Securian Winter Run 2016 - Half Marathon - Race recap

Time really flies off. Or I think I have completely forgotten that I have a blog. Or I was disappointed by my time in this race and did not feel it special enough to post. But it's a race with some unique experiences. So yes here comes my speedily written post.

I have signed up for Securian Winter Run for last 2 years. This year I showed up at the start venue,  like just before closing time for packet pickup; not a few hours in advance like last year.

It was cheerfully crowded. I like this race's waiting area - indoor on a January morning and perfect distance from car park. There are food samples, hot chocolate, Frosty the mascot and warm-up routine by Y.

The Half Marathon race route was usual from the Securian Building via St Paul downtown to Shepard Road and then back. Water stops were 3-4 miles apart. The race morning started out at 30F and soon it was 40F at the peak race time. It qualifies as hot, but nevertheless the water -stop spacing were perfect. As usual, there was enough race crowd till 10K turnaround - note the 5Kers and 10Kers start 5-10 minutes after Half Marathoners. Then after the 10K turnaround, I was left alone. I could see a pink-jacketed female half-a-mile ahead, and all I could do was follow her; not letting her go off my sight; else I would be truly alone in the back. This went one for another hour.

Soon the leaders could be seen coming back after the turnaround. Gwad I hate this part of loopback races. I am not embarrassed, I just hate their guts/training/skills. So the leader came, I don't hate him much. Then the next bunch of high-achievers, and soon the middle packers. I avoided eye contact with any, by looking to my right at the mountainous cliff. (Revelation music - Oh so that why I never have any memory of the river during the Securian race. I was wondering last week, if that part of the river is completely frozen, but did not remember. Coz I never looked at it !). But most of them murmured encouragements to me. At this point, somebody called out my name, and it turned out to be my training team Coach Beth. It felt good, so I hugged her, then off our way.

I had avoided looking behind me all this while. Thinking I was maybe last & proud of it. I didn't want the pressure of finding someone else behind me, and then competing to stay ahead of her, which I knew I wouldn't be able to and then be dead last again. Or know that, yes I was the last anyway and be disappointed. But turnaround is when it is inevitable and it is revealed where I stand. So here I saw there was one lady a quarter mile behind me. I shouted some encouragements at her. By now its like 7 mile and exhausted enough to not really compete. Soon she caught up with me, chatted and then went ahead.

I have come away with a new superstition now. That other talkers take away my energy. Ofcourse it is because I always train alone without conversing with anyone. And in a race anytime someone says a sentence, I overcompensate by jabbering away. Then that person goes way past me and soon disappears somewhere in the lead.

And by last 3 mile, we 3 had traded places. The last one was front of me and Pink jacket was behind me. And when I was in mile 10 or so , I saw an old guy on the other side. I didn't believe he was in Half because that would be like 6 miles for him. In the last mile, a girl in Ragner shirt ran with me and gave me a pep talk. I swear all those volunteers who stayed back for us last benchers - Big Thank You !

When I finished, the clock showed 3:03 hours. I was like, "Shucks where could I have saved those 3 minutes !" I mean with my pathetic non-training during the dark fall months with icy outdoors combined with a move, I didn't expect any better performance. But this was worse than last year's finish.

I made my way to the Securian building which was completely deserted by now. And this is why I never get to partake the freebies at the end of the race ! But volunteers had kept my bag and food ready for me. I limped around and settled on the granite bench. The girl in Pink jacket came. Once we were fed and drunk and basically alive, we chatted a bit. She is a young girl and was running with a bad knee. I lingered around for my ride to come. After more than half hour, that old guy came. I was so shocked to see him that yes he was in the Half. I wanted to help and we could find his bag but nothing more.

This time though, my run gear were perfection.

1. C9 cap and Securian headband from the 2014 race. This is my perfect (slightly excess but still) head gear for Winter.
2. C9 compression pant. No extra layer because I knew beforehand, that this would be in 35F-40F range. I didn't want to get hot like last year.
3. And for jacket I stuck to the C9 Soft Shell Jacket from Target. It has a perfect Hood and neck protector. A hood that doesn't fly off and saves my neck from wind, without needing a separate gaitor.
4. ASICS Women's GT-2000 3 Running Shoes
5. Gloves - they were the only bulky ones, but I did not get double layers like last time. I promised myself to buy some decent real-runner gloves after the race.

