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Just when I thought my cough was getting better, it got terrible yesterday. I am not quite sure what happened. I ran on the treadmill indoors so I thought I avoided the pollution. Now I am coughing away and some of my ribs or that area seems to hurt quite a bit

Because the pollution continues to be very bad, I had to run on the treadmill today. It was long run Sunday and I wanted to stick to routine.

I thought that I would break up the run if it got too much to run on the treadmill continuously for so long. But I managed. First it was the Hamuman Chalisa. Then it was the thirty minute mark.

From there it was a “faster” pace – 200-300-400 x 2 – with equal parts easy running, then 300-400-500 x 2 then 200-300-400-500-600 x 2 and some combinations that got me to the half marathon distance. Music helped but breaking up the run with pace and distance did the job.

I can only run slowly on the treadmill so the time taken was nothing to speak of, but at least I have the option to run on the treadmill.

Later in the morning, the young boy did a forty five minute breaking that up in three parts. I can quite imagine that this is the most running the treadmill has seen in this house.

I had intervals today but I had barely slept at night. I dragged myself to the car with gels in hand hoping it would work out as it usually does.

But the air was just abominable. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. My cough has been on and off for weeks now and this would certainly send it skyrocketing.

Eventually, I did just half hour. Watching all manner of folks at the track – the old, the middle-aged, the very young children, the teenagers, I felt bad. This early in the very cold morning, intense training for many, in awful air.

Back at home, the young boy and I did a 100-100-100 workout with crunches, squats and lunges as training with sets of wall-sit thrown in for good measure.

Took it easy today.

It was back at the track. Met up with Gaju and the Coach again. Hit the road and decided to take a U-turn and go the other side of Bakhtavar Chowk to the flyover section. It’s a nice long-ish bridge with a steady 300m climb. If one can call that a climb that is.

No dogs this time around.

It has been weeks since I did intervals in any form. Whether on the road or at the track. It had to be Gaju. It had to be Coach Ravi. It had to be in darkness and in Gurgaon. 400m repetitions.

It felt like coming home but at the same time as if all new. It was hard. But also fit right in. I wasn’t as fast as I would like to be but it was on point with each repetition within seconds of each other.

On the way back and on the very last repetition, I heard a few men shouting, a ball of white fur at my legs. Gaju and I clutched at each other facing two very angry dogs. Coach Ravi was further down the road. We walked away, trying to be calm and restarted the last interval. Close call.

Seene se dil hi nikal gaya, said Gaju.

Finishing up, I said I would come back tomorrow for an easy run.

I wanted to go to track today and run with Gaju. But I woke up at 2 AM and couldn’t fall asleep for hours. I may as well have gone to track.

I called Coach Ravi, excused myself and slept badly for another hour or so. Dragging myself out of bed, made a coffee and then did a run on the treadmill. By the time I was done, I felt better. A short core workout rounded up the morning.

Rest on Monday and started off on a manic note.

In less than twenty four hours, I have run on the track, Nehru Park and the treadmill. That’s a rare triple. If ever.

I went to Nehru Park this morning and completed a half marathon distance, sprinted back home to get the young boy going on the treadmill. We managed to do a big chunk of his prescribed workout before he had to break for studies.

After his tuitions, it was on the treadmill again for him to finish the last part of his run.

Then it was my turn. I wanted to round up my run to exactly what had been inputted in training peaks. So it was another half hour of running before a big Sunday lunch.

Track last evening. Nehru park this morning. Treadmill before lunch.

Hat-trick.

Because I have been coughing and have this dastardly cold, I ended up sleeping in extra this morning. I made the young boy do a circuit workout and then went for an exceptionally long work meeting.

On a whim, I had carried my running clothes. The meeting finished in Gurgaon in the evening and I decided to go to the track.

Gaju was travelling but Coach Ravi would be there at his usual evening time.

Lane Nine it was. It turned out to be a fantastic progressive fifteen kilometres, and for a large part, with a young man I hadn’t met before. At some point, he just joined me and turned out to be a great partner. We ran silently, changing gears every few rounds. Like musicians, anticipating each other’s moves.

I loved every iota of it. After a couple of slow weeks, this is exactly what the soul needed. Every second, this evening made me come alive.

Later, a robust cello class rounded up the day before heading out with my very dearest and closest, Gauri and Nainika for a birthday at Delhi Golf Club.