Ever since I have ramped up my workouts and started a clean diet to get back in race shape (six-pack and all, for laypeople), my cheat day is stretched over an entire weekend during which, given my wife is very skilled at cooking, I can consume anywhere north of 2500 kcal per day. This also means a very regimented diet for the rest of four and a half days of the week (comprising eggs, chicken, minced beef, seasonal fruit and raw spinach leaves) which I survive only because I can see the light at the end of the long dark tunnel i.e. Bombay Biryani in Friday lunch.

This weekend, however, was not just about biryani, ras malai, steaks, and other delectable treats because I had quite cleverly planned a long run on Saturday to make up for the ravenous eating and manage the guilt for my extra-long cheat ‘day’ (read: weekend). The track where I ran my 15 km is basically a dirt trail in the middle of nowhere which I have been running on, and meaning to write about, for the past two years.

The trail is lined on both sides with wild grass and thick green shrubbery which is home to flocks of mynahs, crickets, jackals, and at times, Russel’s vipers and sand-colored scorpions. Evidently, with so much wildlife around, the track can only be run with your natural human instincts on guard. Usually, I run the trail in evenings, and sometimes, when I fail to finish a long run before sunset, I can see giant lizards slithering out of the thick bushes on both sides into the open. When a cool breeze blows through the wild grass, it makes a sweet sound – a mixture of the hissing of a snake and the melody of a running stream. A long, deviant branch of a stout shrub that extends onto the trail can often look like a cobra ready to uncoil on its victim and, hence, startle me in my tracks. Apart from these thrills, however, the trail is otherwise beautiful. It offers expansive, unobstructed views of the dramatic sunset skies and its earthy quality makes you want to return for more joint-friendly runs.

Needless to say, I like this trail; it allows me to unplug for a while and get a feel of what it must be like to be a prehistoric man. As I have been shaking off the bonds of technology lately, I am finding myself being more mindful of my surroundings. These exhilarating trail runs, I believe, are a continuation of the same pursuit of freedom that I have been hoping to instill in my 30s.

More on this in some other blog. Ciao!