Welcome to the fourteenth week of running for the year 2022.
I must say that my running journey is slowly snowballing into a regular running affair and I couldn’t be happier. It just feels like I picked up my running habit where I left it last year.
The DOGE loop has been coming to my rescue ever since I came back from my India trip. The first three runs of the week came around this loop.
The first run was on Monday, where I completed a 10K in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Last year, my PR for 10K was around 50-55 minutes, so I do have some catching up to do, but again, I am focusing more on the distance than the pace. The run felt quite easy as the weather helped me a lot and pushed to complete longer distance.
The second run of the week was almost a copy of the first run, but I was glad that I finished 11K in 1 hour 7 minutes, which is way faster than the first run. I guess the weather played a big role in that. The temperature was 5F cooler than yesterday, which helped me put some more pace in the run than I thought.
The third run of the week came around the DOGE loop one more time and it was faster than the previous two runs. I am getting faster by the day and that is something to cheer about. I finished just a little more than 10K in 1 hour and 2 minutes, which gave me a big relief of achieving a distance of 10K in under an hour. I have always strived to achieve that and I was glad to finally do it one more time.
For the fourth and the last run of the week, I went around the Northville and Novi area. I always enjoy running around this route and today was no different. I knew I would be able to complete at least a 10K, which I did without putting too much of an effort. I usually like to run in circles or loops, but for this run, I had to come back the same way I started this run. It was weird at first, but, once I captured that mental roadblock, I saw myself completing the 10K without too much fatigue.
This destination had been my dream destination for more than a couple years now and I have been infatuated with Amsterdam because of one of my exes. Ever since she left India for Amsterdam, she had been sending pictures and showing me cool stuff about the city over video calls and it just sparked a curiosity to see this city in person. After what felt like an eternity, here I was, in the city, which I had longed for longer than I can remember and I was ready to enjoy every single minute that I spend there.
The first thing that impressed me the most was that the Amsterdam airport had a train system an elevator away from the Schipol Airport. It made things so convenient for me that I just had to get on a train to get to Amsterdam city. Before heading to the city, since I was going to stay just 5 nights in Europe, I decided to keep my two big luggage bags in the luggage storage at the airport and then embark on my solo backpacking of Europe. I had decided that I was going to stay in an hostel just before the Amsterdam Centraal, which is a big train station situated very close to Downtown Amsterdam. I decided to settle in a 6 bed hostel room at The Flying Pig Amsterdam Downtown. I knew staying in a hostel very close to the Downtown will help me save some money and a lot of time and I didn’t mind sharing a room with complete strangers from all over the world, that’s what the part of the experience is. The motivation of staying in an hostel with the strangers came from my online research and watching Queen. In the movie Queen, the protagonist had also stayed in a hostel, which gave me confidence.
Once I dragged my ass to the hostel, they told me that I had a couple hours more to check-in, so I decided to haul my bags into their storage units, changed into my running gear, and decided to explore Amsterdam on foot and possibly try to finish a 5K before the check-in time. Everything worked out perfectly for me. I took care of my bags and put on some clothes and just headed outside with my phone. I must tell you the experience was simply amazing and I didn’t imagine my Europe starting off like that. While running across the streets of Amsterdam, I got a chance to explore almost everything the city had to offer. I looked at the water canals that flew through the city, cutting the streets in the middle. I loved how the culture was more bike friendly than car or motorcycle friendly. I never imagined a flock of people going around on bicycles and just walking and exploring the city. I witnessed the calm rays of the sun telling me to just enjoy the day and do everything that I had on my mind.
While running through the streets of Amsterdam, I saw a bunch of people standing in line to get inside a building. Upon a closer look, I found out that that building was the one where Anne Frank and her family had been living in captivity away from the Nazis and Germans. At that time, I was reading “The Diary of A Young Girl”, and it brought all the struggle stories and the harsh environment that they lived to front and I remember not smiling while clicking a selfie before the sign of that house. It was weird feeling to see the building in person, which I was reading in the book. Unfortunately for me, I hadn’t planned on visiting this building, so I didn’t book the ticket beforehand and when I stood in line, they told me that they were out of the same-day tickets for the day, which meant I couldn’t get in the building. That was not something that I was bummed about, but hey, it would have been cooler, right?
After my run, I got back to my hostel as it was time to check-in. I took a quick shower after that and headed outside for what was a long day of walking and exploring the streets of different part of Amsterdam. During this time in my life, I was using Sprint as my network service and I must say it made all the difference as far as my trip experience went. During this trip, I realized how important internet is and I used it for my benefit. I had already downloaded the maps of Amsterdam, just in case my network didn’t work, but even after that I had to use it for other stuff.
