Our Bollywood Dance at TeamAsha Final Party Hit or Miss? Polls say, it was a HIT..What do you think?

After finishing my first marathon at Chicago on Oct-12th, took a week to recover. Suddenly, having lot of time for myself as there were no training sessions to attend. My legs were itching to do more action and thats when I saw mail from team asha co-ord Gargi calling for dancers to participate in bollywood dance for final teamasha party. I never danced on stage in my life ever. Gargi mentioned that we don't need prior dance experience. So, I jumped in without much doubts with rest of 9 other 08 runners. First practice started with full enthu at Gargi's house last Sunday under the guidance of Sonie & Anand. All of us aggreed that we needed lot of practice in the following week to put up a good show in a week. We met almost every day following that Sunday at Sahana's place, Reena's apartment studio, Mousumi's house to bring our dance to a viewable state by our audience. One day, all of us felt like doing a half marathon as practice went for more than 3 hours. Check out the following videos to see our practice sessions in action.

Cast:
Gals: Mousumi, Sahana, Bhanu, Sandhya, Neelima, Reena and Gargi
Guys: Rajesh, Navneeth, Roopesh, Vikas (had to drop out), Anup, Raju
Choreographers: Sonie & Anand
Songs: Jee Karda from Singh is King & Bachna Ae Hasseno

Practice at Sahana's place after finalizing all the steps for Bachna Ae Hasseno


Final Practice Dance Few hours before the party at Mousumi's Residence - Some of the dancers couldn't make it to the session as we had half-marathon like practice night before



I was not able to get the video of the final show. Anyways, that was all for the audience. From the initial poll at the party, got a good feedback that it went well. We, the dancers had a blast participating in it. Special thanks to Sonie & Anand to push us to our limits (like our coaches :-)) to get a best show out of us. I guess, it paid off.. What do you think about it? Drop your comments


Here are couple of videos from the dance party.. sorry they came bit dark. enjoy by increasing your screen brightness :-(





Some Photo Albums featuring pics from the party
Team Asha Fotki Album

TEAM ASHA REALLY ROCKS not only AT THE TRACKS, RACES but also ON THE DANCE FLOOR!!!

This is the closure of the '08 activities and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Team Asha..

My First Marathon Race Journey is Awesome! Thanks to all my supporters!!

Race Date: 2008-10-12
Race Name: Chicago Marathon
Race Distance: 26.2 miles
Finish Time (hh:mm:ss): 05:48:27 (Fast mile is 1st mile @11:01, Slowest mile is 24th massage mile @16:11, Average pace: 13:17)

Here is the account of my first marathon training, preparations for the race, feelings I have gone through before, during and after Chicago Marathon. through this race report. If you are a person who likes to watch than read, go to my video version of the race report.

Photo Slideshow of the Chicago race

My First Marathon By the numbers
5 months of training
81 running sessions including 2 half marathon races, 18 Long runs, 19 Track workouts
8 pounds of weight-loss, 2 inches trimmed from waist
25 Gallons of gatorade drinking, 70 gu gel packets consumption, loads of pasta eating
427 miles of pure running, making 2 pairs of shoes worn out
170+ friends, colleagues, well-wishers were contacted to create awareness of Asha\'s mission
9 thousand+ dollars funds raised from 80+ donors, 6 companies matched funds
4 nights, 5 days away from family to run the actual marathon in Chicago
1.5 million spectators/cheering crowd watching the Chicago race
33,000 finishers out of 45,000+ registered runners and one of the proud finisher
200+ member TeamAsha 08 family including 4 coaches, 20 mentors, 10+ co-ords
ONE Final Full Marathon Race at Chicago Marathon 08 that is 26.2 miles in 5:48
SINGLE Mission of running a marathon by creating awareness & raising funds to under-priviledged kids in india
Getting into the TeamAsha Program
Just about six months back, met my old friend & boston marathon finisher Raghavan who put a seed in my mind to run for a marathon by taking TeamAsha training. I checked out Team Asha website, their training program and their mission. I liked their concept of Train-Run-Educate and immediately registered for the program just by trusting my friend\'s words & team asha without completely visualizing what is involved in it. Now, I have signed up for the program, I have no choice but to follow the program to the dot.
Training for the marathon race
Joined the Team Asha program 3 weeks after they launched this year\'s program. Talked to mentors Krishna, Deepu & Simmy and they all mentioned that I have enough time to cover this up. I used to attend all the weekday (mon, thurs) short runs, track work outs on tuesdays and long runs on Saturday mornings. Doing the warm up runs, stretching, run and stretches after the run, ice-baths after long runs became a routine for the last four months. I enjoyed all the long runs and constantly amazed by the dedication of our coordinators to give selfless support to runners. They picked nice trails like Sawyer camp trail, Crissey field trail, Las gatos creek trail, Helleyer Park, Shoreline Park, Oracle Trails for our long runs and made food/water arrangements through out the course. I have started to realize that running is lot of fun. Most of us ran SF Half marathon 2 months into the training and it gave experience on what to expect in prep for race & race day experience. Confidence started building up as I ran 16 miles, 18 miles, 19 miles, 21 miles (max during the training) and mentally prepared me to go for the race. Thanks to coaches & mentors for their 1-1 advise & tips during the training and I was happy to complete the training without any injuries. Was just hoping to finish the marathon run strongly without any injuries.

