Run 4 Fun

Finishline Sports 30K Race Report !!!

2010-12-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

Past Sunday concluded HARRA warmup series race leading to Houston Marathon. FinishLine sports organized 30K race starting/ending at Sugarland town square. The race included running out about 3 miles, doing 3 loops of about 4.3 miles and returning back to the start line.

Verdict: 18.6 miles in 2:06:58 or 6:49 min/miles.

Race Report:

On the way to the race: I thought I had enough gas in the tank only to realize that I am in trouble as I was getting closer to sugarland. Thankfully I reached parking garage just in time without having to push my car :)

Many thanks to Benard Castro for picking up my bib a day before and handing it out to me on race day morning. I also thank Chris McGrew for letting me use his Garmin 405 for the race as my Garmin is giving me some problems lately.

Pre-race warmup: It is cold but not that cold. I decide to run in a half-sleeved shirt with gloves and a warm cap. I didn't do much of a warmup before the race as the race is long enough and I want to start out slow anyways. I jogged for few minutes with Mark Fraser and David Piper and lined with other folks at start line. I said hi to Dale Lee and Ed Fry and bunch of runners and few usual suspects from BCRR.

Weather looks perfect for racing except gusting wind and the wind would be crucial in this race.
At sharp 7:00 am they fire the gun and off we go.

Mile 1 to 3: I am running with David Piper and Ed Fry. The pace is very comfortable at about 7:05 for first two miles. I spot Nicole running about 50-60 yards ahead. I know she likes to run even splits so she is right on her pace. I was having lots of fun chatting around and running comfortably. Around mile 3, Dale Lee decided to join the pack in front and I let him go.

Mile 4 to 10: I started picking the pace very very slowly at the end of 4th mile. I caught up with Nicole, Dale Lee and another runner at around mile 5 or so and tried to run tangents with Dale. Dale and I fought the winds together but a pack of two runners was not helping much so we were pretty much on our own. I passed 10 miles under 70 minutes and the pace feels good, breathing is under control. All is well.

Mile 10 to 15.5: These were key miles and Dale helped me tremendously. We run side by side and when he picked up pace little too much (6:36) I told him so and we again settled to 6:45-6:50's. The pace feels good and I drank Gatorade from every water stop. Race volunteers were doing a great job. After 25K mark, I am still feeling very good and If I keep the current pace going I will end up with 2:07:XX. However, I decided to press on the gas to see if I can finish strong.

25K to Finish: I dropped to pace close to 6:35's and Dale responded by hanging in with me. I hit 16.6 mile mark and reminded myself that misery will end in less than 14 minutes. I dropped the pace to 6:20's and I believe that I have dropped Dale from my back. There is this runner who is about 60 yards ahead of me but he seems to be slowing down. I also heard a guy playing Bagpiper in the parking lot and it reminded me of the race two years back when I was miserable that that point. But, today I am flying and running strong.

I passed that guy and he just told me to keep going strong. I hit mile 18th in 6:19. It is about one more kilometer to go and the wind is really bothering me a lot. I am running alone and there is no one in sight to pass. I kept pushing the pace and made that turn towards the finish. The clock is ticking 2:06:55 and I gave on final push to try to get under 2:07. I grasp my breath after about 30 seconds of finishing and my wrist watch is stopped at 2:7:00. I feel confident that I have broken 2:07 in 30K. I checked my time later it was 2:06:58 or 6:49 pace. Dale finished about 35 seconds behind me and I have a feeling he didn't want to push as he knew that he had won his age group anyways.

First 15K: 6:55 pace
Last 15K: 6:44 pace

(I running with Dale Lee through miles 5-16, photo by Tuan Nguyen)

Weekly mileage data from August 2010 !

2010-12-04T18:08:00.000-08:00

If I wake up tomorrow morning early enough and join BCRR for Sunday River Oaks run it will mark a special occasion. This will be first week in my three years of running that I will run 70 miles in a week. I am excited about it and more so because I am feeling very good about my training and I have no aches and pains whatsoever.

Edit: I did wake in time to join my BCRR friends for a nice and easy 12 mile run in chilly weather.

Here is a table showing weekly mileage data from August 2010. The cells marked in red are my LAZY weeks which is my secret of not getting hurt and giving my body enough time to recover from training runs.

Week No.	Week	Miles
1	Jul 26 - Aug 01	35.8
2	Aug 02 - Aug 08	29.76
3	Aug 09 - Aug 15	40.94
4	Aug 16 - Aug 22	42.63
5	Aug 23 - Aug 29	40.65
6	Aug 30 - Sep 05	39.08
7	Sep 06 - Sep 12	41.49
8	Sep 13 - Sep 19	27.8
9	Sep 20 - Sep 26	11.57
10	Sep 27 - Oct 03	31.95
11	Oct 04 - Oct 10	47.15
12	Oct 11 - Oct 17	47.89
13	Oct 18 - Oct 24	49.45
14	Oct 25 - Oct 31	22.13
15	Nov 01 - Nov 07	49.66
16	Nov 08 - Nov 14	55.04
17	Nov 15 - Nov 21	53.5
18	Nov 22 - Nov 28	6.2
19	Nov 29 - Dec 05	70.5

Turkey Trot 10K !!!

2010-11-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

I think you can't beat a 10K with $15 entry fee (no ridiculous $2-4 service fee on top of race fee), a long sleeve cotton shirt, 1.5 bottle of red wine the night before and 1.5 hours of sleep going into the race. Top it with terribly humid, almost 75 degrees temperature and it is a perfect recipe to have fun and don't run for time race.

If weather predictions were good and I was serious, I would have loved to break 40 minutes again but I was in no mood to spoil the fun yesterday.

The race started pretty normal and first 2 minutes or so were spend weaving around people to get in front. On a normal day I would be little pissed but Bob Brown said something which made total sense. He said they have paid the same money as you and to hell with race etiquette in a Turkey Trot. Who are we? I am not even middle of pack runner from racing standards so I can't complain.

I saw Simon Brabo running with Caroline Burum ahead of me and I thought about reeling them in next mile or so. Caroline decided to hang with me when I passed them at mile 1.6 or so. She asked if we can maintain the pace and I wasn't sure. I see the Lara cheering on us and it was totally worth to shout for her. At this point the goal is simple. I don't wanna run any mile slower than 7 minute mile and see if I can push little bit in the end.

