And when old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart; and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders.
– Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali
Starting a New Year is more a symbolic gesture than of any substance other than the new calendars, diaries and the routine mistakes while entering the dates manually. The only “new” thing that I remember doing for a New Year has been starting a diary of activities back in 2005 (technically in end-2004 but I choose to ignore it to ensure a better narrative). I decided to maintain a simple spreadsheet where I would enter a one word description of the physical activity that I engaged during the day. My activities were then classified into four categories – running (any distance), cycling, walking (only early morning walks considered) or sports (I used to play football on some mornings; later replaced by others).
As the number of data points increased, so was my ability to make statistical analysis, prepare colourful charts, make spectacular pointless inferences (fallout of my job as quantitative analyst) and at times, use it to motivate myself. A small sample is provided below:
I had repeatedly resisted myself from any other quantitative obsessions for a long, be it distance (except cycling), running speed, Personal Best timings, heart rate, cadence and what not! As it is said, nothing is permanent except change. I have finally chosen to get myself a Garmin 902XT and a Heart Rate Monitor and step into the world of quantitative analysis of my running and cycling.
What more, I have chosen to get into the world of Strava – https://www.strava.com/athletes/balaji and track my activities in-depth.
As far as the new year goes, I hope to be more regular with my running with or without these gadgets and statistics. My personal target for the year is fairly simple – achieve either or all of the three objectives below (in the same order):
- 200 days of running
- 300 days of active morning life – cycling, walk, yoga or run!
- 2,000 Kilometers of running
As far as participation in running/cycling events goes, I always feel it is best to take it as it comes in my way. The first event for the year is the The Windchasers Ooty Ultra on January 29.
Hopefully, I will be updating my blog regularly!
Wish everyone a Happy New Year!
Running and Beyond 