Tahoe Rim Trail 100M

Fifty long miles and then again,
Struggling with sleep and intense pain.
This is the story of a run:
A Taste of Hell, Glimpse of Heaven!
Many months for it we did train.

Labored breathing, lungs under strain,
The distance preying on the brain.
From Sun to Night and again Sun:
Fifty long miles.

We are tough, we cannot complain
If this goal we are to attain!
Determined, incessant action,
Living from station to station.
Doing them twice, that was the game.
Fifty long miles.

Date: Jul 21-22, 2007
Race: Tahoe Rim Trail 100M

Location: Spooner Lake State Park, Carson City, NV

Time: 34:11:30

Photos of this race: http://public.fotki.com/rajeevtherunner/2007trt100m/

What a tough, tough race this one was. The lowest point in this course was 6800' and the highest was 9214'. Anil and I took almost all of the allotted time of 35 hours.

Thursday, July 19

Anil, Rashmi and I left the South Bay around 2 p.m. Rashmi drove and we had a great time listening to music or just talking. We stopped for some food in Placerville. Pizza and beer!!

We reached the race hotel (Plaza Hotel) after 7 p.m. The 2 adjacent suites were great. Each suite had a living room with a pullout bed and a bedroom with a King bed.

Anil and I went to a few places to pick up fruits and other last minute things. We then decided to finish the drop bags since we had to turn them in before 2 p.m. the next day. Anil even helped bandage up my big toes in order to prevent blisters from forming on the underside. The skin there had become kind of sensitive the past few weeks.

We hit the sack early though I spent the next hour or so watching TV.

Friday, July 20
We woke up after 8 a.m. and first went to eat breakfast in the hotel. We met up with Alan Geraldi who, like Anil, was attempting his first 100-miler. We went over to his room to help him with his drop bags.

After I showered, Anil and I made a quick trip to Lowe's for a few lithium batteries and strips of Velcro to attach our gaiters with.

Rashmi, Anil and I ate in a Subway before heading to the grounds of the Capitol where the weighing in and the 2:15 p.m. race briefing were to be held.

The first thing we did was to get weighed and get our bib numbers. We deposited the drop bags and then waited for the briefing to start.


(Race central)

(Alan Geraldi weighing in)

(Clowning around during my weighing in)

The race briefing by RDs David Cotter and Kevin Bigley was preceded by short speeches by people from various groups affiliated to Carson City, RRCA etc.

(Attentive audience)

(Pete Lubbers & Scott Dunlap)

David and Kevin briefed us so thoroughly that there were no questions at the end. At least not in public!

Pete, Anil, Alan and I had signed up for the pasta dinner. We went back to the hotel to rest for a bit before heading out to the dinner around 5 p.m.

(The pasta dinner)

Finally it was time to go back and contemplate on the nature of the Universe before the 5 a.m. start! I contemplated until 11 p.m. before closing my eyes for a few hours of shuteye.

Saturday, July 21

The alarm went off at 2:15 a.m. I could not bear to get up right away so stole another 15 minutes of much needed sleep. I finally swung my legs off the bed for the start of a long day, a long night and an even longer day after the night!

After a quick shower and a breakfast of a bottle of Ensure and a large bagel, Anil and I were ready to have Rashmi drop us to the Start. Alan rode with us. It was not very cold. That was good news. Maybe the night would not be cold either.

We found Chihping and Pete in the start area. Anil and I got our bibs and pinned them on. I also had a cup of much needed coffee while waiting for the race to start. I was carrying 2 hand bottles filled with Heed+Perpetuem+Salt Stick. Around my waist was a bag containing my phone, my camera, a few gels, some salt tablets and a cutoff chart.

(From L: Anil, Chihping, Pete, Geraldi and I)

All that stuff caused a backache that persisted for almost the entire race. I will have to find another way to carry the camera during next month's Lean Horse 100M in South Dakota.

5 a.m. and we were off! The first few miles were a climb and Anil and I were determined to walk all the way to the top. The both of us stopped almost every 15-20 minutes to pee. The climb soon turned into a descent all the down to lake level - small Lake Marlette with its giant cousin just over the mountains on its west shore.

(On the climb up from the Start)

(A happy Anil. He was happy throughout)

(Marlette Lake)

(Hobart AS at 6:50 a.m.)

The trail started a gradual rolling climb all the way to the Hobart Aid Station. In the Aid Station, I quickly downed a bottle of Ensure and topped up my hand bottles. Anil and I were soon on our way. The trail wound its way up to Marlette Peak.

The views were starting to get more and more stunning. Marlette Peak tops out at 8780'. What a way to start a race and the day!

(Marlette Lake with Lake Tahoe behind it)

We quickly found ourselves in the Tunnel Creek AS. This was the most important AS in the race. We would pass through it 6 times, 3 times per loop. Anil and I had our bottle of Ensure and refilled our bottles before heading down the Red House loop. People seem to dread this loop. I personally believe that it is overrated. Similar to the climb up to Hurricane Point in the Big Sur marathon.

We saw a lot of some of the middle of the pack runners come up the slope while we were starting out.

(Pete Lubbers at the end of the Red House loop)

(The ever smiling Scott Dunlap)

We ran the downhill and then power walked our way up the slope all the way back to the Tunnel Creek AS. We had a bottle of Ensure again and did not linger long here. It was on to the long 9 mile trudge to Mt. Rose. Anil had asked for Subway sandwiches for the both of us. It would be nice to see Rashmi, Arul and Gayathri there.

We met Eric Blumenau, a friend of Nicole Whiting, just after Diamond Peak. He looked in good shape.

(Eric Blumenau on his way back to Tunnel Creek from Mt. Rose)

We made it to Mt. Rose around 12:40 p.m. i.e. 7:40 into the race. We were happy with the time. Nicole Whiting was there. She, along with Arul, Gayathri and Rashmi, helped us with whetever we needed. Thank you Nicole.

I quickly wolfed down part of the sandwich, had another bottle of Ensure and headed back out on the trail for the return trip to the Start.

We reached Tunnel Creek after the pit stop in Diamond Peak.

Norm and Helen were part of the Tunnel Creek band of volunteers and it was wonderful to see their smiling faces. Helen was amazingly helpful.

(Norm & Helen Klein in the Tunnel Creek AS)

We met so many of the 50M/100M front runners along the course. Garrett Graubins and Tim Twietmeyer to name a few in the 50M. Jasper Halekas, the eventual 100M winner, passed us, going the other way, just after the Tunnel Creek AS. He finished in 18:16. Our second 50-mile loop took us 18:11!!!

We were on our way up the climb from Tunnel Creek to Hobart when the eventual 2nd place runner, Mark Gilligan, blew by accompanied by his pacer Michael Hayden. These lads are fast!!

We stopped Wendell Doman, part of Jasper Halekas' crew, and talked with him for about 3-4 minutes.

(Wendell Doman)

Keith Blom passed us too. He was following up his sub-24 finish in Western States with another 100.

(Keith Blom)

We grabbed some water in the Diamond Creek AS and then ran at a steady clip down the descent from there. Once the trail leveled out, Anil and I ran a bit and mostly walked back to Tunnel Creek. It was more Ensure again for us.

The climb out of Tunnel Creek was long and we eventually made it into Hobart. Anil and I picked up our thin running jackets in case it was windy up by the Snow Valley AS. We started the 2.6 mile trek up to that AS. That climb went by quite fast and uneventfully. My weight, like Anil's had not fluctuated by more than 0.6 lbs. during those 40+ miles. AS was no exception. Since we did not have drop bags there, we were out quickly.

The last 7 miles down to the Start/Finish felt really long last year during our 50M. The same this year too!

We rolled into the 50M point at 8:30 p.m. (15:30 for the 50M). The entire crew was there to greet and help us - Anu, Bharti, Deepu, Aruna, Rashmi, Arul & Gayathri. Vinod Vishwanath was waiting to pace us.

Anil and I spent 30 minues eating pizza and changing into warmer clothes fro the night section.

We left at 9:00 p.m., 16:00 on the race clock.

The 3 of us soon settled into a good rhythm. The initial climb seemed interminably long the second time around. Anil took his first NoDoz tablet on this climb. I followed soon after. Vinod was running a 50M (the last 50M of our race) a week after running an unsupported 50M in Montana!

We reached the Hobart AS soon enough and were grateful for the bottles of Ensure waiting for us there. My new Fenix seemed to relish the batteries I was feeding it - it went through them like a hot knife through butter!! I then resorted to using only the headlamp and turining on the Fenix only when the headlamp fell a bit short.

Tunnel Creek came along soon too. I chugged down a bottle of Ensure and it tasted a bit weird. I felt like throwing up almost as soon as I left the AS and had to quell the urge. I did not know it then but that would be the last bit of nutrition (except for the mix in my hand bottles) that I would have for the next 24 miles!

Anil had struggled with sleep almost all night long. He had napped for 5 minutes in the wee hours of the night before taking a full blown 10-minute nap around 5:15 a.m. Nancy Warren, on her way back to Tunnel Creek, looked at him and remarked "He looks so cute sleeping there!".