Among the race swag this year they gave a Tech full-sleeve T-Shirt, which I was looking forward to and a mug. Both in Black, Blue & White color theme. This year since I did not come early, it meant they were out of my size shirts and I got a XL Men's size, which is big even for me. There was some exchange schedule latter, but St Paul is too far for me to go for the shirt.

Apart from tradition, the other reason I love this race is the singular view of St Paul downtown, while trudging along from the mile 10 to mile 12.

My Securian Winter Races - 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2019 | 2020 |

Harry Potter new short stories

I don't agree with the new short stories published in Pottermore.

The reason why HP 7 fascinated me, was not just that she created a brilliant new world with things and events that were fascinating, but also that they were her inventions. There were talks of her being influenced by other books. Yet these were still very original or imaginary.

Fault with the new stories is that, they are trying to pull-in real life past events, into the HP universe. The native-american history and culture details. Salem witch trials. That is cheating, I feel. Salem fire trial portions in HP itself had pissed me off. Yes that was the only thing in HP series that pinched me as insensitively incorrect. And now the whole set of stories, trying to say real-life events were part of her universe.

Penseive, Dementors - I can't describe what I felt when they were first revealed. The simplicity of those ideas, yet their importance in the story telling - nothing can beat that.

I follow the HP fandom on FB pages, reddit and tumblr. The kind of devotion that is shown online always reminds me of Ram-bhakti.

Actually initially, I used to draw parallel between the HP-RW-HG trio and Ram-Sita-Lakshman trio when describing HP books to the non-reader aka my Hubby. And this was before it became evident that RW & HG are going to be a couple.

So ya, HP devotion is on it's way to meet the devotion shown to Ramayana. Maybe the earth history
is going through a loop. Ramayana was written, fascinated everybody both in terms of emotions as well as sci-fi effects, fans took to going ahead with interpretations, adding sub-stories, including in oral and dramatic sub-cultures and inclusive into Hindu religion. Maybe HP is following the same path.

And that is why I take a break from being a fan and am registering my protest. And a request to JKR to not include real world events and things into HP universe. Her wizarding world is fascinating in itself. Let any more additions be creations of her own. I know that cannot be an easy or short process. But she is more than capable of it. We have waited earlier and we can wait long. Let the movie studios not corrupt this please.

TC Fieldhouse Kids Fun Run - 2016

This year, we went to TC Fieldhouse Kids Fun Run - 2016. Simply to experience the University track field. The facility and arrangements were exactly like last year. I had blogged it in detail here.
Again, highly recommended for parents of young kids. Everyone will have a fun time.

The run swag this year was a lovely white full-sleeve t-shirt and heavy Medal.

India Republic Day Parade 2016

Watching India's Republic Day has been my yearly ritual, whenever life has been steady. In school days Every year, it was a much needed holiday. That meant to sleep late and watch this on TV, lying under a blanket.

This year I could watch it the day before, as a late night show, being in a different timezone.
And Thanks to Youtube for their live telecast.


Hubby and me chattered and gossiped about each of the display. The first set of military parade was boring for me as a child. We would impatiently wait for the cultural ones to start. But wow, now it was so impressive to my adult eyes now. Hubby says, "Doosre country walon ki phat jati hai, yeh parade dekhke."

Karnataka set was lovely. Huge sculptures related to coffee and smaller ones about laptop. Maybe 4 people walking by in the traditional outfits. Immediately I say, "ya because rest of the folks are busy working in IT offices". Nobody takes a weekday off for anything else.

And there was the jhanki of Assam. Beautiful Assamese folks dressed in lovely Assamese silk and Mehkla-chaddor dancing Bihu.

Other set that I usually watch out for and cheer is Maharashtra. But I didn't find it this year.

Parking in Jurrasic

Piku playing on Netflix. 
A goes, " Hey Rrrrrr, look the guy from Jurrasic World!!!!" 
R comes hopping, and looks at TV,  "Yaaaaa, Mr Masrani."