Caroline and I ran together till 3.5 mile or so and then I dropped her. I was fortunate enough to see my friends cheering me on (Deborah, Rosie, Lindsey, Jamie, Tucker, Lara, Sam, you all are awesome). I picked the pace little bit at mile 5 or so and finished last 0.3 miles (6.3 according to my garmin) at 5:42 pace. Overall, 41:39 or about 6:43 min/mile. (6:28, 6:28, 6:53, 6:43, 6:48, 6:39, and 5:42 for last 0.3).

I didn't stay longer after the race and just got home and caught upon my sleep.

HMSA 25K 2010 Race report !

2010-11-16T08:36:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to Lisa Foronda for picking my bib and sprinkling good luck on it :)

I wanted to break 1:46 in 25K as mentioned in my previous blog post. I had a good week leading to the race except a few glitches. I usually like to do one quality workout in the week leading to the race. On Tuesday evening I wanted to do a hard 6-7 mile tempo run at 6:35-6:40 pace. But it got so dark and there were so many water puddles around Rice that I opted to do a long Marathon pace run (10 miles at 7:10) rather than a tempo run. I ran easy rest of the week (Wed/Thursday). I took Friday off because I wanted to join ASHA folks for an easy run on Saturday morning.

Now, running with BCRR has taught me to be very prompt for runs. I showed up exactly at 6:40 for 6:45 am run and had to wait till 7:25 to start the run because no one showed up in time. Bummer !!! However, there was a silver lining. I met Sachin who is a relatively new runner and very enthusiastic about running. I ran 6 easy miles with him at about 10 min/mile pace. I advised him to be patient with running and that it will surprise you in due time.

For Sunday's race my concern was that I spend too much time on my feet on Saturday even though I only ran 6 easy miles. But the weather seemed beautiful and I decided to go with my goal. I did a 1.2 mile warmup with some Tornados friends and legs felt all right (No strides in warmup).

Loop 1:
Mile 1: 6:55 (Went out easy)
Mile 2: 6:58 (I don't like it at all, I am feeling some tightness in my leg and wonder if I should stop and lossen shoelaces a bit)
Mile 3: 6:54 (I decided not to stop but keep running and hope in few miles tightness will be gone)
Mile 4: 6:52 (So, I have not gone out too fast. First part done, now what's next)
Mile 5: 7:01

I tried to run tangents during the race. Mark Conran is running with me. I have dropped Scott, David, Simon and Heidi. I didn't see either of them during turn around so they must be just behind me.

Loop 2:
Mile 6: 6:42 (Nice downhill stretch)
Mile 7: 6:48 (Feeling good, bump into Jody and Nicole, Mark Conran decided to join another faster pack)
Mile 8: 6:47 (Mark Conran is speeding up and has opened a gap on me, Mark has about 15-18 seconds on me)
Mile 9: 6:51 (I am trying to close the gap)
Mile 10: 6:51 (Mark is still ahead)

Jody and Nicole were playing mindgames on me. They tried to shake me off by speeding up few times :) Jody later told me that my shoe slapping irritated her. I need to use this weapon on other racers in subsequent races.

Loop 3:
Mile 11: 6:26 (I decide to put the hammer down on downhill and pass Mark Conran)
Mile 12: 6:36 (I don't know how far Mark is but I wanna open a gap so he doesn't come close)
Mile 13: 6:48 (I believe I have shaken him off my back, don't wanna turn around and look)
Mile 14: 6:47 (In order to beat 1:46, I can't afford to slow down)
Mile 15: 6:50 (That last hill was hard to climb)
Last 0.63: 6:15 pace (I decided to push 0.2 remaining in the race. I passed two guys easily. The third one is still ahead and decided to drop another gear when crowd cheered on. Poor guy looks behind and for me that's a sign of weakness :) I passed him just before finish)

Total time: 1:45:58.2. I didn't believe it because I thought I had more cushin than 2 seconds. I am glad that I pushed in last 0.2 miles.

Corrected Total time: 1:45:50.4. Now, I can live with this. This seems reasonable :)

I will give this race an "A" effort. I went in with a plan and it worked. I have become a even bigger fan of negative splits :)

Next race is gonna be Turkey Trot 10 K. I am not sure if I can come close to 40 minutes because I have not been doing short race specific speed work. I definitely want to get under 41 minutes. We will see.

For 30K race in sugarland if the weather is nice. I would like to run 2:08:xx. That would be 6:55 pace. Although, I would be happy with any sub 7 pace :)

Finally some pictures :)

(Charging downhill)

(That's a good running form)

(Should we have some fun in our cooldown?)

(Not enough? Okay, one more time)

(After the race with my friends Alonso and Brenda)

(Happy BCRR campers. Simon, Heidi, David, Neeraj, Brenda and Molly)

HMSA 25K Race !

2010-11-08T20:21:00.000-08:00

Weather prediction looks great for 25K on coming Sunday. Hopefully, it won't be too warm and humid like half marathon 2 weeks back. I ran this race last year and broke down mentally in the middle of race. After finishing two loops (around 10 miles) when David, Scott and Jay hendrickson opened a gap on me, I stopped in my tracks and started walking. I jogged/walked rest of the course and finished just under 2 hours. I didn't feel like running 30k last year and my training took a little dip and I didn't finish the marathon within my goal time.

This year is little different. I am training more diligently and am running more miles. I am already up around 50 miles/week. I hope I can reach 62-65 miles/week by mid December. I had a good long run on Saturday with Bob Brown and Mark Conran. We ran last 3 miles of our 18 miles run successively faster and finished at 7:15 min/mile pace. On Sunday, I wanted to do easy 12 miles but Dave helped me push the pace little bit. For 10 miles I was within 7:25-7:40 pace range but decided to push the pace in last two miles and got them in 6:58 and 6:43. 12th mile felt very good. I maintained good running form and was still able to run at a good pace.

Although, it is little premature but I want to run 25K on coming Sunday around 1:46. That is 6:50 min/mile pace. If I can get enough rest on Friday and Saturday, that should be doable. My goal would be to not go out too fast in first 5-6 miles and then try to reel in as many runners as I can in remaining 10 or so miles. One thing which bother me is that 25K seems awfully long race and it will definitely hurt during the race. I am also not sure if my right lung will bother me again as it did around mile 11 in half marathon. We shall see when we get to that.

