The Grand Columbian Triathlon - Sep 13, 2008

(The gang at Dry Falls on the way back)

We flew into Seattle on Wednesday night and it was good to meet Ruchi, Anup & Rohan –had a few glasses of wine and some awesome lamb curry that Anup had made and called it a night around 12:30am.
Thursday morning we loaded up the Jeep and set off for the 4 hour drive to Grand Coulee – the contrasting terrain which changed from a lush green hills of Seattle to flat farm lands to barren hills to the granite canyons of the Grand Coulee area were matched by Anup’s eclectic music collection. We heard music that spanned UK bhangra, Bollywood hits, Turkish music, Japanese instrumental, Sufi songs and a collection of North African/Arabic beats.

Got to Grand Coulee around 2:30 in the afternoon dropped my bike off at the bike shop and headed for lunch and a few cold beers. Checked in at the Grand Coulee Motel which was right in front of the imposing Grand Coulee Dam. Went for a 30 min run in the evening and had some good Chinese food for dinner. Spent the evening relaxing by the pool, sipping a few cold brews. Friday morning picked up my bike and went for a short ride – rode the bike to the swim start and had a 15 min swim – rode back to the motel. Late afternoon as we were sitting in our room I noticed that the rear tire was flat – so set about pulling out the tiny metal shrapnel and as I was inflating the new tube Anup noticed there was hole in it (I’m glad these guys did not diversify into making condoms!) – any way, used my last new tube and headed to the registration/packet pick up (bought a few more tubes at the expo). As the pasta dinner was included in the race fee I had dinner with the athletes and headed back for an early night.


(Fixing the flat)

Race Day:
Up at 4:00 am got to the race start at 5:15 – dropped my T2 and special needs bags – placed my bike bottles – topped off the air in by tires and headed off to the start. The water in Banks lake was beautiful – bluest of blue and calm. The Race Director had placed a white rope all along the floor of the swim course – that was a huge help, although in a lot of spots it got hidden by the grass on the lake bed.

Swim: 2.4 miles (Time 1 hr 23 mins)The first 700 meters was swimming directly into the rising sun – the visibility was ZERO – but I had this guy drafting off me so I assumed he was following the rope or buoys…I was also very flattered that someone found it fast enough to draft off ME! But after about 1.5K his constant slapping of my feet and scratching my toes started getting me pissed. I just stopped – thankfully he carried on and I finished the second loop all alone.


(Swim Start)

Bike: 112 miles (Time 7 hrs 43 mins) Changed had a Porta stop and off I was – the bike starts with a 3.5 mile climb to the Mesa – (We drove up the climb on Friday and it looked steep in some spots) but with fresh legs and a cool day it was not all that bad – it was a easier than the Old LaHond climb in Portola Valley (Woodside, CA) – then once on the Mesa (Table top plateau) you could see for miles in all directions – it was desolate country – not a tree in sight – miles of farm land. The first 60 miles were all rolling hills with long stretches of 2-3% grade – The 10 mile stretch out of the town of Almeria was especially painful – the blustering cross winds and the irritating 3% grade just sapped my energy – this plateau was deceptively hilly! For miles I saw no one, accompanied by dust devils and tumble weed – the only way I knew I was on the right track was by seeing the occasional gel pack or CO2 cartridge on the road. Around mile 60 Ruchi, Renuka, Anup & Rohan were at the Almira aid station.


(At Almira - Pix by Anup)

I stopped and refilled my bike bottles and headed off for the next 52 miles. The last 37 miles on Hwy 155 were the worst – this historic route has not been maintained and there were partition ruts every 10-15 feet (for 35 miles!!) the constant “Thump, Thump, Thump” was very uncomfortable – I tried riding on the white lane marker but every car/truck that went by made my bike wobble. I was glad to get off the bike. The ride over the Dam was pretty cool (only the participants were allowed over the dam – it is closed to public due to security issues)


(View from the top of the climb to the Mesa)


(Hwy 155)

Run: 26.2 miles (5 hrs 19 mins) The run was off road on well packed dirt all along the river (Two 13.1 mile loops) – I was cheered on by the gang from the bridge and had Rohan’s company for about 100 meters going back up the hill to the bridge at the end of the first loop (2 hrs 33mins) – As I was walking up the short hill, Rohan said “Isn’t this a running race? Aren’t you supposed be running?” I had to laugh and watch the 10 year old scamper up the slope…Ah! to be young again!


(View from the bridge -Pix by Anup)


(Grand Coulee Dam - Pix by Anup)

I made the turn around and ran on for the next 5 miles at a nice steady pace – I met Richard Jones who had also participated in the Vineman Iron distance race 6 weeks ago. He was in good shape – he really powered away from me on the bike on that bumpy 155 stretch...We ran together for a half a mile and then he asked me to carry on. Richard went on to finish the race, big congrats to him…he had suffered badly due to the heat at Vineman and could not meet the cutoff – that DNF was taken care of at the Grand Columbian Iron Distance triathlon – He is an Ironman! I finished the marathon in 5 hrs 19 mins for a total finish time of 14 hours 47 mins. Rohan decided to run the lap around the block to the finish with me and as we neared the finish line he just took off – the crowd (and I) had a good laugh as we watched him sprint away and finish a good 20 meters ahead of me…Ah! To be young again!


(At the finish - with Rohan looking on - Pix by Anup)


Picked up my bags the next morning and headed back to Seattle – settled in for some lovely dinner and beer and had a good music session with DJ Anup.

Great race – very well managed – well stocked aid stations – lots of Porta Johns. If the full distance race returns in 2010 I will consider doing it again. Thanks again to Ruchi, Anup, Rohan and Renuka for all the cheering and support.