During this training, I ran with Shoreline group, Baylands Morning Group and Rancho Early Morning Group. Had fun running under moonlit, starry nights. I made some good friends, found entertaining running buddies in the process and get to know more about Asha & Team Asha.
Five months passed just like that and October has finally arrived.
Tapering Days
Our tapering days started. Last two weeks are supposed to be tapering weeks. Especially, last week was real slow week. Excitement was building up to run the race and at the same time we were not running much. Mind & body are behaving bit weird and checked with Coaches. They said that it happens that way, just take it easy and enjoy the taper. I had been religiously drinking liters of water/gatorade, eating carbs where possible.
Days before the race
Counting the days to go to Chicago, Excitement is building up, Reading all sorts of articles on marathon prep etc, Doing my final days of fund raising thinking that it is hard to get funds after the race completion. Along with Vivek, Chinmaya and Laxman, went to Chicago in AA flight Friday before the race. My cousin Udai came to the airport to pick me up. Plan is to join the Team for carbo load dinner and stay in hotel with them Satuday night. Saturday was a jam pack day. Morning, visited my friend in Chicago suburbs and went to Aurora temple to get blesssings from Lord Venkateswara for a great race.
Cousin drove me to the Marathon Expo happening at McCarmick center in Chicago downtown for race packet pick up. It was such a huge event and hundreds of people flooding the booths etc. Got my bib, checked the timing chip is working, get some goodies from booths, took some pictures and left the place to go to hotel. Reached hotel just in time for Carbo load and told my cousin to show up without fail for cheering me at the race. Met the whole team for the first time there and everybody is in good moods. We went to D\'s Little Italy restaurant by Yellow school bus. While waiting for the food, coaches Char & Raman gave some final words of wisdom for tomorrow\'s race. We have been watching the Chicago raceday temperature for almost 10 days and it has been continuously raising from 68-80+. As coaches mentioned, I am just counting on the training I had gone through and I am in full spirits & high confidence that I would do good. After the pasta load, we came back to hotel, arranged the stuff for tomorrow\'s race. Hit the beds early after having chit-chat with my roomie Ganesh.
Pre-race
Got up at 4am, get ready quickly and joined the team for breakfast at the downstairs. After hearing about other runners experiences about the cramps during the long races, I had decided to carry some salt tablets with me. Balu was kind enough to offer me few. I didn’t know at that time that I will be using during the race. Bus promptly started at 5:30 from the hotel and driver dropped us closer the Charity Village (place where all the charities set up their tents and it has exclusive access to the runners running for these charities). It is amazing to see how many charities, runners running for a cause. Asha Chicago chapter setup a nice tent with all the amenities for the runners. We could drop of our sweat bags in the tent itself.
All of us did a warm up run, stretching routine, multiple photo sessions. Coach Raman was keep on saying adjust your pace at the start as temperatures were going to raise during the day. I decided to listen to his advice as I always did during the training.


We started walking towards the start line.. You should see the crowds.. Thousands & thousands everywhere.. My excitement is building up.. As wisemen once said, if you had make it to the start line, you will finish it. Now, I made it this far.. I should finish this off. I have been thinking positively and not giving a chance to bring any negative thoughts. National anthem was played before the run.. Along with Praveen, Swamy, Durgesh and Ganesh, stood bit closer to the start line even though we know we can’t run at the pace mentioned over there.

During the race
Exactly at 8am, race started. By the time, we reached the start line, it was 13 minutes late. Praveen told me that he will run with me for some time and follow my run-walk strategy.
Even though, I try to slow down in the first mile, crowd kind of pushed me to run at 11 minute pace. We moved to the right lanes (like traffic) to slow down a bit. Next 5-6 miles, I ran with Praveen and we got lot of good comments on our Asha T-shirt. Cheering crowd was simply superb and I was confidant that crowd will make me finish the race. This is one of the reasons, I picked Chicago Marathon as my target race.
Running very strong just under 12 minute pace. Crossed the half marathon mark at 2:36 (9 minutes faster than SFM) and feeling happy about it. I am trying to talk to the fellow runners on the way, giving high-5\'s to the spectators, reading the nice banners they put up. Whenever I see, \'run daddy run\', it was reminding me about my kids and giving me more energy to run.

I have seen people stretching on the way and I thought of following them. That was a mistake. I never stretched in the middle of my training runs. My muscles started pulling a bit and decided not to continue. Moved forward. After running a mile or so, around 16th mile, I started noticing mild cramps in my quads. During the last 5 months of training, I didn’t experience any cramps myself other than listening about them. I feel like talking to somebody I know at that time. I didn’t want to mess up my first/last(?) marathon. Still 10 more miles to go and I don’t want to push myself with that pain. Before cramps get worse, I used my weapon in store \'salt tablet\' (thanks a ton Balu for sharing them in the morning, it saved my race) and praying that they will go away. Walah.. Pain disappeard in 5-10 minutes. Started running strong for the 3 miles or so. I had only 2 left and thought of using them wisely for the next couple of hours. I started feeling the mild cramps again and decided to take another salt-tablet. I started experiencing some shoulder aches and as Coach Tony said, adjusted my posture to take deep breaths. At that time, my cousin called me and told me that he is waiting for me at Mile 23. That gave me some strength & hope to have a shoulder massage from him there.
Temperatures were raising and Event Alert System changed the color from Yellow to Red (means potentially dangerous, slowdown and just listen to your body). I am trying to recollect all the great time I had during the training, the impact I am making by doing this marathon to kids in india, all the support I got from my frineds, donors, personal satisfaction, becoming a role model to my kids etc and kept running.
Arrangements through out the course were great and they over prepared compared to last year. I heard that they (chicago) don’t want any hiccups in the arrangements as they are bidding for Olympics in 2016. What ever is the reason, we are enjoying all of it. Stopping at every water/gatorade stop and pouring water on my head & body. After certain point, we were getting ice cubes as well. I put some of them under my cap to get some extra cooling effect. Loud music was playing at the water stops, there were some live stage shows through out the course. Whole race covered 27 neighborhoods in Chicago and even some of the long time resident friends didn’t see some areas. Lion dance was being performed near china town. I have been trying to capture these moments in my tiny video cam.
Finally, reached the 23 mile mark and so happy to see my cousin Udai, his wife Meena waiting for me with bottles of water. First thing I asked him is to give me a quick massage to my shoulder muscles. That gave a huge relief. He ran with me for quarter mile or so and I told him to wait for me at the finish line.

I am almost there. Final three miles to go. Good that buildings were blocking the sun a bit and I could run under the shade where possible. I saw Gurpreeth at 25th mile mark and he ran for half a mile or so with me. It gave positive boost to my final mile.
Final yards.. This is it.. I am finishing my first marathon.. Strong.. Feel like having my olympic/climb-everest moment.. Crowd was cheering.. Goose-bums are coming up.. Crossed the finish line with a big smile on my face.. Wow.. What a joy.. It is something that money can\'t buy.. need to be earned..
I AM A PROUD, HAPPY, STRONG FIRST TIME MARATHON FINSHER!
Post race
Got some flowers from Meena congratulating. Happiness everywhere. Took my finisher picture at the booth, had a mist shower at the giant fan blowing water. Met my cousin & his wife after walking another quarter mile or so. Found out that we need to walk another half a mile or so to get to charity village. No choice but to walk.
Reached our Asha tent. Most of the runners finished by then. Had food at the tent (everything is tasty except gatorade), took pictures, gave/got hugs from my team mates, got a nice massage. Excited to see my old college friend who ran through Asha Chicago Chapter. Thanks a ton for Chicago Asha folks for the arrangements.