We met Chuck Wilson soon after (5:45 a.m.) and he impressed upon us the need to pick it up and make it to the Mt. Rose AS as soon as we could. That lit a fire under our butts and we covered the next 3 miles or so in real good time. We reached the AS at 6:30 a.m.! We were out, after coffee and a quick change of clothes, at 6:48 a.m. We had built up a buffer of 1 hour.

The last 24 miles went by slowly. Anil slept for another 10 minutes in Tunnel Creek. I used that break to hit the toilet. We left Tunnel Creek at 9:55 a.m. determined to not stop anymore. The climb out of Tunnel Creek seemed much longer this time around. Hobart finally swam into view and we were out of there in less than a minute - we just refilled our bottles with the Coke we had switched to in Tunnel Creek.

The 2.6 miles up to Snow Valley Creek were long, hot, sweaty and full of large flies that seemed to have a predilection for my face and neck. My weight at that AS was down to 131 lbs. (from a starting weight of 135 lbs.) but the volunteer remarked that I would be OK once I finished and started hydrating and eating.

Those last 7 miles were some of the longest 7 miles that Anil and I have ever run. The last aid station, 1.7 miles from the Finish, never seemed to come. We reached it finally at 2:43 p.m. I promptly called Anu and told her that we would be rolling into the Finish around 3:15 p.m.

Anil, Vinod and I ran the last 100 yards and crossed the Finish line 34:11 into the race.

We were quickly whisked off to the hotel for a shower and then to the award ceremony that commenced promptly at 5:30 p.m.

Bharti, driving Anu's van, was tireless. She drove all the way back. She not only made a detour to drop off Chihping in Fremont but drove Michael Hayden all the way to his sister's place in Santa Cruz. I finally fell asleep, after eating delicious food that Raj (Anu's husband) had made for us, at 2:00 a.m.

My heartfelt thanks to our fantastic crew: Deepak, Aruna, Arul, Gayathri, Rashmi, Bharti and Anu. Anu juggled a bunch of things, including a 50 mile bike ride on Saturday, just so she and Bharti could make it to the race.

The race volunteers were absolutely fantastic! This race was made all the better because of their ever helping nature and cheerful attitudes.

Congratulations to all of you who finished. Scott, Pete, Alan, Eric, Chihping, Anil, Chuck, Tom Kaisersatt (50M), Christine (50M), Karen (50m), Marissa (50M), Norbert, Fred, Keith & Kay Blom ... The list goes on.

Pacifica 50K

Date: June 30, 2007

Race: PC Trail Runs Pacifica 50K

Location: Pacifica, CA

Time: 7:43

It was the Monday after returning from the Western States 100M Safety Patrol and Pacing when I decided that I wanted to do a 50K 5 days later. PCTR has races almost every other weekend and this one was almost in my backyard so to speak. In Pacifica - over the mountains from Hillsborough. I signed up online and Anil did the same the day after. He was looking at 31 miles after a long 62 miles in WS!

Saturday, June 30

I picked him up from his place around 6:45 a.m. and we quickly got onto 280N. The ride was uneventful and we were in the parking lot, just outside the San Pedro Valley Park entrance, by 8:00 a.m. We quickly got our stuff together. Anil had been smart enough to bring one of my long sleeved shirts I had forgotten in his bag during our WS run and that was a heaven sent! It was a tad chilly and I had, rather unwisely, opted to leave home dressed in a singlet. The shirt was swiftly donned and the singlet went over it. That's how I ran the entire race!

The course was unusual, even by PCTR standards. Sarah and Wendell like loops rather than out and back courses. This race had us go through the Start/Finish no less than 4 times! I'm becoming a fan of such courses. The reason is that they allow me to get to my drop bag quite often. My drop bag usually contains spare bottles filled with my sports drink of choice plus the ubiquitous bottle of Ensure.

The loops went in the following manner: 12K, 9K, 9K loop in reverse, 12K and then our choice of the 9K direction.

The 12K loop was a constant climb all the way to 1800 feet and a descent down to the start along a slightly different route the last 2 miles. The last middle 2 miles of the climb were very rocky. I deemed this good training for the TRT 100M on July 21.

The 9K loop, in my humble opinion, was a lot better. I felt it had more variation in terrain and trail than the 12K one.

Since this race had a 9K, a 21K and a 30K in addition to the 50K, the trails were crowded in the beginning. The 9K runners went off a few minutes early. The 21K, 30K and 50K runners shared the trail.

The climb up to 1800' in the 12K was crowded. The narrow trail and treacherous footing made for a slow pace. It opened out a bit during the descent and we were back to the Start for our first dip into the drop bags. Anil and I quickly replaced our bottles with fresh ones, chugged down a bottle of Ensure each and started on the 9K loop.

Again this loop was uneventful. We met up with a runner name Kimberly who had moved to San Francisco from St. Louis. She, Anil and I ran together for about a mile before she took off to finish, eventually, in 7:01.

Anil and I had decided to go easy and enjoy ourselves. Our aim was to get 6+ hours on a trail as a last really long run before TRT. Chuck Wilson was also doing the 50K as was Tom Kaisersatt.

This loop ended soon enough and we filled up our bottles with our respective powders. I was trying Heed+Perpetuem along with Salt Stick. I have found that Succeed gives me way more salt than I need and it tends to make me feel nauseous. Salt Stick is perfect for me. The Heed+Perpetuem combo was extremely tasty and this was the first race in a long time that I ran without even a sip of Coke!

Stan Jensen was helping out at the Start aid station. He is one amazing person. I love how much he gives back to the ultra community. He is there in so many races. Ruth Anderson, Quicksilver etc. Thank you Stan.

The thing that Anil and I noticed about the 2 loops was that the 12K one felt way different from the 9K one in terms of weather. The 12K one was definitely a bit cooler.

The reverse 9K loop was wonderful too. We met up with a dehydrated 30K runner about 1.5 miles from the end and quickly gave him some of our water. Further up we met a girl whose stomach was hurting. Anil promptly gave her ginger chews and that seemed to help her. Another runner further up was out of water too! I let him have a few swigs from my bottle.

The 12K loop was a bit slower than the first one. It seemed like the climb went on forever. We were both glad when the summit came into sight. Knowing that all that was left in the race was a 3.5 mile descent followed by the nice 9K loop made it easier.

We decided to do the 9K loop in reverse i.e. the direction we had taken for the 2nd 9K loop. Most of the other runners had chosen the opposite direction. I believe Anil and I were right in our opinion that our direction had less climbing than the one the others took.

The Finish finally came 7:43 into the race. This was a deceptive race. It was hilly with just under 7100' of elevation gain.

We hung around and chatted with Sarah and Wendell for 10-15 minutes before heading back to the South Bay. They are wonderful RDs and this race was perfectly managed as usual. Thank to both of them.

2007 Western States 100 Mile Run - Safety Patrol & Pacing

Date: June 23-24, 2007
Location: Squaw Valley to Auburn
Race: Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (Safety Patrol & Pacing)



(Picture courtesy of Larry Gassan)

I had been looking forward to this weekend ever since I had signed up for Safety Patrol for the first 30 miles. Anil had participated in the memorial Day WS Training Camp so he was familiar with the middle sections of the WS course. This was our chance to see what the first 30 miles looked like.

We drove up Friday afternoon with Christine Miller, another ultra runner. She was also part of the Safety Patrol for the first 30 miles.

We found our way to our motel a few miles from Squaw Valley after dropping Christine in Squaw Valley. We went and checked out the Start area before doing this though. It was very inspiring.

Anil and I woke up around 2:30 a.m. and quickly ate breakfast and got our hand bottles and waist pouches organized with gels etc. before heading to the Start. It was chilly and I was glad to be wearing 2 layers.

We met a whole host of friends in the Start area. Most of them were runners and a few, like us, were in the Safety Patrol red shirts.

The lot of us in the Patrol started the 3 mile climb up to the escarpment at 4:30 a.m., 30 minutes before the start of the race. The trail was very dusty and steep. A mile or so before the top we could see camera flashes down below to our right and we knew that the race had begun.

The elite group of runners included Lon Freeman (course record in the 2007 Miwok 100K), 2006 WS winner Graham Cooper, Hal Koerner, Guillermo Medina and Brian Morrison among others. The first of the elites passed us about a quarter mile from the top. It was astonishing to see how they were making their way up the steep slope!

Anil and I waited at the top to get to the back of the pack. We were off!

The escarpment was almost at 9000 feet. The first few miles were downhill - fast with decent footing. Altitude affects my breathing but the downhill section was fine. We descended more than 1500 feet and then ran along for the remaining miles mostly around 7000 feet.

The next 10 miles or so we were running among friends - Carol Cuminale, Barbara Elia and Karen Hanke. I was to pace Karen later in the day (from the mile 62 mark in Foresthill). Anil was scheduled to pace Chris Marolf from the same point.

The trail was extremely dusty. The lack of rainfall was evident in the total absence of snow. The only white we could see was on distant mountain tops.

Anil was in fine form. Altitude does not seem to bother him at all. He is going to have a blast in the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 miler in July!!

My breathing was starting to become labored. We reached the 10 mile aid station and I quickly ate a few cookies and some PBJ squares. The next big cutoff was at Dusty Corners (11:30 a.m.).

