Runs & Rains

I like running in the rain because then no one can see me sweat. This is total BS. I like rains, running too & running in the rain takes me back to those carefree childhood days. Which happened when I went out for a run. But this is starting from the middle & let me go back to the beginning.

Till a few months back, life was easy. If I woke up early, I would go out for a run, walk or a bike ride. Till the fitness bug bit the wife & her friend. Rather, the friend who wanted to reduce her weight & thought of going for daily walks (as if this would have helped). All was well, till they decided to change their schedule from post-dinner to early mornings which is my preferred time. But one can’t argue with a wife, especially if one of her close friends is involved. After some negotiations (actually, a one-way dialogue), it was decided (by them, obviously) that they will have the 5:00 to 6:00 AM slot, as they had to return in time to get the kid ready for school.

With weather being good, I had returned to an active life by cycling in the mornings. But having woken up early today, I had ample time to go out & run. As part of pre-run routine, I walk about half a km to a tea stall, which not only primes up the body to the task ahead but also helps in catching up with friends who would be out walking or cycling or simply going to work. So it was today. I switched on the mobile data & turn on the GPS prior to beginning my run. And it started drizzling. Not wishing to spoil a mobile, I handed it over to the tea stall owner. And went for a short 4K.

A few metres & I was already drenched. By the rains & maybe, some sweat too. It felt good, being wet & running. The traffic reduces too, which helps. The cows move under the trees, which helps more!! And the temperature drops, making it very pleasant to run if one can avoid the puddles & ignore the wet road. One doesn’t even feel the sweat, assuming the effort has made one sweat. Or the rain may have washed away the sweat as the water didn’t burn the eyes or tasted salty.

The only negative part being I did not have my mobile with me but Runkeeper lets one log activities manually. You may be surprised I did not have any misgiving in leaving a premium flagship mobile handset with a roadside tea vendor. Firstly, I trust him as he provides me with hydration support after my runs. And not just hydration, this is also the place where I had my customary post-event drink after VIHM (read about it here - http://runfunetc.blogspot.in/2016/03/after-long-wait-hm-returned-to-baroda.html). Secondly, haven’t we handed over our country to another chaiwala? Surely a mobile phone cannot be more valuable than our nation. And I trust my chaiwala as much!!

As you know, we runners are not only sensible but also very particular about our safety. We always run against the traffic to avoid any vehicle coming from behind running over us. Now, I differ here when not running a loop (as was the case today). I run on only one side (to avoid crossing the road), so that while I follow the runners’ credo during one leg, i forget all about it on the return leg. But not really reckless, for two reasons. One, I run with the traffic when the legs are fresh so that I am safer when I am tired. Two, I run on the streets of Baroda & a vehicle can come from any direction. This is what this tempo, going for delivery of packaged water cans, did. To avoid taking a U-turn, this guy (as is the common practice) was driving on the wrong side. He was also very concerned about avoiding the oncoming traffic. So, he was driving right behind me & honking continuously so that I would give way. I had to give him an angry look before he overtook me.

Coming back to the tea stall, the friendly chaiwala handed me a small plastic bag to keep my mobile in as it was still raining. And I proceeded back home to begin my day on a satisfied note.

Running after a long time & I have spoken about everything else but my run! As this post is already long enough, I will give the briefest of specs. I did 4.1 km in 33 minutes returning a pace of a little over 8 min. Not bad, if you ask me!