They were awestruck - he's in Hindi movie ! For them, Irrfan Khan is big-shot Hollywood hero :)

And boy, they know more about Jurrasic World than I know about Jurrasic Park. Few weeks back, when I screened Jurrasic Park for them, they already knew MrHammond. I mean, what am I for !?! I thought I would be the one to lead them into Science Fiction and introduce all fundamentals to them. But with a handy iPad Mini, they are rolling right from Mars Rover chapter. I feel antiquated.

Jurrasic Park was my "time" movie. I was in 12th. Dad took me & my bro to the Arun theater, the only one playing English movies in Belgaum (atleast the respectable kind). All 3 of us were completely blown away by the movie. In 1993, the only marketing hype we could get from, was Doordarshan (DD). Cable TV was in early stages and we did not have it at home. And Internet was something I was going to learn about in textbook, as one of the top layers in ARP, in next 4-5 years. Now I really wonder, what told me that this was a must see movie ? I mean we had no known craze of Dinosaurs in India before this. Yes DD had taught me well, what a big-shot Steven Spielberg was. But seriously who hyped this movie for me ? Maybe some word of mouth publicity, slowly flowing into the small town. Movies were usually released months after the actual release in small town. So enough time to buildup. 

We saw the movie in big-screen theater; were mighty impressed. Kept trying to figure out how did they recreate the animals for the movie ? Eventually learnt about CGI. Got interested in fractals. After I started working in big city, Jurrasic Park was one of the first books I bought. Micheal Crichton became my favorite writer and I gobbled up all of his books, with strong opinions about each of them. In IISc, I even bought & read a book on Chaos Theory. Hmm, mighty influential movie indeed.

When Jurrassic World hype started, I easily ignored it. I am a grown adult, who will not fall for marketing hypes (so I would like to think of myself). But Dad was in town too. I knew I had to make it a family movie night. Dad, Hubby, A, R & me went to AMC for JW. All of us impressed again. I found the Indominus a bit icky. But I loved Claire (Bryce) and Masrani (Irrfan Khan) characters and their scenes. T-rex and Velociraptors were good. What bugged me was that one of the kids was not a girl and there was no one like Jeff Goldblum and Samuel L Jackson's character in this reboot. No fascinating science theory I could research offline.

But since then, the kids did their own research on Youtube, for more videos on this movie. Most of it is junk parodies. I sometimes wonder, are they learning anything ? If anything, they do know many dinosaur names, as fluently as Ramesh-Suresh. And they have loads of inescapable merchandise. 

Commitment Day 5K - Race Recap

Race in winter of Minnesota is so thrilling. Not just for the humble-brag rights later on, but winter running as such is way different from that in other seasons. The crunchy snow and extremities-freezing temps (fingertips below 30F & toes below 20F) makes everything adventurous. So I picked the auspicious New Year morning race, as a highlight of running in Minnesota winter.

Last year it was 15 miles at Polar Dash. Overall a good race but they spoiled the experience by not listing my finish time, even when it was within time limit. Later there were rumbling about financial gapla. So this year, I looked for an alternative. And found one - 5K at Lifetime Commitment Day. I took months to accept it - it's not long-distance but it's a race.

On the New Year's morning, I got up early even after sleeping late. I was proud of myself, "I will be ready just in time for once in my life". I checked the website and noted, "Ah the start time is 10 am - wow ! I just earned an extra hour of sleep". So I put up a new alarm and went for that most desirable morning nap. Again I woke up by myself, I thought, "What a day, I am getting up before alarm, again." But it was too sunny to trust myself. Turns out the new alarm was for weekend, and this was not weekend and I had only 45 minutes to start of race !!! Boom I got ready in a rush. I was so panicky I forced my sleepy hubby to drop me at the start - I couldn't waste time looking for parking.

Fortunately everything went well after that. I was wondering about the warming place. I had forgotten that it's Lifetime - they had their own facility. Everyone gathered at their Gym. There was a round of Zumba for Pre-Race stretch.

