CIM - Dec 6 2015 - 4 hours 28 mins

Yaayi!! I PR'ed by 30 minutes! Thanks to Shavi who ran with me and made me do this. I would not have been able to do this time without him. After mile 20, I had almost given up but he kept me going. Miles in the middle were a pain too since I was suffering from IT band issue and had to take the painkiller formula to keep me going: 1 Tylenol Arthritis slow release + 2 Aleve. I took one dose at mile 8 and then another one, closer to mile 20. I had been dealing with IT band issue since all my training but I got through it!

The course has some ups and downs in the beginning in Folsom - Fair Oaks area but then it gets flat. The J street bridge around mile 20-21 is a killer as well. Once you get through it, it gets little ok. Being such a popular race in Sacramento, this race has people cheering all throughout the route. Bands playing everywhere. Aid stations very well equipped. Tone of volunteers. It cannot get any better than this.

Good thing that A & C are here and they took care of W while we were running and brought him to the finish line. Will power and commitment is the key to running. It ain't easy but it ain't impossible either! Thanks again to Shavi for making this happen!

That Damn Run - 1/2 Marathon - Oct 17, 2015 - Got lost!

How can one get lost in such a well-marked course! Well I did. I had to run the race by myself as Shavi got sick and could not run. I am not comfortable running on the trails by myself but since the course is so well marked, I decided to go. Plus I was training for the full marathon in December. So this was like a training run that I had to do. I would not have got lost if I had not missed one turn. Thankfully, there was another old person who got lost as well and together we found the way out. I think I did around 16 miles+. Good to get more miles in! It was a nice rainy day to begin with and I love this race. Completed in 3:43 - of course this was for 3-4 extra miles. Not my best but I enjoyed the run. This was my first trail half marathon. I have done a 10K on this course before.

Urban Cow - Oct 4, 2015 - PR : 2:05

This was my fastest half marathon ever and I was so proud of it. I ran fast as my little almost 3-year old was sick that day - very sick and daddy had to fly to Florida the same morning for work. I had to get home early - as early as possible. So I ran hard and I did it. That was probably an improvement of 15 minutes from my last PR on a half marathon course!

Race for Arts 5K - another PR for me: 26:11

Last year when we had run this race, we thought it was super fun and had decided to do it again the next year. The only difference this year was that our baby ran with us. Shavi ran with him in stroller and was way behind in the pack at the start line.

I was dying at mile 2.5 mi, pushing myself with all the energy I had and then I got what I just needed at that time. Shavi came right behind me and pushed me into finishing strong. I was almost ready to take a little walk break at that time. I improved my PR by 1 mins and 21 secs. Thanks to Coach Shavi for pushing me in the last half mile! He still finished ahead of me even with the stroller. He of course was the first one to finish with stroller.

The race was in William Land Park near Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale town. There is plenty parking around that area. Arriving at least 30 mins before the start time is better since you might have to walk a bit from the parking. There were 728 people running it. Shavi was 84th position and I was 102 and 6th in my age category out of 42.

This is a great race for kids also and great entertainment post-race. It is a scenic park and they usually have great free performances by kids going on in the amphitheater in the park. During the race, they have one aid station at around mile 2. The course is quite shaded due to trees in the park. I did not need a sun-shade even when the race started at 8.30am. It is a fast course even though it has a few u-turns. This race is organized by CRRM and is a fun event. The last year I did this race, I had a PR of 27:50 and Shavi had 22:55. This time, with stoller, Shavi finished in 25:11. Great work!

Susan B Anthony Women's 5K race - PR for me: 27:32

Just like last year - SBA was a great race organized by Buffalo Chips club on August 8, 2015. They had lots of pre-race goodies and gave a full-sleeve great quality shirt this time. They give out cheaper entries at Kaiser Women's festival race in June. So, look out for them post-race.

In the race, they have one aid station at around mile 2.2. The course has a few turns and it is mostly in the residential area which is quite shaded. The race is not too crowded and they have a lot of porter potties for the runners at start line. I did a 2-mile warm-up before the race start which helped me run faster in the race, especially since I had been sore due to my boot camp classes that week. Good advise by my runner husband: It is always good to start in the front pack at the start line for small 5K races.

