For most of the day, I rode on a wave of adrenalin. Johns Hopkins puts it differently. But I believe the magic of exercise can’t be yet pinned down.
I had a brilliant mile repeats interval session today. I woke up feeling a special spring of confidence. As I laced up, I remember I told myself that the session would go well.
When the young boy and I did warm up laps at the track, the moon hung low in the sky. Between the stadium ramparts, it glowed like a big fat lamp – or so I thought. Later in the day, my friend Aditi, illuminated this further (all puns intended) by sending me this article about the year’s last supermoon.
The track gang geared up in doing the interval repeats with me, and the young boy would join us for shorter intervals through each repetition. It was one of those days when things fall in place. I felt good right from the start. By the third repetition, I started to feel a near state of bliss. Later, through the other repetition cycles, it was simply joyous running.
Most of the track gang did the sets. Ashwini joined me throughout the run. Seeing the boys, Ashwini and Sujit running shirtless a few metres ahead, my arm brushing against Monu’s swinging arms, it was simply magical to be amongst them, in the thick of it. During the reps, as always, it’s infinitely easy to admire their running style, the way it seems to come naturally to them. That added ever more to the morning. That perpetual beauty in perpetual motion.
The young boy started each repetition with us. It is a joy to see him run and he enjoys the track gang. He likes their no nonsense approach to running, their boisterous manner.
When it was all over, it was elation. Now for the long run tomorrow.
Writing about Running 