I am training to run the Rocky Raccoon 50 Miler race as part of Team Asha. My target race is on February 7, 2009, in the Huntsville State Park, Texas.
This is my first 50 miler ever! Infact, it is way longer than anything I have attempted so far. Training has been fun but hard, and has involved a lot of commitment in time and effort for my first 50 miler. I am doing all this, as I keep reminding myself on runs that keep getting longer and harder, for a cause I absolutely love and support. I am running as part of Team Asha this year to raise funds for the wonderful and deserving schools run by Gramin Shiksha Kendra in rural Rajasthan.
The schools provide a high quality of education thats relevant to the local community in order to bring about meaningful socioeconomic change. It is a very thoughtful effort by a few committed and talented educators to make a real and qualitative difference in the lives of the impoverished rural community. They promote learning based on fun and child-centric activities. Teachers employ innovative teaching techniques and educational materials tailored specifically for every child to learn effectively and thoroughly. Local knowledge and cultural expertise is incorporated into the syllabus so that the children have a broad curriculum that they can relate to easily. More importantly, it also grounds the education of the children to the success of the local community. I passionately believe that the success of this initiative can provide a good model of education that can be replicated across various rural and urban communities all over India!
For this initiative to succeed, it needs your support! Learn more about this exciting project here.
I have pledged to raise $100 for every mile I run in my race. All the proceeds from my runner page go towards supporting Gramin Shiksha Kendra. Please contact me to sponsor my race and help me reach my fundraising target as I strive to reach my 50 mile distance.
My runner fund-raising page where you can DONATE is here.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Warda Cardiac Run 25K
The Cardiac Run race happens every year at Damon Nolan's Bluff Creek Ranch in Warda, TX. The ranch has pine forests, open grasslands and even an oil rig! The 25K race consists of 2 loops of 12.5K each, with about 325' of elevation change in each loop. The course is mostly runnable except for a few small but steep hills in each loop. There is one aid station in each loop apart from the Start/Finish area.
The 25K this year started at 10am, in bright but very windy conditions. For the first 3 miles, as my muscles were warming up, I felt some pain on the outside of my right knee. The pain however went away soon and I hit a comfortable stride after the first aid station.
Joe P. who was on his second loop of his 50K run caught up with me here and we ran together for about 3 miles running at a fast but comfortable pace. At around mile 6 though, as Joe and I were running astride, Joe's brand new shoes caught some mesh and sent him tumbling over my way. Joe was fine though and just got up and ran hard again!
As we pulled into the S/F area at the end of the first loop, the clock showed 1:17. After a minute replenishing gels and water, I started out on the second loop feeling more comfortable. And knowing that this was my last loop helped to push a pace that was definitely among my best for long runs. I finished the second loop and the race at 2:28, doing a negative split by 4 mins from the first loop. Quite easily, a personal record for me.
After the race, I walked into the ranch house, and had some wonderful food prepared by Damon. Joyce, Jeff and Robert also joined us here and Damon regaled us with stories about the ranch and activities in the ranch. After a while, I walked out to the finish area, and saw Joe finish in 4:59! A fantastic time, and then soon, Savi also rolled in for a personal record for her. Ganesh had started earlier and finished and left for San Antonio for a marathon the next day!
A wonderful race set up informally with very friendly volunteers and the good running conditions made it a memorable and enjoyable experience. The trails and the informal atmosphere reminded me a lot of my first trail race, the Rocky Hill Ranch 25K. I appreciate all the hard work that Damon and his folks put in to make this a great race for all the runners!
The 25K this year started at 10am, in bright but very windy conditions. For the first 3 miles, as my muscles were warming up, I felt some pain on the outside of my right knee. The pain however went away soon and I hit a comfortable stride after the first aid station.
Joe P. who was on his second loop of his 50K run caught up with me here and we ran together for about 3 miles running at a fast but comfortable pace. At around mile 6 though, as Joe and I were running astride, Joe's brand new shoes caught some mesh and sent him tumbling over my way. Joe was fine though and just got up and ran hard again!
As we pulled into the S/F area at the end of the first loop, the clock showed 1:17. After a minute replenishing gels and water, I started out on the second loop feeling more comfortable. And knowing that this was my last loop helped to push a pace that was definitely among my best for long runs. I finished the second loop and the race at 2:28, doing a negative split by 4 mins from the first loop. Quite easily, a personal record for me.
After the race, I walked into the ranch house, and had some wonderful food prepared by Damon. Joyce, Jeff and Robert also joined us here and Damon regaled us with stories about the ranch and activities in the ranch. After a while, I walked out to the finish area, and saw Joe finish in 4:59! A fantastic time, and then soon, Savi also rolled in for a personal record for her. Ganesh had started earlier and finished and left for San Antonio for a marathon the next day!