By now Karen, Anil and I were running together as were a few other runners just ahead of Karen. They were all anxious about making the cutoff. They finally trooped in at 11:20 a.m. with Carol and Barbara not far behind. They had hardly any time to grab stuff to eat and fill their bottles before they had to leave. Western States is very particular about enforcing cutoff times and no runner wants to be caught napping when the cutoff bell goes off!

Since Anil and I had only another 7 or so miles to go from there on, we decided to back off on the pace. We reasoned that we needed to save something in our legs for the 38 miles of pacing at night.

We walked and ran the next 3-4 miles until we caught up with a runner named Cyrus (from Detroit). The altitude seemed to be affecting him even more than me. He was very tall and he would bend over every so often trying to suck in air. I noticed that his cap was not venting enough of the heat he was generating, causing him to sweat copiously. I asked him to take it off and I gave him my visor. Anil and I also shared our slices of mango & ginger and our sports drinks and salt tablets with him. He made it to the Robinson Flat AS with 5 minutes to spare!

He promptly went out of the AS and sat down just outside. I quickly piled a plate with food and took it to him. His son had his bottles filled up by AS staff. He sat there for another 10 minutes and finally left around 1:50 p.m. His next cutoff was 3:05 p.m. and we later learned that he did not make it. Maybe he will have better luck the next time he start this race. Good luck to him.

I was very surprised to see Karen Hanke still in the AS. She was sitting in a chair and when I asked her when she intended to leave, she announced that she had decided to quit. Poor baby! As she found out later, she had suffered from altitude sickness and just could not maintain a good pace. Even though she rolled into Robinson Flat at 1:10 p.m., i.e. 30 minutes before the cutoff, she knew that she could not sustain it much longer. Being the savvy and experienced athtlete she is, she decided to quit. Smart decision!

Bob, her husband, had offered to drive Anil and me back to Squaw Valley to pick up our car. Since Karen was also with us we decided to grab lunch. We ate in a pizza place near the Foresthill AS. This is where we met Pete Lubbers. Like Anil, he will be starting his first 100 miler in Tahoe on July 21.

By the time we made it to our car in Squaw Valley it was almost 5 p.m. I drove down to Auburn while Anil dozed. We checked into our motel around 7 p.m. after grabbing a bite to eat in a Chinese restaurant.

Anil barely got an hour of shuteye. We left the room at 9:15 p.m. in order to make it to the Foresthill AS. Chris rolled in there just after 10:00 p.m. He was just under the 30-hr finish pace.

Anil took off with him and I drove back to the motel. Since I no longer had to pace Karen, Anil and I had decided to share his pacing load. I was to take over pacing from Green Gate (mile 80).

I figured that Chris, even if he were to lift himself to a 29-hr pace, would get there around 4:15 a.m. (I was going by a detailed spreadsheet he had made prior to the race). It took me almost an hour to find Green Gate. I reached there only to find that Chris had gone through at 3:45 a.m.! He had lifted himself to a 28-hr pace!!

For a few minutes I felt very, very guilty for letting Anil down. I then shrugged it off. It was done. I could do nothing about it. I wished him and Chris luck in my mind and made my way to the next place where I could meet them. This was at the 93.5 mile mark - the Hwy 49 AS.

This time I made sure I did not dally. I reached at 5:30 a.m. and waited along with a whole lot of family members of other runners. I had a fun time talking to Molly Pelton (womens' winner in the 2006 RDL 100 miler). She was part of Gary Bennett's crew.

I went through 3-4 cups of instant coffee and spent some time with Shige (Yuki's friend) and Miho, Yuki's wife. Yuki came in around 7:50 a.m. with Chihping pacing him. He looked tired but I knew that nothing in the world would stop him from his second consecutive WS finish!

Chris came in just past 8 a.m. with no Anil! I asked him and he said that Anil was behind and would arrive soon. Since Anil had the pacer bib number I could not leave with Chris. Chris spent not more than 3 minutes there.

Anil rolled in about 5 minutes later. I quickly took the bib number from him and darted up the trail. I passed Yuki and Chihping and found Chris not far ahead. The trail then descended for the next mile or more down to the No Hands Bridge. Chris was flying! He must have been doing sub-7:30!! I was so impressed. We made it to the No Hands AS and were out of there in no time at all. The next mile or so was flat and then we started the small climb up to Robie Point.

Chris then started running and walking as soon as we hit the pavement section at the top. We knew that we were a mile and a half from the Finish. He looked strong all the way to a 28:36 finish. What a fantastic run he had!! Congratulations my friend. The way you ran those last 6 miles was very inspiring.

Anil was very tired. We went back to the motel where he showered. We then grabbed Subway sandwiches and coffee from Starbucks before heading back to the Bay area. I drove while Anil dozed. He is such a tough runner. He never complains and is always ready to go the extra mile to help a fellow runner.

I hope he and I get in next year.

Tri OneOOne

In Clearlake I met this man

Of whom I am now a big fan:
A true Hero, he was called Me.
He was as valiant as can be.
On his back I swam, biked and ran.

Oh so badly this race began:
Raw panic flooded the brainpan.
Then I slew the Fear beastie
In Clearlake.

Bring up the rear, not the van,
Was the tentative pre-race plan:
I was, after all, a newbie.
But five others I did outflee
As His arms broadened my wingspan
In Clearlake.

Date: June 10, 2007

Race: Tri OneOOne (1.86M Swim, 80.6M Bike, 18.6M Run)
Location: Clearlake, Lakeport, CA (Lake District)

Time : 10:48:56

The Greek god Pan inspired panic in lonely places. Hence the word panic in English (from the Greek panikon "pertaining to Pan"). I felt it for only the second time in my life.

The first time was in Muscat (Oman) sometime in the summer of 1992. Rajeev Char and another friend were trying to teach me how to snorkel. The mask I was wearing was one of those real old ones - the kind that has an oval faceplate surrounded by thick black rubber. My field of vision went from 180 degrees to less than 90 degrees the instant I put my face in the water. I felt intensely claustrophobic and panicked. It took me 45 minutes to conquer it and start snorkeling in the shallows.

My second encounter was brought about by a host of reasons - tight wet suit, too fast a pace causing me to get slightly out of breath and the sight of the other swimmers disappearing from view.

Let's rewind a bit.

Saturday, June 9
I picked up Rajeev Char from his place at 11:00 a.m. We loaded up his stuff in the car, hoisted his bike on a bike rack and hit the road after picking up water, bagels and some coffee.

We met up with Vinod Herur, another triathlon stud (like Rajeev Char), in the Vista Point parking lot on the Marin side of the Golden Gate bridge.


(The San Francisco skyline behind us)

We hit 101N and finally stopped for lunch around 2 p.m. Our next stop was just past 4 p.m. in the little town of Lakeport. Specifically 3rd & Main where the race was to start and end the next day.

There were not too many athletes when we picked up our bib numbers and racked our bikes in the transition area.


(The race registration area)

We decided to grab a few beers (carbo loading???) while we waited for the Race official's briefing at 6 p.m.

We trooped into this little restaurant called Park Place. We met the maitre d'hotel, a girl name Ashley. More about her later. We also met this wonderful 80+ year old lady whose daughter, after getting divorced, had re-invented herself. Mellonie Irvine has her own CD now. You can read about her on http://www.mellonieirvine.com/. Such an inspiring story.

The race briefing went by fast and we then headed to this wonderful hotel Vinod had found. The balcony was in line with the swim turnaround. What a view of Clearlake with Mt. Konocti a bit to the right on the far shore!

The picture below shows the swim course.


(The buoys on the swim course)


(Listening to the official briefing)

After getting our transition bags and other stuff together we finally hit the sack.

Sunday, June 10
We were up at 4:30 a.m.. Did the rounds of the bathroom and hit the road to get to the race. We found parking a few hundred yards from the Start/Finish area.

We inflated our bike tires and got into our wet suits after having body marking done and picking up our chip.

With 15 minutes to go I realized, when using the toilet, that I had put my wet suit on inside out! Kelly (picture below) McKean, who went on to win her Age group, and Rajeev Char helped me set things right. I had generously applied Body Glide to my ankles, my knees, my wrists, my elbows and around my arm pits. The rookie I was, I forgot to apply it around my neck.


(Lovely Kelly and handsome Vinod during the pre-race briefing dinner from the evening before)

A few pictures from before the start below.


(Helping a fellow athlete inflate her tires)


(Getting ready to don the wet suit)

SWIM (2x0.93 miles; 1:30:27)
The start of the swim was a tread water start i.e. we had to wade out a bit from the pier to start. The water felt cold when it seeped into my wet suit but the temperature soon equalized and I felt just right. 7:00 a.m. the Pros had been sent on their way. I remember treading water and hearing the voice of the Race Official saying "45 seconds", "30 seconds" ... 

I had my watch in Chrono mode and pushed the start as soon as the "gun" went off. I made it around the first buoy and then the panic hit me like a sledgehammer.

I stopped swimming. My mind instantly decided to quit. It tried to justify that decision be stating that I'm a runner, not a triathlete. This was NOT my sport. Then my Spirit took over. It promised to see me through. It got me to start swimming again albeit slowly. It lovingly cradled me until the mind had accepted that there was no turning back.

