Running

And she kicks my arse again

Jhanvi and I ran the 2012 Chicago Hot Chocolate 15K today. This was the first race in the city after we officially became “suburbanites” last week. And let me tell you, that one needs to be highly (HIGHLY) motivated to haul themselves all the way to the city to run a race. And the fact that it was freezing didn’t help.

While the race it self was fun, I think the organizers did a terrible job with the package pickup expo and the post race party. It looks like they didn’t know what 40K people getting together in one place looks like. The expo tent could barely fit a 1000 people and folks had to stand ~2 hours in line to pick up the package in cold weather. And let me not tell you about the post race snack!!. Hopefully they will learn from this and make it a better event next year. Chocolate seems to motivate a whole lot of people (including me 🙂 ).

And in other news, Jhanvi kicked my butt as usual and finished a whole 10 minutes earlier..

Jhanvi’s Results 

My results 

Us After the race 

 

The only thing that was abundant at the race 🙂 

November 5, 2012 by Running Uncategorized 0

2012 Half Marathons : An update

Quick update on the races Jhanvi and I ran so far this year. And yes, she kicked my butt in all of them as usual 🙂

2012 Rock and Roll Chicago Half Marathon

Showing off our medals in the train back home.. It was painful 🙂 

Endomondo’s view of how I ran 

2012 Northface Challenge : Madison

This is the third time, I am running this trail half marathon. And for the first time, I actually did better than the last race. And it was mainly due to Jhanvi encouraging me to practice. Not my best time, but better than last year 🙂

October 4, 2012 by 2012 : Half Marathons Running Uncategorized 4

Viva la resistance

I have a confession to make.. I like Big Macs and Krispy Kreme Donuts :). And they have contributed heavily to the increase in my .. hmm.. how do I say this.. mid section :). Plus, it doesn’t help that there is a Krispy Kreme factory and a McDonald’s right on my way to work. And add on to the fact that I haven’t been running for the last year or so, I am proud to say that I have joined the >65% of Americans that are obese.

On my way to work yesterday, I was thinking about what shape (physically) I would be in when Virat grows up. I am sure he doesn’t want to have a dad that can’t play some hoops with him :).

So here’s my 2 month resolution. I am starting with a couple of months because there is a good chance that it might become a habit and then go from there :).

  • Exercise for 30 minutes a day (7 days a week)
  • Eat dessert only once a week
  • No krispy kreme
  • No Big Mac
  • No fries
  • No pop

For every pledge I break, I am going to leave work at 5:00 PM for a week. Believe me when I say that is a tough punishment :). You see.. I love what I do :).

Viva La Resistance!!!

April 6, 2012 by Food Resolutions Running Uncategorized 0

Last run for 2010?

Jhanvi and I ran the 2010 Hot Chocolate 15K last Saturday (11/6/2010). I don’t know why I keep doing this.. but I don’t seem to realize that I am not a superman 🙂 and cannot run races efficiently without practicing. Anyways, here is what happens when you run a race without ANY training..

My Results

I was aiming to be the last in everything :).. but looks like some people still beat me..

Jhanvi’s Results

Thx to Jhanvi for making me run the race… I wanted to run the 5K and call it a day 🙂 (and no. it is not called cheating when it is 27 degrees and you are freezing your butt off!! 🙂 ).. but she encouraged me to run the 15K. Clearly not my best time.. but I am proud I completed it never the less.

November 8, 2010 by Running Sports Uncategorized 0

2010 First Half Marathon

Guess what happens, when one runs a half marathon without any training? You break all records for finishing late :). Jhanvi and I ran the 2010 Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Chicago today. It was hot and humid.. but we managed to finish the run. Am so proud of Jhanvi for finished faster than me.. She just started running last year and I think she is a natural.

2010 August : Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon

August 1, 2010 by 2010 : Half Marathons Running Uncategorized 0

First run of 2010

I kicked off the 2010 running season with the Shamrock shuffle held on March 21st. Jhanvi was going to run it with me, but was not able to due to health restrictions. She is planning on joining me for a couple of half marathons this year :). Hopefully, she won’t beat me as she did last year :).

I finished the 8K (5.1 miles) a couple seconds short of 1 hour :). Official chip time was 0:59:51. Results are published here. Looks like I am going to settle in the 12min/mile pace. That has been my pace for the last couple of races.

April 5, 2010 by Running Sports Uncategorized 0

I ran for Chocolate!!

Jhanvi and I successfully finished the 2009 Hot Chocolate 15K, held on the lake shore of Chicago last weekend. Not a surprise that Jhanvi beat me by 1 second :). Her finish time was 1:46:27 and mine was 1:46:28. It was a chilly day, but after a couple of miles we fell into the rhythm and enjoyed the race. The only disappointing portion of the race was the watery hot chocolate that was provided at the end of the race. I am not sure if it was a case of the organizers underestimating the crowd or if they were being cheap, the hot chocolate (which was supposed to be the attraction of the race) was pretty watery.

Yes.. people do run ~9 miles to get a cup of hot chocolate :).

November 3, 2009 by Running Sports Uncategorized 2

Last half marathon of 2009

I ran the last (at least for now) half marathon of 2009 this weekend along with Jahnavi and Sri. We ran the Northface Endurance Challenge Half Marathon. The Northface Endurance Challenges are a collection of races which take place in the wilderness across the US throughout the year. The race in Wisconsin, held each October, is the easiest out of them. I ran this race last year and wanted to make this of my annual races.

My official time for the race was 3:01:09 (~31 minutes slower than my time from last year). So this makes it my slowest half marathon ever. How do I continue to keep breaking these slow records? 🙂 Well, by not practicing :).

While the run itself was painful (reminder for self.. never ever run a half marathon in the woods without practicing!!), it was fun to have Jahnavi accompany me on her first half marathon. She was a real trooper and kept me company throughout the race. I also took some videos of the race (that again tells you how poorly I prepared for the race 🙂 ). Here is a snippet from my last mile, I was delusional by this point 🙂

The obligatory pre and post race pictures 🙂

Pre Race

Post Race

October 26, 2009 by 2009 : Half Marathons Fun Running Sports Uncategorized 0

I guess I am a superman :)

I successfully completed the Chicago Half Marathon held on 9/13 in 2 hours and 44 minutes. I know that is nothing to brag about 🙂 (in fact my worst time so far for a half marathon).. but considering that I didn’t train for it at all and had a couple shots of tequila and some beer the night before, I think I did OK. But boy was I hurting at the end.

I ran the race with my friend Sri and his friend Rama Krishna. Obviously, I was the late finisher in the team.

Here is our pre-race picture

p.s : Please don’t take this as advice to start drinking before embarking on a long run :).

September 20, 2009 by 2009 : Half Marathons Running Sports Uncategorized 1

First race of 2009..

It was cold (35 F), Windy (30 mph) and snowing (3 inches) for the Shamrock Shuffle 8K race yesterday…. But I was determined not to miss yet another race this year. Thx to Sri for pushing me during the race, I finished it in 51:28 minutes. Thats an average of 10:22/mile.

[Photo Credit : Kieffer]

This is how the course looked like. The road was so slushly that my feet were frozen and I couldn’t feel them till the 2nd mile.

[ I have to make fun of Sri’s new moustache 🙂 ]

March 30, 2009 by Running Sports Uncategorized 5