Final words
It was wonderful experience to get trained thought Team Asha to run my first ever marathon. This 5 month journey brought me some great friendships, realization of my own strengths, memorable moments, happiness in giving back a bit to community.
Thanks a ton for the coaches, mentors, co-ordinators, fellow teamasha-08 runners, my friends, my donors and my family to make my first marathon a success. Without your constant support, encouragement, advice this would not have been possible.

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Team Asha folks in action at Silicon Valley Marathon (Video & Pics)

Team Asha Silicon Valley Chapter had the finale marathon race at our home turf Silicon Valley. It happened on October 26th 2008 and all the team asha participants finished strong. Team asha took over two water stops to completely man them during the race. Lot of team asha volunteers including marathoners from Portland, Chicago races actively participated with wearing constumes, cheering the runners relentlessly. Check out this blog for some videos & photos slideshows.

Team Asha Volunteer Action at Water Stop1


More Water Stop1 action at Silicon valley Marathon - manned by Team Asha


Second Waterstop by Team Asha at SV marathon 08


Photo Albums from Team Asha folks
Team asha official picture site
Parag's Album
Rajeev Shankar Album
Kiron Album
Durgesh Album
Tanu's Album

Video Blog of my first Marathon Experience

I have captured some of the moments of my first full marathon at Chicago. You can watch all videos from starting to end or you can go directly to the particular videos by clicking on the links here: Team Asha Pumped up for the race, Coach Char talk, Coach Raman talk, Getting off the shuttle, Scene from charity village, warm up runs, go asha, group photo session, national anthem before the race, walking towards start line, 12th mile run, run on lakeshore drive, music through the course, lion dance, raju at 23rd mile, finish line, asha tent scene, raju after the run

Enjoy the video show..

All of us are pumped up for the race


Coach Char Delivered his words of wisdom before our carbo load dinner


Coach Raman Advise


Getting Off bus


Scene From Charity Village


Warmup run and stretching inside the charity village behind Asha Tent


Getting ready for group photo session in front of Chicago city line


Playing National Anthem before marathon start


Walking towards Start Line


Running through the 12th mile while crowd cheering the runners


Run on Lakeshore Drive (Praveen is running in front me)


Music and waterstops are through out the course


Lion Dance at China town area


Raju running towards Mile 23


Raju running through the finish line and making celebration move


Post race scene at Asha Tent

Raju after the race

All About Chicago Marathon Race 2008

Race Date: 12th Oct 2008 8am
Distance: 26.2 Miles
Website: chicagomarathon.com
Course Map: ClickHere
My Bib Number: 35446
Track me here: Click Here
Recorded TV Coverage: Click Here


Chicago Marathon Course Video


Here's some interesting stats for the marathon:
10) 45,000 participants in the race!
9) Awesome expo at McCormick Convention Center
8) Marathon start at 8AM.....even later than the long runs!
7) Historic Average High: 66 Fahrenheit / 18 Celsius; Average Low: 48
Fahrenheit / 8 Celsius
6) Chicago Marathon course offers a scenic tour of Chicago as it
weaves through culturally diverse neighborhoods, famous architecture,
historic landmarks and some of the best dining locations in the
world.....don't forget to carry the cash.
5) The 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon has a required maximum
net finish time of 6 hours and 30 minutes (h:mm:ss / 6:30:59).
4) Enormous cheerleaders and spectators.
3) Live coverage by NBC.......smile for the camera!
2) Chicago's hottest attractions, Architectural tour, Hancock
Observatory, Sear's Tower, Planetarium and Museums.
1) 109 ASHA runners from all over the country......

Things to Consider for Chicago Marathon Event

* Pay attention to the most up-to-date weather forecast and dress for the appropriate weather conditions.
* Be prepared for warmer temperatures throughout the day and do not overdress. Keep in mind that you can always shed a layer as your body and the day warms up.
* Avoid heavy cotton fabrics that absorb and retain moisture; opt for lightweight technical fabrics that shed moisture and wick sweat away from the body.
* Wear sunglasses and waterproof sunscreen. With the amount of time you will be on the course, you want to protect your skin and eyes.
* Study the course and be aware of the locations of Aid Stations. Each Aid Station has water, Gatorade, toilets, medical facilities and access to runner drop-out vehicles
* Utilize both water and sports drinks (Gatorade) to stay hydrated and maintain sodium levels.
* Start out at a conservative pace, particularly in warmer weather which requires more of your body's resources to maintain normal function. Conserve your energy for the latter stages of the race.
* Listen to your body. If at any time during the race your body gives you signals to slow down or to stop, abide by them. Be aware of your heart rate, body temperature and hydration levels.
* Do not immediately stop moving when you cross the finish line. Rather, walk or slowly jog as you move through the finish area. This will allow your muscles to relax and your body to acclimate. It is not uncommon for runners to collapse beyond the finish line due to the sudden change in activity.
* For participants who require such assistance after the race, the Main Medical facility is located just beyond the finish line, as is an Ice Tent and Podiatry Tent.
* Hydration: Drink enough fluids to maintain your baseline body weight, but be aware of over-hydration. If you begin to gain weight above your baseline body weight, you are drinking too much water and depleting your sodium level. (A condition known as "Hyponatremia" can occur when there is a lower than normal concentration of sodium in the blood. Sodium is a critical electrolyte that aids nerve and muscle function, and helps to maintain blood pressure.)

TeamAsha Rocks! It made me run my longest training run (21 miler)!!

I am so glad that I joined Team Asha. I ran 21 (that is two & one.. twenty one) miles and finished the last mile very strong (2.5 minutes less than my avg pace). It is like dream coming true and just one step away from running the full marathon. Thanks to Run/Walk strategy that I started just recently. For the people who haven't tried it yet, this is the best thing to try out. It is not going to reduce your timing by any means and in fact you can complete it very strong with less aches. Special thanks to Reshu for giving a nice brain wash on Run/Walk during one of those very early morning (5:30am) runs at Ranchos.

