Beginning from the beginnning. I mean, the running...

The onset of spring was marked by rains, and his shoe laces had come off. He is tying those shoelaces back in place, and will probably take some time before he starts running again..
But, while he was tying his shoe laces, he was beginning to think about the beginning...of running..

When did he start running?

Like most normal kids, and although he was not really normal, he would pass for a normal kid, so we will spare him the agony and embarrassment of questioning his normalcy!
So, like most normal kids, he too had started crawling at first, and appeared to be a pro at that (I am told), since he would seemingly be very careful, avoiding a flight of stairs downward, right outside his house, while he moved on four limbs to his neighbour's house on the same floor. He must have subsequently learnt to walk before he started running.

The earliest of his memories of running he could recollect, was of days when he was about ten years old. A few younger and older kids would get together, and start off on their 4 kilometre jog around this lake in the Garden City. Having varying stamina levels, they would keep switching between running, walking and jogging during those early days. And then there would be days when they would all time themselves and do "pure" running, on a proper running track within a certain "MEG" grounds...

There have been instances when he has run after four wheelers and three wheelers alike...
It was not even "teenage rush" since he had run behind a three wheeler a full year ahead of teenage. But why would one run behind an auto rickshaw? Unless it had something to do with the passenger or driver (take your pick!) and it was the same passenger everyday ?
It was the same auto rickshaw everyday, and unlike other "school auto rickshaws", this one was meant for only one person...
Now, there are things all of us do...Some of these are very smart things to do...and others are...probably.... Aah..well, as I told you, he was not even a teenager then! It may not also be all that weird to remember the registration number of the three wheeler, but yes, he does remember....After all, most of us do some stupid things we cannot afford to forget ;-)

So, there has been a history of running...Of course, history is just what it is...Only that he has been running is consistent with history.
He hasn't been running after the same people, or different people...And has definitely not been running after automobiles...Adolescence, fortunately increases significantly his understanding of "pursuit"...Chasing dreams has been more interesting since those days of innocence (or call it childish stupidity if you will!)...
Running, for him, these days, is inspired by different reasons and motivators....and at times, it has been an "inspired" form of running, in the complete absence of any evidence of any reason or motivation...But then, absence of evidence, as his favourite line claims, is not evidence of absence...
So...while you sort the absence and evidence out, let him continue to tie his shoelaces back in place...We all know it shouldn't take too long to tie one's shoelace; but then, what if it keeps coming off? ;-)

But then, its not about winning either...

At the outset, I ll have to admit that this post is at least in part inspired by a suggestive speculation of what one of my future posts could be titled ;-)
Frankly, I did not want to use it up this early; but I guess, sooner or later, runners and walkers alike realise that its not all about winning, despite the fact that its not all about the race in the first place.
So, its not about winning.
Now, that automatically leads one to exclaim that its not about losing either...I ll probably "reserve" the contemplation on losing for later.
Right now, all I can say that, its not all about winning.

We'll have to ignore losing because not all games are zero sum games! ;-)
Or....thats probably what he convinced himself to conclude ;-)

But then, it's not about the race either!

What happens when the rules of a game are changed all of a sudden?
All preparation goes for a toss!

He had been running distances, building stamina up first, and then later working on his speed.
But today, the race was actually held, given that it had stopped raining the previous evening and hadn't rained since then.

But, when the rules of the game are changed all of a sudden, such as reducing the already namesake of a marathon from 5.5 kilometres to 2.2 kilometres, all preparation looks stupid.
This is probably just another example of our expectations and how they can, and often will, prove to be wrong.

He had no excuses to offer for being the 38th in a race of over hundred people; Maybe stamina and speed are altogether different. Maybe he was lacking in speed. Or maybe, he was just not prepared, although in a way he was really prepared.

But then, its not about the race either!
In the meantime, not having run really hard in the last few days, there was in him today a sense of incompleteness...But then, hadn't he always felt incomplete?
What was even more confusing was the fact that of all days, today was to be a day of feeling good...about getting out of his jinx of not having one a single B school contest so far...
But, isn't an optimal amount of confusion always required to keep things interesting; to force readers of this "Running series" to return to read more such "incomplete" posts? ;-)

There are other races coming up, apart from the human kind, but remember..

It's not about the race either!

Running, apparently is not as much fun when it's raining...

He had been running all these days, working on building his stamina and persistence up, for this day.
The "Youth Marathon", a 5.5 kilometre run was to be held today, conducted in association with PCRA, the Petroleum Conservation Research Association.
But then, over the last two days, it had been raining for most part of the day.
People who are serious about running, although they may run for different reasons, don't really mind running in the rain.
But, alas, it was not to be!
Apparently, running is not as much fun when it's raining. I really wonder about who ever thought so, and why?

So, the marathon is "indefinitely postponed".
The running around later in the day sorta made up for the morning's lost opportunity. Things could have been much better, but they could also have been worse, so he better not complain!
Some verbal duels could be rewarding, as he would discover that evening, when he engaged in one, as part of a B-school contest and stood third...
He is probably looking forward for some more duels in the future; Rewards are inconsequential really...
He is also probably looking forward to running in a race now...Or maybe what he really is looking forward to is some running...

Elsewhere...

Lost and found! But then it never was about the bike either...

