Runner's Heights: What's in a Word?

Today is Cross-training day so there will be no mileage, only the rapture and rotations of the elliptical machine. For the time in a long time, this is the 28th consecutive day that I have worked out and although I can feel the fatigue, I have no desire to curtail this sequence unless I am forced to skip a day. The trick is in cross-training because tedium can easily set in especially if you are working out alone all the time. In addition to this, this is the week that I parted ways with my coffee habit and the headaches and the dizziness keep coming back like a droning fly that loves the scent of my hair. I am kicking the coffee habit as an experiment to see if it will impact my mileage in any manner. So, I will post the result of my findings as we go along.

I am aware of the public spat going on between the scholar, Norman Finkelstein and the former member of O.J. Simpson's criminal defense "Dream Team" and Harvard University faculty, Alan Dershowitz. What is interesting is that Dershowitz and his fellow thinkers at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) are convinced that every Jewish person should also be the supporter of the Israeli government's policies, no matter how totalitarian and inhumane those policies might be. To hold the values and aspirations of an entire Jewish diaspora hostage to the machinations of an authoritarian regime is perhaps, far-fetched, but Dershowitz and his interest groups see no problem with that. If you criticize the policies and actions of the Israeli regime, you are anti-Semitic, just like opposing George H.W. Bush would be unpatriotic. Comparisons between the Israeli regime's treatment of the Palestinians and South Africa's apartheid are gaining more ground because the world is not blind to the blatant aggression and oppression of innocent peoples. The Jewish diaspora has, thanks to the efforts of lobbies like AIPAC, been pressured into thinking that any criticism of the current Israeli government's action is sacrilegious. Furthermore, what is perhaps a sign of disrespect to Holocaust casualties and survivors worldwide, AIPAC seems to have tied the recognition of Holocaust with the tacit approval of the Israeli government's action to decide whether you are an anti-Semite. Fail either and you are an anti-Semite...no questions asked. And watch out, if you question or critique AIPAC, the anti-Semite label might be yours.

At the rate Noam Chomsky's criticizing Dershowitz, his anti-Semitic label seems only around the corner. Anti-semitism is a grave and serious label and at the rate that Dershowitz and AIPAC are trivializing the label, it might be soon become antiquated, just like "commie" and "beatnik." It will be a great disservice to the millions of people who suffered and who wish to be no part of what is happening there.

Runner's Heights: More Saves and Samba

Cumulative mileage: 18 miles

Well, I added only 5 miles to the roster yesterday but it surely felt like 10 miles. It was overcast in the shoreline areas and so I ventured out for a run during noon expecting to beat the heat. But I couldn't be more surprised. The sun had nearly burnt the cloud cover to a sliver and the humidity was higher than usual and as a result, the air felt heavier. To someone running on a hot and humid North Carolina summer day, this may sound like whining, but to my sheltered California disposition, this was grounds for some leaden-footed running. Twice during the puny 5-mile run, I almost gave up because I felt too dehydrated and when I spotted a water foundation about 100 yards away, I felt as a desert-weary Bedouin would feel upon glancing at an oasis. I drank like a fish and proceeded to run the end of my course like a hardy camel that throws caution to the desert wind. I am exaggerating here...no matter, how bad the weather gets in Southern California, it's hardly ever as severe as in many other parts of the world.

There are still ramblings about the U.S. loss in the Women's Soccer to Brazil. The score was 4-0 and as is typical in American sport commentary, the U.S. media is looking for a scapegoat to blame. Very few reports in the American media are talking about how well the Brazilians might have performed and what we might need to learn from their team spirit, but the focus is on Coach Ryan and Briana Scurry, the goalkeeper who, in 1999, deflected the penalty kick that gave the U.S. it's World Cup win over China. Both Coach Ryan and Scurry have stellar credentials and they certainly don't deserve to be inveighed by the other team goalkeeper, Hope Solo. The team spirit of the Brazilians starkly contrasts with the rugged individualism of Solo's comments made to the press blaming Ryan and Scurry for the debacle. A team-oriented sport like soccer hardly needs the self-centered, Tonya Harding types, especially when there's one more tough game in the fray -- against Norway. And we all hope that Scurry goes out shining, because she deserves to be remembered as one of the best goalkeepers in the U.S. soccer history. And the Team USA needs to get some more Samba in the soccer.

Runner's Heights: Mr.Guest, Some Barbs for You...

