As I started out writing this report, it was starting trouble as always. I started off with when I woke up on race day, but then … I thought maybe I should start from when we left home - Silicon Valley - to drive to Seattle. Hmm…. no, I think a race starts from the day you register for it, if not right from the time you first seriously think about doing it.
And so, my STP 2012 really started in May 2011. Anshu was registered to do STP 2011 and used to train every Saturday. That was the first I heard of it. I had just started biking in April 2011, and was training for a 100 mile ride later in the year. 200 miles seemed daunting. And then he mentions he is doing it all in one day!! This seemed incredible. Well, incredible or not, Anshu did it in mid July …. almost 16 hours straight of endurance biking! I knew then I had to do it too in 2012, and so my race had begun.
The rest of the year went by in training for our Napa 100 miler in August, and some winter rides, more for fun than for any particular goal. Meanwhile I casually asked Raghu if he would be interested in doing STP and, quite surprisingly, he jumped in without much hesitation! On another ride, I asked Prakash and Sunil without really expecting a positive response, but Prakash sounded quite optimistic. STP registration opened up on Feb 7th 2012 - I had been waiting for it eagerly - and I wasted no time in booking my spot. I pinged Raghu and Prakash, and in the space of 30 minutes we were all set ….. jersey and shorts included (at, IMO, quite an exorbitant price, but you only do it once …. famous last words? :)) We now had a target, and the date July 14th was etched in my mind. It became a focal point around which most everything else in mid-year revolved.
We had ample time to train - the event was in July, and I had a relay triathlon to train for in May anyway, so we kind of took it easy. My excuse was that I was already training anyway, and I hoped Raghu would start biking with us too. STP puts up their own schedule for the 1 day ride that starts in Feb but Anshu started in May, so it was easy to take it lightly. Besides, we had the TA Biking program starting in April so we would be riding anyway, albeit short mileage. Well, March turned into April, and April into May, and before we realized it we were now way behind the STP schedule. We made up our own schedule abridged from the STP suggested one, with all our endurance activity experience, and felt very satisfied now that we were on our way. Just around then, Prakash announced he would be going to India for 6 weeks, coming back in mid-June with 4 weeks left and would switch to the 2-day event! That was disappointing, but I still had Raghu to train with. Training these long rides alone is not easy at all, as we had seen from Anshu's experience the previous year. With about 9 weeks to go, our schedule read something like 60, 70, 90, 70, 110, 70, 130, 70, 50 (yeah, I like the 70s :)) for the long Saturday rides, followed by about 40-50 on the Sunday (TA) rides. Things didn't all work out as planned. Raghu often had to work, and was not well one weekend. Not to mention, he was also training for the SF half in parallel, 2 weeks after STP! I brought up many times how this was an insane idea to be training for both, but Raghu is not one to yield easily. He made only every other Saturday ride, but he managed to join me for the all-important 110 and 130 rides. For my part, I diligently followed the schedule. The 70s became 80s thanks to missed roads and wrong turns on the route maps.
I was unsure what we needed to achieve in training, apart from doing the mileage. By this time, we felt we could do 200 given time. It was the 16 hour cut off that worried us. We had to average 13 mph with stops to get there. By the time July came by, my mom would have been amply proud of my ability to multiply numbers in their teens at great speed. All combinations of mph and time to get to 204 or thereabouts were uppermost in my mind, including factoring in stop times. It seemed evident we had to maintain a riding speed of about 17 mph to survive this, and I was keenly aware how hard that was in general. We did the early 60 miler around the Canada area but took about 5-6 hours. It was one of Raghu's first rides though this year. Our 90 miler turned into an 80 miler around the Uvas area and we took a good 8 hours. Raghu seemed a little disappointed, exclaiming "This is pathetic. I am a 10 mph rider!" I tried to be supportive - "there's still 7 weeks" with doubts creeping into my mind too. We did the 110 in east bay across the famed Calaveras "wall" and back. Our goal was 8-9 hours. We figured the 40 miles of flats in east bay we would race through. We took 4 hours for that segment, thanks to a ton of headwind, and took just 3 hours for the 40 miles back over the hills! A solid 10 hours end to end. Not to mention we (at least I) were quite drained at the end of it, having run out of water a couple of times in the middle as well. Not very encouraging. I did the 70s turned 80s by myself up to San Bruno and down to the airport and back along the bay. Both of them I pretty much did 80 in 6 hours after pushing real hard to get to 13 mph. I started too late on both, and had to stop because of darkness on one and have Raghu pick me up. After the second of those rides, I was completely drained …. with just 80 miles …. and I was beginning to get scared. Raghu was always the epitome of optimism, so much so that I stopped believing his attempts at consolation …. He pointed out that there was a lot of headwind, it was really hot one of those days, I was riding alone and the elevation gain was a little more (proportionally) than what we would see in STP. All true, but I hated to hang my hat on things like that.
With 3 weeks left, we were at 130 finally. Prakash had come back from India as well, and would be joining us for about 80. I was adamant that we really had to do this one right. I had always suspected that our lack of overall mph was thanks to stop signs and lights on our regular routes, and so I suggested we pick one free of such interferences. I chalked out a loop around the Uvas and Chesbro reservoirs - a 33 mile loop that we would repeat 4 times. We would drive there, park our car, and use it as SAG once every 33 miles. There were just 5 stop signs on the entire loop and no lights. Raghu was good with it and the plan worked like a charm. Raghu and I did 4 loops, Prakash, 2 and a bit. Our splits were 2:20, 2:30, 2:30, 2:25 with about a 10 minute stop after each loop. So we did overshoot by about 25 mins, but the distance was more like 133 anyway. The best part was our consistency and we even felt like we could have gone for one more loop after that. We were finally there! I had been rapidly losing hope we could ever maintain 13 mph on a long ride, and we had very close to done it! I had told Raghu before the ride "give me 130 miles in 10 hours and I will be happy" and I was. This might have been the single best thing that happened during the training. Finally I started to believe, very cautiously, that we could pull it off - even Raghu :) Yes, I had been very worried that he would not be able to stay with that pace, and the dilemma had been voicing itself more and more as July came by - should I stay with him or should I try to do it under 16 hours, if it came to such a choice. I knew he would say of course you should go for the 1 day cutoff, and I realized I was leaning that way too, and it made me feel bad.
It was the crunch time now. There were 2 weeks left. Training was pretty much over. We solidified plans for the trip - places to stay in Seattle, Portland and along the way, packet pick up, driving logistics, took printouts of everything we would need. and logistics of synching up with Prakash. I got my bike tuned at Sports Basement 2 weeks before the ride. On the very next weekday ride, my chain fell off 6 times in the space of 20 miles and I almost had a heart attack. I took it right back to SB for a quick check and they assured me it was all fine. I reluctantly conceded. But as I mentioned to a couple of friends, butterflies were beginning to form colonies in my stomach already. I got that spare tire for my car that was missing since September when I had my last flat!! I asked Raghu if we had to worry about booking a place mid-way, just in case we didn't make it in one day, and he said, with absolutely no hesitation, "No". It was very decisive, and I didn't ever think to revisit that question anymore. Our plan was clear - leave Thursday afternoon, stay at Roseburg that night, drive via my friend, Sanjay's house in Portland on Friday to drop off some clothes for Sat night after the ride, get to Seattle for lunch to meet the rest of our one-day riders, stay at Raghu's friend Akshay's house on Sat night, drive ourselves to the start on Sat, ride on Sat to Portland, rent a car back to Seattle on Sunday morning, drive both cars back in time to see Prakash finish, drive to Corvallis on Sunday evening and stay at my friend Sourabh's place, and drive back on Monday to the bay area. I have to say these logistics went almost perfectly to plan, except that the times kept moving out :) We listened to podcasts along the way and shared the drive and on the whole we had quite an uneventful journey, not counting a speeding ticket, and I, for one, was not complaining about a lack of excitement. We kept checking the weather too, and as it had been all week, it was predicted to be in the high 80s reaching 90 in Centralia, the 100 mile point. I had cursed the heat all week long - I don't work well in the heat at all - my body heats up quickly and I start fading very fast after that. I would need to pour water on my head very often but the rest stops were not less than 25 miles apart. I didn't know how to handle this. If we were pacelining, I couldn't ask to stop off every dozen miles to buy water - that would just kill the paceline and pace. Finally I decided on carrying my camelbak and filling it with water as soon as it started getting hot. Extra weight, but might be completely necessary …. I had even got a Bento Box in the front near the handlebars to hold the salt tablets and food so as to avoid reaching back when pacelining. The night before we left SV, Chakri had come over and done a complete oiling of my chain and any moving joints - one more detail attended to! Details details details, but I felt confident I had thought of almost everything, and I liked that feeling.
We met the Asha Seattle folks for tea at Victor's Celtic Coffee Company on Friday evening, which was when we first met our co-one-day riders, Sankar, Aravind and Sai. Jyoti had introduced us to Sankar a few weeks earlier, and Anshu confirmed that Sankar had ridden with him in 2011 as well. It was with great relief that I read Sankar's first reply - he knew all about how to do this …. he had done it not once but twice before, and I was thrilled he would be with us. I told Raghu I would stick to him l like a leech. That way I wouldn't have to worry if we were going fast enough, or if our breaks were too long. He knew what to do to get there before the cutoff and I would just stick with him. It felt like we knew an insider in the mob. Sankar pulled out the plan from last year, and changed it around a bit for this year. We were to start at 4:45 am - the earliest they allow you to start, and finish by 6:45 pm ….. 14 hours later!! This was way more aggressive than we had planned, but we were sensible enough not to say anything. Sankar turned out to be quite the athlete as we found out at Victor's, a really good runner, biker, swimmer etc. People assured us he would vanish on the hills on the bike ride. I made a mental note of that with a little trepidation. Sankar rode his motorbike to the coffee house prompting Srijan's comment "he's a biker and he's a biker" - I thought that was funny. It was good meeting old friends and future co-riders. Most importantly, I really wanted to know what they looked like to find at the start line the next day. I dreaded having to find someone in the midst of 10000 people.
I got to Akshay's by about 8. My original plan had been to sleep at 8:30 and get up at 3:30 - a solid 7 hours - Stan always said sleeping well the night before was the most important part. Well, there was little hope of that now. In fact, we realized getting up early would be too hard, so we wanted to ready as much as possible that night itself - I even considered changing into biking gear before sleeping! We did everything we could, attach bib #s to jerseys, helmets, and bikes, fill up air, ready food and electrolyte/salt that we would carry, put aside gloves etc. And then we ate a hearty delicious meal, and went to bed at 10:30. We had to leave by 3:30, Sankar had said, so our alarms were set for 2:30 am. We would have to make do with 4 hours. It was very fitful sleep. I kept dreaming and waking up, but it wasn't all too bad. It was quite a warm night. At last check though, the mid-day temps on Saturday had dropped a bit according to Prakash's weather app. Mine still said high 80s. Oh well, it was what it was.
I got up, I am sure, at the first ring of the alarm, and went about trying to rouse the others. Raghu seemed bent upon grabbing another 15 mins and was getting me very anxious. Still we were done and ready to leave by 3:40 am. Sankar was already on the road! We opened the car door to put our bags in and heard a loud hissing noise. My front tire was leaking rapidly and went flat in a minute! We decided getting to the start line was more important, and raced off. There were unexpected freeway closures, we missed our exit on an on-the-fly reroute, and almost couldn't find the right parking lot, but still managed to get to the start point by 4:45 am. Raghu called Sankar and he was still there, ready to leave. We told him about the flat and starting fixing it, my mind racing, anxious that we would miss the Seattle folks. I cared much less about starting at 4:45, but I felt we needed to be with them to have a chance. We found the puncture, a hole in the tire, used a dollar bill to patch that, and had a new tube in in under 10 minutes. That might be most I have ever bought for a dollar in my life. One quick picture together, wished Prakash a good ride, and rushed off to find S, S and A. Finding them was easier than I thought. Sankar was in his TA jersey and it stood out a mile. Finally we were waiting at the start line together for the next wave. I felt the same nervous excitement I had felt 2 years ago, before running the Chicago marathon, as I looked around me. It was cool but not cold enough for warmers. Phone, Id, keys, Perform, 50 salt tabs, 3 bars and my faithful 2 sandwiches of toast and jam - something that has been with me almost every ride in the last one year - were all I carried.
