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Kept it real easy on the treadmill. Nose breathing throughout. Resisted playing with incline or speed toggles.

Listened to Jacqueline du Pre play Schumann, and steady state completed forty five minutes.

Whoa. Now that hasn’t happened in absolute ages. I woke up this morning itching to put in a strength workout.

I set the timer for twenty minutes and proceeded with a full body workout including forward and backward lunges that I kinda dread.

All done, finishing up with planks to start the week.

It’s been a long time coming.

After taking more than a month off and illness, the young boy joined me at Nehru Park today.

Tradition continued. He recently turned eleven and he hadn’t done his birthday run so today’s target was eleven kilometres.

I had finished exactly nine when I saw the car pull up. Off we went. After a tremendously rainy last couple of months, today was a typical hot and humid Delhi summer day.

Two rounds of the Niti Marg – Shanti Path loop and then to Nyaya Marg, Panchsheel Marg, back up to Shanti Path and around to finish up the run.

He was struggling towards the last few kilometres but we made it through, even making the last kilometre the fastest.

We played a few word games. We commented on other runners. Bumped into my sister. He got his share of whoops and encouraging claps.

Spent, we made our way to Fig at the Malcha Marg market and ate French toast and scrambled eggs.

My kind of Sunday morning well spent.

Yesterday, when I first saw the Saturday workout I saw 3 x 1 mile, and my instant thought was that my coach, Eilish had me down for a taper weekend. But then I noticed another label peeking from below. That was the precursor to the 8k tempo effort. Aah, I thought. That’s more like Eilish.

When I left in the morning, I was looking forward to hearing some music but I realised I had left my headphones behind. Just as well.

The intervals went better than expected. Fast but not fast as I need to get.

Taking a short break, getting some water, I saw a familiar runner, a Navy man, who I had run with a month or so back. I called out to him and asked him to join me for the tempo.

Off we went at a pace faster than the prescribed effort. Three rounds of the Niti Marg – Shanti Path loop and we were done.

Back home, it was a good workout and time for a big breakfast.

I notched up today’s optional run. It’s taken me long to get to these and I am hoping to make a habit out of it.

I toggled with the incline and the speed but kept it in a very comfortable range.

All done for the morning.

There was a smattering of runners already at Niti Marg when I parked. Most were running in groups or pairs. I put on the beast mode playlist on the headphones and set off.

Settling into a rhythm by the second kilometre, I decided to repeat the Niti Marg-Shanti Path loop five times, increasing the pace, pressing forward with my torso and lifting my knees.

Back home, it was a good circuit and core workout to round up an excellent Thursday morning.

Because I had a late night yesterday – but thankfully no drinks – I slept very little before waking up to mile intervals on the cards.

This is Nehru Park environs. I know these roads all too well. I knew in advance where each interval would end. Yet during each interval, I looked at the watch more than a few times. Yes, I wanted to check if the pace was on point. It was. But the need to check the balance distance through the run was too much.

Perhaps it’s different from the track in that you know exactly what loop you’re on and other than pace, there isn’t anything else to check. (Unless you’re a pro or bananas enough to be checking stride length, cadence, GCT and whatever else.)

I had all but forgotten the joys of intervals and running in these ever familiar and beautiful roads in weekdays. I think I would like to shift much of my training here for now other than specific efforts that involve track training.

I am certain that in the dead of the winter, I will once again rely on the track as I am not much for running complete distances in total darkness.

I caught up on a little sleep. Woke up to do an easy run on the treadmill. A short core workout rounded up the morning.

I still had time for a cup of tea before leaving for an early start to the day.

Still feeling the effects of the long run from yesterday. So much so that my friend Aditi commented on me looking out of it when I met her in the morning.

C’est la vie and all that.

This morning I started off with my friend Gokul. We caught up on the Sydney Marathon that he ran the previous weekend and talked about recent US tariffs on India. An interesting start to the Sunday dawn.

Gokul handed me off to Shikha, coming from the opposite side. Shikha and I ran Niti Marg, Nyaya Marg, Shanti Path and then after a short water break went towards Safadarjung Road. A circuitous route down Tuglak Road, Teen Murthi brought us back on Shanti Path.

I was around the nineteen kilometre mark at this point and finished the next eleven kilometres on my own. This was the part that hit the brutal zone. I was sweating buckets. I was exhausted. I pressed on and finished but several times in the last five kilometres, I thought about calling it a day.

Once it was all done, I met my sister Roshini and we drove home together. I nearly emptied her bottle of electrolytes. We spoke about the upcoming race season and to take a bit of a breather from the relentless routine after Diwali.

At home, I demolished a pancake with maple syrup and an appam with coconut chutney.