Took the day off as scheduled.

It’s been good meeting Maneesh reasonably often. Far more than last year. We ran recently the same golf course road and this morning again.

How much has changed since Amit, Maneesh and I ran this road nearly a dozen years ago. Age and buildings go upwards.

When I saw the number of repetitions I had for my intervals today, I couldn’t quite believe my eyes. Had my very dear coach gone bananas? What a number.

I am still recovering from the stomach cramps. I realised fairly quickly that I couldn’t keep up to the prescribed pace. I considered dropping out. But instead I dialled back the pace. It was the toughest session in a long time.

Back home, the young boy and I did a solid workout and that rounded up the morning for the day ahead.

Woke up feeling better. Not yet a hundred percent. I did a short run in the driveway. Movement alleviates. A short core workout followed.

I thought I would put in a short run on Monday even though it is usually the official rest day. But I’ve fallen a bit unwell and I couldn’t run.

As I did my long run yesterday, I rested today – Sunday. Although I don’t like to switch around, it couldn’t be helped this time.

It was still, warm, and reasonably quiet this morning. Completed a few interesting loops to top off the long run of the week today, instead of Sunday.

Around the one kilometre mark – a made up mark – at the bus stand on Vinay Marg – that is exactly the aforementioned distance from the midpoint parking on Niti Marg, I was just about to a cross a fellow middle aged runner, albeit a heavyset man, and just as I was about to cross him, he picked up pace.

Normally, this can be a trifle annoying or exceedingly so, depending on the body language of the fellow runner, indeed that in running, you can puff like a peacock, even while breath should not allow you to, be exhibit macho body language that might be more useful in cage fighting than the sport of running.

But this was a harmless man who (probably) looked to pick up pace and keep with me as much as he could.

Truth be told he picked up such that in turn now I was in danger of falling off. But here we were together. Soon, very soon, he began to huff and puff more than he already was until his breath intakes were a series of near wheezes which caused a bit of alarm on my part while keeping a check on my own breath and ensuring that I was feeling easy.

By the time we reached the Hanuman temple on the same road, though it is on the opposite side, he looked on his right and for a split second I thought he looked at me, but he was looking at his God and he exhaled, Bajrang Bali ki Jai, with such exertion and force as to compound his present efforts and receive in turn from his God a few extra powers which he surely so deserved. And desired.

But now, by the second bus stand, and the second kilometre mark, he began to fall off or I should say perhaps return to a more comfortable pace and exertion.

I carried on around a long loop, keeping check on my breath and staying within an easy range.

At work but didn’t get a chance to run in the morning as I slept quite late after arriving back in Delhi.

And a long day of somewhat chaotic travel back.