Failed workouts & good deeds

I have encountered my worst week of workouts. There is the speed workout that went south because I could not hold the target pace and had to cut it short. Then, on Sunday, I had made an elaborate plan for doing marathon pace in my long run and was excited about it. I had 3 of the Colpal runners for company and everything seemed to go according to plan except that I woke up with a queasy stomach. I have to hurl expletives at Bamoo because it was his idea to go to "Martin' Hotel" on Saturday afternoon and gorge on everything under the Goan sun. The end result is that the Prawn Pullao probably did me in.

I started my run and found it increasingly difficult to hold my pace. After 4K I realised that I would need to visit a porta potty:-) Heck! there is no porta potty in that jungle and I had to hang on for dear life until I had completed 9K before I could rush into the Aarey bushes with a bottle of water, gratefully taken from the nearby pump house. I realised after this, that my long run would have to be "canned". I did another circuit and ended up walk-running the last 2K. I threw my towel in, in disgust. I can ill afford to have failed long runs considering that I have a marathon to run in less than a month!

During the week I had handed over 5000 rupees to an animal lover that rescues strays. She was indeed vocal in her gratitude and I had to remind her that I was the one, only giving money; whereas, she was actually picking up helpless animals from the streets and taking them to the hospital. Three days ago, she found an abandoned Persian kitten that would have certainly died, had it not been for her kind heart. The event was reported on the front page of the DNA after which she was deluged with calls, from people wanting to adopt the dear little thing. Finally she acceded to the request of a relative of an Aarey walker who promised that they would care for the kitten. God will certainly bless her.