He had walked around with and without his bicycle on Tuesday, and had even climbed trees, jumped off them, broken free from prisons to live upto "Hijli Break"...But none of that would leave him lost..Not lost enough to lose his bicycle...He had parked his bicycle in the usual spot in the bicycle stand...
So what if he did not use or see his bicycle on Wednesday?
Why wouldn't he find his bicycle on Thursday morning then?

A few hours passed before his bicycle was found. Some prank or attempt at robbery it appeared, the cycle was found in another parking lot which he didn't even know existed! So, with a sigh of relief he reassured himself that he had indeed been sane and not been absent minded or lost in thought on Tuesday. He hadn't been sleep walking or sleep cycling either!
Sleep cycles are already screwed up in the Bharatiya Institutes of Technology..

So how did it really matter to him if he had indeed lost his bicycle? He would have lost it.
He may or may not have bought another one. He may have bought a new one, or a used one. He may have taken to walking instead of cycling.
But Dwichakra was special. Still, it was not about the bike. If he had lost the bike, he would have lost his mind! What all had he dreamt of doing with the bike! But then, it was not about the bike again! It was about what he was planning to do with it...What he could have done long after he had stopped using it for commuting...
Dreams, plans, ideas, thoughts..Call it what you may...
Words dilute most objects the moment we begin to define, describe or explain.
One can only imagine what it was all about, if it was not about the bike.

And sometimes people cry when they are happy. He was happy to have found his bicycle...Happier still, to have found "this" by cycle.

Need for speed.

6.6 kilometres in a little under 30 minutes. In the context of the lost opportunity to "Go take a walk" in excellent weather. I am not sure which of the two was troubling him more.
The point is that both were troubling nonetheless.
The point is also that there is still a lot of scope for improvement. And it is not as simple as that computer game called "Need for Speed II".
He used to drive his car at times with near total neglect; near total lack of fear. He must have been really lucky to have avoided all potential "accidents". But then, what is life without thrills. Most of his friends labelled them as "cheap thrills". Cheap they were, but of course, because there was very little to lose! And then there are very thin lines that separate confidence and over-confidence. Only that sometimes, a chain of thoughts blur such boundaries.
Running, on the other hand is a much safer proposition. Not as thrilling as playing NFS2 or driving a car like crazy.
But running like crazy, and running for a craze and running by virtue of being crazy are all quite thrilling! And then, when one is not earning any more, these thrills come very cheap apart from helping one stay fit. If it is all even indirectly directed at running for a cause, its even better!
Petroleum Conservation Research Association sounds good enough for a cause.
The real cause, aah well, will only be a mystery. An intriguing and interesting mystery. A mystery that unfolds only as part of some wishful thinking.
A lot of wishful thinking in fact....

Go, take a walk. For a change!

"Sometimes, whenever time permits (actually even if "time doesn't permit"), we should take a walk. Not exactly the way one uses the phrase "Boss! Go take a walk"; but then, even if it were to be in that tone, taking a walk helps!
And that is because, at times, walking around can be better than running around...And walking, strolling in fact, is almost always better than running away."
Now, this is how he was feeling this evening, having missed his rounds of running.
But then, if walking, pacing up and down the prison of his mind eventually helped him break free, he would, in retrospect feel happy about having walked around instead of running. Walking around prisons in spring, with flowers and good company..can be more than just relaxing!

Of course, there are other, seemingly more rational reasons for walking once in a while.
After all, when he was a kid, he had first learned to walk before he could run or run away.
With time, he would go on to first learn to run, and then run after...

Running after is a subject matter of risk, just like Insurance. One should carefully read his thoughts before running.
Now, since this was a post dedicated to "Walking for a change", other unrelated ideas such as "Running after" will have to wait...
So long, "Go, take a walk!" ;-)

Running around; Running inside an IIT; The running inside an IITian!

He had often been asked to keep his expert comments and opinions to himself. After all, "You don't run things around here!" expressions written on the faces of people were not too uncommon for him. But then, what if he didn't run things around? Nobody could stop him from running around after all. Or running after all either!
One can even ignore the fact that his nose would often give him company while running.
He never really ran after an IITian. Why would anyone in their so called "sane" mind do that?
He never really ran after an IITian. But, now, after he had become an IITian himself, he ran.
He ran even after he had become an IITian.
An "IITian", he had earlier been mistaken to be anyway! So, it doesn't really matter that he was not a "proper IITian". He was not a "proper IITian"; he was a fractional IITian anyway, and, may be you could get away with calling him an "improper IITian" with due respect to improper fractions. He was improper even numerically, since most numbers would hesitate to "divide" him fully...
So, this improper IITian, he continues to run around...And while running, more often than not, thinks about running things around... And at other times, running away from himself and/or others.
And then there are times when he runs after people and dreams...Those are the times when he runs really hard and for long. Until he has to stop...Stop in order to be able to
"Run another day"

Run...another day!

Running.

This is novel stuff. I mean, all that I plan to write on this new blog is not entirely new, but it's something that can with some effort be fit into a novel.
But, remember, it's not about the legs.

I am not new to running, be it in any of its forms, especially running away. And then of course, there is always running after... ! But what prompted me to create a whole new blog centered around running is the fact that I have taken to running again recently.

Where do I run (to) ? And why do I run?

Well, these are questions which can only be answered indirectly.
So, read between the lines.
Remember, this is novel stuff. So, you'll find a cocktail of fact, fiction and fantasy here, just like most novels. I may be an amateur and immature novelist, but that doesn't stop me from creating a blog and posting what I consider novel material.

Also, remember, "But, it's not about the legs!"