The D-Day MAY 1, 2011 at Avenue of the GIANTS Marathon race

I was up in my room in Piercy, CA at Krishnalaya by 5 AM and had a shower I packed my running gear, fuel belt alongwith Gu, Gels and Candies  thanks to  my daughter Chai who had sent a survival pack just a few days prior by priority mail. She has had a Nike Marathon Race under her belt at an young age and knows what it takes to keep the runner fueled.

One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier Blog was that I had picked up a 'bug' in the last week leading to the race day. I had cold and congestion and I did not do my usual workouts in the gym nor any short runs. Nor did I want to administer any NSAIDS [Ibuprofin or Tylenol]  as I had read from Internet articles  that such remedies could cause major side effects to Heart in long races. As a result, I was worried that My VO2 volume [Oxygen intake] will be impaired in this ultimate run day and I may not hit my goal of finishing this race in about 4 Hr 45Mins.  Nevertheless, I had made up my mind that I will run the entire length of the 26.2 Miles no matter how  I felt, while also promising my loved ones that I will listen to my body and do appropriate corrections to my goals. Contradicting  positions I guess. Anyways, as you would soon find that I prevailed and finished the run without any injury except little bit of my pride for not coming in under Five hours.

                                        My Bib Number is 708

That said, we left Piercy at about 6 PM and headed North on Hwy 101 to the Humboldt Redwoods park.  40 Miles later we entered the Park and it took us over 40 minutes to reach the parking lots. It was indeed the long line of cars filled with hopefuls and the traffic control in the park. But we were comfortably ahead of the 9 AM Marathon Start time

Weather again was same as day before, bright and shiny, may be 60 Degrees at the race start time.

Inside the redwoods pointing to the trail named after the Marathon  race

The Avenue of the Giants  has been called by no less of an authority than RUNNERS WORLD MAGAZINE one of the most beautiful courses in the country. Marathon is a double out and back, as the course profile indicates; 

                             The OMRunner Group before the race at the start line

The Marathon starts just beyond the Dyerville Bridge on Bull Creek Road and proceeds 6.5 miles to the first turn around. The first mile is relatively flat, and within half a mile of the start, we will be running under a canopy of beautiful Redwoods. After the first mile, there are some sharp curves and fairly short hills. There is an open space and a sweeping curve at about the 4/9 mile mark. Then for the next mile or so, we enter arguably the most beautiful part of the course.   See the race profile below

The giant Redwoods close to the road look as though they were painted on a large canvass, the way they are perfectly arranged. At about five and a half miles, just beyond the Albee Creek Campground, we will enter an opening that continues to the first turn around. 

Redwoods painted on a canvass? No, its real

                                                          Giants vs Mini me

The temperature was still cool and part of the road is still shaded. The last mile plus is a gradual uphill with few curves.  

The second out and and back is mostly shaded, and has only one significant hill, as we travel through Weott at just beyond the 15 mile mark going out or the 23 mile mark coming back (2 and 11 for the half).

                                                                     Priceless Views throughout the Marathon course

                                                     Eel River cuts through the Redwoods,

                                                      Fellow OM Runners Meyappan and Narayan

 There is what appears to be a steep hill near the 14/25 mile mark, but it is mostly an optical illusion.  The area near Weott is open for about half a mile and the road is heavily cambered, 

                          Myself at about 18 Mile mark- Smile does not show my Crampy Pain 

One has to Run wisely, enjoy the natural beauty of the area, and I had  a great time as a runner!!  Feeling when I got My Medal at the finish line, it  was Ecstatic finish to a 5 month Journey

