ITALY May 8th to 20th 2013

So, 2013 is my year off from racing and we finally made it to Europe. For years we had been discussing a holiday which did not involve a race...and we finally narrowed it down to Italy. Our trip was, fly into Venice take the train to Florence (day trip to Sienna by bus), take the train to Naples (Day trips to Capri and Pompaii), take the train to Rome and fly out of Rome.

Venice 2 days one night.
Florence 3 days four nights
Naples 2.5 days two nights
Rome 3 days four nights

Few details:
1) We flew US Air.
2) Did all the BnB Bookings on Airbnb. Worked out really well.
3) Booked all our train tickets between the Italian cities from the US through the TrenItalia site. (www.trenitalia.com) click on the UK flag (top right of the screen) for English language. You need to create an account and after that it is pretty simple.

Things to do:
1) Inform your Credit Card Company/Debit Card (Bank) about your trip details.
2) Get a Europe telephone plan/Data plan for the trip.
3) Get the Rick Steves book on Italy - electronic version. We down loaded it on our kindle. Excellent resource.
4) Down load all the Rick Steves podcasts for the various museums and other attractions. They are pretty good.
5) Get printout of all directions.
6) Be Prepared to walk 8-10 miles a day in Florence and Rome.
7) Buy an Italian/English translation book.
8) Get an Italian/US plug-point for your chargers and carry all your chargers.
9) Buy a money belt and carry cash. We figured, if you eat out for both, lunch and dinner - it will be ~€35.00 for two per meal with wine. So about €70 a day. We had lunch out and dinner at home.
10) Buy the Florence Pass (€50/head) and Rome Pass (€34/head) - it may seem expensive, but it saved a lot of time. Specially in Florence. The Florence Pass covers almost all the museums and is valid for 72 hours from first use. Rome Pass covers two attractions and then you get discounts for others and is valid for 3 days including the day you first use it...so, if you use the Rome pass in the evening you lost that entire day, your pass will be valid for the next two days only.
11) We carried thin towels with us, some BnBs had old looking towels - we used ours instead. Bed linen was clean everywhere we stayed.

The trip:

Venice: BnB was nice. Clean and relatively quiet. The room was at San Silvestro Square which was a 2 min walk from the Rialto bridge and about 10 mins from San Marco square.

We landed in at 9:30AM. We took the Alilaguna boat to Rilato bridge. The trip took about an hour and 20 mins but was a great introduction to the grand canal. We had a 10 min walk to San Silvestro Square. Demitri was at the room to meet us.
After settling in, we walked to San Marco square and then along the water front. It was HOT so we came back and slept for a few hours. In the evening we walked to the train station - 30 min walk through the maze of small alleys. From there we walked back to Rilato and stopped for dinner at one of the waterfront restaurants. Lots of Bangladesh waiters! After a decent dinner we strolled to San Marco Square and listened to the live bands playing. Sat there for a few hours. Beautiful evening. We crashed at 12:30am.

Video: Venice Evening

Venice

Dinner in Venice

Venice at night

May 10th. Dimitri made breakfast for us and we then walked to San Marco Square and went up the tower - excellent views of Venice. We walked through the Duomo of San Marco and slowly made our way back to Rilato for a quick lunch and then picked up our bags and took the Vapporetti to the station. Our train for Florence was on time.

Reached Florence at 6:30pm. It was raining. We bought our bus tickets at the station newspaper shop and caught the number 22 bus to Maragliano and San Jacobin St, it was PACKED!! We had no idea where the bus was, luckily there was an English speaking Italian on the bus, he told us where to get off. Could not find the place so called Flavio. Debora came out of the house to show us the place. We were right there. Flavio and Debora welcomed us into their lovely place and after showing us where everything was they suggested we go to the local pizza place, San Jacobino pizza, for dinner. AWESOME pizza. Packed with locals, the house wine and pizza were delicious.


May 11th. After a fitful night's sleep we were up at 7:00AM. Flavio and Debora had left for their trip. We made some coffee and headed to the station to buy our tickets to Sienna on the 12th. We walked across to the tourist information office (The TI Office is across the road from the station) and bought our Florence passes which were €50.00 each, but did not have any waiting time at the museums. We walked along the Arno river and just waltzed into the Uffize museum. After 3+ hours we strolled out - fascinated. We had a quick bite at a roadside tavern and walked to the Museum Veccio. The Florence Card works for almost all museums in the city and includes free city transport for 72 hours from activation. We walked up the Veccio tower 210 steps for a super view of Florence. We the walked to the Duomo, the crowning dome that defines Florence, and walked up the tower...410 steps for an even more awesome view of the city. We could see the viewing gallery on top of the Duomo. Unfortunately the Duomo museum had closed. We walked to the Academia and again waltzed past the lines due the Florence card. Wandered around and saw the star attraction 'David'. The unfinished Michelangelo (or so most people think) statues were super. The profusion of Medici sanctioned art depicting Mary and baby Jesus were just fantastic and overwhelming.
At 6:40pm we were done! We strolled back to the pizza place and polished off two pizzas.

Florence Skyline

Replica of David - outside the Uffizi

Fountain of Neptune - Out side the Uffizi

May 12: Got up to and checked our email for the first time since leaving the US. Well, our Rome booking had been cancelled because the 'host' was unwell!! I logged onto Airbnb and tried a place and sent out an email. We had tickets for Sienna so we had to leave the house by 8:15am. The bus station is like India. Total free for all. We managed to get on the Rapido bus to Sienna - an hour and twenty min trip. Once there we walked to the square and climbed to the top of the 'Torre del Mangia' tower. Sienna is not called 'little Florence' for nothing. If I have to see my photographs in a few months they will look the same. But Sienna is cute, we followed the intercity flag rivals and just walked around. The black and white cathedral was super! We stopped for lunch at the main square...finally got Wifi! And figured out that the booking we had sent out in the morning for Rome did not go through! Back to the grind. By 2:00 pm we were done with sienna. Wandered around till 4.00 pm and again had an Indian moment getting into the bus back to Florence.

Sienna skyline

Sienna flag march

Sienna

We got back to the BnB, called Flavio and asked if it was on to use the laptop. Looked for a place and sent in our booking. Then went back to the pizziaria San Jacopino's for dinner. Got back and Debora and Flavio were back from their trip. Had a glass of wine and discussed Italy/India, politics and finally called it a night at 10:30pm. 13th was to be a light day - no Pisa trip as we had to figure out the Rome BnB situation.

Video: Florence from Pitti Palace.

Florence BnB was nice, clean and very comfy it also had a garden! Flavio and Deborah had left the house to us for 2 nights while they went to France.

May 13th.
We got up at 8:00 and spent almost 3 hours looking for a BnB in Rome. After several declines we finally got one and we left the house at 10:40 for Pitti Palace which is across the Arno river. The place was about a 40 min walk and we crossed at the Pointe Vaccio bridge which is open only to pedestrians. We spent 3 hours walking along the gardens and checked in to the various museums at the Pitti (All covered by the Florence Card). We then walked across the bridge to check out the cathedral and the Duomo museum. We got back at 6:30PM and sat with Flavio and Debroa, who cooked a super dinner for us, and polished off a couple of bottles of wine while discussing topics from politics to religion to prices of land in Bombay, Florence and San Francisco. Flavio loves Bombay and has visited often for business (antiques). Flavio and Debora are wonderful hosts and awesome folks.

