Monday 10 August 2015

A runner to every Chennaiyan!


Some footage to Biscuit, my seven year young Labrador, is overdue. He has been a bit moody and is picking on his food the last few days. So, back to Pedigree it is for him. He is also quaffing on Curds like a reforming drunkard hitting the bottle with a vengeance after an unsuccessful attempt at quitting. A family of young dogs (four of them) with no adult has recently moved into the colony. They are giving vocal ground support to the atmospherics Tiggy (Biscuit’s combative Rottweiler neighbor from the other colony, familiar to the faithful following their epic exchanges!) provides from his first floor balcony. Biscuit has been giving them all a tolerant silent treatment. Biscuit has recently made friends with twin girls whose idea of friendliness at present is approaching him from the rear and placing green leaves on his back. They have got to the extent of brushing off the leaves without touching his body. Biscuit is giving them time to approach him at their pace!    
Back to my running saga, probably I wanted to satisfy myself that there was nothing serious with my foot. The moment swelling and pain went down and one day of rest without painkiller drove me back to test my limit on the 6th August. After that I have been guilty of being irregular in my morning runs, I can only blame it on the long gap after the 24 hour run and the accolades getting to my head. The only other drug as heady as the endorphin is the ‘likes’ on facebook!
                I must have been a little low on motivation to run the usual daily distance after the marathon 24 hour run. I have been able to turn in two standard marathons one each on Saturday and latest today! The missing run on Sunday (blasphemy for any runner worth his salt!) was also Biscuit’s doing. He got me up in the middle of the night on a false alarm and after sniffing around for a while let me get back to bed after half an hour. In the process I missed the alarm and woke up too late. Sunday, usually a day of lazing and hogging turned out to be a day of guilt tripping while gorging on my Anatole’s delicacy (read my wife!).
The Saturday run was in a cloudy, but, breezy morning and I turned in a 4:21 full marathon. I was kept away from taking rest after the run as there was an official engagement between 1PM and 4 PM. The Sunday fiasco of oversleeping could also be partly due to insufficient rest after FM on Saturday!
Fully rested on Sunday and bloated with hogging, I decided to get even today. I started early at 3:48 AM intent on completing a full. This would be fresh ground broken as I haven’t been able to run a full marathon on a working day after moving to Chennai.
A pavement dweller sitting on the divider at the start of the Uttamar Gandhi Salai opposite Hotel Sangeeta called me to help him guide a truck driver who wanted to reach Mount road. After seeing him off on his way, my new found friend wanted to shake my hand. He told me that he has read about me in a magazine (reach of the vernacular medium!). I tried to be civil to him and enquired about his amputated foot. He mentioned it was due to accident, but, refused to tell me his age. I must tell my wife not to bother about my running in the early hours, I seem to have friends from all walks of life!
Today, a divider occupant near the slum at the start of the Mount road, took time off from his ‘Dum pe charcha’ with is friends and asked me why I was late. I told him I was running longer due to my bunked Sunday. I have now realized this is people’s way of showing off to their friends that they are friendly with me. He told his friends to try and run with me. I told him what I tell all others who try to pull the leg of their friends by daring them to run with me, You first throw the cigarette butt away and join me for a run, your friends will then most likely follow your advice!
Today my thoughts during the relaxed run was the book I am reading now, ‘Eat and Run’, by Ultra running legend Scott Jurek. Though I am not even a small candle to his exploits, I am surprised by similar results of quicker recovery and lesser soreness after run I have also been experiencing after turning Vegan. We, however, seem to differ on going barefoot. His prescription stopping short at landing sofly on midfoot/forefoot and practicing mindful running. I am in the process of first reading, will do an encore more leisurely!
With no competitor to rush me, I ran a very leisurely pace. I tried breathing in and out only through nose. I still finished in 4:23, reaching the colony gates as late as 8:11 AM. If good weather persists, may be able to turn in more full marathons on working days too! That way, I may stop missing Hubli runs, maybe!

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