Back in the Game. . . and then some

I weighed myself recently and found that I had added 3 kilos in the last 2 months.  Plus the fact that my favourite pair of trousers were quite tight was enough motivation for me to get back out there and run.

So after a gap of slightly over two months, I got out this AM.  This sort of kicks off my training for a few upcoming marathons. The run itself was for 14 km with a warm up of 2km and a taper of 2km.  I managed to complete this in a 2h10m.

My gear was the Patagonia running tee from the AC2011, Reebok shorts and the Roclite 318 GTX shoes.  I was planning to a pair of  Adidas' but decided to stick with the Inov-8s for the run (last minute, spur of the moment).  I was also wearing my new Garmin 305 Forerunner, which I bought recently.  It performed nicely and I am quite happy with the caibration and the watch itself.

So there's bad news and good news.

The bad news was that the Roclites needed to be retired today :-(.  There was a bit of a hard spot on the right front toe that did not go down and kept knocking against the thumb.  It lead to a pretty bad blister in almost no time, as I painfully discovered once I finished the run and took them off.  My feet are also a bit sore, regardless of the stretch exercises I completed.  So, with a tear in my eye, I bid adieu to the 318 GTXs.  A great pair of shoes that saw me through the AC2011 without a single tear or trouble.  I am quite loath to scrap these, nevertheless, onward and upward, till I buy a new pair.

The good news:  I get to do this again tomorrow morning, with a new pair of shoes of course.

Happy feet ;-)
S

A small hiccup and then, I am good to go finally!!

This is pretty much the penultimate (or possibly the last) post pre-AC 2011. So, here goes.

Well, the first emotion that surges through me as I write this post is RELIEF.  It is accompanied by anticipation, apprehension, excitement, nervousness, enthusiasm, among others in varying degree.

Mid last week, I received a bit of a shocker - the Brazilian embassy in New Delhi rejected my application for a transit visa through Sao Paulo - primary grounds being that I did not have sufficient funds to pay for an overnight stay in Brazil.  Well, no use wasting time.  So I had to act quick and fast.

Summarily, this involved getting my passport back from New Delhi and finding an alternate travel route.  All's well that ends well.  I rerouted my booking through Paris late last week and went this morning to the French consulate in Bngalore for a transit visa.  The personnel were very helpful and I received a Schengen visa in 6 hours.  The earlier tension has now considerably dissipated. 

To my fellow runners in the HRC, thanks for a great run yesterday.  I very much appreciated the SAG support and the arrangements. One of the best runs I have undertaken in recent times and very special as it was my final taper run.  I really am looking forward to running with you folks on my return. 

To all the well wishers on tumblr, twitter, the blog, the 4D blog and so forth - thank you all once again for your kindness. Allegorically, I am temporarily a happiness-sucking parasite - so whenever a happy thought or wish for luck from you all comes my way, I am just slurping it up into my brain store in one fell swoop - to release and use if and whenever I feel down during the run.  Keep them coming, I need recharge every so often ;-)

If I can, I will be writing next once I reach San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. 

You can follow me on the official AC2011 blog here.  Daily stage updates are available here.

As I keep mentioning, I am supporting the Nethaji Mercy Home in Chennai.  Full details here.  If you can, please do contribute.  Every bit helps.  The process is a bit winded [and I apologise, if we could have we would have made it simpler for all.  Ah well, next time for sure, I promise].

Thank you and god bless
S

10 days and counting. . . equipment, victuals and other assorted stuff

So I head out for the Atacam Desert in Chile on 2 March which leaves me with 10 days to wind up.  I am in a kind of taper phase, so ideally there should be no intense workouts any more.  Alas, wishes unfortunately are not horses and so I find myself in a state that needs me to complete one long run and two back pack walks, all in excess of 25 km this coming week.  Finally, I am looking forward to the HR club run on 27 February, where I intend to walk 10 km with all final gear strapped on).

Mentally, I am continually "genning" myself to the adventure* ahead ( *I first wrote task and then decided, that sine I wanted to make it a pleasurable experience, I would rather not think of it as a "task"). 