Michelangelo's unfinished Pietà

Donatello's Magdalene Penitent

Our hosts in Florence

May 14th
Got up at 8:00 and made our way to the station. The train was on time. We had a nice 2:30 hour ride to Naples. We were warned about Naples and that it was rough and dangerous. We got off at Napoli Centralle. Went to the tourist office (located in the station) and picked up a map, asked for train directions to Dante Square (Piazza Dante). On a whim we decided to walk to our BnB and the lady at the TI said it was a 30/40 min walk. Off we went. Naples felt, smelt and was as messy and crowded as Bombay. We stopped several times to ask for directions and finally we found our BnB. The roads were really narrow, almost like Venice. Elizebettet showed us our apartment and gave us a 15 min review on what to do in Capri and Pompaii. The BnB was very cool, split level and a private apartment. Given that Naples is where the Pizza was invented she told us to visit a small pizza place just below where we were staying. It was good stuff. Naples was a bit of a shock, graffiti, crowds and hot! We walked to the port and checked out our morning route and the time it would take. And were in bed at midnight.

Naples BnB

May 15th
We got up early and caught the 8:05 ferry to Capri. Went straight to the Blue Grotto booking and we were the first folks there. The weather was perfect and once we made our way into the grotto the guide asked us to look back!!! WOW!! The blue was incredible! The place was really cool. We were back at the main port in an hour! Rick Steves book was spot on...arrive early and skip the crowds at the grotto. We then took the Funcicular to Capri and then the bus to Anacapri. From there we rode the chair lift to the top of Mount Solaro. The views were spectacular!! The clouds were just about rolling in. We then hiked down to Anacapri (40 minutes) and strolled around the little town. We made our way back to Capri by bus (which was packed) and floated around at the port. Tried the lemonchello, pretty nice. We met and talked with a wonderful girl, Carmelita, from Naples. She teaches Spanish in Capri. We chatted all the way back to Naples and exchanged emails to keep in touch. The hand movements and gestures in Naples is just awesome to watch. It was overcast by evening. Naples has a lot of police presence around...a heck of a lot, including military folks. They have made big strides in cleaning up the crime over the last few years. There were many young kids at the squares and all the commotion and cops did feel safe and good. The city is definitely on the up.

Video: Blue Grotto.

Capri

Blue Grotto - Capri

Capri

With Carmelita at the Naples Port

May 16th.
We were up early. Packed up and walked to the bus station to get a bus to Pompaii. It was raining. Our €4.00 umbrella from Florence was already on its last legs. The bus trip was 30 minutes. We could not get a guide so we bought one of those €12.00 books (got it for €7.00) and we just wandered around reading up on stuff. Pompaii is brutal...warm, unshaded and relentless ruins :). We finally called it a day a 2:30 and made our way back to Garibaldi Station (Napoli Centralle). We hung around the station area waiting for our 5:00PM train to Rome and had a nice comfy ride. The TrainItalia goes at 300kmph!! Pretty cool! In an hour we were in Rome! We found our way to the TI (it is on Platform 24, where the trains leave for Fiumicino Airport) and bought Rome Passes. We made our way to the Metro and Ambra's boyfriend let us into the apartment. We bought some bread, salami and called it a night.

Pompaii

Pompaii

Pompaii

May 17th.
Got up at 7:30AM – it was pouring Romans and ruins! By 8:30 it had settled in to an overcast morning. 9:15AM we took the metro to St. Peters Square. We got into the line to visit the Vatican Museum. The line was long, wrapped around the Vatican wall but it was moving fast. Several guides came by selling their services for a guided tour and a guarantee of not having to stand in line. We almost took them up, but decided to go it alone and. We were inside within an hour. The museum was incredible! The highlight for me was the sculpture of ‘Laocoon and His Sons’ – absolutely brilliant. We managed to skip the exit for the general public and got into the Sistine Chapel by following one of the guided tours. That saved us at least an hour of waiting in line outside. We took the long route to the Sistine, stopping along the way to see the profusion of art. I had downloaded the Rick Steves podcasts for the Sistine Chapel and once we made our way into the crowded center – we just stood there looking up at the masterpiece. The wall behind the alter 'The Last Judgement' was incredible too. The finer points of the explanation through the podcasts really helped us understand the panels and 'The Last Judgement' behind the alter. After the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel we made our way to the St Peter’s Cathedral – now that is something – a thing of immense beauty and scale! The Pieta by Michelangelo is a bit far and put behind bulletproof glass at a slight height – it is not the best vantage point, but the beauty of that sculpture is hard to miss. We were out at 4:00pm and wandered around the Square. Stopped for a quick coffee and walked into National Museum of Castle Sant’ Angelo which was built as Hadrian’s mausoleum. Nothing much to see there – we then crossed the Tiber and wandered around to the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain and made it home after a stop at McDonalds for a break from Pizzas and Pasta...the guy at the counter in McDonalds says, ‘Take the chicken burger – it is ready’...only in Italy! Got back to the BnB and chilled out for the rest of the evening

The statue of Laocoön and His Sons

Sistine Chapel

St. Peter's Basilica

Statue of St Peter at St. Peter's Basilica

Mosaic - "The Alter of the Lie"

St. Peter's Basilica

Pantheon

Looking over Piazza del Popolo

Trevi Fountain

At the Colosseum

Colosseum pillar

Colosseum

May 18th.
We left the house at 9:40 and took the train to the Colosseum. Since we had bought the Roma Pass - we skipped the lines and walked right in. Sweet! We spent a few hours walking around, again the Rick Steves podcast was perfect. Then we walked past The Arch of Constantine to the Roman Forum and spent a few hours tracing the steps taken by the Caesars and about a billion other tourists! Augustus’s Villa was closed, but we wandered around the gardens and then decided to take a long lunch. We walked along the streets until we found a place we liked and plonked ourselves for a good two hour lunch. Post lunch we walked to the Circus Maximus and spent an hour resting at Tiber Island (small island in the middle of the Tiber) watching folks fish. We then walked past the Spanish Steps (not sure why this is so famous!) and made our way to Piazza Navona and Bernini’s Fountain of Four Rivers (Ganges is one of the statues). We walked on to the Pantheon – the dome that inspired the domes in Florence, Vatican and everywhere else. We stopped at some of the better known pizza places and coffee houses along the way. We then walked back to Metro station and called it a night.

May 19th.

A day with no agenda. We decided to check out the other side of the Tiber, Trestavere area. We walked around without any game plan – revisited a few areas - Spanish Steps to Piazza del Popolo to Borgese Garden to the Piazza Venezia and Victor Emmanual building, museum and church behind it. We crossed the Tiber to Trastevere area, had a long lunch - stopped for a campari/orange at the Tiber Island and once again made it to Camp de fiori - this time for a long dinner. Then traced our way back to the Metro via the Trevi fountain.

And - just like that our trip had come to an end. Loved my first visit to Europe and Italy. Florence was certainly the highlight of my trip.

Metro in Rome was really easy to use. Great directions, well marked on the floor with arrows and train directions leading to each platform.