Then, all runners gathered outside Lifetime on Plymouth Blvd for the national anthem & the race start. There were about 50 or so. I was guessing they must be the Run club folks. I felt good to see kids as well, so early on New Years morning.

The route was left from Lifetime on Plymouth Blvd, then a stretch on Fernbrook Lane along the Ice Rink and then via Rockford and back to Plymouth Blvd. Most of the sidewalks were cleared. And other parts of the run were on closed roads. Perfectly safe conditions.

Clock showed my finish time as 40:17 minutes. With a discipline-less training past few months, I will take this. This is my usual winter time. My outfit was perfect for this 20F temp. I skipped the neck-gaiter, which was an excess last Jan.

And the race swags was good too - T-shirt, bag, protein bars and a breakfast. I had expected a small, thread-bare event, but this exceeded my expectations. Overall a great start for the new year.

Wish you and your family a Happy & Prosperous New Year !

My Running Report for 2015

This year (2015), I ran 363 miles and finished in 6 races. It's lot less than those in 2014.  And yet this is the year I finished my first Marathon ! Yeaaaah ! So I blame my lesser mileage to this Marathon, ha. First half year because I was nervous about the upcoming and next half year as a recovery from the Marathon. Talk about excuses. The fact is that, if I had more mileage before Marathon, my performance would have been better. And if I ran after the Marathon (atleast after a few weeks), then my recovery would have been better. Coz mileage is tied to training and workout. Nothing is better than training well and working out.

What I did try this year were strength workouts. I did sessions of Extreme TRX, Kickboxing and bench-press in gym. I loved my sore muscles. It is wonderful while it lasts. As usual, the challenge is to continue it. Everything gets in the way, especially your hardwired brain, which does not pickup a workout clothes as easily as a chakali packet.

My arm & leg muscles felt wonderful after each workout session and for many days after. Running however, totally brightens the mood. Makes me feel I accomplished something. Any health benefits to the muscles were just a side-effect, I did not pay attention to, because they were invisible to the eye.

Races are something which bring the thrill factor to running. Before my first race all I cared about was medals. This year, I don't know where to store those heavy metals ! Now I am happy with the other useful stuff they give out like shirt, bars & good arrangements.

I completed these races in 2015. They are fewer but with rich experiences each. I blogged about them for my own reference. I had signed up for the Women Run The Cities 10 Miler too, as a followup for last year. I was all set for it, but I completely forgot about a wedding that same day in a different city. So I had to dropout.

Weather	Name	Date	Distance	2015 Time
19F	Polar Dash	1-Jan-15	15 mile	3:07:21
30F - Hot	Securian Winter Run	24-Jan-15	Half Marathon	2:55:57
62F	Get in Gear	25-Apr-15	Half Marathon	3:02:14
75F	Lake Minnetonka	3-May-15	Half Marathon	2:55:37
45F to 60F	Minneapolis Marathon	31-May-15	Marathon (26.2 miles)	6:09:59
57-87F	City of Lakes Half	13-Sep-15	Half Marathon	2:53:03

Like last year, I went to watch the 2015 TCM Marathon runners in action. This is the race which started my interest and am always curious about it. I don't signup for it though, as my Summer training and stamina levels are not good enough for a Fall Marathon.

I managed to plot my training runs by month. I look at the graph and try to find a pattern and learn something.



My mileage spiked in Oct because I quit being a snob and blindly went to the gym. There is a usual debate about treadmill vs outside running. Yes the benefits of running outside are tangible. It is also a noticeably different experience. In Jan, when I ran Securian Winter Run 2015 - Half, after solely running on treadmill, wow it blew the wind out of my sail. It was tough to switch. Yet running on treadmill is way better than not running at all. Those gaps in the graph, those are because I was running outside, but the change of seasons or the weather that day itself, scared me to get out. Its struggle to just step out the door in the evenings. We are tired from the rigors of all day and chores of the remaining part of the day are beckoning us. We don't need extra challenge of any unpredictable weather to be added. That is why it helps to keep the gear ready - clothes, shoes, bottles, watch, etc. So we can slip out before any imaginary constraint stops us. Just get it done - is the mantra.