This coming week, I need to read up on all final instructions, course details, etc so that I am not unprepared.  Also, go through final packing lists, see that I am carrying all requirements and have not missed out on anything.  This will probably be a penultimate post, the next one likely just before I head out. 

So my equipment list reads somewhat like this.

Backpack - OMM Classic 32 litres
Sleeping bag - Marmot Atom
Headlight and backup - Princeton TEC EOS and Petzl Tikka 2+
Compass - Silva
Knive/Multi Tool - Swiss Army Classic
Whistle - Jetscream
Survival bivvy - Adventure Medical Kits Thermolite
Sunscreen, lipscreen and blister kit
Red flashing LED safety light
Jacket - Mountain Hardwear Compressor PL
Shorts/tights - CW-X shorts, underwear and tights
T-shirts - Patagonia Capilene 1 and Performax [the choice of the Hyderabad Runners, wink wink]
Shoes - Inov-8's Roclite 318 GTX
Socks - Injinji toe socks
Headgear - Philly Eagles cap and the AC buff
Fleece hat - Mountain Hardwear Microdome
Sunglasses - Oakley Radar

In addition, I am carrying food for six-seven days including freeze dried meals, nutrition fuels/gels, energy bars, electrolytes, salt stick caps, insta coffeee and creamer.  Primary brand of choice, which I have tested extensively is Hammer Nutrition's range - Sustained Energy, Heed, Recoverite, Endurolyres, Race Caps Supreme and Hammer Whey followed by Cliff Energy Bars (Chocolate Almond Fudge, very handy) and Nuun.  Dinner is a preset menu - Expedition Foods' Vegetable Tikka and Rice or similar for seven nights. Space permitting, I may also carry some salted nuts and dried fruits for in-run snacks.  The daily calorie intake is a minimum of 2,000 calories per day (I am at roughly 2,400-2,800).

I am also carrying a plastic plate and a fork as well as water bottles to carry 2.75 litres of water or more at any given time - Raidlight, Camelbak and Platypus are first choice equipment, having been tested thoroughly during training - they've survived quite a few drops, falls, etc with no damage.

In additon, stuff like tablet towels, wet wipes,  medicines, etc form part of the equipment I carry (there's more but let me not bore anyone with the details). 

The trick, now, is to pack all the above and see how the backpack weighs.  Ziplock bags and Sea-to-Summit's Ultra Sil Dry Sacks are gonna be heroes here!!!  Wish me luck ;-)  I am aiming for between 7.0-7.5kg on the back and about two litres of water up front!!

The only off putting news is that my polar wrist watch's strap broke so I will be carrying it close to me to measure heart rate.  The foot pod's going to be switched off as it has been acting up a bit recently and giving me wrong calibration (I will get this fixed, post the AC2011).  As regards, navigation - Garmin remains the hands-on favourite. I use a Garmin Oregon 550 and I just need to set the satellite and some related settings to position accurately in the South American hemisphere.  So distance, time, elevation and so on and so forth will be with this.  The 550 also comes with a camera so I will be clicking some snaps of way points, etc to link up to stuff that I will write during and after the event.

I will be likely subscribing to the communications package from the 4deserts store to be able to update my blog during the run and that will be the primary source of telling you all what I've been upto and my daily experiences.  The link to my 4 deserts blog is at:

http://www.4deserts.com/blogs/comptetior_blog_new.php?authorid=OTU3&blog=21

More later.
S

It's never too late to be grateful. . .

So, this post is a small note of gratitude.

Firstly, to the conductor of the "great gig in the sky" - thank you for giving me the mental strength to go through my training, day after day - for keeping me in good health and away from any injuries - for helping me overcome my fears - for helping me run distances that I have never run before.

Secondly, to my wife Nandita - thank you for putting up with my eccentricities and oddities these days, the least of which is having your sleep disturbed at 3/4 AM when I wake up to head out - for the sacrifices made on your time to accomodate me - for making me many meals through the day to keep my constitution up - for all the other endless things you do to help me stay focussed on my running objectives.  Love you all the more for it.

