My First Trail Marathon- AUROVILLE 2010 14 Feb- #7 for me

I am a crazy guy whose passion is running and this passion took me all the way to Auroville (near Pondicherry) on the 14 of Feb 2010. Whoa what a way to spend the Valentines Day running around the forests of Auroville.

I was in Alwar till 5 Feb 2010 and thanked God for giving me some time to practice before the D day. But as luck would have it I was asked to pack my bags to Alwar again on 9 Feb. I thought Oh My God, I am going to miss this nice wonderful run. But I believed in myself and knew that God wouldn't let me down. I back on 11 Feb 23:45. I did some stretching exercises on 12 Feb and did a mild 2Km run 13 Feb.

Thanks to Shameek, one of the Chennai Runners who offered me a seat in his car for this 3 hour journey to Auroville. There were totally four of us in the car- myself, Shameek, Puro and Bharani. Myself and Shameek were doing the half marathon (21.097Km) and Puro& Bharani were doing their maiden full marathon (42.195Km).

The journey from Chennai to Auroville was a pleasant one, we covered the whole distance in about 3 hrs. Shameek had got all sorts of snacks that one usually doesn't munch on before a big run such as this. But we thought ' Chalta Hai' and also we were hungry.

Bharani is an amateur cyclist, slowly moving towards professional cycling. As myself and Bharani were sitting behind the driver's seat and the journey was going to take us close to 3 hrs we started chatting about cycling. I got some info on cycling, what sort of cycle to but, what apparel to wear for long distance cycling etc etc.

Finally we reached Auroville around 14:30 hrs and went straight to Visitor's Centre, the place where they were distributing BIB numbers. We got our BIB numbers and dinner tokens and left to find our respective dorms. 

The full marathon runners were put up in a hostel called Mitra, which was located quite close say about 2Km from the Starting point. We had no problems in finding it. Unfortunately the Half marathon runners from Chennai were put up in dorm called DANCE HALL. It was funny that no one in Auroville had ever heard about such a hall. We spent nearly 3 hrs finding our dorm. The name of the dorm was actually " New Creation Corner" near Basket Ball court. We were informed of this change after nearly 2 hrs of searching. Once we found our dorm we wanted to have some food as we did not have our lunch but no restaurant in Auroville was serving food (by food I mean rice, roti and solid stuff) at that particular hour. We were tired, hungry and frustrated. Bharani grabbed a packet fo masala biscuits form a bakery and all of us munched on this.

Finally we found a place called Georgio's Pizzeria and the good news was they were serving food. WOW we thought what a relief ! There was this old Japanese lady or may be of some other country but definitely of a Mongolian race. She was so sweet, she took down our orders and suggested which food would give us the strength to complete our runs successfully tomorrow. Myself and Puro had Spinach Pasta, Shameek had some other pasta with eggs, Bharani had the pasta with mushroom sauce.

After having our food at Georgio's we headed back to Visitor's Centre where we had our dinner again. Guess what Pasta again and salad. We retired to our respective dorms and prepared ourselves for the run tomorrow.

The full marathon runners had their run starting at 5:00 am, we- the half marathon guys had our run start at 6:00 am. It was cool in the morning and the run through the forest was amazing. The route being through forests was a little tough for me and I could not maintain a constant pace. This was because you had to be extra careful while negotiating your course else you would end up twisting your ankle or knee. In spite of that I tripped on a root of a tree around the 8 Km mark and went crashing to the ground. Thankfully nothing much happened but I ended up tearing my BIB from my shirt.

My goal was to complete the run in 2:06:00 hrs but this being my first trail run i completed it in 2:25:40 hrs. I was quite happy about the run and the friendly atmosphere at Auroville but a little disappointed with my timing. The Auroville run was superbly organized, hats off to all the members of the organizing committee. Each and every detail was taken care of with utmost care by the organizing team and it was really an enriching experience.

We had our breakfast after the run and got our t' shirts as compliments. Shameek finished with a timing of 2:07:31. I felt sorry for him. This chap was going to complete the run under 2hrs but just 300mts before the finish line he got cramps and went crashing to the ground. Saravanan was running with him and so kind of him that he helped Shameek back to his feet without thinking about his own timing. It is this attitude that sets apart runners from the rest of the crowd. We care for fellow runners without giving any second thoughts.