Full Vineman Triathlon, August 2, 2008

I did The Vineman Six years ago,
Half a dozen years! Oh! Where did they go?
2008 Full Vineman was to be a group event
Anu, Rajeev, Vinod, Padma - to injuries and a higher call they went.
Last man standing, I thought I might as well go on
Another race, and another poem will spawn.
Race day 3:15am I awoke - coffee , banana and oats ate
Off we went to T1 and the starting gate.
The last song you hear stays with you they say,
For me it was Khwajaji…alas that song did stick to my dismay!
Vinod, Rashmi, Chakri, Veena, Deepu, Mauli and Krishna,
They had all come to cheer and participate in the drama.
The swim was done in a consistent 1:24 – Off to the bike I strode,
First 56 went by in 3:14…I pondered a 6:45 as past the turnaround I rode.
Three bottles sustained energy and 3 gels down, I was on track
Plan the race and race the plan…there was just one little crack…
A weird thirst I felt around mile 40, mouth parched, I’d made a trade
I had stretched out my hand for some Gatorade.
That stuff, in my stomach does not quite sit so well,
At mile 60 it came back to cast its dastardly spell!
My stomach suddenly bloated felt like a balloon
I thought , if something did not give I’d be airborne soon!
Like a “born-again” seeker I began seeking in earnest
The little green portas , they became my eternal quest
Not to forget the song…I took some liberties with it by far
Porta mere porta, dil me samaja…
The run began with a serious attempt to get it on
My stomach lurched , I searched, where have all the Portas gone?
Taste of water felt bad, Gatorade was out of question
Coke, I hoped, would come to the aid of my digestion!
Out of the blue comes Stan..."Rajeev why are you walking?"
“Find a Green House” I say, “then I’ll tell you why I’m walking”
Go Rajeev shout Renuka, Vinod, Rashmi, Veena
Cheering me on are Krishna, Deepu, Mouli, Chakri, Sabita
My stomach with me following waddle on as they scream
The sun has set, my finishing in daylight is all but a dream.
Pitch blackness all around I finally begin to run
Fatigued, pained and angry…and I do this stuff for fun!
Finally I stumble over the finish - fifth one I’ve done
Those that say “it gets easier” - have been out too long in the sun!
Mani runs in to finish, of this man I’m now a fan
Cool, calm and collected he is an Ironman!
A big hug to the weary cheerers, they are tired to the bone
One final stop, this time a ceramic pot, we are headed home
What a day! I’m sure it would be different, had it worked out to the plan
But then again, if it were so easy, they wouldn’t call it the Ironman!

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Cheering Squad: Stan is missing as he was on his bike cheering everyone

Off the beaten track! Yosemite version 2.0

All righty then... Its been 13 months since our debacle at Yosemite - I still had to see the White Wolf to Soda Springs (Tuolumne Medows) route. Arun Sharma, who had organized the one day 32 mile run/hike last year, invited me to do the same route as a 3 day backpacking trip this year. I, in turn, invited my training buddy IronStan (soon to be rechristened "IronSherpaStan") to share the pain. I have never been backpacking before - so this was going to be interesting. I borrowed a backpack from Rashmi & Anil, bought a compact sleeping bag from Sports Basement and a $15.00 small tent from Walmart! (Pam called it a womb tent) - it actually is a studio tent, with an attached bathroom...the bathroom is only a zipper away...come to think of it...two zippers away...wait...including the sleeping bag...three zippers away...I call it my "zip zip zip zzzz...unzip unzip unzip wizzzz tent"...much more sophisticated name indeed.

Thursday July 17th 7:30 pm Renuka packed the backpack and weighed it - 32lbs! Leaping (expletive) lizards! there is no way I can walk 32 miles carrying 32 lbs...some repacking, lighter t-shirts, and 20 minutes later - 30lbs..."I'm screwed" I say...might as well enjoy it ... we had a 4:30am departure from Sunnyvale so I got to sleep early, 12:00am.

Friday July 18th: I was up at 3:00am and ready at 4:15 awaiting Chakri and Stan. 4:30am Stan calls "Rajeev, I just got up...sorry, but does this cause a problem?"..."Umm, no Stan we are just going to be late and Arun is going to #$%&^%$ KILL us!" We asked Stan to drive directly to Pleasanton and meet us at Pam's house. We started for Yosemite at 7:00am and got to White Wolf around 10:30. After parking two cars at Soda Springs (the end of the trail) and repacking the backpacks with the bear canisters, we started the hike at noon. (Smart move of the day: distributing the 5 wine bottles into 3 plastic containers and ensuring the 3 containers do not travel in the same backpack - I believe the President, Vice President and the Speaker of the House have a similar plan of action...except they are not in plastic containers...I think)
At the start: (L-R Chakri, Stan, Me, Arun Sharma, Aun, Pam, Karan, Heera, Arun Desigan)

The players: Karan (7-8 years old), Pam, Anu, Heeral (Age 20-25), Rajeev Char (millions of brownie points for my previous comment), Arun Sharma, Arun Desigan (Old), Chakri (like Madonna & Prince he only goes by a first name- ageless), Stanley Ho & Mike (both around the same age)

Stan's best friend (Mike)

We begin the hike at 12:00 noon - 10/11 miles to Pate Valley - with a 4000 feet drop in 2.5 miles... about 3 miles into the hike we meet a couple and the conversation goes:

They: "Lukens Lake is beautiful to swim in, you all will really enjoy it"
Arun Sharma (AS): "You mean Harden Lake"
They: "No - Lukens Lake - we just swam in it"
AS: "No Lukens is that way" (pointing in the opposite direction)
They: looking at each other "No Harden lake is that way, you are heading to Lukens"
Me Thinking: "Oh Shit!"
AS: "Really!? Sorry guys, we are on the wrong trail"

A bit of back tracking later we are back on track - Stan's previous comments (in jest) about Yosemite being too high for bears and snakes ... came back to bite us! Within an hour we see a bear about 20 feet from the trail...scary stuff.