I also signed up for 30K this year. This will mark me running all fall series HARRA races and if I can continue to run in spring, I can easily bag open runner of the season for BCRR.

Houston half marathon summary !!!

2010-10-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

This was left in the "drafts" section for so long that I am not even sure if this should be published. But, anyways.

Prelude:

The weather was not ideal for most of the people for racing. At the start of the race, temperatures were around 75+ degrees. I knew that I had done my homework for the race. Good training was done and my only concern was getting dehydrated in the race and facing cramps towards the end of the race. I made a mental note of drinking as much Gatorade during the race as I can. I also used a Gu Gel pack 15 minutes before the race and stored another one in my pocket in case I feel like running low on fuel.

Warmup:

I did around 2 mile warm up with Jay Hendrickson, Mark Conran, Simon Brabo and Carolyn Burum. This was the first time I spoke to Carolyn though I see her name among top women runners all the time. At the start line Jay tried to find Ed Fry but we couldn't find him and the race started at sharp 7 am. Since Scott Bounds was not running this race, I knew that I will need to pace myself and possibly run alone for most part. My garmin was not working correctly for first mile possibly because of tall buildings. During first mile, I tried to get a feel of the weather which seemed quite humid and warm. I hit first mile in 6:40 and can clearly see that I have to be very careful about not going out too fast in first half of the race so I don't become a roadkill later.

Mile 2: 6:38
Mile 3: 6:45
Mile 4: 6:51

At this point, I discovered that mile markers for the race are not placed correctly. I deliberately slowed myself during mile 3 and 4 and couple of people passed me. I noticed that they were already breathing hard while passing me so I knew if I ran a smart race I will get them back. I also made a mental note about not running slower than 6:50 for as much as I can.

Mile 5: I am feeling good and legs are warmed up. 6:45. Feels good
Mile 6: I passed John from BARC without any resistance on his part. He was breathing hard and I suspected he will slow down further. 6:47. Right On !

Mile 7: I passed Jeff Eisele and can tell he is not having his best day. He makes some comment about me passing him but I am in no mood to talk. I see Jack Tonge running ahead of me. I run by Jack and he speeds up and hangs in with me for about half a mile or so. But, before the turn around at 610, I have dropped Jack. 6:48.

Mile 8: This was the hard mile to run. I stopped just after turn around and drank two cups of Gatorade to make sure those cramps are in check. I didn't like the uphill part after the turn around. My legs felt heavy on the uphill. 6:52. This was the slowest mile of the race. I know that more than half of the race is over and right now it is just hang onto dear life and speed up.

Mile 9: 6:44. Nothing much to report other than the fact that a spectator told me I was 60th in the race. I liked him telling me that.

Mile 10: 6:42. I am liking the pace but mile marker is no where to be seen. I trust in GPS and keep moving. Now, only 3.1 miles to go and if I maintain 6:40 pace, I will easily break 1:30. Can I break 1:29?

Mile 11: I speed up little more and hit this as the fastest mile of race. 6:36

Mile 12: Again, it is becoming a battle of nerves. Just hang onto the pace even though I can feel discomfort in my right lung. 6:52. This is slower than I would have wanted. But, less than 10 minutes of running left. I cajole myself to keep it up.

Mile 13: Ah, the end is almost here. 6:39. But, I can't see the mile marker and looks like there is more than 0.1 mile left in the race.

0.2 miles: I try to pass 2 more people but one of them almost sneaks on me just before finish line. 5:42 pace.

Overall: I ran it in 1:28:51. Last year, for 3 loop course I had run 1:32:56 and so I had a nice 4 minute PR in not so good weather. I believe on a good day I would have liked to get under 1:28 but today I will take 1:28:51.

Lauren Wilder also had a nice PR in warm weather. That girl is a running machine and she is very focused on her running with a good training base. I predict that she will be fastest BCRR female in almost no time. Some of my other friends suffered in warm weather and were may be little disappointed. I just hope for 25K weather is cool so we all can have a good race and run together for most part.

Cheers,
Neeraj

(At Shepherd, Photo by Avi Moss)

(Just before finish line turn, I like the last 0.1 mile sprint)

(Once all the hard work is done, Satisfied)

(PR Amigos, Lauren and I both had a nice PR)

Space City 10 miler post martum and goal for Houston half !

2010-10-15T20:38:00.000-07:00

Initial euphoria of 10 miler has subsided and now I can think little more clearly. The 10 miler race boosted my confidence and proved that negative splits exist. I used to believe that if you don't go out fast enough you will lose that time and sprinting towards the end would not be possible. I was able to run later part of my race pretty well. Pertinent question is, if I could have gone little faster in first half and still managed to run a negative split?

Gerardo, Rob Walters and Scott tend to think that I could have gone out little faster. I might just try that in upcoming half marathon. VDOT of 53 equivalent performance for half marathon predicts 1:27:04. This is 6:39 min/mile. This would be an ideal case for a flat race. However, the course for Houston marathon has some hills. There is almost half mile long not so steep uphill after turnaround point. This means I have to preserve some energy for the later part of the race and gain advantage of downhill part of the race.

I was seriously hoping to just cruise behind Scott Bounds for the race because he is a very good runner for half marathon distance. Unfortunately, Scott Bounds would be in Istanbul that day. Both Scott and Jay H. recommended that I look for Edward Fry and try to follow him for the first part of race. I have looked up Edward Fry's 10 miler time and he seems faster than me with a time of 1:04:38. Good news is that Ed would most likely run a negative split. Hence, I should be able to keep him in my sight for first half of the race. Or, if I cross Ed in first half this simply means that I am going too fast :)

Today, I ran a speed workout session with Jay, Scott, Mark and Simon. I think I needlessly tired myself in the workout. I should have tried to hit constant times around 6:20's. A lesson learned for next time, I hope :) Tomorrow, I want to check out 3:20 pace group at Kenyan Way. If they go out too fast then I will drop back and catch Bob Brown & Mark Conran or 3:30 pace group. The goal would be to run easy 16-18 miles and run 7-8 miles trails on Sunday. That would put me at 50+ miles week. For next week, I plan on running easy on Mon/Tues/Wednesday (6+10+9), Th/Fri (12), Sat(0), Sun (16 with warmup/cooldown). That would make next week 53 miles a week.