My fellow OMRunners finished pretty strong as you may see below

Full Marathon
Subra Kumaraswamy	3.51.00
Ranga Ranganathan	4.27.56
Mohan Sankaran	4.28.39
Arun Sharma	4.37.17
Krishnan Subramani	4.38.16
Sanjay Bombwal	4.42.57
Dharmanand Gattepalli	4.47.42
Ganesh Iyer	4.52.18
Alkesh Patel	4.52.33
Ram Appalaraju	4.54.30
Narayanan Venkatachalam	5.05.00
Meyyappan Ramanathan	5.07.13
Komath Damodaran	5.08.47
Santosh Mahabaleshwar	5.20.12
Bala Gampa	5.25.15
Sharada Sripadam	5.41.56
VP Shenoy	5.55.26
Sumeet Gagneja	5.56.54
S. Raghupathy	6.20.16
Halh Marathon
Arun Khanna	2.24.10
Sowdamini Damodaran	3.50.21

                           Do you know the way to SAN JOSE, CA?

One more thing: I was wearing my GARMIN GPS watch and it captured my whole 26.2 Miles run minute by minute and my heart rate, pace etc. Please check my Garmin link below and see the beauty of the Giants in the Humboldt Redwood Park and my running stats. 


http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83021695




Well,  I am glad to report that I have finally achieved my goal of completing the Marathon race and most of all I have been healthy and no injuries to report except exhaustion and elation 

I want to thank all my Friends and Family for the support, love and affection shown to me in writing, calls, emails  and in the silence of their own minds  throughout my Marathon Race training without which I would not have been successful.

Also thanks to all who contributed to CMSJ in my drive to raise some money for their great cause. 

Day before the BIG DAY

Its April 30th, 2011. Myself and about 25 OMrunners from San Jose & greater Bay area have by now trained for the Avenue of the Giants Marathon 2011 race to be held on May 1.  Race is in Humboldt Redwoods State Park which is approximately 250 Miles North Of San Jose Ca. It is important for us to be well rested the day before the race. This required that we travel on Saturday Apr 30 and stay overnight  close to the race location.  Not to worry, Chinmaya Mission West, Piercy, CA  gave our entire team  an invitation to come stay in their Ashram. Piercy is located about 35 Miles south of the Redwood Parks, which is a convenient distance to drive on the day of the Race.  A bit of history on Krishnalaya, as it is called by Chinamaya Mission West. I got it from their website http://krishnalaya.chinmayamission.org/


Krishnalaya, or ‘the abode of Krishna,’ is situated on the banks of the Eel River, nestled in the coastal mountains and giant redwood trees of Northern California. The ashram is located in Piercy, on the border of Mendocino and Humboldt Counties. 

The gurgling river flow and the stunning views of the mountain ranges make Krishnalaya an ideal place for spiritual individual retreats, group camps, and seminars. The ashram houses a beautiful 200-person lecture hall with air conditioning, a state-of-the-art sound system, a big screen television, and multimedia equipment. The ashram lodges 80 people comfortably (9 of the rooms have balconies facing the river), a commercial kitchen, dining hall, satsang hall, and temple shrine. 

The weather at Krishnalaya varies year-round. Misty mornings, hot afternoons, and cool nights are typical. Rain is possible throughout. During winter months, there is a lot of rain, but it rarely snows.


I got a ride from Ranga to our Piercy, CA destination. We started out at 10 am from Cupertino and weather across  California was one of the best, sunny and pleasant 60. As you may know staying hydrated in preparation for the run is a challenge when you are travelling long distance. So we would be taking several breaks along Hwy 101. First pit stop was right after the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge

In the pictures above,me and Fellow carpoolers: Ranga, Sharada, 

The next stop was at a Hwy exit in Cloverdale which had Starbucks. Ranga had meticulously packed Idli Lunches for all us. We used the rest rooms at SB and ate in their outside tables and I had a strong coffee for me. I stayed perked up thru the rest of the journey to Krishnalaya. We reached Piercy at about 3.30PM and checked into the Ashram.  Stunning and beautiful Monastic facility and I was overwhelmed by the hospitality extended to all the runners by the Swamiji and the residents of the Ashram. They had prepared evening chai and snacks in anticipation of the large group of runners from Bay area.