(Pix by Arun Desigan)

We move on...by 3pm fatigue starts setting in - most of us have not slept much and the heat and the weight of the backpack starts taking its toll. We shift some backpack weight around and Stan, Chakri, Arun Sharma and I decide to press on faster to get a decent camp site. We tell Pam, Karan, ArunD, Anu and Heeral to take it easy as it is a full moon night which gives them plenty of light to make the treacherous decent safely. During the descent we see our second bear sighting...this one is really close...8-10 feet away.
(Pix by Stan)

Shortly later I hear a "SPLAT"...the plastic wine pack I was carrying fell out of my backpack and broke...wine leaking all over the trail...SAD...Chakri & Arun managed to salvage about half a bottle from that mishap. After the descent Chakri & I lose sight of ArunS and Stan...
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir - on the way down from White Wolf

We keep pressing on hoping that they would have stopped for us. 45 minutes later no sign of them! Chakri and I are out of water...I drop my backpack and tell Chakri that I'll run ahead for 2 mins and if we do not find Arun/Stan we will head back towards the rest of the group. Luckily at the two min mark I run into a campsite - I ask them if they saw 2 guys go by...they did...I ran on a few more minutes and spot Stan...I scream "What the @#$% Stan!...you guys should have waited!" I had a mini meltdown...memories of last year came flooding back....:-). I ran back to Chakri and we got into the camp site (The site was fantastic) Arun made a nice warm cup of Coco for us and half a liter of water later, Stan, Arun and I set out to meet the rest. We left Chakri at the campsite. 30 minutes of fast walking later we finally see the others coming down the last of the descent. Stan and I relieve some of the tired folks of their backpacks and let them head on to the campsite faster. With daylight fading Stan, Heeral, Pam, Karan & I made the hour long walk back with our head lamp lights on. 9:30pm we are all accounted for...cheers and a camp fire is lit. As we filled our buckets during the night I saw a snake swim away from me in the river...that was too close...A sumptuous dinner and a glass or two of wine later, we set the bear canisters 200 feet away from the campsite, dowsed the camp fire completely, and we all staggered into our tents.

Saturday July 19th: 10/11 miles -(camp just after California Falls) 7:00am we are all up - ArunS & ArunD are directing traffic...breakfast is being made, hot coffee is being brewed...life is good. Stan & Chakri are all packed and ready to go! The regular backpackers (ArunSharma/Pam/ArunD/Anu and Heeral) make us all comb the campsite and ensure that we pick up every scrap we brought with us...not even a corner of a wrapper was to be left behind...we really spent some time doing this - and I am glad we did it, the wilderness is so pristine that it is our responsibility that we "leave no trace behind." We start out towards Pate Valley and the infamous "right turn" that Anil, Vineeta and I missed and got horribly lost last year. Along the way hikers coming back warn us about a "rattler 300 yards ahead" Pate Valley is a Rattle Snake heaven. Luckily we do not see any rattlers. We pass Heeral and ArunS - Heeral seems to be in some distress (She was not well a few days ago) We continued through the tall grass and thick brush of Pate Valley. We slowed down to ensure that Karan/Pam/Heeral were ok and within sight. The temp started rising and it was 87-88F and humid. We left the tall grass and got to the Tuolumne River...GOR-GEE-US!

After a while Chakri, Arun and I decided that we should take Heeral's backpack and give her some relief so she can recover for the rest of the trek. We found a nice long log and hung her pack on it and 4 of us took turns carrying the "Pig" for the rest of the day.

The climbs were really painful...we had about 2ooo feet of climbing...Stan (and Mike) would take off for a few miles, drop his backpack and run back to help us - relieving one of us of our packs and heading out at double speed...the boy is insane!
(Pix by Arun Sharma)

For lunch on Saturday Arun D and Anu had chopped onions, shred carrots and cut avacados! We had tortillas stuffed with theplas, carrots, onions and avacados...we sat by the Tuolumne River...soaking our weary legs in the cold waters...sublime!

After a second grueling climb and some spectacular waterfalls we stumbled into a vacant campsite at around 5:00pm. Stan went for a 2 mile run...this kid is NUTS!

Set up camp and had an early dinner - finished off the wine and we were way too tired to hang around...by 10pm we were all in our tents. We had decided to get moving at 8:30 am the next morning.

Sunday July 20th: Campsite checked - we had a quick freshen up at the river and were off at 8:30 sharp. The 3 hour climb to Glen Aulin this was really tough and cumulative fatigue was getting to all of us...All of us?...No, one person refused to be conquered by fatigue...that was IronSherpaStan. He continued to do his relay work - he is insane! Heeral was feeling fine and was back in the swing of things. Karan and Pam were feeling much better too - the most memorable quote of the trip was during one of the million stories Pam & Karan were exchanging. Karan said "Medusa was cured by a good shampoo" I cracked up! this kid is special...for an 8 year old he is phenomenal. After a good lunch at Glen Aulin we had another 2 hour climb before we reached Tuolumne Meadows.

