2011 - Looking Back...looking forward...

My races this year:

2011 - Looking back.

2011 was another great year for Team Asha (SF, SV & SV Bike program). Our runners & bikers participated in races all over the country. Starting from San Francisco Half in July, San Jose Rock n Roll in September & Twin Cities, Chicago, Marine Corps, Morgan Hill Marathons in October..the runners had a great time. A few even ran CIM in December. Huge congrats to all our runners and bikers. Team Asha runners are the ones that get me get up & off my lazy butt and running! Thank you!

My Family had great year too!

Renuka (my wife) ran her first marathon, Chicago Marathon! YAY! She breezed through the race on a warm Chicago day. The temp did touch 88F.
Mallika (Niece) - Also ran her first marathon, Chicago!! Incredibly poised and confident girl. She made the race seem easy! She showed me how one can text and run at the same time :-) - The ease, confidence and sheer enjoyment of her race was a breath of fresh air. It was such a pleasure running with her.
Nandini (sister) - She came to California and we ran The Big Sur Marathon together and then we met up in Chicago for the Chicago Marathon. Nandini has gone from not running at all 2 years ago to a complete running machine. Her incessant running updates is pure motivation for couch potatoes like me.

Friends:
Rajeev Patel - What can be said about him! Incredible guy! He attempted one of the most difficult and aggressive ultra-distance races, the 250Km Spartathlon, in Greece and made it all the way to mile 60+ before the cut off got him. He is back in training and will be heading back to Greece next year to give it another shot.

Nishad Singh: This young man, not 16 yet, completed a 100 mile race! 100 miles...160 Km! He is an inspiration to many (including me) and I can only wonder what his next athletic adventure will be. Here is the NBC program on him

Anil Rao: He has shown us what dedication can do. After becoming a dad, he shifted gears from ultra running to marathons and his goal was to run a sub 3:15:00 marathon. His previous best was 3:38:00. Anyone who has run marathons will know that cutting off 23+ minutes from your time is a HUGE achievement, over a minute per mile!! It is extremely difficult to get such improvements after the 3:30 stage...laws of diminishing returns sets in...but on December 4th 2011 Anil Rao ran CIM in 3:14:47! Amazing! Big congrats to him. Focused and consistent training got him there.

Martina Koldewey completed "Racing The Planet - Nepal" a race over 250 kilometers/155 miles through the foothills of the Annapurna mountain range, starting and finishing near Pokhara. Total elevation gain across the full course is 9,000 meters/29,500 feet. Total elevation loss is 9,700 meters/31,800 feet. She was on the move for 49+ hours over the 6 days of the race! Amazing athlete!

Tony Fong completed his 100th Marathon at MCM. He is never stops amazing (or running).

Murali Krishna (MK) and Rajeev Shankar: Both completed their first Ironman races, MK did the ironman Coeue d'Alene and Rajeev finished the Vineman Full distance race. Congratulations to both!

Chandrika Srinivasan completed her first Half Ironman Distance triathlon (Napa Vintage) - congratulations to her!

As for me, the year began with promise but I lost my way after the Napa Marathon. I did not make it to the Ironman Texas race in May and then decided to take a break from Triathlons this year. I did only one triathlon (SV Triathlon) and ended up running my first Ultra Marathon (Run De Vous 50 miler).

I spent a bit more time backpacking this year, a couple of back country trips to Ansel Adams Wilderness and one to Mount Whitney. This left me with a stomach bug in October that made me miss Twin Cities Marathon (TCM). Given that TCM was to be my A race, I ended up with no Personal Records this year but a lot of easy races.

I did do a few more open water swims and I have been wanting to move into long distance swimming. The only catch is that I'd have put on about 20 pounds in order to survive open water swims, as wetsuits are not allowed in long distance open water swimming...for now that stands between me and long distance open water swimming. I cannot see myself adding 20 lbs! That will be too much and will kill my running & biking for sure. So stay tuned!

As 2011 marked my 10th year of running marathons, 2012 marks my 10th anniversary of Ironman distance racing. To celebrate a full decade in Ironman races I plan to do three Ironman distance races next year, lets see how that pans out. 2012, here I come.

Blog index 2011:
1) Well Begun is half done (May 2011)
2) Ansel Adams Wilderness - Lillian Lake (Aug 2011)
3) Run-De-Vous 50 mile Ultra Run (Aug 2011)
4) Alcatraz and Back swim (Aug 2011)
5) Mount Whitney Trip (Sep 2011)
6) Bridge to Bridge 10Km Swim (Sep 2011)
7) Chicago Marathon 2011 (Oct 2011)
8) The 2011 Season round up. (Dec 2011)