My miles from Jan to May were very very low, which goes against me since I had signed up for a Full Marathon in the end of May. What was I thinking ? My only explanation was that I was nervous. I was sure I would drop off & not show up at the Marathon. Or if I did show up, I would just do a long-run of 20 mile maybe and get out. Gosh what was I thinking ? This is the pure example of not-believing in yourself - but for 5 months !?! Never again please.

No, I won't blame the freezing icy February and rainy wet April for my low mileage. Oh wait, but I did get 48 miles in March ? That was thanks to 3 long runs of 13 mile, 13 mile and 16 miles. Wow, that's extreme. That shows my strengthen. Remind me again, that I don't need such desperate measure. I should stick to a training plan and if there's a gap in my execution, then not be hard on myself.

After feeling low in August, and still not gaining any solid ground in Sep, there was a surge in October. That's because I cleared my mind and stopped being afraid or demotivated by the crispy fall weather, and boldly walked to the apartment Gym :) And I could do it many times to achieve my year record of 53 miles in 14 days. That was was followed by a slump of no run in 30 days in Nov. I was miserable throughout. It was a moving month, so I couldn't do much.

Dark evenings are another detriment. Right from the Sunday when Daylight Saving kicks in, evenings are pitch dark as early as 4pm. And it is so till Winter Solstice around 22-Dec. It makes a big difference, if you are not used to getting out in these cold dark evenings. The first week goes in simply catching up with the sleep. Next few weeks, working up courage all day to really dress up and step out in the evening.

In December, I had moved to a new place. Along with unpacking and settling to a new commute and routine, I was chalking and charting plans for my outside runs - Sidewalks I could use, their distances, looking for winter domes, gathering my winter run clothes and race planning for 2016. All that means very few actual runs.

Anyway something is better than nothing. I promise to stop overthinking, and just dress up and step out of the house. Not overwhelm myself by thinking about what I will do outside. Getting to this auto-mode is the goal. Here's wishing myself All the Best for the New Year of Running.

Its pretty exhausting to read these reflections. But I know, they will come handy when memory fails me and I need guidance.

All of my yearly Run Reports are here.

Book Reading in 2015

With internet on all the time, the only reading I get to do is not book or e-readers but internet rabbit-holes of Wiki, Buzzfeed and way too many blogs. At some point in time, I had to exercise extreme restraint and get back to book reading, for way too many reasons:

1. To be able to hold my own attention on one thing, instead of switching between 10 browsers to read 10 articles, all at the same time
2. To stop my mobile from scorching my eyes every night till 2 am
3. And to show my kids what book reading meant. I mean, there is a point till when you can push a book in their face. But they will start reading only when they see competition. "Oh ya, look I finished this many books" smug is the best way to get them going. Oh ya, everything is a game for kids.
4. I don't have dataplan, so I need something in the bus. There are only so many billboards that I can read.

That way, I did end up reading many books this year. Here are some of them with my notes, in no particular order.

Why Not Me - by Mindy Kaling

This one was a good ride. Which is a raise compared to my experience with her previous book.
I loved her dialog delivery, even the unconnected comedy on TV. I loved her quote, "I have a personality defect where I refuse to see myself as an underdog. My parents raised me with the entitlement of a tall, blond, white man."
So I got her first book "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)". My dad read it first, and he was all shrugging, "What is this ? Nowadays everyone can write books !". I blamed it on him being from different generation and culture and him not having seen her shows. But when I started reading it, I could barely turn pages. I think I gave up after 2-3 chapters. It did nothing for me.

So it took me lot of courage to get her second book. I mean, I was still impressed by her quotes. I had to read something from her. Thankfully this book turned out good. It was about her experiences in college and from professional life. So along with her wit, I got a glimpse of the TV show making world. I was impressed by her hard work, even though I expected it. The most profound portion is where she explains that confidence comes from entitlement which is supported by hard work. And her attempt to remove the derogatory tone from the word 'workoholic'. It was a good chapter.

Fresh Off the Boat - By Eddie Huang

This was a fun ride. Very engrossing from the very first page.

