Addiction?

My last longish run was a half marathon which I did on the last Friday. It was a tough run post the 19kms mark after which the ITB flared up and I had to pull out after about 22kms.

I have not run since then and am preserving my legs for the next big run while I concentrate on the strengthening and rehab for the ITB.

The next planned run happens on the 31st which is the day after. Hoping that this is a good run so as to allow me to follow it up with a shortish run on the following day which will mark the start of the tapering phase of the schedule.

To some extent, I really want the SCMM to get done as soon as possible after which I can resume my more regular runs.

I miss running regularly very very badly!

(The above snap was clicked by Gayatri during the Worli Sea Face Run during Diwali'09. Remains of the fire-crackers from the nights celebration are visible in the snap. It was a memorable day :o) )

Trust the regulars!

For quite a few months now, the Indian tail has wagged with fair consistency in all the forms of the game and the contributions and support has been substantial. Bowlers like Harbhajan, Zaheer, Praveen Kumar have chipped in with handy contributions with the bat on numerous occasions.

On a couple of occasions earlier in addition to the mammoth 414 run pile of today, I have been extremely disturbed by the decision to send Harbhajan Singh above seasoned batsmen like Raina, Jadeja and sometimes even Dinesh Karthik. I have a very different take on this strategy and I beg to differ on its viability.

Does he have a complete batsman’s game? Does he have the capability of building an innings? Does he have the skill to stick it out the way a seasoned batsman would?
The answer to all of the above is a convincing NO and there is no shame in admitting the fact simply because at the end of the day these are bowlers who can bat a bit and use the long handle. But that’s that!

Every skill in the game has its place and needs to be given its due respect and only the due respect.

Batsmen like Baji are very very handy with the bat but only at the position that they are supposed to play at. They simply lack the ability to build an innings by extending support to the set batsman at the other end and build an innings when it’s a more than a run a ball like situation and we have facts and scorecards that prove this.

When you get such batsmen to jump the batting order and they fail more often than not, not only do you end up mounting the pressure of another wicket loss on yourself and the batsman that follows but also you miss out on a good tail-ender batsman later in the innings. Let me not mention the confidence boost that the bowling side derives from a wicket.

In my opinion the trick lies in not getting carried away.

ITBS again!

Again, for the second time in a row, my training for the Mumbai Marathon has hit the same road block. ITBS.
The only aspect that is better about the recurrence is that it has happened almost two months ahead of the race day giving me presentable time to get into some aggressive rehab to get back into shape.
I have deviated considerably from my original training program and hence will need to push the day of attempting my longest distance (peaking) by a week. The catch here is that the delay can not be by much as I need at least 25 days of tapering before my body completely recovers from the workout and am 100% for the race day.
ITBS can be a pain in the a** and you will agree if you have experienced anything similar yourself. My physiotherapist friend encouragingly tells me that there is always a silver lining to any such obstacle. Going by such encouragement, keeping the faith and continuing to believe that I will make the grade on 17th January 2010 and become a Marathon Man (rather Marathon Boy).
It is going to be quite an uphill task from here and will need all the good wishes and luck to make it happen.
God Bless