[Poem] When I run...

LEL Registration

[My experience of LEL registration last weekend]

One of Britain’s greatest cycling challenges
A ride from London to Edinburgh and back
Covering 1400 kms in 116 hours
Through Britain’s most beautiful scenery.

It is been two years 
After the 1200km Paris Brest Paris
The legs are now itching 
For another long one.

Seats limited to a few hundred,
Will I make it, I wondered?
Everyone wants to apply
But demand exceeds supply.
The whole world wants to ride
Registration a big flood tide.

The challenge commenced 
Not for the legs, but the hands
Everyone very tensed
“Who has the fastest fingers?”

Tickets sold in three slots 
One hundred and fifty in a lot
I need be faster than
The Tour-de-France sprinter
On my hands, not the legs.

Purchase proves daunting
With server capacity wanting
I soon discover 
That it goes frequently undercover.

A little after Sunday midnight
The first slot opened 
Like bulls rushing out
Mad frenzy on the keyboard
More dangerous than the sword
Everybody clicked on register
The icon whirred and whirred
“Internal Server Error” 
It said before it died.

Heart racing
Fingers pounding
Keyboard jolting
Packets racing
Router pulsating
I feverishly typed
But bits go to nowhere
404- Server found
Aargh…

A few minutes later 
It was pure silence 
The message on the screen
“All slots sold out”
Just two minutes it took to quash
Two years of eager waiting. 

A few hours later 
Slot two opened
Far worse it turned out to be
Sold out before I started.

Angry and upset
Wish I had a curette
Would have committed a crime
If not for the one last time.

Now very sharp and agile
All senses peaked, a moment of Zen
I could sense the link opening one last time.

Clicking faster than light
I reversed time
The packets made it in
A sweet sublime.

Victorious at last 
I have made it to the start line,
The real fun begins end of July
The ride to the finish line
My longest one, that I hope will be divine.

Poem - [Creative Congestion]

Haiku : [caterpillar] crosses the highway

Kyle Maynard - Salute you !

Shadow disappears...

Digital emotions

Sunshine - A Haiku

I dreamt of poetry - A Haiku

Single speed bike - My feeling

Blessed

Legs pounding on the road 

Music thumping in the ears

Gait in harmony with the beat

The wintry chill just right 

The lazy sun extinguishing the night

The fog evaporating to a golden glow

The radiance seeps into me

Warming me gently

Filling me with love 

Uneven terrain makes me dance

Chaotic traffic makes me prance

Nothing bothers me, am in a state of trance 

For as long as I run

Under the warm winter sun 

It is sheer bliss

Caressed by nature’s kiss

Blessed am I

To be still inside

And poetry gushes out.

Singularity

The Clock

Autumn

The price

Vardah

Lunch time

Mindfully enjoying the sweat.

The pores in the head opened slowly and micro droplets were squeezed out. They merged to form a thin line of sweat that meandered slowly through the hairs. The many tiny rivulets flowing through the hairs gently massaged the scalp tickling it lightly and merged to form big drop. It poised gingerly on the top of the head, and as I took the next step, it rolled across the forehead rapidly, sliding down the nose then then gently falling into the road, a light moist spray touching the lips. The dry tongue longing for wetness darted from inside the mouth caught the spray spreading the salty taste of pure sweat across.

Like the wildebeests in the Masai river crossing waiting for one them to take the step across so that they can follow mindlessly, the other drops followed this drop, falling off the face from all directions. The tiny balls of sweat gently caressed the face, a blissful feeling that I did not want to wipe away with a handkerchief. It was wonderfully mindful and this continued for quite a few kilometres.

Running is not just about two feet and a Garmin with eyes darting at time and distance, it is about feeling every sensation, dispassionately observing it, becoming lost in time completely immersed with yourself.

The above was my experience on my 10km Thursday run at Tokyo, a warm and humid day, a maiden run in my new shoes. The New Balance Response 2.0 snugly fitted my feet, the soles more flexible and lighter than my Nike Pegasus 2 making the maiden run pleasurable.

Friday run turned out be cooler, in fact there was a mild drizzle, another relaxed 10k run, the last one in this trip before I head back on Sat. Not a bad week, with the mileage counter at 50km despite spending two days of the week in planes. Sayonara Tokyo.


OCT 1, 2016

Ode to the K2K Cyclists

(Kashmir to Kanyakumari) 

Tanned I may be, but toned I have become,
Sunburnt outside, but warmth inside.

Sun all day, does not diminish my fun
Wind not always kind, but I do not mind

Cold it was, Bold I am, certainly will not fold.
Crowds cheer, wish it was with a Beer.

Miles I go with minimal sleep
I shall rest only when I can go no further
Where I meet my Beautiful Maiden (Kanyakumari).

Bliss in 12KM