5:00 am, and our wave was off. I reset my bike computer and looked at Raghu and smiled. The clock was ticking. We had 16 hours to do this. Would we keep up with the Asha Seattle riders? Would Raghu stay with me or fall behind? He had been a bit rebellious at pacelining in practice, insisting he didn't feel much benefit and often times would ride too far away or by himself, all of which worried me. The same question came back to me - what should I do if he didn't keep with us …… I was afraid without company he would find it that much harder to finish in time …. but I put off worrying about it to when I needed to.
The first 24 miles went by in a rush. There were a so many riders, I was focusing more on not crashing into someone - the last thing I wanted was a fall now. Dealing with a flat first thing in the morning had been enough excitement. The crowd was so thick, it was only moments before I couldn't spot Raghu behind me anymore. I slowed a bit and looked for the others. Sankar was right next to me - true to my promise I had focused on staying close to him. I noted that Sai was in a green jersey and Aravind in a blue one. Raghu, Sankar and I were in TA jerseys. Eventually I spotted Raghu and continued, a bit more relieved. We didn't bother pacelining or anything - it would have been too hard. Besides there were just so many riders in front of us, I could easily feel the draft pulling me in. It was like pacelining behind a big truck!! Traffic was stopped for us for the most part till we got to the REI headquarters at mile 24. Nahappan caught up with us along the way, making us a solid half-dozen. The first rest stop was teeming with riders. I was extremely conscious of not wasting any time. I would even have skipped that stop happily. I parked the bike and raced off to check out the food, restrooms, and Nuun, the electrolyte on offer at STP. Nuun was odd, somewhat sparkly, and advertised boldly the lack of calories. Chandrika had switched to Perform because it had more calories than Gatorade! Very puzzling all this, but I was in no mood to investigate. I would go the road more travelled by and stick to my Perform. I finished and rushed back to my bike in minutes, only to get tired of waiting for the others and went back to find them. They seemed in no great hurry, and had found Varadan too, and were chatting :) Oh well, maybe we were okay on time after all. I checked emails, saw that Anshu wanted check-ins at every stop and decided to accede - he was, after all, my inspiration for STP :) It was about 6:40 am.
Sankar said it was time we pacelined from here, and started describing how pacelining works. This was a tad worrisome if people did not know yet how to go about it and the 11th hour was really not the appropriate testing ground :) In retrospect, he was probably just going over the rules again as everyone seemed quite adept at it. We found our groove and settled into a nice rhythm of about 17-18 mph till mile 40 or so. Then came the "big hill". For someone from the bay area this would surely evoke some mirth, for it was all of about a mile long at best and about 5-6% grade. I didn't even need to shift off of the upper chain ring in the front. I got my first glimse of Sankar's famed hill-riding, and yes, he was really good at this! I was happy to notice I could keep him in sight all the way. We regrouped at the top and went the rest of the way to mile 54 - stop 2 - Spanaway elementary school - in similar fashion. I got my first mild scare when Raghu dropped behind after the hill. I waited for him and we managed to find our way back to the rest of the paceline - phew! 54 and so far so good. Both the REI and Spanaway stops were very well stocked with food. I ate more than I should have and carried some along with me. Padma's advice came to mind - eat well during the first 100 cause that is your fuel for the second 100, and I excused myself for gorging a bit. We took a few pictures and left there shortly. Arvind did some math and declared we were about 20 minutes behind our plan - that didn't sound bad at all, but somehow I had thought we were further behind. It was 9 am.
The weather till now had been all that you could ask for as a rider. It was on the verge of cold, with dew drops forming on my helmet - wet enough that my bib # sticker on the helmet came off and I stashed it in my bento box. There was dense fog/mist and clouds and not a hint of sunlight. I don't know any other time I would praise Seattle's lack of sun this much. I was almost afraid of jinxing it. We got back on track and eventually hit a long bike trail. It was quite narrow, only allowing for 2 riders in parallel and with all the traffic, somehow Sankar, Arvind and I got a bit separated from the other 3 but I noticed a couple of times that they weren't far behind. We set up our 3 person paceline and did a fantastic job doing almost 19-20 mph at times. It was a beautiful bike trail - I thought - with volunteers blocking off roads so we didn't have to stop. In fact, in almost all the towns we passed through, traffic was usually stopped for the riders. I can't say enough about how good the local communities were to us riders. While we had 5 organized STP rest stops, there were multiple mini-stops run by the communities where we got free water and Nuun, and food for purchase. The water was a blessing and all that I really needed. We took a mini-break at mile 85 at Tenino middle school, where Sankar proclaimed the bike trail to be very boring :) Raghu and I exchanged amused glances - we had found it very beautiful! Raghu, Nahappan and Sai were almost right behind us when we stopped there.
A longer break than anticipated and we were off again. The weather was unbelievably still holding up. This was just amazing. Almost halfway and no sun. We had barely done 2 miles and again Raghu fell behind. I stopped and let the rest go. After what seemed like an eternity in my impatience, I still could not spot him behind me, and finally decided he would find his way there - it was only 13 miles after all, and we had a long break at Centralia for lunch - and raced off to catch the others. Time passed slowly, and I didn't think too much on this leg. I was behind Sankar and was impressed with how good his form was. His upper body hardly moved an inch and his spinning was very uniform and consistent. Very easy to draft behind. I tried to emulate that as much as possible. There were many others on the road, and we kept passing others or getting passed by others. One bunch went by talking and chatting away, and lo and behold, there was Raghu behind them!! He turned, smiled at us, and merrily continued along with them. We had a good laugh and decided it was the beautiful girl in their midst that had given him the extra oomph!
Centralia came and Raghu had drifted back to us and we stopped for lunch. It was exactly noon. I had been doing mental math, and I remembered from Sankar's original schedule that we were supposed to take only 6:30 to Centralia, so we were at least 45 minutes behind schedule now. We had taken exactly 7 hours for our first 100. On the positive side, I was still feeling positively fresh and good! We parked our bikes and followed the others on a quest for lunch. Not the organized STP lunch spot, for the food there was bound to be more "riding" food. No, we wanted a real nice hot meal, and I got quinoa with tofu and veggies and cheese. Mmmm…. this was delicious. Topped off with an ice cream bar. We spent a hearty 45+ minutes here and soon after we got there, the sun came out. The moment it emerged, it started feeling plenty hot, and I was happy we had got through half the ride. It would surely have been too much to expect no sun for the entire 200!
After a brief hunt for the missing Nahappan, we found him and start off on the second half of our journey. We had 8 hours and a bit for the second 100. Given how we were feeling I was feeling guardedly optimistic that we would surely pull it off now, but 100 is still a long way away so I checked myself. Besides this 100 was supposed to have rolling hills. The first part went through mostly fields and we promptly lost Raghu and Nahappan again! This was becoming a regular feature, but Raghu seemed to find his way back to us every time, so I was less worried this time. The sun was beating down more and I could feel the heat. This was the hottest time of day as well. Soon the rollers came … the rollers were not short enough that you could collect enough steam on the downhill to get to the top of the next uphill - you actually had to treat them like small hills and soon we started losing people. We pulled off for a restroom break after a moderate hill at around 111 at Napavines, where most of the 2-dayers were scheduled to stop for the night. Prakash would be staying here too!
We regrouped and started again. The rolling hills made sure everyone was spread out all over the place very soon again. Regardless, I made sure I stuck with Sankar as always. We stopped at a mini-stop at 136 for a restroom break at Castle Rock high school. I found it amusing that we had stopped at Spanaway elementary, Tenino middle and Castle Rock high in order … was it going to be some university next? :) It was decidedly hot and I started my ritual of pouring bottles of water water on my head. Very soon Raghu and Varadan caught up with us and Aravind and Sai followed. It was 3:30. Sankar didn't want to wait too long, and headed out and I went after him. Though we had stopped here, we would have to stop again at 145 as there was no food stop till 175 after that. I found keeping with him was getting easier - i wasn't sure if he was going slow to let me catch up or I was handling the conditions better. We managed to paceline up the rolling hills as well until we got to 145.
I would have checked us in but there was absolutely no signal there. It was 4:30. Raghu came in about 10 mins later and soon after, the others followed. Surprisingly there wasn't much food left at this stop, not too much variety and no vegetarian sandwiches. A tad disappointing. But we didn't need too much anyway. I realized very pleasantly that I was really feeling quite good. My shoulders were still intact and not much pain in the shoulder blades. The last few weeks prior to STP I had noticed that this pain between the shoulder blades below the neck seemed to be arriving faster and faster, especially on flats and downhills, and stretching only held it off for just so long. With advice from the coaches, I had been very consciously keeping my shoulders and neck relaxed all through the ride, and stretching at every stop and often during the ride too, and it seemed to be working! Just about everything seemed to be going right right now. Raghu and I talked and concluded (wrongly) that we had about 55 miles (it was more like 60) to cover in 4.5 hours. We had done better than that till now, but a shade of nervousness started creeping in. We had come so far, we couldn't afford to miss the 9pm cut off at this point! And for the first time I felt some impatience while waiting for the others to start riding ….. soon it got the better of me, and Raghu and I started off followed by Varadan. I tried to convince Raghu to draft behind me, but as usual he seemed happier to stay at a slight distance, enough IMO to make it pointless :) Well, he still insisted it helped my being close by so he could try to keep with me, and we pushed on till we came to the famed Lewis and Clark bridge near Kelso at about 150. I relished the climb up the bridge and raced up it, suddenly feeling new energy in the legs. Sankar had passed by just then and I was eager to catch up. It was terribly bumpy - Sankar had warned me about this earlier, and on the downslope my bottle came flying out. How it made it across one full lane of traffic and then back to the side without getting run over (and there was a ton of traffic on the bridge) is beyond me. I waited for it to come back, picked it up and made haste to regain lost time. For the first time in my life, I took a highway ramp on a bicycle! The road seemed more like a state highway - it had a broad shoulder but cars also whizzed by really fast. There must have been a strong tailwind, because at this point I was just flying. I soon caught up with Sankar, but I was feeling so good, I didn't want to stop or slow down and I just kept racing away. It seemed like I was going uphill, but I was finding it so easy - I couldn't tell if it was the tailwind or some kind of zone I had reached, like a runner's high. I was doing 19-20 mph! I finally pulled over at a mini stop at around 165 to get more water on the head - the sun was still strong and hot. Sankar caught up almost immediately and so did Raghu shortly. We pacelined for a bit while Raghu pulled, and lost him promptly when Sankar started pulling.
The two of us roared away till the next and last food stop at 172 at St. Helen's high school. It was 6:30 - we had done the last 30 miles in 1:45, and I knew there was no stopping us now. We had 2.5 hours for 30 more and I was supremely confident at this point. I checked us in and promptly Pankaj called to ask how were doing. He was with Madhu and Bhanu and we talked to all of them, assuring them we were in no need of reinforcements in the cheering squad. The food was good, but I could barely wait to get back on the road. I egged Sankar and Raghu to move quickly. Varadan had caught up and as we left Aravind and Sai came in as well. We hadn't seen Nahappan since 145 though. Raghu announced suddenly that Prakash was doing the 200 after all!! This was news to me. We had tried hard to convince him to start with us and see if maybe he could keep with us, and he had thought about it and refused, and now he was doing it anyway? From his posts, it appeared he got to Napavines early enough and didn't know what to do the rest of the day, and so decided to finish it off! And what was more - he was keeping pace with us! This was quite incredible. Whoever would have thought someone could train as little as he did and do 200 in a day?
