Random 88

Its been more than a year since I have done any sort of serious running.....weather, work, travel...all sorts of excuses. So this quote by Roger Bannister really hit home

“We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves. The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable.”

....guess its time to lace up those shoes again and head out.

Random 87

Dawn, beautiful dawn, the Chief,
This day, let it be well with me as I go;
Let it be well before me as I go;
Let it be well behind me as I go;
Let it be well beneath me as I go;
Let it be well above me as I go;
Let all I see be well as I go.
(Navajo prayer to the dawn as translated by Theodore Roosevelt)

QOTD

Whenever you're called on to make up your mind,
and you're hampered by not having any,
the best way to solve the dilemma, you'll find,
is simply by spinning a penny.
No — not so that chance shall decide the affair
while you're passively standing there moping;
but the moment the penny is up in the air,
you suddenly know what you're hoping
-Piet Hein

Random 86

An illustrated guide to a PhD....heh......so ironic and true :)

Random 85

Good ol' Coach Joe at his best here (from the HCTR listserv)

I do believe that each long run for me is a Vision Quest... for me to find a better me.

And some are a reminder of how frail and weak I am... a reminder that I am only human.

But all that really matters is that I can still GO... fast or slow, no matter... as long as I can GO.

And I wish that I could take a few old friends with me ...

Rick Gastelum, Red Spicer, Dan Keitz, my mom, and my brother to name a few.

They would love to... just GO!

I do these long runs for endless reasons....

... for that one MOMENT that defines a season.

... for that one FRIEND that I would never have met otherwise

... for that one FEELING that I cannot find elsewhere

... for that one PERSON who I have become and continue to become.

so.. send the masses and let em all come to play.

I will continue to sort em out into Good, Bad, Nice, Mean, and so on...

and wonder occasionally into which category I fall in their eyes.

but not worry about it too much

old school, new school, its just school... when you quit changing... you have died.

Life is good!

j:o)e

I need to get back to finding myself now :)

Random 84

All you who sleep tonight-Vikram Seth (source)

All you who sleep tonight
Far from the ones you love,
No hand to left or right
And emptiness above -

Know that you aren't alone
The whole world shares your tears,
Some for two nights or one,
And some for all their years.

Run

Towards goals?
Away from challenges?
or just ....run

Random 83

Invictus - William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Random 82

Again.....too much....and why is the article under "Fashion and Style" for cryin out loud!
Although the definition of the term "sanity" is highly subjective and open to interpretation when it comes to ultrarunners, this is really testing the limits. A quote in the article says:

You know any sport has gone off the rails when you have to remove body parts to do it

I wouldn't go as far to paint the whole sport with such a broad brush for I am too hopelessly biased towards it...as with every other situation in life....there are a just few who have taken it too far.

Random 81

Seriously NYT....WTF! Devoting an entire article to such nonsense. I am no fast runner myself but all these people complaining in the article are not fast runners by any twist of imagination (4 odd hours for a 26.2...give me a break...I can do that too :P). My take on this is that.....unless you are right up there in the sub 3 or 2.5 hr mark...you should be careful before you open your trap to start complaining! How do you even define how fast is fast?

While I perfectly understand the need for cut0ffs and all, one needs to understand that not everyone has a hyper-competitive streak or the physical gifts to go all out during a race to finish in a super-fast time and feeling like a pile of crap at the end of it all. Just because someone takes 6 hours to finish a marathon doesn't mean they aren't giving it their best shot. You still need to respect the distance and the effort that is needed to finish it. If anything I would say, it is probably harder for the back of packers than the gazelles at the front, simply because of the longer time they have to be on their feet.

To all the whiners I say...if you are looking for a challenge, go run an ultra ....then you will surely understand what the so-called "plodders" go through ;)

Random 80

You will need a truly geeky sense of humor to appreciate this one :P

(source: xkcd)

Random 79

Load the ship and set out. No one knows for certain whether the vessel will sink or reach the harbor. Cautious people say, "I'll do nothing until I can be sure". Merchants know better. If you do nothing, you lose. Don't be one of those merchants who wont risk the ocean.
-Rumi

Random 78

Weird and funny comics for the day

Random 77

Just when you think you have heard the last of some crazy investment ideas, comes another one even crazier...'securitizing' life insurance policies of the old and the ill.. Makes you wonder if these fatcats will ever learn that there should be a limit to their greed, after the near-debacle over the last year that has left the economy everywhere teetering on the precipice.