Campari and Orange

Campo dei Fiori

Campo dei Fiori - Dinner

Rouge-Orleans 126.2 miles

Status: DNF at mile 95. (31 miles short of the finish)

Why this race? Well, I was looking for an ultra race where I could not get lost :) The fact that the Baton Rouge to New Orleans run was along the Mississippi with no (or few) chances of missing the levee - I signed up. With that done I emailed the ultra hero friends I had (Anil Rao and Rajeev Patel) looking for some tips on how to go about training for this distance. To my good fortune, Rajeev Patel signed up for the race as well. Given that he would be around made things easier for me. This would also be the first time we ran an ultra together. We have paced each other in the past, but never run an ultra together.

Training: As part of the training I ran a 100 miler at Alan/Rajeev's race in November, Run d'Amore. After a short trip to India in December, I was back with a few runs. There were a few runs with Martina at Rancho and a few other long slow runs.
The biggest training issue for me was to slow down my pace. I had to force myself to run at 11, 12 min/mile pace on the longer runs and to add a bit of walking. That did not come naturally to me and if I stopped concentrating, I'd find myself running at a 8:00/8:30 pace.

Diet: I stuck to my regular food, nothing special and no diet changes. I flirted with going gluten free (again) but gave up on that idea. My plan for the run was, gels every hour and a half, water and at the aid stations, pbj sandwiches, soup, potatoes and salt tabs (as necessary).
Shoes: Hoka - no hot spots no blisters. But the lack of long training walks in them could have been the cause of my injury.

Course: The levee was not soft mud, it had stones strewn about and our feet took a beating. It was not scenic either...the Mississippi is probably one of the most industrialized rivers around. We had Refineries & Chemical factories for as far as the eyes could see (and nose could smell). The course is paved from mile 90 onwards. So the last 36 miles are on a paved bike path.

The race:
With Shridhar, Madhu, Dhvanee, Renuka coming to cheer us on, I knew this would be a fun weekend. All of us (except lil' Dhvanee) were in Muscat together in the mid 1990s, so it was a reunion of sorts. Patel, Renuka and I got to Baton Rouge on Thursday Morning after a long hopping flight SFO-Vegas-Houston-Baton Rouge. We checked into The Belle of Baton Rouge, a rather nice hotel. We drove into town for lunch and then scouted the course for about 7 miles - checking the GPS co-ordinates provided by the race director. The levee looked nice and even and we were looking forward to a good scenic run. Shridhar, Madhu & Dhavnee came in around 11 pm, they drove in from Dallas.

Friday was spent arranging our drop bags and resting a bit in the afternoon. We had taken the 8:00PM Friday start option, which meant we would be running through 2 nights (Friday and Saturday) in order to finish sometime around 10-11AM on Sunday.

At the race meeting we were told that the cannon from USS KIDD would not be used as the starting gun because someone had blown off 3 fingers firing that a few months ago...to which Patel quipped 'Well, he should have used a Nikon instead' :) NUT!

Friday 8:00PM the race started off with a horn sounding off and we began with an easy jog/walk. For a few hours we kept company with a few other runners. Patel was in full flow, regaling all of us with stories and jokes. A few hours later we struck out on our own, settling into a 6 min run 4 min walk for a few hours. Cathy Nevans and her team (She was running solo and her crew were doing the relay) kept us company for a few hours. Songs were sung, jokes were cracked and Renuka and Madhu met us at relay points to give us water. We reached the first aid-station (mile 28) in good time and were feeling pretty strong.

Saturday morning dawned grey and overcast. It was cold and our feet were hurting a bit. Given that the race only had two Porta Johns (Yup, 2 for the entire 126.2 miles) we found some open portas (probably owned by the refineries) and managed our nature calls. We plugged on through the day, Shridhar, Dhavnee, Madhu and Renuka came out to cheer, feed us and take photographs along the way. Madhu ran (or rather walked - as we were walking at this point) with us for about 7 miles and we kept it going. Dhavnee was just too funny as she put on a southern drawl and pink mustache and egged us on at every stop. Aid-Station 55 was the next stop and we were still feeling fine. As night fell I could feel the sleep coming on (we had been awake since 9:00AM on Friday, which meant around 9:00PM Saturday it was 36 hours of us being awake). The night was cool and overcast and Madhu/Renuka continued crewing us. We tried to get a 10 min nap, but I could not sleep. We tried again after an hour and still, I could not sleep a wink. It was a strange place to be...sleepy during the walk/jog but could not sleep once we got into the car! At 11:30PM we took our first caffeine tablet and that got us going for a bit. I could tell that Patel was feeling sleepy too as he had gone quiet...yea...PATEL HAD GONE ON SILENT MODE!!!! He actually has a silent mode!

We were officially bored around mile 65-70. The course was just rubbish, scenery wise. The smells from some of the Chemical plants were getting to us too. The caffeine lift lasted till about 12:30AM (Sunday) and then the sleep came back. I was weaving about a bit. My Tibialis Anterior muscle (right foot) was really hurting, I could not dorsiflex my foot at all and was dragging it along. We talked about trying to run a bit, Patel said we should wait till the paved section at mile 95 and then run - that made sense as the stones would have been a problem for me with my 0 foot lift. The third aid station at mile 80 was a disappointment. They had no hot soup and had only one boiled potato left (we shared that). Thanks to Renuka/Madhu who got us sandwiches and hot Ramen noodles from a gas station a few miles away. This was sad, here you have a 126.2 mile race with only 4 aid-stations...you should have these fully stocked and have backups in case of a stove malfunction (We were not the last one either, there was a group of runners who started at 3:00AM on Saturday...they were all behind us). I was probably tired and hence got a bit more irritated than I would normally get...it took a few miles to get that out of my system.

At 1:00AM we took our second caffeine tablet...the effect of that lasted only half an hour!! It had started raining and around 2:00AM we got to relay exchange 20 (mile 90) and finally managed to sleep for 15 mins in the car. Once we were up, we insisted that Madhu and Renuka head back to the hotel. We could make it to the finish before 2:00PM if were got 20 min/miles (3 miles an hour). At mile 90 we hit the pavement and we felt a lot better. My foot was really bad and I could feel the swelling too. Patel asked me to stop at that next exchange point and not push through causing more damage. I mumbled something about being fine and making it for 30 more miles. It was pouring now and very windy. I did not want to stop at the mile 95 exchange as I did not want to call Renuka back (She had just left about an hour and a half ago!).
But better sense prevailed, I called her from the exchange point and she said she would come back to pick us up (20 mile drive! Poor thing!). Patel called the race director to let him know we dropped out. A relay team of local Baton Rouge folks let us sit in their van till Renuka came by. It was cold, raining and windy outside.

Shridhar and Renuka picked us up around 3:30AM and we went around looking for a hotel room. WE finally found one and after dropping shridhar back at his hotel - I showered and crashed around 4:45AM (we were up for 43+ hours! and were moving for 32 of those). While Patel has done longer races and stayed awake for well over 60 hours, this was the longest I've every stayed awake.

Our crew (Madhu, Shridhar, Dhvanee, Renuka) were just awesome! Cannot thank them enough. This is definitely not a race to do solo without a crew. The race amenities are basic at best and you must have crew support.

Conclusion: I have finally figured out that ultra running is not my thing :) - I get bored easy and need the distraction of a different sport. Or, I need a sport I love - swimming. So it is back to the pool for me and I may try some ultra swimming in the coming years.

Foot update: Wednesday Feb 13th, the swelling around the ankle is still there, the Tibialis Anterior is still sore and a bit swollen. I have a little more range of motion in my foot, but still cannot fully dorsiflex. Will keep resting for a few more days and then see if a short run is possible.