Cumulative Mileage: 13 miles

So, it had a to be a walk run because "them-old" soleus muscles acted up again. So, I was forced to do a run walk but I have gotten used to run-walks by now. There is no shame, no embarrassment or losing-face in run-walks. I have learned to add them to my repertory of physical activity because they help to increase your mileage. And I am trying to increase my mileage -- that is my ultimate goal. When I increase that mileage to 26 miles, I will rest easy on that achievement and then deign to think about speed and number of laps, etc. etc. And I think that one of the ways to mentally prepare for more mileage is adding a variety of surfaces to your run -- from grass, asphalt, and gravel to concrete pavements.

The buzz of about the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, continues in the press these days. Among the insinuations, vilifications, encomiums, and invectives being traded, Columbia President Lee Bollinger's oratorial disposition does stand out as strange and unprecedented. I have been a member of the public speaking organization, Toastmasters International, and one of the skills that you learn as a Toastmaster is to introduce a speaker to an audience. It is widely believed that if you invite a speaker to speak at your forum, you try to portray the speaker in the best light possible which is a way of saying to the audience that this speaker's words is worth the time that the audience is devoting in listening to the speaker. Why Bollinger would choose to insult an invited guest by calling him "a petty and cruel dictator" is worth investigating. In maligning an invited speaker, Bollinger failed to get his facts right by calling Ahmadinejad, a "dictator". Even though the nominees on the ballot are cherry-picked by theocrats the election of Ahmadinejad is still a quasi-democratic process and he is not a dictator. He may walk of the talk of an bigot and a fascist but he is an elected official.

Runner's Heights: Ode to a Fire-Breathing Puppet

Cumulative mileage so far...8 miles.
Hey, I know that it doesn't seem like much but one day, these might all add up to a 100 miles, or even a 1000, perhaps...ah, let's just do this one day at a time. Despite being hobbled by the crimp in my soleus muscle, I limped through the last two miles with a great deal of circumspection nonetheless. Running is a constant balance between pushing yourself to the limit and pain management. Pain is supposed to tell you when to stop but you can push the boundaries of pain because pain is stimulus and your reaction to the stimulus determines the influence of pain. For those of us who refuse to act our age or accept physical limitations this balance is a malleable entity to be toyed with in nearly every encounter that demands physical endurance.

It was certainly bold of the Columbia University President Lee Bollinger to invite an inveterate bigot, a totalitarian despot, and a human-rights abuser, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to speak on campus. Ahmadinejad is not only ignorant about world history, as his denial of the Holocaust attests, he is clueless about the fundamental human right of people of any sexual orientation to live their lives free from any government fiat or duress. Like George Bush, he professes to be God's official mouthpiece and even confuses himself with his bizarre providential proclamations. "Allah" and "Quran" are at Ahmadinejad's beck and call, to be pulled out whenever logic and reasoning whither and flounder in his rambling rantings which happens a lot in his speeches. Perhaps the only difference here is that George Bush tolerates a despot who enters his country and allows him to make a speech at a high-profile university. It is unlikely that Bush would be allowed to speak at Tehran University and therein lies the fundamental difference between democracy and theocracy. As long as he is remote-controlled by those crusty-old Ayatollahs, it would be hard for this former engineering professor to know the difference between hard facts and bigoted, theological opinions.

Runners Heights: The Return of the Aquatic Mammal

Starting this week, I have decided to include a cumulative log of mileage that I run since the recovery from a pulled soleus muscle. I have heard from various other runners that I chat with that recovery from an injured soleus takes longer than usual and I am experiencing that myself. Since the injury, I am only imagining what it would be to like to run a daily 8-miler, something that I would look forward to. Now, if can manage 4 miles, I usually feelI am almost about to go over the precipice. But, today's also a big day for me as I am about to reduce the amount of coffee that I drink. The goal would be to reduce or mitigate my current dependence on it and I have done it before on my trips abroad. So, it can be done.

So, the mileage so far has been 4 miles. Here's to the challenge that this number increases faster than the amount of Carbon dioxide that we inject into the air. Well, if the earth gets warmer, there will be less wintry days and that's good news for runners, I guess. But of course, now they have deal with more bugs and mosquitoes and bikers who will also want to go out to enjoy the warmer climes. Triathlons might become more popular because as the ocean level rises, we have to think about going back to being water animals because the land that we have leave has become parched, fallow, and inhospitable. As the Arctic shelf of ice becomes smaller, it will be the responsibility of individual citizens to buy mirrors that reflect the sun's rays back to space, so that the earth may stay cooler. I see a distinct rise in the stock values of mirror manufactures and I nominate the first responsibility of holding up the mirrors to owners of giant SUV's (Ford Expedition and Nissan Armada come to find). Each limousine could be equipped with a giant mirror on the roof too.