I can't believe how much I am excited and confidant to run my first ever marathon after last saturday's run. Team Asha simply rocks. I feel so happy to be surrounded by folks who wanted to do self-less service to make this program successful. Hats of to you all! Without your support, I would not have come this far in the training. I will keep the rest of my thoughts to my final race report. Keep up the good work and looking forward to more exciting runs.

Another note is that I have been running at Ranchos for my weekday runs at 5:30 wearing headlights. Running under moon (not sun) light & stars is so much fun & exciting. Today was one of the beautiful days to run at Ranchos. You should try it out. I never thought that running can be this much fun. Thanks coaches & mentors for your timely advice on my achies before they became any major injuries. I finally tried our coach Raman's "ginger hopper" at home and i think it worked on my early shin splints. It didnt taste that great though :-)

We celebrated our awesome co-ordinator Esther's birthday cake cutting video and count how many asha runners have been captured in it :-).



Running Stats: 21 Miles Distance in 4:23' with 12:31 mpm. Best Mile: 10:23(last mile), Worst Mile: 15:18 (6th mile hill mile)

Run/Walk seems like a best strategy to go for longer miles with good timing

After running with greater difficulty through last couple of miles during the last 19 miler, I reassessed my running plan for long runs. There is no point trying to run all the distance without walking at all. Couple of disadvantages with it: I am not able to finish is strong at the end and timing is also getting affected as I end up walking more minutes final few miles. I started talking about it with my mentor Reshu during my weekday at Rancho Park.

Tried it out during the Oracle Trail run for 12 miles and end up finishing strong. I am going to stick to it.

Crossed milestone of running for 4 hours continuously and finishing 19 miles

Today's long run is at Sawyer Camp trail again. We had to run 19 miles. Since I did run 18 miles week before, I didn't feel that it is going to be a problem. Initial few miles went fine as I had company of my runner mates. At mile 4 or so, while talking to fellow asha runner Angelina and figured out that she is running almost same pace as mine & training for Chicago marathon as well. We decided to run together the whole distance. First 13 miles were fine. After that heat was showing the effect on me and running was getting harder. Miles 17, 18 and 19, I end up walking 2 minutes or so. Feeling thirsty quite often and started seeing a bit tightness in my calf muscles every now and then. Some how, managed to complete 19 miles and would want to do better than this.

Talked to coach Char after the run and he mentioned that don't judge your training with this run. Course is hilly & weather was hot. On my way to home, I was remembering how I finished my 19 miles and felt so good.

I can't believe I did 19 miles of running now. This definitely gave another confidence boost towards marathon run. I had my ice-bath at home after the run and it gave me more relief.

Running Stats: 19 Miles Distance in 4:07':14'' with 13 mpm. Best Mile: 11:17(1st mile), Worst Mile: 16:01(18th mile)

My confidence to finish marathon got boosted after running my first 18 miler..

I crossed my personal best for longest run today 08/30/08 once again. This time it is 18 miles (2 miles more than my longest run). Run was in a rather flat course at Los Gatos Creek trail in Campbell. It goes via Vasona park. Weather was bit hot and had to hydrate myself at every water stop. Used up 3 power gels during my 3:45 run. After crossing 14 miles or so, my legs were not co operating to run. I realized that it may be due to loss of sugar and had my third power gel. It did the trick and I was able to finish the remaining miles strong. First 10 miles, I had company of Raj, Prakash & Mousumi. That made lot of difference as I haven't felt the time, tiredness during that time. Best part was the cold shower at the finish line after the run.

Overall, this run boosted my confidence level to finish my first ever full marathon strong.

Running Stats: 18 Miles Distance in 3:48':14'' with 12:40 mpm. Best Mile: 11:19(18thmile), Worst Mile: 15:54(10th mile)

Second Half Marathon Race on the way to my first Full Marathon and broke my earlier PR. Under 11min/mile for 13.1 miles..

Bunch of Asha runners decided to run Half marathon organized by Sankara Eye Foundation and I joined them. This race was held at local shoreline park, mountain view and named as iWalk 2008. Funds gathered during the race will go towards building more eye hospitals in India to achieve 20/20 Vision in India by year 2020. I am glad that I am running in a race that has such a noble cause.

This is my second official half marathon race event on my way to run my first marathon. I haven't prepared as much as I did for my SF half marathon. But, took basic precautions like eating carbs day before and had proper sleep night before. Race course was pretty flat and couple of hundred runners participated for half marathon. There were more folks in 5K/10k Walk/Run. I started the race strong by running my first mile around 10min/mile as I had company of Raghavan & Mandar. It was 2 minutes faster than my usual pace. Then, I decided to slow down and let rag & mandar run pass by me. Organizes arranged frequent water stops through out the course and it helped me not to use stuff from my fuel belt. We started at 8:25am, and weather was cloudy during first two hours which made us run comfortably. I was running most of the miles around 11 minutes and I was not believing myself. On my way back, I ran past Mandar and finished my run little under 11 min pace (10.59mpm). Just broke my PR for half marathon and new PR is 2:24. They gave nice medal for finishing the half marathon. Something to carry home happily. At the end of the race, Dosa place sponsored pongal, upma, idly & bisbela bath. Relished them while having chat with my fellow asha friends (krishna, deepu, chakri, sahana, ullas, arnav, mousumi, simmy). Came home around noon and had my ice bath to give some relief to my sore muscles.

Running stats: 13.1 miles in 2:24 with 10:59mpm pace.

Half marathon distance is kind of norm these days.. two weeks in a row >13.1 miles..Crossed 3hour mark..

Just two weeks back, I finished the half-marathon (13.1) miles at San Franciscon Marathon event and got a medal for finishing it up. Celebrated and talked about for few days. As usual, saturday came again and it was the long run again. We are advised to run 15 miles at Cambell park. Main difference this time is that there is no special diet, no special prep and no medal & no cheering crowd. It was like business as usual eventhough we ran more than half marathon distance. It took me few moments to get over that feeling and realizing that running >13.1 miles is going be a norm in the upcoming weeks.