This race also has a free kids fun run before the 5K women's race. It is really fun and would do that again!

Western States 100 miles - June 23-24 2015 - PR of 2 hours and 20 mins

26:21 hours was the new PR. It was a tough race yet again but he improved his time from 28:43 from 2014 - an improvement of 2 hours and 20 minutes! Like always, I dropped Shavi at Tahoe the night before the race. He stayed in the hotel and was ready dark and early. The first picture of him at Escarpment (around mile 3 which is tough uphill) was sent by a friend.

Sandeep and his family came on the day to stay with us. Sandeep and Rahul helped me with crewing Shavi. We first went to Duncan Canyon's at mile 24.4. The parking was not too bad even though it was quite limited. It was surely dusty out there. We saw him at around 10.25am. Carrying his favorite wooden chair and bags filled with his stuff, we walked closer to the aid station and waited for him. Shavi cleaned his feet as it was getting quite warm there. After Shavi left, I ran after him to give him his sunglasses and while running down the hill there, I tripped and fell. Ugh. Thankfully Sandeep was there who took the sunglasses from me and ran after him to deliver it to him and he succeeded!

Picture at Robinson Flat (mile 30.3) sent by Keith who was out there crewing him before pacing him.

After Duncan, we had some time to kill as we reached the next aid station Dusty Corners (mile 38) pretty quick..I took a short nap in the car. Benefit of not driving by myself but it worked out better that way as I had not slept much last night and the next night was also going to be sleepless. The parking at Dusty was a bit farther. We had to walk a little bit but not too bad. We saw Shavi there. He looked good.

Next, I went to Michigan Bluff while Anu and Charles brought Waaris over to Foresthill where I also joined after seeing him at Michigan Bluff. Waaris was quite little and it was hard to manage his nap times on the way but we both survived. Michigan Bluff is little bit of a strenous walk as parking is limited. Carrying a 2-year old with his chair and bag to the shuttle from parking would not have been an easy thing. So, I had gone by myself. Sandeep and family also came at Foresthill aid station. It was like a party!

Keith and Kuni were pacing him this time. Kuni picked him up at Foresthill when we saw him around 8-9pm.

Next, since I knew that Waaris was being taken care of by Charles and Anu, I decided to go to Green Gate aid station which was quite a walk but I had Dasie (Kuni's wife) with me. The drive to Green Gate wasnt easy either and neither was the parking situation but Dasie was an expert. Keith was also with us as it was the time to pick Kuni and drop Keith. Shavi was surprised to see me as I was not planning to go to Green Gate. Cell signal is limited at Green Gate and it was pitch dark. Headlamps were needed there along with mosquito repellant. Alicia (Keith's wife) tried to go at all aid stations that she could. Kuni, Dasie and I came back from there after picking Kuni and dropping Keith. Next I came home and then went home to pick Waaris, Anu and Charles for the finish line. We ran him in at the Finish line tracks at Auburn High School.

What a great journey! Sleepless nights to commitment to endurance - this race tests the runners and his family for this all and more. Well Done, Shavi on your 2nd WS.

Kaiser Women's 5K - June 7, 2015 - PR with 27 mins 46 secs

I did my customary race Women's Fitness Festival again this year. Last time I did, I was 6 months pregnant in 2013. This time was great, especially not knowing that I PR'ed by 9 seconds. I completed the race in 27 mins 46 seconds. This is a women's only race in Downtown, starting and ending at the Capitol.

It is recommended to stand in the front at the start line, unlike what I did. I thought standing at the back would be better but with so many runners and walkers, it got very tough to cross them and run at my regular pace for the initial 0.5 miles at least. The aid stations are at a good distance, course is nice but has lot of turns. There are some shaded areas and some sunny ones. I recommend wearing a running hat. This is a fun race and I will do it again, especially for the post-race party!!

Western State training runs - labor day weekend special!

These training runs are done every day for 3 days on the labor day weekend. They have to be registered beforehand as they fill out pretty fast. It is 30miles on the first day and 20miles on the second and 20 miles on the third day. Shavi and other runners who are training for 100-mile runs generally like doing 50 miles for on the first day and 20 miles on the second day.

