Substituting pains

Sometimes, no, many a times, I wonder why we run? I try to find reasons here and there; I draw silly analogies; sometimes I strike gold.

A long time ago when my beard and hair was all black and not politely called Salt N' Pepper, I dated a girl for a very short period and she was a cutter. I'm stressing on the short period since I didn't drive her to cutting - I was a good boy. By cutting, I don't mean that she was a wood cutter or a lumberjack. She used to cut herself - self harm. Most of her scars were on her limbs.

I had forgotten about her scars but recently I've noticed many runners at events and at group runs, who have quite a collection of these cuts. Some are even deep and wide, which means that there was repeated cutting of the same spot to prolong the satisfaction and relief from cutting. Yes, a cutter can derive relief and satisfaction from cutting since in the simplest of psychological explanations -  it replaces an existing pain deep within with a new one. The cutter can control and relish the pain and forget the one rooted inside him.

Cutting is ok, I guess. Your body, your choice, your beauty, go full graffiti. As long as you don't kill me or yourself, use your body how you want. Go you!

There is a tribe in Papua New Guinea called the Kanigara, which creates a crocodile pattern on the skin through scarring as a right of passage.

Kanigara tribal

Coming back to running, what I find wonderful and bewildering (in a good way) is to see that these runners limbs' around me only have scars from the past. I think they've found a new substitute for the cutting. The pain from running is the antidote to the pain within.

Mental calluses

Go for a run, endure the workout; wake up and repeat. Accumulate tiredness over the days, then rest for a day and commence again. Over and over, again and again, the cycle continues.

Physical changes will appear and are easy to notice. Body fat melts, more veins appears, some gauntness, a little muscle here and there with a visible permanence of fatigue.

What about the mind during all this? It must be changing too if we are willing it day in, day out to instruct the limbs to move faster, slower, climb a hill, stop, repeat, drink water, race, receive the pain, ignore pain, focus, eat etc. 

There must be a lot of emotional callus in this process. Ever growing, ever hardening and layering up to ensure that the workouts continue but forever invisible unlike the calluses on our feet and hands.

During a run, I can imagine the mind executing its own separate workout which is connected to the physical workout, yet unconnected since the mind is working hard only to send instructions to the limbs. It is not a part of the physicality and momentum of the limbs; it is the creator and owner of both.

The effort is perceivable in the limbs and other organs but the mind is also steadily getting tired. It is also working out. All the instructions and all those thoughts, travelling at light speed through the nerves in order to reach the limbs and then travelling back with news of pain and ecstacy.

The brain can’t idle. It is and has to be hyperactive so that it can supplement the “will” to finish a workout and coordinate the limbs and other organs.

Even at race pace the limbs are moving like a snail, since their master is managing an orchestra of millions of neural musicians in a span of milliseconds. Working, overworking, stressing and beautifully managing all the thoughts which create the physical momentum. The mind thoughtfully caresses and convinces the limbs to carry on but also shows its wrath when the limbs slow down and attempt to disobey it. Sometimes it loses the battle with the limbs but usually it ensures that the goal is achieved. It must be tough work and every workout must be making the mind stronger and more callused.

I've recently experienced how these mental calluses accumulate and help over time. A few days ago, three of us ran our personal best with a lot less training and worse physical fitness than last year for the same race.

The calluses in the mind allowed us to ignore the pain. 

Our minds have become cruel over time, but only for the good.

Importance of Testosterone in running

Yesterday, 33 year old, two time Olympian and American half marathon record holder (59:43), Ryan Hall announced his retirement from professional running. He did this just a few weeks before the U.S. Olympic Trials. The criticality of the decision makes it certain that the man has given it some serious thought.

Injuries and low testosterone levels have been outlined by him as the reason for announcing his retirement.

Injuries are easy to understand and diagnose but the same cannot be said about testosterone. Men nowadays have way less testosterone as compared to our forefathers. Poor diet, bad products (food and lifestyle products), stress (mostly work and money related), lack of exercise (or too much of it, as I will explain below) etc. are some of the main reasons for this.

