Elizabeth Vasanthakumari, Golds and Silver, Rome - Big update!

I've decided to keep my posts short and quick. Just like my running. Now realized that short and quick is a life truth.

Anyway, first off did some pretty interesting running in Rome. Not much - just enough to keep me warmed up. The most interesting aspect of Rome, from a running perspective, was meeting Elizabeth Vasanthakumari. She was part of the 1984 SAF Games Gold medal winning 4x400 team along with P.T. Usha. For having been one of the fastest runners of her time, Elizabeth is extremely humble. Just goes to show that greatness doesn't get into everyone's heads.

Well I came back from Rome, and literally hit the ground running. The evening of the day I landed in Madras, I went to JN stadium for my yearly meet. The rest seemed to have helped. I won golds in 100, 200 and 400. Silver in the 4x100 relay - my team was a little washed out from multiple events. I ran pretty strong. Even the 400 - my favorite event - was a class act. Just goes to show good training can make a duck run.

Anyway, after that event, it was finally time for rest. I took several weeks off. Simply going to the gym and doing some light weights. Not so much for a work out but simply out of habit. It was strangely unsatisfactory. I think it was a case of remorse that my event was now over.

Anyway, I walked into Chicken Pox and that ensured that I was in bed for two weeks. Now its been 5 weeks since I was diagnosed - approximately 3 after I was certified as fully recovered. Just started running again. Managed to do a full 30 minutes yesterday.

Now that thats out of the way, I'll try to post shorter more regular posts.

Until next time.

Meeting Shiny Wilson

Two weekends ago I took part in a sports meet organised by the Rotary Club at the YMCA Nandanam stadium. It was a good meet for me. Picked up a gold in the 400m, 100m and an off-beat 20 yard backward running event. I also got the individual championship which was nice. The competition wasnt that great but the highlight of the day was meeting Golden Girl Shiny Wilson.


Shiny Wilson along with P.T. Usha dominated the Indian athletic scene for almost 20 years breaking all sorts of records at the Asian level. In fact, she was apparently the first Indian woman to break the 2 minute barrier in the 800m. At a PB of 2.45 Im almost there - arent I?

Anyway, I managed to get her autograph in my training log and got a good comment from her about my running style. That has practically made my year.

I prepared for the event like a lout. First thing I did was I didnt prepare. Like all overconfident bozos, I thought I could just walk into the event and run it. To top it off, I went running with Shumit the previous evening on the road. Bad idea. And we did intervals for about 40 minutes.

The next morning at the meet - which started at an awkward 10 AM, my 400m died at 350m. My left leg started cramping. 10 minutes of physio and two gatorades with added salt releived the pain but left me somewhat hobbled. I hadnt had a good breakfast thinking I needed to stay light. But there was not much energy left after the 400.

Anyway I managed to crack the 100 which was a little later and the backwards race was just a fun thing. The guy who was coming first tripped and I ended up being first. So it was plain luck.

A few quick observations.

1. Never underestimate an event if you are planning on winning. A winning effort is usually your best effort and that needs a lot of preparation.

2. Dont do any thing on the day before an event that you plan to win. See No. 1 above.

3. Shiny Wilson has put on a lot of weight.

4. YMCA Nandanam is a very badly maintained track. And thats sad.


Thats it for now,

Until next time...