Then I got into a groove. Swim a few strokes. Look up. Sight the next buoy. Make course corrections. Swim some more. It went on like this for another 80 minutes.

The second lap was faster because I had gotten the hang of navigation. The lack of Body Glide on the back of my neck caused a lot of chafing. I was the last one out of the water, in position 116.

TRANSITION 1 (7:26)
The volunteers in this race were simply outstanding. The volunteer who helped me with my transition got me my transition bag, helped me out of the wet suit, laid out my helmet, bike shoes, gels etc. on the table and even folded and put away the wet suit. 

Thank you, whoever you are! 

I changed into my bike shorts, stuffed my jersey pockets with Cliff bars, a spare tube and candied ginger.

BIKE (3x26.88; 5:35:38)
It took about 4 miles and a small climb before my legs got into biking mode. The first person I saw was Vinod. I was at about mile 9 while he must have been at mile 22. Char came into view soon about 2 miles later. They both looked in fine form. I ate a Cliff bar just before the turnaround. I was passed by numerous Pros and fast Age Groupers and it was inspiring to see them pedaling away at breakneck speed, as though I was standing still instead of biking at 15 mph. The lap ended with a nice 1.5 mile descent into the town of Lakeport.

That first lap was done at an average speed of 15 mph. The 2 cages on the bike had bottles filled with Gu2O+Clip2+Succeed. The plan was to finish both bottles over the lap and replace them with fresh ones at the end of the lap. I did that and was away on the second lap.

That lap was pretty much a copy of the first one save for the feeling of nausea about 2 miles into it. I reached into the jersey pocket behind me and found the ginger. 4 pieces and 5 minutes later the nausea had disappeared. That happened on and off through that lap and the next. Nausea followed by ginger. That queasy feeling prevented me from drinking and eating as much as I would have like and the run later showed me how much I had been affected.

I finished that second lap with an overall average still at 15 mph.

The third lap was a slow one. There were not many cyclists out there. Just 4 people behind me that I could see. I tried to eat as much as I could but it was not a lot with the nausea still rearing its head now and then.

All along this third lap I was thinking about how Anu had done the 56-mile bike ride during her Miami Half Ironman (Nov 2006) in just under 3:30. I have nothing but admiration for her. She is another amazing athlete!

I ended the bike portion around 7:10 into the race. Overall speed had dropped to 14.4 mph.

TRANSITION 2 (5:13)
I quickly got out of the bike clothes and into running shorts and a matching singlet. Slapped a visor on my head, sunglasses in place and grabbed my hand bottle filled with Coke+Succeed. That combo has worked in all my ultras this year and it delivered here too. The Coke helped somewhat counter the lack of proper nutrition on the bike.

RUN (2x9.3 miles; 3:30:12)
I had planned to run the entire course. Of course you know the old adage about "All the plans of mice and men ...". I did though run the first 11.5 miles non-stop. This course was just an incessant barrage of hills. Short but steep ones that took their toll on the athletes. I ran the first lap at a constant pace of around 11 min/mile.

My breathing had started to unravel slightly during the last bike lap. It came apart completely right at the start of the run. The breath made a wheezing, raspy sound going in. Almost like a death rattle. That prevented me from picking up pace. I was still determined to run as much as I could so I settled into a pace that was commensurate with the amount of oxygen going in!

I ran 18.6 miles on Coke+salt. I met Vinod and Char about 1.5 miles into my first lap. They were at about mile 8 for them. They looked great and encouraged me. I met Char again almost at the same point in the second lap and he looked very strong and I knew that he was going to go under 9:35 (9:23 was his actual time). What a stud!! I doff my hat to you, sir!

I met Vinod a mile behind. He was walking. He admitted to being tired. I would have been on my knees had I been in his shoes: 100-mile bike rides on 3 consecutive days over the Memorial Day weekend followed by a hard race in the Escape From Alcatraz triathlon the week after and then this ultra triathlon the week after Alcatraz! He is another super stud I'm in awe of. He went on to finish in 9:48.

My own race ended 10:48 into it as I sprinted across the Finish line. Char got off the massage table when he heard my name being called just to see me finish. What a wonderful friend.

I got a fantastic massage 30 minutes later.

The volunteers in this race were just phenomenal. Ever smiling and ever ready to lend a helping hand. The race organization was superb too.

Char and Vinod - Thank you very, very much for all the tips and advice and help you gave me. This race would not have been as much fun had you not been there. Vinod - thanks for the pictures. They are wonderful.

We ate dinner in Park Place (the same place where we had had our beers the day before). We made friends with Ashley and learned about her. Her husband's cancer was discovered 3 days into their marriage! They had canceled health insurance for a couple of months in order to pay for their wedding and the illness was discovered during that period. He has been on chemo for 7 months now and they are $ 600K in debt. You could never have told from her demeanor. She was cheerful and smiling and such a wonderful person. Look her up if you are ever in Lakeport and tell her that Rajeev, Rajeev and Vinod send their love.

One word of caution too all you folks out there who are contemplating doing a triathlon - please do not take the swim as lightly as I did. All my bravado could have been disastrous. Please put in the requisite training AND adequate amount of open water swimming before you try your hand (and arms) at a tri.

Good luck to you all. Be safe.

Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM
(May 18-26, 2007)


(During my Thursday 6.8 mile run)

I stayed in the NH Amsterdam City Center hotel. My first run was 30 minutes after depositing my bags in the room and my last one was a short 2.8 mile run the day before I left this beautiful city.

All my runs were done in the biggest park in Amsterdam. Vondelpark, a few hundred yards away from the hotel entrance, is the most famous park in Holland. Justifiably so. It has small lakes inside with lots of trees and beautiful flowers. The loop I ran is the one that most people run - a 2 mile loop that goes around the perimeter of this lovely park.

This is what I ran during the 7 days I was there:
Saturday 4.8 miles
Sunday 5.3 miles
Monday 6.8 miles
Tuesday 4.8 miles
Wednesday 4.8 miles
Thursday 6.8 miles
Friday 2.8 miles

The weather was perfect all those days. Sunny 65-70 degrees F. I could not have asked for better conditions or a better location.

A few pictures of me during my Thursday run appear below.


(Starting out. The entrance to the park just visible to the right of the bus)


(Just past the 0.7-mile mark of the loop)


(Approaching the 1.5 mile point in the 2-mile loop)

Quicksilver 50K

This was my first ultra, two years ago
And I love coming back to it each year;
The weather Gods put up a splendid show,
Letting me enjoy a noon, post-race beer!
The early going was tough on my feet,
A week after the long but fun Miwok;
Then they felt good and the mood turned upbeat:
Only the steepest climbs making me walk.
To go under six was my mid-race goal
And to a plan of sorts I stuck all through;
Time and pace I would now have to control,
So up hills I shuffled, down them I flew.
Goal attained! The warrior spirit was pleased
At this latest victory it had seized.

Date: May 12, 2007
Race: Quicksilver 50K
Location: Almaden Quicksilver Park, San Jose
Time: 5:57:25

My aid station splits (time is the time I left the aid station):

Aid Station Mile (Race Time)
Webb Canyon 6.4 (1:11)
Dam I 9.7 (1:48)
Capehorn 14.5 (2:41)
Dam II 19.0 (3:33)
Dam III 23.7 (4:29)
Englishtown 27.0 (5:13)
Finish 31.5 (5:57:25)

I arrived at the race start at around 5:20 a.m. It was nice to (a) sleep in my own bed the night before the race and (b) to not get up until 4:15 a.m.!


(With Chihping and Yuki just before the Start)

I quickly got my bib number, got into my running shoes, filled my hand bottle with Coke+Succeed, put a few extra Succeed tablets in my waist pack, gave Alan Geraldi, running his second 50 miler his empty drop bags, handed my drop bag to the race organizers and promptly went and stood in line for the port-a-potty.

The race started on time at 6:00 a.m. The evening before I had suggested to Anil that we should both consider running the entire course. I started with that intention. A mile into the race my arms went numb from the oxygen debt I incurred pushing up the hills (this is something that happens to me on and off when I'm pushing up steep hills). I backed off and walked as much as I could. I got into a long train of runners along the New Almaden Trail. I was in 3rd place in the train for a few miles then in the lead position for another 2 miles or so. I pretty much ran all of that trail. I came into Webb Canyon 71 minutes into the race, faster than in 2005 and 2006 (I dropped at the 50K mark in 2006 after having signed up for the 50M).

The early miles on this trail were spent being in the same frame of mind that I used to be in during races last year i.e. constantly looking at the time and fixating on pace, possible finish times etc. I pulled myself into the state I love being in these days - in the moment. The race changed right away. It no longer became a fight with the course. It became a journey to be savored, regardless of the eventual result.

We were soon off this trail and made a left up Mine Hill to the Dam Overlook aid station.

This is a great aid station. It comes thrice in the 50K - at miles 9.7, 19.0 and 23.7. I had put 5 bottles of Ensure in the drop bag along with a bottle of Ibuprofen and a few gels. I had my first bottle of Ensure. Among the aid station volunteers were Chuck Wilson, Christine Wilson and Tom Kaisersatt.