 Entrance to Piercy Ashrama

The east wing of rooms where I stayed

   Eel River, view from the back of the room where I stayed

       Idols in the Kutir Gardens where Chinmayananda Stayed 
More Runners joined by 6.00 PM and we recorded our historical personal experience in various pictures below

                           Early birds got a chance to get a picture with Swamiji

          Dinner Plates looked not only Satvic and sumptuous, they gave all the Carbs

Later that day, we attended a session that Swamiji gave to the students of the Ashrama. At seven we had Hanuman Chalissa chnated and swamiji blessed the OMRunners for a successful and injury free completion of the Marathon Race next day.
Had a sumptous Vegetarian Satwic Meal in the dining hall. See pictures above of the mouth watering items in the meal we had. We had carbo loading from the chapathi's and potatoes. We all went then for a long walk with the swamiji in the rural road skirting  the Ashram.  
By 10.00 PM we all went to bed and I had one of the most restful nights I can remember before such races. Thanks to CHinmaya Mission West, Swamiji and the residents who mad this happen and we all would have a greatest run of our time next day at the Avenue of the Giants

Shirshasana (Head stand) at the Black Mountain Top ( elevation 3200')

I got to share this event with you even though this occurred  on July 4th 2010. I was training for San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon with  Dale Schmitt, my good friend and a popular personal coach (www.bodybydale.com)  from Cupertino YMCA. We set out early in the morning in the foothills of  Rancho San Antonio Openspace  reserve located in Cupertino/Los Altos. There are numerous trails here at Rancho from relatively flat to extreme difficulty. We chose to run 16 Mile run that starts from the valley floor near the parking lots/rest rooms and reaches to the top of the Black Mountain which is  approximately 3200'  above the sea level and about 8 miles from the start.

I have done this trail several times in the last 10 years but this time I had a major goal to accomplish at the top of the mountain. I had planned on performing a SHIRSH-ASANA Yoga (Head Stand) at the top of the mountain. I knew I would be tired as it was hot summer day (90 F) and it took us about 110 minutes for the climb to the top of the mountain. Sorry, I wish I had my  Garmin 405CX HRM then to show you the details of the trail and its intensity. May be next time I do, I will publish the link.

The best part was when I reached the top.  I requested  Dale  to capture  a few pictures of me  when I did Headstand posture. See below a few shots which I later published in my face book and got several thumbs up (likes) and comments that were memorable. I weighed about 148 lbs in July but now I am 5 pounds lighter after the OM Marathon training regimen which I started in Mid December 2010.

If you read this far I am sure you must have been impressed with me and now you may donate to my cause of raising some funds for the OM Run on my home page. http://chinmaya-seva.org/ompage/index.php/44   THANKS and please comeback soon to read more blogs

Longer Runs coming to an end and Tapering down

OK, its about 2 weeks to go before we march to the Avenue of the Giants Marathon in Humboldt County in Northern California.  http://www.theave.org/Info.htm . Did we do the long runs that trains our mind, body and spirit in preparation for the big day? The answer, of course  is YES. While an elite marathoner might run two workouts per day and over 100 miles per week while training for a marathon, the body of most mortals like us in the OM Run team, could not take such pounding (and who can find that time anyway?). In general, the important components we used in our  marathon training program came from Galloway's 

• Gradually increase the overall weekly distance until two to three weeks before the marathon.
• Use interval running 4:1 or 5:1 schemes
• Include two long runs spread across the week, perhaps one midweek, the other on the weekend.
• Include one day of faster running and/or integrate pickups into  regular runs.
• Try to run  3-4 days per week.and off days in between
• The runs between long runs do not need to be any longer than 3-6 miles.

Our body won't get used to running long distances, unless it has run those distances on a regular basis. But, the body needs rest between those runs, which is why our team did no more than two long runs per week and moderate distance on the other days. At the beginning of our training program, those long runs were about 6 miles each. Then, as the weeks went by, gradually increased them. Perhaps week two would see the long runs as 6 & 8 miles, week three 7 & 9, week four: 7 & 10, etc. Gradually increase these until our two runs are closer to 12 and 18 miles. At this point we had built an excellent base. Then we did  at least 3 20+ Mile s in the last 3 weeks.

