Cruise intervals on a "Bullet"

I recently got my "Bullet" (Royal Enfield), an old heavy version, upgraded to "CDI" (capacitor discharge ignition) - which is being able to start the bike without a battery. It felt good to ride it after 2 years. I let the deep throb vibrate thro' my body as I put it into "cruise speed". Bryan was riding pillion and was in awe at the latent power it exhibits even when you are doing a steady 30 kmph. I told him I'd get it spruced up when he goes to college so that the girls vie to get a lift. It is miles ahead of the "Karishma", "Pulsar" and other farts seen all over the place. I managed to get a shy grin from him.

I now ride it early in the morning so as to park it at my regular spot and then take off for my run. Monsoon says the bike makes too much of a thunderous roar in the morning and probably wakes up the whole society:-) I managed to put in a steady tempo run at Half Marathon pace and felt the pace get hard. Just as I was about to call it quits with 1.6K to go, my inner voice kicked in and said, "careful Dan, you are going to get used to quitting. Think of this as the last 6K in a full marathon". Before I knew it, some neurotransmitters made the necessary synapses and I actually cruised thru' and shaved off 15 secs from this mile! So much for quitting:-) I returned elated on my "Bullet" and wondered about getting such "restrained power" in my own endurance so that the full marathon would be like a 'walk in the park' - well it never is, so don't kid yourself:-)

Feeling Groovy

The feeling of well-being is for two reasons: One, I felt I'd got back my groove in the speed workout today and two, I'd got a mail from Russell littered with our favorite Goan profanities, enquiring about our buddies. As I strode on to my start point already drenched in sweat due to the warm humid cloud engulfing Aarey even at that hour - 6:30am, I was apprehensive about the way my workout would end.

The ladder speed workout which gets you to finish wheezing with arms akimbo was perhaps designed by coaches who train athletes in cooler climes and not this sauna that we call summer. Nevertheless, I am wont to throw caution to the winds just to check if I can wrangle a PR in my next Marathon:-) I finished the circuits at an RPE of 9 (expected in this workout and in this weather) and must have looked pretty done in with my chest heaving and my T-shirt stuck to my body, just as I heard one of the ol'timers at Aarey telling another walker, "Yeh Saab ko dekho. Kitne saal se daudtha hai." I smiled and returned a friendly wave. Little do they realize how many years of hard work endurance involves and then there are the starry eyed who want quick fixes.

Russell enquired about Bamoo and I told him that Bamoo is in fine fettle and filling his ever expanding form with raised toast and a sneer, when you raise an eyebrow expressing the probability that he could be stricken with 'angina pectoralis' at any moment. I dread to hazard a guess about his weight:-) I had recently given Bamoo some 'urak' (a Goan spirit - not the ghostly kind:-) - and which is supposed to be a 'cooling drink' - Goans do like to delude themselves, don't they?) which he relishes with a dish made from goat' intestines. I expectedly wrinkle my nose in disgust when he shares such tribal gustatory delights with a gleam in his eyes, like I would exhibit if I had, placed before me a plate of spare ribs in Barbeque sauce. But then my taste for cuisine is not primal like it is in the case of Bamoo:-). I even told Russell that I suspect Bamoo to have been a tribal chieftain (given his girth) in a place such as Burkina Fasso, in his earlier life:-))))). Nice to have found your groove again Dan.

Rum & Running

I have always wondered about the effects of alcohol on endurance though I do not like to speculate on its ill-effects or otherwise. I would, if I felt that corrective action, based on medical research, would substantially benefit me:-) You know I'm kidding and you surely don't want to believe the crap that I'd trade my tipple for better race times, given my proclivity (nay penchant) for the same.

I have been on tour for the better part of this week and have been quaffing a fair bit of rum even though the climate proscribes such "heaty" beverages. Imagine drinking rum in Vijaywada where the daily max temperature is 43 deg cent. Some would shake their heads in disbelief and others in disgust. Anyways, my rejoinder would be, recalling a statement I recently saw on a T-shirt; "F*** You, I have every thing I need". Now that is called living your own life and allowing others to live as they want. I returned on Thursday night and went in for a "tempo" workout on Friday with a sleep deficit and some blubber on the midriff. It did feel very strenuous. I not only survived it; but, I also hit my target pace. I must admit that I did feel like one of those "Alaskan Huskies" when left loose in the Sahara:-)

Cut to Sunday morning. I went in for a race pace run and by the end of it I wondered whether I was getting too old for this stuff or whether it was the alcohol - I'd like to think it was the later (wink). I did finish at better than target pace albeit with an RPE in the high 9s - shy of 10!! Well my take on this is that; if I could hit target pace, I think I have a ghost of a chance at actually doing this in a marathon. Don't make me laugh Dan!