We set out again the 3 of us … one last time I wondered if I should wait for Raghu and finish together, but I found myself too excited to slow down. Besides he looked strong and fine at 172 and clearly didn't need any help to finish well within time. And so we raced off again. Sankar said there were two more small hills at 180 and 190. I barely recognized them to be hills - we just kept chasing that finish line doing almost a steady 20 mph now. All this time I had my bike computer showing me the time so I could take my salt tabs regularly every hour. I finally changed it and started to count down the miles. Around 195 we reached Portland city, and boy was it annoying. We had to stop at so many lights, and it just kept going on and on. We finally crossed the finish line at 8:30. Raghu and I had wondered idly in training what we would do when crossing that finish line. Would we raise a fist in celebration? Would we lift both hands in jubilation? Form V for victory with both hands off the bars? I think we settled the the third option. I didn't get a chance to try anything. The finish line was somewhat dark and narrow and came somewhat suddenly. Besides there were no cameras anywhere! Now that was an omission if there was one! Before I knew it, we had stopped and a volunteer was handing me my 1-day rider badge!! I was smiling ear to ear as I took it and returned Sankar's waiting fist-bump. 15.5 hours! The last 60 miles had been our fastest!
The next 10 minutes went by real fast. I talked to Madhu, Bhanu and Pankaj, and then Raghu rolled in. I waited for him to pick up his badge, and gave him a long hug. I felt a pang of guilt that I had not waited to finish together what we started months ago. I hoped he wouldn't mind too much. Aravind and Sai came in soon thereafter. Varadan had come in before Raghu and I had missed it. After a bit Nahappan pulled in too looking in good spirits. And an hour after Raghu finished almost to the dot, Prakash rolled in looking a little exhausted but looking thrilled and picked up his badge as well. Sanjay was there to greet us and take us home. We had a fantastic meal and finally crashed for the night.
The rest of the trip went off beautifully, though without the pressure of STP looming in the near future, it was easier to be relaxed about everything. We went back to Seattle the next day, met friends separately, drove back to Portland, and on to Corvallis late on Sunday. We took a nostalgic trip down memory lane - Raghu went to grad school in Corvallis - talked at length with Apte about biking and Tour de France, and only left Corvallis at 2:30 on Monday afternoon. We still made it just in time to the wildlife safari near Roseburg on the way back - a well kept Oregon secret - and spent a good deal of time with the animals. Prakash put the sunroof to good use - I think its the first time anyone has stuck their head out of that in my car! We drove back to more podcasts and music through the night and made it home in the early hours of Tuesday morning - 5 am. Spent but very very satisfied.
It was a wonderful trip, and I don't mean just Thursday through Tuesday. No, the trip started way earlier, when we decided to do STP in a day. The journey is the training and everything else. It was very educational as well. We took rather different approaches to the end goal, and I had serious misgivings about Raghu's training, but I have to hand it to him … he did a fantastic job in the end. We are of very different breeds - I am more conservative and methodical, and Raghu is more of a free-spirit, throwing caution to the winds and appearing brazenly confident. Maybe he knows much better about himself than I do. Regardless, I am thrilled it worked. Maybe there is something there for me to learn :) And if I thought Raghu's training wasn't good enough, what is there to be said about Prakash's - his max was an 88 mile ride with a nice hour long lunch in the middle. Maybe these guys are just really strong riders that don't need the training! For my part, I accept that I was probably a little overtrained ….. in the end it felt much easier than I thought it would be. I finished stronger and fresher than any race I had been in till now, and considering we had just done 15.5 hours of endurance activity that was pretty darn good.
It was immense fun, and my great thanks to Prakash and Raghu for being a part of this. Doing it alone would have been immensely tougher and nowhere near as fun. Thanks also to Anshu for the motivation and inspiration, and the Seattle folks for the plan, the company, and the confidence. But most of all, thanks to Raghu for humoring me on my demanding training schedule and idiosyncrasies - there are few, if any, I would rather have done this with than him!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Monday, July 18, 2011
Puzzle 5: Save the prisoners
There are 100 prisoners. The warden will make them stand in a queue and put black or white hats on each of them. Each prisoner can see the color of the hats of prisoners ahead of them only, and not theirs or the ones behind. If any prisoner can correctly say the color of their hat, he/she will be freed, else hanged. They can guess in any order. The prisoners talk beforehand to come up with a strategy to save the most prisoners possible. What is the most number of prisoners they can save?
Monday, July 11, 2011
Puzzle 4: White and black balls
There are 100 white and 100 black balls in a bin. You take out two balls at a time. If both are the same colour you replace them with a black ball. If they are different, you replace them with a white one. When you are down to one ball, what is the colour of that one ball? (No answers on comments please :))
Puzzle 3: Two buses and a bee
Bus 1 is leaving San Jose for LA, and bus 2 is leaving LA for San Jose at the same time. Bus 1 travels at 50 miles an hour and Bus 2 at 35 miles an hour. A bee sitting on Bus 1 at the start keeps flying from Bus 1 to Bus 2 to Bus 1 etc. at 70 miles an hour. If LA and San Jose are 500 miles apart, how far will the bee have flown when the 2 buses cross each other?
Puzzle 2: Handshakes in the world
Of all the people in the world, prove that the number of people who have shaken hands an odd number of times, is even
Puzzle 1: Handshakes in a room
There are 20 people in a room. A number of people have shaken hands. Prove that at least two people have shaken hands with the same number of people (Multiples handshakes between the same two people only counts as 1)
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Chicago marathon 10-10-10
Race Date: 2010-10-10
Race Name: Chicago marathon
Race Distance: 26.2 miles
Finish Time (hh:mm:ss): 04:51:39
Day -364
It had to be Chicago 2010. I had already decided to join TA as a runner the next year, and now I knew I just had to do Chicago. As we heard from our runners about the race, I decided I would be there in 2010. I had always loved Chicago, having spent 4+ years in nearby Wisconsin. 6 years before, I had run the Madison marathon, and had thought then that if I ever ran another marathon, it would be Chicago. Well, the time had come, and I could hardly wait now.
Day -217
Registration was open! We weren't sure if TA SV would even run Chicago as an official marathon this year since Chicago was threatening to close registration in late March, before the TA program even started. Not running Chicago never even crossed my mind, but it would have been nice if the rest of the TA crowd was there. But that couldn't be helped. You take what you get. I heard soon after that Char would be there too. That was enough relief.
Day -2
I packed everything I thought I would need, and it was surprisingly little. I guess running doesn't really need much when you really get down to the basics. I flew to Chicago and stayed with a friend in downtown. Got there past midnight CDT, slept really late after a good deal of catching up and ....
Day -1
..... got up really late too. I was very conscious I had to sleep well these last 2 days. I got a ride to the expo, and quickly got my bib and bag, and Sony/Saumil/Aishwarya's too. The lines were surprisingly short, but maybe I was earlier than most at 11am. I found the TA Chicago booth, introduced myself to Tara Pai, left the bags there and wandered the whole expo. I consciously abandoned everyone's advice about not walking around the expo too much. To me, it was part of the whole experience and I wanted it to be complete, even if it meant wearing out my legs a bit. I went round almost every booth, and posed in front of the huge 10-10-10 sign. The entire marathon had been marketed mostly on 10-10-10. It was kind of cool after all. I skipped the TA Chicago carboload and instead ate at friends' houses. I couldn't insist on a diet, but I figured roti, rice was dal was as good as any pasta carboload anyway. I am still convinced it was.
Mile -50
Yes, for various reasons I stayed in suburban Chicago the night before. I slept early - by 10:00 - intending to get up at 5:00. It was quite hot even at night, and coupled with some nervous excitement, I had a hard time falling asleep. I had also slept a couple of hours in the afternoon, and wasn't really sleepy either. I complained to Chandrika about the heat - more to share the worry than anything else. And then I drifted off ...
Day 0
The first peal of the alarm brought me to, and I raced through the morning routine - the nipguards, the bodyglide, shirt, shorts, shoes, cap, the 2 slices of toast and milk - yes, milk is something I *must* have in the morning - and a banana. Add the belt with a PBJ in it, and my (almost) unique water bottle, and I felt ready. Mentally ready.
Mile ~-0.5
That was the farthest he could drive me in. The milling crowd made it impossible to drive faster than a very slow crawl, so I pulled out my bags and began my quest for the Asha tent. The volunteer at Congress Pkwy and Michigan didn't even know what the Charity village was, let alone where. Hmmph.... Never mind, I looked at the map she held and plotted my way to Columbus and Balbo - where Tara had said the tent would be.
The walk took way longer than the 10 minutes I thought it would. There were so many closed off areas, and still more volunteers who couldn't really point me to the way, and I was getting really anxious as it closed in on 6:45. We had agreed to meet at the tent at 6:30. I finally found the charity village, and started rushing to it. It had taken me 25 mins from when I started walking! It was 6:55 but everyone was still around or just coming in - Nupur, Coach Char, his sister Nandini, Venkat, Satyan and the TA Chicago folks of course. We did our usual stretches next to the tent, and my mind was beginning to race. I was itching to get to the start line. It was past 7:15 already. We started making our way to the start line, and bumped into Saumil and Aishwarya just coming in.
Mile 0
I felt way more nervous than I thought I would. Was it worry? Was it the expectation of what would happen? Either way, a little nervousness is good to keep one in check, I figured. We posed for the before picture against the beautiful Chicago skyline on a gorgeous day - maybe not for running, but for almost anything else - and exchanged "best wishes", and made our way to where we thought we should start. Venkat and I barely squeezed into the 5:15 pace group before they closed that entrance too. It was around 7:30 and Venkat and I were wondering if we should be listening for a gunshot for the elites. None came. But they must have started. It would soon be our turn.
I looked around with a feeling of exhilaration. The crowd of runners was like a sea of colour. I looked at the Chicago skyline and marvelled at its beauty as I have always done. I suddenly had a feeling of deja vu and thought of the last time I was in this situation, 7 years ago, running my first marathon at the time, in Madison. But this felt different. I felt a greater sense of purpose, of preparedness, of appreciation and ironically, of significance, despite being one among about 45,000 runners. I felt very good and very happy though I was not completely sure why. I had been looking forward to this moment for a very long time, and it was finally here and I took in every bit of it. For a few minutes I forgot any worries and revelled in the moment. Life felt good.
The song of the day was "A beautiful day" by U2, Venkat said, and indeed, they were playing it loud and often. One of the runners was juggling balls nearby - I wondered if he planned to do that during the run. The crowd finally started moving, impatient to start, the nervous energy palpable as we waited. We walked faster and faster, and I felt goosebumps all over. People around us started a slow jog when they could but we kept walking till the start line. We finally got to and crossed the start line. I started my stopwatch and began to run. I think, without my cap, my hair would have stood on end. The crowd was roaring and it felt quite electrifying.
Miles 1-2
We went slowly, and I kept with Venkat for the first mile. I took 12 mins for the first and 11 for the second. We went down Columbus avenue and the first over-pass we saw was overflowing with people. There were people hanging off any empty space visible. Many were carrying signs, and many were waving. I had thought that I would wave to everyone cheering but I was suddenly unsure if I should wave back or not. I was definitely smiling my head off, mostly because I was just feeling really happy. As we went under the over-pass, I was thinking how really wide these roads were and we were running both sides of the roads. I guess handling 45000 people is not a joke. We came out on the other side, right in the middle of high-rise and I spent a good bit of that stretch craning my neck to look at all the majestic buildings and the beautiful architecture.
Our first turn came up soon enough. I tried to read the name of the street without success. I wanted to remember everything as much as possible. The next turn came even sooner, along with the 1 mile marker and the digital clock right below it. Of course, this was reading gun time elapsed, and I did a little mental math to figure out how much later we started. It was almost exactly 30 minutes.
We had another turn in somewhat rapid succession and I reluctantly abandoned the idea of keeping mental track of the course. It was easier to not think too much and just soak in the moment. The crowd was still lining every inch along the way and the goosebumps hadn't subsided yet, and it was all I could do to keep my legs from sprinting away.
Miles 3-8
I think I finally settled down a bit and got over the initial excitement. I settled into a nice comfortable pace, hoping to keep to 10:30/mile as per plan as much as possible. Finally the crowds thinned to where you could see the sidewalk. There were lots of people with signs egging on one of their own, but there were plenty of generic signs too. The most popular signs seemed to be "Run like U stole something" and "Your feet hurt cause you are kicking so much butt", but the winner must have been "Beer @ the end". Then there was the whole Chuck Norris theme that I didn't really get - "Chuck Norris is chasing you" and "Chuck Norris never ran a marathon".
