Long Walks On Leafy Streets

9/8/2016 Vista Sorrento Pkwy, San Diego, CA.
Climate change and global warming are indeed reaching alarming levels, so much so that these days I am afraid to even read the articles about the latest terrifying news. Our common home, this beautiful planet Earth, is literally on fire. The signs are everywhere, including at our home and our city. The Coreopsis shrubs in our front yard that normally bloom between June and July and then start withering away are still going strong, with many pretty yellow flowers. At least they are providing some food to the butterflies, although I don’t see too many of them around any more. Maybe they have already migrated. I pick one flower every morning to offer to the Gods, leaving the rest to the butterflies. Like everywhere else, temperatures in Washington, DC have been setting record levels. It is early September and it is still hot like the middle of summer.

One week recently the AC in our building was out of order. I had been working hard on my research problem.
Many times I feel close to a solution but then I find myself just short. At the same time my confidence has been growing and I feel good in the sense that I know the delay is due to the difficulty of the problem rather than my own limitations. Anyway, when the AC went out I had to work from home or elsewhere for a little bit. It was hard to think in that heat. Being in our building during that time reminded me of my days in India. It is hot and humid in Kerala and certainly in Chennai too but I never really missed air-conditioning. Maybe the body had just gotten used to the heat. Nowadays due to the aforementioned global warming the temperatures in India are even higher. I don’t know how I would survive without AC these days. It was not the first time I was reminded of Kerala this week. Yesterday while driving through an alley it reminded me of the little bylanes of Kerala. Last night while doing something on our porch the smell and the sights suddenly brought back memories of my childhood in my grandmother’s home. I used to sit there watching the lizards and the spider-webs on the walls and ceilings with their mold and musty smell. It was a magical place for me, and the quietness and almost spiritual calmness of my aunts created an ideal nursery for an introspective and contemplative mind.

I have also been running diligently. Last Sunday for the first time in my life I ran 21 miles, in about 3.5 hours. I started near the Takoma recreational center. I was supposed to run up the Rock Creek trail and meet with my friend Alan near the Mormon temple in Kensington. Alan is a good friend who I met at meditation, more than eight years ago. He and his wife Lindy and their pets used to live near us when we were in Columbia Heights. Over the years our families have gotten close. He has run a couple of marathons and we ran together once, a few weeks ago. Now he lives near the Forest Glen metro about five miles northwest of us. I was running very late, having woken up at 7 instead of 5.30 as I was planning. But good soul that he is, Alan ran a few extra miles in my direction and I met him near the DC border.

From there we ran on the Rock Creek trail all the way to near the Mormon temple, about 3.5 miles. We chatted about various things, mostly related to running. The run was quite pleasant and the trail was very well marked. It is even better now than when I used to bike on it on a regular basis, several years ago. There were a lot of people on the trail, many probably running in preparation for various fall races just like myself. After Alan left I continued running up the trail, and turned back on Wexford Drive about a mile past the Kensington-Garrett Park (Ken-Gar Park). The temperatures were in the seventies and not too humid, so the running was not very hard. I was running at a comfortable pace and my feet were still doing well. I have been having various aches and pains in my legs but so far they have been manageable.

When I started I was skeptical that I could finish 16 miles, given the condition of my legs. So I was happy to be still running at 16 miles, although I could feel them getting tired. I managed to get almost back to the recreation center, a distance of 21 miles total, and by that time the entire lower half of my body was aching. I still had to get home quickly to take Nicole, Prashant and my parents to the temple. We were having a bit of a family gathering, with my sisters and their families, to celebrate my mother’s 75th birthday. So I didn’t have adequate time to stretch and cool down and my left knee was feeling painful. Nevertheless I felt euphoric and we had a great time with all the family, Prashant especially having a good time with his cousin brothers in the playground. I hobbled around as best as I could. Nicole and I also took Prashant to Hains Point on Labor Day. I was feeling a bit better although the knee was still hurting. There were many people running and biking around the Point.

On Tuesday morning I woke up feeling much better. I had taken good care of the knee and now the pain was miraculously gone. Where I was afraid I would not be able to run at all this week, much less participate in the Parks Half-Marathon this Sunday, I felt good enough to go running. After dropping off Prashant I biked to Georgetown on one of the Capital Bike-share bikes. Apparently many people use those bikes to get there – I had a hard time finding an empty dock. But once I started gingerly testing my foot and running on the C & O canal towpath I started feeling better. I chose the towpath because its crushed gravel is easier on the legs. I ran about 5 miles, slowly. Running by the wide river on the beautiful September morning with nothing but the trees and the river and the canal around me was a great feeling. I didn’t see the cormorants at their usual hangout place, nor did I see any herons or turtles. Maybe they don’t hang out there at this time of the year. Anyway, for a precious few minutes I felt like I was in heaven and even was able to put aside my worries about all the things I needed to finish later that day, at work. The calmness of the river slowly crept into my body. The climate may be changing, but nature will always be nature. It will nurture us with its beauty and its riches. The river will continue on, long after we are gone. Whether we want to be there to enjoy it is the real question. All animals and birds and trees survive by living in harmony with nature, and working with each other. We should learn from them and do the same.

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