So I took myself to the doctor in office today since I needed a medical certificate.

And then I find out. Everything else is fine with me – no allergies, no fits, no weaknesses – except one small problem…

“Your BP is a little high,” he says. (130/90 for those who can decipher the numbers).

“You should exercise, and try and lose some weight,” he adds.

My friend V who is with me comes to my rescue and pipes in, “But doctor – she does yoga, and she runs every weekend.”

The doctor gives me a “I-don’t-believe-you -can-even-run-a-mile” look and I nod my head vigorously to tell him that it’s the truth and nothing but the truth.

“Well,” he says, “we’ll monitor your BP for about 4 weeks and take a few more readings to be sure.” So it seems like I have to check my pressure over the next few weeks just to make sure that I’m not veering towards a serious problem. Anyway, I did a google search and apparently, in the 130 range, it indicates hypertension and can still be prevented by taking a few measures.

The irony however is that I’ve been trying to be health conscious over the last few months. I exercise more than I have in the last few years. I eat reasonably well (no diets for me!) but I ensure good portions of veggies, fruits and sprouts, nuts and drink lots of water through the day. No sweets, since I don’t have a sweet tooth. And after all that effort, my BP is now threatening to play spoil sport.

Hmph!

I might as well go back to junk food and my slothful days!

Anyway, despite this minor hiccup, I am registering for the **Kaveri Trail (21K) and the Bangalore Ultra (25K) runs in October and November followed by a cycling expedition in December. While I had ambitions to run a full marathon this year, considering my preparations I did realise that I was aiming for too much. So I’m settling for 2 half marathons.

Sathish told me about the cycling expedition in Goa and it sounded really exciting especially since I really enjoyed cycling in Pondicherry and Goa will be even more fun, I’m sure!

So I’m all geared up now for the next 3 months – loads of activity to look forward to and to prepare for. I’ll just have to take extra care of my health and hope it doesn’t let me down! And take that cycle out a little more often 🙂

** The Kaveri Trail is held near Srirangapatna and is a very scenic trail where you have the option of doing 10, 21 and 42K. The Bangalore Ultra is held at another scenic location – Hesaraghatta – near Nrityagram and Our Native Village. If you’re interested and want to register, do log into the websites mentioned for more details… And I ran my first long distance event at the Ultra last year in December so if I can do it, I’m sure anyone can!