On Parul’s birthday, I decided to do a short one in the driveway. I did the optional run after quite a few weeks it seems and it was just what I needed.

He’s quiet – Suryansh is. He’s barely nineteen or twenty. He’s always cheery.

After a few kilometres at the track, Suryansh, another kid and I headed out, with Coach Ravi on the trusty scooter. Dark and cold, but Suryansh in step with me.

Suryansh – part of the sun – brightens the winter up.

When I was getting ready for track this morning, I saw the training peaks as a TBD session.

I had to make up my workout.

Still feeling miserable from Sunday, I reached the track, and decided to do pyramid intervals.

Upon hearing 400-800-1200-1600 and back down, Coach Nikhil said I should hit a 2000 as well and then climb down.

I thought about this later in the car. I realised that I listen to experts. Or in this case a coach. He isn’t my coach but has seen me run for many years with the kids he trains alongside Coach Ravi. I like listening to folks who know better and have expertise.

The training – it was very hard. It was single digit temperatures, cold, dark, and with the stadium lights switched off, gloomy and nearly foreboding. It seemed to be mirroring my state of mind.

The kids weaved in and out, with me in some of them, resting out others, at times ahead, at times alongside.

When I finished, dawn was just about approaching. Normally, I listen to music on the way back home, at full volume, my mood is usually buoyant. Today, it was quiet in the car, even as I had smashed the interval session.

Back at home a quick and explosive workout session finished the morning start.

I had a fair bit of thinking to do. I didn’t know how I would feel but I more or less felt alright. Up and down the driveway also means that you can’t go fast beyond a point.

Listening to music, the hour passed and I rounded up the morning with a quick core workout.

It is stupid to have a bender on a Sunday after having a killer week of running and working out.

Well, pay for it on Monday. Climbing out though after a wonderful lunch with my great friend Anmol. Meaningful conversations and food can set a day straight.

It was nearing dawn when I started today. It was solo throughout, no music, just running and listening to my breathing.

I often think after a run what I was thinking about during the run. Usually nothing specific comes to mind. Perhaps a work conversation or an idea. Maybe something about the family or a personal goal. Often though, I’m concentrating on the run itself.

Trying to improve my stride or kicking up my legs or imagining seeing me from the outside and making small improvements. Whether it’s a placebo or actual, I couldn’t be sure, but it works for me.

In that, the run finished and I can’t pen down or remember enough of what I thought about, but I did think a lot about running itself.

I had pyramid intervals today – hard as nails – at least for me. Monu, Jeet and Ashwini had very kindly offered to come to Nehru Park to pace me.

While, I have done such intervals at track before, I can’t quite decide whether it’s daunting to do it as 400m splits or around the Shanti Path loop. Perhaps there are advantages to both.

At any rate, here we were on Niti Marg and we set off to warm up and do some exercise work at the inception of the workout.

It was Jeet who kept me company and paced me throughout. Towards the end of the third set – the five kilometre at the top of the pyramid – the horizon began changing colours. For all runners, we are used to training in the dark, but when dawn seeps in, there is an infused vitality in all things, and directly to the run itself.

Sometimes this is measurable and obvious, other times it provides the hope we need. At least, I look forward to the hope and the colours.

At the end, the run was just fantastic. Ever grateful to the track boys.

I had a day off from running today so I did a light core workout and ended with some plank exercises.

When I started this morning, I wasn’t sure whether we would head out to the road.

I was nearly two kilometres done at the track when Coach Ravi said some of the kids were ready to run outside.

Me and two other kids started off with Coach Ravi by our side on his trusty scooter. Usually, we take a left turn at the Bakthtavar crossing but today we carried on straight. The road was quiet, peaceful and a clear night sky hung above us like a domed, sparkly carpet.

At the T-junction, it was exactly three kilometres and we carried on left for another two, before turning around. By this time, four others had joined us including Jeet, Monu and Ashwini.

Ashwini kept urging me on to run faster, but I was already fast enough for an easy run so I tried to hold back. Not so easy after all.

At the last, only if you looked carefully, the eastern sky was beginning to show a hint of dawn.

The air was, surprisingly, much better today than it has been. The stars were visible in an otherwise moonless sky.

I had kilometre intervals today and I decided to do them at the track. Jeet and a couple of kids joined me.

Jeet with his runners built, is in his early twenties, has a gruffness about him, and barely smiles. And barely speaks. He’s fast and as I discovered today, he began running only a few years ago. He said he was injured and that my pace would be quite perfect for him.

I’ll easily take that comment, because running with the fast kids, my own training improves. And it so it went, around the track, including the rest between the intervals, that was a light run.

At the last set, the eastern sky began to show soft pink hues and I came down the home straight to complete the fastest kilometre of the day.

Back at home, it was hurdles, step ups, lunges, squats and other combination movements to round up a “quite”vigorous morning.