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Got on the treadmill for a very easy run for half hour. Listened to some classical music and kept it light throughout.

What is an everyday run. An easy effort. A time on feet. A run to be checked off for the day. A run to be enjoyed.

On my second round, down Shanti Path, I thought about the incredible Yuki Kawauchi and his amazing feats including winning the Boston Marathon in frigid temperatures. It led me to reading up more about him, his journey and his training.

I often impart advice that easy runs should be easy but I know have a tendency to push just ever so slightly. I wonder if I should tweak that.

I started the morning in Nehru Park continuing from the previous few weeks to switch to Nehru Park rather than Gurgaon. In this I am managing fifteen minutes more sleep and running when there is light out.

I had hard intervals today. After Berlin and perhaps travel, I couldn’t keep the prescribed pace. In any case it was probably good to get the legs moving again at a faster pace and put in the work.

The weather seems to be reluctant to turn to fall hanging on to the monsoon humidity although the rains have abated.

Back home, it was a bit of a plyometric workout rounded up with a cup of tea.

I couldn’t sleep for a long time last night even as it was nearly two AM. When I finally woke up, a bit dazed and under-slept, I needed a coffee and my treadmill.

It was a short one on the TM, playing with the speed toggle in sets of three, four, five and six minutes and then back again. It made for an interesting and very easy time on feet. A good way to start the week and begin the next phase of training.

We nearly missed our flight back to Delhi. There were IT outages in major European airports and the Berlin to Munich service was delayed by an hour.

We were lucky that someone waited for us at the plane to rush us in a car across terminals to catch the waiting Airbus A380.

Fertig, the gate manger barked as soon as we entered the aircraft. Boarding completed, a crew member announced as we took our seats in relief.

When we left Berlin, the air was crisp and cool, and I rued the missed opportunity to do a short run before leaving. I made a mental note to try and run tomorrow even if on the treadmill.

My sister Roshini and I started the Berlin marathon, excited, all smiles, and even FaceTimed the family. The sky shone a clear blue. Today was going to be a good day.

Amongst these thousands of people, we were mere dots in the sea of runners flanked by the beautiful Tiergarten, our back to the Brandenburg, facing the Siegessäule. In this sea of dreams, we shared in a common purpose. Here we were all one.

From Sabastian Sawe and Rosemary Wanjiru, to us amateurs, everyone is here to live the marathon dream. Whether it’s your first or your thirty-fifth Berlin – we passed a runner whose official T -shirt proclaimed this – everyone here is to run and cross the finish line.

Sawe wanted to break the Berlin record set by Kipchoge. Roshini was here to complete her first marathon. I was here living the privilege to run with my sister.

I’d like to think of the key moment as when we turned to face the Brandenburg Gate and the finish line beyond, I saw my sister’s eyes light up with tears. She was finally home. She was going to join the marathon community.

The race wasn’t easy for her especially in the second half. The marathon is always humbling and in a way, I am glad that she had some of these difficulties in this first run. It’s makes you cherish the distance even more. To respect the process of training and to do it all over again.

That said, I was surprised by the form and rhythm she held throughout the run. Even as we took a few walking breaks, when we began again, her form was the same, if not better, than the earlier part of the marathon.

It felt in so many places that we were part of one huge hive, one big train, running straights, curving around bends and street corners. As if the cumulative rhythm of the group pushed everyone forward a step at a time, like cogs in a wheel, all together as one team. Surely, if I think about it, there are a host of life lessons here.

When we crossed the finish line, it was all suddenly over. Some hours spent on feet and one big step forward for both of us. Perhaps in similar and divergent ways. In that, a race to remember and uphold forever.

From yesterday’s expo to having cocktails at the hotel bar post marathon, trading stories with other runners, a weekend of love and laughter, and of course marathon running.

I can see sun dappled streets from the car driving into Berlin. It seems to be perfect marathon weather.

I reached the hotel and met my sister, Roshini, exchanging hugs and grins, in the lobby of Hotel Adlon. Everyone here in the hotel seems to be a runner. There is a sea of shorts and singlets as folks go or come back from their shakeout Saturday run. Many are wearing the 5k run medal.

Tomorrow would be her first marathon. I’m proud to pace her. I hope she has a fun time, draws from her training and the energy of the crowds.

At the expo, we went a bit berserk, buying memorabilia, gels and other assortments.

We returned back to a heavy pasta lunch eating at the hotel’s restaurant on the sidewalk terrace overlooking the Bramdenburg Gate. The Inline Skating marathon was well underway and all manner of folks were finishing to claps and cheers. By this time, the sun was high in the sky and it was hot. It was a note for tomorrow.

Later we watched Don’t Look Up with an all-star ensemble cast in her room. I ate way too much room service and we talked, as is obvious, about race strategy, pacing, nutrition, hydration and what not.

Finishing up early, tomorrow is marathon day.

I am loving getting back to this Friday rhythm. Although time seems to move at its own pace, sometimes glacial pace, on the treadmill, the Friday run adds a neat condiment, a flair, a garnish, a lagniappe to the week.

It adds a sheen to the week. An important sandwich layer to divide the rhythm of the days prior and post. And perhaps because Fridays have a sunny disposition about them, this short and sweet run has a charm of its own.

Went late to Nehru Park today to complete three rounds of the Niti Marg-Shanti Path loop. Picked up the pace after the first kilometre and then kept it nearly the same for the rest of the run.

Put in some stride work for the last eight hundred metres and drove back home to a quick fifteen minute circuit workout to finish up the morning.

Today I had a dozen ninety second intervals. The air feels fresh even as it is hot and humid.

Once again, Nehru Park was the destination of choice. I’m admittedly loving the change from the Gurgaon roads. It won’t be this way or that though. There is space for both.

I ran faster than the prescribed pace and although I need to get to a certain fitness level, I am feeling light on my feet after ages.