Now we are tapering down to the last weeks of the training. Actually it feels good that we don't have any more Long runs. It all looks easy but then we need to be focussed on keeping our body and joints moving in the last two weeks before the run. We need to have balanced nutrition, hydration and ample sleep so our bodies get well nourished and ready for the big day with energy and enthusiasm.  More on tapering in the later blog.

My Marathon training Run in Washington DC on March 20, 2011

So, why am I blogging my run completed 3 weeks ago in March when I was in our  nation's capital for a few days? Simple answer is I was lazy. I was visiting my daughter Chai and her husband Tej  and my son Chetan for a few days.  I was running every day to keep my Marathon Training running schedule in tact. Other day, I saw comments in my Blog from Chai and Chetan asking me to provide updates to the blog. So, here I am and will do my best to give a few details of a most memorable run while I was in DC.  

It was Sunday March 20th and weather was cool early in the morning but was sunny and warmed up by 9 AM. [I read reports of very bad weather in California that weekend]. Started out at 7.45AM and  I ran about 18 Miles along the beautiful trails of Rock Creek Park which skirts DC along Beach Drive.  Click my Garmin link if you like to see my run on a detailed Map.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/74108932

      I started out near Tacoma Park area of DC close to Walter Reed Memorial Hospital.  I did go all the way to the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts before turning back to Tacoma Park. On my return path, I ran through major city streets in the Capital including  the famous Dupont Circle. 

         Rock creek Park was nationally in news In May 2002, when the remains of missing Federal Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy were found in Rock Creek Park. Police had been searching for her for over a year.

Some history behind Rock Creek park is now due (I got this from Wikipedia). The main section of the park contains 1,754 acres (7.10 km²), or 2.75 square miles, along the Rock CreekValley. Including the other green areas the park administers (Glover Archbold Park, Montrose Park, Dumbarton Oaks Park, Meridian Hill Park, Battery Kemble Park, Palisades Park, Whitehaven Park, etc.), it is over 2,000 acres (8.1 km²). The major portion of the area lies north of the National Zoo, and was established by act ofCongress made law by President Benjamin Harrison on September 27, 1890, the same year that Yosemite National Park was established. A later addition of the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway extended the park along a narrow corridor from the zoo to the mouth of Rock Creek at the Potomac River.

Recreation facilities include a golf course; equestrian trails; sport venues, including a tennis stadium which hosts major professional events; a nature center and planetarium; an outdoor concert venue; and picnic and playground facilities. Rock Creek Park also maintains cultural exhibits, including the Peirce Mill and Civil War fortifications, such as Fort Stevens and Fort DeRussy. Rock Creek is a popular venue for jogging, cycling, and inline skating, especially on the long, winding Beach Drive, portions of which are closed to vehicles on weekends. It is also the path of a major traffic thoroughfare, the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, especially along the portion south of the zoo.

Beach Drive in the fall

The parklands follow the course of Rock Creek across the D.C.-Maryland border to connect with Rock Creek Stream Valley Park and Rock Creek Regional Park in Montgomery County. .

The Rock Creek Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 23, 1991.

I was hoping to see one or more famous law makers of Congress or House,but I didnot. May be I should have run in the Mall Near National Monument, White House. I will add that route when I visit DC next time around which is going to be soon. Because, Chai & Tej announced in this Trip that they will soon be parents  [estimated date of the new baby will be September 2nd week this year. SO I will soon be a "Granpa" !!  and will be visiting them more often. Next year, I will probably run with grand child in a baby stroller along the same trail :-)

