On Satuday I had one of those workouts that could have been relegated to the log as "junk miles" had it not been for a tip from Matt Fritzgerald' (Author of "The cutting edge runner") book on converting a failed workout into a "partially" successful one. I had started out on a "hard tempo" but bonked miserably because of, what I can analyse, as "psychosomatic imbalance". I managed, however, to do part of the speed-work with my tongue hanging out:-))) I returned home resolving to do a long run the next day so that I can salvage some training benefits.
Sunday turned out to be surprisingly cheerful for me: I started my long run at 6:10am and wound up at 9:00 having covered a fairly long distance at an easy pace. I felt real good cause it had saved me the usual pangs of guilt and depression that accompany failed work outs, when time is short and a race is coming up. I returned home, freshened up and left with Monsoon, to watch Bryan play his school match at Azad Maidan. It was an endearing sight to watch Kuku-boy and his team yelling at each other about "buckwas" passes, "faltu" kicks, missed goals ("tu chutya hai!!!") and full-blooded tackles:-) The game turned out to be a goalless draw though Kuku-boy' team was the better of the two (its the reason for all that yelling:-)).
Post-game, we went cruising around town, which is so beautiful and serene on a Sunday morning, with scant traffic on the roads. I showed Monsoon and Bryan my office building, Holy Name Cathedral and Colaba causeway. We then went to pick up Bamoo and had to make necessary adjustments to our car seats to accomodate Bamoo' "Sumo-sized" frame:-))). Lunch was at "Pratap", where Bamoo, as usual, jokingly pushed around the staff, yelled at them and ordered a "banquet": there were King Prawns salt-n-pepper, Giant Crab schezuan, King Prawn sauteed, Bombay Duck fry, Large Pomfret tawa fry, Squids in butter & Garlic and "Neer Dosas" - not to miss the copious beers that mysteriously seemed to appear out of nowhere:-) We regaled Monsoon and Bryan about our child-hood escapades, the pranks we pulled on friends and our "live-life-to-the-hilt-on-a-pittance" ability - this included a narrative on how I pawned my wrist-watch for Rs 40/- (actual price Rs 200/-) so that we could go to the movies and eat burgers:-))))))))
I called for the bill fully apprehending Bamoo' growl; which he did and with a jovial ferocity that got Bryan to snigger. I had to contend with Monsoon' complaints that I should have actually paid up the cashier by pretending to go for a wash, to which Bamoo laconically stated that the staff wouldn't dare. Bryan was in fits of laughter, later in the car, recalling how Bamoo "terrorizes" the staff:-)))) All in all, a beautiful Sunday outing, with family and a dear old friend. It did a lot to bring me much needed cheer in times when my professional life seems so depressing.
