The 1000 Kms Distance Club

The day has come, I have completed 1000 Kms on my nike+ipod. It took me 10 months to reach this goal. According to logical calculations, I ran almost 100 Kms every month, 3.3 Kms every day. 

Sounds easy, but trust me, it is tough.  These 10 months I experienced some excitement, some fun, and a lot of pain. I have emptied at least 

4 bottles of Iodex

1 tube of MOOV

1 tube of anti friction gel (too shy to mention the name :p)

2 packs of vicks vaporub

2 bottles of cough syrup

2 bottles of Dettol

10,000 litres of drinking water ! 

I disposed at least 5 underwears, 5 baniyans, 4 T-shirts and 3 pairs of socks. (These were all dedicated to my Training plan) Soon after Mumbai Marathon in Janauary, I will have to dispose my shoes too ! They are just 1.5 years old, but have sustained my whole weight for those 1000 Kms. 

1 Km = 1320 steps. 1000 Kms = 13,20,000 steps. (Thats 13 lakh 20 thousand steps !!!)

My knees, hamstring muscles and calves  deserve a huge kiss from me for this. 

Normally our heart beats @ 72 BPM. While running at my pace, it beats at around 135 BPM.

I completed 1000 kms in 90 hours = 5400 mins. So for 5400 mins of my life, my heart had to beat at almost twice its average rate.  Dude, my heart is precious. 

To make my heart beat at 135 BPM, it requires a blood supply twice as fast than its average time. My lungs were a great contributor in my heart's achievement. 

My lungs were able to perform so well because I could breathe enough air during my runs. So should I thank my big nose ? \o/

Half Marathon !

Today, I did something what seemed impossible to me 1 year ago. I finished a Half Marathon. The timing is not very impressive, but trust me, for a newbie, this one is a huge achievement. Now there is no stopping. A Full Marathon is not far, and training for it has already started.

Ironically, when I returned home, and read the newspaper, tomorrow is "World Heart Day" So should I say "Thank you" to my heart ? or say "Sorry" for making it struggle on just before his day ?

Be the change you want to see

This is a real life incident which happened in my life. Instead of me writing the whole incident, My friend Manjunath has made my job easier.
Here is the complete writeup.

Moments of Joy

People have different reasons to celebrate. Buying a high end Mobile or a Bike or a laptop. It can be your birthday, promotion, festival. So many things to celebrate.
I found joy in the smallest things in life. Recently I took running and cycling to a bit extreme limit. And within few months the result we astonishing. Here are some of my moments of joy captured in my camera.

Watching the weighing machine dip from 77 to 72 was fun. Here, Biggest loser wins !

The trip to the road side belt seller was another moment of joy. watching him drill 2 extra holes on the tighter side of my belt.






Buying new 32" trousers was fun. Comparing them with my 34" ones was even more fun. I was so confident that I bought 4 new trousers and discarded all the 34" trousers.

I am Special !

After watching "Taare Zameen Par", I was wondering, these people claim, every child is special.
If everyone is special, there must be something special about me too ! I thought of some points which can make me special.
1. I don't smoke / Drink ?
There are many who don't smoke or drink.
2. I don't have a girlfriend ?
Many people don't have a girlfriend.
3. I spend money wisely.
Actually I don't. So I cannot be special.
4. Can I paint like Eshan Avasthi ?
here is the proof
5. I love my Mom.
Everybody loves their parents.
6. I like cartoons.
Not a valid point to qualify as special.
7. I am very emotional.
Again not valid.

Actually, I found 100 reasons, why I cannot be special. But there are a few good reasons which make me special.
I have never been to a Gym, but still people ask me, Whether I used to do wrestling (In Marathi we call it Kusti. This game is famous at my hometown Kolhapur.)
Nature has given me such a good built. Strong arms, strong legs. Good height. All the basic senses intact.
Now I am 25 years old. I looked back till the point I remembered, and asked myself,
When was the last time I was admitted to a hospital ?
Never.

When was the last time I took a Sick leave from Office ?
Not a single.

Did I ever break any of my bone ? Any Fracture ?
Nope.

Did I ever vomit ?
The last time I remember was when I was 17 years old, and I ate a lot of Mutton.

Did I ever suffer from any disease ? jaundice, TB, Typhoid, Cholera, Chicken Pox ?
I asked my mom. She said Never.

To be special, What more can you ask for from nature. (For me, Nature is God)

Recently, I figured out another special thing within me.
Its been 6 months, I have been going out for Jogging everyday.
I admit, I am at least 4 Kgs overweight, have an extra 2 Inches of tummy, and still I could run better than people who appear to be fit.
Recently, On nikeurunning.com, I found a VO2 Index Runners chart. according to that, My running pace is rated as "Excellent". When I tell people, I can run 10 Kms non stop. Their jaws drop.
I wondered, How can I run so much without getting tired ? I feel the pain, but that is at the toes. My Thighs never hurt, I never run out of breath (when running at a pace of 5 Kms / min)
If allowed, I can continue to run a marathon of 42 Kms at that pace non stop.
I think, I have the answer. Its my nose.
Lance Armstrong has slightly bigger lungs, which allow help him gather more stamina. Similarly, I have a bigger nose, from which, I can have a large intake of air in one breath. This fact is not proven by doctors. But I think I am right. Till yesterday, I kept cursing my nose. Half of the day, I keep scratching my itchy nose. Whenever I catch cold, I suffer wholesale !. (Imagine a Giraffe catching cough) But Now, I will use the same itchy nose for some good reason. That is what will make me special.
Because of my nose, I can run a long distance. Normal 'Fit' people get tired within just 1 km of run. I can run 10 Kms and dont get tired. After the run, I travel 3 Kms on my bicycle. Go home, I never feel tired. Of course, I get a snory sleep. But I dont collapse after reaching home.

Now, I will continue my runs. Improve my stamina. And one day, I will run a Full Marathon.
When I do it, I will consider myself, "Special"

Save your Heart

Save your Heart
Time is less
14 Feb is approaching

MILLONEION

Long time ago, in May 2007, I was given an article from Times of India Editorial page to read by my room mate. He said, its a must read for you. I said OK, and started reading it. It was a very small article but was written beautifully. The article touched me, and even I decided to write a blog based on it. The Times of India Article might be a fiction, but my story and characters were real. The very next day I wrote the blog. The blog came out nicely, and even I was happy.
7 months have passed since I wrote the blog. I was checking my orkut scrapbook, and I came across this scrap :
Hi Nishad. Wish you and your family a very happy new year!
You don't know me as such. At least not directly. But it so happened that I chanced across your blog and read your piece about a gift to your mother which, as you wrote, was inspired from "My Girl" in Times of India.

Well, I wrote it :-)

Glad that you liked it and thank you for gracefully acknowledging it as an inspiration!

Aditya
P.S. Did you read any of my other pieces?

This guy Aditya had written the Article in Times of India reading which I had written my blog. Somehow he landed up reading my blog and he scrapped me with his findings. After reading his scrap, I Immediately opened my blog and searched for the blog which I had written in May. I was surprised after looking at the footnote of my blog. "*Based on a true story. Inspired by an article "My Girl" by Aditya Gupta in TOI dated 11th May, Editorial page. "
Man ! I was so sincere to give credit to the real author, and after 7 months, the same author somehow reads my blog, finds me on Orkut and scraps me a "Thank you" note for it.
That small foot note in my blog brought back my memories of that incident, and also gave a feeling of satisfaction to the real author.
This incident was really something I would call "One in a Million".
In case you were wondering what's the Blog title gotta do with the content ?

"MILL ONE ION"
One in a million