Razr pics...It rained yesterday in LA forcing Sir Snail to look for a drier habitat.

Runner's Heights: Much Ado about Pens

As dusk creeps in sooner in this hemisphere, so are the evening bugs of all shapes and sizes. Most are harmless but annoying, nonetheless. And I am talking about the ones that get in your eyes and mouth while you are running. You could breathe through your nose and keep your mouth closed -- that's not hard to manage -- but it's certainly hard to keep your eyes shut. So, the solution that I came up with, since I don't wear glasses, is wearing clear glasses. Now, if you need to get a pair of clear glasses, get a pair that are anti-fog so that the warm mist from your breath doesn't cloud your vision. Also, my recommendation would be to get the glasses from a hardware store where they carry brands such as, Dewalt. I don't think that you need to get a super-expensive Nike or Oakley glasses -- just a decent polycarbonate lens would suffice. Now, it would be nice to have wiper on your glasses in case in you're running at 10 mph and a bug does splat on your lens.

I recently acquired a Waterman Philaes fountain pen and I must admit that it is one of best fountain pens that I have written with. Of course, I have never used any of the high end pens like Monte Blanc or Pelikan but I have used fountain pens of garden variety all though my school years. The Philaes pen has a very retro look representing a cigar and it has a very easy feel to it. The nib is smooth and point glides over effortlessly over the paper. I am using it with the Mont Blanc self-cleaning ink and it seems to be a very rewarding experience. I am almost tempted to get another one because whenever I like a product, I have a tendency to buy another one of the same. I was thinking, if this a pen in the lower end of the Waterman line, how the writing experience of a high-end Waterman pen would be. Here's a picture of the pen that I am currently using.

Runner's Heights: Old Blackwater Keep on Shootin'

Los Angeles has a diverse topography with hills and vales, but when you live on the flatter part of Los Angeles, you have to get creative if you need to give your quads and calves a good workout. One such venue for a quad meltdown is the Drake stadium in UCLA. The UCLA campus itself affords some nice hill-climbs but if you want a quick quad workout after a run in the Olympic-quality track, the stands in the Drake stadium offer a fine opportunity. Because I was so enamored with the night lights of West LA and Bel Air, I forgot to get an exact count of the aisles, but I think that there are at least 10 that run from the bottom to the top. There's a water fountain and restrooms at the top level and you'll be glad to have discovered them. The top level features some nice shady trees, in case you need a breather. And of course, the view is spellbinding with glimpses of Bel Air, Beverly Hills and Westwood. That's the ample consolation when you are clutching your waist and gasping for breath after the sixth jog up the stands.



Today, I stumbled upon some news that I find alarming. The forcible occupation of Iraq now involves securing coalition forces' interests with private security contractors. Blackwater USA, one such firm, was recently involved in a shooting massacre of at least 8 civilians in Iraq. Here's a paragraph from a news article that I read on news.yahoo.com about the incident due to which Blackwater had its license suspended or revoked in Iraq....

"The question of whether they (Blackwater USA) could face prosecution is legally murky. Unlike soldiers, the contractors are not bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Under a special provision secured by American-occupying forces, they are exempt from prosecution by Iraqis for crimes committed there.

How about, "Shoot first, don't ask and don't tell?"

Runner's Heights: The Civil Monkey and the Engineer

I must have stumbled upon a realization that is probably conventional wisdom among runners who habitually pound concrete pavement. I believe that if you primarily run on concrete pavements and you wear more rigid shoes for motion stability, you are probably putting more stress on your ankles and knees due to reduced cushioning. Bizarre as this may sound, you might be better off with an all-terrain shoe, like the New Balance 803. As I have said before, I am partial to New Balance because they are more easily available in E, EE, and EEE extra width sizes. So, I switched from my New Balance 766, which is an excellent running shoe, to 803's and it has made a significant difference to my day-after-run recovery. Now the 803 is slightly heavier than the 766 due to the shoe materials but when I am locked on to my Walkman and my endorphin high, I don't feel the difference in weight at all. Besides, the cushioning on the 803 puts less stress on my legs and I am able to go further.