Random 76

A typical economist's view on the true cost of running. Although it reads favorably (?) from my pov...its articles like these that make you go 'duh ...of course I could be doing something else while I am doing this'. But I am doing 'this' because I choose to. There are so many intangtibles that you cannot really assign a price to.....if you are/have been a runner at any point, you know what I'm talking about. As is the case with anything else in life, even with running its all a question of hitting the sweet spot while trying to balance it out with other activities and not overdoing it.
(p.s. fellow geeks lol at this comment on the related nytimes article)

Random 75

(Source) Acham Illai- Subramania Bharathi

அச்ச்மில்லை யச்சமில்லை அச்ச்மனெப தில்லையே
இச்ச்கத்து ளோரெல்லாம் எதிர்த்துநின்ற பொதினும்
அச்ச்மில்லை யச்சமில்லை அச்ச்மனெப தில்லையே
துச்ச்மாக வெண்ணிநம்மை தூறுசெய்த பொதினும்
அச்ச்மில்லை யச்சமில்லை அச்ச்மனெப தில்லையே

பிச்சைவாங்கி உண்னும்வாழ்க்கை பெற்றுவிட்ட பொதினும்
அச்ச்மில்லை யச்சமில்லை அச்ச்மனெப தில்லையே
இச்சைகொண்ட பொருளெலாம் இழந்துவிட்ட பொதினும்
அச்ச்மில்லை யச்சமில்லை அச்ச்மனெப தில்லையே

கச்சணிந்த கொங்கைமாதர் கண்க்ள்வீசு போதினும்
அச்ச்மில்லை யச்சமில்லை அச்ச்மனெப தில்லையே
நச்சைவாயி லேகொண்ர்ந்து நண்பரூட்டு பொதினும்
அச்ச்மில்லை யச்சமில்லை அச்ச்மனெப தில்லையே
பச்சையூ னியைந்த்வேற் படைக்ள்வந்த பொதினும்
அச்ச்மில்லை யச்சமில்லை அச்ச்மனெப தில்லையே
உச்சிமீது வானிடிந்து வீழுகின்ற் பொதினும்
அச்ச்மில்லை யச்சமில்லை அச்ச்மனெப தில்லையே

Translation (from source):

Fear not my soul. Fear not
Fear not when the world unites against
Fear not the derisive stares and the looks cold
Fear not the vagrant’s life,
When you’ve lost everything you hold

Fear not my soul. Fear not
Fear not the seductress’s charms
Fear not the venom, nor the burning tongue
Fear not the enemy, taking up arms

Fear not my soul. Fear not.
When the world around you comes crashing down.

Random 74

Time to start assembling my crew for the 2015 edition of the Satan's fun run...anyone interested ? :)

Random 73

An interesting perspective (based on Buddhism this one..but most surely similar sentiments exist in other religions too) on how there is really no absolute "right" or "wrong" about anything...but only "actions" and "consequences"...read here (.pdf file)

On Silence

Passages from "Stray Birds" by Rabindranath Tagore

(12)
"WHAT language is thine, O sea?"
"The language of eternal question."
"What language is thy answer, O sky?
"The language of eternal silence."

(37)
I CANNOT tell why this heart languishes in silence.
It is for small needs it never asks, or knows or remembers.

(42)
YOU smiled and talked to me of nothing and I felt that for this I had been waiting long.

(43)
THE fish in the water is silent, the animal on the earth is noisy, the bird in the air is singing,
But Man has in him the silence of the sea, the noise of the earth and the music of the air.

(110)
MAN goes into the noisy crowd to drown his own clamour of silence.

(118)
DREAM is a wife who must talk.
Sleep is a husband who silently suffers.

(147)
THE dust of the dead words clings to thee.
Wash thy soul with silence.

(155)
SILENCE will carry your voice like the nest that holds the sleeping birds

(163)
"THE learned say that your lights will one day be no more." said the firefly to the stars.
The stars made no answer.

(176)
THE water in a vessel is sparkling; the water in the sea is dark.
The small truth has words that are clear; the great truth has great silence.

(182)
I AM like the road in the night listening to the footfalls of its memories in silence.

(208)
LET my doing nothing when I have nothing to do become untroubled in its depth of peace like the evening in the seashore when the water is silent.

(239)
THE dim silence of my mind seems filled with crickets' chirp--the grey twilight of sound.

(247)
"HOW may I sing to thee and worship, O Sun?" asked the little flower.
"By the simple silence of thy purity," answered the sun.

(251)
THE night's silence, like a deep lamp, is burning with the light of its milky way.

(273)
LET my thoughts come to you, when I am gone, like the afterglow of sunset at the margin of starry silence.

(298)
THE silent night has the beauty of the mother and the clamorous day of the child.

(305)
GOD's silence ripens man's thoughts into speech.

Random 72

Some Jedi wisdom for the week.....

"Fear is the path to the Dark Side.
Fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to hate.
Hate... leads to suffering"
- Y