I got to know about this book because it was recently made into a TV show. I saw few of the episodes and it was funny but predictable. I would expect the story to go one-way, and that is exactly where it would end. Standard Asian immigrant in USA with second generation kids plot; something covered in numerous ABCD line movies. But I guessed the book would have to be different.

I got the book and laughed through it. It was different. Book moved from his kid years to college and then adulthood.  Was stunned at the self-destructive actions. Learned some minute details about growing up as immigrants children, what they face, some terminology. I grew up in cultures different from my parents, though within the same country. So I could connect to some parts. But growing up in a very different country, especially one with strong set rules like America, combined with immigration challenges, which make us feel like we are living in borrowed time for years, it makes the experience very different. Culture clashes of home vs school vs peers.

Language used was also why this was so engrossing. It was clean for his initial childhood till he settled and made friends. And then it was littered with s, fs and mfs, picking up speed towards his college and working years. Towards the end of the book it was totally studded with repeated profanity. This maybe for effect, maybe his individual style, but it did help make the points it wanted to make.

Dean Karnazes Books 

1. Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner
2. 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days -- and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance!
3. Run! 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss

 

If you want to get enchanted into the world of running, get captured by charisma of a filmy hero, Dean Karnazes books are the ones to read. He glamorizes the world of distance running, and in a good way. Totally cheerful and no bitterness anywhere. All Mr California-Sunshine in tone. Even the sad parts in the books are so well-written but they don't pull you into it. Keep you at the interested in sports level. Equivalent of a masala movie.

To his credit, he did run some incredible awe-inspiring races and won many. All 3 books are detailed humorous and informing. I learnt many things needed for running from his books. Felt inspired by his adventures and his enthu, self-deprecating yet humblebrag descriptions. His association with corporate Northface showed in all places. He talked about some of the DNF, which were reassuring for me, that its not all hahahehe.

Eat and Run - by Scott Jurek

This one had the most impact on me. A quiet loners simmering recount about all the running in his life and about some of the high-profile races. His chapters were more poetic. Every chapter had a recipe, which did not interest me the skeptical-cook .

The Extra Mile - by by Pam Reed

By now I wanted to find out specifically about Elite Women. Deans and Scott Jurek's books were good to learn about the world of trail and ultra distance running. I know a lot of women did it too and won many. So what were their experiences ? What about unique to their gender ?

Dean mentions Pam Reed in his book. She won Badwater twice. Not division or category, but won the actual complete race ! Now that's intriguing. So I got her book.

Her language was factual but not enough race info. More than 50% of the book covered her affair, anorexia, her business ventures. Given that it is her autobiography I should take it. I was looking for 100% racing info - greedy me. She kept it real, and real life is mundane and boring, even of an achiever. She did not Hollywoodise it. I appreciate that she did write about most of her races. I wish there was more of which guide others towards it. It does have helpful info. She details her competitive nature. Talks about her athletics in her school years and how it linked with her everyday life. She talks of running as a mother. Running experience in different events.

Everything I learnt about running was bit by bit from RunWorld and FB pages, runner blogs and these runner books. But nowhere do they tell if anyone makes money, even for expenses or if the elites. So I conclude that the use their creativity to earn or sponsor. Once they build their strengths and capability, there must be professionals who know how to use it for corporate or charity benefits.
A lovely write-up on Anne Weber's GoFundMe page gives some clues.
(Update: found one article: Prize Money Aimed at Americans Helps Emerging Elites )

Wild - by Cheryl Strayed

I heard about this book around the time when the movie started to spread the word about it. I have been fascinated by long-distance, so this was intriguing. Plus the writer is originally from Minnesota. It was a good read. Many pages were devoted to her pre-trail life in Minnesota.  Her story-telling was flashbacks of her mother and her divorce as she moves along the hike along the PCT trail.

Found parallel with my new venture as runner. Each run or race, is a revelation. The way we get absorbed during self-training and research for it. Also I prefer long distances versus a short-distance at greater speed. It matches my noncompetitive temperament.

