Marathon Training

Hello there!

It's been months again since I popped in here...I need to make writing a habit and discipline, as soon as possible! I miss it so much!

There is SO much going on, life is full and filled with joy!

Today, I want to share a few things about the #1 thing on my priority list right now - training for my first full marathon, CIM (California International Marathon) on Dec 8th.

Having done a few half's last year and this year, as well as some trail runs, I wanted to keep the momentum going and knock out this bucket list item. It's an intimidating goal, to say the least. I have no idea how I gathered the courage to sign up last December, the day the registration opened up. But I did it!! And here we are....

Official training started in August, but I kept running from Jan through May to keep up with the routine and fitness level. I had an injury scare in May after running a half marathon so I consulted a PT, and took a break for couple months from running during summer break. I was anxious and nervous about the injury, as well as the training load when August came around. It's been 10+ weeks into training now, and I can say it's easily the most intense routine I've undertaken in my life so far.
I have been going to the PT as and when needed to ensure that the injury doesn't flare up, and am training under the guidance of 3 running coaches as part of a group, so I hope I am doing all the right things to prevent serious injury. At this point, the goal is to get to the start line healthy - if I can do that, I know I can run the race!!!

There are also a ton of other things that you need to worry about other than the runs itself. Running is an expensive sport, in my opinion. Not only you pay for all the races you run, you need to invest in good shoes, socks, clothing that doesn't chaff, visors/hats, hydration pack, gels/food for long run, electrolytes that don't cause GI issues, a good GPS watch for tracking, pre-post workout nutrition, salt tabs, foam roller, epsom salt, massages to keep the legs fresh, and the list goes on. Each of these things takes trial and error until you figure out what works and what doesn't.

I read a quote recently which really stuck with me, "A marathon is hundreds of miles...the finish is the last 26.2". I am at the stage of training where we are running 4-5 days every week, with speed work on the track every Tuesday, tempo/fast paced runs every Thursday, and long slow runs that build endurance every weekend. It's been years I have been so disciplined about a lofty goal, outside of work and home responsibilities. I'm quite enjoying the intense pressure of sticking to the plan...it is changing me in ways I cannot describe yet.

I have also managed to build a supportive running community around me. I manage to find company whether it's 5.45 am on a cold, dark, windy weekday, or on a Sunday morning for a 3+ hour run where you can go crazy if you don't have the right mindset and company to make it fun! Coached workouts are also fun, as the coaches are there to push and motivate us and those are days I let my body do the work, and give my mind a rest.

There have been a few downsides too. For the first time in many years, I could only go for Garba once. All other events fell on nights where I had a long run or race the next day, and I needed to rest my legs. I missed out on many fun times with my gujju gang this year. I've had to stay on top of my nutrition, and sometimes it gets tough to always find healthy, filling choices for snacks and meals. I feel like I eat every 2 hours, but thankfully I'm not gaining weight by sticking to a 100% plant based diet. I've also had to decline many social gatherings, and I have a feeling I've gotten distant from a few good friends who we used to hang out with often. None of them are runners - in fact, there is only 1 person from my Indian community who runs with me, so they don't relate to the running athlete lifestyle. Most people find it an obsession, and not a good one. I, on the other hand believe:

"Toeing the starting line of a marathon, regardless of the language you speak, the God you worship or the color of your skin, we all stand as equal. Perhaps the world would be a better place if more people ran." -Dean Karnazes.

Wish me luck please as the next 4 weeks are the most crucial, after which we will taper down to be ready for Dec 8th.

Sharing a few pictures of my journey so far....

We have amazing trails around our area....early morning runs means spectacular sunrises, calm waters with reflections, animal sightings, and an abundance of fresh air....

In love with these Injinji toe socks, such a huge game changer in preventing toe blisters....

The hills around where I live...the most tough running routes cross by my house....

The coaches always write quotes or motivational words during tough hilly workouts to keep us going.....

Sunrise - I wouldn't miss this for the world....

One of my consistent running partners - she is 61, a grandma, and perfect company for me. My running companions range from ages 49 through 73, every single person is older than me, and many are faster than me......

Flaunting my new Goodr's.....

On one of our long runs.....