I am reluctant to run a hard workout next week. I believe that I will benefit more with reducing stress and rest before the race than trying to squeeze in one more quality workout.

(I really liked this picture from 10 miler. It shows lots of positive energy and I might consider buying it)

Space City Alliance 10 miler: Race Report !!!

2010-10-11T15:47:00.001-07:00

Prelude to the race:

I desperately wanted to RACE Space City Alliance 10 miler. It is literally a while (February) since I raced a race longer than 5k. I had mixed feelings going into the race. I ran this race last year for the first time and got busted in it. Last year, I ran it within 48 hours of getting off a really long flight from India. I was in India for almost 5 weeks and had opportunity to run only twice in 5 weeks. Needless to say that my legs cramped at mile 6 and finishing the race was painful but I still managed a time of 1:11:xx which was less than 2 minutes off the time I was expecting.

This year was a different story. I didn't slack off much during the summer and was running about 20-25 miles a week. I started running around 35-40 miles for August/September. The big difference came in the length of training runs I was doing. Last year, I was running more days in a week but was only running moderate distances like 4-6 miles per day. This year I changed my approach. Even though I am only running 4 days a week, my average runs are 10 miles or longer.

Race Report:

Dave & Lara picked me up from my place at about 5:30 am and we were at big purple tent around 6:10 am. Lara handed me down her camera and I clicked few pre-race pictures. I said Hi to my BCRR friends and at sharp 6:30 am Simon, Dave and I went for a pre-run warm up. The warm up was nice and easy with few strides. My legs felt fresh and springy.

While I was waiting at the start I did something which I will regret later. I thought my right shoe laces were too loose and tightened them little too much. At sharp 7 am, they fired the gun and race is on.

1st mile: I ran side by side with Scott Bounds and kept Rob Walters in my sight. Rob is ahead of my by about 5-10 seconds and the pace seems comfortable. We hit mile one around 6:31 min/mile.

2nd mile: I am running few steps ahead of Scott but suddenly I feel tightness in my right leg. I shrug it off and think that it will go away. I run about quarter more mile and I can certainly feel that shoelaces are too tight and I sure don't like it. I am debating what to do and run quarter more mile and now I feel some tightness around my hamstring. The demons from last year resurface and I feel uncomfortable. I have to make a decision whether I should just keep going and bear the tightness or spend 10-15 seconds to stop and untie/tie my shoelaces again. We hit mile 2 around 6:40 and I decided to address the problem.

I stopped at the curve and untied my shoelaces and loosened them up a little bit and tied them again. A bunch of people passed me in those precious 10-12 seconds. I heard David Piper shout, "Wait for us" but I started running before Simon and David could pass me.

Mile 3: I have lost the pack of runners I was running with in first two miles. Scott bounds is visible to me but he is too far ahead to catch up. I still feel some tightness despite loosening up my shoe laces. I make a decision to keep the pace around 6:40 or so until mile 5. I hit mile 3 around 6:46 and I am running alone.

Mile 4: I saw Stuart Muirhead and passed him without difficulty. The next guy to pass is Mark Conran. I ran behind him for about 10 seconds and he commented that my feet make too much noise for a light weight person like me. I passed Mark Conran without any resistance on his part. We hit mile 4 around 6:37.

Mile 5: My legs are beginning to feel warmed up and there is a big pack of people running about 50 yards from me. One of the guy stands out because he is wearing awfully long socks. I thought about speeding up but decided to wait until mile 5 mark. I desperately wanted to hit mile 5 mat around 33:30 to ensure that I am on track for a sub 1:07 race. I hit mile 5 in around 6:38 and counting the time for shoelace incident, total time is ~ 33:29.

Mile 6: I am feeling really good. In Fall 09/Spring 10, my major problem had been running out of breath. But, today I am feeling relaxed and I decide to push the pace little faster. I passed few people during mile 6 and hit it in 6:25. That's more than 10 seconds faster than previous mile.

Mile 7: I passed 2-3 more people and they don't offer any fight. I can barely see Scott Bounds and David Nemoto but they are quite far ahead of me. I set my eyes on two guys and a girl running side by side about 20/30 yards ahead of me. The guy offers some resistance but not so much and I passed him. The girl really showed some character and we go back and forth few times before I finally pass her. She was running strong at constant pace and I was in mode for some negative splits. I hit mile 7 in 6:26

Mile 8: I can see that David Nemoto has passed Scott Bounds. My calculations at this point revealed that I will run sub 1:07. The goal is to maintain the pace and see if sub 1:06 is possible. I passed few more people during mile 8 and hit mile 8 in 6:23.

Mile 9: I have my eyes fixed on Scott Bounds. I seem to be gaining on him slowly but the question is if I can get him by finishline at this rate. I count one turn and he is running 20-21 seconds ahead of me. I change one more gear and pass few more people. The breathing is becoming hard but still manageable. I am getting close to Scott Bounds and still not there. We hit 9th mile in 6:15. 6:15 is faster than my 10k pace but I feel that I can carry it one more mile.

Mile 10: I passed Scott Bounds around 15 km mark. I felt content and just wanted to finish remaining one kilometer in less than 4 minutes. I kept running hard and soon it was time to make left turn which meant only 0.2 miles to go. At this time I saw David Nemoto and Dale Lee running together. I gave my legs one final push to get close to them. It was less than 0.1 mile to go and they were still ahead. I took a deep breath and went all out. I passed both of them just after the turn for the finish line. But, they didn't seem interested. I think they both just let me pass them and didn't offer any fight. We hit mile 10 in 6:04. That's good stuff :)

Overall: 1:05:7.0 for 10 miles. I will count it as sub 1:05 because I spent 10-12 seconds in the shoelace incident :)

And, finally some pictures with classic windmill action.

(Less than 0.1 miles to go and both David & Dale are in front of me)(I have passed David & Dale in classic Windmill action) (Heather took this picture of me flying at the finishline)

Space City Alliance 10 miler !

2010-10-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

One may be amused by few things in the 10 miler Space City Alliance race on coming Sunday.

1) It is the first race in Houston marathon warm up series.
2) It happens to be on 10/10/10
3) It is a 10 miler race

So what? What makes this race special? I have only run this race once. I ran it last year when I had just come back from a 5 week long vacation to India. I had lost lot of conditioning in those 5 weeks but I decided to run it to gauge my fitness level. The race went all right and I finished in 1:11:xx. However, my legs were cramping up from 6 mile onwards and it was painful.