Running Stats: 15 miles in 3:02 with best mile being 11:16 and avg is 12:13

Weekday runs also became longer now and we are running 5 miles on mondays, thursdays. I switched back to my shoreline team. Again another Saturday (08/16)..another long run. This time it is at TeamAsha's favorite trail, Sawyer Camp Trail at San mateo. We are supposed to run 16 miles this time. I was bit worried as I couldn't sleep my usual 7-8 hours before the long run days. Got up reluctantly and rushed to Lucky's to carpool with my shoreline running buddies. We had a awesome drive by Tanu in her beemer. She touched 105 at one point. We reached the trail safely just on time. Had our usual warm up run, stretches. This time, ran with Rajesh, Mousumi most of the trail. Atul joined us in between. It was LOT different & easier to run with someone. Finished strong 16 miles and enjoyed the trail as weather was pleasant.

Running Stats: 16 Miles in 3:25 with best mile being 11:14 and avg is 12:82.

Longest Run Ever and Beautiful course Ever - San Francisco Half Marathon

Longest Run Ever and Beautiful course Ever
Run Stats: 13.1 miles in 2:45':45''




I intent to capture some of the feelings I have gone through before, during and after San Francisco Half Marathon through this race report.

Before the race:
It is been more than 2 months since I joined Team Asha marathon training program. I see my progress from hardly running a mile to running 11 miles in Crissy field training run. I felt so confident to finish the half marathon (13.1 miles) when I ran my first double digit miles during the Crissy field training run two weeks before the sfm. All along, I was following coaches & mentors advise to the dot to avoid any injuries during the training. As usual, followed the coaches advice not to run long distances 1 week prior to the event. By saturday, I started feeling a bit rusted and wondering how I am going to fare at the actual race. Mentor madhavi mentioned that she had the same feeling during her first race and that gave a bit of relief.

Saturday before the race:
I asked Prakash to pick up my bib from SF on saturday. Missed the corbo lunch and got it replaced with my wife's delicious home made pasta for dinner. Night before, kept all my race gear at one place after putting the bib on my asha t-shirt. I asked my wife & kids to come to the finish line and they aggreed to come there when one of my friend Madhu offered accompanying her. Thanks Madhu! Checked with Praveen on where to park car for the family visiting me. I slept at 10ish after putting alarms on my cell phone(2:30), wrist watch(2:35), clock radio(2:40am).

Race Day:
Got up at 2:40 after my third alarm rang. Took a warm shower, had some breakfast and put on my marathon gear. Ready for the race. Rushed to the train station exactly at 3:45 and people were still arriving at the station. Got in the second bus. Co-ords arranged for banana & bagel in the bus. Reached SF around 5:15am. Happy to see the excitement among asha runners. Everybody is Looking Good! Luckily, whether was not that cold. After sweats check in at the startline, did some stretching along with Satish, Naren & Praveen. Praveen suggested us to go in the Wave 6 even though ours says Wave 8. We lined up at Wave 6 and happened to see most of Shoreline running buddies. Satish took lot of pictures for us during the wait. Finally, we started at 6:05 from the start line.

During the Race:
At the start line, Tanu and myself decided to run together as much as possible. First couple of miles was a breeze going thru Embarcadero, Pier 39. Feeling so strong (partly due to rest week). We hit the first hill at Fort Mason and I ran past it. Our Ranchos hill training really helped here. Running through Crissy field and approached the second hill near the Golden gate bridge. Ran this hill as well. Just after the hill, we were delighted to see Krishna, Deepu and couple of asha co-ords. They cheers made us run quicker on the golden gate bridge. Thanks guys for showing up so early in the morning. Finished 1 hour of running by this point and drank/ate my first gu gel. For a change, GG bridge was visible and it was looking so beautiful. Nice to see so many runners on the bridge not on the side-walk. We missed the mile 6 mark to mark time in my watch & went past that. Realized it after seeing the mile 7 mark. That's when, I felt the difference of running with somebody. Thanks to Tanu for sticking to me until this point and our paces were matching. Finished the 4 miles running to & fro on the bridge. This reminded me of my run on the bridge 9 years back during my bachelor days. We made a big deal for doing that then. Now, I am at the 9th mile mark. Krishna & Deepu joined us to run the last 4 miles with us. The biggest hill has hit us now and ran past it as we were indulged in talking with each other. Finished the 10 miles and 3 more to go. Tanu started feeling some pain in the calf and she slowed down. I went ahead and Mousumi & Krishna joined me during the numerous rolling hills phase. Successfully managed to run through them and entered the golden gate park. We were welcomed by loud music at 12th mile. Did my slow motion run for brief duration while enjoying the music. I started seeing runners walking back from the finish lines with their medal & shinny shawls on.

Finishing:
Final mile went very quick and finish line suddenly appeared in our vicinity. Krishna accompanied me in sprinting the last few yards towards the finish. That's it! I finished the half-marathon longer run of my life in 2:45:45.

I was eagerly looking for my family and then I heard my wife shouting my name. I turned towards them and my two kids located me & started chanting DADDY.. I was so happy to see them there. I got my medal & shawl. Both of my kids wanted one each. I requested the folks to give me one more medal and got an extra one.

Then, I met fellow asha runners and mentors. Had some pictures taken. Exchanged hi5's and shared the timings. I didn't go to the Asha tent and hit back home to attend a lunch party at Mountain House.

Without the traning, support from Coaches, Mentors, Co-ords, running buddies, I wouldn't have finished strong my longest run ever. Thanks a million to all of you to help me navigate through the half of journey towards Chicago marathon.

This fist ever endurance running race is etched in my memory and savor the experience for sometime.

Do's and Don'ts Before a race event

As I am getting ready for my first long running race event (SF Half Marathon), I thought of compiling Do's and Don'ts 1week, 1day before running a race. Hoping to follow most of it.

Do's:
* Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate. Drink at least 64 oz of water each day.
*Rest. Sleep well on Thursday night and Friday night. Since we have to wake up in the wee hours of Sunday and it's difficult to get good amount of sleep on Saturday night.
* Eat Well. Complex carbs are good. But Don't eat so much that you gain 20 or 30 Lbs in next 3 days.
* Remember to clip your toe nails 3 - 4 days before your race. (Nail polish is optional :-)

Don'ts:
* Don't do any running or cross training after Thursday. Even if you miss one of the weekday runs this week that's ok.
* Since most of the people are planning to go to Expo make sure you collect your race packet and come. Even though there are lot of stalls and they give free stuff don't spend too much time walking in the expo and visiting all stalls.
* If possible avoid stairs.
* If possible avoid Alcohol.
* Don't try any new stretches or strengthening exercises last week before the race.