2012 looking back...

2012 races

2012 was a busy year with 747 miles of racing (swim, cycle & run combined) which adds up to a little over 5 days of actual race time (124 hours in total). With a vacation in December the 2012 season is now officially over. My next run is scheduled for Feb 2013 and nothing more planned for the year with the possible exception of Chicago marathon in October 2013.
The year had a few highlights:
My first trail ultra (AR 50) in April.
My Marathon Personal Record of 3:29:42 (3 Hrs, 29 mins, 42 Secs) at the Chicago marathon.
My first DNF (Did Not Finish) ever...at Ironman Coeur d'Alene.
My first 100 mile endurance run at Run d'Amore in 29:29:29 (29hrs, 29 mins, 29 secs).

Run d' Amore - 100 mile run

Oct 20th a bunch of us ran the ‘clothes encounter of the turd kind’ run - a 12 hour night ‘training’ run around the tracks at West Valley College in Saratoga. I managed to loop around the 400 meter track about a 172 times (give or take a few). The run began at 6:30pm Saturday and finished at 6:30am Sunday – with that crazy event - I was done with my training for the Run d’Amore 100 mile race on Nov 10/11.

Run d’Amore is a 2 mile loop around a bike path in San Martin, CA. I had done my first 50 miler in 2011 there in the Run d’Vous event. So given that I had looped that 25 times – I should have known better...but Rajeev Patel asked me to sign up for the 100 miler as a training run for our upcoming Rouge-Orleans 126.2 mile run in February.

Before my race report, let me congratulate some of my friends who ran and finished the race:
Congratulations to the following finishers: Balu, Naresh Kumar, Navneet, Shashvat, Sangeeta, Suchu & Vassu for finishing the 50K, Anju, Bharti for finishing the 100K on Thursday, Rajeev Patel and Anu - 100M coming back to finish on Sunday, Raman 125M he ran on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday!

The event:

Renuka dropped me off at 5:45AM and I just about managed to set my stuff up at the start as Alan Geraldi (Race Director) started making the last minute announcements. 6:03AM we were off! It was cold! 37F! My plan was to walk as much as possible and jog every now and then. Balu who was doing the 50K hung with me during his laps and Shashvat jumped in for a few laps between volunteering and doing his own 50K. We set a decent pace – walking about 14/15 min miles. RD and the volunteers did a spectacular job of taking care of the runners. The event had a 50K, 50M, 100K, 100M and a 200K option. The event was set up to be a fun event, it was envisioned by the two race directors (Alan Geraldi & Rajeev Patel) to be an event that encourages people to fulfill their dreams of doing an ultra. There was an early start option on Thursday for those who wanted to split the run over a few days – kind of a stage race. The few who did that Thursday start were caught in some nasty weather – it rained and it was freezing...most of them stopped at the 100K mark and luckily none of them fell ill. Some of them came back on Saturday and Sunday to finish their various distances.

At about the 40 mile mark I started feeling the hot spots on my left foot (the beginnings of a blister) – Rajeev Patel took a look and bandaged the area. The guy is amazing! The day progressed well, it never got hot (San Martin does get pretty warm), in fact it was chilly in the late afternoon and there was a strong cold breeze blowing – I switched back to running tights, track pants, three shirts and a jacket. I snacked on food at almost every loop, there was pizza, risotto, veg & chicken soup, broth, casadia, chips, PBJ sandwiches … what a spread! Alan was busy cooking, heating stuff all day and night. As the sun set the temp started dropping – Martina, Harry and Renuka dropped in around 8:30PM and Harry paced me for about 12 miles...that was a good boost as he switched me from a fast walk to a jog / walk which helped use other muscles. It was cold and I knew Martina was tired and cold...I felt bad to have them out there so I told them I was fine and they should go home and sleep...they did so reluctantly – wonderful people! I reached into my bag for a change and added several layers of clothing – I also pulled out my iPhone to listen to some podcasts and music (the first time I’ve run with headphones). The loops melted away – at around 2:00AM I started to feel really sleepy and actually shut my eyes a few times on the course. Alan suggested that I should sleep for 20 mins...'you will feel good as new' he said...I saw a pot of coffee and said I’ll try that instead and it helped for about 6 more miles...then at 3:30AM I took Alan up on his offer and climbed into the changing tent and was out like a light.

4:00AM I was back out on the trail, thankfully there was no wind throughout the night, but there was a lot of frost - the temp had dropped to 27F in the night and the scene of zombie walkers looping around the course would have been funny had I not been one of them. Folks were shuffling, zigzagging due to sleep deprivation and still managed to pass on some words of encouragement to each other...Alan managed to keep the aid station stocked and manned throughout the night. The Ultra running community is a really friendly and awesome bunch of people. As the sun came up more people came in, some had taken a break and come back to finish their miles others came to cheer. Shashvat was back after volunteering the previous day - I had 6 laps to go (12 miles) he had 6 laps to finish his 50K so he gave me company. Renuka was back too, so with Shashvat and Renuka I limped (the blisters were in full bloom) the last of the miles...the 'death march'. Naresh came in as I had the last lap and we all came in for the finish...I tried a lame attempt at running for the last 20 feet and Alan had a good laugh at that sad attempt. My finish time was 29 hours, 29 minutes, 29 seconds! I got my first 'buckle' - I was too tired to celebrate, but we took a few photographs. Rajeev and Anu were at the aid station during their final loops so we did celebrate a bit. Renuka, Naresh, Shashvat, Sangeeta helped load the car and I was asleep within seconds of getting into the car.

Big thank you to everyone who helped, emailed and called. It is truly a collective effort that makes these events fun (yea...fun) and satisfying. The fact that I just walked/jogged a 100 miles (160 Km) is still sinking in...

With Race Director Alan Geraldi

Food intake during the event:
Sports drink, coke and water (no gels)
PBJ sandwiches, risotto, soup, chicken broth, pizza slice, pumpkin soup, sports beans, 2 half cups of coffee, 1 tequila shot :)), cookies...

Kit:
Well used running shoes (2 pairs), well used office shoe (they are comfy and I did a lap in them), sandals, running socks and woolen hiking socks (did not use the hiking socks), 5 full sleeve quickwic shirts, 2 running tights, leg & arm warmers, gloves and beanie.

The Buckle

Day 4 after the event, an update:
While I was not physically devastated by the 29 and a half hours of walking/jogging, it was definitely the most sleep deprived I have ever been. The recovery has been quick for most part, there are a few areas of concern that I am focusing on a bit more aggressively, they are (all right foot):
A slight swelling around the lower portion of the shin (around the tibialis anterior area) which has impeded dorsiflexion. With regular icing and self massage it has improved significantly in four days, thought the swelling still persists. There is no pain while walking, only if I try and flex the foot.
The blisters have closed up and healed. They were a problem on Monday and Tuesday, but today (Thursday) the pain has gone.
Foot: Bit of soreness still around the mid foot still persists. The swelling has abated (Swelling is normal as 29+ hours of walking will cause that). I still have a bit of a sudden pain that feels like a tendon that is ‘cross wired’ (my best uneducated guess) this disappears once I supinate the foot a bit. This happened before Chicago Marathon as well, so it is was not caused by this event.
Cause of the issues: My take is that my stride while walking is a bit longer and I am not used to walking at my fastish pace for such long stretches. The long stride probably leads to a more pronounced dorsiflection on the recovery portion and that is irritating the muscles involved. Solution? Well, run a bit more :).My 85-90 strides a min would be better for the foot and the muscles are probably stronger, given that I run a lot more than I walk.