Next, to my son Atri, who is now too young to realise but - thank you 'dingwal' for unwittingly giving up your time away from me - for finding ways to keep yourself occupied when I am too tired to play with you - for welcoming me happily when I get back home exhausted after a long run.

Fourth to all my fellow runners at the Hyderabad Runners Club who've encouraged me these last 2-3 months - thank you ladies and guys for your support and words of encouragement, it really means a lot to me and keeps me going days after day - for giving me training tips - for running alongside me at times and for simply being there - your camaraderie, time and encouragement is very much valued.

Lastly, to all my friends and acquaintances who've supported me ever since I told them I was attempting the AC2011 - a very big thank you - there have been so many mails and calls from you all and I am sorry if I did not respond to each and every one of them but know this - it has been acknowledged from very deep within and I am grateful to you for your thoughts.

Stay cool
S

Five weeks to go. . . and a small diversion.

I ran the Mumbai marathon last Sunday and completed it in a time of 5.20.  Very happy as this was my first 40km plus run in a week that averaged close a little over 90 km.  The temperature was a mild 32-33C albeit accompanied by a sharp sun setting the tone for what I should expect.  I have been pampered these lst two months by the sub-20s temperature while training in Hyderabad.  Probably, I should start my weekend back-pack runs a little late when the sun is fully up, to get a truer measure of "fatigue quotient", what?  Better late than never, as the maxim goes.

Took off late Sunday evening to HK with Nandita and Atri, for a short holiday and some work.  While there we went sightseeing to the Peak, DisneyWorld (for Atri), Po-Lin monastery (an oasis of calm near the hustle and bustle of HK) and a few other places.  We also caught up with Neha and Gaurav for dinner at this awesome restaurant called the Mask of Sichuan.  Can't thank you both enough for a fantastic choice of place and your wonderful hospitality.  Thank you so much guys, it was wonderful to have met you, god bless.

I also went to the RTP store and kitted myself out with lots of food (Hammer, Nuun, Expedition foods), some clothing accesories and a new pair of shoes, Inov-8's  Roclite 318 GTX.  These will be the shoes I wear on the main run, so a one-month break in period seemed reasonable.  Also, picked up a few pairs of Injinji moisture wicking socks to run in.

I plan to run/walk/train to about 110-120km a week for the next three weeks before I begin to taper down.  Training will be interspersed with cross training and some strength training for the back and shoulders as well as the mandatory pranayama/yoga.

Lots of final formalities as well to be undertaken - medical tests to be completed and sent, travel arrangements to be completed, visas to be obtained, et al.  The next fortnight promises to be busy busy indeed.  Good stuff!

I also intend to fill the back pack with the actual stuff I will be carrying during the race and do 3-4 dry runs over the next 2-3 weeks.  That should hopefully help me have a near accurate idea of the weight count under different combos and experiment a bit.  Will let you readers know how that stacks up as well ;-)

As you may know, I am running the AC2011 supporting the Nethaji Mercy Home in Chennai (see earlier post below).  Any contributions are gratefully acknowledged.

Closing this post with a verse from Dreamline, by Rush, one of my all time fave bands, ". . . they travel in the time of the prophets, on a desert highway straight to the heart of the sun.  Like lovers and heroes and the restless part of everyone, we're only at home when we're on the run, on the run. . . "

Best
S

A Humble Appeal, Please Read and Support

A very happy new year and a wonderful 2011 to you all!!

Sorry about the radio silence for sometime but as you will read below, I have been a bit busy working and training.  As you may know, I moved from Mumbai to Hyderabad over a year ago and I now work with primary agricultural cooperatives, farmers and rural citizens in Andhra Pradesh, India.

