Because I changed my routine this week because of a social commitment, it was Saturday as an off day.

Because the track was closed today – flooded apparently – Coach Ravi called me to say that the roads in Gurgaon would be flooded too.

I had a medium run and I needed to do it on the road. Off I went to Nehru Park. Niti Marg had a dozen dogs lurking in just about every corner and just when I thought I would try to run inside the park, I bumped into my friend Kapil. Now the dogs weren’t as much of a concern.

He was running longer than me which suited me just fine. We ran the usual loops around the Shanti Path, Nyaya Marg area, looping around to Vinay Marg. He does triathlon and I embarked on stories from a lifetime past. Stories of cycling in Mukhteshwar and Nepal, camp in Spain and swimming in Talkatora. We traded laughs and before long, the run was nearly over.

I finished the last loop on my own, missing the company but so very grateful for the previous hour.

Today, my friend Karishma, a moviemaker and writer came to the track. Perhaps a story will churn from this ochre land.

It rained lightly throughout the time I was there. One of the boys joined me for the repeats. He was struggling to stay at my pace – normally he would be at least ten seconds faster.

There is a movie here at every yard, in all the faces, in all their histories. The stories meld here together at dawn.

Lane Nine is a patience game. When it’s time on feet or an easy ten, you got to go around, round after round, just keeping it cool.

Each time – at least for me – it’s a game around patience. How many times do I look at the watch to check the distance or time or both? Do I get lost in thoughts and distract myself? Should I listen to music or not?

Today, specifically, I didn’t feel like finishing the hour. I got to ten kilometres and I was done. Actually, just over ten – lane nine – ten finishes at the top of the track and you run around the bend, down the home straight and end at the start point.

This morning I decided to switch around and do my interval running today instead of tomorrow. I had 300s with a 100 easy break between each.

They felt absolutely endless. A young boy, Nikhil, joined me. Even though he wasn’t one of the familiar runners, I had run with him a few times.

Because I did the switch at the last moment, I wasn’t carrying any gel or electrolytes. Luckily for me, my friend Gokul was at the track and I stole a Maurten from him.

Counting them down, I hammered them all home in under the prescribed time.

Landed back in Delhi and got home well before time. But took the day off from running as planned.

This morning before catching the flight, I wanted to put in an hour on feet. The weather was crisp, cool and perfect.

On Sunday’s, this time in the morning, in the West, I usually have the roads to myself. More than half hour into my run, I hadn’t crossed a single walker or runner. I could hear my steps echoing back at me, and my bracelets clinking against each other like a steady metronome.

I took the U-turn at the same place as yesterday and it was on the way back, around 730 AM, that I saw a few runners.

Nearer to the hotel, there was a woman next to the lake taking a salsa class on zoom or perhaps she was practising to a recorded video.

The lake on my right, a woman dancing with some serious moves, a man sitting on a bench, the occasional runner but above all else everything seemed still, quiet, and serene.

Ciao, Switzerland, for now.

Because I did my long run yesterday, I took a break today.

Spent an hour at the Kunsthaus Zurich in the new David Chipperfield building which has got to be easily one of the best museums I’ve ever visited.

Around the seventh kilometre, a red van on a cross street passed me, and the moustached man with the red cap and T-shirt was none other than Super Mario. Here in the flesh in Zurich.

That gave a lilt to the step, running down parallel to Lake Zurich in beautiful weather. But now along rows of houses with flashes of lake in between.

I knew I wouldn’t have a chance to do my long run over the weekend so I took the chance I got and ran in the afternoon. It was a gorgeous day and people were sunbathing in patches of green along the lake or swimming in the 24 degree water.

At the end I finished 21.1 and that took me to a good start to Friday evening ahead.

Who runs in Switzerland on a treadmill? Apparently me. I had a short window to complete 14k today and I didn’t bother to find out about where I could run. Besides in this part of town, near Baden, it seemed like I would hit a mini-highway as soon as I left the hotel.

The hotel had a large fitness centre attached to it popular with the locals. Last evening, I saw many folks coming and going with rackets and gym gear. Many dined in the hotel restaurant after using the gym while I looked wistfully at them eating rocket salad.

I found myself to be the second person in the gym this morning. There was only one treadmill and I was lucky to have it. I could see, beyond my reflection in the glass, a bowling alley in the basement. Apparently there were indoor tennis courts as well. For a popular place, I was surprised at the one treadmill, but at least it was mine for now.

Listening to a popular playlist and constantly toggling with the incline and speed controls, I finished the run and sped up to change for the day ahead.