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On my rest day, sneezing a bit, sipping coffee and watching the sky turn from an inky darkness to a pale off white, a little pink smudged within the colour.

I wore a mask today for nearly the whole run. It wasn’t easy but perhaps it’s worth it.

It will be a few months with a battle against the air pollution at this time of the year. No battle – instead – management. Treadmill indoors or mask running? The hard runs are impossible to do with a mask or indoors.

My friend Gokul and I ran more than half the distance together with me managing a conversation, emanating muffled sounds.

Eventually, towards the end, I took off the mask and you could immediately smell the air. I would rather run nowhere else but Delhi. How I wish, somewhere, somehow, all those bright people solve the pollution situation. Of course, way out front are the folks and children compromised by this and need a solve.

I met up with my sister afterwards, and we drove back together, catching up on her recent travels, running and the next thing.

The track was shut today so I went to Nehru Park. The workout – intervals – didn’t look too difficult. I was quite wrong. They were tough and I pushed hard.

I wore a yellow Boston marathon long sleeved t shirt for the first time. Even during warm up you can’t really run slow wearing that. I took it off after the first round and started the intervals.

I had pushed hard and it paid off. Back home, I finished a circuit workout and made the young boy workout as well with hurdles in the corridor. We both ended with a plank, side by side.

I wanted to do a short run today but I slept extraordinarily late. Oh well.

Climbed seven floors to a site meeting instead. Does it count? Perhaps if it was 50 stories instead? Hmmm.

Four rounds of the Niti Marg – Shanti Path route with a bit of extra up and down rounded up the easy morning effort.

It was dark when I began. The wisps of dawn began to appear in the first round itself. A young woman in pink ran counterclockwise. A familiar runner raised his hand in acknowledgment. Running partners here and there. A tall man with a bounding stride and a foreigner ran sleekly together. A group warmed up. The man on the wheelchair made his way up Shanti Path at his usual time of around seven AM.

Thursday’s at NP.

Today I went to the track after quite a while. I spoke to my friend Aditi who was in the area and asked if she would like to come. It wasn’t quite dawn yet when we pulled up to the parking lot at the same time.

My usual running partner, this side of town, Gaju, had gone to his village. A few other boys joined me for the 400s and 200s. It was a long and brutal workout.

It was dark when we began. At some point the night turned colours to a grey morning sky, though I can’t recall on what particular repetition of the workout. It is one thing to watch the sunrise in the horizon, it’s another to notice the change of colours in the sky. I find it as bewildering, this change of colours. As fleeting, as quicksand as thoughts themselves. There is, for me, no exact moment. There is watching the sky and see that change occur – if you see at all. But you can’t track that change, it just happens, like thoughts.

Aditi left. She messaged later saying she watched the running for a bit, and was glad to see my beloved track.

One of the boys did the work with me, the others fell off and joined occasionally. These guys are used to sprint work not the kind of work my coach puts me through.

Back home, I put myself through a rigorous workout.

I woke up this morning and decided to hit the driveway for the easy hour.

Peahens scattered about near the start point ignoring me. Ar some point, I saw a flock of birds – I don’t know what kind – fly across in a near perfect V formation. A ginger coloured cat glared at me.

I began to wonder if one of the goals would be to run an hour, without it feeling like an hour. Whether that should even qualify as a goal but a journey of itself. To reach a state of running one day without time and distance but just running. Wandering about, whether on the roads or to a destination or simply here, up and down.

Head cleared after a few good sessions and ready to hit the work week.

First, warm up with Gokul and Kapil.

Second, paced Kapil for a ten kilometre effort.

Third, ran with the young boy.

Solid morning – great fun – and very lucky.

I woke up with a start with the alarm. I slept in very early. After coffee, the loo and usual gathering of water, gels, keys, I drove to Gurgaon.

There were already groups of runners on the Gurgaon Faridabad highway. Making my way through the innards of Gurgaon, I reached the track. Dawn had begun pushing its way into the night sky.

Gaju, the Coach, and a couple of other young boys joined me. I had one kilometre intervals and I had no idea how they would pan out. But they did.

I ran all of them at under the prescribed pace and some by quite a margin. The other two runners fell off at some point, leaving me and Gaju to complete the job.

While it was satisfying to have this session under the belt, I cannot help but think that I can do this faster.

I will. I absolutely will.