Testosterone plays an important role throughout the body in men (and women too). It affects the brain, bone and muscle mass, fat distribution, the vascular system, energy levels, genital tissues, and sexual functioning. The opposite of testosterone is estrogen. Women are predominant in estrogen and men in testosterone. Too much of estrogen, and someone will wife you.

A drop in testosterone levels can contribute to, diminished erectile quality, changes in mood, reduced intellectual and cognitive function, fatigue, depression and anger, decrease in muscle mass and strength, decreased body hair, skin alterations, decreased bone mass/mineral density and increase in abdominal fat mass. Basically, with low testosterone you will become the old lady next door.

Endurance exercise like distance running, cycling and swimming have been shown to reduce testosterone levels in a male body significantly.

So a lower base level of testosterone which is common in men nowadays, coupled with testosterone losses from endurance exercise sounds like a recipe for disaster for amateur athletes who train hard but it seems won’t get hard. Moreover, training will suffer due to low testosterone levels since energy levels will be low, mood swings will be present and fatigue will be holding you back. There will be higher chances of a burnout and bad race timings.

Research has shown that chronic exposure to prolonged endurance training can result in disturbances within the reproductive physiological and endocrinological systems of humans (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2675257) and this is probably why men’s testosterone levels are lowered by endurance training.

In another study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1899423), over 6 months of training, the men increased weekly running mileage to an average of 56 km/week. The result was that total testosterone and free androgen index levels decreased significantly.

Endurance exercise has been said to develop “exercise-hypogonadal male condition". Specifically, men with this condition exhibit basal (resting-state) free and total testosterone levels that are significantly and persistently reduced. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16268050)

Interval training on the other hand has been shown to increase testosterone (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23310924). In this study, interval exercise session was repeated periods of 90-sec treadmill running at 100-110% maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and 90-sec active recovery at 40% VO2max for 42-47 min. The steady state exercise session consisted of a continuous 45-min run at 60-65% VO2max (like an easy 8-10km run). The study suggested that interval sessions might produce a higher turnover of free testosterone than the slow long endurance run.

Such reduction in testosterone is not limited to just running. In this study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8861670) even endurance swimming was producing the same low levels of testosterone. Cycling also leads to a same “unhappy ending”.

Moreover, after the age of 30 in men, the levels of testosterone decrease by approximately 1% per year. Your bank balance may be going up but something else which is as vital is going down.

Flo Rida was right when he sang that

For athletes who race ultras and Ironman or who have a high weekly mileage (cycling or running), it is important to protect your “family jewels”, your “Mc Nuggets”, your….oh you get the point. The ladies and races need us and we must oblige.

Some ways to naturally increase your testosterone levels or at least maintain them are given below. I have already read the scientific papers on these, so I won’t bore you with those since you already have enough on your plate and will have more (literally). Rest assured that the methods below are not only simple but also are the easiest:

FOOD

Make the following a part of your diet:

a.               Cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower

b.               Pomegranate

c.               Garlic

d.               Meat (provides Zinc which is essential for testosterone production)

e.                Eggs

f.                Omega 3 Fatty Acids (present in Eggs, meat and mustard oil are easy sources)

g.               Vitamin D (go stand in the sun for some time. Fair & Lovely is for douchebags)

h.               Bananas

i.         Fat (good fat like Desi Ghee, olive oil, mustard oil)
j.         Black lentil

STRENGTH TRAINING

The most important non-food source of testosterone is strength training and within strength training, the best exercises are compound exercises like Squats, Deadlifts, Pull ups and Bench Press.

Moreover, if you are performing strength training and endurance training in the same session then the order of exercise should be endurance exercise followed by strength training. This study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25028991) has shown that testosterone increases more if endurance training is followed by strength training.

CHEMICAL AVOIDANCE

Avoid Shampoos, Body Wash, Hair Gels etc. as much as possible. 

Stick to regular soap mostly and use shampoos, body wash and other similar products only when necessary. 

Look for the following names on the product label since these ingredients cause a reduction in testosterone:

a.                Parabens- methylparaben, butylparaben and any other word ending with paraben.

b.               Sulfates- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate etc.

c.                Organic alcohols- Propylene Glycol, Polyethylene Glycol etc.