Chicago Marathon # 8 - Oct 7, 2012

Chicago marathon # 8 - the weather was totally different from 2010 or 2011 (both warm years) and I was hoping for no wind for a decent run. And it was cold...but calm. No wind!

Morning Temp

Having trained well for this race I was looking forward to a sub 3:30 finish. My previous best was 3:32 at Twin Cities, MN in 2010.

In September I went for a week of camping and backpacking at 6,500 to 10,000 feet above sea level and managed to run almost every day I was there. Managed a 7.2 and 4 mile run at Bridgeport (6,500feet). A 6 mile walk, jog, run from 7,500 feet to 9,100 (Rush Creek to Gem Lake) in the June Lake area. A 2.5 mile run at 10,000 feet (Thousand Island Lake) and a good HARD 6 (out) and 8 (back) mile hike with about 38 pounds on my back from Rush Creek to Thousand Island Lake in Ansel Adams Wilderness Eastern Sierras.

Apart from those runs, all my longer runs, 20 and 22 milers, were at a good decent pace. My track workouts were in good shape. All this was well set for a sub 3:30 marathon.

I landed in Chicago on Friday evening, Oct 5th. My Sister, niece and nephew settled into Congress Plaza Hotel which was about 10 minutes from the starting line. After spending three and a half hours getting to and back from the Expo we settled into a late lunch early dinner (5:00PM) and then had a nice evening walk around Buckingham Fountain in the evening.

With Shashvat and Navneet at the Expo

Buckingham Fountain

Buckingham Fountain

Nandini and Mallika were volunteering at the 2nd water-stop so they left at 4:15AM. I got up at 5:15Am and finally rolled out of the hotel room at 6:50. By 7:10AM I was in my corral! Awesome!! I decided that I would keep in front of the 3:30 pace group for as long as I could and then fold in with them if things went bad. The weather topped off around 44F to 48F during the race and I was feeling fine. Mile 23 I started dropping the pace and the pace group caught up. I stayed with them for a mile and once I got my nth wind I pushed the pace and ran the last mile ahead of the pace group...finishing in 3:29:42. Given that I did not completely go all out I think I still have a minute in the bag...if all goes well I'll give 3:25 a shot in 2013.

Mallika/Rohan Expo'ed' out, on the bus back

Open Water Swim Safety

Original post 2012 - updated in 2018 and again in December 2020.

Over the last few years there have been a sudden increase in deaths during the swim leg of a triathlon. Being an active triathlete and someone who encourages people to participate in triathlons, this sudden increase in deaths bothers me. I collected a few articles and studies available online and contacted a few people who shared their thoughts and studies with me. (Thank you Brad Kearns, Race Director of the Auburn triathlon, for the prompt email and for being on the forefront of triathlon swim safety. Thank you Rudy Dressendorfer for the article and thoughts.)

I have summarized the notes below in points and added links to the full articles:

Preswim Safety:

Dan Empfield’s notes on a safe swim [Dan's article]:
1) If it is a warm day, do not suit up too early. This may cause you to heat up too much.
2) Get a properly fitted wetsuit.

3) Do some dry land and in water warm-up 5 to 10 mins before your start.
4) Line up at the start according to your ability.

Rudy Dressendorfer PT, PhD, FACSM – notes on a safe swim [Rudy's article]:
1) Avoid a tight wetsuit.
2) Do preliminary exercises before immersion to promote blood flow to extremities
3) Submerge gradually
4) Do an easy warm-up after immersion to help redistribute the central blood volume
5) Do not over hydrate within minutes before the swim start
6) In the event of a panic attack discontinue the competitive effort, float on your back and signal for help. Do not resume swimming until your breathing is back to normal.
7) If possible, become habituated to the swim venue in advance.

The common theme is:
A) WARM UP
B) PROPER WETSUIT FIT
C) DO NOT OVER HYDERATE
D) START SLOWLY
And I add, TRAIN WELL AND TRAIN FOR RACE CONDITIONS. A warm pool swim training plan will not help you for an Alcatraz swim. Train with a group - as race swims are a contact sport - with many people in the water. Train to get used to having contact and lots of turbulence in the water. 

Practice removing and putting your goggles on while in the water. Get comfortable doing that. Your goggles may leak, fog up or get knocked off during a swim. Train to be able to fix that during the swims.

One of the exercises we do with our new swimmers is; stopping them in the deep and making them all sing a song. It helps if you can be comfortable treading water (or just hanging in the deep if you have a wetsuit on) and not panicking. 
The Auburn Triathlon that used to be run by Brad Kearns, had initiated a mandatory warm-up prior to the swim start. Thanks to RDs like him we will see a good and safe change in triathlon swimming. 

Now days warming up is very common and even Ironman events have moved to a rolling or self-seeded starts rather than the old 2000+ people mass starts!

Further to the preswim safety notes/instructions, Rudy has written about the probable causes of pulmonary edema (PE) in healthy, experienced swimmers. Summary of his notes are [Full article here]:
1) Immersion in general – and face immersion in particular
2) Cold water
3) A tight wetsuit
4) Physical exertion without warming up
5) Excessive hydration


Here is an article on safety in Open Water Swimming from the US Masters website - this has some great points for general Open Water swimming and worst case scenarios:


Other articles and studies on Triathlon related deaths in water are:
Washington Post article: I agree more with Rudy's probable causes than panic attacks occurring in regular healthy triathletes. I'd agree that panic attacks are common in novice swimmers going out for their first few races. I have no data to back this, it is just a 'regular open water swimmer' hunch.

A JAMA study on Triathlon deaths

A JAMA letter, 'Causes of sudden death during a triathlon'

USAT is conducting a full study on these swim related deaths and their findings are yet to be published.

The USAT study that came out in Oct 2012 was, essentially, inconclusive. Here is the article from Triathlete magazine.

Non-competitive Open Water swimming 

Update for non-competitive Open Water Swimming. This is essentially for all of us who just enjoy the open waters and swim throughout the year. Where I am (Northern California) the water temperature does dip into the low 50sF (10-11 C) during the period November to March. A lot of folks swim without wetsuits - just be aware that they are conditioned for it. Don't just follow them and dive it. Work your way into cold water. Acclimatize! Be regular - join a group and be patient with yourself.  

I personally switch between wearing a wetsuit and not wearing one based on how long I intend to stay in the water, who I am with and the swim plan for the day. If I am swimming with my Team of new swimmers, I always wear a wetsuit. That extra wetsuit buoyancy makes it easier to help someone else in the water. 

And finally, be wary of evangelists - those that insist on their way being the best way - They will say things like "Go without a wetsuit, so much better!" or in the case of running "Run barefoot, it is so much better!" - Always begin within your limitations and work on your conditioning. As you get better conditioned you can start experimenting cautiously. Find what is good for you and what you enjoy and just do it. If you like swimming in a wetsuit - stay with it. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. 

Points to note (I will continue to add to this list as I learn more):

1) Never swim alone (buddy up).

2) Check with local swim group(s) or lifeguards about conditions in new venues you go to.