I remember the first item on my list was to have some food. After the run and a long flight previous night, I was hungry and I needed something to eat. My research has suggested me to try the savory pancakes at The Pancake Bakery. I chose this place because it had a great history to it and after trying sweet pancakes in the US, I really wanted to see how savory pancakes are made and taste in Amsterdam. For sure, I wasn’t the only one who knew how famous this place was, because, when I got here, I was greeted with a long line, with a wait time of 30 minutes. I was hungry but I knew the wait would be worth it, so I decided to just do some reading and talk to the strangers who were in the line with me. I met this couple from England and we got to talking and when it came the time to have our food, we shared out table. We had some interesting conversation and they helped me out with some subtle details about the place and about Amsterdam in general. I had ordered Onion and Ham savory pancake with a bottle of Heineken, which went great with it. My tummy was full and was thanking me. The food was great and the ambience was beautiful too. I loved kicking off my Amsterdam tour like this.
I have stop now and let you browse through the first half of the day through these pictures below. Stay tuned for the second part.
Welcome to the thirteenth week of running for the year 2022.
I was so happy last week that I got to run outside for the first time in a long-long time, so, I wanted to continue my streak and run some more distance during this week too.
I went out for a run for at least 3 times during this week.
I ran the first time at NHS track. Those who don’t know, NHS is Northville High School which is a couple miles away from my place. I really love their track as it gives me more support and it becomes easier to run on the track rather than normal concrete road. I could complete a light run, crossing more than 3K distance, which I know is not a lot, but I felt good that I could finish 3K distance even after not running for such a long time.
The second run came at the same spot and this time, I told myself that I would complete a 5K. I was happy that I could complete that distance and it turned out to be a faster run than the last one.
The third and the last week run of the week came on Thursday. For this run, I decided to choose the DOGE loop as my track for running. I knew that I needed to be in the zone to cover maximum distance during this run. The moment I started this run, I told myself that I need to cover at least 10K so that the weekly average stays on par with the last week. I knew I had to concentrate only on running and not think about how much distance left for 10K distance. Fortunately, the weather seemed pretty nice and the cold breeze helped me keep the body temperature down, which helped me not to fatigue too much. At the end of it, my legs thanked me for running a 10K on a busy Thursday morning.
Welcome to the twelfth week of running for the year 2022.
I am so so happy to tell you that this was the first week of the year when I got a chance to run and it felt so good to be out and just look at the wonderful nature and appreciate the beauty of Michigan weather.
I left India with a heavy heart, leaving behind my fiancé-to-be and promised to return back in June. I landed in Chicago and then drove home to Michigan. I had mixed emotions when I reached home but I knew I had to continue and just wait my days out before I get back to India.
The running journey started when I decided to head out for a quick run around my favorite loop in my neighborhood – The DOGE loop. I knew if I complete at least 3 rounds of the DOGE loop, I would be able to complete a distance more than 5K, which would made me happy as this would be the first run of the year and also in a long-long time.
The first run of the week and year was a success and I could complete a distance 6K in almost 46 minutes. I wasn’t worried about the pace, I was just happy that I ran for the first time in a really long time and was happy that I could break the chain of just sitting on my ass and not running.
The second run of the week came on Friday, which was a repetition of Thursday’s run; However, I took 2 more minutes to run almost similar distance. Again, not concerned about the pace, I was happy with the distance that I covered for the day. I knew these runs would bring in more runs, snowballing into triple digits soon.
The third and the last day of the run came on Saturday. I was so happy that I visited my last route for this run. I completed a distance of 8.3 KMs in just over an hour’s time. This run made me feel that I could run long distance just like I used to in the past. I am fond of running long distances instead of small 5Ks, just because I am more comfortable with more distance rather than a faster pace. This run gave me my confidence back and I told myself that I just have to continue doing this and running like this and I will be one happy person.
I am happy and energetic now that I would get more time and chances to run outside.
This trip has a long time coming. I had been planning for this trip for the last 6 months, and I was thrilled that that day was finally coming that I was heading to my motherland with a short stay in Europe. But first, I had to get to the Detroit Airport, from where I was going to board the flight to Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The reason I said that I had been planning for this trip for a long time because I had to apply for Schengen Visa to visit Europe. To do this, I had to meticulously plan everything, right from my stay in the Schengen area, and which countries and cities I would visit and which places I would see during my time there.
While researching for the places to visit, I found that you need to go that country’s embassy where you are landing for the first time in the Schengen area. For me, it was the Netherlands, so I had to travel to Chicago a few months ago, because that was the closest Dutch Embassy I had near Michigan. The only European Embassy that we had in Michigan was the Italian Embassy, but tickets for Italy were super expensive from Detroit, so I decided to pay a quick visit to Chicago and opted Netherlands as my landing country. Plus, I didn’t want to visit Italy on my own, given how romantic that country is.
Anyway, my roommate helped me with the airport drop. While driving to the airport, it hit me really hard that I was finally heading to Europe and was going to fulfill my lifelong dream of backpacking through Europe on my own for a few days. It felt both exciting and scary at the same time and that got me thinking about what’s about to come and how it doesn’t matter how much I prepare, I will never be prepared enough just to face what’s about to come.