Puro and Bharani completed their full marathon in 4:21 and 4:29 hrs respectively. Kudos to these guys for a stupendous performance on their first maiden full marathon.

There were cyclists (mostly foreigners) keeping track of the runners, helping them out and encouraging them during the course of the run. The best part of Auroville run is that you get a nice massage after the run by wondeful ladies and this kind of soothes the pain out of your legs. I didn't go for it because I didn't experience any sort of pain in my legs and also I was feeling a bit awkward for a foreigner to massage my feet and legs. But damn I missed it. Anyways Auroville 2010 was a wonderful experience.

Arsenal end poor show at Emirates

Arsenal vs Liverpool (10 Feb 2010)

Luck was not favouring Arsenal football club of late. With a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa and consecutive defeats at the hands of Manchester United and Chelsea, the mood at Arsenal football club was morose. On top of that they had their mid week fixture with back in form Liverpool squad. The stakes were high and both clubs needed the three points.

Arsenal kicked off the first half and displayed some brisk football with deft one touch passing. They had a couple of chances to score and surge ahead but didn't convert any of them. The first one came from a Fabregas freekick, which was headed over the bar by Gallas. Arshavin managed to squeeze the ball to Nicklas Bendtnar who stroked the ball with vengeance but only to find it rising above the woodwork. Liverpool was playing Nogog upfront because Torres has not fully recovered. Liverpool did not get as many chances in the first half as Arsenal did but displayed some quality in their style. At the stroke of half time it was 0-0 at 'The Emirates'.

The second half had more action in it with Liverpool threatening to score on a break exposing Arsenal's vulnerability but some timely defending from Gallas saved Arsenal's day. Nogog had to do a better job upfront and this was a brilliant chance missed. Minutes after Liverpool's break Rosicky missed an easy chance at the other end. This time the fault was with Rosicky as had taken the ball far too ahead for the Liverpool goalkeeper to grasp it.

But Arsenal was not settling for a draw and scored the only goal of the match. A superb cross from Rosicky and a brilliant header into the goal from Diaby sealed Liverpool's fate. The lack of firepower upfront for Liverpool was evident. Babel tried his best but the ball rattled the post, denying Liverpool of any points from the game. Liverpool's final chance came in injury time when they got a freekick 30 yards outside the box. Steve Gee stepped up to take it but only to find the ball bounce off the Arsenal wall. Television footages showed that Fabregas had intentionally put up his hand to block the ball but bad luck for Liverpool that the referee didn't notice it. Liverpool sure should have got that penalty for the foul done by Fabregas.

Arsenal now sit at position 3 in the table, just 6 points behind league leaders Chelsea. Who might know Arsenal might walk away with the glory after all the hardwork done by Chelsea and ManU to claim the number one spot and the Barclays Premier League Title

Liverpool on recovery path

Liverpool vs Bolton Wanderers (30 Jan 2010)

Liverpool faced Bolton Wanderers at Anfield in their weekend fixture. Liverpool's season has been jittery with too many ups and downs, the latest being FA cup exit in which they lost to second division club Reading. Rafa Benitez had put up a side which has the skill and the ability but completely lacking in confidence. David Nogog replaced Fernando Torres upfront as the striker, partnering with Dirk Kuyt.

Liverpool began the first half, shooting at the KOP end. Bolton Wanderers' strategy was to pin down to Gerrard and Muamba was doing a pretty good job at it,shadowing Steve Gee wherever he went. Bolton got two excellent chances in the first half,one coming from Cohen who couldn't put the ball past Reina. Thanks to ever-dependable Carragher who didn't give Cohen enough room to take the shot properly. The next brilliant chance came from Chung Yung Lee who did a neat work of getting past the Liverpool centre backs and also around the Liverpool Goalie but last minute brilliant work by Krygiakos saved Liverpool from the agony of trailing Bolton at Anfield.

Liverpool was fierce in their approach whenever they came cloe to scoring but lacked the killer touch. Some brilliant moves by Gerrard were blocked off by Zat Knight, Kuyt was just a yard away from converting Insua's cross into a goal. Liverpool found themselves ahead just minutes before the first half ended- Courtesy The Dutchman: Kuyt. Even though the goal was scrappy it was enough to bolster Liverpool's confidence. Bolton's defender Steinsson could have cleared the ball off the goal line but the ball some how found its way back into the net.