OM Run Training at Campbell- LG Creek 16 Miles - Details

A week of hype in the Bay area on possible snow precipitation at the Sea Level/ Valley floor. OM Run team decided to avoid potential early morning frost bite and hence started the run at 9 AM (instead of usual 7.00AM) on Saturday Feb 26, 2011. By Golly, there was not a trace of Snow flake in the valley floor though we could see some snow covered Hamilton mountains east of  SJ. We had bright sun shine by 9 AM and the Campbell Park was well crowded with runners. We followed Galloway run-walk routine of running for the 16 Mile round trip with 4:1 ratio. If you can click open the link below you will be able see the elevation at the ~7.5Mile distance from the start. I would think it was about 5% grade for about 0.5Mile. (I still havenot provided the Garmin 405CX details which is what I used in creating this link)

OM Run Training at Campbell- LG Creek 16 Miles by vpresolve2008 at Garmin Connect - Details

We also took a group photo of all the OM Runners who were together at this point. Not bad, everyone in the picture is showing nice smiles.  I wish I had taken one more at the end of the entire  run to compare the smiles after 16 miles!

Lexington Reservoir was almost 90% Full and a lot of High School Rowing teams were having their practice.

I was hydrating well for this run even though temperature was in mid 40's or less. On the way back, I also ate a pack of POWERBAR Strawberry Banana flavored GEL. I think it gave me good energy supply thru the last mile and I did not feel too tired. It took me several years to get used to Gels and Gu. I used to get upset stomach in my early days of training in 90's and now I think I have overcome those and on the contrary I do see great effect on my energy level when gobble up a pack or two on a long run like this. I hope to use for the real marathon day which is still approximately 60 days away

As usual, once we all made it to the end of the run, we did stretches for 10 minutes!!  What a relief!

Thanks to OM Run volunteers who supplied us Gatorade /Hydration  at the 4th mile and at the start/end point in the park!! Bagels were delicious as well, little bit of Carbohydrate sure helps.

14 Mile training Run at Campbell Park Los Gatos Trail on Feb 17, 2011

Rain or Shine, TRAIN. Thats the mantra every trainee must have to chant who wants to accomplish successfully the goal of completing Full, Half or 10K/5K races. Feb 17th is one of the few  days this winter season in Bay area we had rain, snow, storm, winds. That did not stop several committed OM Runners assembling on this Saturday morning at 7 AM at the Campbell Park and start the planned 14 Mile run to the Lexington Reservoir and back. After 15 minutes of dynamic warmup exercises, we hit the trail. Ranga Ranganathan, our fearless South Bay  Mentor-in-chief led us thru the rest of the training run  on a Galloway's 4:1 run/walk schedule.  Forces of nature were in full swing thru the entire morning and we could see only a few runners in an otherwise busy Park.

If you want to see our 14 mile run on the map please click the following link and you will see the beautiful trail
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/69087600

I will provide more details on my 405CX Garmin Heart Rate monitor in a different page on this Blog..

February 2011 OM Run Training Schedule

 Om Run schedule for   January 2011, February 2011

Why blog OMRUN?

Running has been a big part of my life since 1989 and I have trained and completed  five 'Big Sur Marathons' in the 90's. Later, since the beginning of year 2000, I found great comfort in training for half Marathons as they did not require as much time commitment as the Fulls, I did several Half Marathons in the last  decade. Beginning of this year, I decided to take a  big running challenge of training and participating in a Marathon by mid year. I have maintained a very healthy mind and body due to active physical exercises including running.

CMSJ's OM RUN http://chinmaya-seva.org/events/index.php?page=omrun-2011 is now an annual event started in 2010. I was fortunate for having mentored in the first year for 5K, 10K and Half. This year I decided to join again the 2011OM RUN  training both as a mentor and also training myself to participate in Avenue of the Giants Full Marathon in May 2011 http://www.theave.org/Info.htm

Further, I thought its cool to blog my OM run activities which I believe has an important function in helping me work through thoughts.  Maybe this blog doesn't have a big idea but it is about what I find interesting in life - Running 

So, this blog will be about all these things: OM running, weekly training, some related photography,  Videos and of course, a space for personal expression.

Hope you will find it interesting and informative