I remembered this book while running in Lake Minnetonka Half-Mara. At about mile 5, the cushions below my toes started hurting. Like I had cement for shoe-soles. And then I thought of Wild, where her boots were 1 size small and killed her toes & feet, but she did nearly half of her nearly 1500 miles in those shoes. I had brand new shoes of excellent quality and I was complaining ! That helped me cover rest of the miles. My pain actually disappeared after few miles.

The book details her alone time while hiking. At different rest camps, she meets other trekkers. They all relax together, enjoy meals and rest. And then they each start at their own schedule and move forward. They don't decide to stick together, or slow down for someone else or pickup pace to match another. Its only at stopover that they hangout together. Its not a competition, but individual journey. This is something I believe strongly in life.

Saw the movie after reading this book. That was worth it too. The movie time & format is way different to squeeze in all details, and they didn't. But they touched upon each of her personal life events, could convey the pain about death, not so much about the divorce; which was a good thing. Way too many movies linger about the love-pains; it get more attention than it needs. Not enough talk about strong mothers in the modern life. And then the movie captured the outdoor beauty of the PCT trail. That alone made it was worth a repeat watch.

Older Reading lists: Entire Book list | 2021 (2) | 2021(1) | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |

Colors of Fall

Today while walking across my usual aisle, I looked out my usual window and saw cars. I didn't remember seeing any cars out of this window. Hmm , left me wondering. And then I realized. The leaves have all fallen away and the tree are bare branches & twigs. That's why I could see the road across. Haha.

There will be Day Light Saving change, which makes our evenings dark like midnight.
There will be rain, which strips the leaves off from the tree.

But before that, they are impossible beautiful colors.
The beauty which brightens you up.
No painting depicting the Fall colors, can capture this beauty.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. - Albert Camus

So true.

Four Seasons of Minnesota

The trees are on fire, this time of year in Minnesota. It's almost a ritual to drive far & wide, to places with sweeping views of colorful trees, click picture and then post it on FB :)

People crib about MN winter, but everyone loves that MN has 4 seasons. Each season change is so  tangibly different, its a verifiable phenomenon every year. I tried to capture it by clicking a tree outside our balcony, at different times of the year. Its not a flawless time-lapse sequence. I changed phones and lost some of the pictures. These 4 do capture, how it is in different Quarters of the year.

Snow makes the winter more beautiful and more bearable. It's all quite and cinematic, while it's snowing, even during a Snow-storm. Night sky lights up from all the refraction's from city-lights. Street lamps glows and the orange light on mounds of white snow fallen on the land, is something which never stops being peaceful. All of this from the safety of your house. It does not feel cold, while its actually snowing. Like each flake is absorbing all the cold (which I know is not scientifically possible). The killer cold comes later, when every surface is frozen and out to get to your bones.

Minnesota Spring is legendary. Officially, its after Groundhog day. But we still have leftover snow after that. It's this way from March to June. Once the snow melts away, its Rain time.  One week of rains, and there are leaf bud sprouting everywhere. All lawns turn from white to Green. And flower plants in every lawn and campus.

Technically Summer is from June to September. But it start the exact moment you realize, that you don't need jacket, gloves, hat & muffler anymore. You can throw away the heavy boot and switch to sandals. That's when you know, yes its summer. These are pleasant months, with maybe few days of 100F. This year maybe 2 days were 100F and rest were all in 70F to 80F.  There hasn't been a week when it did not rain, this year.

Beginning of Fall is usually such a beautiful sight. In Sept-Oct, all trees are colorful with dark greens, yellow, pink, maroons and browns. We can't get enough of those sights. Pictures cannot capture the beauty of Minnesota Fall. You don't have to travel far to see it. Any evening at any lakeside or park, and we can see unbelievable range of colors. This tree did not change color. Leaves just dried & fell off. Trees with empty dried stick branches are a usual sight after the colors fall of.

 And finally, a bearable sunny winter again. All year round, we dread the coming winter. But it lasts only 3 months. Initial few years, we forget to enjoy rest of the seasons, because of this dread. What we actually fear is the after-office return, to a frozen car seat - from being parked outside in 20F or lower. The frozen steering wheel cuts through your fingers. Those 10 minutes till car warms up, just resets everything you know. With the increasing thermostat, all is forgotten. And then we are back to the cycle of seasons.