I chose Delta Airlines to fly this route as it was the cheapest and quickest connection from DTW to AMS. I had my Delta Credit Card, which helped me use and earn some miles on the airplane tickets. Plus, I had heard some good reviews about the airlines and wanted to give it a try. All the reviews were not going to prepare me what was about to come, because, I had the time of my life throughout the flight. The flight attendant was really kind on me and he helped me out with some extra liquor bottles, which elevated the entire experience to the next level. The food was top quality and the entertainment system was filled with TV shows and movies that I really loved such as Impractical Jokers and Iron Man. I loved watching these, while sipping some whiskey and eating some delicious food. Truly, Delta helped me carve this journey in my memories forever and it has been the best flight I have ever taken in my life.
I am excited what’s to come for the next few days and I am ready to enjoy the trip of the lifetime.
Welcome to the eleventh week of running for the year 2022.
This is my last week in India and I couldn’t be more sad to leave India and head back to the US. The only reason for my sadness is missing the person with whom I am going to spend the rest of my life. On the last day of the week, we had a small ceremony of 50 people, where my soon-to-be fiancé and I took vows to commit to each other in the presence of our family and friends. We call it a Roka Ceremony in India. It felt both great and nervous at the same time, but, I knew as long as my soon-to-be fiancé is going to be with me, I am going to be just fine.
Safe to say, I didn’t run during this week too, given that this was my last week in India. I just wanted to spend every free minute with my soon-to-be fiancé.
Hopefully, I will be able to get some miles under my belt once I am in the US.
Welcome to the tenth of running for the year 2022.
This week, we came back from Bhopal and I made sure to visit a special person that I met in Nagpur, before heading to Bhopal. The visit turned out to be an amazing one and I could it turning into something meaningful and beautiful.
I am still working US hours and during my free time, I take care of one thing or the other at my parents’ place, skipping all of my runs altogether. I wish I could break this cycle of not running at all, but, nonetheless, I feel like my first run is right around the corner and I am not going to regret not running for such a long period! Ciao!
Welcome to one more awesome thing that I did in March 2019.
It has been a tradition for quite some time in my team at Ford to have a quarterly Potlucks. When I joined the team a couple years ago, it wasn’t evident to me at first how important these potlucks were, but as I spent more time with the team and met some amazing people through these potlucks, it sort of grew on me.
This potluck, we were celebrating the arrival of Spring in Michigan. If you have ever been to the MidWest, you would know that we really cherish the Spring and Summer time, as it is the only time we get to spend outdoors and do all the cool and fun activities either together or individually.
I get excited every time we have these potlucks because it gives me a chance to cook something for my team. I, in general, enjoy cooking and sometimes I find that I don’t get enough time or chance to cook for others, so, I took this opportunity and cooked a nice dish for my team. I chose to cook PavBhaji for my team and my roommate, who happened to work for Ford and the same team too, cooked Paneer Butter Masala. I loved the way both of our dishes turned out.
There were other dishes too that took our breath away. An orange dessert made by one of our team members turned out to be the most loved dish of the potluck and it truly was. It looked and tasted great. My boss’ boss, Max, was an awesome host for this potluck and I made sure people have a nice and light conversation by putting on some relaxing music with some cool backgrounds in them. At the end of the day, what mattered the most was that everyone had a great time!
Welcome to the ninth week of running for the year 2022.
It feels like it has been forever that I ran. I still remember I think it was somewhere during the middle of last year I ran for the last time and it has been a long gap in my running. For someone, who loves to run, it has been a little bit of shame that I haven’t gone out for running, but I am not making any excuses for it.
This week, after returning from Shubhu Tai’s place, we prepared ourselves to head to Minu Tai’s place in Bhopal. It was a trip long planned and my parents were glad that I was accompanying them during this trip as they hadn’t gotten a chance to visit Minu Tai’s place in the last couple of years after her wedding.
I was looking forward to this trip as this was going to be the first time I was heading to Bhopal and was looking forward to meeting her and her family for the first time after her wedding.
Our trip to Bhopal and my long working hours at night made it almost impossible for me to run and like last eight weeks, I couldn’t run even a single time.
Welcome to the eighth week of running for the year 2022.
You must have guessed by now, I didn’t run a single mile during this entire week. As you know, I am still in India and last week I met a girl of my dreams and who just might play a bigger role going forward.
This week, I had my OFC (biometrics) appointment for my H1B visa. I had to take a flight from Bhopal to Mumbai and spend a night there. I was working the US time this night, so, for the first time, I ordered Zomato and while I loved the convenience of ordering food for cheap from your bed, I was disappointed with the drastic difference between the photos of the dishes and the actual food delivered. It bolstered my belief in ordering or having food only while dining or ordering from some familiar restaurants.
Anyway, after spending a night in Mumbai, it was time to head to Shubhu Tai’s in-laws place. This was the first time I was visiting Shubhu Tai’s new place and I must say it felt really nice to see both her and her husband happy with each other. They made sure I had happy and comfortable stay and took me around to see a couple of touristy spots, which I loved.
stochasticity 