Saturday before the race:
It's important to stay off your feet as much as possible on Saturday. Once you got your race packet make sure you arrange everything needed for race on Saturday evening before you go to bed.

* Make sure you put your bib to the coolmax shirt or your running shorts you will be wearing. After putting the bib wear the shirt or shorts/pants and make sure pins are not in the odd place and won't cause any chaffing.

* Put your time chip on your shoe. I usually tie it with my shoe laces.

* Fill your fuel belt bottles with electrolyte drink/water. make sure you have Gu or energy gel that you have been using in the long runs.

* What to wear: Wear layers. If you have old cotton T-shirt or sweat shirt wear it on top of your coolmax shirt. After a mile or so you can throw the cotton shirt. If you don't have or don't want to throw away your cotton shirt take a trash bag and make 3 holes (one in the middle and one on each side wear it as a layer.

* SF is going to be cool early in the morning. So bring gloves. You can get Cheap cotton gloves in walmart garden section. You can throw them after 2 or 3 miles.

* Take proper care to avoid chafing. Use body glide or Vaseline..... Especially Guys consider using nipguard. http://www.nipguards.com/info.asp


* Since we have to come back from SF on our own don't forget to get some cash. Take a small ziplock plastic bag and put cash in it (That way it bills won't get wet). If you have a pouch in your fuel belt you can put cash in it.

* Make sure you are getting car key only. You don't need to carry entire key bunch with you. Most of the running shorts have small pocket in side of the waist line. Otherwise you can tie the key to your shoe with the show lace.

* At the expo they will give you all items in a plastic bag with your bib no written on it. You can use that bag and take cloths to change after the race. For more details check
http://www.runsfm.com/events/1st-half-marathon.html#sweats and
http://www.runsfm.com/events/2nd-half-marathon.html#sweats

Race day morning
* Wake up early, have a warm shower and have a light breakfast. You will get some fruits on the bus so if it is too early to eat at home for you, have a fruit or two on the bus.
* It's very important to eat something 1 hr before the race. If you are used to eat bagel or banana before the long run bring them along. Since we start around 3:30 in the morning we can have our breakfast in bus.
* Stay with the group, it is more fun. You can warm up and stretch together before the start. Look for the Porta Johns (toilets) get in line early, these can get pretty crowded closer to the start. (HOT TIP: The earlier you go the cleaner they are!)

In the Race :
* It's very easy to get excited by looking at the crowd and mistake most of the runners do is try to run fast with the crowd. Make sure you maintain your comfort pace and run very slow in the first few miles. Make sure you slowdown or walk near the uphills. Downhills are more dangerous than uphills. If you run fast in the down hills you are more prone to knee injuries. So SLOWDOWN. The course is really beautiful. So Run slow and enjoy the views. Don't worry about the time.
* Don't miss a water stop / keep hydrating. Thank the volunteers - enjoy the supportive crowd, smile, cheer and HAVE FUN.

What to Carry
* Gels, fuel belt, light jacket, light cotton gloves (optional), ear muffs (optional), old sweatshirt or full sleeve t-shirt, track pants, extra t-shirt for after the run. You can drop your jacket, tracks and extra t-shirt at the drop bag at the start, you will collect this after you finish. You can wear the old sweatshirt/t-shirt during the run, once you warm up tie it around your waist (try not to throw it as it can get cold again during the run especially over the bridge.) If you dress in 2-3 light layers you can take them off / put them back on as needed. Cap/visor, sun glasses. Sun block (for the people running the second half)

After the race
* Write race report with your experience and it is very important part of running

FAQ about My marathon running, Fund raising and Asha for Education

Why run a marathon?

Everyone has their own reason to run. But everyone agrees that a marathon symbolizes and demands endurance, discipline, dedication, and the challenge of intense sustained activity that a human body is not used to. All of these are hard to pursue for an extended period of time unless (1) one thinks of it as a lifestyle and/or (2) there is a cause that is driving one to take it up. In my case, it is the second one. . I am running to raise awareness and financial support Asha's mission, educating under privileged kids in India.

What marathons are you running?
I am currently training for the San Francisco Half Marathon (august-3rd, 2008) and Chicago Full Marathon (October-12th, 2008)


What does the training involve?

The training with Team Asha is a well planned and structured program. With four very experienced coaches and many mentors, each runner gets good guidance to embark on the mission.
Training routine (~10 hrs/week) :
Weekday maintenance runs - 2 days a week (~3-5 miles + stretching + strengthening)
Track workout - to improve stamina, speed - Once a week (3-4 miles)
Weekend run - Once a week improving upon the previous week's mileage
Stretching and strengthening exercises are a part and parcel of every run. With 200+ runners and a great team of coaches & mentors, marathon training is nothing short of fun.

What does it take to run?
From the experience that I have had till now, all it takes to run is
[1] sheer dedication,
[2] will power and
[3] belief in the cause.

The reason why I say the above is because:
* The time invested in building one's strength, stamina and long-distance running capability is ~250 hrs.
* Of the need to resolve to stretch perceived physical limits
* Of the determination required to overcome pain & injury and stay focussed

All of the above are made possible because of the belief that every stride I take is going towards bringing hope (Asha) to a child's life.


What is the organization you are raising funds for?

* Asha for Education is dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged sections of society, by funding and supporting their fundamental educational needs.
* Charity Navigator, America's leading independent charity evaluator, ranked Asha as the No.1 charity organization operating on less than $2 million a year, with a total score of 69.82 (out of 70) in the field of International Relief and Development.
* India has a literacy rate of ~65% and ~72% of the population resides in rural areas. The access to primary education is minimal and heavily underfunded. Asha believes that Literacy and Education should be any child's birthright and targets its projects towards the underprivileged children and youth of India.

Why Asha?

Asha for Education is a secular organization dedicated to change in India by focusing on basic education in the belief that education is a critical requisite for socio-economic change. Till date, Asha has supported more than 385 different child education projects spanning 24 states in India. In terms of project funding, almost $4,000,000 has been disbursed to these projects since Asha's inception. In 2002 alone, Asha chapters raised and disbursed more than $1,000,000 to over 200 projects. To learn more about Asha For Education, Silicon Valley Chapter and the projects it undertakes, please visit their projects page



What is the state of basic education in India?

