I slept in slightly and managed to hit work on time for a ten hour meeting. Would that qualify as a workout?

A mental one certainly – no pun quite intended.

Today was a qualified rest day but turns out tomorrow might be a rest day too.

My social calendar is usually sparse but these days seem to be aplenty – at least by my standards – full and in a sense never a dull moment.

I revisited this post today because soon after writing the post above, I told myself – just do a treadmill run.

And so I did. I got on the treadmill and after a warm up similar to the track, I increased pace steadily till I was at about 6-7/10 level on RPE.

Job done, followed by a ten minute plank and I felt I had at the least somewhat earned the evening ahead.

Suryansh said let’s run out on the road. Ashwini wanted to stick to the track. Khushboo laughed. Jeet looked as if he couldn’t care less.

Eventually we did the run on the track. Lots of us. Weaving in and out of lane nine and ten, in between other runners and walkers.

Steadily increasing pace, we finished the run at exactly the one hour mark and completed the effort with some strides.

Finally. I felt as if I hadn’t had a blistering run in a long time. For my level.

Jeet and Ashwini, Suryansh and the young boy, made it happen. Running – as solo a sport or state of being as it is – it is so wonderful to share it. Especially, when your guts are spilling out and heart is in the mouth. As it was for me today.

800s, 200s again and again. We clubbed the final repetition to make it a one kilometre dash and Jeet and Ashwini made sure I was at their heel.

For me, this is what intervals is all about.

The sky changes colours very early these days. There is already birdsong at four thirty in the morning.

For weekday runs, I had been going nearly always to track but today I went to Nehru Park. My sister Roshini had intervals and I had a regular time on feet.

Early on, there were already a couple of runners around the main Shanti Path loop. The traffic low, the air still but the weather wasn’t unpleasant. Or perhaps I was getting acclimatised to the summer of Delhi.

After a loop, I built up speed; on this occasion listening to music too.

When it was done, all comfortably, I felt elated. The post run feeling is often great but sometimes, like today for no apparent reason, all feels right, if momentarily, with everything. So it must be true too.

When I woke up this morning, I changed into my running clothes even though it was a rest day. I had had too much rest this past week but perhaps hitting a run today after yesterday’s long run and strength workout might not be the best idea.

Instead I stretched and did some light core work reflecting on the work ahead this week – running and otherwise.

We set off immediately at a decent pace. The sky was just changing colours, the air was warm, but the environs of Nehru Park on a Sunday morning make up for all that. We ran mostly quiet, increasing pace and settling into a comfortable rhythm.

The young boy ran a fast paced three rounds totalling to just over eight kilometres.

I met Shikha and I continued on the run. By now, we both had run nearly the same distance and we had a similar goal for the day. We increased pace but not by much keeping it in the comfortable range.

At Nyaya Marg, somewhere in between the Canadian and Swiss embassies, it was just us, the sound of our feet and birdsong and the summer felt never better.

He twirled and twisted and writhed and leaped and danced as if magic.

I took the day off but watching Aakash Odedra rehearse – thanks to my friend Aditi – at least I watched a profoundly athletic and aesthetic hour of dance.

The ghazal and qawwali music was transporting, his feet with a mind of their own, his body of coiled springs, a small rehearsal space became creative enchantment, this corner of Gol Market.

And so I thought today while struggling with 800s. The weather was terrible, the legs felt wobbly and I was flailing. I always say the heat and summer doesn’t bother me but today I ate my words.

The breeze that blew was the famous loo, and if not then I don’t know what else could lie ahead this summer.

Jeet gave me company and pulled me through the repetitions. Poor fellow, I thought, running way slower than he should be. But he gave me company – silent, serous, expressionless Jeet. He’s a robot, I thought later.

I panted and heaved through it but I did it and closed it stronger than I believed.

Jeet. In a sense.

Because I landed late night and by the time I slept it was past one AM, I slept in. I hoped I would be able to make up a run after work in the evening but to no avail.

Work finished late, and as I plonked on the couch and finished a quiet dinner, I could only look forward to a run tomorrow.