Christine kindly filled up my bottle with Coke to which I added Succeed. I was off soon onto the next section, a 4.8 mile trek to the Capehorn aid station on the Randall Trail. Even though I had run this section the past 2 years, I was noticing it for the first time this year. This is what I mean by running in the Now. I enjoyed the feel of muscles pulling me up the gentle grade on a wide trail with occasional views of the valley. Before I knew it, Capehorn came into view. This is where the 25K runners veered off to the left for a 1.5 mile run to the Finish. 50K runners turned to the right, up the Mine Hill trail. This was a gentle climb again that I ran most of. We eventually made a right on the April trail and then a right on Mine Hill (around mile 17) on our way down to the Dam Overlook aid station at mile 19. The views from here are simply spectacular.

I flew down this trail and reached Dam II at 3:33 into the race. Along the way I passed Scott Dunlap on his way up. He was probably between mile 24 and 25 in his race. He was smiling and talking with another runner while maintaining a pretty good clip up the slope.

I did not linger long at Dam II and started off again after half a bottle of Ensure. The next 4.7 miles had a downhill section followed by a short flat section and then a longish climb before a downhill and then an uphill back to the Dam Overlook aid station.

I spotted Yuki on the first of the uphills. He was less than a quarter mile ahead of me. He took a few pictures of me (one of them below) climbing the slope. I caught up with him around mile 21, on the final climb back to Dam III. He was not feeling too good (hip pain) and had wisely decided to call it a day at the 50K mark (after having run 50M in 2005 & 2006). He wanted to play it safe a month before his 2nd consecutive Western States 100M.



We decided to run together from there on out. It was fun keeping pace with someone who is way faster than me. We were back at the Dam AS, for the last time, 4:29 into the race. I told Yuki then that we had an outside chance at going under 6:00 for the race. 7.8 miles to do in 90 minutes! I told him that we would have to run up the 2 mile climb out of the AS. We started shuffling up this hill. We were now joined by Terri who kept pace with us a few yards behind. Up the climb this train went. We made it to the top in good time and then ran along the flat section, enjoying the view of Mt. Umunhum to the right.

Terri, Yuki and I flew down the slope to Englishtown, reaching it at 5:13 on the race clock. This is where I made one of those fortuitous mistakes. Somehow this thought got firmly entrenched in my mind that the Englishtown AS was at mile 28. My mind thus reckoned a 3.5 mile run to the Finish in 47 minutes for a sub-6:00 run time.

The next 2 miles or so after the AS were a blessed downhill section. Yuki and I picked up the pace and flew down this nice trail with Terri not far behind. Then came the first of the last 5 climbs. I had conveniently forgotten the number of climbs from the prior 2 years and they came as a rude shock to the system. A volunteer came into view after one of those steep climbs and I asked her how much further the Finish was (as did Anil a few minutes later). She replied "1.7 miles!". That took the wind out of my sails for a few steps until I looked at my stopwatch. It read "5:48" i.e. 35 minutes since we had left the Englishtown AS. Since much of that time had been spent running fast and since my brain had made the erroneous assumption that the Finish was 3.5 miles away, that meant that we had run only 1.8 miles in 35 minutes!! That was obviously wrong. So she was wrong! The Finish was LESS than 1.7 miles. Closer to less than 0.7 miles!!!

I decided to go for it. I flew down the final descent. I soon passed the left turn we had made in the morning to start the New Almaden section of the run and knew that the Finish was literally a few hundred yards away. I heard the people in the Finish area around then and my legs sprouted wings. I flew up a small climb (10 yards) and into the Finish chute. My watch and the race clock both showed 5:57:25. Mission accomplished.

Anil Rao ran the race of his life. He rolled into the Finish 8 minutes later in 6:05. Wow is all I can say!!!

I grabbed a beer and chatted with Scott Dunlap. He then had another runner take a picture of Anil, me and him together.

Our drop bags would not come back to the Finish until after 2 p.m. Chuck Wilson and Christine Miller graciously offered to pick them up for us. Anil and I are grateful to them.

Chihping had a great outing again. He ran the 50M in a stunning 9:08. Alan Geraldi, Ironman that he is, ran the 50M in just over 10 hours in spite of throwing up quite a few times. Yuki too ran an easy race (for him) and lives to fight in the Western States.

Janice and Tom, race RDs, excelled again this year. Their team of volunteers are some of the best and the race is a superbly organized one. Thank you all for another stellar year.

Miwok 100K

There is no past or future, just the Now:
Mind and body fully in the moment.
No worry lines creasing the sweaty brow:
Just the warrior Spirit, ever gallant.
Above and below - I am everywhere,
As I take in the incredible views;
Up and down the slopes like a speeding hare
I run or walk, as I see fit to choose.
To do this race I will come back again
For it is how I choose to cleanse the Soul:
Through self-inflicted pleasure, not raw pain.
The fragmented Self once again a Whole.
Like Mol'luk, the Miwok's condor spirit,
I will soar each time this course I visit.

Date: May 5, 2007
Race: Miwok 100K
Location: Rodeo Beach, Marin County, CA
Time: 14:44:40

Saturday, May 5
I had to wake up at 2:45 a.m. in order to eat breakfast, shower and hit the road to pick up Anil Rao from his home at 4:00 a.m.

We stopped for coffee at a 24-hour Starbuck in the city (9th and Howard) on the way to Rodeo Beach, the start of the annual Miwok 100K. I had done this race before and looked forward to the spectacular views the course throws up all along.

We were so busy getting together our last minute stuff that we made it to the beach, a few hundred yards from the parking lot, scant minutes before Tia Bodington, the RD, set therunners off on their way. It was still dark but not so much that we needed a flashlight. Just like the year before, the runners came to a halt on the first climb of the day, at the end of the beach. 5 minutes had already elapsed on the race clock when Anil and I started our trudge up that slope.

The crowd soon thinned as we made our way up asphalt on Field Road and then Conzelman Road.

The views from here were spectacular. I walked for a bit with Julian Martinez, a runner I had befriended in the race the year before. At the top, we made a left onto McCullough Road and then an immediate left onto the Coastal Trail. This was approximately 4.5 miles into the race.

We descended on the Coastal Trail to the Bunker Road AS which was a water only aid station. Anil and I did not linger very long. My stomach had already started to protest but I knew that I could go to the toilet in the Tennessee Valley aid station, 11.9 miles into the race. There was a climb followed by a detour onto the Miwok Trail. Anil and I met and briefly ran with Molly Pelton, the 1st placed woman in the 2006 Rio Del Lago 100. She was gone soon after and the next time I saw her was coming back from the turnaround while Anil and I were heading down to it.

The views from here were wonderful and we soon reached the point where we got our first glimpse of the Tennessee Valley AS down below to our left. We could see a line of runners snaking their way along the trail beyond the aid station as we would be doing soon.

I hit the toilet as soon as we got to the aid station. Anil had meticulously planned our drop bags and I availed of the first of many Ensures of the day.

Jakob Hermann caught up with us right after the aid station and we ran with him for five minutes or so before parting company. We were soon on a climb up the Coastal Trail on our way to the Muir Beach AS. What sublime views we had of the Pacific Ocean and the coastline from the top! Anil, who was carrying the camera today, took numerous pictures. The Muir Beach aid station came up and we did not linger long again.


(Muir Beach)

Out of the aid station we ran for a bit with Gary and Peggy Davidson. Peggy had finished RDL last year 30 minutes before me and I had bumped into her in the '06 Helen Klein 50 and the American River 50 earlier this year. She, Gary, Anil and I joked about how we were playing tag with each other.

We ran along the Redwood Creek Trail for a couple of miles. We soon found ourselves on the second sustained climb of the day, the climb up the Coastal Trail to the Pan Toll AS. This is where Anil and I teamed up with Carol Cuminale, Greg and Jennifer. We walked up the hill with Greg and I regaling the others with all manner of dirty jokes. We even had to find our way around a giant tree that blocked the path.

I had my second Ensure in the Pan Toll AS. I emptied my bottle of the Clip2 I had started with and switched to Coke with Succeed.

Bolinas Ridge was as spectacular as it had been last year. The green ridge sloping off to the left into a thicket of trees and the ocean beyond with the white topped waves soundlessly crashing onto the rocks near Stinson Beach was like manna from running Heaven.


(Stinson Beach from the Bolinas Ridge Trail)

Carol, Anil and I ran most of the ridge to the Bolinas Ridge AS.

We topped off our bottles, ate a few cookies and started the trudge to the next aid station, the turnaround point at Randall Trail aid station (mile 35.6). We saw most of the frontrunners, save for the first 5-6 (including Scott Jurek and Brian Morrison) whom we saw along Bolinas Ridge, here. We met Chihping Fu here and he looked a bit low but he got stronger soon after (in his recap of the race) and finished in 12:12, a week after running the brutal Diablo 50M.

The cutoff for the Randall Trail AS was 2:20 p.m. (8:40 into the race). We were out of the aid station at 8:00 on the race clock i.e. at 1:40 p.m. and found ourselves climbing up the 1.7 miles to the top. This is where my lower back started hurting a bit.

The run back to the Bolinas Ridge AS was a bit tough for both of us.