While India boasts of good institutions for advanced education like IIT, IIM, AIIMS, etc., the state of basic education in both sub-urban and rural areas beg for attention.
According to the PROBE survey,
* 63 per cent of the government schools have leaking roofs
* 27 per cent have no blackboards * 58 per cent have no drinking water
* 89 per cent have no functioning toilet
* 52 per cent have no playground
* Only 2 per cent had all the facilities while 8 per cent have none at all
The annual cost of sending a child to a government school is not more than Rs.2,500 (~$60) It has been found that one half to one third (56-70 million of a total of 170 million) of the children between the age group of 6-14 years drop out of school because of the economic situation in the family.


What are the specific projects my money is going towards?
All the funds raised will go to one of the projects undertaken by Silicon Valley Chapter of Asha.

How can I contribute?

You can contribute via cash/check/credit card.

1) For checks: Payable to "ASHA for Education" and in the memo field, put my name & runnerid: "Raju Vusirikala Runner ID: 2008TASV1246". Mail the checks to my home address: Raju Vusirikala, 459 Whisman Park Dr, Mountain View, CA 94043.
2) For Credit Card: Use the button "Donate" on my runnernet page.
3) Matching Contributions from your employer:
SalesforceSteps, IntuitSteps, OracleSteps
AMD, CISCO, Ebay, Synopsis, Yahoo, Adobe, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Sun, Wachovia

Contact me for exact steps to do to get a match from your employer other than the ones mentioned above.

Suggested Contribution: 25/50/100/Any
Please donate generously. All donations are 100% tax deductible (Tax Id 770 45 9884)

Crissey Field Training Run: Ran 11miles and getting ready for teens..

July 19th, Saturday - This is a special day for Asha runners. Coordinators were planning for a long run at SFO before SF half marathon event so that runners can get a feel of the course. It is worth doing it. Thanks to the coordinators and volunteers to make it a memorable run for all us. It was a cloudy day. Seven of us van-pooled in my nissan van and didn't feel the drive at all.

Drill was same. After short warm-up & stretching, we did run 11 (eleven) miles. At Fort Mason, we have to climb a small hill too. It was a good practice run for the SF-half. After the run, we had excellent vegie burgers from food team. At the end, we felt bit cold. This is a warning that we need to better prepare for colder SF marathon start.

Fund raising committee had a contest for a best runner net page. Winners are:
1. Vamsi gadey ($100 gift certificate from Sports Basement) - Excellent page. Deserves the prize.

2. Balaji Srinivasan ($75 gift certificate from Sports Basement) - 10 reasons to donate for him

3. Raghavan ramadoss ($50 gift certificate from Sports Basement)

My target marathons..Chicago Full and SF Half

After debating which target marathon to choose from the Asha's list (Portland, Chicago or SiliconValley), went ahead with Chicago. It is on Sunday October 12, 2008. Heard that for the first timers, it is going to be a great experience at Chicago with 45,000 runners and 1million+ spectators cheering us. I am very much looking forward to the same. I booked my tickets to Chicago and yet to book for my family.

Here is the chicago marathon site

As a training run, I registered into SF Half Marathon which is going to be on August 3rd, 2008. Heard that SF course is beautiful. Going on

SF Marathon office site: http://www.runsfm.com/
Half marathon video

Entered into double digit miles.. Ran 10 miles last saturday in 2 hours.

July 5th, 2008 will be marked in my books as one of the special days. I ran 10 miles (TEN MILES, double digits) continuously without much pain. I can't believe myself that I ran this much. It is giving me lot of confidence now to to half marathon in San Francisco coming up in August.

I carpooled with my fellow ASHA runner Tanu to Sawyer Camp Trail. Trail is amazingly beautiful and weather was perfect for long run. Had a bagel, orange before the run. Drank some water and gatorade at water stops.

Timing was better than expected. I finished TEN miles in little over 2 hours (2hr4'23') with an average of 12'24'' per mile. Here is the breakdown: 11.05, 12.26(), 11.37(), 12.07 (47.16), 12.52 (1.00), 14.15 (1.14), 12.16 (1.26). 13.42 (1.40), 13.04 (1.53), 10.56 (2.04).

I felt soooo good after the run. Two hours of running was not in my dreams before. Another step towards the marathon..

Little Rani Wants to Play -- Poem by fellow ASHA Runner

Little Rani wants to play
yet she sits, kneading sulphur clay

For as the sun glares down, on this dusty town
Fireworks from here, get shipped all around

And by Rani's hands tiny, are these fireworks made,
bought by the rich, at festival's trade.

Little Rani wants to play
yet she sits, kneading sulphur clay

what she needs, at all costs and no delay
Is an education, to make sure she doesnt fritter away

For great ideas and a world full of delights,
await Little Rani, if only she can read and write.

Little Rani wants to play
yet she sits, kneading sulphur clay

So here we jog, in the morning fog
clenching fists hoping they will defrost

and as Team Asha, we run, mile upon mile,
with indomitable spirit, at times cracking jokes purile

for when we hit that mark, at 26.2, in all that melee
we silently know, that one day will Little Rani play.

-- By Arjun.

Beautiful poem indeed and thought of putting here..

My longest run ever.. 9 miles without stop..

Last saturday (06/28/09), I beat my own record for running continuously. Earlier, I did 12k (7.5miles) in baytobreakers with much pain. Now, it is 9 miles without any stop. I feel so good and my confidence is building up to do the marathon. I finished this run in 1hr48'49'' with an average of 12.11mpm. Weather was cloudy and that helped me a bit. Huge improvement from the day I joined the training program.

Earlier in the month:
Ran 6 miles in 74min with an avg of 12.33mpm
Ran 7 miles in 94min with an avg of 13.43mpm


Looking forward to beat this next week as I run 10 miles...

Useful Links related to Marathon Training

Stretching Exercises Doc prepared by Asha

Strengthening Exercises Doc

Strengthening and Stretching

Running Drills 101 - To increase efficiency of the run, practice these drills. Covers high knee running, butt kickers, pull thoughts, bounding.

Injury Prevention Exercise Videos from Runnerworld

Injury Prevention Guides from SMI

Don't Stretch :-)

Abs Exercises

Marathon training link for Beginners: This page mentions the basics of running marathon like Motivation, Gear, Nutrition, Recovery, Hydration, Avoiding injuries etc.