After that the trail flattens out at 8,600 feet...beautiful flowers and...meadows. A lady stopped me along the way saying "You have a face that is calming and says that you have a lovely voice, can you please sing a nice light song for me"...I sang (actually murdered) 'Country Roads' by Denver and both the lady and her husband rescued me by sing the song really well.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/H8h7u-I96Gwqr5x1gS2yQA?authkey=SkTrcCFgLao

4:30 we were all done..we finally made it...this was a tough trip, but we all agreed that the next time we need to do it in 5 days so we can actually stop and smell the roses!
Karan at the end (Soda Springs) He seems sad that the trip is over!

Tagged: Thoughts On Running

------------
My friend Anil “the horse” Rao tagged me and so here are my thoughts & answers to his tag.

1. How would I describe my running 10 years ago?
10 years ago – 1998 - Chicago was home, running was a challenge in winter but I do remember bundling up and getting those 5-6 milers in. Summers were great and I was in decent running condition – no injuries – nice easy 5-6 milers as I trained for The Chicago Triathlon and Lake Geneva Triathlon.

2. What is your best and worst race experience?
The best experience was during the marathon at the 2007 Ironman Canada – I felt really great and even thought I could have gone a bit quicker…pretty cool considering that I completely blew up during the 2006 race. This year’s Napa marathon was wonderful too – nice easy paced race which leads me to believe that if I stay uninjured I could improve by another 15-20 minutes in a year.

Worst race experience was during the Marathon in the 2006 Ironman Canada…I just imploded and everything went downhill. It was a slow tough walk. Other non-race bad/scary experiences were:
a) During a training run at Huddard Park (Woodside CA) in 2002-03 with Rajeev Patel. We got lost and ran out of water…the 8 miler turned out to be more like 16-20…the trails, hills were tough.
b) 32 mile Run at Yosemite where Anil Rao, Vineeta & I got lost - Details here

3. Why do you run?
Because it is swim, cycle, RUN!

4. What is the best or worst piece of advice you've been given about running?
I always listen to my body and no one else – and over the years the most regular and best piece of advice has been “relax today – have a cold beer.” I always listen to my body (and it shows :-))

5. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people would know.
I’ve been having a mid-life crisis for about 25 years.

I tag the following people:
Padma/Kiran
Mouli

Auburn World's Toughest Half Triathlon / Napa Valley Vintage Half

May – Half Iron Distance races

Napa Valley Vintage Half Ironman – May 3rd
World’s Toughest Triathlon – May 18th

My Bib number was 44 in both races! What are the odds of that happening?

Napa Vintage Half Iron Distance race: (Swim 1.2 mile / Bike 56 miles / Run 13.1 miles)
When Padma mentioned she was going to be doing the Napa half I immediately decided to jump in and kick start my training season. Padma graciously let us share her hotel room which turned out to be a real blessing.

Renuka and I drove up later in the afternoon and after getting lost (Google maps suck!) we finally made it to the room at 9:30. Thankfully Madhavi & Padma had brought back some leftovers from their dinner. After vacuuming the pasta we had a fitful night – four of us cozied up in a small room. This was Padma’s first Half Iron distance race and she was pretty confident – (though she had niggling worries about making the swim/bike cut-offs.) The morning was pleasant – I opened the room door and I was in the transition area…AWESOME! We racked our bikes and headed for the swim, Superman Chakri drove all the way in the early hours to cheer Padma, what an amazing guy!


(which direction are we going?)

We had decided to swim together, but so much for plans – within 5 mins I lost Padma in the sea of back wetsuits. Since it was a relatively small event <250 participants the swim was pretty smooth – it also was about 300-350 meters short! Started the bike – saw Padma just after the first turn around and she was all smiles – the course was not easy – not very hilly - but it had that irritating grade where you just cannot get into a decent cadence. Got off the bike & proceeded to the run – it was warm (low to mid 80s) – the course was gorgeous, and I stopped to take in the views of lake Berryessa – beautiful course.


(How beautifully the blue of the Porta John stands out against green trees - oh and the Babe in grey track pants is gorgeous)

Padma called out as she ran by, she was all smiles and wearing her trademark panama hat and carrying her (ultra runner) bottle in hand – she was in her element – this girl loves to run and it shows on her face.



Chakri ran the second lap with her and she came in to finish at a fantastic 7:51:20 –Except for a mini GI meltdown on the bike she had a good race. Padma is in great shape for Full Vineman triathlon in August. Her Splits – (Swim 00:38:33 / Bike 4:17:23 / Run 2:44:11) With 11 mins in transition.
I finished in 6:33:34 (Swim 00:34:25 / bike 3:33:27 / Run 2:13) with about 12 mins in total transition!
BIG thank you to Madhavi, Renuka & Chakri for cheering us on.

Auburn - World’s Toughest Half Iron Triathlon: (Swim 1.2 mile / Bike 56 miles / Run 13.1 miles)
This race certainly lived up to its name. Six of us were planning on doing this race – Vinod unfortunately got injured and had to drop out. Tandy was doing the Olympic Distance, Doug, Abhijit, Stan & I were doing the half iron distance. This was to be Doug and Abhijit’s first attempt at a Half Iron Dist race. The drama started on Friday when Brad Kerns (Race Director) sent out an email saying that they expect 105F temperatures on Race Day (Sunday) so he was planning on reducing the run to 9 miles. By Saturday Morning the race was back on with the normal distances (by popular demand by the athletes!) Saturday Morning – after the Asha long run Renuka and I headed for Auburn – Abhijit drove in with his Mom and friend Ashish, Crazy Stan drove alone in his car without the AC. The temp was 102F and rising – We got into Auburn, registered and drove to T2 deposited our shoes etc. and checked in at the hotel. Met up with Tandy & Doug. After a nice dinner we called it a night.