A one goal lead always causes anxiety for the team who scored it. Liverpool could have sealed the game early in the second half when Ngog missed a lollypop chance from six yards, the ball bouncing off the goal post. Bolton didn't threaten Liverpool much in the second half. This forced the Bolton manager to bring in Ricardo Gardner, Weiss and Elmandor to step up the Bolton attack.

Insua's shot was deflected off Kevin Davies before rolling past Jaskeleinen for a second Liverpool goal. Rafa could now breathe easily given that Liverpool will not commit silly mistakes to refrain them from claiming all three points.

Even though Liverpool came out victorious they lacked the ability to finish Bolton off. Liverpool could easily have scored four to five goals, given the amount of chances they had in the match. Liverpool now sits fifth in the table with 41 points just one point behind Tottenham Hotspurs. Aston Villa is on 40 with a game in hand and Man City are with 38 points with three games in hand.

If Liverpool fail to qualify for Europe next year the club's financial situation may be in jeopardy and this could mean many of the top players might leave Anfield. Now that Liverpool has won three of their home games in a row their confidence is high and hope that they take their good form in the remaining games.

Mumbai Half Marathon- My 6th half marathon

The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon was conducted on 17 Jan 2010 and this was the 7th edition of the premier event. Let me tell you why running in Mumbai is special. First of all you need to register way back in July of the previous year because the competition is tough and number of participants overwhelming. Secondly the Mumbai Marathon is given Gold status by AIMS.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/23092968

This was my first Mumbai Half marathon and #6 overall. I had booked my tickets in advance with Jet Airways and was all set for Mumbai 2010. I took the 7:15 flight on 16 Jan 2010 from Chennai and reached Mumbai at around 9:00 hrs. There were two surprises instore for me. First I met my colleague from Strategic Sourcing on the same flight. He was going to Mumbai for an official trip. Secondly I met a girl ( Archana ) from computer science dept from my college,my batch. I was 100% sure it was her but I didn't have the guts to talk to her because even though I was staring at her for quite some time, waiting for some reaction she didn't seem to recognize me.

I had a quick breakfast with my colleague at the airport premises and left for my uncle's house in Matunga. Now Matunga comes under greater Bombay and autos are banned inside Greater Bombay. My colleague dropped me till Kurla Gardens, from there I took an auto till Scion and hired a cab from there to Matunga Central. My aunt and uncle gave me a warm welcome and made me quite comfortable, making me feel at home. They after making sure that I was comfortable went off to office and I spent the rest of the time till lunch with their younger 8 year old daughter Aayushi.

We had excellent lunch, rotis and undiyo, dal and a sweetdish whose name I do not remember. I really liked the undiyo as it was very very tasty and makes for an excellent side-dish with rotis. After lunch my uncle took me to Cuffe Parade, where I collected my BIB no. 11182 and the goodie bag. My uncle wanted to make sure that I had the best time in Bombay and went of the way in ensuring that. He took me to Leopold's cafe. Does this cafe sound familiar? This was one of the places where the terrorists open fired on 26 Nov 2008, killing many innocent lives. I saw the bullet marks on the granite wall as well as on the glass windows. After having a drink at Leopold's cafe we went for '3 idiots' the most successful film in the history of Bollywood cinema so far. We returned home by 22:30 hrs, had dinner and went off to sleep.

It was the D day. I woke up at 5:00 and geared myself for the run. I had set a target of 2:11 hrs to crack the 21.09Km distance. My uncle made sure that Raju stayed overnight just for my sake and drop me in the morning till the starting point. I warmed up,doing my usual stretching exercises and waited patiently for the flag off. The route was amazing; part of it was on the newly built Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link. The sad part was there was no water points on the sea link and many of the runners were struggling because of that.

I did a nonstop run till 8km after which I coupled walking and running till the finish. I was motivated by the enthusiasm and excitement of the Mumbai crowd. The toughest part of the route was the Peddar Road stretch where the road is narrow and quite steep. But the cheering crowd kept the runners going. People went the extra step of providing refreshments for runners and this is something unique you can find only in Mumbai. Cheers to Mumbai on this aspect.

I completed my run in 2:24:39, this was my official timing. I was quite pleased with my performance and thanked God for giving me both the mental as well as the physical strength to complete the run.