We seemed to have hit a long sretch of road going north for most of this section. I ran to the right of the median for the most part, and there were lots of people settled on the median and cheering. One really really old couple were up there too ringing a cowbell and clapping for us. I mouthed the words "thank you" for there was no hope of them actually hearing anything I said. Another lady was trying to call out names, and she struggled with "Venki", which I had pinned to my shirt above my bib. This didn't last long though - I realised I should have used something sturdier than paper folded up - the way we were sweating, that tore off before the 4 mile mark. Oh well ....
I diligently stopped at every water stop and drank gatorade and poured water over my head, but I didn't waste much time at any of them. Waterstops were almost hard to get through because of the number of paper cups in the middle of the road. Everytime I stopped at a waterstop I almost felt a burst of energy starting up again. I decided it was psychological more than anything else.
I did a few 10:30 miles, and once in a while found I had run a 10:00 mile, and had to keep slowing myself down. It was just too easy to run fast at this point. I spotted an Asha shirt a little ways ahead, and caught up with him - it was Bhawani Singh - an old acquanitance from Asha Chicago. We exchanged pleasantries, and then I sped on.
At one point all the runners were looking and waving to the right, and I saw we were passing a senior center, and there were seniors at every window on the second floor holding up signs cheering us on. It was very touching. Many of them looked like they couldn't make it downstairs. But they donned heartwarming smiles and were waving to us, and we waved back.
The high-rise ended in a few blocks, but the neighbourhoods still looked quite upscale. Finally we reached Sheridan road and Lake Shore Drive merged in and we could see the lake on our right. I don't know if it was that we were still fresh, or there was actually lots of shade, but I didn't notice the sun or the heat pretty much at all. We finally took a couple of quick lefts - this was the northern tip of the course - and jumped straight into the gay district.
Miles 9-13.1
I have to say that this was easily the neighbourhood with the most spectators. There were rainbow flags everywhere, and tons of people on the sidewalks, in balconies, leaning out of windows and what seemed like rooftops at times! The noise was very loud, and really pumped me up a lot. I was feeling very strong and on a beautiful runners' high. I remembered Mona's words "Run strong. Run beautiful".
I saw the first set of official photographers and posed for a few (still while running of course). The neighbourhood was still largely residential to start with, with trees, and lots of old duplexes/4-plexes that reminded me of the Evanston/Northwestern area. Eventually they gave way to a more urban look as we came closer to downtown again.
People started handing out things - a lady with PBJ sandwiches, someone else with grapes. I heard a loud "High-fives here" from the left side and raced over to get my first high-five of the day. I was having a wonderfully good time.
In one of the neighbourhoods, people had two large water troughs and were handing out sponges soaked in water to the runners. Unfortunately I missed getting one until I knew what it was or what was happening. By mile 10 the trees had disappeared, and the sun had started beating down. I could feel the heat already and hoped it would not get much worse. I was happy we were almost half way there before the heat became worse.
We crossed the river once more - this must be the third time already - back into high-rise. A huge screen bang opposite was showing messages from, I guess, spectators paying to cheer on their friends/family. A guy in a chicken costume had a sign saying "Don't be chicken. Finish this thing". I found that quite funny.
A final turn west showed us the half way mark with a big arch and a big clock. I jumped across the marker and pumped my fist. The crowds had welled up at this point and the energy was high. Boards of "Half way there" and "No point turning back now" showed up. I looked at my watch; 2:16. I realised I was on pace to go close to 4:35, and I really hoped I could. At every mat I crossed I was keenly aware that TA friends in the bay area would be tracking us, and would know how I was doing. I still felt great - better than I had at any of our training runs. I was determined I could and would bring this home, keeping to the 10:30 pace I had been cruising at till now. It just felt like nothing could go wrong and confidence abounded.
Miles 14-18
We passed Greektown, though I mistook the first sign for Russian. A sign for Spanakopitas soon set that right. Some middle eastern music playing somewhere as well. Reminded me of the bands we had passed along the way. One near mile 10/11 had been the loudest, but most of the songs they were all playing I had never heard. One in the gay district had been playing something I knew. And then I heard them playing ABBA - I grew up on ABBA and am a crazed fan, and this was music (no pun intended) to the ears!! They were playing Dancing queen, and I almost slowed down a bit to listen to more. Why they didn't have an AID station right next to it, I couldn't imagine :)
There were a line of children high-fiving runners and I joined the party. Some of the younger ones actually appeared more bewildered than excited.
We moved away from downtown and the neighbourhoods became a little less urban with fields and schools thrown in, until we turned back up east and went through Little Italy. The green and red were displayed quite vibrantly everywhere. The 25k board slipped by and for the first time I noticed I was looking for mile markers. I wondered if I was getting bored or getting anxious. I wasn't feeling tired yet but I knew the business end of the race was approaching and was feeling a little more focused now.
They were finally handing out AccelGel - the only place they were giving out any such supplement in the race, which puzzled me. I had ingested 2 Gus by now and had one more with me but grabbed a packet to be safe.
The sun was really beating down now quite mercilessly, and as we neared mid-day there was little in the way of shade on the roads. Lots of folks had hoses out and were generously spraying runners. I ran through every one of them, lingering momentarily in the spray, pulling my cap off every time. I saw one runner going back and forth a few times in the spray. Not a bad idea. It felt wonderfully good, but within 200 metres I was dry again! The mercury on a roadside bank display read 88, and it was just a little past 11. Still at least an hour and a half to go.
At last the 18 mile marker showed up. 3:09 - wow just a minute off my training run. Just 8 more to go I told myself.
Miles 19-20
By now my stomach was in its usual uneasy state that I figure is caused by all the Gu and gatorade, but this was nothing new. I had seen it in training, but I had never had to go too much farther after this. I gulped down the AccelGel and really hated it. But it stayed down.
To my dismay I realised I was starting to feel a little tired now. I talked myself out of it. I told myself I was strong, and it would be fine. A spectator was handing out Jolly candy, and I took one. It did feel good, but I hate chewing on anything when running - spoils my rhythm since I breathe with my mouth. But this was a welcome change from Gu, and especially to get the taste of AccelGel out. The thought of drinking any more gatorade made me nauseous and I switched to water the rest of the way.
I saw a sign that didn't make much sense - "Go Ale". I wondered if they were cheering a runner named "Ale", or maybe they were referring to the beer at the end? Only when I saw a mexican flag soon after did it hit me that it was Spanish - for "Go". We were in the Latin quarter.
I saw another Asha shirt ahead, and this was Aishwarya. I felt my heart lift a little at the thought of company. She looked a little beat down too - clearly the heat was affecting her as well. She seemed equally releived to see me and said "Let's finish the race together". I nodded, and we ran together for a while, not saying much, just looking for mile 20. We got there at 3:32 into the race by my watch - exact to the minute with my training run. It was almost eerie, but I knew I was more tired today than then. Still something had to be said for adrenaline and race day, and this incredible crowd. I willed myself to believe I could keep this up.
Miles 21-22
I remembered there should be bananas after mile 20 and started looking out for them at the aid stations. We walked through the next 2 aid stations, making them a convenient excuse, and one of them did offer bananas much to my relief. It went down very well, and I felt a little better. By now I was rapidly draining, and was slowly losing faith that I could really pull this off with a strong finish. I dropped the idea of trying to do negative splits, just hoping now to finish under 4:45 and do it running all the way.
In the distance I saw a mile marker and was thrilled at the prospect of getting to 22 in 3:50. Alas, it was a 35k marker, and I cursed the kilometer markings.
I tried to focus on the crowds, the buildings and everything else but it was getting harder to do that now. I saw some Green Bay Packer fans and hollered "Go Packers" more to pep myself up than a show of camaraderie I think. I don't think they could pick me out of the crowd of runners. Yes, the density of runners had hardly reduced since the start of the race.
Firemen had opened fire hydrants now and the race officials had put up the red alert signs. That meant, from what I could remember, that we were advised to walk or stop if needed. I didn't think for a moment of doing either if I could help it.
Mile 22 finally arrived at 3:58 - a minute more than my training run. This seemed incredible except that I had 4.2 more to go, and I was fading fast.
Miles 22-26
I wasn't optimistic at all about doing under 12 minute miles from here onwards, and that is what I would need to finish under 4:45. I had started to walk through aid stations. I picked up more bananas, and somehow pushed down one last Gu shot for the home stretch. Aishwarya and I had started to go back and forth now as we walked bits here and there. My legs were really tired and I told myself I could walk whenever I saw a mile marker, and I did that the rest of the way, but kept the walking brisk when I did. Sometimes Aishwarya would catch up and say "Run with me, Venki", and I would push a little more.
We went next to a freeway for the early part and heard a bunch of ambulances howling down the freeway. A lady running next to me said "That doesn't sound very ominous, does it?" - that was the last thing I wanted to think of right now. I had already started wondering why I was doing this ..... again! How could I have forgotten all this pain from the last time? I had been proudly telling everyone I was doing a full. I wondered if I should have said instead that I was being a fool!
We finally went past the mile 23 marker soon after we crossed what reminded me of military schools in India, and a small band playing what felt like military tunes. Most of the folks seemed to be African American and I guessed we were in South Chicago. People were holding up whiteboards and I wondered why nothing was written on them. On closer inspection they had tons of vaseline smeared on them for runners to take. I was good - the body glide was still doing its magic.
We made two quick right turns to round off the southernmost part of our course. Surprisingly there was a block somewhere around here with absolutely no spectators at all. I concluded they must not have been allowed there. It was the only part of the 26.2 where there were no spectators. We rounded the bend, and an aid station greeted us. I noticed that it was manned completey by African Americans. They had some music set up and some of the ladies were dancing to it, and doing it real well too.
The customary loudspeakers started appearing near the mile 24 marker announcing that we had "only" 2 miles to go. 2 miles seemed an eternity right now. I could barely compute how much time I had taken for the last 2 miles. I just wanted to get to that finish line now - forget finishing strong or looking good.
40k turned up after forever, and I spotted some TA Chicago vols in the crowd. I managed to shout "Go Team Asha", and one of them jumped in and tried to run with me, but I had decided to walk to the 25 mile marker now, hoping for one last burst for the last mile.2.
25.2 was also marked, and marked as 1 mile. I looked at the time. It was 4:37. Oh well, there goes 4:45 I said. At least I would finish under 5:00. I remembered someone cheering at mile 20 saying "Under 5. Under 5. You can do it." And I had thought then that most of us were on pace to do well under 5. This was much closer than I had expected. I started running, and stopped again at the 800 metre marker. Not till much later would I realise that meant 1/2 mile left. The mind was just not computing anymore. Aishwarya caught up at about 400 metres left and seemed to be running energetically. I started running with her, but stopped again at the 300 metres marker, and waved her on. We rounded a bend, and I started to run and noticed it was ever so slightly uphill, and promptly went back to walking. I mentally cursed everyone who had ever told me Chicago was all flat. What exactly did they call this? After 20 miles even a 1 degree rise is not flat I thought. We quickly rounded another bend, and I saw the finish line about a 100 metres away. I summoned up every ounce of energy left and ran for it. No, I can't really call it a sprint, but I took big strides and looked much better than I felt, I am sure. I raised my arms as I crossed the line not so much in triumph as because everyone else was doing so. I stopped my watch at 4:51:41
Aishwarya came back to the finish line to find me and we beamed at each other just extremely happy to have finally finished. We went through the finish area not really feeling like picking up any food, and just grabbing some water/gatorade. The Asha tent seemed miles away, and frankly, it was actually not very close even if we we had not just run 26.2. We hobbled our way to the tent in due course, and finally sat down, spent but relieved.
