I started off earlier than usual for the long run today. Gaju said he would join me. By the time he came, I had run just over a kilometre in the darkness. But there were already a dozen cars at Nehru Park. The skaters were there too. With their coaches and parents following them in cars. In half hour, this place would be swamped with the usual Sunday rigmarole.
After a loop, I decided it was time to go towards India Gate and hopefully catch a less busier Sunday morning. Evading some obvious Saturday night cars, down Teen Murthi, then cutting to Safdarjung Road, and a left down Aurangzeb Road, it was finally all peaceful. Not a soul in sight. The dark sky was just giving way to a pre-dawn dark indigo.
The wide avenues led to roundabouts and more lengths of empty tarmac. Occasionally, a car zoomed by.
We came up to the India Gate hexagon, harked right, past Pandara Road crossing, and turned into Dr Zakir Hussain Marg. Down the straight and left towards Khan Market and Lodi Gardens. I expected to see a whole bunch of runners here but it was quiet down the Amrita Shergill Marg. One dog lounged lazily in the middle of the road.
Took a right at Lodi Road, joined back Safdarjung, taking the L shaped road to join back at Racecourse, passing the Prime Minister’s residence, and joining back at Nehru Park. All this in a near silent run.
We still had eleven more kilometres to go.
It’s surprising nearly always, how long a kilometre is. The loop I described was just fifteen kilometres and that too after making a round around Shanti Path as a precursor to heading out.
Then we ran a tangled shape in the embassy area, going this way and that, by now both of us desperate to finish the run.
On the way home, I had a litre of electrolytes which gave me enough charge to put in half hour of circuit workout – twenty exercises x twenty repetitions. Then I settled into a big, hopefully well deserved breakfast.
Writing about Running 