Shavi did much better on these training runs than last year. On his first day, when he was doing 50-miles, he was caught in bad thunderstorm and lightning but was glad to be safe out there in the canyons. These training runs are done on the Western States 100 trail and information on these races is provided on the Western States homepage (http://wser100.org). The shuttles and transportation for these training runs is covered in the registration fee.

Silver State 50K - May 16, 2015

Shavi decided to do the Silver State 50K at the last minute. This race is in Reno, Nevada. Shavi drove there early morning and got back late at night. It is another hard race with half marathon and 50mi race distances as well. Shavi liked the aid stations and the course. He finished in 7 hours and 11 minutes. He recommends this race.

Gold Rush 50K - May 9, 2015

Gold Rush 50K reduced their distance to 50K only this year from 100K. Their 100Ks have been brutal in the past two years with very less people finishing. Guess, that is why they decided to do 50Ks only. They had shuttles starting from Karen's bakery in Folsom to the start line which is more than an hour's drive. The race started 30 mins late and there was only one porta potty at the start line (weird). Thankfully, their aid stations were ok.
For the post-run party, they gave away coupon for free food at Fat Rabbit, Folsom who took forever to get the food to the runners. Took them to get Shavi's simple order of a burger almost 2 hours and it was not even worth the wait at all!

Fair Oaks Sun Run - May 3, 2015

It was a fun 5mi run for me in Fair oaks. This race goes through residential areas and then on the American River trails. It has a few hills - they could be brutal for some. For me, they were ok. This race is held every year during the local Fair oaks Chicken Festival. They have a fun kids run in the beginning of the race. We plan to take our little one for this free 1/2 race next year. The after-race party was great as well and we enjoyed meeting people. I finished the race in 50mins and 13 seconds. Highly recommended.

Canyons Endurance run 100k - May 2, 2015

Then came running in the tough canyons. Shavi did Canyons Endurance Run 100K (the longest he went in his training for his 100-mile race in June end). Shavi completed the 100 kms in 16 hours and 40 minutes. It was brutal but he did it. This was the first year of this race and the race directors did a great job with aid stations and marking the course. Shavi got back home really late but it was totally worth his training. Highly recommended if you are training for a tough race ahead or if you want to torture yourself!:)

Also, this year, they introduced live webcast with which we could track the runners. It made it a little easier for me to track Shavi but later on once he was done, we realized that it was not accurate, especially closer to the finish. Infact, it was quite off. It could be inconvenient for some runners since the tracking device is a big watch tied to a strap which the runners wear on their wrist. Shavi mentioned that it was not bothering him much except when he would think about it:)

Miners Revenge 26.2 - April 25, 2015

Next weekend of running 50 miles, Shavi ran 26.2 miles. Miners Revenge is a tough course - not an easy one but he did great. The race director did great on marking the trails and on the aid stations. This is a race in Cool, CA which Shavi recomemnds.

Moklumme 50 miles - April 18, 2015

Couple of weeks after running 50 miles, Shavi did another 50-miles at Moklumme for the second time. Shavi had enjoyed the race last year. It is a bit of drive to get there (around 1.5 hours) but the course is great (and tough) and the aid stations are ok. The race started a bit late as the race director got there late!! They have a half marathon and 50K race as well and the course for both do not seem to be easy.

AR 50 - April 4, 2015

Shavi ran AR50 yet again. Perfect time for running 50 miles when you are training for a 100-mile race. The aid stations were good as always but the only issue was the start. Runners had to get into a state park for the start line which was to close one hour before the race start. Basically, runners had to get inside by 5am which was a torture. What do you really do for that long? Sleep in the car maybe! I only went to see him at mile 26 (Beals point). Lot of people out there at Beals point. Parking is easy and getting inside the state park costs $12 unless you have a poppy pass. Then I went to the finish line. Shavi had to drive to San Francisco aiport to pick a friend after being up since 3.30am and running 50 miles in the hot weather. He did good on the run and finished in 9 hours and 27 mins.

Way Too Cool 50K

Shavi did another 50K on March 7, 2015, within couple of weeks of his first 50K this year. Is that insane or what! Way Too Cool 50K is a pretty popular race and Shavi has been doing it since the past few years.

It was a hot day and Shavi wanted to do this race as another training run for his 100-miler in June. He had a good time and so did we at the finish line, enjoying the post-race festivities. He completed the race in 5 hours 41 minutes.

