One long run

There is a butterfly hovering over a pink bougainvillea. Through the trees I can see the sun hiding behind the clouds. Rob Zombie's music is blaring in my ears. It's so loud that I can't hear myself breathe. But I need to get distracted.

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This was the week's last run and was turning out to be the hardest. Our group was running in GKVK (now called UAS -- University of Agricultural Sciences). The place is an agricultural university, just outside city limits -- on the way to Bangalore airport. The campus has a nice long scenic trail, covered with trees, flowers and shrubs. One loop of the trail is around 10 KM.

It was 3 KM down in the second loop when my legs started feeling sore. At the end of the first loop itself I had doubts whether I could do another one. I pushed on. Endorphins kicked in. The pain went away, but it was also a signal to stop.

Endorphins are chemicals produced by the body when we perform strenuous activity. They are what you call analgesics or the body's pain-killers. These chemicals are supposed to be the reason for the runner's high. The problem with them is that they sometimes cause injuries. Because endorphins inhibit pain, you might actually end up ignoring some serious discomfort, which will then come and bit you back later.

I had decided to abandon the second loop midway and was taking a short cut back to the starting point. Of course, I was still running.

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Never gonna stop now ... never gonna stop.

I look at my Garmin, it says that I have run a little over 16 KM. I stop. There is a nice breeze, the trees are doing their dance and I have a smile on my face. For the first time in my running history, I have done over 60 KM in a week (64.8 KM to be precise). Pleasantly tired I walk to the parking.