Running – 2 races in 3 weeks

Todays run was nice. The realrun in 2008 was about enduring the heat but today the weather was great with a blob of cloud constantly blocking the sun.

Ladybug and Otterman picked me up at 540 am.. Otterman incidentally enjoyed watching the runners come in and noticed the change in form from the fastest to the slower runners. The backdrop of the beach and Pulau Tekong in the distance was nice for him.

Anyway, I started off the race slowly with Ladybug who was in the zone with music from Queen. The rain in the last few weeks had made the reclaimed land area nice and soft for today so that first few km were easy on the feet. Out of that terrain was the park connector along the changi coastal road. The shade was nice. But the best part of the run was under the canopy of Terminalia catappa which were in their autumnal colours of red and gold. It provided timely distraction from my hunger pangs that were assailing my stomach, I could have stopped for a buffet then… The falling leaves were so mesmerising that I caught a leaf that was falling from the high branches of the trees on either side of the road.

From that stretch we entered into the Changi Beach park which soon made way for the dreaded beach section.. however, I found myself picking up the pace there… must be the waves. I made the most of that upswing and found a good pace and stuck to it. The tarmac section was the hottest but also the part where most people were slowing down so I must have overtaken quite a few of those. I gave the final drinks station a miss and upped the pace to the finish line, mindful of the fact that I was going to be within 1hr 40 mins which would better last year’s race… Otterman was there to provide the finish line support – so he got a t-shirt for that!

Great race and good organisation with the drinks stop at every 2 km.

Newbalance Realrun 2009 – 1hr 39mins
2008 – 1hr 40 mins 36 secs.

Nike Human Race 2009 – 1hr 4 mins (yucks).

Notes:

Good to have Indian Veg meal the day before as it has loads of rice. The gulab jamons provide good source of carbo-loading. Should have more bananas for breakfast.

Two brothers

“From the solemn gloom of the temple children run out to sit in the dust, God watches them play and forgets the priest.”

from Fireflies by Rabindranath Tagore.

Acer on Cedar

While on a canopy walk, I came across this curious fruit which happens to be from an Acer species… it was resting so delicately on the very sizeable and handsome Cedar tree.

I am quoting part of the poem by Tagore… how nice the last sentence of this quote.. makes one feel so restful.

O profound,
Silent tree, by restraining valour
With patience, you revealed creative
Power in its peaceful form. Thus we come
To your shade to learn the art of peace,
To hear the word of silence; weighed down
With anxiety, we come to rest
In your tranquil blue-green shade….

In Praise of Trees (Brikhsa Bandana) -Rabindranath Tagore. 1926
(Translated by Dr. William Radice, 1985)

[Tagore wrote this poem in connection with the annual Tree-planting fesitval that he instituted at Shantinekatan. Tagore included this poem in the book “Bano Bani”which was dedicated to Tagore’s scientist friend Plant-Physiologist/physicist Sir JC Bose. This poem was quoted by the United Nations in their publications to highlight the importance of green earth. I thought it would be nice if MM includes this poem in their celebrations of Earth day on April 22, 2006. Regards. --Asim K. Duttaroy]

The Great Sentinel Lecture

On Monday, I gave a lecture to the Bicultural India programme on Rabindranath Tagore. My audience were JC1 students and about 20 of them. In doing so I revisited some of the memorable Tagore books and poetry that I have read. Somehow this line sticks in my head –

“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.” -Rabindranath Tagore

I posted a picture of Matt and Josh running about after my brother-in-law’s beach wedding and cited that sentence. What a beautiful line and perhaps how everyone feels about children. Teachers count semesters, workers count TGIFs and lament at how fast time flies but children count moments and seem to have an endless amount of time… Which explains why sometimes I tell my kids I am really busy and have to go to the zoo another time…
http://lekowala.wordpress.com/2007/04/10/ephemeral3/

All my previous blog entries inspired by the great sentinal.
http://lekowala.wordpress.com/?s=tagore

I was looking back at the blogposts and I remember the more carefree days I had where I was reading a book a week and mostly on Gandhi and then Tagore. You need to be in a relaxed state to enjoy Tagore, for Gandhi you need to be in a more devout state. Its almost demanding to read Gandhi as you feel your conscience examined by the great Mahatma (wow a tautonym). For Tagore, you need to be in a mindful and relaxed state or it would be like food that has been rushed, tea that has been gulped.

I was telling the students that Tagore was like a treasure that I had unearthed, I got a quizzical look when I said that as well as many times during the talk cos I am sure the students didn’t get what I was saying at times about how important Tagore was.