Day 0.5+
Hours later, I had talked to many folks from Team Asha who called, predictably, to congratulate us on a good race run. When people asked me how it was, I realised I was hesitating before saying it was great, and I wondered why. Had I secretly set myself a time-goal that I had not admitted, even to myself, had become more important than enjoying what I had dreamt of doing for a very long time? Sure, everyone, I think, has time goals, whether they admit it, even to themselves, or not. All season long I had convinced myself 4:45 was what I would probably finish in, based on how training went, and I had rejected any suggestions that I would hit 4:30. I succumbed, however, in the last week, to repeated such suggestions and had allowed myself to hope things might actually turn out perfect. And 4:30 was perfection to me. In the end 4:52 was quite close to my original goal, so I should have been quite happy ...... I think it was more than that. It was not just about doing a time but doing it well. Doing it strong. Doing it on my own terms. Doing it in control of things. Striding through those last few miles feeling strong and good, and smiling. None of which I was doing. Many folks said "You conquered Chicago". By no means did I conquer the Chicago marathon. On the contrary, the marathon conquered me. It took every bit of energy out of me to find that finish line. Yes, I finished the marathon. No I did not conquer it. The last 4.2 were quite brutal, and I pretty much dragged myself across that distance. The crowds were just phenomenal, especially in that stretch (and I did the math later - at 1.5 million spectators, that's an average of 35 per meter!!), but try as I might, I couldn't even use that energy to propel myself on. I had started tuning everything out and just focusing on moving forward. When I was running and someone stopped in front of me, I didn't even have the energy to step aside or stop suddenly. So limited was my focus, I didn't even recognize that I was on Michigan avenue the last 3 miles, until I saw the course map again later. I finally understood what the coaches kept saying about finishing strong. It is not as much about time or even negative splits. It is about finishing with that feeling that you were in control of your entire race. I know the next time I run, I will set a time target again - it is but human to do that, but I hope I will remember that it is not all that matters.
The first time around, 7 years ago, I was happy to just finish. I walked more than 4 miles, and I had serious lower back pain by mile 19 making it hard even to walk. I had trained by myself, and didn't do any strengthening, and it was probably showing then. This time, I had trained well, and trained consistently, missing very little and sticking by the rules. I was probably disappointed I didn't do significantly better. Nevertheless, I did do better - by 10 minutes - in worse weather conditions, and maybe most importantly, 7 years later. Having said that, I am still more proud of my first marathon - going through a formal training has made me appreciate how hard this is to do, and how many things can go wrong and I credit general fitness and a modicum of luck for that first time, but most of all I realise more now the motivation it takes to do this alone your first time. But there is one thing training with TA has done that did not happen the first time. Training for the Madison marathon made me a marathoner, but training for Chicago made me a runner. I finally find running somewhat enjoyable, and within a couple of days I found myself wavering when people asked me if I would run another, and pretty soon, I was saying "Yes, I think I will". The mind is foolish, and forgetful, and has a way of holding on to good memories and letting go of the bad ones. God bless our foolish minds. Chicago was an incredible experience in so many ways. The course was magnificent, the organization was exellent, and the Chicagoans were remarkable. And that is what will remain a lasting memory.
Race Name: Chicago marathon
Race Distance: 26.2 miles
Finish Time (hh:mm:ss): 04:51:39
Day -364
It had to be Chicago 2010. I had already decided to join TA as a runner the next year, and now I knew I just had to do Chicago. As we heard from our runners about the race, I decided I would be there in 2010. I had always loved Chicago, having spent 4+ years in nearby Wisconsin. 6 years before, I had run the Madison marathon, and had thought then that if I ever ran another marathon, it would be Chicago. Well, the time had come, and I could hardly wait now.
Day -217
Registration was open! We weren't sure if TA SV would even run Chicago as an official marathon this year since Chicago was threatening to close registration in late March, before the TA program even started. Not running Chicago never even crossed my mind, but it would have been nice if the rest of the TA crowd was there. But that couldn't be helped. You take what you get. I heard soon after that Char would be there too. That was enough relief.
Day -2
I packed everything I thought I would need, and it was surprisingly little. I guess running doesn't really need much when you really get down to the basics. I flew to Chicago and stayed with a friend in downtown. Got there past midnight CDT, slept really late after a good deal of catching up and ....
Day -1
..... got up really late too. I was very conscious I had to sleep well these last 2 days. I got a ride to the expo, and quickly got my bib and bag, and Sony/Saumil/Aishwarya's too. The lines were surprisingly short, but maybe I was earlier than most at 11am. I found the TA Chicago booth, introduced myself to Tara Pai, left the bags there and wandered the whole expo. I consciously abandoned everyone's advice about not walking around the expo too much. To me, it was part of the whole experience and I wanted it to be complete, even if it meant wearing out my legs a bit. I went round almost every booth, and posed in front of the huge 10-10-10 sign. The entire marathon had been marketed mostly on 10-10-10. It was kind of cool after all. I skipped the TA Chicago carboload and instead ate at friends' houses. I couldn't insist on a diet, but I figured roti, rice was dal was as good as any pasta carboload anyway. I am still convinced it was.
Mile -50
Yes, for various reasons I stayed in suburban Chicago the night before. I slept early - by 10:00 - intending to get up at 5:00. It was quite hot even at night, and coupled with some nervous excitement, I had a hard time falling asleep. I had also slept a couple of hours in the afternoon, and wasn't really sleepy either. I complained to Chandrika about the heat - more to share the worry than anything else. And then I drifted off ...
Day 0
The first peal of the alarm brought me to, and I raced through the morning routine - the nipguards, the bodyglide, shirt, shorts, shoes, cap, the 2 slices of toast and milk - yes, milk is something I *must* have in the morning - and a banana. Add the belt with a PBJ in it, and my (almost) unique water bottle, and I felt ready. Mentally ready.
Mile ~-0.5
That was the farthest he could drive me in. The milling crowd made it impossible to drive faster than a very slow crawl, so I pulled out my bags and began my quest for the Asha tent. The volunteer at Congress Pkwy and Michigan didn't even know what the Charity village was, let alone where. Hmmph.... Never mind, I looked at the map she held and plotted my way to Columbus and Balbo - where Tara had said the tent would be.
The walk took way longer than the 10 minutes I thought it would. There were so many closed off areas, and still more volunteers who couldn't really point me to the way, and I was getting really anxious as it closed in on 6:45. We had agreed to meet at the tent at 6:30. I finally found the charity village, and started rushing to it. It had taken me 25 mins from when I started walking! It was 6:55 but everyone was still around or just coming in - Nupur, Coach Char, his sister Nandini, Venkat, Satyan and the TA Chicago folks of course. We did our usual stretches next to the tent, and my mind was beginning to race. I was itching to get to the start line. It was past 7:15 already. We started making our way to the start line, and bumped into Saumil and Aishwarya just coming in.
Mile 0
I felt way more nervous than I thought I would. Was it worry? Was it the expectation of what would happen? Either way, a little nervousness is good to keep one in check, I figured. We posed for the before picture against the beautiful Chicago skyline on a gorgeous day - maybe not for running, but for almost anything else - and exchanged "best wishes", and made our way to where we thought we should start. Venkat and I barely squeezed into the 5:15 pace group before they closed that entrance too. It was around 7:30 and Venkat and I were wondering if we should be listening for a gunshot for the elites. None came. But they must have started. It would soon be our turn.
I looked around with a feeling of exhilaration. The crowd of runners was like a sea of colour. I looked at the Chicago skyline and marvelled at its beauty as I have always done. I suddenly had a feeling of deja vu and thought of the last time I was in this situation, 7 years ago, running my first marathon at the time, in Madison. But this felt different. I felt a greater sense of purpose, of preparedness, of appreciation and ironically, of significance, despite being one among about 45,000 runners. I felt very good and very happy though I was not completely sure why. I had been looking forward to this moment for a very long time, and it was finally here and I took in every bit of it. For a few minutes I forgot any worries and revelled in the moment. Life felt good.
The song of the day was "A beautiful day" by U2, Venkat said, and indeed, they were playing it loud and often. One of the runners was juggling balls nearby - I wondered if he planned to do that during the run. The crowd finally started moving, impatient to start, the nervous energy palpable as we waited. We walked faster and faster, and I felt goosebumps all over. People around us started a slow jog when they could but we kept walking till the start line. We finally got to and crossed the start line. I started my stopwatch and began to run. I think, without my cap, my hair would have stood on end. The crowd was roaring and it felt quite electrifying.
Miles 1-2
We went slowly, and I kept with Venkat for the first mile. I took 12 mins for the first and 11 for the second. We went down Columbus avenue and the first over-pass we saw was overflowing with people. There were people hanging off any empty space visible. Many were carrying signs, and many were waving. I had thought that I would wave to everyone cheering but I was suddenly unsure if I should wave back or not. I was definitely smiling my head off, mostly because I was just feeling really happy. As we went under the over-pass, I was thinking how really wide these roads were and we were running both sides of the roads. I guess handling 45000 people is not a joke. We came out on the other side, right in the middle of high-rise and I spent a good bit of that stretch craning my neck to look at all the majestic buildings and the beautiful architecture.
Our first turn came up soon enough. I tried to read the name of the street without success. I wanted to remember everything as much as possible. The next turn came even sooner, along with the 1 mile marker and the digital clock right below it. Of course, this was reading gun time elapsed, and I did a little mental math to figure out how much later we started. It was almost exactly 30 minutes.
We had another turn in somewhat rapid succession and I reluctantly abandoned the idea of keeping mental track of the course. It was easier to not think too much and just soak in the moment. The crowd was still lining every inch along the way and the goosebumps hadn't subsided yet, and it was all I could do to keep my legs from sprinting away.
Miles 3-8
I think I finally settled down a bit and got over the initial excitement. I settled into a nice comfortable pace, hoping to keep to 10:30/mile as per plan as much as possible. Finally the crowds thinned to where you could see the sidewalk. There were lots of people with signs egging on one of their own, but there were plenty of generic signs too. The most popular signs seemed to be "Run like U stole something" and "Your feet hurt cause you are kicking so much butt", but the winner must have been "Beer @ the end". Then there was the whole Chuck Norris theme that I didn't really get - "Chuck Norris is chasing you" and "Chuck Norris never ran a marathon".
We seemed to have hit a long sretch of road going north for most of this section. I ran to the right of the median for the most part, and there were lots of people settled on the median and cheering. One really really old couple were up there too ringing a cowbell and clapping for us. I mouthed the words "thank you" for there was no hope of them actually hearing anything I said. Another lady was trying to call out names, and she struggled with "Venki", which I had pinned to my shirt above my bib. This didn't last long though - I realised I should have used something sturdier than paper folded up - the way we were sweating, that tore off before the 4 mile mark. Oh well ....
I diligently stopped at every water stop and drank gatorade and poured water over my head, but I didn't waste much time at any of them. Waterstops were almost hard to get through because of the number of paper cups in the middle of the road. Everytime I stopped at a waterstop I almost felt a burst of energy starting up again. I decided it was psychological more than anything else.
I did a few 10:30 miles, and once in a while found I had run a 10:00 mile, and had to keep slowing myself down. It was just too easy to run fast at this point. I spotted an Asha shirt a little ways ahead, and caught up with him - it was Bhawani Singh - an old acquanitance from Asha Chicago. We exchanged pleasantries, and then I sped on.
At one point all the runners were looking and waving to the right, and I saw we were passing a senior center, and there were seniors at every window on the second floor holding up signs cheering us on. It was very touching. Many of them looked like they couldn't make it downstairs. But they donned heartwarming smiles and were waving to us, and we waved back.
The high-rise ended in a few blocks, but the neighbourhoods still looked quite upscale. Finally we reached Sheridan road and Lake Shore Drive merged in and we could see the lake on our right. I don't know if it was that we were still fresh, or there was actually lots of shade, but I didn't notice the sun or the heat pretty much at all. We finally took a couple of quick lefts - this was the northern tip of the course - and jumped straight into the gay district.
Miles 9-13.1
I have to say that this was easily the neighbourhood with the most spectators. There were rainbow flags everywhere, and tons of people on the sidewalks, in balconies, leaning out of windows and what seemed like rooftops at times! The noise was very loud, and really pumped me up a lot. I was feeling very strong and on a beautiful runners' high. I remembered Mona's words "Run strong. Run beautiful".