3) Avoid baitball areas in the sea. You can notice these by the congregation of birds in one particular area. That is a sign of possible feeding going on underwater - this attracts a lot different sea-life. I got caught in one in Santa Cruz a few years ago and the Sea Lions were not pleased. We (I was helping someone swim around the wharf) were very lucky and nothing untoward happened. 

4) Wear a bright swim cap (Orange or Yellow) and if possible, strap on a swim buoy - that makes you more visible in open water.

5) Increase your swim time in cold water slowly over a few weeks. Start with a  15/20 mins immersion and then build up over the next few weeks. Check for clawing of your fingers, slurred speech or mild disorientation. Those are early warning signs of hypothermia and you should start heading out of the water. 
As an example, I normally recite a favourite poem or sing a song after about 30 mins in - if I remember the words/lyrics I'm still good to go - if I struggle - it is time to hit the beach. 
(Of course, I do this in my mind...I don't just stop mid swim and start screaming; 
"All in a hot and copper sky, 
The bloody sun, at noon, 
Right up above the mast did stand, 
No bigger than the moon..." 
I'm not crazy! Or am I?)  

6) After exiting cold water, dry yourself off, dress warm and wait for about 20 minutes before you drive. Your body continues to cool post swim (called 'afterdrop'), so wait till you are warm and comfortable - then drive. DO NOT RUSH. 

7) Do not swim during a thunderstorm. (Don't run, bike or hike either. Stay indoors.)

8) Avoid open water for about 48 hours after a heavy rain. The storm drainage can increase the level of bad bacteria in the water. 

9) Check tides prior to swimming - specially in areas like the San Francisco Bay where the flood and ebb tides are really swift and cause eddies and reverse movements along the coast. Generally the best times to swim are the two hours bracketing High Tide (HT) and Low Tide (LT). Example - if HT or LT is at 10:00AM - it will be good to swim between 9:00AM and 11:00AM - it is slack period (Slack tide) and the waters are a bit calmer and stiller...generally. Tide Chart for Bay Area. Check water quality prior to swimming. Most beaches and lakes that are open for recreational swimming are tested regularly. Water Quality site in the Bay Area.

10) Maintain a modicum of fear and big dollop of respect for water. Do not be over-confident in your abilities. Know who you are going with for a swim, know their abilities. Do not overextend yourself. Know your own limitations. Keep it safe and fun.

Here is a great article from the Outdoor Swimming Society that covers some salient points on cold water swimming.  Enjoy!     

Back to the Gull Park, Foster City, CA Swim Post.

Some of the links I used in 2012 were no longer active so I have updated this post.
This blog post was updated on May 30, 2018. Further update on December 7, 2020 & April 2021.  

Expedition Man - 8/25/2012

Expedition Man - Ironman Distance race # 10. (Ten and done?)

Ten years ago I did my first Ironman race – Expedition Man was my 10th race in that distance.

And boy! Was I the least motivated to do this race…I really did not feel like racing, but went to do it anyway.

Expedition Man is a small, new, independent Iron distance race in Nevada. The swim is in Zephyr Cove, Lake Tahoe (2.4 miles), the bike from Zephyr Cove to Sparks, NV (112 miles) and the run was around Sparks, NV (26.2 miles).

Chakri, Murali Krishna (MK) and I drove up for the race, we were camping at Zephyr Cove (across the road from the swim start). The first logistic problem was figuring out how to get back from the finish in Sparks, NV to Zephyr Cove as this was a point to point race. After the convoluted registration process, which included a bike check at the Scheels Bike Store [delayed things and was rather lame], we set our running gear up in the boxes provided to us [neat idea by the RD]. We asked if there was a shuttle to bring us back to the start after the finish and the RD said nope...but there was a shuttle (you had to pay for it) leaving one of the Sparks hotels at 2:30AM taking folks from Sparks to Zephyr Cove. MK, who signed up for the half distance race, offered to drive the car at 2:00AM and park it at the hotel and take the shuttle back to the start – that way we had a car to come back after the finish! Thanks MK!

After checking in our bikes in the evening and setting up our tents in total darkness we folded in for the night. MK was up and out at 2:00AM...poor guy, due to some road closers he missed the shuttle at the first hotel and had to call the second hotel to hold the shuttle for him. The shuttle driver was not the most pleasant person, but she waited just long enough for MK to park and rush into the bus!

Chakri and I made it to the start with plenty of time to spare (it was just a walk across the road). I had forgotten my gels in the bear locker (yup there are bears around Lake Tahoe) so had to run back to fetch those. The race start was delayed as the sun had not risen yet...so we hung around waiting for the buoys to be fixed and the swim course to be figured out. Once the course was explained we set off for the 2.4 mile swim. I must say this was probably my best swim experience – the water was superb! Clear, clean, calm and cool. My timing did not matter – I was having fun. Once out of the water there is a 4-5 mile 1000 foot climb to about 7,300 feet out of Zephyr Cove, followed by an amazing 10 mile downhill to about 4,700 feet! After that the bike course has some rolling hills and some scenic spots. The last 20 miles were pure hell, nothing but in and out of residential areas in order to make the miles. The volunteers were great but did not know much about where the next water stops were . The last water stop at mile 90 or 93 miles also gave out incorrect information...they said ‘you have 6 miles to go’ – I looked any my watch and thought, wow that GPS is really screwed up! They also only half filled my bottles (while I ran to a bike shop to use the restroom) the next 15 miles were really irritating...more out and backs and I had run out of water.

The run was a 13.1 mile loop in one direction and then a few smaller loops in another direction. As usual, I had not checked the course so I was clueless. The first 13.1 loop was fine as there were other runners (including the relays and the half distance runners) so I just followed them. As I came back to the transition (a huge mall parking lot) I was pretty much lost...the volunteers had gone and I had no idea where I was supposed to go. I asked a guy in an orange vest and he directed me back towards the same loop I had come from...so off I went. The cop at the highway crossing was shocked ‘didn’t you just come this way? Why are you heading back?’ I mumbled something about a second loop and he said ‘Oh! Second loop? Ok...best of luck’. Off I went running in the wrong direction! I met Chakri and he told me I was running in the wrong direction but I was convinced I was right :)and carried on. The water stops were shutting down and one of them even called in to race central saying ‘Bib 320 is back! Looks like he really liked the loop and wants to run it again!’ I had no idea, I plugged on. The other water-stops were gone, the turnaround at the hotel was gone too...I started cursing the RD...I was out of gels, water and gas! As I was slowly fading a golf cart come racing towards me...the volunteers handed me some water and some ghastly sweet twisties! Ugh! They did not have any gels. A mile later a few more volunteers came by in a pickup and handed me coke, gels, water and one of the volunteers, Debbie Strickland, who founded the Northern Nevada Children's Cancer Foundation, walked with me with a flashlight as it was getting dark. I finished the race, laughing at my stupidity and the RD said I was fine as I did run a marathon...even though it was not on the actual race course!

Chakri finished just before mid-night and had his own drama on the run course, I think he ran a couple of miles more! After packing up we finally left for Zephyr Cove well past mid-night. MK was really tired and so was I – but we managed to keep talking long enough to get us back safely. I just jumped into my sleeping back and was out for the count in seconds...the bath could wait till morning!

Summary: Good race, great swim. The bike ride is fine...gets a bit boring later on. Make sure you carry enough stuff with you (Gels etc). They also need more porta johns along the bike course. The run is confusing, but hopefully next year they will have the marking done right. I will definitely recommend this race, the swim is great!

