Voices from Within

Great run.. Awesome fun.. I wud hav kicked myself if I had wuss'd out of run for that silly sinus block.
---
Left for Mysore from Cubbon @ 4.30. The drive itself was so much fun.. Non-stop entertainment from Sensei 'n Balaji. PJs galore.. Had the historic(?) Maddur vada and great coffee on the way. Checked-in to a hotel.. had dinner and rested for the race.

Woke up feeling great on Sunday!! Got ready and headed to the race-location. Coach wasn't particularly happy that I had forgotten to collect the bib and had to take a detour on the race day... Over 700 runners crowded the start-point.

The Full-ers started first.. Sensei and Santhosh shot off..

I think, Half-Marathon is a sweet-distance.. 21K is a great test of fitness 'n endurance.. Doesn't take a lot out of you and less prone to injuries.. I wonder why these crazies run the full to get roasted..

Then we started.. With my (un)training, I knew I cudn't shoot for a personal best. The focus was to finish strong with out any injury.

The Trail was a beauty! Gorgeous Kaveri flowing on one side and brilliant-green fields on the other.

After the initial 2K or so, I was nice and loose.. felt good.. kept myself well hydrated.. Reached the turn around point with no fuss... The first half was eazy..


And then trail-beauty turned a smoking hottie.. The scorching sun was too much..When I was struggling and thought, I'm gonna walk the rest - I heard someone yell, "Common Vinodh - run!!". There she was.. The super-woman.. I ran with Sensei for a few kms.. She was saying, "I ran all the way.. Didn take a walk-break yet".

The last stretch was tough.. started cramping and Hamstring hurt.. It all meant only one-thing. I shd stop giving work excuses 'n turn-up at the Training sessions and hit the gym regularly..


And flew to the finish line. Not great timing. But awesome fun..

Celebrated the Run @ CCD with Sizzling brownies/Icecreams...

Photos: Courtesy of Balaji - link

Here we go.. Leaving to Mysore for the Kaveri Half-marathon..

The build-up to the marathon has been a touch short of ideal..

I'm terribly under-trained... Havnt slept well for the past 2 weeks()... stiff back.. And now, I hav cold 'n fever...

Its gonna be hot n humid...

Lets see, If I can pull it off.. There is a much bigger cause..
More on Monday.. Wish me luck..

If only life had a command

rm -rf *

It would have been much easier to...

To un-install a (now) alien program which hogs the system memory-bandwidth!

How can ppl ever live in remote villages?? How can one be away frm the comfort of urban life?? Unplugged from the web? - Impossible.. No Cellphones? - Are you kidding?

I am a web-addict.. My Laptop and Ipod will figure in the most essential things I'' ever "need"....

And now, I'm reprioritizing... Thanks to Sanjeev/Anita who roped-me-in for the trip. I least expected to hav such a wonderful weekend.. (Actually, I paused for a moment - I'm cynophobic and Shifu is also travelling..)

Thulir is an Education Resource Centre for children and young adults at Sittilingi, a tribal village in Dharmapuri district,Tamilnadu, India.

I was looking fwd to meet Anu & Krishna, Thulir's founders... I got to know abt them in my first ever Asha-meeting and I was so inspired.. How can folks, quit regular jobs, move to remote tribal villages and set up a resource centre??? One of my primal inspirations to take the red-pill...

That was an awesome weekend with an array of acitivies..

• Building brick-walls. Learning how to stable walls.
• Playing with a Calf (You guessed it right, Lakshmi is her name..)
• Logic puzzles with kids..
• Gardening.. I cut a small tree.. ( Wait.. That was shading the solar panels. BTW, the whole school is solar powered..)

• Reading Chittu's comics (No. You cannot subscribe to Dirter, the stinky pig!! U'll need a different currency)
• Playing soccer with kids..
• Biking around the village..
• Visited a Coconut farm.. drank one right off a tree..
• When I enquired about Chilled water, Next town is 13 miles away..
• Building logic-gates from BJTs with Sanj.. (Been a long time since I played with transistors.. that was Fun.. I was pretty good.)
• Blinking lights with a multi-vibrator..[When you visit nexttime, Be prepared for Blinking-Thulir welcoming you...]

WOW.. the clear night sky was spectacular.. Morning Bike ride was even better..

In all, I had a good break.. a terrific trip... I'll try to visit atleast once a quarter.

Photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sanjeev.ranganathan/ThulirJuly2009#

Will post a more detailed/formal report in Team Asha/Ashablog in a week.

Happy living,
-Vinodh

Hello, my recurring dream,
you got me lost in the love stream..
The twinkle in your mystic eyes
sends even the pisces flying-high

I have trouble learning all the while,
the language of your silent smile...

Can't get the Mixed-signals decode
With your Mind-games,
my heart clocks overload..

Spending my time the way unseen -
Starring all day at the GTalk screen
when you are online green.

Honey, I love you still
and I always will..

-Vinodh