April 30, 2013

Today's run was inspired in part by yesterday's. Today I ran two roads that I've run past a million times, another that I wasn't sure if it was really there or not, and into one of those parks I mentioned. I was lucky enough to have company again, which always helps, especially when my company humors my crazy requests to go on scouting missions.

The old memorial-image by Deepak CC-BY-SA-2.0

The run today hinged on the National Police Memorial, a park I've gone past a lot. I convinced my running partners to join me on an exploration, so we hopped the fence and went inside. One of my them had heard that there was some type of memorial that had been taken down (it was, in 2007) or was controversial(it was, a waste of government money and an eyesore), so I looked it up when I wrote this post. Here is a site from the Indian government announcing a contest to design a new memorial. The entries were due in 2011. A winner was announced, by for now, the site sits abandoned. Here's a link to the plans by the winning firm. There are staircases that lead under the central pavilion, where the tower once sat, I suppose. We went down to explore and I was sufficiently creeped out, peeking around the dark, rubble filled area. But to my surprise, there were no vagrants, miscreants, hobos or even stray dogs. Just an overriding sense of decay. Here's to hoping that Delhi eventually gets it act together and invests appropriately in infrastructure.

RUN STATS:

Distance - 4 Miles

Time - 39:48

Soundtrack - Fade to Black, A Bluegrass Tribute to Metallica

Sometimes You Have to Go Back

You know how you can get stuck in the "keep running, don't break stride, keep the pace" mentality? It happens to all of us. We can get fixated easily on the goals, the upcoming race, the training program, etc. I'm personally guilty. There are several beautiful parks that I run past frequently, and I always say to myself, "I should go check that park out some time." Of course I never have, but obviously I should. Or better yet, I should turn around, go back and run a loop in the park. But for some reason, I'm so fixated on my route, my four miles, my three miles, that any deviation in the plan would somehow alter my running universe.

I'm trying to change that. I'm trying to go back. Today, I was blessed with great company on my morning run. It's been a while since the running crew has gone out in full style, so I was happy and planned a new route on familiar roads. Each of us is at a different place in our training programs, so there was no expectation of a certain pace or no need to "keep on running." Which was nice. It was a nice run that was a good way to spend time with friends. There was a lot to see on the run, so it was easy to go back. Go back and take a closer look at the Gurudwara, the "Lego Temple" or to go back and chat with whoever happened to be at the back of the pack.

The run continued, we ran across my favorite hidden pedestrian bridge, great temples and eventually the hospital that's just down the street from school. At this point, one runner was out of time and took off at a clip to get home, and the four of us kept running. Then from across the street I saw Runner X say something to another runner and head into the hospital. I ran across the street and asked her about Runner X. She said something about him "going to check on something" and kept running. I shrugged, kept running with her, didn't break stride and kept the pace. We ran the last half mile or so, and when we got home, I asked her to explain again what happened. At that point, the doubt crept in. Why exactly would Runner X stop at the hospital? Had she collected enough information? Was Runner X in trouble?

At that point, I decided to go back and check. Sometimes you have to go back. Sometimes it's to visit a park, sometimes it's to see a peacock on a roof and sometimes it's to check on a dear friend to make sure nobody's getting an EKG or an X-Ray or worse.

So I went back. And I was relieved when I saw Runner X coming toward me. "Is everything okay!?," I asked. "Yeah," panted Runner X. "For the past 2 miles I had to ..." I anxiously awaited the diagnosis.

"Poop," came the reply.

Sometimes, you have to go back. When you do, it's always worth it.

RUN STATS:

Distance - 4 Miles

Time - 47:11

Soundtrack - A shuffle of blues

April 28, 2013

Reasons to not get up early for this morning's run:

1.  6:00am on a Sunday morning.
2. No friends to run with.
3. Last night's surprise farewell party for our school's director.

I knew it was going to be a tough one. The motivation level was low for sure. I got home, ambitiously prepared my running clothes and set my alarm. During the first of my son's nightly wake-ups, I woke up and turned off my alarm. "Forget it," I said to myself. "Too many reasons to skip the run." Luckily, he woke up again, because at 4am, I turned the alarm back on because I knew that I'd be disappointed in myself if I didn't do today's run.

Reasons to get early for this morning's run

1. This run put me to my goal distance for April.
2. This was a new route with plenty of cool new things to see.
3. The weather wasn't terrible.

So, at 6am (give or take) I set out on a new 8 Miler. I usually try to plan my runs around a theme and this one was the "Round Buildings." The first three miles were travel miles, until the first round building presented itself. The Parliament of India was built in 1912 by English architectural golden boy, Edwin Lutyens. It opened in1927 while the Brits still controlled India. It was the site of the transfer of colonial power to Nehru in 1947 and is an important building in the history of the country.

 by <DEEPAK GUPTA>

 Lutyens designed and built most of New Delhi and his buildings are interesting combinations of local and traditional styles. 

The next stop was The Tuberculosis Association of India. Not a round building, but I'm in love with the font on the front of the building. One day I'll go and take a proper photo of it. Gorgeous!

The next round building was the Gole Dak Khanna, a post office built into a traffic circle near the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara and Sacred Heart Cathedral. It was built in 1934 by R.T. Russel, the same architect who finished Connaught Place. I poked my head into the Cathedral along the way; it seems so strange to see a Catholic Mass in India.

The final round building isn't technically round, but rather octagonal. The main building of Gole Market was also designed by Lutyens and was the principal market area that served his Delhi. It fills a traffic roundabout and has seen better days. It's a shame, because the building is cool and could easily be redone into some kind of heritage shopping center, art galleries, etc. It was supposed to be redone in 2009 as part of the build-up to the Commonwealth Games, but for now, it stands in ruins.

Finally, it was more religion as I ran along Madir Marg(Temple Street). Hindu and Buddhist temples line the street. A quick diversion through the Talkatora Stadium Park had me catching glimpses of the two round stadiums built for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

RUN STATS:

Distance - 8.5 Miles

Time - 1:05:03

Soundtrack - Taj Mahal, Best of Taj Mahal and Hanapepe Dream

This Year's Goals

This year I will run over 1000 miles.

This year I will PR my 1/2 Marathon.

This year I will run a sub 20:00 5K.