For all those who don't know me, I am 25, recently married with the most beautiful girl I've even met - Flounder! I love running, especially marathons and have started playing football for my company's football club.

It has been quite a while since I last visited LJ, let alone update it. I have very fond memories of using LJ... I used to express my feelings for Flounder... Just to have her call me back & express her reaction.

LJ was also the first place where I wrote that I want to start running marathons. 4 years later... I've done a few of those; including the London Marathon - which I consider my best EVER.

From the time I last posted, I've moved further in my work. What I do now is more satisfying. I have been able to control my temper a lot more & can understand the implications of not doing so.

As I write this post, thousands of people are affected by the horrendous earthquake in Japan. There is also a possibility of a nuclear threat. I just want to close my eyes & pray that things don't get worse from here... And the Japanese are able to recover. I don't want to sit in my bedroom & say I know what it would be like to face an Earthquake - cause I don't. All I can say is, "you survived Hiroshima & Nagasaki, you can survive this one too."

On that note, I am gonna end this post. Later :)

As the new year dawns, I look back on the 12 months that just passed by... what a year it has been!!

The top 5 things for me in 2009:

1. I got married to the most beautiful girl I've even met - Flounder (Monaz)!!!
2. I finished the Mumbai Marathon!
3. Had a great trip to Goa!
4. Managed to raise over INR 150,000 for various charity causes from colleagues vs. INR 65,000 last year!
5. Played a couple of games for the company football team ... which by the way plays in the fifth division of Indian football!

The worst 5 things for me in 2009:

1. Lost my mother-in-law and someone even more special...
2. I am no longer friends with some of the best friends I had at the start of 2009...
3. Too many arguments in the year with loved ones... I wish I could work on that...
4. Did not add to my academic profile or even learn a new language.. feel stagnant in that direction...
5. Missed my financial goals by a very large margin...

Things to look forward to in 2010 (In no particular order):

1. Finish at least 2 Marathons (including the Mumbai Marathon on January 17th) and the Bangalore Ultra Marathon (100k - a crazy thing to do)...
2. Make it to the first 11 of my company's football squad...
3. Add to my academic certifications and work on goals I promised Flounder...
4. Meet financial goals set by me...
5. Raise even more money for charitable causes...
6. Start a family (babies!!)...
7. Buy my wife the diamond jewellery I promised for 2010... There goes my savings :)

Maybe a lot more that I want to do... like learn to play a guitar, learn a new language (French), maybe get a promotion in my job.. etc. But my priorities will remain the ones mentioned above... lets see how many I could meet. It was just under three years back that I wrote on this blog that I wanted to complete a marathon... and I eventually did!! So.. fingers crossed!

Now in the third week and i've completed 40km of the scheduled 45km so far. I've also attended a 3-hour football practice session and an hour of cross training yesterday. I am getting better i guess.

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I went to play with my company's football team last saturday. Having completed a marathon earlier i expected that i have enough in me to go through the fitness drills and then the practice match. Was I in for a rude shock!

The practice session was scheduled on the beach. I had always heard that it is more difficult to play on the beach than on a regular pitch. After the initial warm up, we started the fitness drills. I thought the sprints would be easy considering I am a runner. I realised that the guys are at a much higher level of fitness than i am.

The game was even more horrible for me. I started as a right full-back, then moved to the right of the midfield and eventually to a goalkeeper position. I wont add much but say that it was a 0.5/10.

I will be attending all further sessions on Saturdays. I hope that someday I'll be able to play in the team.

anyways, running is going on well and I have a 5km run scheduled for today. Hopefully it should pass without problems.


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I've started my training for the Mumbai marathon scheduled for January next year. I ran about 3.5 km on Monday and about 5 km yesterday. I am scheduled to run 3 km today. I have slightly stiff legs because i run outside where the temprature is about 30-32 degrees celcius and then i come to my office gym which is air-conditioned and hence the temprature is about 20 degrees celcius. The sudden cooling down hurts a bit when i am strength training. I hope to continue and complete a strong marathon this time around.

