doesnt recall when he fell in love with running. | Forum

First TestAlmost to the day, 64 years ago, Pakistan played their first Test against India in Delhi. Nike Vapormax Flyknit 2.0 Reverse Orca . They had a man who would become a legend opening the batting - Hanif Mohammad - and a man who was quite possibly the first of the long line of irresistible Pakistani seamers - Fazal Mahmood. The magic wasnt instantaneous though. Pakistan lost by an innings and 70 runs.First winThe swiftness with which Pakistan bounced back in the second Test made it seem like they were playing possum in the first. India were missing three of their players - including Vinoo Mankad, who had picked up 13 wickets in Delhi - and the visitors capitalised. A mere 15 minutes into the fourth morning in Lucknow, they had wrapped up victory by an innings and 43 runs.First centurionNazar Mohammad faced Pakistans first ball in Test cricket. Eight days later, in the Lucknow triumph, he had completed their first century. He carried his bat for 124 not out in eight hours 35 minutes and set up an innings victory, the Wisden Cricket Almanack says. He was the first player to be on the field throughout a Test. A domestic accident damaged his arm and ended his career. He became a coach, selector and one of Pakistans best cricketing raconteurs.First ten-forFazal Mahmoods performance against the MCC in 1951-52 helped convince Lords to grant Pakistan Test status. He was the first to pick up 10 wickets in a match - five in the first innings and seven in the second - to seal Indias fate in Lucknow. He was the first from Pakistan to 100 Test wickets. And he would captain them too. Tall and handsome, with wavy black hair, he even snapped up ad deals from Brylcreem; he was Pakistans first poster boy.First triple centurionDespite it being 58 years since Hanif Mohammad made 337 from 970 minutes at the crease, it remains the longest innings in Test history. One of the bravest too. With a lead of 473, West Indies had made Pakistan follow-on in Barbados. It was only the second day and back then Tests were played for six. It was in this setting that the legend of the original Little Master gained steam. He turned cricket in Pakistan from the preserve of the Lahore educated elite into the mass sport it is today, wrote Scyld Berry.First series winIt didnt take too long. Three years after their introduction to Test cricket in 1952, Pakistan trounced New Zealand in Karachi and Lahore to claim the three-match series. Offspinner Zulfiqar Ahmed bowled 83 overs while maintaining an economy rate under one and bagged 11 wickets to boot in Karachi. Imtiaz Ahmed became the first wicketkeeper to hit a double-century in Tests in Lahore as Pakistans final four wickets added a whopping 450 runs.First series win overseasThey had to wait 20 years for this. But it may well have been worth it. In conditions vastly different to their own - Wellington, Dunedin and Auckland - Sadiq and Mushtaq Mohammad - brothers of Hanif - proved run-making ran in the family. Intikhab Alam, until recently a beloved Pakistan team manager, couldnt give away 20 runs without picking up a wicket; the legspinner topped the charts. Four of the top-five run-scorers in the series were Pakistani.First time at No. 1It was a two-month reign in August and September 1988. But it was special. It was recognition of the fact that they had never been beaten in a series for three years. Imran Khan led them to India and beat India for the first time in a series. He led them to England and beat England for the first time in a series. He was just getting started. Nike Epic React Flyknit Triple Black Running Shoes Black/Black-Racer Blue AQ0067-004 . LOUIS -- St. Nike Shox Gravity Ireland . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). http:///...ke-vapormax-moc.html .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Distance running was revered because it was indispensable. It was the way we survived and thrived and spread across the planet. You ran to eat and to avoid being eaten; you ran to find a mate and impress her, and with her you ran off to start a new life together. You had to love running, or you wouldnt live to love anything else. - Christopher McDougall in Born To RunBy the time the mens marathon was staged in Rio, on the last day of the Olympics as per tradition, the average Indian fan had switched off. It was the first time since Rome 1960 that India had three in the field, though, for Thonakal Gopi - one among Indias three male marathoners in Rio, it didnt matter that his event wasnt among the most closely followed in the country. He was living a dream.Being at the Olympics was an incredible experience, he says, The target I had set myself was to breach the 2:12 national record. The record was set by Shivnath Singh in Jalandhar way back in 1978.Clocking his personal best, Gopi finished a second shy of compatriot Kheta Ram, at 2:15:26 in 26th position in a field of 155 marathoners in Rio. Nitendra Rawat, the more accomplished marathon runner of the three, finished 84th. Gopi, though isnt new to pulling off surprises. His Olympic qualification itself was a huge surprise considering the marathon was never an event he trained for or competed in.At the Mumbai marathon earlier this year, Gopi, who had never before participated in a full marathon, was brought in as a pace-setter for Rawat. He was supposed to drop out after 30 kms. He didnt. And it paid off.Finishing 37 seconds behind Rawat at 2:16:15, Gopi, primarily a 10000m athlete, wore a look of disbelief when he learnt that he