One of my pastimes these last few years has been long distance running, both for fitness and leisure. I am now participating in the Atacama Crossing 2011 or AC11 in short. The AC11 is a six-day six-stage race covering nearly 250 kilometres (or nearly 160 miles). It takes place in the heart of the Atacama Desert in Chile, South America. The desert itself is 15 million years old and 50 times more arid than California's Death Valley. The entire race will be held at least 1.6km (or 1 mile) above sea level. Daytime temperatures are expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius/104 degrees Fahrenheit, while night-time temperatures may drop to 5 degrees Celsius/41 degrees Fahrenheit. Joining me in this race are over 120 other people from 35 countries, including just one other person from India. The entire race is self-supported which means that each individual must carry his or her own gear, food and clothing for all days in a backpack. There are just checkpoints, plenty of water (at checkpoints and campsites), tents (at the campsites at the end of each stage) and medical assistance – no other outside assistance is allowed.  For more information, please visit http://www.4deserts.com/atacamacrossing/

There are over 20 charities that will be supported through AC11 and it is in this connection that I am reaching out to you all today.

I am running AC11 to support a charity for abandoned children and orphans called the Nethaji Mercy Home, situated at Chennai in India. This charity was started by a gentleman, Mr. A Muthukumar and his wife and is a sanctuary for several children who are either orphans or abandoned by their parents.

The Nethaji Mercy Home is intended to nurture, protect and care for destitute children who are left in the streets and also children from poor and broken families. It promotes the total development of children through loving care in a homely atmosphere with adequate nutrition and healthy social interaction and education for all children till they are mature and old enough to venture out independently. For more information, please visit http://www.nethajimercyhome.org/

I humbly request you all to contribute as much as you graciously can to support the stellar service and work that Muthu and his team are engaged in. As you will all appreciate, the children need food, shelter, clothing and medical care. There are also expenses for various items including school supplies, personal hygiene and many other miscellaneous items required for the day-to-day operation of the orphanage.

Contributions can be made by Crossed Cheque or Crossed Demand Draft favouring the Nethaji Mercy Home, payable at Chennai. Please send any cheques or drafts to:

Nethaji Mercy Home
No. 12, Pandithurai Street
Kamarajpuram
Velacherry, Chennai 600042
Tamil Nadu
INDIA

If you prefer to transfer funds by wire, details are given below.  Please forward this link/post to anyone you believe would be happy to contribute to this charitable venture.

Thank you for your patient reading and also thank you very much in anticipation of your kindness and generosity. Your assistance is much appreciated.

God bless you all
Sumanth Cidambi

PS: Bank details as below.

For money transfers effected from India, please route to:
Indian Bank, Chennai, INDIA
Swift Code: IDIBINBBTSY
IFSC Code: IDIB000V013
Account Number: 474986058
Account Type: (Current Account)
Account Holder Name: Nethaji Mercy Home

For money transfers effected from the United States, please route through:
Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo), New York, United States of America
SWIFT Code: PNBPUS3N
Account Number: 2000191062434
FOR ONWARD CREDIT TO:
Indian Bank, Chennai, INDIA
Swift Code: IDIBINBBTSY
IFSC Code: IDIB000V013
Account Number: 474986058
Account Type: (Current Account)
Account Holder Name: Nethaji Mercy Home

Alternatively when transferring money from the United States of America, you can use:
Standard Chartered Bank (New York)
SWIFT Code: SCBLUS33
Account Number: 3582021188001
FOR ONWARD CREDIT TO:
Indian Bank, Chennai, INDIA
Swift Code: IDIBINBBTSY
IFSC Code: IDIB000V013
Account Number: 474986058
Account Type: (Current Account)
Account Holder Name: Nethaji Mercy Home

For money transfers effected from the United Kingdom/England, please route through:
National Westminster Bank (London)
SWIFT Code: NWBKGB2L
Account Number: 440/02/04442903
FOR ONWARD CREDIT TO:
Indian Bank, Chennai, INDIA
Swift Code: IDIBINBBTSY
IFSC Code: IDIB000V013
Account Number: 474986058
Account Type: (Current Account)
Account Holder Name: Nethaji Mercy Home

Alternatively, when transferring money from the United Kingdom/England, you can use
Standard Chartered Bank (London)
SWIFT Code: SCBLGB2L
Account Number: 0170885820
FOR ONWARD CREDIT TO:
Indian Bank, Chennai, INDIA
Swift Code: IDIBINBBTSY
IFSC Code: IDIB000V013
Account Number: 474986058
Account Type: (Current Account)
Account Holder Name: Nethaji Mercy Home