After the run I took a train from Marine Lines uptil Matunga Road and from there a taxi till Matunga Central. As I didn't carry my cellphone with me my aunt and uncle were worried when I took a long time to return home. It was my mistake; I should have called them from some other mobile. But anyways I was treated by my aunt's garam parathas with an extra dash of butter. I enjoyed my meal and went off to sleep. After that I went on see my friends at SP Jain. I met Anoop, my high school classmate and spent about one and half hours with him before departing for Chennai. On the whole I had a great run.

'The Reds' go Wolf hunting @ Anfield

Liverpool vs Wolverhampton ( 26 Dec 2009)

Liverpool finished off their last match in 2009 in style when they beat the visitors (Wolves) by two goals to nil at Anfield. Liverpool's squad for the match on boxing day* was an interesting one. Aquillani, the 20 million pound buy started because Mascherano had received a straight red card last week against Portsmouth and will be missing the next three fixtures.

*- In the English Premier League the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day.

Dirk Kuyt was rested because Liverpool has its important fixture on Wednesday against Aston Villa which they cannot afford to lose.

The Wolves kept Liverpool at bay during the first half although Liverpool had more than 50% of the ball possession. Gerrard had a couple of shots on target but some superb goalkeeping by Marcus Hahnemann denied Captain Courageous any chances. Johnson also had his share of shots on target but of no avail. Liverpool though having a strong squad failed to exploit 'The Wolves'. This is because Liverpool were lacking in confidence, their seven defeats so far in the Premier League plus an early exit from Champions League was taking a toll on the player's mental strength as well as their boss Rafa Benitez.

Wolves threatened to score a couple of time but Reina's instincts and goal keeping skills denied them.

Both teams went into the first half with a score line of 0-0.

Liverpool had to find some inspiration from somewhere and who better to look up to other than their Captain Steve Gee. Some deft work by the left fullback Insua provided the perfect cross into the box for Gerrard,who pounced on it and got to it before the Wolf midfielder Milijas and heading the ball past the Wolf goalie. Anfield went beserk and so did the Liverpool players.

Wolves tried hard to salvage something from the game; Jarvis, Milijas and Ward giving their best shot and trying to take the game to Liverpool but Liverpool's defence was stunning and denied Wolves any chances.

Lucas was pulled down by Ward just before the penalty box. This earned him a second yellow card and Ward was sent off. The funny thing that happened here was that the referee by mistake yellow carded another defender instead of Ward, arousing the anger of the Scousers and the players alike. He then corrected his mistake and Ward was sent off the pitch.

Liverpool needed another goal to seal the game and this was provided by the Israeli playmaker Benayoun. Benayoun's shot on target was well crafted and was deflected by the Wolf defender before finding its way to the back of the net. Liverpool led at Anfield by two goals to nil.

Rafa made a couple of substitutions,bringing in Pacheko and Kuyt to replace Benayoun and Aquillani. Pacheko is a tiny, young and promising striker for Liverpool and Rafa wanted to give him some practice before infusing him in the main squad.

With the win over Wolves,Liverpool now sit with 30 points and are 7th in the table,12 points behind league leaders Chelsea. Rafa needs to make some strategic plans to revamp Liverpool and infuse confidence to his brilliant squad so that they come out on top at the end of the season.

Portsmouth stun Liverpool ( 19 Dec 2009)

Portsmouth took on Liverpool in their Premier League fixture this weekend. Liverpool's boss Rafa Benitez had put up a defensive side to take on Pompy. Liverpool's dismal performance this season gave a psychological edge to Portsmouth to go all guns firing against Liverpool and also with Avram Grant taking charge of Pompy,they looked bright with full confidence.

Liverpool had the lions share of the ball possession in the first half and also dominated the game for the first half hour. Torres came close to scoring when he swirled the ball over the goal post. The condition of the pitch was not in its best form, being frosty and many of the players had trouble controlling themselves leave alone controlling the ball. Dirk Kuyt especially had a tough time,slipping time and again and failing to keep the ball in control. Kuyt had to change his boots to cope better with the conditions.