Here’s part of a Poem called Palm Tree

Palm Tree: Single-legged giant,
topping the other trees,
peering at the firmament-
It longs to pierce the black cloud-ceiling
and fly away, away
if it only had wings

The tree seems to express its wish
in the tossing of its head:
Its fronds heave and swish -

Wedding and friends

Today I attended a good friend’s wedding and I sat at a table with my good kakis. On my right was Cynthia, she is always full of life-giving words. How blessed it is to be her friend. One friend away is Otterman who organized my wedding, he’s a brother to me. Ladybug is sister. And then there is Jaswant and Kok who laugh like little kids. Down the table past them are Zee, Abby and Dione, wonderful people who I am proud to have as Bio kakis and fellow educators. One is indeed fortunate to be surrounded by good people. A blessing. I don’t know why I always feel that in such occasions where I meet good people, I sense heaven, its almost tangible and spiritual. I mean I have that with my family. But because these people aren’t family but they somehow seem heaven-sent, the sense of heaven is there. If you guys read this, bless you.

I dream of Saturn

Had a dream that I was peering into my telescope to look at Saturn. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I brought Matt and Josh to look at Saturn from the Astro club’s viewing evening. Seeing another planet gives perspective. It makes one feel that there is a wider realm about and makes things feel less significant in kind of a good way. Trivial problems just melt away at the sight of a planet that is 9.609 AU (Astronomical Units) away from us. Hey I found a way to use wolframalpha meaningfully. Which is 893.21 million miles away from Earth. (Another good use of wolframalpha!).

Heaven

Today at mass, I was wondering, where is God? Not that I am feeling lost but it was beginning to feel like the same stuff week in and out and, come on, I told myself, I can’t just try to sit out a mass. It would be a waste. Though I am so guilty of that more that half the time.

So as with most spiritual searching, one must knock on the door with some focus and so I knelt down and prayed quietly, “where are you?”

Like the breeze, heaven came with the beautiful voices of the choir as I had my eyes closed and mind quietened, how soothing it was and calming.

Later in the evening I met some kakis for dinner and we spent half the time chuckling away under the full moon like hyenas. Joy. Brother Broughton said in a prayer meeting once that as youths we would have such a great time when we met our friends at Macdonalds or some favourite meeting place. Those were like moments of when we would be experiencing heaven. What a beautiful and accessible description of heaven. Heaven is in the love we have for each other.

Bruguiera gymnorhiza

I am pretty awestruck by this mangrove tree. The contrast of the red calyx against the green of its leaves makes it photogenic. Thanks to the boardwalk at Sg Buloh, one can hold it in your hand and take a picture.

These are unopened.

These are opened

And this is the general habit of the tree. Habit meaning the form – whether its a tree, climber, shrub etc.

It looks festive.

I wonder what pollinates the flowers? Its definitely attractive. Didn’t smell it though. I wonder when it flowers in the year. Lots of questions…

More about this plant, the tumu, here

Nudibranchs and the power of the sun in their tentacles

Saw this cutie at Sentosa today – Polka-dot nudibranch (Jorunna funebris)

Besides nudibranchs, there were a few other people from the seashore groups that were there brought in by the low tide today.

Then I happened to see this slug or is it a nudibranch (someone please) and this dude who happened to be there mentioned that it was a slug that could photosynthesize. I can’t verify the species but the nugget about slugs photosynthesizing brought to mind an article I read. But first the pictures of this fair creature… I hope this is really a slug of some sort! I thought they were a cluster of mollusc eggs. I am not sure if this slug really photosynthesizes though.

But anyway, more about photosynthesizing slugs! Well they don’t really but they do collect the plastids (chloroplasts basically) by feeding on the algae (they one that this slug is feeding on is presumably Bryopsis). Collecting the plastids is already quite amazing since the slugs selectively do not digest this organelle. Another most profound aspect of this ability to harness photosynthetic machinery is a gene that is co-opted by the slug in its co-evolutionary history… so baby slugs are born with one photosynthetic gene that helps maintain the ingested plastids for at least 9 months… cool.

Solar-powered Sea-slugs Live Like Plants

ScienceDaily (Dec. 3, 2008) — The lowly sea slug, “Elysia chlorotica,” may not seem like the most exciting of creatures, but don’t be fooled

“Photosynthesis needs around 2,000 to 3,000 genes, and animals do not have many of the critical genes,” says Manhart. So Manhart and his co-workers looked into how the plastids consumed by the slug can continue photosynthesizing.

“We found that the slug has at least one gene required for photosynthesis in its nuclear genome, which has never been found in any animal,” says Manhart. “The critical thing is the plastids come from the alga, but the slug nucleus contains at least one, and probably more of the genes required for plastid functioning,” he adds.

Cenchrus brownii

Before I forget again and have to hunt the web for the scientific name!

Its quite common along the beach forest and it was first recorded in Singapore in 1950. I browsed the www and realised that the plant is in some flickr sets in Singapore without the name (I commented on them).. so here’s the name so that the next time someone gets poked by it, at least can curse it properly.

Here’s a nice picture of it courtesy of Ria from wildsingapore

It belongs to the grass family and not the sedge family.

Cenchrus brownii!

As you can see, I am pretty invigorated by the fieldtrip I had this morning…