Pre-race Dinner

5:20am - we left the hotel – Big thanks to Ashish and Renuka for driving us to the swim start. The place got really crowded as there were 4 races (International/Half Iron/Duathlon and a relay)

Before the race - Stan is missing as he was warming up

Which direction do we swim? As we were walking to the swim start I realized I had not looked up the course…had no idea where the buoys were – so I decided to follow the crowd. For some reason the crowd decided to leave me behind…darn I was just hoping I could keep sight of the swimmers past the half hour mark as that was when the International distance swimmers started – the last thing I needed was to follow the wrong crowd!
After a rather long swim (which seemed uphill!) I was out in 0:54:09 (Pathetic!)– Abhijit, Stan & Doug were there – so off we all went – Stan seemed to have the quickest transition. I saw Mouli and Veena who came all the way to cheer us on – such wonderful people (Thank you, Thank you).

Chicken on a slow roast: That is what I felt like on the bike. The bike course was HARD – it was HILLY and then some. The volunteers were great and it was amazing to see that they were still full of energy after almost 3-4 hours in that heat – IT WAS HOT! The reports had the temp anywhere between 93-102F (My car gauge read 77F at 5:30am and 102F when I finished!) The slow grind up the hills in those hot conditions were painful! I had managed my fuel intake pretty well so I had no cramping issues – just energy sapping climbs. Got through ~3.5 bottles of Sustained Energy (mixed with Succeed) and 3 eGels – aprox 1,200-1,325 calories just about enough for the 4:22 bike ride (a stellar 12.81 mph! I should retire! Steve Larsen, the winner, finished the entire race in 4:48:20!!!) – But wait, I have my excuse figured out. I did notice a lot of Cervélos flying by me and after doing a quick check I realized it was my glove buckle that had come unvelcroed (is there such a word?) – I was sure that this little flap was causing excessive drag - I quickly fix that – the next few Cervélos…went by much slower…but by then that drag had cost me the race. (How drool - what a drag)

New Shoes attract trails: The run was off-road through the trails starting from the Dam Overlook (this is the same section I paced Rajeev Patel during his 2006 RDL 100 miler) – All these years I’ve been running in trail shoes and doing road races – last week I bought my first pair of road shoes in years and ended up in a trail run. Well I really don’t like trail running – my low foot lift makes me kiss the earth more often than I'd like. Five minutes into the run...crash... I kissed the earth...a protruding root was the root cause of my fall, not to be routed by the route and after a routine dust off I started again. The down hills (well it was all downhill for me) were bad...boulders, holes, roots it was conspiracy. Finally we had a section of gravel road and regular good ol’ black tops. The volunteers were great, the cheering folk were fantastic, lots of bikinis around...(got to love summer.) I saw Abhijit on his first lap – he was in fine form – unfortunately both he and Doug would not be allowed to finish the second loop due to the time cutoff. They both did 64 miles of a 70 mile race in grueling conditions – and in my mind they are finishers. The run was done in 2:36:06
Total time: 7:52:32
Stan finished in 6:57:32 and came in 5th in his age group. Way to go Stan!
Tandy finished her tough International distance race in 4:21:38

Stan & Doug waiting & waiting for me to finish

Madhu, Shridhar, Dhvanee drove up all the way from San Jose to see us finish – thanks a million guys! I finished too late and was too tired to take you out for a decent lunch – but I’ll make it up to all you wonderfully supportive folks.

I look forward to racing with Doug, Tandy, Abhijit, Stan, padma and Vinod – Vinod I hope your injury heals quick – we need to resume our pre-race Beer tradition :-)

(Pix for the Auburn Tri coming soon)

2007 - a look back

Another great year with TeamAsha - we survived the heat and chaos at the Chicago Marathon, ran the beautiful Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC and finished strong at the Silicon Valley Marathon in San Jose. Along the way our runners raised money to help educate and change the lives of less fortunate kids back in India.

Another year with four marathons (including 1 during my Ironman). Napa in March, Chicago & Marine Corps (DC) in October and Ironman Canada in August. Apart from that a few of us did the Tri OneOOne Triathlon (3/4 Ironman Dist) in June, Vineman 70.3 (Half Ironman) and a century bike ride in July.

2007 was a year when a lot of my friends achieved personal sporting highs:

Anil Rao, Alan Geraldi, Gary Friedle and Padma - Finished their first 100 mile race.
Rajeev Patel - ran three 100 mile races in 3 months! He also finshed the tri 101 (3/4 Ironman Dist Race)
Vinod Herur - returned with me to do Ironman Canada for the second time.
Mark "Irondog" Williams - finished another (10th?) Ironman Canada!!

2007 was a good year for me as well - With Personal records at;

Napa Marathon (26.2 miles) - 3:56:40 (Previous Best 3:59:12 - in 2006)
Vineman 70.3 (half Ironman) - 5:48:29 (Previous Best 6:06:03 - in 2003)
Ironman Canada (full Ironman) - 13:14:52 (Previous Best 13:53:26 - in 2002)

First Quarter 2008 update:
Napa Marathon March 2008 - Here I am - 11 pounds heavier - but still managed a decent finish at Napa with a Personal Best of 3:49:00 - Vinod Herur ran a carzy 3:30 and qualified for Boston! Awesome Vinod. Gururaj, Bharti, Lila finished their first marathons - congrats to them - they are all 1/3 of their way to an Ironman finish...:-)

A week after Napa I went bowling with a few friends and on the first roll I pulled my piriformis muscle - that's it...the extreme sport of Bowling is out...I'll stick with Triathlons, Marathons and maybe some gentle skydiving.

Chicago Marathon Oct 7, 2007

Chicago Marathon # 3...What A Ride!