Portsmouth started taking the game to Liverpool after the first 30 minutes. Their first real chance came when Yebda crossed the ball into the box for Piquionne but Agger spotted the danger and flicked the ball with his head for a corner. Just before half time Belhadj scored for Pompy, taking a shot from a close range and from a very tight angle. Reina,the Liverpool goalie was a mere spectator as he watched the ball swoosh past him to the back of the net. With one goal down Liverpool another defeat was looming large at their faces and they had to score to get back into the game.

Mascherano was sent off for a rash tackle on Ben Haim.Half time gone Pompy lead at Fratton park and Liverpool's woes doubled.

Liverpool's chances of a comeback were thwarted by a clever strategy adopted by Portsmouth. Pompy made sure that the ball stays away from key players like Gerrard, Torres and Kuyt. Pompy were in fact successful in doing that and kept Liverpool at bay. A momentary lapse in concentration cost Pompy almost a goal. Gerrard broke through the middle and struck the ball hard, the ball taking two deflections along its way almost reached the back of the net but some quick reactions from the young Pompy goalie denied Gerrad and Liverpool the goal. Torres too had his share of chances,dribbling past Pompy defenders to shoot the ball into the net but too many touches of the ball in fact spoiled his chances of taking a kick at the ball.

Pompy made life for Liverpool even more miserable when Piquionne scored the second goal and sealed Liverpool's chances of taking anything from the game. Liverpool's defence looked pretty ordinary and lacked the usual quality.

Liverpool have lost seven of their Premier League game so far and the threat of a top four spot is looming large. With Champions League out of their reach Liverpool's only chances of qualifying for next year's Champions League if they do not finish in the top four is if they win the Europa Cup. The pressure is certainly on the Merseysiders to perform.

As far as Portsmouth is concerned, the win over Liverpool has infused the team with confidence but more importantly it has given them solid three points. This means the other bottom teams have to play catch-catch before it gets decided who will get relegated this season.

Arshavin haunts Liverpool yet again

Liverpool-Arsenal (13 Dec 2009)

Liverpool hosted Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday for the Barclays Premier League fixture,this being one of the fixtures in which the top flight teams clash for glory and dominance. Liverpool's boss Rafa Benitez put out his strongest squad,Fernando Torres making comeback after a gap of six weeks. The midfield line up consisted of Steve Gee,Kuyt,Benayoun,Mascherano and Lucas. Arsenal's squad looked meek with Persie and Bendtnar missing and Asravin trotting as the lone striker upfront.

Liverpool started the match with 24 points in the bag and Arsenal with 28 points. A win would get Liverpool or Arsenal closer to the league leader Chelsea. Both teams had the advantage because both Chelsea and Manchester United dropped points this weekend.

Liverpool started the first half with much agression,attacking right from the first minute. Five minutes under the first half a superb partnership between Torres and Gerrard almost put Liverpool in front but the rustiness of not playing for a long time held Torres from finishing a lollylop chance,giving the ball straight into the hands of the Arsenal goalkeeper. Although Arsenal's midfield was impressive the lack of a talented striker upfront denied them any chances of taking a good shot at the goal. Walcott looked helpless against the solid Liverpool defense and Fabregas and Nasri weren't getting the balls into the right spot for Arshavin to take a clean shot.

Just before half time Liverpool got a freekick about 30 yards from the goal. Fabio Aurelio's freekick was not punched clear by Alumunia and it fell nicely for Kuyt who nudged the ball into the goal post. Lucas sensibly stepped out of the way,allowing the ball to drift into the net. Had he touched the ball Liverpool might have been denied the goal because Lucas was in an off-side position. Liverpool went into the first half with a 1-0 lead.

The second half was a much better one for Arsenal. Liverpool's right fullback Glen Johnson gifted Arsenal with an own goal and one powerful strike by the tiny Russian (Andrey Arshavin) turned the tables in Arsenal's favour. Liverpool fought hard for a comeback,making crucial substitutions like Aquillani and Ngog to increase their attacking force but of no avail. Arsenal had weathered the Liverpool storm at Anfield and emerged victorious. Arsenal now move into the third spot with 31 points,six points behind Chelsea. Arsenal also have the advantage of a game in hand.

Liverpool's run of bad luck in the months of November and December continued for the third season. Statistics show that Liverpool drops most of their points during these two crucial months. Rafa needs to rework his strategy and needs to make sure that Torres and Gerrard are fit for the rest of the games so that Liverpool can clinch the top four spot. Not doing so will eliminate them from next seasons UEFA champions league.