Long Walks On Leafy Streets

11/6/2016 Dieren, Netherlands (Thanks to Rama Satish).
Fall is finally here. After many days of abnormally warm or windy or rainy weather that should remind everyone of the clear and present dangers of climate change, we finally have the great fall days that we typically have at this time of the year. Prashant enjoyed it whenever I picked some of the brightly colored leaves up in my hand and let them fly in the wind. He had a great time running around in the playground yesterday and today. I enjoyed walking yesterday through some quiet, tree-lined streets in Arlington asking people to vote. Arlington is a very environmentally progressive community, with many bike lanes and electric cars and public transportation options. I was canvassing on behalf of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party in some mostly democratic neighborhoods. Although I am more a fan of Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders, I do like her environment related policies and the many good qualities she has. I think she has been vilified and attacked unfairly.
So much so that even otherwise well-informed people are suspicious of her. Nevertheless, I must say I am tired of this election and will be happy when it is over. It feels like a Marathon, only less fun!

Speaking of Marathons, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon last Sunday, the 30th of October. It was a great day and an experience I will cherish my whole life. It was made possible by the support and help of Nicole, my family, and many friends who encouraged me and donated to the Association for India’s Development. I was raising funds for them by running in the Marathon.

Nicole, Prashant and I packed up our bags and left home for a hotel near the start line on Saturday afternoon. On the way we stopped at the National Harbor convention center to pick up the bib and other Marathon paraphernalia. We all enjoyed the drive on a beautiful clear day. It was energizing to see so many people – more than 28000 registered totally –getting ready for the race. We had a good dinner at a sports bar and headed over to the hotel and went to bed soon after arrival. Sleep is such an important part of running, so I wanted to make sure I got as much of it as possible. I also ate as much as I could.

Sunday morning I woke up around 5 am feeling very sleepy. Although I had been in bed for 8 hours I must have slept only about 4 hours. The rest of the time I just lay there trying to sleep. I practiced deep relaxation, a technique I learned in meditation classes. You lie flat letting your mind rest completely, breathing deeply and letting go of all thoughts. It did help but I realized it was not a substitute for sleeping because my brain was clearly tired and out of oxygen in the morning. I kept yawning continually until close to the start time. Added to that was the fact that getting to the start line was a bit stressful. There were very long lines to board the shuttle buses from near the hotel. Looks like many had decided to drive because Metro had refused to start earlier than 7am. My stomach was giving me some trouble all morning and I could not reach a restroom until very close to starting time. Somehow I made it to the designated location for people expecting to finish between 3:40 and 3:59. The gun went off at 7.55 am and by the time I reached the starting line it was 8.03am. There were thousands of people ahead of me and it was like running in a crowded bar. Many people must have had the same idea as me and taken up position as close to the start as possible. There were many running much slower than a pace of under 4 hours.

The first two miles were difficult and slow. Not only was there no place to speed up I was feeling queasy in the stomach and tired from lack of sleep. The route was also uphill for about two and a half miles. Nevertheless my body started warming up and I started to forget about all the discomfort and got into the enjoyment of the race itself. It was truly a great feeling to be running with thousands of people, while many more were cheering along the sidelines. Although it was unusually warm and humid for an October day the skies were overcast throughout the race and I never struggled. The path wound through Spout Run Parkway and then up and down along the Rock Creek Parkway and then along the Potomac River and through the mall area, so one could also enjoy nature along the way. People held funny signs and shouted encouragement. There were many inspiring sights, such as a Marine running with full gear, people pushing sick children or elders in their wheelchairs and photos of fallen soldiers along the “Wear Blue Mile” near Hains Point. The Marines as expected did a splendid job of organizing and providing water and other items along the way.

My strategy was to start a bit slow on the uphill and then try to speed up gradually, while staying comfortable for the first 20 miles. It worked well except that because of the slow and congested run in the first two miles and my mind being tired from lack of sleep I could never reach the speed that I normally run at. I was able to run under nine minutes a mile until mile 20 or so. But then my legs felt very heavy and I decided not to push for higher speeds. I wanted to make sure I could host the fiftieth birthday party that I was celebrating later in the day and then teach my classes the next day. So I simply let go of thinking about the time and ran just as fast as I could without getting out of breath or in pain. I finished in 4:8:12 and although a bit disappointed nevertheless I am satisfied with it given all the things that I was afraid could go wrong.

The last three or four miles I ran the slowest. By then everybody was going slow and many were walking or just shuffling along. People would stop when they reached the water points. There were a few that were able to pick up their speed. We were running in Crystal city and then around the Pentagon. There were big crowds in Crystal City with loud music. That loud music was the only thing that bothered me a bit during the race. Although I am used to running quietly by myself I enjoyed all the noise and bustle along the sidelines. It was a relief to finally reach the finish line. There were more cheering crowds and Marines giving high-fives. I couldn’t spot Nicole in the crowd although I kept looking for her. I kept jogging for a little bit more and then walked to the family reunion area. It was great to see Nicole walking down with Prashant. She said she had called out for me but I could not hear her in the crowd. I will post pictures and videos from the marathon to my flickr page soon.

It was great to be a part of this large mass of humanity all striving for a common goal. Although we may have different attitudes towards life and different backgrounds when we get close to each other and mingle we can feel the common bond. The superficial lines and barriers that we have created around ourselves for various reasons then start to disappear.

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