A wonderful race set up informally with very friendly volunteers and the good running conditions made it a memorable and enjoyable experience. The trails and the informal atmosphere reminded me a lot of my first trail race, the Rocky Hill Ranch 25K. I appreciate all the hard work that Damon and his folks put in to make this a great race for all the runners!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Running in the rain
Running on technical trails immediately after it has rained or even while it is raining can be challenging and fun. Yesterday, a few of us from the training group (Kelly, Jason, Charlene, Bob and myself) did a nice 5.6 mile loop starting at the Hill of Life and through Cedar Chop and Powerline. We slipped a few times on the slick and shifty rocks, stomped through puddles of water and kicked wet mud out of our shoes at each step. It was fairly warm and very humid, and the added challenges of night running on wet trails, made it quite a hard workout. Fun nevertheless.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Rocky Raccoon 50K
This is a good race put up by race director Paul Stone. The course is on flat but beautiful trails in the Huntsville State Park. The 50K consists of 2 25K loops, with many aid stations along the way. I had some issues with abdominal cramping and nausea starting around mile 10 and lasting nearly until the end. Nutrition, like in Palo Duro, turned out to be an issue again. The current theory for my nutrition woes has it that I had more salt (Succeed caps) than I needed. Despite all that though, I finished in 6:35, another personal best time for a 50K. The race was fun, and it was good to meet all the HCTR folks at the aid station and elsewhere - Naresh, Joe, Robert, Joyce, Diana, Henry, Dawn, Marcia and others.
Running to death
It appears now that we actively seek death whatever we do. Death just doesn't happen, we race towards it in so many ways. Its like the different 'yogas' (of B'Gita) you can do to reach salvation:
I am impressed. All I can say is...science has come of age: 'they have now discovered that death happens'. Quite profound.
I am impressed. All I can say is...science has come of age: 'they have now discovered that death happens'. Quite profound.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Palo Duro Canyon 50K
Is it possible to run a 50K without much training?
Since the somewhat unlucky attempt at the Pikes Peak Ascent in mid-August, I had not run much until the end of September. Stanley pulled me back into running on the beautiful trails in and around Austin, like the Greenbelt and at the Bastrop park. As far as trail running went, I was back! And the incessant talk about the Palo Duro Canyon on the HCTR forum prompted me into an ambitious target- a 50K with almost no training; the longest run I had done since Pikes Peak was a measly 14 miles.
Actually, who knew Texas had a massive and beautiful canyon of its own? Yeah, and the Palo Duro (Hard Rock) Canyon in the Texas Panhandle region is actually the second biggest in the US (see panoramic view below).
We (Team Asha runners Dada, Bab, Savi and myself) left for Canyon, TX, near the Palo Duro Canyon on Friday, a drive of over 10 hours with all the various pit stops. Some injudicious snack foods along the way was to prove a little troublesome the next day! We reached our hotel late, and finally got to sleep around 1am!
In the morning, as we drove toward the canyon, all we could see for a while was just pancake-flat expanse all around us. And then suddenly, the earth opened up. We drove down into the canyon floor and made our way to the start area where hundreds of runners were all excited and raring to go. The 50K folks were to run a 6-mile loop initially and then 2 bigger loops of around 12.5 miles each.
The first loop. It was still dark when we started at 7am, and the narrow track meant that all the runners were slowly plodding through in a single file for the first 3 miles. After the aid station where the 50K and 50M folks split up in the first loop, Gaurav, Ganesh and I took off and had a nice fastish run in the early morning pleasant weather. We finished the loop, despite the slow start, in about 73 mins.
The second loop. The start of the second loop was tough for me, mainly because I had neglected proper nutrition after the first 6 miles and compounding the problem was some gastro trouble from the previous night's food. I wouldnt get any calories until the next aid station 3.5 miles further. That proved to be a drag on my energy reserves and I found myself walking already in the second loop. At a certain point, the couple of restroom breaks meant that I passed the same runners twice! Struggling through, mainly on account of low energy levels and lost time to restroom breaks, the 12.5 mile loop took well over 3 hours. I gladly stopped over at the S/F to take a longish break and catch up on some food.
The third loop. The third loop started out slow as I gradually started feeling better. A couple of miles into the loop, and especially after Phil's aid station, I had started running again strongly and maintained a good pace through the rest of the race. I kept having gels and drinking lots of Coke at every aid station. It was getting warmer through the day, but thankfully, I finished before it got really hot. Also, around this time, the aid station volunteers also had to deal with hundreds of bees attracted to all the sweet stuff around!
I finished with a total time of around 7.45 hours. Not a bad time, but it was a personal record (PR)!! Actually, smashed my previous 50K time from Tahoe by more than 3 hours. I enjoyed the race a lot, the course is fairly flat and is mostly runnable. And the fantastic views of the canyon from all the different points on the trails make it a pleasant and memorable run. The race organizers and aid station volunteers were superb. They had also put up some interesting and inspiring banners all along the way, saying things like:
and a favorite quote by "Big Red" Spicer, RD for previous editions of the trail race,
So yes, it is possible to run a 50K without much training (and even write a race report!), but the performance can vastly improve with proper training. It had been so long since I had such a long run that I paid little heed to pacing myself appropriately or taking in nutrition periodically.
All in all, I am very happy I got the opportunity to visit the Palo Duro Canyon, run a reasonably good race and meet all the friendly trail-running folks out there!
