Taipei Marathon 2010

“Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle... when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.”



It’s my second half-marathon and third international running event (The first one was Tainan marathon 2009, in which I ran a 10K) in these two years. If someone might have asked me two years ago whether I will run a half-marathon, I might have laughed out loud and passed it on as a joke. But, somehow, an activity that just started as a way out to shed few extra pounds grew up to this level.

Each of these three events is quite unique. The first one, a 10K in Tainan came out as a test to see whether I can push myself to do something which I never tried before. It also helped me to boost my confidence and interest in keeping myself fit. It took me 1 hour and 6 minutes to finish the 10.4 Kilometers.

My next step was to increase the distance slowly while maintaining an average pace of 6minute/K. At the end of the year 2009, I signed up for the Taipei half- marathon (21.097 K). I did quite well and could finish the race distance in 2 hours and 3 minutes. I suffered a bit in the last 5K but felt very much satisfied that I could complete the race well within the cut-off time to get the finisher’s medal.



This year, I couldn’t participate in the Tainan marathon. I did run once a week (atleast most of the time) in a nice cycling path nearby my home where there is no hindrance. It’s really a very nice place to work out and also to relax. It’s also good that this route has distance markers every 0.5K so that I can keep track of the distance and time.

I signed up for the Taipei marathon again this year. The race day was on 19th of December. I woke up around 4:30 AM to get ready and had some breakfast to fuel up. I went to the race venue around 5:45 AM. Weather was around 15 degrees, much higher than last year (It was like 9 degrees last time). There were thousands of runners from 17 to 70+ getting ready for the challenge.



The race started exactly by 7 AM. Since I have run the same route last year, I pretty much know how it will be. The first kilometer mark came very fast and I was just running at a slower pace to warm up. There was not much difficulty till the 5K mark. It was less than 30 minutes when I reached the 5K mark, at a comfortable pace of ~6minute/K. But, somewhere around 6K, I felt some discomfort in my abdomen. I haven’t had this kind of problem during my practice runs. I tried to slow down a bit to see whether I can ease the pain. I couldn’t get rid of it and when I tried to run fast, it became worse.

The pain was not very severe but I had to move slowly to avoid it from becoming worse. I somehow reached the 10K mark and it was like 1 hour and 05 minutes (Last year, I was really doing well in the first half reaching my 10K in around 50 minutes). There was still 11K to go and I felt that I was getting drained both physically and mentally. At the 13K mark, I even thought that I can stop running and go back home. But, I also thought that even if I can’t run like last year, I should try to complete the race atleast.

I tried to focus and thought that there is only 7 more kilometers to run to finish the race. Also, the weather was not so good. Just by 8AM, the sun was on the head and scorching, humidity being an additional factor to aid dehydration. I had some water and sport drink to help me stay hydrated. But, around 17K, I started getting some cramps in my calf muscles. By then, the abdominal cramp eased out a bit. I saw the time and it was above 2 hours. I finally reached the “finish point” in 2 hours and 20 minutes.

I felt a bit upset that I couldn’t do better than last year. I wanted to finish before 2 hours but with the abdominal cramp, it was hard to push myself faster. On the other hand, I was quite happy that I could still complete the race even with all the difficulties.I still could get the completion medal this year as my finishing time was well within the cut-off time. I remember the quote,

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."

I think that the abdominal cramp and dehydration were due to some wrong food choices the previous night and before the race because even the week before the race, I could run really well without any difficulty. There are more races to come next year. I will surely try again and I am sure I can do better.







"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed."
- Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champ

Five Reasons to Be Vegetarian

I found this interesting article in PFA (People For Animals) website http://www.peopleforanimalsindia.org/5-reasons-to-be-vegetarian.html

1) The RELIGIOUS reason
Every religion from Hinduism and Buddhism to Islam and Christianity teaches compassion to all living beings. Animals were created for the same reason as humans, to live. Not to be killed and eaten. As Mahatma Gandhi said , "It ill becomes us to invoke in our daily prayers the blessings of a compassionate God if we in turn will not practice elementary compassion towards our fellow creatures".

2) The KARMIC reason
All our actions including our choice of food have karmic consequences. According to the law of karma, if we cause pain and suffering to other living beings, we must endure pain and suffering in return, both individually and collectively. We reap what we sow, in this life and the next, for nature has her own justice. By involving oneself in the cycle of inflicting injury, pain and death by eating other creatures, one will in the future, experience their suffering in equal measure.