There is an ongoing debate in India over the origins of a coral reef formation abutting the land masses of southern India and northern Sri Lanka. There are lobbies that are interested in dredging the reef, known as Ram Setu (bridge of Lord Ram) or Adam's Link, to make it a deeper passageway for ships. There were scant studies done on the environmental impact on the corals or on the marine life that thrives on this shallow waters. But a different kind of protest surfaced, spurred on by India's Hindu religious right, that claims that this reef was a bridge built by Lord Ram, a time-honored deity and one of the avatars of Vishnu. The Archaelogical Society of India, probably the only rational body so far that had time to investigate this, debunked the idea that any Lord Ram built this bridge and went so far as to question whether an individual in the person of Lord Ram even existed. Another classic science vs. religious-myth encounter and once again, science is takin' a whuppin'. If the exponents of the Ramayana are correct, then Lord Ram was the first to outsource the bridge-building to a batallion of rhesus monkeys. While Jan Goodall was busy studying the chimps of Gombe eat ants-on-a-stick, she should have just read the Ramayana to know that monkeys are deft at extremely high-level tasks, such as, ocean-quality bridge building. Never mind that it takes a diligent IIT-an four years to learn this trade, but a monkey, with some providential instructions, can be taught this trade. And the religious right might also propound the theory that, going by the fact that the bridge has endured over so many centuries, even survived a tsunami or two, simians make the best civil engineers. There was no monkeying around when that bridge was erected and that the six-simian quality process is the pre-cursor to six-sigma. Therefore, outsourcing, as we know it, started in India, and there's no questioning it. Now, that water's under the bridge.

Razr Pics South-East LA sky, 7:15 pm

Runner's Heights: The Aquatic Balance

What is most often the tangible rewards for a runner's labour of love? Well any one of these things -- a beautiful scenery, an endorphin rush, an increased confidence, and maybe, some restful sleep. Well, last evening, the reward was a spectacular Malibu sky rich with magenta and blues and streaks of vivid yellow. A camera can capture the moment, but no device, except the human psyche can capture the feeling and store it for as long as care to preserve it. Yesterday, I was planning to increase my mileage by just a little bit and so I stayed hydrated all day long. At some point during the day, I was wondering if I should keep track of the number of times that I was quaffing 12 oz cups of H2O but I lost track by afternoon -- next time, I will do a better job of keeping track of it so that I can do a body weight to water consumption report. Anyway, the hydration seems to have succeeded in keeping a headache at bay. The dreaded headache was what I had experienced after a long run a few days ago. Thanks to some running forums on the net, I discovered that a possible prevention would be to drink a lot of water and restore the electrolyte balance. I did drink a bottle of Gatorade too as part of the hydration. I have no headache but I did sprain my neck while backing up the car out of the garage, so either way, I am going to reach for my Vitamin M - Motrin.

Once again, picking up the list of clean, obligation-free restrooms in Los Angeles. Here's one that's near a major intersection, Jefferson and Sepulveda, in Culver City. I always manage to find some interesting cereals and fruit preservatives at this Big Lots store.

Big Lots #4166

5587 Sepulveda Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 391-5905Print address

Runner's Heights: Rowed to Extinction

Not all cross-training is created equally. I am talking about the off days from running when you wish to give those tired running muscles a rest. In the category of cross-training (or, X-training, as the new moniker goes), I believe that the elliptical trainer is in the big league. The reason that it trumps biking is because it also kicks in an upper body workout, similar to swimming or the rowing machine. If you are a land animal, like I am, and you never learned to swim, that option is certainly out and rowing machines are often a rarity these days in many gyms. Elliptic trainers, however, are in vogue and the only reason why they might have won over rowing machines is because they put less stress on the lower back. Since I am not an exercise specialist, I could not explain the dearth of rowing machines in the gyms today but, I must confess, I hardly use them myself anymore.