ALCOHOL

This one actually hurt while writing. Everyone likes alcohol. The Beer Mile should be an Olympic Sport. 

Who doesn’t like alcohol? Your parents, but only when you drink it.

Alcohol is anyway linked to low testosterone levels. So moderation in alcohol intake is the key. Now the real bad news is the Hops in beer. You see, before the German Beer Purity Law was introduced in the 16th century (not sure), hops were not used for making beer. Other herbs were used and these herbs made the beer tonic like and good. The beer of olden times would make you feel like Thor and you’d be ready to bring the hammer down and nail it….all of it.

The erstwhile herbs in beer increased energy and aggressiveness in men. Then some asshole found out that women were dozing off too much in fields of hops while harvesting and they discovered that the extremely high estrogen content in hops was the cause. So, the Church decided to replace the good herbs in beer with hops by passing the German Beer Purity Law, in order to control men. Any beer maker contravening this law was severely punished.

This study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11134162) found out that the women who pick up hops by hand, experience disturbances in their menstrual cycles due to the extremely high estrogenic activity in the hops. The results of the study indicate that the endocrine properties of hops and hop products are due to the very high estrogenic activity of 8-prenylnaringenin and concern must be expressed about the unrestricted use of hops in herbal preparations for women.

Now, the modern beer has hops as an ingredient and this makes your beer super rich in estrogen. Estrogen is the opposite of testosterone. Do the math.

A friend in need is a friend indeed.

As far as the post race beer is concerned, there is more bad news. A study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8800389) was conducted to see the combined effect of alcohol and physical exercises on testosterone. As per this study, physical stress immediately before alcohol administration prolonged the depressant effect of alcohol on testosterone secretion.

Is running a hobby?

I’ve thought of “regular running” as a hobby or pastime and I’ve heard people claim that it’s a/their hobby but I’ve realized that regular running can’t be considered as a hobby. It is too intense, soul leeching (with the constant ups and downs) and difficult if pursued correctly and regularly to be a hobby, and if pursued for leisure or for amusement then the irregularity and lack of commitment will take it far away from the realm of being considered as a hobby.

A hobby would be something which is regular yet easy, relaxing, amusing and entertaining like fishing, gardening, collecting stamps, tasting scotch, building model aircrafts or feeding ducks.

Looks do-able. Cardio required only for lifting beer and sandwiches.

Regular running is more like being thrown into an everyday challenge or maybe akin to voluntarily taking up a (hard) lifestyle which ultimately translates into a habit. Every running session seems like an upheaval in an otherwise sedentary life. Maybe the difficulty and intensity of a regular training regimen is the reason why there are so many irregular runners.

Hard and structured training for a full marathon through let us say a weekly mileage of 70-80 kms for several months to just run one marathon does not seem like a hobby per se. Puking your guts out during or after a session of intervals doesn't sound something to eagerly look forward to. Collecting running shoes, certificates and medals without running sounds more like a hobby. Playing football or badminton every weekend sounds relaxing and I’d call that a hobby.

If pursued with intensity then regular running can encompass every aspect of your life. For a good workout, and sustainable and continuous improvements in running, even the smallest of day to day activities have to be monitored in order to synchronize these with your running schedule. Everyday decisions have to be constantly undertaken such as, sleep enough and on time, wake up on time, eat correct, don’t drink that beer, don’t lift too heavy weights, don’t lift weights that light, think less about how hard it is, ignore the pain, let the injury heal, manage office work, learn about running techniques etc.

So relaxing. My hobby is to regularly feel like dying and then question why I do this.

The decisions during a day in order to maintain a good running schedule are endless and to be honest I don’t think it’s as fun as it’s made out to be but for some reason regular runners endure this life and the training. It seems more like a habit and a life choice which attracts a particular mindset, rather than a hobby. It ultimately becomes a lifestyle in which you keep questioning the rationale for engaging in it.

It’s fun but only sometimes and usually when you stop and think about it.