This year, I feel that I am better shape than last year. I experience no aches/pain while I run and I am looking forward to the race. If the weather is good, I would like to run sub 1:07 in the race which translates to 6:42 min/mile or faster. It is an aggressive goal because I haven't raced much in last couple of months. I raced toughest 10k few weeks back and couldn't hold 6:40 pace on hills. But, I run better on a flat course and it seems to be a flat/fast course ideal for a PR.

My only dilemma is the pace for first mile or so. Almost in all short distance (upto 10K) races, I don't modulate my pace much during first mile and because of fresh legs I run first mile little faster than overall race pace. I believe this is not a bad strategy and I might stick with it. I want to break the race into two sections of 5 miles each and try to run each section in about same time.

I also bought new pair of light weight trainer (Asics Speedstar 4). They feel incredibly light on my feet and seem to have enough cusion as well. I will test them on the race day and see if they bring me any closer to my race goal.

Cheers,

Boston or Bust !!!

2010-09-14T19:10:00.001-07:00

Fall training season has started. And, life is good. I believe laying low in terms of mileage for June & July was a good idea. When I started training again in August, my legs felt fresh and hungry for some running. I am a strong believer in training philosophy of Jack Daniels. It just makes so much sense scientifically and some of the runners I respect swear by Jack Daniels. Hence, I am also sold on Jack Daniels training principles.

In first six weeks of my training the goal was to build a solid easy running base. I ran most of my runs at 7:55-8:15 min/mile and I can feel a significant improvement in my aerobic capacity. During brutal heat and humidity of Houston running easy really feels good :)

I am at second phase of my marathon training where the focus would be on Hill training. I have started doing Mt. Bacon workout with Simon, Jay, Scott, Anna & Mark Fraser. Mt. Bacon is really a good workout. First, we jog 3 miles from memorial park to a parking garage. Then, we run up the garage (11 levels or 0.5 miles) and jog back and do it four times (ouch...). Afterwards, we do a 3 mile cool down and get back to memorial park. My goal is to run the garages aerobically and focus on my running form. Hopefully, it will pay dividends during 10 miler race in October.

I have also joined Kenyan Way training program for reasons I am not entirely sure. Well, I got 50% student discount and paid only $65 for it so it is not terribly bad. Now, I can do my long run on varying routes on Saturday and make Sunday a recovery/experimental day. I am not doing any consistent speed work for now but hopefully it will start soon.

Although I want to run 3:10 in Houston marathon, this will be a very difficult goal. So, I am gonna break it in smaller goals and adjust my plan accordingly. My next two running goals are:

10 miler in 1:07:xx: (6:48 pace)
Half marathon in 1:29:xx (6:52 pace)

We shall see.

A little running history !!!

2010-09-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

I will be honest. I have secretly fantasized about qualifying for Boston marathon and running the Boston experience. For those who are not familiar with Boston marathon, it is the Mecca of running. In order to run Boston marathon one needs to qualify first in another marathon. For a guy under 35 years of age, one needs to have finished a marathon under 3:10:59.

I will take a little detour here and talk about my running experiences. In my childhood, I was very active kid with very high energy level. I grew up in India and many games children used to play in 80-90 era involved running around either in playground or in street near your home. I find it very sad that these days in cities, kids prefer to play indoors or spend time on computer games. Playing with other kids in street was the best part of growing up in India.

I never took part in any racing competition till my college year. Our college was one of the better engineering colleges of India and the focus was always on studies. Every year we used to have a sports meet in which different disciplines (Chemical, Mechanical, Computers, Electrical etc.) used to compete against each other. I used to run three days in an year during that sports meet. Chemical Engineering didn't have enough runners so by default I used to run 100, 200, 400, 1500 meters. Looking back, I think 400 meters was my best distance. I am still donkey proud of the Gold I won for Chemical during my senior year.

Fast forward and nothing comes to mind about running except running 5-6 times in those many years. Then, I accidently met Bayou City Road Runners (BCRR). With BCRR, I started out running + walking during Bayou runs (6.5 miles). In, BCRR I found some of the best friends I have had in Houston. Now, BCRR is my family away from home. I really cherish some of the friendships and camaraderie in BCRR.

This post is becoming longer than I had thought so I will finish my banter about current running/running goals in next post.

Running and new directions!!!

2010-04-12T15:50:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been feeling like blah, really blah...Usually a good easy run lifts my spirits but what do you do if you feel burnt out from running? Now, that is a difficult situation to be in.

I have to really re-think my running situation. I have not run River-Oaks long run in over 2 months. For last 2 months, my running mileage has been 15-18 miles or so. And, I know that I have hit a plateau and a point of diminishing returns. In a race on a decent day, I can run 19 minute 5k or 40 minute 10k effort but it feels very hard. I can push through it on my will but my system is stressing. Probably this is the reason why it hurts so much.

I have also noticed that my aerobic system is most stressed. I don't feel any pain/tightness/soreness in my legs. Even at that effort, I am definitely running below my lactate threshold but it becomes very hard to breathe and keep going. So, right now the bottleneck seems to be the aerobic capacity. Jay says that I don't need speed work but slow long grueling runs to build endurance and aerobic capacity. He has a point but only if I would listen.

Do I really like running? I really don't know. I like to run because I can run and on some days I feel really grateful that I can not only run but run decently fast. I will admit another thing. I am kind of runner who gets thrill from speed (read running hard for short time) than a long run of 2 hours. I really enjoy running on track no matter how much it hurts. But, I am confused which way to go with my running.

I am listing some tentative running goals but they are only tentative. I have seen people struggle with speed/injury and it is not a good feeling. I am thankful that so far I have been able to run pain/injury free. At the same time, I would like to do the followings:

1) Ramp up mileage to at least 30 during the summer and enter fall with a good running base.

9 (M, easy), 3 (T, easy), 6(W, speed), Rest(Th), 4-5 (F, Tempo), 12 (Sat/Sun) = 34-35

2) Train for these three running goals within next one/one and half year.

i) 1:25-1:27 Half-Marathon (6:30-6:38 min/mile)
ii) 38:00 10K (6:07 min/mile)
iii) 18:20 5K (5:54 min/mile)

3) Or, forget the numbers and just enjoy running and soak yourself in a long easy run.