Anil gave me some Tylenol in the Bolinas Ridge AS and the pain soon disappeared. My low had now turned into a high that lasted the rest of the 20 miles to the Finish. I flew up and down the slopes on the trail between Bolinas Ridge and the Pan Toll AS. 3 of our friends were pacing us from Pan Toll to the Finish.

I hung around in the AS for almost 10 minutes before Anil came in. He changed his socks (fresh socks stored away in the drop bag), we each had an Ensure, got our flashlights and left the AS 11:34 (5:14 p.m.) into the race. The run down the Coastal Trail was fun and we soon found ourselves taking the left turn in order to climb up to the Highway 1 AS. I passed Gary, Peggy and Christine here and found myself waiting once again in the AS for the rest of my gang to come in.

Our pacers drank and ate a bit as did Anil and I and we left to begin the climb and eventual descent down to the Tennessee Valley AS. As soon as we got onto the Miwok Fire Road, a mile and a half climb up to the junction with the Coastal Fire Road, I told my pacers that I was not going to let this climb get the better of me. I accelerated and found myself settling into a fantastic rhythm and pace.The climb was soon behind me and I waited at the top (the descent down Fox Trail) for the rest. I took off again down the Fox Trail and came into the Tennessee Valley AS. I met Kevin here (Anil and I had shared the bus ride from the Finish to the Start the morning of AR50 3 weeks ago - he went on to finish AR in 8 hours!). Kevin was the designated sweep and had been working the AS from early morning!

Anil and the rest soon caught up and we left the AS with the intention to (a) finish while there was still light left and (b) do so in under 15 hours. The initial climb up Old Springs was not steep and I ran the last part. After the right turn onto Miwok, I power walked the climb up the Wolf Ridge Trail. This trail met a paved road at the top, a right on which took us down to the Finish.

I FLEW down this last part reaching 6:00-6:30 min/mile in parts. Something inside me told me that I had an outside chance at finishing in 14:42 (an hour faster than last year). I gave it my all down that last part. I finally finished in 14:44, a satisfying 58 minutes faster.

What a fantastic race this one is. The course is breathtakingly beautiful. This year's experience was almost zen-like for me. I was always in the moment, just like I had been at the AR50 a few weeks ago. Something inside me has changed, both in my quotidian existence and my running (isn't running ALL that makes up life???). I have stopped worrying about the next moment or the next hour or the next day. I refuse to waste the Now for it is all I have to spend.

Carol came in a little bit later followed by Jennifer.

Karen Hanke, whom I saw just once in the race on the way back from the turnaround, finished in 14:07. She is an amazingly strong runner and I will have to be on my toes while pacing her in the Western States later this year.

The race volunteers were simply fantastic. They would walk yards out of the AS to take our bottles and fill them for us. All of them had large smiles writ on their faces. If the race was a Who's Who of running, the list of volunteers was one too. Dave Combs was the official "scorer". I met Nicole Whiting who was helping out in the Finish area. She and her husband John were assigned the task of sweeping the course near the Finish soon after the last runner.

Heartfelt thanks to Tia Bodington and her superb crew of volunteers.

Immense gratitude to our pacers Arun, Kiran and Bharti for driving all the way to Pan Toll from the South Bay to be with us on the way to the Finish.

American River 50 Mile Endurance Run

O what a race, this Auburn one:
Mud and rain and slip-sliding fun!
Dark before the start; cold bodies,
Few with butterflies in bellies,
Waiting for the sky to brighten.

A tough fight, grit the sole weapon;
Worthy foe, this fifty mile run:
Time to gird Courage’s armies.
O what a race!!

The early miles in rain and sun,
With trail to go ‘ere we were done.
After many feints and parries
And a lot of mini sorties,
The battle with this run was won!
O what a race!!

Date: April 14, 2007
Location: Sacramento/Auburn, CA
Race: American River 50 Mile Endurance Run
Time: 11:09:35

Friday, April 13
I picked up Chihping from his home in Fremont around 1:30 p.m. We were on the road, after picking up coffee, by 2:00 pm. We reached Fleet Feet in Fair Oaks by 5:15 p.m. after a few slowdowns by the toll plaza in Martinez and around Sacramento. We picked up the bib numbers and I headed to Mountain Mike’s Pizza next door for a bite to eat.

Anil and Rashmi, his wife, arrived at 10:30 p.m. and promptly went to bed.

Saturday, April 14
The alarm went off at 2:30 a.m. The plan was to park the car in the Finish area and take the 4:15 a.m. shuttle to the Start. Chihping decided not to take the sleeveless running vest and gloves I had loaned him. The bus took off on time and we reached the Start around 5 a.m. It was chilly and we were huddled around the lights, the only source of warmth, that provided illumination for the volunteers in the Registration tent. Such wonderful people these! Out there in the wee hours of the morning to help out.

Anil and I met a host of friends and acquaintances including Carol Cuminale, Don Lundell, Karen Hanke, Fahmida and Gene Weddle.

It started drizzling about 20 minutes before the start and continued to do so for another hour. The race began on time and it was a pleasure to ward off the cold with the warmth generated by hard working muscles.

The first few miles went by smoothly. We met Nancy Warren and chatted with her until she took off ahead of us. She is directing a new race this Fall, the Cool 12-Hour race. We also met Jakob Hermann and his friend Dan Marinsik. Dan has done quite a few Badwater runs and he talked about doing a final one before “retiring” from the race! Jakob looked fit – he seemed to have lost weight since his (and mine) first 100-miler, Rio Del Lago, in September 2006.

Having run this section of the race in many races (’05 & ’06 Helen Klein 50M , ‘06 AR50 and the ‘06 Rio Del Lago 100), I knew that the first 19 miles would be more tolerable if I ran on the dirt shoulder. That indeed proved to be the case. Anil and I walked as and when we felt like which was generally after 15-25 minutes of running.

We made our way to the bridge before the Nimbus Overlook aid station (mile 19) and I decided to test my legs and conditioning by running up the bridge AND up the short climb to the aid station. It felt good! A foretaste of things to come maybe?

We were out of the aid station soon and made our way on the trail this time to the next aid station, Negro Bar. It was wonderful to be running on a nice soft surface. We met up with Carol Cuminale after Negro Bar and we spent the next 4 miles, to Beals Point, talking about her upcoming races which includes the Western States 100. Carol is the RD of the Forest of Nisene Marks Half Marathon and Marathon in Aptos, CA. She is one of the strongest runners I know.

Beals Points was the first of 2 drop bags that Anil had meticulously planned. We got the first of our Ensures (what a drink!) and some amazingly tasty potato soup. All of that food hit the spot.

We got to the levee and made our way past the turnoff down to the Cavitt Middle School and onto the trail beyond. We soon found ourselves in a little train of runners with the doyen of ultra running, 63-year old Barbara Elia, in the lead. What an amazing athlete she is. 320+ ultras and counting. She went on to finish the 2nd Female runner in her age category!

Those few miles were smooth and effortless. The trail was flat and the running easy and controlled. We hit the rollers after that and they continued for the next 15 miles. Up and down muddy slopes we went, living from aid station to aid station. I had hated this section of the race last year and had decided to take a more sanguine approach this time around. The trail was what it was and it was up to ME to make something positive out of it. Once that decision was made I had fun. I flew up the small climbs, ran ahead as fast as I could and then waited for Anil to catch up. This went on for the next 14-15 miles.

Anil and I ran through puddles and mud and had the greatest time doing so. Anil’s left knee had started hurting him (the pavement for the first 19 miles) but he ran along like the fighter he is. I would go ahead and wait for him. We went from aid station to aid station, enjoying the beautiful views and the serenity of the surroundings. For once in my running “life” I was totally in the moment, not thinking about the next step or the next mile. I was enjoying the feel of my muscles responding to each demand and the fact that my clothes were soaking wet as were my shoes and socks did not even register on my mind’s radar.

The first of the final few climbs, up a river bed, came upon us about 3 miles after the Manhattan Bar aid station. This climb had taken the wind out of my sails last year and I was determined not to let it defeat me this time around. As soon as we turned the corner and the climb was in front of me, I told Anil that I was going to take it head on and that I would meet him up at the top. Not for once did I doubt my ability to conquer it. In retrospect, the climb was not as steep as my mind had made it out to be.

Having conquered that climb I was ready to take on the next one, after the Last Gasp aid station (mile 47.6). Anil and I walked about a fourth of a mile before starting the run up that mile long climb. It leveled off and then started descending a bit before starting to climb for another half mile or so. We ran up that second slope too and then the final climb just before the finish.

We ran hand in hand towards the Finish. I finished the race last year in 11:34 amidst a lot of people. The constant rain this year kept the crowd away from the Finish area. The only people we could spot were Finish line volunteers and Norm Klein who was doing the announcements as usual. His singing one line of an Indian song followed by “My buddy Rajeev Patel and his buddy Anil Rao” was the icing on the cake. We finished in 11:09. The race jacket was well earned.

I thank Greg Soderlund and his team of amazing volunteers for helping us, the runners, have a wonderful race. It must have been tough for all of them to stand out in the cold and the rain for hours. They did so with broad smiles and an ever helping hand! Thank you very, very much.

Ruth Anderson 50K

Date : March 31, 2007

Location : Lake Merced, San Francisco, CA

Race : Ruth Anderson 50K

Time : 4:59:53

What an eventful day it turned out to be!

