A Return to Racing

I redid several Pimsleur lessons today. I am learning to say things such as:

• I don’t need anything. Moochko kutch ne-HEE jahee-AY.
• Please give me some rupees. Moochko kutch ruPAY deejee-AY.
• You speak too quickly. Ab beHOT joldee boltee hay.
• My wife wants to drink some tea. Meeree patNEE kutch chai pina jahaTEE hay.

Around 5 p.m., I decided to go run my first real race since June 5: the day I got injured. Tonight was the last race of the summer 5K series that is held in Van Cortlandt Park each year. I really didn’t want to miss it, and although I was a little concerned about reinjury, I felt unexpectedly functional and figured I could always drop out if I ran into trouble.

Everything worked out great. I actually felt pretty good during the race. Although I continue to have problems running, I seem to be heading unmistakably in the right direction now. My time was nearly three minutes slower than the last time I ran a 5K here back in May, but it was still faster than any of my times from last summer, and I won a muffin for coming in second in my age group.

At least a couple of runners, including me, now have a habit of using “muffin” as a verb. They say things like, “I muffined.” Or, regretfully: “I didn’t muffin.”