So long,
Neeraj

Two running goals for spring: both completed !!!

2010-04-04T13:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I couldn't be happier to say the least. I ran my first sub 19 minute 5K race. I went into the race with a plan and the plan worked like charm. Running wise I had two goals for this spring and I achieved both of them. 40 minute 10K and 19 minute 5K. Although, I was surprised that 10K goal fell in place sooner than 5K goal but you can't complain, ;)

For 5K yesterday, the idea was simple. Both David and I agreed on more of less even pacing. I had run a 5K race few weeks back with a hangover and hit first mile at 5:48. Ouch, needless to say that the race went downhill from there. Hanging onto a pace in a race is easier said than done. And, 6:05 min/mile pace is plain brutal to hang on for more than 12 minutes after first mile.

Yesterday, the first mile marker came at 6:05. I would have liked flat 6 minute mile but I just ran with David. I modulated my pace so that I am just a foot ahead of David to do my duty as pacer for first mile. Then, it was the turn of David to take lead from first mile to second as I have this notorious tendency to slow down a lot during second mile. David ran the second mile beautifully and must have hit it around 6:05/04 again. He was few seconds ahead of me at second mile marker and my time was 6:08.

12:13 for first two miles. I panicked little bit at this moment because there is no cushion and David is opening a gap seemingly running very smooth and I am struggling with my breathing. Nevertheless, I kept pushing and waited for the Leeland St. My pre-race calculations revealed that if I am not at Leeland st. (2:64 mile or 0.5 mile to go for finish) by 16:00, then 19 minute 5K is toasted.

I checked my watch when David went passed Leeland and it was 15:54. I cross Leeland St. at 15:59. Damn it!!! I still have not lost it completely. If I run next half mile at flat 6 minute/mile, I can still manage sub 19. I picture last year's Bellaire Trolley run when I broke 20 minutes in a 5K for the first time. I begin to push little more and my breathing becomes harder but I have less than 3 minutes to go. I say to myself that even 19:00 is not good, it has to be at least 18:59. :)

I pass few more blocks and now the turn is in sight. I notice that I am gaining on David so either he is slowing down thinking 19 is in the bag or I am speeding up. I have no way to tell for sure. Then, I hit 18:00. I still haven't turned onto the street leading to finish line. I say to myself that all bets are off and it is just one minute race now. I push really hard and cross the third mile marker around 18:20 or so. I didn't even worry about hitting the lap button on my watch. I can see finish line in sight and clock ticking 18:40. At that point, I knew 19:00 is in the bag but now I am too close to David. Can I take him down just before finish line? Okay, we go into top gear now and I can hear people cheering me on. Just before the finish line David turns around to look at me and at that instance I cross him. We both sprint to finish line and almost cross together.

David and I both have earned our first 19 minute 5K. David also won his age group and I came 4th in my age group. My official time was 18:51.7.

In spring season I broke 40 minutes in two different 10K races. Hence, it will be nice to do the same in another 5K. I will be in Lubbock next week and will miss Bellaire Trolley Run. Trolley run is a great race and the competition is really good. I wish I could run in Trolley run and break 19 again. However, I am signed up for Flying Owls 5k which is on April 17th. I ran that race last year and disliked it because of too many turns. Looks like I have to suck it up and run hard and see if I can break 19 minutes again.

On another note, I am thinking about taking a sabbatical from road racing for few months. I won't be running LP run for sure but would like to run Bayou Bash relay on a good team. I am not sure if I broke 12 minutes in it last year but this year I would definitely like to run 11:55ish in that race. I also will not be running bunch of other 5K's I ran last year. We will revisit road racing again around August to see if I want to run full marathon or half marathon in 2011 in Houston.

A letter to someone special !!!

2010-03-13T20:26:00.000-08:00

Hey There,

I know it is little creepy but we need to talk. Not in a bad way, we are not gonna break up or anything. I just wanna tell you how great you are these days. I think sometimes you deserve little attention and hence this letter.

We both know that Fall was painful and we struggled and suffered together a lot. Then, you just gave up on me in the middle of a marathon. Come on, in the middle? I was so pissed on you for 2 weeks that we didn't run even a single recovery run together. Then came Med center 5k and we ran together a 19:45. We started talking again and you promised that you will stay with me for spring.

So far you have delivered on your promise. You are with me when I need you most. I sometimes tire you but you don't complain. I know I am not taking enough care of you. I know, and yet you are not complaining. Since marathon we have run 6 races together in 8 weeks and out of them 4 were PR's. Remember how I told you before that we belong together. Yes, we do!!!

You run with me at track and sometimes I am amazed how hard you can work despite pain. You ran with me at Rodeo run and ran 6:10 for the 6th mile, outstanding. For Race against violence, I didn't listen to your warning and got drunk the night before. I know, I should really listen to you. But, I am reckless. You were absolutely right. We didn't have a great race together but you were still outstanding. 5:48 for the first mile, ouch...What were you thinking?

I listened to you during BCC 10K and voila another PR. You are awesome. You never complain like a true companion. I promise that I will take better care of you in future and I hope you won't disappoint me.

To my legs,

With love...

Neeraj....:)

Buffalo Wallow Cross Country Race (Pictures) !!!

2010-02-06T22:31:00.001-08:00

6 KMs cross country in 25 minutes and 10 seconds. Touch wood, I have no aches & pains post marathon and the spring season is looking good for some sprinting. We shall see.

All photographs are courtesy of my friend Hardeep. Hardeep: you take amazing action shots. Many thanks.

(With my team members before the race)

(At starting line)

(Looking up ahead for that upcoming hill)

(A nice flat stretch in the race)

(The mean hill and jumping across the nasty mud pit)

(The whole race was run on muddy trail)

(The final sprint. Poor Simon couldn't close the gap and I kept increasing the lead and beat him by 15 seconds in the end)

Fall Season Running Summary!!!

2009-12-27T19:58:00.000-08:00

After doing numbers, I have only one thing to say. I HAVE BEEN LAZY!!!