had qualified for the marathon event in Rio. I never imagined that I would compete in a full marathon and qualify for the Olympics, says Gopi, who names Mo Farah among his idols, I hadnt even trained for it. Maybe the intensity and continuity I put in my training for 10000m helped.42.1 kms or 26.2 miles, the distance covered at a marathon, is probably one that most of us take 21 days to complete given we walk/jog at least 2kms daily. The ability to judge pace-setting is one of the most crucial tactics in a marathon. Running too slow at the start to save up on energy may result in not being able to inject a quick burst of speed so as to take the lead. While a thrust on speed early on could mean losing advantage and steam towards the finish.Right through the run I was thinking of the 2:12 record and how I would have to cover a km in 3.8s to touch that mark, he says, Its obviously not feasible to maintain that timing in every km. After a certain point in the marathon your mind begins feeling unsettled, your body fatigued and your muscles begin to get tight. I felt I was losing control over my arms and feet and moved my arms back and forth swiftly to try to regain command.Gopi was clearly in the lead among the Indians for the larger part of the race. Completing the 30km mark in 1:34:59, the Kerala runner moved into 39th position. Kheta and Rawat were at 52nd and 93rd respectively. In the next five km stretch, Kheta jumped a few places to be placed at 37th, with Gopi three places ahead of him. Soon enough the pair in the identical blue jerseys were racing alongside each other. Only after I crossed 33 kms did I notice that Kheta was right behind me, says Gopi, His presence worked as a support for me. I told myself OK, now for the rest of the race I can go alongside him.The 28 year-old admits though that he wasnt too happy with the scheduling of the event in Rio. A 9:30 am start meant thaat you finish around afternoon when the heat is at its worst. Air Max 270 Grape Shoes White/Black/Fluorescent Green/Purple. Luckily during our event there were light showers but during the womens marathon, it was scorching. He, was, however, prompt to suggest that he did not face any problem with regard to the facilitation of drinks during the race, unlike female marathoner OP Jaisha. I had trained with personalized drinks and used them during the race as well. My coach was there at the station to ensure everything was in place.?Ahead of the Olympics, a ten-month training stint at a high-altitude Ooty facility was coach Surendra Singh Bhandaris way of preparing his wards, Gopi, Kheta and Rawat, for the rigours of a road race. Training at a high altitude helps increase your heart and lung capacity, says Bhandari, who serves as an athletics coach at the Army Institute of Sports in Pune.The main focus has been on endurance and we divide our sessions into basic, preparatory and specific, bringing in speed training four weeks before the competition. Our usual sessions are of three hours in the morning and two in the evening and touch 300km a week during endurance training. Gopi is still new to marathon and his threshold for holding his body together during a race will only get better with increased endurance training.In speed training, Bhandari goes on to fill us in, the idea is to lessen the number of kilometres covered in the weeks preceding the event. Starting with 120-130 kms four weeks before the event, its tapered down to 40-50 km and lesser progressively with the sole thrust on speed.?After 30 kms, my hamstring and calves were hurting. Thats how I slowed down towards the end, says Gopi, Also in the final 3kms the road had a tiled feel to it and since there was a light drizzle it was slippery.Fatigue, cramps and hamstring pulls can be delayed with increased training, says Bhandari, even if not entirely averted. As opposed to a 100m sprint which lasts no more than 10 seconds, its essence lying in speed and its nature being almost entirely anaerobic, in a marathon, which typically spans over two hours, the body uses up its last reserves of energy. An extreme and lonely sport, marathon pushes your mind and body to the edge.The carbohydrate and fat reserves are used up 90 minutes into the race, he says, That explains why cramps set in post the 30 km mark. The body then begins to convert protein into energy. With more endurance training the onset of fatigue can be delayed, bit by bit. We have to push it to 42 km.Hailing from the town of Suthan Bathery, in Wayanad, Kerala, situated at an altitude of 1000m above sea level, Gopi, whose farmer parents alternately grew rice and ginger on their patch of land to bring food on the table, always had an innate love for running. I was into running right from my school years, he says.While I was in college I tried my hand at half marathon too. As the sport grew more integral to his life, he knew he had to find a way to support both his needs and that of the family. A steady, sustained income was crucial, thats how I took up a job in the Indian Army through the sports quota, says the Havaldar in the Artillery regiment.Gopi doesnt recall when he fell in love with running. It was, he feels, always encoded in his system. There is no money in running. But I cant think of another sport I would want to pursue for life, he says, Nothing equals the feeling of running.Or as McDougall put it succinctly: We were born to run; we were born because we run. Cheap NFL GearWholesale Black NFL JerseysStitched NFL JerseysChina JerseysCheap Jerseys WholesaleChina JerseysCheap Jerseys 2019 ' ' '