Odd Even Cars and Captain Planet

Hearing the objection and nod of disapproval from numerous people to Delhi Government’s odd-even car proposal, has made me realize how unconnected and unconcerned most of us are with the environment and the most basic and necessary of things which is required for our survival- AIR.

Living in Delhi has been equated to living in a gas chamber by the High Court of Delhi. Our air pollution levels are off the charts. 

Runners and cyclists are inhaling several times more of the air pollutants. This is not a city where running, cycling, walking or living is feasible anymore. Yet, many of us are trying to shoot down the Delhi Government’s much needed initiative of even-odd cars or arguments from the supporters of the proposed rule.

Maybe the reason for that is that the people of Delhi cannot connect the relationship between clean air and healthy living. However, runners and cyclists in Delhi and elsewhere are more aware of the menace of bad air and they also seem to be more proactive and receptive to the even-odd rule. 

It seems that the non-athlete sedentary Delhi-ite has not yet been able to fathom how bad the situation is and how much worse it will become if no action is taken immediately and if actions which are being undertaken are thwarted for flimsy reasons.

The regular Delhi person seems to be content with the, if I can’t see it then it’s not bad or if I close my eyes, then the monster will vanish approach. Forget the obliviousness and apathy of adults; our children’s lungs are already compromised and will further deteriorate.

Remember the superhero, Captain Planet. Nope? Or do you remember him only faintly? Don’t fret. I can understand. He is one of the most basic superheroes. He, (i) is not good looking; (ii) is not overly muscular; (iii) has no background childhood horror stories or tough upbringing or emotional issues that you can relate to; (iv) has no over the top superpowers; and (v) he is in general a very amiable character.

Due to all these “shortcomings” which don’t give him an "edge", Captain Planet never became as famous as Superman or Batman. Hell, even Ant Man is now more famous than him. Captain Planet is like the guy in class that you would say Hi to everyday but will conveniently forget when you graduate. 

But unlike Batman and Superman and other superheroes he was possibly the only one who wanted to save our planet from pollution with the help of the people. His superpower in fact generated when all the kids combined their powers. He was basically a lesson from his creator/writer that we need to get together and save the planet.  Captain Planet was the only superhero who told us to protect our environment and not pollute it at the end of every episode.

His theme song was:

Earth!

Fire!

Wind!

Water!

Heart!

GO PLANET!

With your powers combined I am Captain Planet!

Captain Planet, he's our hero,

Gonna take pollution down to zero,

He's our powers magnified,

And he's fighting on the planet side

Captain Planet, he's our hero,

Gonna take pollution down to zero,

Gonna help him put us under,

Bad guys who like to loot and plunder

"You'll pay for this Captain Planet!"

We're the planeteers,

You can be one too!

'Cause saving our planet is the thing to do,

Looting and polluting is not the way,

Hear what Captain Planet has to say:

"THE POWER IS YOURS!!"

Nice guys never win

Captain Planet was quite possibly the only superhero who wanted to really add value to our life and save us and the future generations from the menace of pollution created by humans. He was an animated lesson in environment protection.

However, just like we ignored him since it was convenient, we are ignoring the Delhi Government’s initiative and the benefits of the odd-even car rule since it will not be convenient to follow the said rule.

All the objections that I have heard till now can be dealt with.

Last mile connectivity at work place is absent is not a correct statement. There may be less connectivity but there cannot be an absence. A commercial establishment will never be set up in the middle of a desert. No profits can be made if a business is run in the middle of nowhere. If not taxis, buses or rickshaws, then there will be some local “entrepreneur” who will be running an auto service. Maybe you could give walking a shot! Your employer in order to protect his profits will ensure that some sort of transport is provided. Your colleagues can come and pick you up on bad days or till the time arrangements are made.

What will happen in case of a medical emergency? I trust you will agree that no cop will stop a car if he can see a patient in pain inside. Moreover, ambulances will move faster if there are less cars on the roads.

People are leading normal lives in smaller cities and villages where transport is negligible. Even with the odd-even car rule, we will still have a hundred times more connectivity and transport facilities.

