Finished my prep race before the Half Marathon

Yesterday, I completed the Race to the End of Summer with a timing of 1 hr 16 mins. The day was beautiful with 75 degrees, a perfect day for a race. This was the 1st annual event and I hope that they conduct it every year.

It is less than a month away from my final event that I have been working towards - San Jose Rock n Roll Half Marathon. I am feeling confident of finishing the race in a good time and enjoying the bands along the course. I plan to complete my half marathon distance next weekend and continue aggressively with the training over the next 2 weeks and then take it easy a week before the event..I believe it will be right thing to do..But, we will see what Coach Chris has to say :)

Race to End Summer

Its time to for another prep run before my final event - The San Jose Rock n Roll Half Marathon. I have been training for the last couple of months and I am looking forward to this event.

The bands that will be playing along the course have been finalized. The event is exactly a month away. In preparation it, I am running my 2nd 10K race this summer. The race is called "The Race to End Summer" in San Jose, CA and I am looking forward to doing better than my time in the Jungle Run which is 1 hr 15 mins.

To My Readers - Support Me!

Back in May, I started training for the San Jose Rock n Roll Half Marathon as part of Team in Training - My Run to Save Lives. I have been with the training program for almost 2 months and it has been a unique and rewarding experience. As we are train, we always remember the cause we are supporting, which is to find a cure for cancer and support the millions of people who are impact by it by being there for them. 

I have several friends and family who have generously donated and are supporting me in this effort but I would like to call upon my readers to extend your support for this great cause and help me, my teammates and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society find a cure, support those who are struggling with these conditions, celebrate those who have survived cancer and inspire us on a daily basis to make a change in the world we live in.

Fuel Up before Training...A key to surviving long distance

I have been away from the blog for a couple of weeks. After the Jungle Run event, I was sore for a whole week. I guess walking/running 16.5 miles over that weekend was not a great idea. You can store that one under those "rookie mistakes" that people always talked about. I am glad I did not injure myself in the process. I need to be more careful in the future.

With that story behind me, I have started training long distances over the last 2 weeks. I have been keeping up with doing at least 16 miles over the entire week with completing double digit distances on the weekend. I got a couple of great tips from my coach which I thought will be very useful for walk-runners planning those long distances. Most of them are common sense tips but practicing them every time you go to cover long distances will help you go the full distance.

• Eat a healthy breakfast but something that is easily digestible. Do not train on empty stomach ! That would definitely be counted as another "rookie mistake"
• Drink 16 oz of water a couple of hours before you start training
• Avoid stuff that can make you dehydrated the night before the training (i.e. alcohol)

I have kept with these rules and they truly work. I am looking forward to start hill training this weekend at the Stanford Dish.

Hurray! I crossed the finish line

Gosh..It feels like I had been waiting for this moment all my life..I was a little emotional crossing that finish line which was a feeling unlike anything I have experienced in a long time...and all I can say is I wanna go out and do it again.

I was able to complete the race in 1hr:20mins:50sec at the pace of 13.01 mins/mile. I am so happy that I was able to finish under 90 mins (my original target). Now, that I have a personal best for a 10K race, I look forward to breaking that time with my next 10K race..I have to admit this walking/running business is addictive.

The day was perfect for the run..It was a little overcast, a slight cool breeze and the sun was trying hard to shine its way through. We started at 7:20 AM. Now, this course had a hill to climb right at the beginning, which was absolutely cruel..But, there were a couple of downhills which help balance that out. The course is absolutely gorgeous through Vasona Park. I had a rough start for the first 2 miles partly because I came into this race after having run 10 miles the previous day as part of my training for the marathon in October. So, my legs had not recovered fully. But, after we crossed the 3 mile mark, I was able to pick up pace and was able to run certain miles @ 9/10 mins per mile which helped me in the overall time.
Pacing, eating energy bars and keeping myself hydrated all helped in completing the race. The post race scene was awesome...Whole Foods had a large assortment of food. I tried 2 new products, Activate and Muscle Milk, both developed to help athletes recover post race.

This day is engraved in my memory forever and I will cherish it for the rest of my life. I do not have the official race photos yet. I will share them as soon as they become available. For now, here is a picture with a couple of my team members from Team in Training.

Excited about the Jungle Run

So..tomorrow is the Jungle Run on the Los Gatos Creek Trail in Los Gatos, CA. I am very excited about my first event. I had a great workout this morning. I did ~ 10 miles on the Los Alamitios Trail starting in Lake Almaden Park. I maintained a speed of 13.5 mins/mile which I was happy about.