OptimisSport - Distance Swim Challenge.

10 Km swim off Venice Beach in Los Angeles, CA

A calm morning in Marina Del Ray,

A serene ocean promised a brilliant day.

Bodyglide applied for rash free locomotion,

6:30AM all of us trotted into the Ocean.

Some ran and dashed in, in a flurry,

I don't get it, what is the big hurry?

Hit the first buoy and made a right,

First hint of sunlight…what a sight!

Coastline - framed in a golden glow,

Sun rose, the sea got clearer below.

Mesmerized by the gentle ocean swells,

wrapped in the earth's bosom, and it's spell.

Well into a rhythm past Venice beach pier,

A brush with kelp...shook me out of my rapture!

The runs into the beach were greeted with cheer,

The big breakers oft landed me on my derriere.

'This way!' she said, 'the current you can't fight',

To the gal on the surfboard, I owe you one alright!

The open seas, for sure, has a certain allure,

If all goes well, I'll be back next year!

(View of the coast from Venice Beach Pier)

(going back in during one of the 'out & back' sections)

(Saturday on the pier - we saw dolphins!)

The 2010 map. In 2012 they had the 6 mile swim.

Friends in the news and congratulations:
Naresh Kumar for completing the Death Ride! What a dedicated guy! Amazing athlete!
Stan Ho for his 6th Death Ride finish and he helped Naresh train for the ride this year.
Murali Krishna and Chakri for doing 3 passes of the Death Ride. Hats off!


Vineman 5.0
Thinking back...a mere 10 years ago I was at the starting line of Vineman for my first Ironman race. 10 years on, and I came back for my 9th Ironman race. This year's race was special because it was the first ironman race for one of our Team Asha runner/biker. Chandrika Srinivasan had a early end to her first attempt at Ironman when we were hit by a storm in the swim during Ironman Coeur d’Alene. But now, she was ready – after another month of training to push for that goal.

Tandy, Doug, Chakri, Chandrika and myself reached Santa Rosa on Friday – we sat through the mandatory race meeting (pretty pathetic) and then got through the packet pickup and dropped off out run stuff at T2. After a checking into our hotel (Extended Stay America), I realized my bike had a flat. So off we went to buy new tires – after switching both tires we all headed out to Mary’s Pizza for dinner.

Stan came in at around 10:00pm and we all got to bed after watching a bit of the opening ceremony of the London Olympics.

4:00AM we were up, and even though we had it all planned, we were late getting to the start. The crowd of athletes entering the transition was all the way up to the main road...I’ve never seen it this crowded. There were 3 races being held, Barb’s race & Relay, Full Vineman & relay, Aquabike. We all rushed in and managed to find a spot. I grabbed my wetsuit and goggles and ran to the porta line. Thankfully it was short. I was the last guy into the water and as I was zipping up my wetsuit the gun went off for my wave. I’ve never liked the Vineman swim, it is way too shallow and my palms keep scraping the floor. Anyway after a bit of walking and swimming, I was done in 1:30:15.
T1 and bike:
I took my time changing and decided to go with a sleeveless jersey! What was I thinking! It was cool/cold for the first 20 miles or so and then the sun came out. I had decided to change my diet to about 200 to 250 Cals per hour with lots of water. It seem fine, I was stopping to pee at every aid station! I met Stan (who was biking around the course cheering Chandrika and all of us) on my second loop and he said Chandrika had a great swim and was doing great on the bike...with that good news I pottered on in my slow easy gear. I was burning up, the sun was cooking my back (bright idea of wearing a sleeveless jersey!) and I was getting burnt pretty badly. I finished the bike in 7:35:37...nice slow pace :)
T2 and run:
A quick change and a reapplication of sunscreen I was off. Feeling fine I started running, sticking with one eGel every 45 minutes. On my way back from the first loop I met Stan, he said Chandrika was not doing too well as she had GI issues. Funny how she follows every example I set :). I met her close to the turnaround she was about half a mile behind me and I gave her a couple of Pepto-Bismol tablets and carried on. I slowed to a walk and waited for her to catchup. When I next met her she was double over and just ‘HAD TO GO’...so I rushed on to the next porta and stood in line for her. Lucky for us the girl in front of us, seeing Chandrika’s discomfort, let her go ahead! What a great gesture of sportsmanship...she too was in the race! I thanked her profusely and we carried on. Every 10 mins or so, her stomach would revolt (Chandrika was running close to a 10:30 min/mile at that stage, and was looking great except for that stomach issue) and I’d run on to grab a spot in the porta line. She had a few more tablets and we slowed to a walk for about mile to let the stomach settle. After about 7 miles at a decent clip she was feeling better. I was beginning to fade and getting a bit light headed. I asked her to carry on and keep that pace going...she insisted on hanging with me and finishing together...I would have none of that, I told her that 'it is a long race and things change suddenly...if you are feeling good, just go' we can always celebrate at the end. Off she went. I met Chakri a few times along the way he was tiring too, but being his usual self he was more concerned about others! Crazy guy! Krishna and Mouli were on the course walking and running with us. At the final loop Mouli joined me and we walked back to the finish. Having coke doused myself in the last few miles I managed a running finish! A slow 6:00:16 marathon.

I finished my 9th ironman race and my 5th Vineman – my time was 15:27:31 – my slowest ironman time!! But hey! I finished! This is my 10th anniversary of Ironman racing and well, what better place to race than the place where it all started 10 years ago!

Chandrika finished in 15:04:54!! Nailed it! Her first ironman race! What a great moment for her and the team! We are all so proud of her dedication and for staying the course. The quote 'tough times don't last but tough people do' was written for her. Thank you Renuka and Muneer for nudging her to sign up for Vineman right after that CdA debacle! What a turnaround! We celebrated with champagne at the end with Muneer, Renuka, Rajeev Shankar, Bhanu, Madhu, Venki, Krishna, Mouli, Stan and Chakri. Chakri finished his second ironman race – what a stud!

Tandy finished her first half ironman race in 17 years! She is back! She finished Barb’s Race, she and Doug stayed back to cheer us on during the run! Thank you for the support and cheering and congratulations on your finish!

Friends in the news and congratulations:

Anil Rao and Vishal Sahni both completed the Western States 100 mile run! Wow! Congratulations!

Ironman Coeur d'Alene, 2012..DNF!

Well a good long 10 months of training and we were ready for Ironman CdA. Chandrika (CS), who was attempting her fist Ironman race, had trained hard and had done some epic bike rides and bricks with Stan Ho. She was stoked, excited and nervous about her first Ironman race. A bit about her...she has been a runner with Team Asha for four years and after having done a few marathons, half Ironman and 100 mile bike rides, the next logical step for her was an Ironman race. I suggested IM CdA and both of us signed up. She is also an Assistant Coach for the Asha running program. While a good runner and a strong biker she was pretty apprehensive about making the swim cut off. But with a solid showing at Wildflower Triathlon and the Splash & Dash 2 mile swim she was ready to be the first Team Asha woman to make the start line. Apart from the two of us, Rajeev Shankar and Harpal Kochar had also signed up for the race. Rajeev Shankar had done the Full Vineman last year and Harpal had some unfinished business to take care of at IM CdA (He DNF'ed in 2011 after cramping at mile 80+ on the bike).

