A 5k run in Hyderabad

So, I had signed up for the 5k fun run at the Hyderabad marathon, instead of the usual 10k (since S was running the half which was the same day), and given how little I had been training because S had been travelling, I wasn’t really optimistic. And I was glad it wasn’t a 10k. 

My knee issues keep coming and going. I’ve been fairly regular at strength training, except for the last month, and yet, the knee issues haven’t gone away. The one thing I have been trying to do regularly in the last month though, is the set of stretches my physio recommended.

And yet, it is never pain-free. Earlier this week I began running again, to get some training in before today’s 5k and sure enough, the knees hurt again. I struggled and finished a 5k in 41 minutes on Thursday, later in the day, my right knee began to hurt. I began to consider giving up running in events, especially 10k runs for good. Because it seemed that despite all the stretches and work I put in at the gym, the knees still hurt. 

And yesterday ended being a long day with a lot of  walking around, carrying A for quite a bit. And I was exhausted, angry and in pain (shoebites too!). And I mentioned to S the thought I had about giving up running. And he said, be kinder to yourself, it’s the night before your run. And I said, I want to be kinder, I want to be kinder on my body. 

Given how much my knee hurt last night, I put off bedtime by a good 15 minutes by doing my stretches and rolling my calf muscles and quads for a bit. 

I dunno if that helped, or it was simply a great day, I woke up and ran this morning and finished 5k in just under 35 minutes, my personal best. I had managed to keep my average speed at under 7 minutes per km for the entire 5km. I don’t quite know what it was, but there were no niggles, none of the left knee beginning to hurt when I pushed myself hard, and I felt like a well-oiled machine. 

And as soon as I met S at the finish line, the first thing I said to S was this, ‘This is what happens, I consider giving up, and then along comes a good run and I don’t wanna stop doing this.’

And I don’t want to. The gooseflesh at the start of the run, all the music, the mad sprint to the finish line and the euphoria at the end of it all. I don’t wanna stop doing this. 

PS: My knees, miraculously are still great and there’s no pain yet. Fingers crossed. 

Your friendly neighbourhood parlour

(A rare evening when the child is asleep by 8, and I’m done with dinner and twiddling thumbs and hey, it’s not even 8.30pm!)

About six weeks back, I decided to get a haircut and went with a really short style (boy-cut, short bob, whatever it’s called). And as I’m re-learning, with short hair, you need haircuts far more frequently that your average once in 3-4 months affair you’d otherwise go for. And this means they’re heavier on the pocket. 

And so it came to be that I decided to ditch the fancyass salon where I got the haircut paying over a thousand bucks. And also the Lakme and the Naturals salons which have been my go-to places for the last few years, and a basic hair trim costs about 500 bucks upwards. And I decided to check out the no-frills parlour beside the apartment I live in. 

I went in expecting the usual question about getting hair coloured (I have a lot of grey, suffice to say). And well, the girl exclaimed and remarked that’s it all black at the back and grey in top. How? I shrugged. And then she said your hair is healthy, has it been grey for a while? I said yeah, for a while now. And then to my great relief, she did not proceed to hard sell any brand of colour that would turn my hair black and yet keep it soft and healthy. Or specific shampoo or conditioner or hair spa, all of which the fancy places do and annoy the bejesus out of me. In fact she said please don’t try any colour and spoil your hair, keep it the way it is. Why thank you, that’s nice to hear, for a change, I thought. 

And then of course, the questions came. Which are less likely in a more professional, swanky gleaming setup (or so I’d imagine). About your personal life. Who you live with etc.

I was slightly skeptical about her ability to do a good job, but I figured even if it was bad, it’ll grow back. At one point she brought out an electric shaver, the kind S uses, and after going to town with it at the back of my neck, she was about to tackle my sideburns. ‘No!’ I shrieked. 

‘Just a little shorter here, near my ears,’ I said. And then she brought the really sharp pair of scissors really close to my ears. And I REALLY panicked as she began trimming away, the sharp end of the scissors occasionally touching my ear. And I got goosebumps purely out of fear I think. When there was a lull in the trimming, I nervously said, ‘I’m a little scared.’

To which she laughed and replied, ‘Me too, my hands actually shiver when I’m doing this part.’

(Insert the classic emoji 😒)

Apart from being more personal, less hygienic, less pushy and up-selling and wayy cheaper, I wonder if this is what differentiates the ₹200/- haircut from the ₹1000++ ones. The disarming, almost uncalled for honesty, versus the ability at least look cool and unshakeable, and well, the professionalism. 

I’m still deciding whether to go back there for my next haircut. Oh wait, the girl’s getting married around then. Now I’m curious to see if she’ll be around. 

Pause

While my Mom is attempting to make A take her second nap (ha-ha) I’m sitting with a cup of tea, having just set out a loaf of masala bread  (caramelised onion-pudina-jeera-coriander) for its second rise. With the lil missy going through (or starting out?) her phase of terrible twos or what I’m afraid is supposedly  normal toddler behaviour, I haven’t got too many such moments to myself lately, and I want to pause and say thanks to Mom and the universe for this. 

PS: She came looking for me once already and didn’t find me cos I was quite nicely hiding out in the bedroom