Up And Running

There is this dreamer from North America, who has just spread his wings like a sparrow in his flyway, sending messages across the globe reminding that the winter is coming. I thought the upcoming winter is not really a big deal for me, residing at the eastern edge of a desert called Rub'al Khali, literally means the empty quarter. Someone joked about the 3 seasons in Dubai, being, hot, hotter and hottest, nothing else.

After I googled on the subject of "dubai+weather", I know better now. Winter makes a difference here, though not as much as elsewhere in the north hemisphere at this time of the year. Now it makes sense to me why this Mat Stylo of Dubai blogged about adding his winter wear, and why the clothing outlets display lines of designs with long sleeves, high collar, which are made of thicker materials.

Today's weather figures in metric units are as follow:
Temperature : 33 ºC
Cloud Cover : 0%
Humidity : 45%
Visibility : 16 km
Wind Conditions: 14 km/h

Apart from the figures, the weatherman had posted the following friendly report about the temperature drop, pleasant weather in Dubai and also the possibility of snow in the highlands.

"Visitors from more temperate climates are often surprised just how hot it can be in Dubai. In the peak of summer, temperatures in Dubai reach the mid-40’s and can soar higher the further inland you go. Typically though, the peak tourist season from Europe to Dubai is between November and March when the weather is fantastic. The humidity has gone, there are a good number of sunshine hours and the evenings are pleasant enough to enjoy a spot of outside dining. It should be observed however, that Dubai has experienced a couple of cold winters in recent years. Some late evenings and early morning temperatures have dropped to as low as 10 – 12 degrees Celsius and in the neighbouring Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, they’ve even experienced snow in the mountains - but it’s not the norm!"

The weatherman also added on the possibility of rain.

"there is the odd smattering of rain in the months of January, February and March. During these months the rain typically limits itself to the odd day or two, although in 2006 and 2007 there were several days in each of these months that had some extended downpours"

This weatherman also advised on how to dress in accordance to the climate and culture here.

"Don't think the heat gives you an excuse to walk around in a state of undress. Dubai may be a liberal place compared to the rest of the UAE, but you should still dress fairly modestly. This is even more true if you are planning to travel around and visit nearby Emirates such as Sharjah, Ajman or the city of Al Ain".

I decided to have my regular run around the neighbourhood this morning. This time I took with me my Nokia N95, to run and observe the surrounding that might signify the weather change and to snap shots along the way. As I started my run, I snapped the garden weeds, again. Today they swayed in one direction beautifully, choreographed by the wind as reported having the condition of 14km/h.

It must have been very windy lately that the dust from the desert has come along and settled in our neighbourhood, particularly visible on the long-parked cars. In Dubai, to clean a car is simply done by driving them, or else, it would collect the dust. The owner of the dust-coated cars might have gone for a long vacation in Beirut, or might have had left Dubai and never return.

My favourite tree in the neighbourhood, the weeping willow is also a good indicator of the wind condition and direction. As I ran along passing it, the wind stopped blowing. So the weeping willow could not show off its swaying moments.

As my one-hour run got into the second half, the sun was glaring brightly. It got hotter, but my run was blessed with the intermittent shade in the avenue.

I looked up at the canopy of the avenue. I heard the birds chippings, merrier than usual. Are they the migratory species from the north?, I wonder. They were up on the high branches, behind the foliage, too shy to make the visible appearance but loud enough to signal their presence. They flew away as I ran approaching their perching spots.

The cloud cover reported was 0%. As I ran along, I occasionally looked up at the sky. There are clouds in Dubai, after all! But not the cumulus, thick and heavy clouds. They are thin, elevated, so called high-level clouds. Just like many commercial flights which only stop in Dubai airport and its new, state-of-the art Terminal 3, for a few hours before heading elsewhere, these thin clouds were probably made their short appearance on our sky, and they seemed to be in a hurry to bring their mass to places where people pray for the rain.

As I continued running, I was cheered by this skinny Indian gardener in his shabby blue uniform. He was having his break by the roadside. I imagine he was my true supporter who made me feel like a celebrated runner. I tried to snap his photo, but all I got was a blank white image. He must be a daylight angel. But he can be spotted crossing the street in front of the mosque in the photo above. He was nowhere to be seen in my 5th and last round. I guess he had gone back to work. I guess I'll never see him again.

As I ran along, I was contemplating whether to hit the pavement or the soft grass. Running on the grassy ground has this cushioning effect that can save my joints over this long run. Running on the pavement can save the grass, which is struggling to survive on this cultivated desert. I tried to save both, by running along the borderline, as much as I could.

As I ran towards the end, I have made up my mind that I will pay 370 dirham to register in the Dubai Marathon which will be held on 16th January 2009. It's a 41km run. I had only done the 21km PJ Half Marathon twice, so far. I had googled for "Dubai Marathon" for information. I have made a spreadsheet to track my training program. I have hooked up with the blogs of these 2 down-to-earth runners, one with injured limb and the other slightly out of shape. They prove that with determination, anything is possible.

The organiser of this marathon is so organised that they have good archive that one can access to the results of the previous 2008 Dubai Marathon. There are 616 runners' results listed. I am honouring the Malaysian runners and my big boss Alessandro, and also the last English finisher who made it to the finishing mat with their names sandwiched with their respective rankings and finishing times, as follow.

219, Ng, Ah Tzuh (MAS), 03:49:57
273, Kumar, Vijaya (MAS) , 03:56:56
391, Bussi, Alessandro (ITA), 04:22:54
471, Chan, Mew Foon (MAS), 04:42:37
480, Fong, Choon Ming (MAS), 04:44:15
529, Abdullah, Syahrir (MAS), 05:00:28
594, Yunos, Muliadi Bin (MAS), 05:50:06

Lastly, 616, Temple, Anthony (ENG), 07:31:00

I'm dreaming to land my feet on the finishing mat in the next Dubai Marathon. I have no specific target to beat as this would be my maiden marathon. But I'm aiming to do minutes better than the time clocked by the English finisher. So I dare to dream and make it happen.