skroderider's

I just realized that I buy very little science fiction these days, and read even less. Whatever I buy now are books I really want (rather than buy it because ‘it’s there’ and going for a discount!). These are mostly authors like Gibson, Neal Asher, Robert Reed and the rising wave of Indian sf in English represented by works such as Priya Sarukkai Chabria‘s Generation 14 and Manjula Padmanabhan‘s Escape. The reason I read less sf is because I read other stuff more now, and there are only 24 hours in a day. I am rereading some of my favourite sf classics, and will probably write about them sometime.

Listened to an audiobook called ‘Letting Go of God’ by the delightful Julia Sweeney. It’s also a TED lecture and available on Google video. She is simple, straightforward, sincere and a joy to listen to as she recounts her early religious upbringing and the events that led her to realize that there is no evidence for a creator, and no need for one.

On the running front, the ITBS is better. As I read that post now, I can’t help but laugh at myself. 6 days to fix ITBS? ). Got diagnosed with a stress fracture last week though, on my left leg, which will take atleast 2 months to heal. Of course – no running till then.

It has been almost a month since my friend Arvind Mishra, an sf writer, tagged me in this post.

The meme is to choose ten sf books of your choice and just scribble down the fifth sentence on page 56 of all of them and then invite your friends in turn to guess the books where these extracts are selected from. And then declare the answers. (You can choose non-sf books also, but I have chosen only sf – these are among my most well-liked sf works of all time).

Warning : Answers are just below the list.

Here goes (some of the sentences are really vague!)

1. With a little skill and care there were few items that could not be tackled safely; the only things banned were hot soups and excessively crumbly pastries.

2. “If this is true, then the Straumers may have a chance.”

3. The nervousness that Stormgren had first felt had long since passed away.

4. “I do not quite follow you.”

5. “What?”, Lvov tried to focus.”

6. Their clothes were not particularly revealing, he noted regretfully, and not one had any sign of décolleté, although some dresses seemed to designed to emphasize the buttocks.

7. A quick punch was all it took.

8. “I helped to do it, even.”

9. “This way is much better,” Leroux said, touching her skin delicately, poking under her cheeks and chin, pulling back her hair to feel her temples.

10. “But that’s the point: it’s not right, Captain,” Renner protested.

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Answers:

1. 2001 A Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke
2. A Fire upon the Deep – Vernor Vinge
3. Childhood’s End – Arthur C. Clarke
4. Lord of Light – Roger Zelazny
5. Vacuum Diagrams – Stephen Baxter (Short story – Gossamer)
6. Prelude to Foundation – Isaac Asimov
7. Grass – Sherri S. Tepper
8. Distraction – Bruce Sterling
9. The Collected Stories of Greg Bear – Greg Bear (Short story – Sisters)
10. The Mote in God’s Eye – Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

I want to share a link on why running the Pune international marathon is not a good idea – the author of the original message never says that, but I am saying it based on what he has mentioned.

http://groups.google.com/group/runnersforlife-bangalore/browse_thread/thread/6f78e943a7618f60#

I am undergoing physiotherapy sessions for my shin splint. My target of running 3 half marathons in a month is still unfulfilled, but the glow in which I was after finishing the Ultra is still there. Doctor’s orders now are not to run for atleast 6 weeks, and after that “let’s see”.

It’s only ice packs, lower leg exercises, foam rollers now. Feeling the goose pimples while watching running movies. Digging out distance running videos on Youtube. And waiting for the day when I can lace up my running shoes again.

Somebody said the best cure for running injuries is patience.

My running season this year started with the Delhi Half Marathon. It was almost sabotaged by a viral infection. I was on antibiotics till the day of the run. But by then I was feeling much better thanks to the ENT specialist I paid a visit to. Nothing like getting advice from your doctor to ‘definitely carry on running’. He wished me luck for the run, which boosted my morale a lot. I’m sure runners who have not been able to run due to injury or illness know what I mean. The weeks before that were sort of depressing, with uncertainty nagging at every point. I was not able to train for a couple of weeks.

The Delhi run went well. I clocked 02:11:28, my best time for 21k. One week after that I had the Bangalore Ultra Marathon. It had 25/50/75/100k editions, and more if you want to run. Yes, it was not the usual marathon (we have so less of them in India). Organized by Runners for Life, it was the most perfectly managed running event I have been in till now. The reason? The organizers were runners themselves. Unlike Mumbai (which is still the best organized among the ‘normal’ marathons in India) and Delhi, the focus was on runners’ needs and fun rather than media attention and keeping the sponsors happy. The RFL guys really understand what running is about. I had a lot of fun, plus it was my longest run till date. I registered for the 25k, and ended up changing it to 50k. I did complete 50k, although I had to completely walk the last lap of 12.5k due to knee pain. Still, 50k – Whoo! The distance is still unfathomable for me. I cannot visualize it like I can for 21 (which is essentially 2 rounds around the Hussain Sagar lake, plus 2 k).

The target this month was (and still is) to complete 3 half marathons. One of them is over, one of turned out to be more, and the last one is next Sunday, here in Hyderabad. The Hyderabad 21k is still not very well organized even after all these years – but I hope this time they will do better. It’s like running in your own backyard, so I’m not much bothered.

My problems started today when I went for a run in the morning to see how much I have healed post-Ultra. After 2k both my knees started paining to the point where I had to stop. It was not the usual kneecap pain – it was lateral – along the side of the knee. Some research later, it seems that I have another common running injury – ITBS – Iliotibial Band Syndrome. Have been trying out ice packs and some recommended stretching exercises. Let’s see if it gets better in the 6 days left for the half marathon. If it doesn’t, well,

My mantra right now is a marathon runner’s words – Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. (Haruki Murakami quotes this in his book ‘What I talk about when I talk about Running’.)

It’s 0903 hours, and the morning’s still surprisingly quiet. I’m trying to get some things done before the mindless noise and pollution of Diwali starts hitting the senses. I’ve been nursing a viral infection for a week now, the worst effect of it being me not being able to run with 2 half marathons scheduled just 10 days from now. The old bod’s going to be under some strain getting up to speed. Today morning I am feeling much better, but some new viruses have apparently decided to settle in and give me a runny nose. Considering the thumb rule that it’s ok to run if the illness is above the neck, that’s an improvement.

If you’re into running, and in India, check this out -
http://www.runnersforlife.com/

Update : Paid a visit to an ENT specialist, which resulted in another lineup of antibiotics. He also gave me explicit permission to run (Yay! not that I would not have run anyway), provided it’s not in the fog