Custom Tie your Running Shoes

Marathon By Jeff Galloway - First book bought for marathon training. Interesting read.

Articles Read & Useful for reference


Lose Fat - Gain Strength - A Few Diet and Exercise Tips for Distance Runners


Avoid Hitting the Wall

Stretching and Strengthening exercises gathered from Net

Calf muscle tightness and some solutions suggested in forum

Marathon preparation (week, day before, on the day of the race, post race)

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/aimee_mullins_on_running.html - She is so funny, cheerful and inspirational – if this 20 mins does not get people off their feet and exercising…nothing will.

Recipes for Marathon Prep..

Home Made Electrolyte Juice:
2 Oranges
4 Lemons
2 Tablespoons honey
Pinch of salt
2 Quarts of water
Experiment with a tiny amount of salt – it is always easier to add more later. If the blender is unable to make it completely “liquid”, you may want to use a strainer.

Ginger Hopper: This drink helps in reducing internal swelling and helps the healing process. Of course, you need a juicer to make it.
i.Take 5-6 carrots, 1 apple, and a ¾ inch piece of ginger root
ii. Juice the apple first, then the ginger, and finally the carrots
iii. Drink immediately after juicing to take advantage of the active nutrients.

Recovery from Shin Splits..

What is Shin Split?An injury to the lower leg that causes the muscle to detach from the bone. Running incorrectly or using the wrong type of shoes can result in a shin split.

Recover as per our Coach Raman:

1. Recovery:
a. RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.
i. Get off your feet and give your legs a break. Go for a swim instead.
ii. Ice the shins. Instead of applying a cold pack, try Friction Icing

1.Take a foam (coffee) cup and fill to the rim with water; Put it in the freezer
2. After freezing, take cup and peel a little of the foam from the top
3. Massage the shins by moving the ice surface across the shins from below the knee towards the foot
4. You will feel cold initially; then burning; then the area will go numb.
5. When it goes numb, lay down the cup, and GENTLY massage the shins in a downward motion (towards foot) with your thumbs
6. Once you get feeling back in your leg, repeat the process (a-e) one more time.
a. The icing reduces the swelling
b. The friction removes scar tissue
c. The massage improves blood circulation to speed up the healing process.

iii. Use a shin or calf support to provide support and compression to the lower leg, thus reducing strain on the muscles

iv. Elevate your legs as often as possible so that they are above your heart. (Added bonus: Gives you an excuse to tell your boss you are recovering from shin splints, when you have your feet on your deskJ)


b. Medication: Take anti-inflammatory pills (after consulting a physician) to reduce pain and swelling.

c. Stretching: Stretch the calf muscles to aid in recovery, and prevent recurrence

d. Ginger Hopper: This drink helps in reducing internal swelling and helps the healing process. Of course, you need a juicer to make it.
i.Take 5-6 carrots, 1 apple, and a ¾ inch piece of ginger root
ii. Juice the apple first, then the ginger, and finally the carrots
iii. Drink immediately after juicing to take advantage of the active nutrients.

Of course, you want to take a look at your shoes to ensure they are not worn out. Also, avoid running on hard surfaces and take it easy (no sprinting!)

Relevant Links:
http://www.footsmart.com/Shin-Splints-Shin-Splint-Treatment.aspx

My Weekday Running Group.. sunset runners..

It is fun to run with my running group led by great mentors Krishna & Deepu.

Regular members are Arnav, Tanu, Prakash, Sahana, Shikha, Ullas, Zainab, Rajesh

Occasional visitors are Mousumi, Mayank..

We start the warm run from Kite flying area at Shoreline Park in Mountain View, CA for 0.5 miles. Do some stretches after the warm up run and go for 2-3 mile run. After that, finish with stretching and strengthening exercises. We meet Mondays, Thursdays Evenings.

Stretching is helping a LOT and not getting much pains after the runs these days. New shoes with more wiggle room at the toes is helping a lot as well.

My Running Gear..

I was advised most of the mentors & coaches from ASHA to get proper running gear (mainly shoes, sox, running shorts, shirts). On 5/29, I made a trip to Sports Basement during the non busy hours and got my gait analysis done by the rep. He suggested couple of models. I went with New Balance M-858 shoe (bought two pairs of it), bought 3 pairs of running sox, short.

Yet to buy foam roller, gloves, running cap, runners watch, t-shirts..

First Long Run..

I have recommitted for the Marathon training program on May 24th, 2008 during my 1st saturday long run.

Run was at "Campbell Park (Los Gatos Creek Trail), Campbell, CA". People who are training for Chicago Marathon need to run 4 miles that day. With proper stretching, I was able to run most of it. Post run, there were stretches & strengthening exercises as well. I finished 4 miles under 1 hour.

I am slowly liking the stretch routines. I complained to the coaches about my foot pains and all of them gave great suggestion to alleviate the pain. Tried them out at home and it really worked.


Here are some of the tips:

- Ice after the long run under the foot
- Walk barefoot after runs to get foot massaged
- Throw a tovel on the ground and using the foot keep pulling in.
- After getting up from bed, squeeze the calf muscles and press the foot muscles etc.

Decision of Running Marathon & Asha..

My name is Raju Vusirikala. I have been thinking of running a marathon for years. Never had time and courage to do it. Attempted to do it 8 years back in 1999 and started with smaller runs like BayToBreakers, WharfToWharf etc. Completing those 10k, 12k runs was big deal. Running marathon seems like a dream.

Then, I met my old room-mate Raghavan who completed 5-6 marathons including the Boston Marathon. He inspired me and encouraged me to pursue my dream. Talked briefly about ASHA Organization & their involvement in educating the under privileged kids in India, how they successfully executed various project in that front. It immediately brought my childhood memories back where I saw how many children in India doesn't have basic privileges to learn read/write. We are fortunate enough to have that and I strongly feel like contributing to this noble ASHA cause.

Main source for ASHA projects come through the fund raising done by Marathon runners being trained by ASHA. I am up for this cause and ready to raise funds & finish my first marathon.

Thought of blogging my preparations, experience in training for this first marathon. I will be posting entries here regularly. Come back here to check them out.

Enrolled into the training program on May5th 2008 and first training run was on May 22nd, 2008 under the mentorship of the couple Krishna & Deepu.