24.5 (Starting 7/13/2009)
30
32.5
35
36.5
20
One Week Off Just For Fun!!!
18.5
5 Weeks off to India (Total 28 miles including 10 miler race)
30.5
28
36
33
43.5
26
47.5
23
36
39.5
53
Planned Taper Mileage
32 (Taper Week 1)
24 (Taper Week 2)
37 (Including Final Big Day of Race)

July Running Log

2009-08-02T13:31:00.001-07:00

Running Summary for the month of July, 2009:

Last three weeks of July are part of training program for Houston Marathon 2010. In next 3 weeks, I will ramp up the mileage from 30 to 40 (~10% increase every week).

Week Starting	Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Pace Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
June 29 - July 5	18.5	0	5.0	0	23.5
July 6 - July 12	9.5	0	5.0	0	14.5
July 13 - July 19	19.3	0	5.0	0	24.3
July 20 - July 26	25.1	0	5.0	0	30.1
July 27 - Aug 2	27.5	0	5.0	0	32.5
Total	99.9	0	25.0	0	124.9

Training starts for Houston Marathon 2010!!!

2009-07-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

I must say that I had a great spring running season. I placed in my age group in the following races:

1) Run Wild Half-Marathon: 1st Age Group, 1:34:41
2) Bellaire Trolley Run: 2nd Age Group: 19:37
3) LP Run: 2nd Age Group: 4.93 miles in 33.33 minutes
4) Cinco De Mayo: 3rd Age Group: 21:11 (Ran after 5 days of donating blood)
5) Impact a Hero 5k: 3rd Age Group: 19:40
6) Deer-Park 5k: 1st Age Group: 20:21

My other notable performances during spring were:

Bayou City Classic 10k: 41:09 (PR)
Flying Owls 5K: 19:16 (PR)

I ran tracks from Feb-May and it gave me confidence to run fast as well as accompanying speed. I loved track workout and it is too bad that at Rice they dug up tracks to install new ones. What is the matter with Rice? They always dig up things.

Summer is almost over and we are all set to start our training for Houston Marathon.
I ran my first marathon this year in Houston in 3:38. Although, realistically I think I was in 3:30 shape :-) For 2010, I want to run a 3:10 so that I can qualify for Boston Marathon. If I consider various race time/pace calculators and my 5k/10k performances, I should be able to run 3:10 if I train properly.

My idea is to start my training conservatively by increasing mileage slowly in first 5-6 weeks. In first 5-6 weeks, I intend to run most of runs at easy pace. I got carried away in my Sunday long runs for last 2 weeks and ran them very fast. Running long run faster is counter productive and increases chances of injury. So, I have to be careful and run it deliberately slow next time.

I am not a big fan of high mileage training. First, because I am too lazy and second I always fear about getting hurt. For last 2-3 months my average weekly mileage was about ~25. I intend to increase it to 35-40 in next 5-6 weeks. Right now, I am thinking about a peak weekly mileage of 50 but I can revise it if I am convinced that I need more miles.

I plan to run 5 days a week: Monday, Wednesday-Friday and Sunday.
Monday: Recovery run after Sunday long run
Wednesday: 5 mile tempo run along Bayou and last 1.5 slow recovery run
Thursday: Easy Run
Friday: Easy warm up followed by some intervals (every other week)
Sunday: Long Slow run

After first phase of 5-6 weeks, I want to include hill workouts to strengthen ankle/quads so that I am ready for next phase of Marathon pace runs/Interval & Repetition training.

I have the following goals during the course of my training which are some sort of checks and bounds on my performance. If I meet most of them, then I may be in shape to run 3:10 else I need to downgrade my goal.

5K: 19:00 (By end of December) @6:08 min/mile
10K: 40:00 (By end of November) @6:27 min/mile
10 miles: 1:08:30 (Fall series) @6:51 min/mile
Half-Marathon: 1:30:00 (Fall series) @6:52 min/mile
25K: 1:50:00 (Fall series) @7:05 min/mile
30K: 2:13:00 (Fall series) @7:08 min/mile

I will update as Fall season unfolds. Keep running!!! :-)

Bellaire Trolley Run & Flying Owls 5k report !!!

2009-04-12T23:04:00.001-07:00

First, I will admit that my perception of 5k's used to be wrong. I used to think that there is not enough kick in 5k's and they are perhaps little easy to run. I stay corrected now. 5k's can be truly challenging races if you run them HARD.

My first 5k was in early December last year with a time of 20:44. I signed up for Bellaire Trolley Run because many runners told me how fast this course is and that I must run this race. I signed up for Flying Owls 5k because this race was held at Rice University and being a Rice student I HAD to run it. Only $5 entry fee for Rice students was another incentive.

I went into Bellaire Trolley Run with a target of running a sub 20 race. It meant running about 6:27 per mile. I thought I could do it if everything went according to the plan. I was in for many surprises. First surprise was my split for 1st mile at 6:10. Second surprise came in the form of utter helplessness in my breathing and heart rate half way into the race. I ended up slowing down during second mile with a split of 6:40. Third surprise came when I felt better in last 1.1 mile with a split of 6:47. In total 19:37 for 5k earning me second place in my age group.

Flying Owls 5k had too many turns but I had walked the course million times and I had pretty good idea of distance on the course. I PR'ed with a time of 19:17 and here are my splits:

1st mile: 6:05
2nd mile: 6:25
last 1.1 mile: 6:47

Finally, there are some pictures from Flying Owls 5k, :-)

Wednesday@Valhalla (01/28/09)

2009-01-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

Houston Marathon 2009 (Pictures)

2009-01-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

There are some pictures I took before the start and after the finish of Houston Marathon. Enjoy, :-)

Wednesday@Valhalla (01/07/09)

2009-01-11T13:32:00.000-08:00

To download/print any pictures, please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

A piece by Pt. Ravi Shankar (Sitar)

2008-12-13T14:43:00.000-08:00

For a departure I am posting some music on this blog. Indian classical music follows a very strict pattern of ascending and descending nodes. There are different families of Ragas in Indian Classical Music. Ideally, there are Ragas for every season, occasion and even for different times of the day. For example certain Ragas are morning Ragas while evening Ragas are sung late in the evening.

Preparation of the Ear: The legend has it that in old times (even today in some schools) the Gurus (Teachers) used to ask their students to just listen to music for extended periods of time (even years) to make them understand finery of Indian classical music. Only after the preparation of the ear, certain Gurus will start teaching their students singing or playing an intrument.

