Skip to main content

Marathon # 3, Lake Chabot Redtail Ridge 50km Feb 18, 2017
 

"You hearty soul, you!" - said the lady at the entrance as I made my way to the parking lot of Lake Chabot State Park, the race venue of the day.   "Be careful of 'm puddles".
Near start line.  Still raining a bit.

 As the next 6 hours and 40 minutes will tell me, she was right.

 But before that...something eerie of sort is happening since this new year (or its just my analytical mind looking for patterns).   Two examples:

 1. First race of the year was Crystal Springs marathon...I drove an hour, in pouring rain, parked in the parking lot (staying warm and cosy in my car, changing into my running gear to avoid rain)...and 5 minutes later, whoosh, as if some power above started HIS car wiper and the pouring rain was gone.   Cut to 2nd race, same story....I drove to lake Chabot marina in pouring rain, parked the car and 5 minutes later, the rain stopped.   Someone is watching up there...

 2. Extra rains this year are helping CA (which was in draught past few years) but that does give a muddy, rainy flavor to these trail runs.   Last race was 4500' +/- of elevation through the course for 26.2 miles, this race, same 4500' +/- for a 31 miler (50k) - was supposed to be 4800' but they changed the course a bit to avoid super muddy trails.   Rank in both 25th over all.

Patterns!!

 Trail running is more of a metaphor for life i.e. treat the day as it comes.   Early morning, I forgot the usual (compression socks, a headphone that works, and breakfast !)...plan was to run with camel pack and heavy rain jacket but once the drizzling stopped I felt adventurous and moved to a lighter wind resistant jacket with just a bottle in hand (which helped in a smooth race).

If last race was beautiful, this race went a notch above and this time I took some course pictures as well.
Redwoods
Muddy trails

 Tried avoiding getting feet wet for almost 16 miles in but as race went north towards the dam the muddy trails become more frequent with little room for maneuvers. Resistance was futile and better option was to just run straight through.

 Next race is Modesto Marathon Mar 19th.   A road race will be a good break from the elevation and mud ridden trails runs of the year so far.

Also, need to fine tune the running schedule a bit ... with work/family/kids, I am not giving the focus such an endeavour requires.
Trail vs Washed Feet
Leaving you with some customary shots and selfies at the race.
Sherpa Stan :-) Runs a kick ass 30k and then starts volunteering.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Update on Lotus Funds - A visit to campus

Dear donors, 152 donors, 20 countries, 52k USD raised - Huge thank you! I happened to visit India on a short trip and was lucky to spend a few hours at Lotus Petal. Here are highlights of what I saw. 1. First, your donations are making a difference. Lotus Petal Foundation raised about 2 crores in the recent fundraising drive at DelhiAirTelHalfMarathon and came up #1 (even surpassing Bharti foundation).   Your 33lakhs were a huge contribution to that.  Thank you. 12 new classrooms being built The lotus petal facility is a rented property (rent is about 3 lakhs a month) but the property owner graciously allowed construction.  12 new classrooms are being built and construction work was at full swing.   Given that 75 students were added recently (out of 475 that appeared for registration), these new additions are very important.  There are total of 400 kids at Lotus Petal now. 2. Things that hit you off the bat when you visit Lotus Petal is ...
4 comments
Read more
Lotus Petal Fund Raising Appeal Donate Cisco Matching (Requires Cisco VPN, detailed instructions below) Short story ...this is a fundraising request for Lotus Petal Foundation.    Lotus Petal  is a grass root organization involved in educating Gurgaon slum kids.  Education bridges the gap to a world of possibilities, a world of big dreams and your help goes a long way. In that regard, I am doing a marathon a month  and raising 50k USD for Lotus petal.  Asking for your support. Click donate button above to contribute. (If you work for Cisco systems, please match your donation 1:1 via Cisco foundation by clicking above Cisco Matching button ). 15$ = You support a kid get education for a month 180$ = You support a kid get education for an entire year!  What a difference that year will make in his life. Want the long story?  Continue reading for my original post on it . --- All this started with simple facebook update...
Post a Comment
Read more

Marathon #2 Crystal Springs Marathon, Jan 21, 2017

Marathon # 2 for Lotus petal. Donate Cisco Matching (Requires Cisco VPN, detailed instructions below)   We are blessed to be living in bay area.  Running mecca it is. Only here can you think about choosing to do a marathon a month, and find marathons each month within an hour's drive. For January, I picked Crystal Springs Trail Run Marathon , in Woodside, CA.  They are managed by Coastal trail runs group.    I have done some 50k's with these guys before kids were born some 7-8 years ago (read as when my legs used to love uphills).  They really have a professional staff and well marked courses and the beer/hot-soup/grilled-sandwiches aren't something you get to see at road races.   God bless them. When I parked at Hubbart park (start line area), it was pouring.  Heavy pouring! I had gotten my rain jacket, gloves, cap and had come prepared for a slow/cold run, through muddy trails.   For whatever reason, rain God's took me...
Post a Comment
Read more