6 AM Saturday - Sweet Home Chicago!

It was WARM! - Went to my sister's place to hang out for the morning. It was wonderful to see Mallika and Rohan (niece & nephew) - the last time I saw them was Chicago Marathon '06! Went for a short jog with Rohan (10 yrs old) while Mallika (12 yrs old) accompanied us on her bike. It was sweltering! I loved it...but knew we were in for a struggle on Sunday.

Race Day - up at 3:45am, had breakfast with the team and headed to the start. The Asha tent was larger than last year's and we had plenty of Porta Potties...awesome arrangement :-).



Tony lead the team in some light stretching and we all took off for the start. I thought of starting with the team in the Open Corral - but Satyan insisted that I go to Corral D, he said "This is your kinda weather - just go for it" I managed to get to Corral D in time. It took four and a half minutes to get to the start line. I hung on to the 3:45 marathon pace group till mile 17...where a quick stop at the green bank (to make a deposit of my liquid assets) caused us to separate forever. Mercury rising...the temp was up to 90F and it was humid! The pace slowed after the break and as I looked around I started noticing the number of people who were dropping out or just sitting by the road side...the heat was taking its toll...there was a constant wail of ambulance sirens! I realized that this was not a good day to attempt a quicker marathon...hung on to a 9:15min/mile pace to finish in 4:00:14.

Got back to the tent and on the way heard announcements that cooling buses were being sent out...Tony (3:09)and Raghav (3:29) - (Animals!!) - were already there - I had a nice massage - and waited for our runners to start coming in. Around then we started hearing reports about some deaths on the course and hundreds being hospitalized. With every siren Tony and I would look at each other and hope it was not one of our runners...the next two hours were tense, tough and scary! Slowly all our runners started coming in...most of them were re-routed to the finish.



All Fire Hydrants turned on!

For many, the dream of finishing their first marathon was cut short...there was a lot of disappointment and anger amongst the runners. We tried our best to pacify them but our words fell on dejected ears...all those months of training and anticipation were seemingly for naught...they were angry about the lack of water/Gatorade, the heat, the cancellation...frustration was high! The marathon...The "Chicago Marathon" had become a total mess. I was just glad the organizers cancelled the race...with their complete mismanagement the continuation of this race would have been a total disaster. It will take a few days, weeks for our runner's anger to subside and they will realize how lucky they were to come away healthy.

Could things have been better? Hell yes! Could things have been worse? HELL YEA! We were all lucky...all of us came back safe...ready to race another day.

I had to head back home the same evening, so after a quick shower and a few beers with my sister and Rajeev Shankar I made my way to the airport. As I waited for my flight, it struck me that after the finish last year we were all talking about how "Cold" it was...the temp had dropped to 39F during the race. Today all the conversations were about the record heat and that it had hit 90+F...same city...same marathon...same organizers...different outcome! Here's hoping that 2008 will be like 2005...perfect weather and a perfect race.

Race Pix:

My quest for a 3:45 finish did not materialize - but the fact that everyone was safe was a huge relief. Big thank you to Asha Chicago and our tireless volunteers, coords, supporters from Asha SV...what a wonderfully well arranged trip...amazing people. I would also like to thank the people of Chicago, the Police & Fire depts, Paramedics and all ancillary organizations...you saved the day and possibly many lives.

Chicago Marathon Organizers - you need to take responsibility for the mess. There was a lack of water at the aid stations - STOP denying it. Admit that mistakes were made - apologize and make amends.

On a lighter note, Dick Walstra - my friend and professor from Chicago wrote this wonderful poem!

Raj came to Chicago
To run the big race;
The weather was awful,
He couldn’t hold pace.

But Ironmen know
That conditions will vary;
So like it or not
He chose not to tarry.

The City sent cops to say
“stop where you’re at!”
But Raj went on racing
In four hours flat.

It wasn’t a record,
No PR this day;
But we all feel much pride
In our friend anyway!

- Dick Walstra

Ironman Canada 2007 - Race Report

Lake Okanagan, Penticton.



Thursday: Got into Penticton in the afternoon and went to the registration booth and got myself registered. Later in the evening I went for a short jog along the beach. Picked up Vinod from the Airport at 9:30pm – 'Team India' had arrived!

Friday: Picked up our bikes. Vinod and I went for a short ride later that evening.

Saturday: We were up early for the 2K underwear run – totally hilarious! 150+ people in briefs running through town to the cheers of the towns' folks – the run ended up at the beach where we were put through some calisthenics. Vinod in his Boxers and me in my Speedos were among the crowd (I will not post the pix)


Ironfamily - Tracy, Janice, Mark "Irondog", Rajeev, Renuka and Vinod

Met Mark, Janice and Tracy for lunch. John, Vinod's team Sheeper buddy, joined us too. Finished the bike check in and relaxed the rest of the day. Met Lisa Bentley at the expo and Vinod & I had a photograph taken with her. (Lisa won the race the next day.)

Vinod Herur, Lisa Bentley, Rajeev Char

Race Plan: Swim easy, Bike easy and RUN the darn marathon!

Race Day: 3:30AM The Ironwoman Renuka nudges me out of bed – coffee and oats –
Vinod and I leave for the transition area at 5:10AM – Body marking takes forever – get into the transition at 6:00am do all the last minute checks and I slip into my wetsuit and trudge off to the beach.