I saw the first set of official photographers and posed for a few (still while running of course). The neighbourhood was still largely residential to start with, with trees, and lots of old duplexes/4-plexes that reminded me of the Evanston/Northwestern area. Eventually they gave way to a more urban look as we came closer to downtown again.
People started handing out things - a lady with PBJ sandwiches, someone else with grapes. I heard a loud "High-fives here" from the left side and raced over to get my first high-five of the day. I was having a wonderfully good time.
In one of the neighbourhoods, people had two large water troughs and were handing out sponges soaked in water to the runners. Unfortunately I missed getting one until I knew what it was or what was happening. By mile 10 the trees had disappeared, and the sun had started beating down. I could feel the heat already and hoped it would not get much worse. I was happy we were almost half way there before the heat became worse.
We crossed the river once more - this must be the third time already - back into high-rise. A huge screen bang opposite was showing messages from, I guess, spectators paying to cheer on their friends/family. A guy in a chicken costume had a sign saying "Don't be chicken. Finish this thing". I found that quite funny.
A final turn west showed us the half way mark with a big arch and a big clock. I jumped across the marker and pumped my fist. The crowds had welled up at this point and the energy was high. Boards of "Half way there" and "No point turning back now" showed up. I looked at my watch; 2:16. I realised I was on pace to go close to 4:35, and I really hoped I could. At every mat I crossed I was keenly aware that TA friends in the bay area would be tracking us, and would know how I was doing. I still felt great - better than I had at any of our training runs. I was determined I could and would bring this home, keeping to the 10:30 pace I had been cruising at till now. It just felt like nothing could go wrong and confidence abounded.
Miles 14-18
We passed Greektown, though I mistook the first sign for Russian. A sign for Spanakopitas soon set that right. Some middle eastern music playing somewhere as well. Reminded me of the bands we had passed along the way. One near mile 10/11 had been the loudest, but most of the songs they were all playing I had never heard. One in the gay district had been playing something I knew. And then I heard them playing ABBA - I grew up on ABBA and am a crazed fan, and this was music (no pun intended) to the ears!! They were playing Dancing queen, and I almost slowed down a bit to listen to more. Why they didn't have an AID station right next to it, I couldn't imagine :)
There were a line of children high-fiving runners and I joined the party. Some of the younger ones actually appeared more bewildered than excited.
We moved away from downtown and the neighbourhoods became a little less urban with fields and schools thrown in, until we turned back up east and went through Little Italy. The green and red were displayed quite vibrantly everywhere. The 25k board slipped by and for the first time I noticed I was looking for mile markers. I wondered if I was getting bored or getting anxious. I wasn't feeling tired yet but I knew the business end of the race was approaching and was feeling a little more focused now.
They were finally handing out AccelGel - the only place they were giving out any such supplement in the race, which puzzled me. I had ingested 2 Gus by now and had one more with me but grabbed a packet to be safe.
The sun was really beating down now quite mercilessly, and as we neared mid-day there was little in the way of shade on the roads. Lots of folks had hoses out and were generously spraying runners. I ran through every one of them, lingering momentarily in the spray, pulling my cap off every time. I saw one runner going back and forth a few times in the spray. Not a bad idea. It felt wonderfully good, but within 200 metres I was dry again! The mercury on a roadside bank display read 88, and it was just a little past 11. Still at least an hour and a half to go.
At last the 18 mile marker showed up. 3:09 - wow just a minute off my training run. Just 8 more to go I told myself.
Miles 19-20
By now my stomach was in its usual uneasy state that I figure is caused by all the Gu and gatorade, but this was nothing new. I had seen it in training, but I had never had to go too much farther after this. I gulped down the AccelGel and really hated it. But it stayed down.
To my dismay I realised I was starting to feel a little tired now. I talked myself out of it. I told myself I was strong, and it would be fine. A spectator was handing out Jolly candy, and I took one. It did feel good, but I hate chewing on anything when running - spoils my rhythm since I breathe with my mouth. But this was a welcome change from Gu, and especially to get the taste of AccelGel out. The thought of drinking any more gatorade made me nauseous and I switched to water the rest of the way.
I saw a sign that didn't make much sense - "Go Ale". I wondered if they were cheering a runner named "Ale", or maybe they were referring to the beer at the end? Only when I saw a mexican flag soon after did it hit me that it was Spanish - for "Go". We were in the Latin quarter.
I saw another Asha shirt ahead, and this was Aishwarya. I felt my heart lift a little at the thought of company. She looked a little beat down too - clearly the heat was affecting her as well. She seemed equally releived to see me and said "Let's finish the race together". I nodded, and we ran together for a while, not saying much, just looking for mile 20. We got there at 3:32 into the race by my watch - exact to the minute with my training run. It was almost eerie, but I knew I was more tired today than then. Still something had to be said for adrenaline and race day, and this incredible crowd. I willed myself to believe I could keep this up.
Miles 21-22
I remembered there should be bananas after mile 20 and started looking out for them at the aid stations. We walked through the next 2 aid stations, making them a convenient excuse, and one of them did offer bananas much to my relief. It went down very well, and I felt a little better. By now I was rapidly draining, and was slowly losing faith that I could really pull this off with a strong finish. I dropped the idea of trying to do negative splits, just hoping now to finish under 4:45 and do it running all the way.
In the distance I saw a mile marker and was thrilled at the prospect of getting to 22 in 3:50. Alas, it was a 35k marker, and I cursed the kilometer markings.
I tried to focus on the crowds, the buildings and everything else but it was getting harder to do that now. I saw some Green Bay Packer fans and hollered "Go Packers" more to pep myself up than a show of camaraderie I think. I don't think they could pick me out of the crowd of runners. Yes, the density of runners had hardly reduced since the start of the race.
Firemen had opened fire hydrants now and the race officials had put up the red alert signs. That meant, from what I could remember, that we were advised to walk or stop if needed. I didn't think for a moment of doing either if I could help it.
Mile 22 finally arrived at 3:58 - a minute more than my training run. This seemed incredible except that I had 4.2 more to go, and I was fading fast.
Miles 22-26
I wasn't optimistic at all about doing under 12 minute miles from here onwards, and that is what I would need to finish under 4:45. I had started to walk through aid stations. I picked up more bananas, and somehow pushed down one last Gu shot for the home stretch. Aishwarya and I had started to go back and forth now as we walked bits here and there. My legs were really tired and I told myself I could walk whenever I saw a mile marker, and I did that the rest of the way, but kept the walking brisk when I did. Sometimes Aishwarya would catch up and say "Run with me, Venki", and I would push a little more.
We went next to a freeway for the early part and heard a bunch of ambulances howling down the freeway. A lady running next to me said "That doesn't sound very ominous, does it?" - that was the last thing I wanted to think of right now. I had already started wondering why I was doing this ..... again! How could I have forgotten all this pain from the last time? I had been proudly telling everyone I was doing a full. I wondered if I should have said instead that I was being a fool!
We finally went past the mile 23 marker soon after we crossed what reminded me of military schools in India, and a small band playing what felt like military tunes. Most of the folks seemed to be African American and I guessed we were in South Chicago. People were holding up whiteboards and I wondered why nothing was written on them. On closer inspection they had tons of vaseline smeared on them for runners to take. I was good - the body glide was still doing its magic.
We made two quick right turns to round off the southernmost part of our course. Surprisingly there was a block somewhere around here with absolutely no spectators at all. I concluded they must not have been allowed there. It was the only part of the 26.2 where there were no spectators. We rounded the bend, and an aid station greeted us. I noticed that it was manned completey by African Americans. They had some music set up and some of the ladies were dancing to it, and doing it real well too.
The customary loudspeakers started appearing near the mile 24 marker announcing that we had "only" 2 miles to go. 2 miles seemed an eternity right now. I could barely compute how much time I had taken for the last 2 miles. I just wanted to get to that finish line now - forget finishing strong or looking good.
40k turned up after forever, and I spotted some TA Chicago vols in the crowd. I managed to shout "Go Team Asha", and one of them jumped in and tried to run with me, but I had decided to walk to the 25 mile marker now, hoping for one last burst for the last mile.2.
25.2 was also marked, and marked as 1 mile. I looked at the time. It was 4:37. Oh well, there goes 4:45 I said. At least I would finish under 5:00. I remembered someone cheering at mile 20 saying "Under 5. Under 5. You can do it." And I had thought then that most of us were on pace to do well under 5. This was much closer than I had expected. I started running, and stopped again at the 800 metre marker. Not till much later would I realise that meant 1/2 mile left. The mind was just not computing anymore. Aishwarya caught up at about 400 metres left and seemed to be running energetically. I started running with her, but stopped again at the 300 metres marker, and waved her on. We rounded a bend, and I started to run and noticed it was ever so slightly uphill, and promptly went back to walking. I mentally cursed everyone who had ever told me Chicago was all flat. What exactly did they call this? After 20 miles even a 1 degree rise is not flat I thought. We quickly rounded another bend, and I saw the finish line about a 100 metres away. I summoned up every ounce of energy left and ran for it. No, I can't really call it a sprint, but I took big strides and looked much better than I felt, I am sure. I raised my arms as I crossed the line not so much in triumph as because everyone else was doing so. I stopped my watch at 4:51:41
Aishwarya came back to the finish line to find me and we beamed at each other just extremely happy to have finally finished. We went through the finish area not really feeling like picking up any food, and just grabbing some water/gatorade. The Asha tent seemed miles away, and frankly, it was actually not very close even if we we had not just run 26.2. We hobbled our way to the tent in due course, and finally sat down, spent but relieved.
Day 0.5+
Hours later, I had talked to many folks from Team Asha who called, predictably, to congratulate us on a good race run. When people asked me how it was, I realised I was hesitating before saying it was great, and I wondered why. Had I secretly set myself a time-goal that I had not admitted, even to myself, had become more important than enjoying what I had dreamt of doing for a very long time? Sure, everyone, I think, has time goals, whether they admit it, even to themselves, or not. All season long I had convinced myself 4:45 was what I would probably finish in, based on how training went, and I had rejected any suggestions that I would hit 4:30. I succumbed, however, in the last week, to repeated such suggestions and had allowed myself to hope things might actually turn out perfect. And 4:30 was perfection to me. In the end 4:52 was quite close to my original goal, so I should have been quite happy ...... I think it was more than that. It was not just about doing a time but doing it well. Doing it strong. Doing it on my own terms. Doing it in control of things. Striding through those last few miles feeling strong and good, and smiling. None of which I was doing. Many folks said "You conquered Chicago". By no means did I conquer the Chicago marathon. On the contrary, the marathon conquered me. It took every bit of energy out of me to find that finish line. Yes, I finished the marathon. No I did not conquer it. The last 4.2 were quite brutal, and I pretty much dragged myself across that distance. The crowds were just phenomenal, especially in that stretch (and I did the math later - at 1.5 million spectators, that's an average of 35 per meter!!), but try as I might, I couldn't even use that energy to propel myself on. I had started tuning everything out and just focusing on moving forward. When I was running and someone stopped in front of me, I didn't even have the energy to step aside or stop suddenly. So limited was my focus, I didn't even recognize that I was on Michigan avenue the last 3 miles, until I saw the course map again later. I finally understood what the coaches kept saying about finishing strong. It is not as much about time or even negative splits. It is about finishing with that feeling that you were in control of your entire race. I know the next time I run, I will set a time target again - it is but human to do that, but I hope I will remember that it is not all that matters.
