The 10K run

Bangalore hosted the Sunfeast World 10K run yesterday. After last minute registrations (a part of the registration money goes to charity), we successfully got our run numbers. There were over 15,000 people participating! Hubby dear had been training for a week by jogging in the mornings. Three friends had been gymming everyday. I seemed like the only one not concerned about training (though I did join hubby on one morning for a jog). The reason for this is very simple. I’m not a morning person especially for something I’m not very keen on. Also there was this sheer over confidence that I would be able to do this since I have done some good distance treks earlier (and this run was not even uphill). I know, it probably doesn’t make sense to connect them! I’d never done any kinda activity that involved running (except in high school when I was into ‘high jump’, you had to run a bit for that!). Thankfully I got a useful tip that jogging for 5-7 minutes and then walking for a minute really helps. And that’s what I did, except that I jogged for 3 minutes and walked for a minute. Halfway through, it started getting lesser, I was jogging for 2 minutes, walking for 2 and so on. Finally it was a 1 minute jog and a 2 minute walk. It was blistering hot, but it felt good to do this. It was my first marathon and I completed it In 98 minutes flat. I did have a target: to finish within 120 minutes (I had a bet with my friend and also you wouldn’t get a participation certificate if you finished later). Well, I reached my target. I did it. All that sweating, huffing and puffing was worth it. The sweet tast of success, eh? 

 I think the winner of the Open run clocked 22 minutes. The day earlier, we all did some shopping, bought some running gear…all of us were quite excited really. After the run, we were all very tired and what better way to relax than head for a buffet brunch with unlimitied alcohol. We indulged and how! Ate and drank for over 4 hours. The lil’ bit of fat I’d have hopefully lost in the run, I’m sure I gained that twice (maybe trhice) over after the brunch. All of us were totally pasted at the end of it. Had to drag ourselves home…and once we hit the bed, we forgot the world. A fitful 11 hours of sleep. Hubby dear surpassed me for once in this regard, he slept for 15 hours straight!! You know, there’s nothing like the sleep of exhaustion and satisfaction.

We spent quite a bit of money yesterday, on the registration (this was the least and we did get a goodie bag in return as well), the clothes, the brunch (most expensive)…but as they say in the MasterCard ad, all that was just money, the sense of achievement and indulgence is truly priceless We had a super day. And I’m quite proud of what we did yesterday…hurray!

 

Mum’s the word!

I don’t really believe in all these 21st century created ‘days’. Like Friendship Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Sister’s Day, so on and so forth. We had survived (no, thrived) before all these. But after their import from the West, all the greeting card stores, the restaurants, the gift shops thrived and how. Why do I need one particular day of the year to celebrate love, or friendship? Also I’ve always believed that doing something for anyone should be done when they least expect it. When it’s not an occasion. When you turn an ordinary day into a special day, no?

 Not that anything has changed in what I think about this, but a few years ago, on Mother’s Day, I’d gone for a wedding. On the way back, my friend stopped off to buy some flowers for her mother. And kinda coaxed me into it as well. I thought, what the heck, my mother anyway likes flowers, no harm in taking some home (irrespective of what day it was). So I took some  gerberas and went home. The look on my mother’s face when I gave her those is something I’ll always cherish. It was such a tiny gesture on my part, but made a whole load of difference to her! So the next year (now that I’d set an implicit expectation and you know how hard it is to escape these from moms!!) I gave her something…I don’t remember what though. And this continued (except for the times I wasn’t in town during Mother’s Day). Today, being Mother’s day, I got her a bunch of baby pink gerberas and three different potted flowering plants (she loves plants…anything to do with her garden). Boy, was she thrilled or what, with the plants! Worth it, eh?

I don’t think my mom feels happy about this because it is Mother’s Day. I think it just gives her a lot of satisfaction to know that her offspring (who’s quite lost usually) took some time to do a thoughtful gesture. It never amazes me how she can have the capapcity to feel unbridled joy about trivial things I do. I don’t understand this…she does innumerable thoughtful gestures on a daily basis which are taken for granted almost all the times, and I do like twelve a year??? How can there be such a disparity? That’s why she’s mom and I’m daughter I suppose!

God’s in the details after all…