SWIM 2.4 miles: 7:00AM swim starts – It was crowded! To me the mass start is really what defines an Ironman race, it is crazy out there. About 10 minutes into the swim a swimmer was having a bit of trouble breathing so another swimmer and I stayed with him for a few minutes, trying to calm him. He finally decided he needed to rest so he swam to the center channel to look for a surf board to hold on to. He told us to carry on....I hope it worked out for him.
I was out of the water in 1:24 – took forever in T1 – the Porta line was looong!
Video of the swim start:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=398110281959612946

BIKE 112 Miles: I had my nutrition figured out this time – Hammer Sustained Endurance – each bottle was 343 Calories (I had planned to use 5 bottles) and eGel, each 150 Calories (I had 6 gel packs). A total of 2600+ liquid / gel calories for the 7 hour ride with salt tabs mixed into the drinks. Now I had to remember to finish this during the ride. The first 40 miles were fast – by my bike computer I was at mile 40 in 2 hours and 5 minutes. Stopped just before Richter Pass and mixed my third bottle (so far the plan was working). The next few miles were uphill, I met Mark and saw his new bike with his "Irondog.us" logo painted on it – Black bike with a white logo, it looked really good. The down hills were great, clocked 45mph at one spot – lovely! Met Vinod at mile 70 he was having cramps and some issues with his bike – lower gears were slipping, luckily he met the awesome Bike Barn support team and they fixed his bike. Reached the final climb at Yellow Lake - eased up over it (...this is where my race had unraveled last year.) The crowds were lined up on either side and it was great! A 74 year old triathlete blows by me – totally amazing! There is a pretty girl with a huge poster saying "Looking for a husband" - I laughed and said "you are too pretty and I'm too tired - it won't last." The down hill section was smooth and again clocked 45mph at one spot. Off the bike in 6:57 – all 5 bottles and 6 gels were consumed – no excuse to fail on the run this time.

RUN 26.2 miles: The plan was to run a sub 5 hour marathon – started off at a decent pace and was wondering if I could hold it throughout. Told myself no walking this year. At mile two, I had run more than last year! At mile 14, I had run more than my 2005 Lake Placid race. Met Mark at mile 15 – he was too funny – his drill sergeant routine cracked me up – I was laughing for the next mile. Mile 21, I started on cola and was still holding the pace and was feeling pretty good – once back into town, the crowds and energy picked up, I increased the pace. The last 2.2 miles were the fastest of the lot – saw Renuka and she had a big beautiful smile on her face with a hint of shock! (I was way ahead of schedule) My finish time was 13:14:51 – I was thrilled – I ran the plan and it actually worked! The marathon time was 4:34....with negative splits - first half in 2:18 and the second half in 2:16...not too shabby Eh! I wanted a sub 5.....and got it!

The splits:
http://ironman.com//events/ironman/canada?show=tracker&y=2007&race=/events/ironman/canada&bib=1166

Million thanks to my lovely wife Renuka for all the support – the driving, bike pickup, cheering, diet & training tips - she is developing into a fine coach. Thanks to my good friend Stan Ho for all the bike rides and bricks this year. Again, a big thanks to Vinod - we have now made this journey twice – and hopefully 2008 will have a few more events we can do together. Thanks to Anil for the rides to and from the airport at unearthly hours. And of course all our family & friends who were tracking the race online – reading all the emails later was like reliving the race.

Was this just a one off good race day? A fluke? Or is there a 12:30 finish in me? Do I sign up for Canada 2008? Or Brasil 2008?
Decisions decisions...Life sure is tough! :-)

Vineman 70.3 (Half Ironman) July 22, 2007

Vinod and I signed up for half Vineman as a training race for Ironman Canada – Vinod unfortunately ended up with a flat at mile 45 – since the glass on the road had torn his tire the replaced tube also flatted immediately. He waited for some help as he had run out of tubes. A fellow racer gave him a spare tube and with some ingenuity he fixed the issue by using an empty GU gel packet to cover the hole in he tire and inflated the new tube! All this cost him over half an hour – else Vinod too was on track for a 5:40ish finish.

Anil Rao, Rajeev Patel and Alan Geraldi started running their Tahoe Rim Trail 100 miler on Saturday – this race had a 35 hour cutoff – Alan finished in 27 hours – Rajeev & Anil finished in 34 hours! TRT is considered one of the toughest Ultra-marathons…Anil & Alan chose to make this their first 100 miler! Amazing!

The highlights of my race:

Swim 1.2 miles: The swim was horrible – too shallow and too crowded – I got kicked/hit right through and never got into a good rhythm.

Transition 1 (T1): Took me 2 minutes to find my bike…either I’m getting old or I had one too many kicks to the head during the swim!

Bike 56 miles: The bike section was great – maintained 19mph avg almost right through – got stung by a bee at mile 40 that was PAINFUL! I had a tough time trying to get the stinger out without falling off my bike. Bike time of 2:58:33 is my fastest in a half.

Transition 2 (T2): I struggled to get my glove off as my finger had swollen up due to the bee sting.

Run 13.1 miles: Run was like a flash back – I remembered the course very clearly even though the last time I ran it was 2002 during the full Ironman (same course twice) – the temp had gone up to a nice toasty 87F. There was a slight irritation around the left knee (tight ITB), managed to stick to a decent pace and finished in 1:56:22.

Stan took some videos,
Mile 12:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7893890064234574347

Mile 12.75:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4687730015417749146

The finish time of 5:48:29 was 18 minutes faster than my previous best!

Every time I do one of these races I get reenergized and inspired

Inspiring moment: At mile 7 I saw a runner limping really badly – I stopped to ask if he needed help in stretching it out – he said with a smile “It is a little worse then that” – I then asked if he was cramping – and offered him some salt tabs…he then said “Thank you so much but I have MS” I was blown away – here is a man who is afflicted with this ailment which to date has no cure…he was out there doing a half Ironman! There is no limit to the human spirit. We take so much for granted.