My goal is to finish the 10K tomorrow within 1 hr. 30 mins, which is about 13 mins/mile. I hope my legs cooperate and I look forward to sharing my first event experience. Wish me Good Luck!

Good Gear is Key to Training

When we started training, we had a great shoe and gear clinic which was very informative for me. This was conducted by the owner of Running Revolution, a speciality running store based in Campbell, CA.
The video is split into 2 parts:

Happy 4th of July

I have been absent for a few days from my blog...Well, it was the 4 of July weekend and I have been training for the upcoming Jungle Run. I hope you all had a wonderful 4th.

Well, I did not want to be the person who came back to work on Tuesday and when asked what did you do the weekend, replied back "We just decided to stay local AGAIN!". So, we decided to take a trip to a local beach in Santa Cruz County. Well, when we left home, it was nice and sunny so we decided it will be perfect day to go down to the beach. By the time, we got there, the fog had rolled in and it was freezing close to the water. I have to admit that I had the moment of feeling like the tourist from out of town who comes to San Francisco thinking they are going to be a California Beach town and then freeze their @#*&* off.

But, that did not dampen our spirits. We still found a quiet little spot on the beach, played with my little one in the sand, tried to fly a kite (definitely need some lessons in that department) and tasted some local food, which was delicious. It was a wonderful 4th of July weekend.

On a different note, I also found time trained this weekend. I completed 8.8 miles on the Los Gatos Creek Trail @ 14.17 miles/minute. This was not as good as last Saturday's walk/run, could do better but hampered a little by shin pains. I am working on my stretches to reduce the pain.

Looking forward to the Jungle Run on July 11th.

My First Event – Jungle Run (10K)

After 4 weeks of training, I decided that I should try my first 10K (6.25 miles) event. I am excited about this event on July 11th. It will be great to experience an actual event, enjoy the beautiful neighborhood of Los Gatos, surrounding Santa Cruz mountains, Lake Vasona and everything else nature has to offer..Also, it will be a good prelude to the marathon in October.


It is really not about the competition...I just want to have some fun. They are still open for registration. You can still register @ Jungle Run. I believe the registration closes on July 4th. So, hurry!

RunKeeper for the iPhone is a Keeper

Since I started training, I have been searching for the right tools to make my training fun. I thought it would be helpful for share my views on some of these tools I have been using. Let us start with an iPhone App called RunKeeper.


There are so many things to love about this application, here are some of my favorties:

1. The application use the iPhone built in GPS to map your workout and the provides an comprehensive summary at the end of your workout. You can also upload your workout summary to your personal account on runkeeper.com, share with your friends.



2. The second reason I love this application is the ability to setup multiple types of training workout. One of the things that I needed was an interval timer because I was using the walk-run technique and I needed a tool to remind when to make the switch without having to look at a watch all the time. I also avoided having to spend $50+ on a wrist watch, when I could have the functionality for $9.99

Among other things:

* You can take pictures of your favorite places along your workout route and RunKeeper will tag them for you for that given location and you and your friends can see those pictures on your RunKeeper site in the map view.

* Post your progress to Facebook and Twitter for all the social networking diehards.

* Speaks your workout details (average pace, calories miles completed etc.) at preset intervals and if you are using interval timer, it will announce when the next internal starts and ends.

This tool is absolutely worth every penny your spend on it. I would definitely recommend getting the RunKeeper Pro version as it has all the features you can possibly need for your training workouts. You can find more information @ http://runkeeper.com/

You can purchase the iPhone version from the App Store and the Android version from the Android Marketplace or from the link below:

No Headphones...Seriously!

I had a great workout this weekend. I completed 7.2 miles in 1 hr and 36 mins @ 13.23 mins/mile. I always do a 15 min warm up followed by stretches before I get going on the long distance workout. I want to get down to a 11 min/mile..I hope to reach that by the end of the season.

But, that was not the purpose of the post. I have been wondering all weekend on my next blog post and could not think of a better way to begin the week. I think my wife would tell you that when I get into any activity I love to get all the accessories that I can get my hands on. I sometimes think that marketing people were created on the planet to sell products (need it or not) to people like me.

Anyway, when I decided to train, I went on bought myself the required gear - shoes, fuel belt etc. etc. But, the most important accessory was the iPod Shuffle. I went and bought the iPod Shuffle and special headphones to ensure that they do not fall off while running. I had to get iPod Shuffle even thought between me and my wife, we have a mini Apple Store. But, no the shuffle is the serious marathoner's "must have" accessory. I spent hours searching the internet for workout tracks, assembled the coolest playlist I could create with my music collection and was set to begin training. The first day I land up for the "fun run" and they tell us NO HEADPHONES...the first thought that crossed my mind was..WHAT! This can't be true! I am going to die! What is supposed to keep me motivated here? I need the music..PLEASE!