Since the somewhat unlucky attempt at the Pikes Peak Ascent in mid-August, I had not run much until the end of September. Stanley pulled me back into running on the beautiful trails in and around Austin, like the Greenbelt and at the Bastrop park. As far as trail running went, I was back! And the incessant talk about the Palo Duro Canyon on the HCTR forum prompted me into an ambitious target- a 50K with almost no training; the longest run I had done since Pikes Peak was a measly 14 miles.
Actually, who knew Texas had a massive and beautiful canyon of its own? Yeah, and the Palo Duro (Hard Rock) Canyon in the Texas Panhandle region is actually the second biggest in the US (see panoramic view below).
We (Team Asha runners Dada, Bab, Savi and myself) left for Canyon, TX, near the Palo Duro Canyon on Friday, a drive of over 10 hours with all the various pit stops. Some injudicious snack foods along the way was to prove a little troublesome the next day! We reached our hotel late, and finally got to sleep around 1am!
In the morning, as we drove toward the canyon, all we could see for a while was just pancake-flat expanse all around us. And then suddenly, the earth opened up. We drove down into the canyon floor and made our way to the start area where hundreds of runners were all excited and raring to go. The 50K folks were to run a 6-mile loop initially and then 2 bigger loops of around 12.5 miles each.
The first loop. It was still dark when we started at 7am, and the narrow track meant that all the runners were slowly plodding through in a single file for the first 3 miles. After the aid station where the 50K and 50M folks split up in the first loop, Gaurav, Ganesh and I took off and had a nice fastish run in the early morning pleasant weather. We finished the loop, despite the slow start, in about 73 mins.
The second loop. The start of the second loop was tough for me, mainly because I had neglected proper nutrition after the first 6 miles and compounding the problem was some gastro trouble from the previous night's food. I wouldnt get any calories until the next aid station 3.5 miles further. That proved to be a drag on my energy reserves and I found myself walking already in the second loop. At a certain point, the couple of restroom breaks meant that I passed the same runners twice! Struggling through, mainly on account of low energy levels and lost time to restroom breaks, the 12.5 mile loop took well over 3 hours. I gladly stopped over at the S/F to take a longish break and catch up on some food.
The third loop. The third loop started out slow as I gradually started feeling better. A couple of miles into the loop, and especially after Phil's aid station, I had started running again strongly and maintained a good pace through the rest of the race. I kept having gels and drinking lots of Coke at every aid station. It was getting warmer through the day, but thankfully, I finished before it got really hot. Also, around this time, the aid station volunteers also had to deal with hundreds of bees attracted to all the sweet stuff around!
I finished with a total time of around 7.45 hours. Not a bad time, but it was a personal record (PR)!! Actually, smashed my previous 50K time from Tahoe by more than 3 hours. I enjoyed the race a lot, the course is fairly flat and is mostly runnable. And the fantastic views of the canyon from all the different points on the trails make it a pleasant and memorable run. The race organizers and aid station volunteers were superb. They had also put up some interesting and inspiring banners all along the way, saying things like:
If you are feeling comfortable in an ultra, dont worry, that will change soon!
Adversity does not build character, it reveals character!
and a favorite quote by "Big Red" Spicer, RD for previous editions of the trail race,
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, ‘Bring it on, darlin’, and don’t be stingy with the jalapeños!’
So yes, it is possible to run a 50K without much training (and even write a race report!), but the performance can vastly improve with proper training. It had been so long since I had such a long run that I paid little heed to pacing myself appropriately or taking in nutrition periodically.
All in all, I am very happy I got the opportunity to visit the Palo Duro Canyon, run a reasonably good race and meet all the friendly trail-running folks out there!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Vibha Dream Mile 5K
After 7 years of being a part of the organizing team for the Vibha 5K, this was the first time I actually ran the race! The Vibha Dream Mile 5K was held on October 5, 2008.
The Vibha 5K course starts at the East Mall and goes through various roads in the UT campus, and that makes for a nice setting. Its a hilly run, slightly harder than an average 5K. Parts of the course repeat in 2 loops and so runners can take 3 water stops during the race.
Overall, a fun race. Its fun because its a small race and is run by enthusiastic volunteers and supported by excited runners and patrons. The whole atmosphere is festival-like, especially with all the huge tents for the kids' games, music and Vibha information (a novelty since the 2007 edition).
Personally, for me, this was my first 5K. I carried a camera with me on the run and got some pictures on the course. I also finished sub-30 mins, so that was nice. My team, Team Asha, also had a great time, with best team prize and Jith coming first in his age category.
The Vibha 5K course starts at the East Mall and goes through various roads in the UT campus, and that makes for a nice setting. Its a hilly run, slightly harder than an average 5K. Parts of the course repeat in 2 loops and so runners can take 3 water stops during the race.
Overall, a fun race. Its fun because its a small race and is run by enthusiastic volunteers and supported by excited runners and patrons. The whole atmosphere is festival-like, especially with all the huge tents for the kids' games, music and Vibha information (a novelty since the 2007 edition).
Personally, for me, this was my first 5K. I carried a camera with me on the run and got some pictures on the course. I also finished sub-30 mins, so that was nice. My team, Team Asha, also had a great time, with best team prize and Jith coming first in his age category.
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