A Snake, A Cow and Masala Tea

Started my run at 6:30am this morning. Everyone was already up but since it was early, I'll have some time to crank out the workout. The target was 12K which should be easy but doing it on a 2K loop with nary a flat stretch is tough. Tough on the pacing strategy, tough on the legs and tough on the lungs. So the decision was to do 2.5 laps of "The Dreaded Loop" and then head towards the flat village road. True enough the erratic pace gave way to a consistent one the moment I hit the alternative route. Suddenly I heard a plaintif moo but I thought I was hearing things. I looked around but can't find any cows. Then the moo again distracted my concentration. I'd already passed the spot so I kept going. Only on my return trip when I deviated from my run to find out the source of the sound did I discover a skinny calf at the bottom of a monsoon drain. It must've slipped past the drain railing before falling into the deep drain. There was no one around but the road has its fair share of motorcyclists, so it's a matter of time before it's discovered.

Beside the bovine episode, I also had to skip over a dead snake and ran into a bunch of cyclists on their long ride. A quick shower back home and the clan were out for breakfast. Later part of the evening, I finally had the chance to try out my hands at concocting the masala tea. The ingredients - cardamon, ginger, aniseed, cinnamon, clove, black tea - are easily available at the nearest hypermart and I went with gut feel in mixing the portions of the spices. The results came out fantastic I must say!

OK, my writing style is deserting me. Signs of tiredness. A few more days of running then will rest before doing the GE30K on Sunday. A tough race awaits.