Does a long walk count as a long run?

The trainer in the gym I go to is a sadist.

His name is Bobby and he thinks that I am a gym wuss. He, meanwhile has been put on this earth to call me on my essential wimpishness. The fact that I am a lazy dog who would never do a 756th crunch on my own without him yelling into my face just proves his point.

Two days back he made me do some squats and lunges that I thought were hard, but not un doable by Bobby's standards. Ha ha ha ha ha.

My thighs, my calves, my hamstrings have been killing me since then. I'm not exactly unfit, so I dont know what muscles he made me use, muscles I obviously have never used in my life, but I have been a walking sore for the past two days.

Ok, so I decide I am going to do my long run for this week today. Its 6 miles - 9.6 kms. And since I have discovered that running on the treadmill's easy peasy for me, it has to be on the track. So I set the alarm for 5.40 am to be off by 6 to nehru park where I figure I will run for an hour or so, be back by 8.

I hate mornings. Specially Sunday mornings. So i dont stir out of bed till 7, reach nehru park at 7.30. Oh oh.

Everyone in Delhi is there. And I mean everyone. Cancel everything I've said about Delhi being a lonely place for runners. Bar me, who is gloriously solo, there are three thousand running groups, all doing efficient looking things, ( yes I did see some doing fartleks, my old friend!) So obviously, while I have been snuggling into my quilt at 7 am, all the runners of Delhi have been congregating at Nehru PArk and training.

So I start my run. Its supposed to be 9.6 kms so that's 3 and a half loops of the 2.75 km track.

I can barely run. My legs hurt. My thighs are leaden. My hamstrings are about to give way. Bobby is a bastard and may he rot in hell. I get a stitch in my side. I hobble on gamely, while all around me the real runners, the ones who wake and toil while I sleep blissfully, are loping past me, all lithe and controlled.

I give up after one round. I stop hobbling fast and begin to stumble slowly. i.e I stop what passes as running in the first round and walk for about 250 m. Then shame and the old competitive spirit at seeing so many runners in fine fettle overtakes me and I start the whole rigmarole of stumbling- running-clutching-side- cursing Bobby again. Ditto after the 2nd round. Ditto after the third.

When I finally cross the 6 mile mark, I try and put my leg up to strech it on the frangipani tree near the marker. I am in so much pain, I have no idea where my leg ends and the tree begins. I end up with both legs and bum on the ground, heavily crushing the pale pink blossoms scattered below.

When i get my breath back, I realise that out of the 9.6 kms I am supposed to have run ( this weeks long run) I have walked at least .75 kms of it. Maybe even 1 km of it. This is afirst for me. Either i am running or I have slunk home. I have never ever been a walk run walk sort of runner.

Obviously, Bobby's squats and lunges, the presence of the entire Indian contingent for the Commonwealth Games athletics at Nehru park, the time of day ( running when i am generally asleep)have all contributed to this abberation.

Im proud of myself, that i didnt just slide behind the wheel of my car after my first loop and take off home. I am also amazed at how unfit I am. But most of all I am thinking to myself. If you walk quite a lot of it, does it still count as a long run?

After all there has to be a run in the long run, right?

What do you think?