As I am getting closer to the end of Tom Friedman's book, The World is Flat, I am realizing that he is glossing over a lot of important material, including world events, with a very perfunctory approach. Throughout most of the book, he uses very rational constructs and peppers each of his theories and claims with supporting evidence that is verifiable. But towards the end, he starts juxtaposing plain opinion with hearsay, even quoting the inveterate propagandist and war-mongerer, Rumsfeld. Freidman never bothers to elaborate on whether Rumsfeld's claims are true or just part of his war-induced rhetoric. As if that was not enough, Freidman, using the help of his religious teacher, even ventures into theology and interpretation of his version of God's plan for this earth. An intellectual of Freidman's caliber should know that God and religion should remain in the realm of an individual's personal spiritual quest. As long as religion -- any religion -- pretends to represent the collective spiritual interest of many, it subsumes and kills individuality and betrays the uniqueness of the spirit in every individual. Freidman, of course, peppers Karl Marx in small doses throughout his book. But it was Marx who commented that "religion is the opiate of the masses." And like any other addictive drug, religion, should be administered in small doses, for medicinal purposes, and only for those who feel a need for it. You need only to look at world events around you today to see what happens when there is an overdose of religion -- tyranny, mayhem, degradation of women, and abuse of human rights. Trying to explain the gigantic spirituality of this world through the parochial and constrictive windows of a few major religions will only choke the human spirit, not free it so that it may realize its true potential.

Runner's Heights: Not the Apple of My Eye

I have to admit that the best way to develop a tempo/canter in running is to work with your favourite music. It's important that it is music that you like so that you can groove with it and your intuition tends to kick in when you are in the groove. At least, that's what I believe and neither do I have a degree in psychoanalysis nor did I spend a weekend in Austria walking the cobblestones that Freud might have stepped on. But the point that I am trying to make here is that I have become used to having an mp3 player for my runs -- better put -- I am quite dependent on it now. So, I have been trying out the Sony S2 Sports Digital Music Player (phew, that's a long name). If you must know the actual product name of this Sony Walkman, it goes by NWS203F BLACK. It's a sleek, slick 1GB player and had plenty of room for my favourite music. I have barely upto half-a-gig and I am wondering what else I am going to add to my Walkman repertory. But the best part of it was that I was able to import all my albums from my itunes library.

I am trying to phase my ipods out because I strongly believe that Apple should conform to and collaborate with the established standards of interfaces in the industry. I had an ipod Nano that required a special cable just to charge the device, not a standard USB A or B interface. I would be running circles around Apple or one of its dealers (who are few-and-far between even in Los Angeles) for a cable for an older Nano. I am might get some condescending looks from the young-uns at the Apple store because I hadn't upgraded to a 16 GB ipod and that I was a troglodyte for using a product that Apple stopped supporting, maybe a month after it released the product. And that's another thing -- I suspect that Apple thinks that backward compatibility is a reactionary idea that's only fit for retrogrades.

Here's a link to the article, Is Apple the New Microsoft?

So, I am rambling on and completely forgot about the Sony Walkman. I got it at Fries on sale for $50 which was a fair price, in my opinion. Here's my final verdict -- buy this product if you are intending to put a small, choice collection of your songs.

Pros:
- lightweight
- ergonomic; comes with a carrying case and strap
- quick charging
- software is easy to use


Cons:
- headphone quality is sub-standard

Runner's Heights: Living with the Legacy of RICE

Being strapped with a shin splint doesn't bother me that much any more. I have learned to live with it, work with it, and be at peace with it. I have tried shoes with cushioning, medial support, and stability and I have tried Rest, Ice, Compression, Extension(RICE) from time to time. I have also tried strengthening the shin muscles by balancing and lifting 35 lb weights with the flat part of my foot. But the shin splints seem to come back every year like the Category 5 hurricane that show up on the Atlantic coast with unsurprising regularity. And just like the rationalists duel with the religious faithfuls as to whether these catastrophes are God's idea of castigating us for our sins, I wonder if the shin splints are some providential retribution for my running sins. Now, let's just leave it at that...and as, to global warming and how it affects runners worldwide...well, that's a doctoral thesis for a runner getting her Ph.D...


"We could've used the company jet,
but this is more eco-friendly..."

More obligation-free restrooms in the Los Angeles area:

If you are in the USC area, near downtown Los Angeles:

The University Village Shopping Center
Neighborhood: South Los Angeles
3375 S Hoover St
Los Angeles, CA 90007 (310) 312-4570

This village was erected during the 1984 Olympics and features a food court with clean, obligation-free restrooms. To find the restrooms, follow the signs to the restroom inside the food court. Being adjacent to the quaint USC campus, the Center is frequented by USC students looking for a bite and a conversation. The food is average, at best, but some stalls do change hands over the years.

Here's the Google map link to the center.
The center is bordered by Hoover Street, Jefferson Boulevard, McClintock Avenue, and 30th Street.