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Yay.. I got married on the 23rd of July. I am so happy to be with Flounder. Life is amazing and I wish I was married earlier.

I am preparing for the Mumbai marathon and I hope to do much better this time around.


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The training begins tomorrow. I'll be running about 2000km in the next 24 weeks in my preparations for my first ever 100km race which is scheduled on November 15, 2009. It is the Bangalore Ultra Marathon to be held in Bangalore, India.

I have already started preparations and for the last couple of weeks, I have run just about every day (at least 5 days a week) for 1 hour each. I hope that I can cross the finishing line in November which is my ultimate goal. There is a 12 hour time limit and hence I am not sure if I will be able to make it happen.

Anyways, will keep posting ...

I managed to completed the Mumbai Marathon in Jan this year and with very sore feet. So, now I am planning on the Bangalore Ultra Marathon to be held in November. The race categories include 50k, 75k and 100k runs amongst others. I'll start training this Monday and depending on how it goes, I'll select the race distance when the time comes.

Anyways, I want to post a few pics of the run and my coveted medal and will do so soon.

This is the movie that started it all ... Believe it or not ... I fell in love with Flounder when we were watching this movie together. You must think this is a bummer! But it's so true.

So, when Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa was hitting the theaters in India on December 19th, I was not going to wait. I booked the best seats in town for myself and Flounder at Fame Adlabs Cinemasin Andheri. We hd a good time watching the movie and I definitely think the movie was fitting of a sequel. Only if the Madagascar Penguins were funnier. I thought they were the only disappointment by the high standards set for them from the first movie.

But wait!!! I was'nt going to be hapy seeing it only once considering the important this movie holds in my life. I took my team members for this movie on Saturday the 20th and saw this twice in two days. And did they enjoy or what! I did not have to ask but the laughs I heard during the movie said it all. I hope I did not play a spoiler as I was saying the dialogues most of the time as the movie played. I could remember every moment of it just by watching it once the previous day.

To top it up, I saw the Madagascar on a movie channel early in the morning on Saturday and that made my day better.

I realised two very important things:

1. The best way to keep your team together is by keeping them happy. The more they laugh at work and with their fellow team members; the less likely are they to quit. I take every resignation from my team members as though I am being fired as their boss! And that's so true.

2. The reason I started falling in love with Flounder while watching this movie with her was because she has given me a reason to laugh more freely in life. To recognize that I will be happy as long as I am with someone who loves me; and who better than Flounder.

I guess, I am too sleepy now, but will write more...

P.S. The one thing that I learnt the most from the original movie and what was starkingly missing from the sequel is the biggest lesson of my life.

When things are not going your way and you feel angry or depressed, Just smile and wave boys .. Just smile and wave!

It usually happens to a casual blogger like me ... always!!!

I just logged in today to find out I have not posted in 58 weeks!!! I understand that I have been busy; but I've had one of the best years of my life.

I missed the Jan 2008 Mumbai Marathon goal. Yes, all the reasons cannot explain the bad training. I have learnt my lessons (partially) and have trained in a slightly better manner this year. Supplements, less running, more down to earth goals, etc. all have helped me. Hopefully, I should be able to finish the 2009 Mumbai Marathon which is due in a few weeks.

I travelled to the UK on a company project and attended a Football friendly between England and USA. That was my first live international football game and the fact that it was at the Wembley Stadium made is unforgettable!!

My relationship with Flounder has matured a lot and we are geared up for marriage ... or so I think! Sometimes, you just feel the butterflies in your stomach. But I am happy to say that I will be getting married soon ... 14th Feb, 2009 ... St. Valentine's Day! I am excited.

I have been able to control my temper a lot more and have been excellent on the people front at work and that's a big achievement.

Also, I am proud to say that my mom is fully supporting my efforts for the 2009 marathon.

Hopefully, I will keep posting more often.

Till then ...