Way Too Cool 50K for Shavi - Mar 5, 2016 - 6:26 hours

He finished in 6:26 hours. Not his personal best but he was not training for doing best either!

Fourmidable 50K for Shavi - Feb 20, 2016 - 7:13

Not his best but he got it done right after doing the other 50K with me couple weeks ago. His best for this race has been 6:56 in the past. This is a very tough course but a great race, per him. Organized by SingleTrack Running in Auburn, this is a great race.

American Canyons - 50K - Feb 6, 2016 - My first one!

Shavi and I did my first 50K ever. Finished in 7:48! I was just done with CIM in December, 2015 and thought adding 4-5 extra miles on the trails wont hurt me. I was looking for a low-key trail race and found this perfect one. I went to the trails 2-3 times with Shavi for training runs. Training runs being around 20-22 miles. Then Shavi got sick when I was to do my longest trails miles during training. So, I ended up doing 24 miles on my own around Lake Natoma on the trails.

Trails are beautiful and this race was greatly organized. Road racing is no where closer to trail running. Where it took me 4.28 in my last road marathon (26.2 miles), it took me 7:48 hours here in the mountains with the crazy uphills and downhills, given that it was only 4-5 miles more. I did have to take pain killers because of my IT band issue but again would not have been able to get through it without Shavi. Thankful for the multiple creeks on the way where I could dip my feet and feel better. So thankful that I was able to run this race and get a little taste of ultra running.

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!