Stories of KK

What is a mid-life crisis? It, as Wikipedia defines it, is a time when adults realize their own mortality and how much time is left in their life. I think their papa is going through a mid-life crisis. He’s been doing Out-of-the-Ordinary Things the past year. Pulling out some research from the Net, these are the symptoms specific to him. It’s all athletic: * A desire to get into (even better) physical shape * Re-starting things which he had dropped years earlier, like windsurfing   and marathoning and skateboarding * Wanting to pick up new things like kitesurfing And buying new things like new bikes. From the perspective of a patient wife, it makes life interesting. Apart from the fact that I have a ton of dust-gatherers around the house – skateboard (used once), windsurfing equipment (used twice), a Saris bike rack for transporting bicycles on the car (never used), tennis balls and rackets (number of times used can be counted on one hand), rollerblades (still using), golf bag (still u

Nine years ago, KK ran a marathon. He was 32. I was pregnant with Day, cheerfully plied him with bananas while he trained and even won a Runspirator (running inspiration) cash prize for a touching essay I wrote about a pregnant wife supporting her marathon-ing husband. This year, along with the other many post-40 bees which have suddenly buzzed into his bonnet, KK decided he wanted to run it again. The training, conducted over several months, was painful and tiring. It was patently clear that 41 is not the same as 32. One 20km practice run (he runs at night) and he sleeps at 8pm for a few nights after. Muscles require massage from the parlour across the road which happily closes at 2am. The cycling to work stopped entirely. Days before the run, he, consistent in his belief that one needs the best equipment to be at one's best, kitted himself out with new top, new shorts, new sunglasses, energy gels and beef jerky to munch on the run. He had also cannily roped in my brother Choon, v