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.