The first time around, 7 years ago, I was happy to just finish. I walked more than 4 miles, and I had serious lower back pain by mile 19 making it hard even to walk. I had trained by myself, and didn't do any strengthening, and it was probably showing then. This time, I had trained well, and trained consistently, missing very little and sticking by the rules. I was probably disappointed I didn't do significantly better. Nevertheless, I did do better - by 10 minutes - in worse weather conditions, and maybe most importantly, 7 years later. Having said that, I am still more proud of my first marathon - going through a formal training has made me appreciate how hard this is to do, and how many things can go wrong and I credit general fitness and a modicum of luck for that first time, but most of all I realise more now the motivation it takes to do this alone your first time. But there is one thing training with TA has done that did not happen the first time. Training for the Madison marathon made me a marathoner, but training for Chicago made me a runner. I finally find running somewhat enjoyable, and within a couple of days I found myself wavering when people asked me if I would run another, and pretty soon, I was saying "Yes, I think I will". The mind is foolish, and forgetful, and has a way of holding on to good memories and letting go of the bad ones. God bless our foolish minds. Chicago was an incredible experience in so many ways. The course was magnificent, the organization was exellent, and the Chicagoans were remarkable. And that is what will remain a lasting memory.
SF half marathon
Race Date: 2010-07-25
Race Distance: 13.1 miles
Finish Time (hh:mm:ss): 02:08:36
Beep beep beep .... Beep beep beep .... beep beep beep
Woke up with a start and rushed to find the clock. 3:10. Good, hadn't snoozed it at all. Things were going to plan.
3:15 Brushed and done. Call Shraddha. No answer.
3:20 Shower done. Call Dilip. Hmm..... he sounds sleepy. I wonder ... Quickly get dressed and ready. Readied everything the previous night as the coaches had instructed. No phone. Just DL, $20+$10+$2, keys
3:30 Shraddha calls "I am just stepping out of my place". Eat something. Ah, my favorite oatmeal. After two spoons, Balu's words came back - no milk!! Okay, abandon, and get some toast. Feeling a bit rushed now.
3:40 Dilip calls. "We are both here. Come down". I go and pull out my car. Wait, what's this other car obstructing my driveway? Oh, it's Shraddha's :) Alright, she could get towed for this.
3:45 Dilip reparks Shraddha's car in a tight parallel spot, and we are technically off!!
3:50 Nervous chatter. Dilip confirms he woke up at 3:20 when I called! Almost forgot his bottle. OH, DRAT! I forgot mine! U-turn, u-turn. Heart starts racing. Rush back home. Sprinting in, grabbing bottle, and sprinting out, was, with me, the work of an instant (Cr: PGW). Already feeling warmed up. Drive like the wind now!
3:58 At Caltrain station. Damn, I thought we were supposed to be here at 3:45 :( But there are others pulling in too. Find paybooth. Dilip goes to check out spot #. 64 .... yes. Oh, $3? Grrr.... Balu, you lil' ... (Cr: Simpsons). Borrow 1$ from Shraddha.
4:05 Run to shuttle. Jump in. Ooh, both Balu and Chandrika on our shuttle. Bharath too! Ah, finally off!! Phew! Collect snack bar and banana. Wolf down banana. Save up snack bar for later.
~5:00 Bus pulls up near the start point. Ah, the other buses also there, and lots of Asha folk milling around. Follow crowd. Ah, porta-potties. And no line at all!! We must be real early. Do 'morning business' as Balu put it. Spot Vikram in line. Good. Ah, Meena too. Manu as well.
5:15 At Embarcadero and Folsom surveying the start lines and waves. Ah, there's Mausam. Good. Not that cold actally, which is a good sign. Still have not decided what to wear when starting. Cotton shirt over tech-tee? Garbage bag? Both?
5:30 Find sweats truck. Hmm..... this is quite challenging. Finally found it at Embarcadero and Mission. Swamy was right, while most of the other folk kept pointing in the wrong direction! Hmmph! Spotted Divya, Sudhir. Okay, decision time. Going with only tech tee, and garbage bag in pocket.
5:45 Make way back. Trying to follow Chandrika to Wave 5. Seems like most Asha runners are starting here. Ah, my running buddy Anand is finally here. Can't find Mausam anymore though. Quick spot of stretching. Just waiting is getting unbearable. Thank God it is quite pleasant temperature actually! Not cold at all!
6:00 "A-Bot rocks"? What is A-Bot anyway? Oh well. Just let us go ....
6:05 WAVE 5! And we are off!! Am I running too fast? Too slow? Well, just go with other Asha runners. Oh, set watch timer ... Good. Can almost feel the nervous energy in the crowd. Oh, and there's the Mile 1 marker at ......
6:15 10 min mile. Anand says we are doing 10:30. Heavenly smell of fresh bread. Boudin bakery. Damnit. I miss my morning coffee. Wish I could take a detour. Mile 2 - quick glance at watch ....
6:25 Wow, seem to be getting the hang of this. Isn't it a bit fast though? Coaches said 11 min/mile for the first two .... Ah, Hyde street. This was the turnaround for Crissy field run. Familiar track now! Through the Aquatic park, and over Fort Mason. Our first hill ...
6:35 Mile 3. This is uncanny now .... Never mind. Oh, there are some people cheering us on. I don't know them, but I will use their cheering anyway :) "GO ASHA". Loud familiar voice. Ah, there's Balu. And Bharath. Our first Asha cheering squad! Terrific. Scream back "Balu"! Crissy field coming up. Hmmm, small detour through the field. Weird! Oh there's the marker for Mile 4 at ....
6:45 Oh well, now started expecting this .... But Anand says we are doing 9:40 pace now. Looking forward to the bridge now. Can see it in the distance. Not much fog. Yikes, people are going near the bushes now! Ah water-stop. Mmmm.... Cytomax (yes, I like it!) Anand takes his Gu shot. Should I? Didn't need any for Crissy field .... and feeling very good now .... hmm ... postpone for now.
First big hill coming up. Mile 5 marker half way up at .....
6:55 Sigh!
Q: Which is the steepest street in SF?
A: Filbert (?)
Q: Aren't you happy to be running this hill instead?
A: (My answer) - Hmmm.... not really, why are those the only 2 choices? :)
Hmm.... all the houses are exactly alike on this road. Wonder if it is a military zone of some sort.
Okay, rounding the bend to the Golden Gate now! Finally! "Venki ... venki ... venki ..." I hear shouting. Praveen!! And Sandhya and Chakri!! Terrific!! Find myself screaming everyone's names. Hi-fives all around. That was perfect timing entering the bridge. Feeling very strong now.
Oh wow, the bridge is indeed uphill as Chakri promised. But then, when is Chakri wrong anyway :)
I see the 3:40 pacer. First pacer I have seen since we started running. And there's Matt! Right behind the pacer. Girl with PINK written all over her running clothes in front of me. Wonder if that is a group of some sort. "Run for India" tees all over the place. Wonder which group that is. TA shirts are much prettier ;) 3:50 pacer. Mayank. Vineet. Venkat! Didn't realise he was such a fast runner. All on pace to go under 2. Racing down the second half of the GG now. Anand - "we are doing 9:20 pace". Should slow down.
Vista point. Ah, the mat! Careful step over it :) Take a Gu shot here. Don't want to fade out in the second half of the course. Yes, it's time. Forgot to check watch or look for mile markers since reaching the bridge. Hmm.... no idea about the mileage but the time is .....
7:21 Has to be more than half way through. Less than an hour of running left if we are to finish under 2:15. Back on the bridge.
Me: "Didn't see Dilip or Vikram yet"
Anand: "Oh they went by a minute ago"
Me: "How about the 4:15 pacer. Are we ahead of him?
Anand: "Probably. We crossed 4:00 pacer before the turnaround"
Back on the bridge. Pulling a bit faster now. Having to dodge folks a lot more. Chandrika! Still a sea of people on the bridge. Meena and Manu. And other TA runners. Can see the toll booth. Look for our cheering squad. Who's that screaming and jumping. OMG, it's Bhanu!! Can't see Madhu anywhere. Chakri taking pics of us! Ah, Sandhya and Praveen again. Fantastic! Now for the last big hill.
Q: Which famous actress born was in San Francisco and acted in Clueless?
Anand: Alicia Silverstone.
Me to myself: Wow, I had no clue
A: Alicia Silverstone.
This hill looks never-ending. Going real slow. Waterstop at top! Don't want to walk now. Focus! Right foot. Left foot. Right foot ....
Overheard: "Almost there dear - mile 10 marker at the top."
Quick scan for marker. Yes!! 10 indeed. And quick scan for time ....
7:47 Stop for water. Good excuse to stop!
Anand: "It is all downhill from here."
Me: "Really? Too many people said be careful of the rolling hills."
Ah, amazing view on the right. Beach(es). Cliffside houses. The Pacific. Woods immediately to the right. Curvy road. Crowd thinning a bit. Going real fast. Anand: "8:30 pace. Slow down!" Bobby races by!
Doesn't feel like this downslope is going to end. Not complaining :) Ooh, waterstop again. And Balu! So, just 2.1 left? Can't see any Mile 11 marker. Balu runs a little with us.
Balu: "You guys are doing great".
Anand: "Get us through in 2:05"
Balu: "That might be too hard. You will do 2:10 easily." Leaves us.
City streets. The famous rolling hills. Nice houses. Time to change target to 2:11. 10 min/mile. Can see Bobby 50 metres ahead. Start pushing harder. Try to catch Bobby and stay with him. "Anand, I will take off ...." Slowly but surely, inching up to Bobby. Still feeling strong. Losing feel for distance now. Unsure where the mile 12 marker is.
8:01 15 mins to beat target. Just keep pushing. Still feeling strong. More crowds lining streets now. Cops cheering us on too!! Didn't see that coming :) Mile 12!! Okay, its finally down to 1 mile. Yippee! Mental correction. 1.1. Watch check ....
8:03 Okay, nice and easy. Left turn. Seems like a big road. Right turn into the park. Hurray! Almost there. Don't see no finish line. Right turn. Signs for half and full marathoners. Yay! Finish must be a 100 yards away. Though, still ....
8:08 Damn, this finish line is just not coming. Satish Menon. Legs getting weary. Would love to walk a bit. Focus! Bobby is running like he has a motor on him! Can barely see him anymore. Left turn. Has to be round the bend. No :( Dragging feet now. Right turn. Another sign for half vs. full. Big crowds now. Must be here. Scan crowd for familiar faces. None :( Stop sign up front. Should I? :) OH, there's the finish line!!!!! Sudden strength welling up. Legs take over. Involuntary sprinting. Cross line with huge grin. Turn off stopwatch .... 2:08:31. Nice!
Kiron waving nearby. Pose for picture. Wait for Anand. Oh, is that Bobby coming in now? Hmm..... Bobby - "I took the full marathon lane, and some nice lady told me I was in the wrong place". No wonder. Time to walk up and collect that medal. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
Legs feeling stiff. Knees in particular. Abs a little painful. Walked back down the course and ran back other TA runners - Vikram, Abhishek, Dilip, Prema, Divya, Mausam ..... More cheerers joined in - Shailesh, Parag, Madhu, and the ones who already finished. Everyone is just all smiles. A few seemed to be hurting a bit. Still smiling :) Picked up sweats, found lots more folks. Finally time to go back to start line. Samosas and biryani waiting for us there. Grabbed a few biscuits, scones, cytomax, banana, and headed to a ridiculously long line for the buses to the start. Almost ....
10:00 Was later when we got on. Fell promptly asleep till bus parked at Embarcadero. Asha tent and food!! Good. Fantastic. Chakri is back there. So is Praveen. The full marathoners are back too. Arun Sharma. Satish again. Feeling really sleepy now. Slight headache too. Just want to curl up. Closing in on ....
~12:00 Prasanna picks us up. Shraddha, Dilip and me. Promptly fall asleep again, all the way to Sunnyvale. Drop off Shraddha and join the rest of our gang at Peacock - Madhu, Bhanu, Meena, Sandhya, Chakri, Gaurav. The hot chai was priceless. And free :) Got back home around ....
2:15 One long day. One long happy day. One long fantastic day. Half way there.
Chicago, here I come.
Race Distance: 13.1 miles
Finish Time (hh:mm:ss): 02:08:36
Beep beep beep .... Beep beep beep .... beep beep beep
Woke up with a start and rushed to find the clock. 3:10. Good, hadn't snoozed it at all. Things were going to plan.
3:15 Brushed and done. Call Shraddha. No answer.