All week long my tight hamstrings had bothered me and I had flirted with the idea of running the 50K instead of 50 miles depending on how the race transpired.

Self-fulfilling prophecy!!

4:00 am

The alarm went off and I got out of bed. I had to be ready to leave my place by 5:00 a.m., at the latest, to pick up Anil from his place and then head to the race start. I reached his place at 5:10 a.m. We loaded my car with his stuff and a cooler that contained bottles of Ensure and Clip2 (he had made them the night before). We stopped on the way to the freeway to fill the cooler with ice.

We reached the start area just after 6:00 a.m. Got our bib numbers and spent the next 20 minutes socializing with Chihping Fu, Yuki Negoro, his wife Miho, Alan Geraldi and Ron Duncan.
More about them later.

We all walked to the start which was about half a mile away from the parking lot. John Burton, the co-RD with Amy Burton, gave us last minute instructions. The course was laps of a 4.45 mile loop around Lake Merced.

6:30 a.m.
We were off!

I got into a bunch of speedy runners right off the bat! Leanne McCulloch, Carol Cuminale and a couple of others who set a fast pace in the early miles.

After about 2 miles or so, just before the only aid station (other than the one at the Start/Finish), I sped up ahead of the others. Leanne, battling ITB the past few months, had come into the race with the intention of doing her first 100K. Anil Rao was also determined to achieve the same.

I reached the Start/Finish area after the first loop in 36 minutes. I sped through that aid station and reached the place where we had started the race from. That lap was 41 minutes. The second lap was pretty much similar to the first one - 41 minutes (82 minutes, 8.9 miles).

Then disaster struck! A mile and a half into the 3rd lap, I felt my right calf, just behind and below the knee, seize up. I had never ever had trouble with calf muscles during races and this was an unusual spot for me. The tightness was such that even walking was painful. I somehow managed to hobble along until the pain lessened a bit. I came to the mid-way aid station and asked them for a muscle relaxant. No luck. I decided to suck it up and reach the Start/Finish hoping that a relaxant would be available there.

They did not have any either. What they did have were Succeed Caps (salt tablets). I promptly ingested one, wondering if the tightness was caused partly by salt deficiency. This lap was slow (44 minutes; 126 minutes, 13.35 miles).

A mile into the 4th lap the pain had almost gone. It came back now and then but was pretty much off the horizon all the way to the end. I had decided by now to limit the race to a 50K. I did not want to jeopardize the American River 50M two weeks from now (April 14). Lap 4 was done in 41 minutes again (167 minutes, 17.80 miles)

Every 2 laps I was chugging down a bottle of Ensure. The first bottle went down easy and stayed down well. The 2nd one (after Lap 4) sloshed around in my stomach and caused problems. By now the sun was heating up the course and my breathing problems reared their ugly head. Lap 5 was the slowest - 47 minutes. 214 minutes for 22.25 miles if you are keeping count.

Lap 6 was much better. Mentally I knew that there was only one more lap to go. It was faster than the previous one, in 44 minutes again (258 minutes, 26.70 miles).

The last lap was bliss. I found renewed energy and the pace picked up. With about 0.5 miles to go, I realized that I had a slim chance of breaking 5 hours. I sped up. I flew past the aid station (the 50K finish was a quarter mile further up) and willed my body to a 4:59:53 finish! Mission accomplished!!! The timer at the finish called out my bib number (202) and my finish time - 4:59:53. I showed him my watch - it had the same time!

I hung around for another 45 minutes waiting for Anil. In the meantime I took pictures of the aid station and various runners coming through. Alan Geraldi finished 2nd (I believe) in 3:53 (!) while Ron Duncan ran a 4:08. Wow!!

Yuki, not yet fully recovered from last week's 4:57 in a hilly Pirates Cove 50K, ran 50 miles. Chihping went on to complete 100K as did Anil in 12:50!

Leanne was looking strong when I left and I hope she realized her dream of the 100K.

Team Asha 5K/10K

Date : March 18, 2007
Location : Shoreline Park, Mountain View, CA
Race : Team Asha 5K/10K
Time : 22:33

My first 5K in almost 3 years. What a difference lack of speedwork makes!

I have enjoyed myself the past couple of years running ultramarathons without worrying about time. I substituted speedwork and training runs at a particular pace with long runs done purely for the distance.

I showed up at the inaugural Team Asha 5K/10K run to demonstrate my support for their cause.

My plan was to run/walk with Anu and Sam in the 5K but decided to run the distance as a race almost at the last moment.

I met a whole lot of folks from 2005 and 2004, people I had coached during my stint as a Team Asha coach (4 years, from 2002-2005). It was fun reconnecting with them.

The race started at about 9:20 a.m. The first mile felt a bit uncomfortable. I had not warmed up but had spent time chatting with friends. Mile marker 1 came and went by in 6 minutes 15 seconds. I was the first person to split from the 10K runners so I knew that I was in first place at that time.

(Anthony overtakes me)

Just before the 2 mile marker (it took a long time in coming; I believe the 2 mile point was actually more like 2.1 miles), Anthony Vendhan overtook me. He looked strong while I was fading. 2.1 miles went by in 15 minutes.

(Jose and I battle in the last few steps)

The final stretch, with the Finish line visible straight ahead, was about 0.3 miles long. I could see Anthony powering up ahead. I continued to lay it all out on the line and was 4-5 paces from the Finish when a runner named Jose zoomed past me into 2^nd place. What a race he must have run!

I finished in 22:33, a minute and 27 seconds slower than my 2003 5K PR of 21:06.

I was happy as I always am. Running is a gift and I am always happy to start and finish a run without injuries.

(The 5K trio above)

The race was a lot of fun. I hung around for the award ceremony (I got a $20 gift certificate from Sports Basement for my 3^rd place finish).

Way Too Cool 50K

Such is the hubris of the human mind:
I've done 160, what's a 50K?
On those trails the hubris was left behind
As the steep climbs and the heat had their say!
The first few miles went by in tearing speed,
As though this mind had to be somewhere soon!
Slow was the call to which it paid not heed.
'Twas like it was playing a different tune.
Half done but the speed was slowly fading;
Came the time to dig deep and summon grit.
And so it went those last miles of running:
Tired legs the mind having to outwit!
Every race has something to offer
That goes right into the knowledge coffer.

Date : March 10, 2007
Location : Cool, CA
Race : Way Too Cool 50K
Finish Time : 6:00:40.8



Friday, March 9
Anil and I decided to start from the Bay area at 7:15 p.m. in order to avoid getting stuck in traffic out of the Bay area and around Sacramento. It proved to be a good choice. We were in the hotel in Auburn by 9:45 p.m. We laid out all our stuff, filled our bottles with Clip2+Succeed and hit the sack. I was asleep by 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 10
We got up at 6 a.m. and hit the road by 7:05 a.m. after our usual breakfast of bagel with peanut butter and coffee. We found parking almost half a mile away from the start! It was chilly and I was shivering as we made our way to the Start area to pick up our bib numbers. We met Yuki, Nicole Whiting, Chuck Wilson and a bunch of other folks there.


(With Anil and Yuki before the start)

By the time we got back to the Start after walking to the car to put away our plastic bags, it was 7:50 a.m. The race started on the dot at 8:00 a.m.



Way Too Cool is one of the few trail races that uses chip timing.

The early miles flew by. Literally! I was running at anything between 7:45-9:00 mins/mile pace. It felt great to be 13 lbs. lighter and be able to fly up and down hills with gay abandon.



I would pay later but who cared at that moment?


(Approaching the Hwy 49 aid station the first time, 6.5 miles into the race)

I had decided to lay it all out on the line in this race. I would crash and burn later but so be it.

Mile 10 went by in 100 minutes. The halfway point came by in 2:40. At mile 14.5, my blood sugar was starting to drop so I switched to Coke from there on out.

Then the debt collectors came a calling!! The early fast pace had to be paid for with interest. My breathing turned ragged and my legs started to tire. I would ride the sugar highs when they happened and the pace picked up to an echo of the early miles. I felt great then, in groove. Then the sugar would drop and I would slow, hanging on until the next high. And so the miles passed by. There were a few good climbs (10-12%+ gradient) that rested some muscles while working others.

I rolled into the final aid station 5:45 into the race. A 50K is 31.08 miles. My mind, doing the math, had come up with a 6:15-6:20 finish. Imagine my surprise when we were told that the finish was only 1.7 miles away! I had failed to notice, in the mileage chart on the Web, that the race was a mile shorter i.e. 30.08 miles. I was spurred into action.

I ran the first 0.25 miles, power walked the short climb that followed and then started running as fast as I could at the top and did not stop until I had burst past the finish in 6:00:40.8. Failed by 41 seconds to go under 6:00 but I had no regrets.

This race reinforced so many things. There are no "small" races. A race is as hard as one chooses to make it. There are times when a race will make one dig down deep and face up to one's demons. This one did not throw up any demons for me but it sure made me dig! All races feel great in the finish area. The harder the race the sweeter the finish!

Anil had a semi-tough race. He had stomach problems mid-way through the race but gutted it out to yet another sub-7 finish (6:55). What a strong runner he is. I've never ever heard him complain or whine. He is always cheerful, even after a hard race.