For every objection there is some rational explanation, solution or alternative. The only problem is that it is inconvenient. The government is figuring out solutions to loopholes and they are devising ways to control any chaos that may arise from the rule. But shooting down a policy that allows you, your family and future generations to live a healthy life is not humane or rational, just because it will inconvenience you and just because you do not (at this point in time) realize the importance of clean air.

I’m not even venturing into the fact that less traffic on the road will mean substantial time savings which can be used to lead a happier and less stressed life. 

I'd use the extra time, low traffic and clean air to rigorously pursue outdoor activities. I wish there were more cyclists and runners in Delhi. They would have been able to influence those who do not realize.

Read this http://www.firstpost.com/india/india-races-past-china-in-pollution-delhi-air-one-and-a-half-times-worse-than-beijing-2540114.html for another reminder of how dire the situation has become.

Curiosity

Humans are extremely curious by nature. 

I'm not just talking about science and experiments. We spend a ridiculous amount of time in knowing and learning about things that we will never even put to use or we repeat actions even if they lead to failure, with the hope that there will be one successful result.

We like to know about the top speed of our cars. We want to know the top speed of our neighbour's car. We make sure that we know how many seats are in the President's air plane. 

A child dismantles and thereby destroys his toys, simply to know what is inside. Our astronauts wanted to know what is beyond earth even before they could conclusively determine what use the beyond would serve us, and off they went.

We've created social media to know "everything". We create world records, just to see if it can be done.

Our morbid curiosity, makes us stop or slow down next to car accidents, not to help the victims or alleviate the arguments between the drivers, but just to know what happened and then off we go.

We watch videos on YouTube and then keep clicking on the suggested videos and after one hour we regret the time wasted since nothing concrete was achieved. That one hour was just curiosity tricking you with the hope of finding something.

Running, I understand is another form of satisfying our curiosity. You ran a PR/PB in a race so the next thought is to see if you can beat it. Can I go faster?. You ran a 50 km ultra and after finishing you'd like to see if in the next race, you could run longer, maybe 75 kms.

Just like in science where the curiosity of scientists is leading to developments, the curiosity of athletes and amateur athletes is pushing the boundary of sports.

This I believe is the reason for people running and training harder, year after year. 

Recently, I saw a few posts on Faceboook after the conclusion of Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and many runners asked a rhetorical question; should I go for a faster time next year?.

We know that the body came with an expiry date plus age progression related slowness. It is almost our duty to see what we can do with it before we no longer exist or before we are unable to exercise. How fast can we go? How long can we go? 

The curiosity is creating better athletes and pushing the limits and it does not make any sense to not be curious when it comes to your own backyard experiment- training and racing.

Racing and its purity

Racing is the purest form of running.

A runner never starts racing to win money, accolades, admiration or external emotional support.

A runner starts racing for purely selfish reasons; a desire to be faster; a desire to be better. 

Racing see-saws on a desire to prove to oneself that there are no limits. Anything is possible and that time only moves forward.

This selfishness and self-centeredness of racing is in fact its purity. All racers don’t win and become famous, yet they end up racing even as losers (even constant losers race).

Pacing, charitable runs, coaching, organising races, writing about running, selling running etc., all have one thing in common- vested interests.

A pacer in a race is simply seeking social admiration and accolades.

A coach who trains you for running is there to merely engage in business through the sport.

A race organiser is merely a middleman between the sport and the participant.

Charitable runners are not connected to the running. It is just a means to an end (the charitable cause) which is unrelated to the sport or the charitable runner is seeking admiration.

Writing about running is not the act of running and therefore the dissociation from racing is omnipresent.

A person who is selling running (or running products) to you is simply a salesman of a product with remote or negligible connections to the product/sport.

A racer on the other hand is a pure imbecile. He just yearns to improve and compete, even if that means that there is an absence of money, social admiration and accolades. His fervour and his desire are to simply become a better version of himself and defeat the others. Be more, try more, be even more, keep trying for more.

The selfishness is a gateway to the purity. The agenda is crystal clear; constant improvement. The purpose is clear; it is for myself.