Well, it so turns out that they want us to stay connected with the team. Believe me, it is not that bad to train without music. Especially, when you are on a beautiful trail, you can hear the sounds of nature (No I prefer AC/DC..hehe). Bottom line, If you are planning to join Team in Training and you come to one of the training sessions, remember to leave those headphones behind. NOT on my playlist, but trust me, 'You will survive'!

Todd Monroe - Honoree

There are so many reasons why I joined the Team in Training that I have shared before but Todd's talk @ tracks last week reinforced the message. I think you should just listen to him to speak.

If this does not inspire you to make to be part of something that is changing the life of so many people, I do not know what will?

We are not always presented with a opportunity to make a difference in people's life and helping yourself in the process. I believe being part of Team in Training is one such opportunity. If you are considering running a marathon, there is no better way to do it than to be part of Team in Training.

6 mile workout

After completing a 4 mile workout last weekend, we attempted a 6 mile distance. This time I attempted to combine the walk-run technique instead of just walking. We were at the beautiful Coyote Creek Trail. I started the workout with a 15 min warm-up, followed by stretches. The coach recommended that we should never stretch cold muscles. I covered the distance in 1 hour 27 mins @ 14.09 miles/minute (not counting the 10 mins I spent stretching after the 15 min warm up).

I have to admit that at various intervals, my knees and shin did hurt..the worst was right around the 3.5 mile mark, but I was able to slow my pace down, listening to my body for cues and eventually the pain was gone. It was a hot sunny day, so had to keep myself hydrated. Do carry your fuel belt..There are a couple of water fountains on the trail but it is handy to keep a 16 oz water bottle if you are going on a 6-8 mile run/walk.

For people living in the San Jose area, this is a wonderful park. The trails are gorgeous with good combination of shade and sunshine. The trail itself 15 miles and I heard some say that it goes all the way to the base of Anderson Dam. Maybe, one of these days, I will make it all the way!

Next goal is to complete 8 miles this coming Saturday at the Guadalupe River Park Trail

Transition to Run-Walk

Everyone warns you about this and you that it is common sense to start your run slow especially because you are looking to run a whole 23.2 miles in a couple of months. But, I guess your competitive side wants to make sure that you keep your pace with everyone else.

Well, let us just say this...Listen to your coaches when they tell you to maintain a pace that you are comfortable with and its important to keep that pace if you want to go that whole distance without any serious injuries.

When I started track training, I was part of the run team and on the first day we ran a good couple of miles..Now, that was a lot for someone who had never run before. After track, I continued with my training but I soon realized that I need to ease into running a full marathon. I was looking to alternatives and my mentor at that time introduced with me Coach Chris who told me about the walk-run technique which combines the best of walking (based on a specific walking technique) along with run intervals which can be adjusted based on one's personal preference.

This was also my official transition form the South Bay Run Team to the South Bay Walk Team. I am happy that I had this alternative instead of pushing myself harder and harder and then deciding to quit thinking that this was not for me. I believe if I can do it, anyone can do it.

First Track Training

It was cloudy, raining and it was a very first track training. Just when I was pondering on my decision, I get an email from my Team Manager saying "RAIN OR SHINE, THE COACHES WILL BE THERE @ TRACKS".

First, you pull yourself together to go and compete in an endurance event and then it rains on the day of your first track training. DARN IT! Well, let us just say that I was glad that I made it there. There were more than a 100 team mates who had come to train and kept pushing each other along. Also, mother nature came out to support us with a perfect rainbow which was a nice added touch.

Here is a video from our first track training:

A Run to Save Lives!

Six months ago, someone asked me what I had done with my life that was my most remarkable achievement. I could think of a hundred things that I was proud of, and yet, they were all achievements that did not make a significant difference in the world we live in. Everyday we read and hear of the troubled lives of people around the world, and this year, I made a resolution to, as Mahatma Gandhi said, to "be the change you wish to see in the world".

I'd heard of Team and Training before, but not being a runner, I'd never considered myself to be able to compete in an endurance event. Still, while it will take determination and persistence for me to complete the events, it pales in comparison to the courage, and determination that Leukemia and Lymphoma patients have shown in their fight with cancer. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a national organization dedicated to curing blood related Cancers and improving the quality of life for patients and their families. Since Team in Training inception, 190,000 participants have raised over $430 million for the cure.

I am completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

GO TEAM !