For Anja!

Yesterday's run is for Anja. She sponsored this 4 mile training run, so I'm writing it up. You can inspire me to run more and write more just like Anja did by donating here.

I was lucky enough to be joined by my friend Jess on the run. It was the first official "Team Tinto" sub-continental training run! A group of old friends are running a half marathon this July in Oregon wine country. "We've got legs."  Get it? And yes, this 1/2 is in addition to my full marathon in June.

As we left school, turned left and Jess said, "I've never gone this way!" I realized that I had chosen kind of a funny(?) run for us. I created it in August of 2012 and wrote the following description:

A scary route with lots of monkeys (Simon Bolivar Marg) and too much traffic (Upper Ridge Road). I probably wouldn't do it again.

And I didn't. Until April of 2013. Then again yesterday. It's not a great route, but I feel like I need to defend it. Given my recent experience with monkeys, it's not as if this is the most dangerous monkey route. In fact, today there was only one monkey in the road. Normally, there are more, especially when devotees of Hanuman, the monkey god, drive through feeding them bananas. Which brings me to the first funny(?) moment of the run. There was a guy selling bananas on the side of the road, but the monkeys weren't mobbing him. Whenever I see a car creeping along the street, passing out bananas, the monkeys can't get enough. They're practically rolling the car and setting it on fire to get one more hit. But this guy was chilled out, no stress. I wanted to camp out on the side of the road and learn his secrets.

Speaking of camped out on the side the road, the next funny(?) moment was on the traffic-y part of the run. The Upper Ridge Road dead ends at Dhaula Khan, a major cloverleaf connected the NH8 highway and the Ring Road. As such, there's a fair bit of road traffic (buses, cargo trucks, commuters) on the road. Evidently, one of the things those drivers love is coconuts. There are at least 2 different semi-permanent coconut booths set up along the one mile stretch of road. As we ran past observing the detritus of the roadside coconut business (100 meters of plastic straws and coconut shells), I noticed a guy sleeping under a mosquito net next to his stand. I turned to Jess and said, "Whoa, that's intense." And then I realized that the guy was in a tent.

Other Notes:  Dismayed with previous attempts to find a road to cut through the Ridge, I was on the lookout for a road into Dhaula Khan Enclave. I found a gated entrance that can probably be breezed through, ala Wednesday's run. I think there might be some nice possibilities for routes there...I also noticed a railroad station that I've never noticed before (Sardar Patel Station).

The last two miles don't feature any monkeys or irregular traffic, so there's not too much to report.

Except for this:

Jess is an absolute beast at running negative splits. Look at those beauties! There's almost a one and a half minute difference between the first and last mile. It's truly a thing to behold. I am worthless at running negative splits. I usually start too hot and pay for it later. Magical. Truly magical.

This run belongs to Anja with a shout out to Jess!

I'm dedicating runs to raise money for a campship in memory of our friend Ty Taylor at YMCA Camp Miller. Click here or here to donate. Please make sure you choose the Ty Taylor Campship option. And please let me know if you've made a donation so I can thank you!

RUN STATS:
Distance - 3.98 miles
Time - 38:21
Soundtrack - Dead End Friends, Something for the Kids. This is my cousin's straight up rock and roll band. Check them out, buy the album, support the scene, man.

Running for a Reason 2014 Official Partner