3) The SPIRITUAL reason
Food is the source of the body's chemistry, and what we ingest affects our consciousness, emotions and experiential patterns. If one wants to live in higher consciousness, in peace and happiness and love, then one cannot eat meat, fish, fowl or eggs. The methods used in large modern farms to raise and kill animals causes them immense pain and terror. They are given hormones and antibiotics which biochemists have confirmed end up in and influence the body of those who consume meat. In a very real way, we are ingesting the powerful chemical components of fear, and rage. Absorbing these contributes to a violent mentality perpetuating the cycle of cruelty and confusion. If children are raised as vegetarians, every day they are exposed to non-injury as a principle of peace and compassion. Every day they are growing up, they are remembering and being reminded to not kill. When you won't kill another creature to feed yourself, you will be much less likely to injure anybody at all.

4) The HEALTH reason
Medical studies prove that a vegetarian diet is easier to digest, provides a wider range of nutrients and imposes fewer burdens and impurities on the body. Meat eating women have a 3.6 times higher risk of breast cancer while meat eating men have a 3.8 times higher risk of prostrate cancer. Vegetarians are less susceptible to all the major diseases that afflict contemporary humanity, and live longer, healthier, more productive lives. They have fewer physical complaints, less frequent visits to the doctor, fewer dental problems and smaller medical bills. Their immune system is stronger, their bodies are purer, more refined and their skin more beautiful.

5) The ECOLOGICAL reason
Planet earth is suffering. In large measure, the escalating loss of species, destruction of rain forests , loss of topsoil and the increase in water and air pollution have all been traced to the single fact of meat in the human diet. Meat is the single greatest reason for deforestation worldwide with 55sq ft of tropical rain forest consumed to produce every quarter-pounder hamburger. A major contributor to global warming is methane produced by animals multiplied for meat. With over 6 billion people grazing the earth today, the future of life on earth rests on our choice of food. No single decision that we can make as individuals or as a race can have such a dramatic effect on the improvement of our planetary ecology as the decision to cut out meat. Many seeking to save the planet for future generations have made this decision for this reason and this reason alone. The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. Whatever happens to the earth will happen to the children of the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood that unites one family.

11/10/2010

Its a very special day. The day I saw this world for the first time 27 years ago. Its always a special day for me. Well, this is my fifth birthday in Taiwan (Quite a long time huh?).

This year, I started getting wishes and gifts even a week before my birthday. It was so nice my friends and lab-mates Yii-lih and Chia-fen gave a post card made of wood in the shape of Taiwan Island marked with all the important tourist spots in Taiwan. On the back side, they wrote a sweet birthday wish in Chinese (Well... I could read a part of it but had to get Yii-lih's help to read the whole thing). When they went to Hualien few months ago, they specially requested the hotel they stayed to send it card for my birthday. Its a very special and unique gift which I will remember forever.

Also, My best buddy Nitin gave me a very special gift. A calender for the year 2011. What's so special in it? Every month of the year had a picture of mine with some quotes from famous personalities underneath. It is really a very creative and wonderful gift. Also, Nagaraj, my other good friend and house-mate ordered a special cake for my birthday party. Thanks a lot my friends!!!

Its not the gifts but their friendship and affection that counts. I also got a lot of phone calls, E-mails and Facebook messages from all friends in different parts of the globe. Vishnu, my friend and classmate during my bachelors' and masters' degree called me from Norway. His call was the one to wake me out of the bed on my birthday. Its been a long time we spoke to each other over the phone and it was really nice talking to him. Gayathri, my good friend and classmate from college, also called me. Her wishes are always special and close to my heart. One more friend and classmate, Rani sent her wishes through mail. She never forgets to wish me on my birthday and it continues even after these many years.

Wishes poured in from all my cousins and other family members. Neeju sent me a nice E-card and Poorni called me to pass on her wishes. Many of them sent nice E-mail wishes. Last but not the least, wishes from my dad, mom, sister and grand-mom came through Skype. Thanks to the advancement in technology!!!

As for the birthday party, I didn't have any proper plans till the day before, as ever. I just thought of buying some new clothes and then have a simple party with a couple of friends. As it was a Monday, I thought of going out to have some dinner rather than arranging a party at home. But, in the end, plans changed and we could get-together in a French Vegetarian Restaurant for dinner and there were about 12 people. Though the food was not of the choice of many, I believe that everyone enjoyed being together after quite some time. I cut the cake in the restaurant to end the birthday in a very nice way. Thanks to all my friends who came there amidst their busy schedules.


Its a custom to make three wishes before cutting the birthday cake, two of them revealed to the people around and the third one kept as a secret. Here goes my two wishes.

(1)Good health and wealth (wealth doesn't just mean money) are very important to have a happy life. More precisely, I wish a year which brings prosperity.

(2)Life is like a roller coaster ride. There are always ups and downs. I wish I have the maturity to handle everything and be happy always.



HAVE A GOOD DAY FOLKS!!!


With "Sweet" Sidhu



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