My biking / running buddy Stan drove over to Santa Rosa to cheer us on, at one spot I said my ITB was acting up and Stan said – “Come on Rajeev just think of your friends who are running a 100 miler – imagine what they are going through!” - Thanks Stan I needed that.


Vinod’s team mate Doug Fujii finished the race in 5:20 – which gave him an outside chance of getting one of the Clearwater, FL - 70.3 World Championship spots. He missed it by 2 people! That was really sad. You’ll get it next year for sure Doug.

All in all a great race.

31 mile run/hike at Yosemite

(6:20am June 17, 2007 L to R - Pam, me, Anil, Arun, Vineeta)

We got back from an real adventure at Yosemite (got home at 3am!) - 5 of us had planned on running/walking 31 miles yesterday (Sunday June 17th) -


(Camp fire)

After a fun filled Saturday evening by the camp fire with a few beers and some good company we called it a night around 10:30pm - the temp had dropped to the high/mid 40s and I abandoned my plans of sleeping out in the open - took my sleeping bag into Arun Sharma's tent and was soon in deep sleep.


(The route)


We had planned for a 6:00am start which would have given us 14 hours of daylight to do this run/hike. We started at 6:30 am from White Wolf campsite (8,000 feet) and descended 4,000 feet in 6 miles - after a 4 mile flat section we planned to run the 21 mile route from Pate Valley to Toulumne Meadows which gradually went back up to 8,600 feet.


(the climb down to Pete Valley)

Around 9:30 am we stopped at the river to fill up on water - Arun and Pam decided to run on ahead to save some time. Anil, Vineeta and I started about 15 mins later - at the junction (Pate Valley) we missed the Toulumne Meadows Trail and ended up taking the the wrong trail.


(The water stop 9:30 am)

Under the assumption that Arun and Pam were motoring on ahead we too started pushing through the very overgrown and almost covered trail. Anil kept running ahead and shouting for Arun and Pam but go no response so we continued to run/walk for 2:30 hours - the ~ 4.5 miles we ran took us up about 2,600 feet (we were at 6,600 feet). The trail was overgrown and full of thorns - all of us have minor cuts on our legs/arms. At places I did see some big piles of droppings - I knew they were not mine :-)...so it was either a big deer of one of the Yosemite black bears! At times we heard some noises in the bushes - not a fun feeling. Finally we realized we were on the wrong trail and decided against pushing for the top (we assumed that around 8,000 feet we would see some camp sites/ Ranger station) luckily sanity prevailed and we turned back to make sure we got to the river, our only water source.

It took us about 1:20 mins to run back to Pate Valley - at every turn through the thick brush I would imagine a bear standing there...at times the black burnt tree stubs caught my eye - and my heart would skip a beat or three! By the time we got back to the junction and realized our error we were almost 4 hours behind Arun & Pam. After a brief discussion we then decided to head back to White Wolf Camp - although Rashmi & Lily were waiting for us at Toulumne meadows (20 miles from White wolf) we knew we could at least get the message to them through the rangers saying we were OK. Vineeta, Anil and I kept running and discussing various scenarios - What would Arun/Pam do? would they be waiting for us? Would they have come back? Gone on? What would we have done if we were in their place? It took our mind off the run for a while.

We stopped at the river and filled up our bottles and backpacks and braced for the climb back to White Wolf. The 6 mile 4,000 foot climb back to White Wolf was brutal. We had come down this trail earlier in the day - it was strewn with uneven rocks and bad footing which made a treacherous descent - but the ascent was just plain murder!

We were trying to ensure that we got back by 6:00pm so that we could get a ride to Toulumne and meet the others at that trail head before sundown. Anil was still in fine form - Vineeta and I were feeling fatigued. We made some stops to calm our breathing and heart rates and we pushed each other on, reminding each other to eat and drink water. We made it back at 6:30pm - Vineeta convinced the Rangers to give us a ride to Toulumne Meadows - the Rangers (god bless them) dropped us at Toulumne Meadows at 7:20 pm where we met Rashmi & Lily who were waiting for us. They were really starting to worry. Arun and Pam had not come in as yet. So after a quick change and adding a few more layers Anil and I started walking back down the trail trying to see if we could locate them. Finally after about a 40 min walk into the trail our shouts were returned by Arun & Pam - Man! we were so relived - they made the 31+ mile trek/run in 14.5 hours (6:30 am to 9:00pm) What a day! - Anil, Vineeta and I ran/walked about 30 miles (6:30 am to 6:30pm.)

Arun and Pam had very little food or salt tabs on them as most of the food was with Anil and me - the trail they were on was devoid of tree cover for most part and the valley was simmering at 90F by mid day. Running low on sugar and energy the two willed each other on for 14 hours (13 hours if us remove the hour they spent waiting for us). But in spite of all this they came away saying that the route was really beautiful - the water falls and vistas were fantastic. I doff my hat to these two athletes. I guess I'll have to make another trip there to see this stuff!

We have a lot of learning to do - we were very very lucky this time.

The bad decisions:
1) Not discussing the trail in much detail the prior evening - not carrying a map - not having a back up plan. I did not pay attention when Arun was going over the map.
2) To let the group split up.
3) To continue on the wrong trail for 2.5 hrs (we should have turned around in 45 mins of not seeing the other two!)
4) Not distributing the bars/gels/salt tabs equally - the three of us had the bulk of it - Arun and Pam were lucky enough to meet other campers who parted with a few energy bars)

Good decisions:
1) Heading back to the river for water.
2) Heading back to White Wolf instead of trying to catch the other two.
3) Ensuring we got to camp before sunset.

Other Pix:



(All photographs taken by Arun Sharma.)