My race:
As I mentioned in a prior post I had started a gluten free diet in February to see if it eased some of my race day GI issues. By the time June came around I had lost 15 pounds! I did check in with the doctor and the conclusion was, the combination of heavy training and the diet was the reason for this sudden drop, but since the weight loss had stabilized over the last month I should be fine...as long as it does not drop again. But early June I had a strange feeling that I was loosing power on the bike rides and my hill climbing was suffering...a LOT! A couple of weeks before Ironman Coeur d'Alene (IM CdA) I went in for a final sport massage at SMI. Super massage therapist Greg Finney, who I have been going to for about 10 years now...made a startling statement...'Where are your quads!?' That was telling indeed. The loss of power on the bike suddenly made a lot of sense. I had probably lost some muscle mass along the way. Mind you, the weight loss was great for my running as I had a super time running the AR 50 miler and my longer runs were at a slightly faster pace. I did not seem to make a difference in my swim time as it has been pretty consistent for years. But the loss of power on the bike was very noticeable. In any case we all were ready for IM CdA.

Stan dropped in at Oakland Airport to say bye to all of us and CS, Muneer, Renuka, Rajeev Shankar and I got to CdA on Thursday, June 21st. Harpal picked us up from the airport and we had the most hilarious ride back to the place we had rented. Harpal was so starved of conversation (He had come a week early) that he was answering questions that were not asked. Example:
CS: How far is the house from the start?
HK: 4000 sq feet and it has a huge back yard!
HK: The washer does not work.
There were many such random comments (and the washer did work, he claimed he never said that even though all of us heard him!).

On Friday we all went for a short swim. The water was cold but calm and clean. We swam around for 20 mins and then had a short ride to the house. Saturday we had another swim, checked in our bikes and went for a short run in the evening. Sorted out our bags and race items and settled in to a nice meal cooked by Muneer and Renuka.

During the athletes meeting on Saturday the skies opened up and it started pouring. This was a drenching down pour. The weather report said there would thunderstorms in the morning and we were not really looking forward to that coming true. While we were soaking up all this tension,two of my good friends Anil Rao and Vishal Sahni, were running the Western States 100 miler. A grueling 100 mile race with some amazing elevation, terrain and climate changes. These two are amazing runners and wonderfully humbling people. We followed their progress via facebook updates. I remember being up at 4:30am and checking to see where these guys were.

120+ miles and still DNF :)

We got into the transition early, body marking done and proceeded to find pumps to top off our tires. CS and I stood at the back of the mass of people on the beach. I told her to relax, and we would start slow and let the crowd go. I told her not to bother looking at her watch (a bad decision) but to just swim. Given her previous swims she had a good 20 to 25 minute buffer. We took a few minutes as we warmed up in the shallow - once she was comfortable we took off. I swam along for a bit and once she gave me a thumbs up I carried on. The wind had picked up and it was pretty choppy. I had one last look back and lost her in the sea of green caps and waves. I looped around for the second lap and it was pretty rough by then. The wind had picked up and it was difficult to get into a rhythm. There were people holding on to the buoys and some holding on to the surf boards. As I got out and the wetsuit strippers pulled off and handed me by wetsuit I dropped it as I was shivering...shaking really badly. They sent me to the warming hut, after a minute of standing there and seeing 20+ dazed people huddled around the fire I decided to get out and continue on with the race. As I picked up my transition bag I saw Muneer and asked if CS was doing ok. He said she was done with the first lap in 1:07 and looked fine...I thought that was too close, she was cutting it too fine but if she held the same time she would be within the 2:20 cutoff.

The changing room was a mess, they had a 'horse water trough' in the tent for us to pee into!! Hilarious! Ever seen a man shaking from hypothermia trying to aim into a trough! Here you go! Ugh! Well after the wee wee everywhere bit I managed to get into my bike stuff. I was still shaking visibly and the volunteer asked if I was ok to ride...I mumbled something to the effect 'we will know shortly' and took off. On the first out and back I hoped to see CS on the bike. Did not see her so I assumed I'll see her on the larger loop. Every time I saw long hair I'd hope it was her...but I did not see her. From hoping she made the cut off my thoughts were slowly moving to a more worried 'I hope she is ok'...The thought that something bad had happened now all but took over my race. At mile 72 I stopped and borrowed a cell phone from a bunch of folks cheering and called Renuka. She said that CS missed the cut off by 20 seconds! BUT SHE WAS ABSOLUTELY SAFE! Phew..what a relief!

By this time I was feeling pretty tired too...the climbs were sapping my energy and I was stuck in granny gear. The course had 3-4 mile long low grade climbs that were very irritating. I had a hard time finding a good gear or any rhythm. Further, my GI issues were making a comeback! So much for the gluten free diet! I had to stop at every water stop as my stomach had decided the enough was enough. As I neared the end of the ride and the bike cut off, a part of me was hoping I'd miss the cut off and hence could put me out of this misery...I plugged on and mile 90 a lense from my sunglasses fell off! Just like that I was down to half a sunglass and a loose stomach! Anyway I made the bike cutoff with about 8 minutes to spare. Changed into run gear. I had half a mind to stop there as my stomach was now totally out of it and I needed a porta potty almost ever 10-15 minutes. But I knew that if I did not get out and try I'd kick myself the next morning. So I staggered out of the transition. I walked past CS and Renuka. About 5 minutes into the run I had to go! No portas in sight and the roads were cordoned off and people cheering on all sides!! Good lord, I finally met some folks who let me use their college facilities! That was close! Like clock work I was hitting the portas - and finally around mile 6.5 I decided this was just not worth it. I called the volunteer and told them that i wanted to drop out. After a brief bit of confusion.."ok wait here..no go that that aid station...or that person in blue"...I just sat on a chair and cheered on the other runners till they figured out who was going to take my chip. I got a ride back to the transition and waited there for Renuka to get back (They were out on the course looking for me!). My first DNF in 10 years of Ironman and 20+ years triathlon racing.

Race Post-mortem:
I had not changed anything during the race. Diet was the same. 1 bottle of Sustained Energy (300 Cals) and one eGel (150 Cals) every hour and a half. I think the the hypothermia was a combination of a slow swim and a wetsuit that had gotten a bit loose for me (I had bought it pre gluten diet). Hypothermia can sap your energy and cause GI distress. Refer Study. My GI meltdown was probably triggered by hypothermia during the swim. In any case I have given up my Gluten free diet since IM CdA.

Congratulation!!!
Rajeev Shankar and Harpal both finished the race pretty strong. Harpal did a bhangra finish and closed the chapter on the unfinished CdA attempt from 2011. Also want to thank Muneer and Renuka for all the help and support before, during and after the race..simply amazing!

Moving on...quickly!
Two hours after missing her cutoff in the swim, Chandrika gathered herself, dusted off the disappointment and signed up for the Full Vineman Triathlon on July 25th...That takes come courage and shows the tenacity of this girl! One tough person!

Beware of watching your sports watch...

As summer rolls in and folks dust off their bikes – just a quick warning to all the gadget geeks out there...eyes on the road ahead! Have a super and safe summer of training.

My regular afternoon run in San Francisco, CA.

In May 2012 I attempted a sketch of my regular afternoon run in San Francisco, it is a bit '3rd gradeish'...but it captures the sights. :-)

These are some of the sights I run past on the ~7.7 mile afternoon run along San Francisco Embarcadero [Ferry Building, Coit Tower, Alcatraz, Pier 39].