Yuki ran this race too since the course is part of the Western States 100 miler that he will be running later this year in June. He had a nasty fall, injuring his elbow and knee. he somehow picked himself up and continued to finish in 5:16. Superman is a good nickname for this man! He had run the Tokyo marathon two weeks earlier in 3:05!!

This race was John Martin's, Nicole's husband, first ultramarathon. He ran it in 5:13!! Wow!!!

Anil and I then chatted with Don and Gillian in their Zombierunner booth. They are a fantastic couple. I thank them for their friendship.

The race was wonderfully managed thanks to Greg Soderlund and his amazing crew of volunteers. You all make trail running so much fun for all of us.

Good luck to all of you out there in your future races and endeavors.

(Photos courtesy of Yuki Negoro and Leanne McCulloch)

A Birthday To Remember

What a wonderful day February 16th turned out to be!

It started with a relaxing massage around 9:15 a.m. By the time Kathleen left it was about 11 a.m.

I promptly gathered all my running paraphernalia and headed to REI to buy a couple of hand bottles for the run. These are shaped a bit differently from conventional bottles, i.e. more ergonomic, and that's what they proved to be as I found later on.

I reached Rancho San Antonio at around 1:20 p.m. I waited for Anil and Bharti, a friend of Anu's, to show up. Anil had called me around noon and wondered if we could run 47K since I had turned 47 that day. I readily agreed.

The 3 of us started running around 1:40 p.m. and headed up the PG&E trail. The intention was to run part of the way up PG&E, descend on the Coyote Trail, go up Upper Wildcat, descend using Rogue Valley and then head up the Chamise Trail all the way to Black Mountain and back. A half mile up PG&E, just before getting onto the Coyote Trail, we asked a couple to take a picture of the 3 of us.



Bharti proved to be a tough cookie. Never once did she complain even though the trail got very steep in parts.

We soon found ourselves on the Upper Wildcat Trail and then down Rogue Valley. Bharti's Garmin kept beeping, reminding her that she was overshooting her upper heartrate setting. We soon found ourselves climbing the very steep Chamise Trail. This trail must have a 15-18% gradient in some spots. The first mile is steeper than the second mile, culminating in the left turn going up to Black Mountain. Bharti put on her brave face and climbed all the way up to the left turn.



This is where we stopped for a drink and a gel and to decide if we wanted to go the next 6 miles up to Black Mountain. This is where Anil, who is normally game for any distance, asked if we could run for only 20 minutes up the trail! It was about 3:35 p.m. and he expressed the concern that the Park would close around 4:30!!! I was surprised to say the least but decided to go along with his request. He and I ran ahead while Bharti trudged a few hundred yards behind us.



We promptly turned back at 4:00 pm. We made it back to the parking lot by 5:05 p.m. That's when I spotted Anil , Shaunak and Sameer near the restroom. I yelled out to them, pleasantly surprised. that's when the rest of them popped out from behind a car singing "Happy Birthday" at the top of their voices. To say that I was surprised would be an understatement!!

The celebration was short but very moving. Deepa, Shishir, Renuka, Lily, Suchu, Anil, Sahunak and Sameer had showed up, cake and all, to celebrate my birthday. I felt loved and cherished!!



Bharti ended her run there (after 14.5 miles) while Anil and I continued for another 75 minutes for an additional 6.5 miles.

The day ended with a beautiful dinner with two close friends, Samanvitha and Pallavi, in Amber (Santana Row).

What a birthday!

B2B - Belize to Bern (with a stop in San Jose)

Boy! It's been a long time since I've posted to this blog.

Blame it on the 2 weeks, over Christmas last year and New Year, in Belize (Central America) and a week long trip to Bern in Switzerland 2 weeks ago.

BELIZE
What a beautiful place this is. My second trip there in the last 3 years and it's still enchanting. Hearing howler monkeys in the middle of our last night in the jungle was definitely the highlight of this trip.

The temperature never dropped below 70 degrees F and running there was just superb.

We (26 adults and kids) spent the first 4 days in the jungle, in Ian Anderson's caves Branch Lodge (http://www.cavesbranch.com). A little insect repellant and out the door I went on my early morning runs, alone or with friends. The roads were empty of people and vehicles and the sun's rays peeking through the lush trees lining the roads presaged a day full of new adventures.


(Early morning run with Arul, the picture taker, and Anu)

The last 5 days were spent in Ambergris Caye, famous for it second longest Barrier Reef in the world.

The runs here were along a narrow trail hugging the water. My longest run here was an 8 mile run, the last 2.5 miles of which were run with a plastic bag of groceries in hand.

BERN
My trip to a customer in Bern was rather sudden but not so much that I did not have time to pick up warm clothing.

I ran 5 days in a row there, with the longest run at 11 pm on Thursday, Feb 1. It was moderately hilly near my hotel and I enjoyed the steep climbs in the 30-32 degrees F weather.

Having visited Bern in Sep 2005, I was familiar with the roads and pretty much had my pick of routes I wanted to run on a particular day. Most of the runs were done wearing 3 layers on my torso, 2 gloves (one inside the other), a skullcap and running tights.

Started the month running in 70-75 deg F weather and ended it in 30-32 deg F.

What a difference!

Sugar, Mighty Sugar and the California International Marathon

Shetal & Shridhar's Sonnet

The alarm went off at the preset hour

And the body dragged itself out of bed;

Coffee, muffin, Gatorade and shower

Ere, like a sheep, to the bus it was led.

Huddled against the cold in a warm bus

With two who were doing their first such race;

Such courage from them! Totally wondrous!!

Just plain joy and eagerness on each face

As they took the first steps on the journey.

The long miles went by slowly but surely,

Their attitude as upbeat as could be.

Even late, with legs tired and achy!

Such sterner stuff these heroes are made of!!!

To them my running cap I do now doff.

It was 10 a.m. Saturday (Dec 2) morning and I was somewhere in between Selene's silvery caresses and Apollo's call to arms when the phone rang. The part of me listening to Apollo was wondering whether Rajeev Char had left for Sacramento. He was to run the California International Marathon the next day.

The phone rang. It was Rajeev Char, on his way to Sacramento, asking me about the 50K I should have been running in Woodside instead of lying in comfort on my bed. I informed him about my eventful Friday evening and night and the fact that I had gone to bed at 3 a.m. with no chance of being able to get up at 6 a.m.to get ready for my race.

I suddenly had an inspiration! I asked him to register me for the marathon the next day and told him that I would be up there by 5 pm. I was out of the bed like a flash! I had a purpose now!! Time to gather my running gear and hit the road.

On the way there, I realized that it would be a cold morning the next day. I stopped in a bike store in Davis and purchased leg warmers. I reached the downtown Holiday Inn at 5 p.m. as promised. Shridhar Rajan, a friend of ours from our Muscat (Oman) days, was attempting his first marathon the next day. A 2006 Team Asha runner, Shetal, who had to be taken off to ER around mile 24 of the Silicon Valley Marathon in October, was also attempting her first marathon.

We trooped off to a nearby mall, ate dinner and were back in our rooms by 7:30 pm. We set all our gear out on the table and went off to sleep around 9 p.m.

The wake-up call came too soon. I would have liked another hour in bed but that was not to be. Early walking around with the leg warmers made me leave them behind. The 4 of us were soon on the bus that would take us to the start (near Folsom Dam). We reached around 6 a.m. and decided to remain on the bus to keep warm.

Pradeep Das found us just before the start. We were carrying his bib number and chip. The gun went off promptly at 7 a.m. Rajeev and I had decided to run with Shridhar and Shetal. Pradeep and Vineeta Singh ran with us on and off through the race.

We had a party out there! I was distributing sugary ginger cubes and mango slices and we were availing of all the eats at the aid stations - oranges, pretzels. The first Half went by uneventfully for Shridhar and Shetal. We ran it in 2:45 i.e. crossed the Halfway mark at 9:45 a.m.

It was around mile 16-17 that Shridhar started feeling the effects of low sugar. Both Rajeev and I had forgotten to carry money with us and were unable to buy cans/bottles of Coke for Shridhar and Shetal. I suddenly saw a diner on the right. I darted inside, grabbed 15-20 packets of sugar and was soon forcing 6-7 of them down Shridhar's throat! 10 minutes later our man was on a roll. His energy level was up and he looked more cheerful and ready to take on the last 9-10 miles!

Shetal started experiencing Achilles pain around mile 20. I had her do a few exercises by the side of the road and they seemed to help her a bit.

Both of them showed tremendous courage and determination. The initial cold had now been replaced by a beautiful Fall day, cool and sunny. Rajeev and I were making sure that the 2 of them were taking in enough electrolytes.

The 4 of us got separated around mile 21. I decided to stay with Shetal while Rajeev went ahead with Shridhar. The last 5 miles were spent walking. Everytime Shetal tried to run, the pain got worse. So walk our way to the finish we did in 6:16!

Flat soda or raw sugar - wonderful when all is lost and you need to jumpstart your race! I've used it in numerous races and watched its effects on another runner this time around.

In my next ultra I'm going to carry packets of sugar for the much needed boost I know I will need in the middle and waning miles.