3:20 Shower done. Call Dilip. Hmm..... he sounds sleepy. I wonder ... Quickly get dressed and ready. Readied everything the previous night as the coaches had instructed. No phone. Just DL, $20+$10+$2, keys
3:30 Shraddha calls "I am just stepping out of my place". Eat something. Ah, my favorite oatmeal. After two spoons, Balu's words came back - no milk!! Okay, abandon, and get some toast. Feeling a bit rushed now.
3:40 Dilip calls. "We are both here. Come down". I go and pull out my car. Wait, what's this other car obstructing my driveway? Oh, it's Shraddha's :) Alright, she could get towed for this.
3:45 Dilip reparks Shraddha's car in a tight parallel spot, and we are technically off!!
3:50 Nervous chatter. Dilip confirms he woke up at 3:20 when I called! Almost forgot his bottle. OH, DRAT! I forgot mine! U-turn, u-turn. Heart starts racing. Rush back home. Sprinting in, grabbing bottle, and sprinting out, was, with me, the work of an instant (Cr: PGW). Already feeling warmed up. Drive like the wind now!
3:58 At Caltrain station. Damn, I thought we were supposed to be here at 3:45 :( But there are others pulling in too. Find paybooth. Dilip goes to check out spot #. 64 .... yes. Oh, $3? Grrr.... Balu, you lil' ... (Cr: Simpsons). Borrow 1$ from Shraddha.
4:05 Run to shuttle. Jump in. Ooh, both Balu and Chandrika on our shuttle. Bharath too! Ah, finally off!! Phew! Collect snack bar and banana. Wolf down banana. Save up snack bar for later.
~5:00 Bus pulls up near the start point. Ah, the other buses also there, and lots of Asha folk milling around. Follow crowd. Ah, porta-potties. And no line at all!! We must be real early. Do 'morning business' as Balu put it. Spot Vikram in line. Good. Ah, Meena too. Manu as well.
5:15 At Embarcadero and Folsom surveying the start lines and waves. Ah, there's Mausam. Good. Not that cold actally, which is a good sign. Still have not decided what to wear when starting. Cotton shirt over tech-tee? Garbage bag? Both?
5:30 Find sweats truck. Hmm..... this is quite challenging. Finally found it at Embarcadero and Mission. Swamy was right, while most of the other folk kept pointing in the wrong direction! Hmmph! Spotted Divya, Sudhir. Okay, decision time. Going with only tech tee, and garbage bag in pocket.
5:45 Make way back. Trying to follow Chandrika to Wave 5. Seems like most Asha runners are starting here. Ah, my running buddy Anand is finally here. Can't find Mausam anymore though. Quick spot of stretching. Just waiting is getting unbearable. Thank God it is quite pleasant temperature actually! Not cold at all!
6:00 "A-Bot rocks"? What is A-Bot anyway? Oh well. Just let us go ....
6:05 WAVE 5! And we are off!! Am I running too fast? Too slow? Well, just go with other Asha runners. Oh, set watch timer ... Good. Can almost feel the nervous energy in the crowd. Oh, and there's the Mile 1 marker at ......
6:15 10 min mile. Anand says we are doing 10:30. Heavenly smell of fresh bread. Boudin bakery. Damnit. I miss my morning coffee. Wish I could take a detour. Mile 2 - quick glance at watch ....
6:25 Wow, seem to be getting the hang of this. Isn't it a bit fast though? Coaches said 11 min/mile for the first two .... Ah, Hyde street. This was the turnaround for Crissy field run. Familiar track now! Through the Aquatic park, and over Fort Mason. Our first hill ...
6:35 Mile 3. This is uncanny now .... Never mind. Oh, there are some people cheering us on. I don't know them, but I will use their cheering anyway :) "GO ASHA". Loud familiar voice. Ah, there's Balu. And Bharath. Our first Asha cheering squad! Terrific. Scream back "Balu"! Crissy field coming up. Hmmm, small detour through the field. Weird! Oh there's the marker for Mile 4 at ....
6:45 Oh well, now started expecting this .... But Anand says we are doing 9:40 pace now. Looking forward to the bridge now. Can see it in the distance. Not much fog. Yikes, people are going near the bushes now! Ah water-stop. Mmmm.... Cytomax (yes, I like it!) Anand takes his Gu shot. Should I? Didn't need any for Crissy field .... and feeling very good now .... hmm ... postpone for now.
First big hill coming up. Mile 5 marker half way up at .....
6:55 Sigh!
Q: Which is the steepest street in SF?
A: Filbert (?)
Q: Aren't you happy to be running this hill instead?
A: (My answer) - Hmmm.... not really, why are those the only 2 choices? :)
Hmm.... all the houses are exactly alike on this road. Wonder if it is a military zone of some sort.
Okay, rounding the bend to the Golden Gate now! Finally! "Venki ... venki ... venki ..." I hear shouting. Praveen!! And Sandhya and Chakri!! Terrific!! Find myself screaming everyone's names. Hi-fives all around. That was perfect timing entering the bridge. Feeling very strong now.
Oh wow, the bridge is indeed uphill as Chakri promised. But then, when is Chakri wrong anyway :)
I see the 3:40 pacer. First pacer I have seen since we started running. And there's Matt! Right behind the pacer. Girl with PINK written all over her running clothes in front of me. Wonder if that is a group of some sort. "Run for India" tees all over the place. Wonder which group that is. TA shirts are much prettier ;) 3:50 pacer. Mayank. Vineet. Venkat! Didn't realise he was such a fast runner. All on pace to go under 2. Racing down the second half of the GG now. Anand - "we are doing 9:20 pace". Should slow down.
Vista point. Ah, the mat! Careful step over it :) Take a Gu shot here. Don't want to fade out in the second half of the course. Yes, it's time. Forgot to check watch or look for mile markers since reaching the bridge. Hmm.... no idea about the mileage but the time is .....
7:21 Has to be more than half way through. Less than an hour of running left if we are to finish under 2:15. Back on the bridge.
Me: "Didn't see Dilip or Vikram yet"
Anand: "Oh they went by a minute ago"
Me: "How about the 4:15 pacer. Are we ahead of him?
Anand: "Probably. We crossed 4:00 pacer before the turnaround"
Back on the bridge. Pulling a bit faster now. Having to dodge folks a lot more. Chandrika! Still a sea of people on the bridge. Meena and Manu. And other TA runners. Can see the toll booth. Look for our cheering squad. Who's that screaming and jumping. OMG, it's Bhanu!! Can't see Madhu anywhere. Chakri taking pics of us! Ah, Sandhya and Praveen again. Fantastic! Now for the last big hill.
Q: Which famous actress born was in San Francisco and acted in Clueless?
Anand: Alicia Silverstone.
Me to myself: Wow, I had no clue
A: Alicia Silverstone.
This hill looks never-ending. Going real slow. Waterstop at top! Don't want to walk now. Focus! Right foot. Left foot. Right foot ....
Overheard: "Almost there dear - mile 10 marker at the top."
Quick scan for marker. Yes!! 10 indeed. And quick scan for time ....
7:47 Stop for water. Good excuse to stop!
Anand: "It is all downhill from here."
Me: "Really? Too many people said be careful of the rolling hills."
Ah, amazing view on the right. Beach(es). Cliffside houses. The Pacific. Woods immediately to the right. Curvy road. Crowd thinning a bit. Going real fast. Anand: "8:30 pace. Slow down!" Bobby races by!
Doesn't feel like this downslope is going to end. Not complaining :) Ooh, waterstop again. And Balu! So, just 2.1 left? Can't see any Mile 11 marker. Balu runs a little with us.
Balu: "You guys are doing great".
Anand: "Get us through in 2:05"
Balu: "That might be too hard. You will do 2:10 easily." Leaves us.
City streets. The famous rolling hills. Nice houses. Time to change target to 2:11. 10 min/mile. Can see Bobby 50 metres ahead. Start pushing harder. Try to catch Bobby and stay with him. "Anand, I will take off ...." Slowly but surely, inching up to Bobby. Still feeling strong. Losing feel for distance now. Unsure where the mile 12 marker is.
8:01 15 mins to beat target. Just keep pushing. Still feeling strong. More crowds lining streets now. Cops cheering us on too!! Didn't see that coming :) Mile 12!! Okay, its finally down to 1 mile. Yippee! Mental correction. 1.1. Watch check ....
8:03 Okay, nice and easy. Left turn. Seems like a big road. Right turn into the park. Hurray! Almost there. Don't see no finish line. Right turn. Signs for half and full marathoners. Yay! Finish must be a 100 yards away. Though, still ....
8:08 Damn, this finish line is just not coming. Satish Menon. Legs getting weary. Would love to walk a bit. Focus! Bobby is running like he has a motor on him! Can barely see him anymore. Left turn. Has to be round the bend. No :( Dragging feet now. Right turn. Another sign for half vs. full. Big crowds now. Must be here. Scan crowd for familiar faces. None :( Stop sign up front. Should I? :) OH, there's the finish line!!!!! Sudden strength welling up. Legs take over. Involuntary sprinting. Cross line with huge grin. Turn off stopwatch .... 2:08:31. Nice!
Kiron waving nearby. Pose for picture. Wait for Anand. Oh, is that Bobby coming in now? Hmm..... Bobby - "I took the full marathon lane, and some nice lady told me I was in the wrong place". No wonder. Time to walk up and collect that medal. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
Legs feeling stiff. Knees in particular. Abs a little painful. Walked back down the course and ran back other TA runners - Vikram, Abhishek, Dilip, Prema, Divya, Mausam ..... More cheerers joined in - Shailesh, Parag, Madhu, and the ones who already finished. Everyone is just all smiles. A few seemed to be hurting a bit. Still smiling :) Picked up sweats, found lots more folks. Finally time to go back to start line. Samosas and biryani waiting for us there. Grabbed a few biscuits, scones, cytomax, banana, and headed to a ridiculously long line for the buses to the start. Almost ....
10:00 Was later when we got on. Fell promptly asleep till bus parked at Embarcadero. Asha tent and food!! Good. Fantastic. Chakri is back there. So is Praveen. The full marathoners are back too. Arun Sharma. Satish again. Feeling really sleepy now. Slight headache too. Just want to curl up. Closing in on ....
~12:00 Prasanna picks us up. Shraddha, Dilip and me. Promptly fall asleep again, all the way to Sunnyvale. Drop off Shraddha and join the rest of our gang at Peacock - Madhu, Bhanu, Meena, Sandhya, Chakri, Gaurav. The hot chai was priceless. And free :) Got back home around ....
2:15 One long day. One long happy day. One long fantastic day. Half way there.
Chicago, here I come.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Why blog?
I have wanted to start a blog for a long time. Only because it seems to be the thing to do. Everybody does it. And everybody thinks I should too. I was even quick to start a new page and setup all the fonts, colors and backdrop just the way I liked it. I guess that doesn't count yet as having a blog .....
So why blog? Whatever I have to say I am sure a million people have said before. There's probably even a blog out there that says exactly this same thing. I am not going to stumble upon a brilliant thought that no one else has had, am I?
Maybe we blog to keep a record of our memories, or what we saw, what we did etc. But then we could do it in private. Isn't that what diaries are for? Maybe we want to show off. Tell the world how great we are. Maybe the real world does not provide us with enough friends around us. Maybe we want to find more friends in the virtual world online. Maybe it gives us a sense of self-importance, silly but satisfying the ego just that little bit.
I have tried many times to start a blog. But I have always felt uneasy about it. I don't want to start something that I will be enthused about for a few weeks and then forget about - those things have a very unfinished feeling about them that I greatly dislike. So maybe that is what bothers me about a blog - there is no end to it. At least, no clear logical end. Maybe I fear that I am committing to a project that will eventually become either a never-ending chore or a disappointment. And yet, somewhere inside I do want to write articles. I see others' blogs and am impressed .... So, why do I want to blog? I think it is because I like to talk. I like to tell people what I feel, what I think, what I discover, what I experience ..... and by blogging I speak to no one in particular, just to the outside world in general. Even if no one reads it, I feel like I have told someone. Maybe that is indeed good enough a reason ....
Ironically, this has become a catch-22 situation. In expressing that I don't see any reason to blog, I have found a reason to do so .....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)