Just came back after seeing off Mr. Babu. He finished his fifth round and ran further till Taramani Guest House. Let me go back to 5:30 AM and begin the story from where it is supposed to begin.
When I left my hostel it already was 5:20. For the fear of missing him, I ran till GC. The right ankle hadn’t healed but by the time I reached GC, I couldn’t really feel the pain. In fact I realized it was easier to run with a hurt ankle than walk.
I didn’t find anyone there. No, one. Had Mr. Babu already left? Eh, that would be sad. I didn’t have a watch or cell phone with me so that I could know the exact time. So I just waited.
In about ten minutes, he came with Dr. Murty. I was the only one there at GC to give him running company. We said hi to each other. He took another ten minutes to stretch. I tried copying him.
I casually asked him before we began running, ‘So do you have some time frame in which you plan to finish five rounds from GC to main gate and back?’. His answer was a big relief. ‘No, no time frame, I run very slow’, he replied. I was delighted to know that.
Now, GC to main gate is about two and a half kilometers. So a return trip is about five. And five times that is twenty five. I planned to do only two loops (effectively ten kilometers).
We began. And after running for a kilometer or so I realized that his ‘slow run’ was the fastest I had run a day before which had resulted in my swollen ankle. But I continued. From GC to main gate, we ran at same pace. From main gate back to GC, we again ran at same pace, but I could start feeling the pain in my ankle. During this first return trip, he actually gave me some gyaan on how to run:
- bend forward
- run on toes
- keep your lips moistened
The second loop began and I realized this guy wasn’t going to slow down. Today was my time to feel like that kid who was competing with me the other day. I asked Mr. Babu to go ahead, telling him that I would finish one more round at my own pace. But he insisted that I continue running fast, along with him. Eh, I actually listened to him. Although slightly slower than him, I somehow managed to keep him in view till we reached the main gate the second time. But that was it. There was no way, I could run at his speed any more. He soon left me way behind.
From main gate back to GC, it was an all-alone slow run. Those who are from Civil Engineering would be knowing about two modes of failure: the yield failure and failure by fracture. I wasn’t sure how I was going to fail while finishing this trip! The ankle kept growing numb but I did finish the second round without stopping. I also ran into two profs who I knew. I said hi to Pushpi as I ran past him while JMK said hi to me from his cycle as he saw me approaching. It felt great after having run ten kilometers. But only for a while. The moment I stopped after having run ten kilometers and a pace I wasn’t used to, my ankle gave up and I felt like dehydrated. There was no water around.
Lesson learnt: Carry water with you if you are running >=10 kiometers
I took rest till Mr. Babu was back again to finish his third round. He left for main gate again. To avoid getting bored, I decided to walk to main gate and then return back. I started walking, reached till Vanavani, took a right to reach supermarket, and saw Mr. Babu passing by. In about ten more minutes, his fourth round would be over. Hmm. I walked to main gate and then after getting bored of walking as well, decided to run from their to GC.
Once again, my hypothesis that injured ankle pains less when you run than when you walk proved to be correct. Running was easier. In fact, if there had been no marathon to participate in, this Sunday I would have run three rounds at stretch today.
In some time, Mr. Babu finished his fifth round, and without stopping ran all the way to Taramani. Dr. Murti gave me a lift on his bike and a couple of pictures where shot in front of the guest-house (which happens to be very close to my hostel).
Regarding the interview, well both of us were too tired to talk. I guess I will go to him at around 10 AM, and ask him whatever I feel like and update this post itself.
Too tired now. Too hungry too.
Had fun. 😀