FOURmidable 50K - Here begins the ultra season!!

Shavi's first ultra race this season on Feb 21, 2015. This 50K race was to start at 6.30am but apparently it was delayed by 30 mins since the race director did not reach the start line on time!!! The aid stations were not impressive and had only packaged food. The course was harder and more challenging than Way Too Cool 50K. The race started and finished from Cool Fire Station, CA. Quite few people rav this race since it is not too popular.

The race has a half marathon and 100K distance as well.

Western States 100-miles - June 27-28, 2015 - coming up yet again!

Shavi is in yet again - WS 100 - the 100-mile trail race which is so hard to get in. Second consecutive year for Shavi to be running this race and his third 100-miler. We learned about this in Dec 2014 and he has started training for it on his own now in mid-Jan. Wishing him safe training runs and a great race ahead!

CIM - my first marathon - sub-5 hours

I swear I could not have run this without Shavi pacing me. Shavi who was himself injured due to a severe bad spasm couple of weeks ago decided to still pace me with the injury. It was tough on him but with my bad IT band and shin injuries, he knew I might not be able to complete the marathon in my goal time of sub-5 hours. I cannot be thankful enough to him for making me achieve my goal. I completed the race in 4 hours 57 mins. I was hurting bad during the race but after finishing, I was fine. Shavi had a hard time after the race because of his injury. Took him a few days to recover.

California International Marathon - CIM (runcim.org) is one of the very famous races in the US with a great course. So many local people are out on the streets in that cold morning to cheer the runners. The weather was good this time. It was not chilling cold or even cold, I should say. Little bit of sun and some clouds made it great. A bit colder and more clouds would have made it perfect for me :) There are around 8000 + runners running this race every year in December. This includes the relay runners also. It is an epic race and a fun family event in Sacramento.

I had trained for this race with Fleet Feet Fair Oaks where Shavi was coaching. Training is the hard part. I did several boot camp classes to build my core, way too early in the morning before the baby would wake up. It sure was not easy with non-flexible working hours and a baby. During the running training, I did a 21-mile training run after which I got injured. I had an IT band injury which restricted my movement. I was already having right shin issues for which I had been wearing the shin cap and running. The IT band injury starts from the side hip and goes down to the knee. It feels like the knee is also hurting but it is the IT band. Running uphill seems easier than downhill with the pain. I did everything that coach Shavi recommended after I got injured to recover - lot of foam rolling and stretching, less running and slow running, raising the feet, having ibuprofen to reduce inflammation, standing in chilled water of the pool for 20 mins, painful sports massages. It would feel better at times and worse most of the times. I thought I would never be able to run the marathon. From one of the running coaches, came another advise which helped me. I tried this before hand to make sure it will work on race day - 1 Slow release Tylenol + 2 advil - helped with the pain. I could not do my 2 more long training runs with the Fleet Feet group, making me more skeptical of doing the marathon. But as Shavi said - it is all in the brain. If I have done one long training run, means I know what to expect and so I should be fine and I was :)

During the race, there was no question of backing out even when it was hurting bad - the only question was if I will do it sub-5 hours. I will repeat my words - I swear I could not have done the sub-5 finish without Shavi. Thanks Honey! Last but not the least - thanks to my parents and in-laws for watching the baby when both of us were doing our training runs and the race.

Race for Arts 5K - PR for me: 27 mins 50 secs and for Shavi: 22 mins 55 secs

Race for Arts 5K on Aug 23, 2014 in William Land Park, Sacramento - Great race, well organized and very family friendly. We loved it and plan to do this race in Sacramento every year.

This was Shavi's first 5K. So, no matter what he PR'ed by completing it in 22 mins and 55 secs. He had not trained for it. Hope he can do close to 20 mins some day soon!! I am happy with my PR of 27 mins 50 secs. Even though running experts keep saying that the first mile should be slow and then keep increasing gradually, I somehow cannot do that - my strategy is different. My first two miles are faster than the third one because I am so energetic in the first few miles and then I sprint for the last few minutes on the 3rd mile. But thanks to Shavi for helping me train for fast running. Coming down to 27 mins 50 secs from 30 mins 30 secs after having the baby is great for me!