This piece is played by Pt. Ravi Shankar on Sitar. Please leave your feedback if you like it.

Snowfall in Houston!!!

2008-12-11T09:38:00.000-08:00

BCRR Christmas party!!!

2008-12-09T06:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the BCRR holiday bash was a total BLAST. We started with BCRR trivia and a game of Bingo. Surprisingly, all the draws for Bingo winners were won by BCRR beautiful ladies except Mark Fraser. Guys, I smell something fishy here :-) A big round of applause for April Murphy for putting together all those fun events.

DJ was simply awesome. Who would have thought that after ~12-21 mile long run in the morning so many people will be on their toes dancing for almost two hours. I took some pictures/video which are posted below.

Running with Tornados!!!

2008-11-19T21:56:00.000-08:00

Today, many folks from Tornados running club joined us (BCRR) for a fun run together. After the run, we all met at the watering hole on Rice University campus i.e. Valhalla.
Both clubs chipped in some money to offer free beer which was very well received by thirsty runners and non-runners alike. Fortunately, I happened to be with my camera and I took some picture.

To download/print any pictures, please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

Today, I witnessed a very long line at the Valhalla which I tried to capture in the following video.

HMSA 25k after party !!!

2008-11-15T18:28:00.001-08:00

Sue and Allen hosted a wonderful party after the HMSA 25k race. Here are some of the photos I took, :-)

To download/print any pictures, please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

HMSA 25K !!!

2008-11-15T18:27:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures I took near BCRR headquarters during HMSA 25k race (Better late than never)

To download/print any pictures, please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

BCRR Halloween Party!!!

2008-11-15T18:12:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from BCRR Halloween Party.

To download/print any pictures, please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

Tornados join BCRR members for a fun Wendesday evening run !!!

2008-10-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (10/22/08), some folks from Tornados running club joined us for a fun Wednesday evening run. It was great to see healthy camaraderie among both club members. As per Tornados reputation of being fast runners, they soon disappeared from the sight and were found early at Valhalla :)

A big thanks for Tornados club for putting a $100 tab at Valhalla. By the time everyone reached Valhalla it was raining heavily and everyone had to pack inside Valhalla. Few folks looked out from Valhalla and looked back with a big smile on their faces saying, "Ah, I can't go out in this rain. I have to drink another beer."
Soon, $100 were exhausted and Eddie was nowhere to be found for another $100 on tab.

Later in the evening, J. P. Frederickson and Steve showed some neat card tricks followed by few rounds of friendly poker game.

As usual I took some pictures which are here, :-)

To download/print any pictures, please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

Chuck & Cheryl's b'day splash party!!!

2008-10-08T23:24:00.001-07:00

Today (Oct 8, 2008) Chuck and Cheryl hosted a great birthday splash party at their place. We had plenty of beer, snacks, pizza and a nice pool to cater to our needs. Towards the end of the party couple of crazy runners (Cheryl, Dany, Monica, Gracilla, Rebecca and me) tried out some Salsa, swing and what not :-)

I think everyone had awesome time and I took a few photos to make it more memorable. Once again a big round of applause to Chuck and Cheryl for hosting a wonderful party.

To download/print any pictures, please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

Harra Cross Country Relay Race 2008 !!!

2008-09-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

I will post the write up sometime later this week. Here are pictures as usual :-)

To download/print any pictures, please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

Ike@Houston

2008-09-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
I believe you all must be safe and sound. I hope Ike didn't cause many troubles to fellow runners. For me personally it wasn't too bad as I got back power yesterday evening. I took some pictures near my place on Saturday and I am posting them here. I know these aren't the pictures of runners or BCRR but anyways :-)

Virgo the Virgin!!!

2008-09-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

Virgo is the Sixth sign of the Zodiac. It heralds the end of Summer and nearing of the harvest. The origin of its name has become lost over time but among European and Middle Eastern mythology, Virgo has always been a symbol of fertility and a representation of the production of crops. Even in prehistoric times, this Zodiac Sign was perceived as both a mother and a virgin.

Okay, enough with this stuff... :-)

The bottom line is that today Valhalla was closed for renovations and the great Virgos of BCRR organized a wonderful party at Memorial Park. I had to choose between work and the party and I am glad that I made a better choice.

I met lots of new BCRR members and a few Hashers who are always fun to talk to. I also took some pictures which are here as usual, :-)

To download/print any pictures, please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

Wednesday@Valhalla (08/27/08)

2008-08-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday night I had lots of fun at Valhalla. It also happened to be my birthday but being a poor graduate student I didn't put a free tab there. May be on my next birthday, :)
I met a few new people at Valhalla yesterday. Elizabeth was fun to talk with and I hope to see her around more. And, here is the business as usual aka Pictures.

To download/print any pictures please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

Marathon viewing party@Fox Grills

2008-08-25T08:31:00.001-07:00

Eddie did a wonderful job in organizing Marathon viewing party at Fox Grills near Galleria. Samuel Kamau Wanjiru of Kenya set a new Olympic record of 2:06:32. I took a few pictures from my cellphone. The quality of the pictures is little inferior but they do convey the mood at the party, :-)

Eddie's Birthday Fun at Valhalla@08/13/2008

2008-08-20T17:29:00.000-07:00

Eddie celebrated his birthday by buying beer for thirsty runners at the gate of Heaven aka Valhalla. We all wish Eddie a very happy birthday. Here are some of the pictures I took (business as usual) :-)

To download/print any pictures please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

Pictures@Valhalla on Wednesday, July 23rd 2008!!!

2008-07-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

Valhalla had lots of people tonight. Rob Walters bought beer to celebrate his birthday. Here are some of the pictures I took.

To download/print any pictures please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

Happy Hour@Mezzanine Lounge

2008-07-12T11:58:00.001-07:00

Here are the pictures from the Happy hour at Mezzanine lounge.

To download/print any pictures please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

Wednesday@Valhalla (06/25/08)

2008-06-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

To download/print any pictures please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)

@Valhalla after a usual Wednesday run!!!

2008-06-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday Valhalla was rocking. There were so many people and the core group people stayed till almost midnight. I took some pictures last Wednesday and here is the slideshow!!!

To download/print any pictures please click the text you are reading, click on the picture, and click download button (Slideshow, Share, download & print buttons are located on top-left corner of the page). It is as easy as it sounds :-)