get a shot is going to be herculean task.
I am trying to take my blog into a new direction. I know I have not been posting for a little while but I had fallen into a rut and could not break out of it. Hopefully, my mood is now changing for the better and I will post more often.
Here’s what I want to focus on
Music
Running
My life
and everyday funnies.
I do want to talk about other stuff too but I prefer twitter for that….hopefully I will not lose too many readers!!