My early bird group....we are moms who have kids in various sports and Saturdays are busy shuttling them for their games, so we always meet up early to get done by 8.30am....

A part of my running group at Tuesday track workout - I'm the only Indian in this paid coached group....

First run of 2019

2018 was my best running year. I participated in a lot of races - both road and trail, and also ran a half marathon with the husband (his 1st).

But more than any race, I thoroughly enjoyed my weekly long runs. I get to be outdoors (my favorite place to be); I get to breath lungs full of fresh air; I get to observe subtle changes in seasons all year long; I get "ME" time to think deeply about things bringing stress and find a way to let go; I get to become fitter and faster over time; Every mile is worth my while; Every run adds life to my days!!!

I used to run with a local non-profit group on and off from January 2014. But last year, I realized that each of their events centered around alcohol. Any event to raise money involved beer. Most of their runs started and ended at a brewery. Their potlucks and dinner invites never had any vegan options for me to eat. Although I'm still contributing towards their cause, I no longer run with them.

I found a new running group last fall that felt like home. The people, their running pace, their willingness to be flexible in terms of timing, location and distance of our runs, the camaraderie during races - it fit my needs from the Day 1.

I have a routine now for my weekly long runs. And a great group to run with. I look forward to my Saturday AM runs all week long. Being in Folsom, we are blessed with miles of trails - road as well as dirt, and spectacular running weather all year around.

For my first run of 2019, I ran on a route that I've never run before. We started at our usual starting point - Old Town Folsom. There is a covered parking garage with a bathroom here that works well for us. Instead of running along the American River Parkway towards Nimbus Fish Hatchery, we ran east towards Folsom Lake Beals Point. We were treated to a spectacular sunrise here, and we took a short break to soak it all in. It was uphill all the way, and with a 2 week break from running, I was feeling it in my legs and lungs. The way back was downhill and a ton of fun. I was happy we could run 8+  miles, given that I had tight constraints around my return time. Daughter had a basketball game at 9am, and I didn't want to miss a minute of it.

Here are some pictures from Saturday.....

#19 in 2019

I can't believe I'm writing this -

I begin my 19th year at Intel today.

I never thought I'll be working for the same company all these years when I started interning with the company on 1-8-2001.

And what a long but fulfilling journey it has been!

I started out as a test engineer working on ATE's (automated test equipment) - writing test programs for network devices.

My next job was developing a small tester with a 3rd party to test a new memory technology that Intel was developing at that time. Intel sold the 1st generation and then canned the product.

From there, I moved on to a role as a DFX (design for test/manufacturing/etc) engineer, working on RTL code for a memory technology that was a joint venture as well. This project got cancelled early on, and it was the year I got married. Within months of our wedding, I had no project to work on. 70-80% of my team was laid off. I survived.

After a few weeks of ambiguity, we formed a small memory path finding team, and picked up an FPGA project to work on. And soon after, we started working on another big project, which was in path finding for several years. It is now a product, which Intel will be shipping this year. A key milestone for my career!

I wish I could publicly talk about my work, but due to IP issues, I can't.

I don't see myself as a VP, GM or CEO of a company, ever. I've managed projects but never people.

I am happiest working on technical aspects, defining architecture or root causing silicon/platform level issues, or enabling customers with new features. And I love mentoring new hires or junior engineers on our team, whether its issues with their job function or team, or whether its coaching them to push for a well deserved promotion. I currently have 6 mentees - 4 females and 2 males - and my conversations with them about work, work-life balance, and life in general - are so enriching and fulfilling.

I hate politics at work, and dread going to senior level meetings where I have to watch what I say, and things are interpreted in several different ways. Lately, a lot of back stabbing has been going on with our project, and I cringe when I'm involved and have to defend myself. I'm hoping this aspect of my work improves this year, as soon as possible.

Let's begin Intel Inside #19!!!!

Snow Day

After loaning out our snow gear to several families in December, we were finally able to enjoy a Snow Day for our family.

We wanted to snow board and get the kids an instructor, but due to peak holiday season, the resort had no openings all week.

So we did what we've been doing last few years - snow tubing and sledding down the hill. We picked a resort vs parking on the side of the road and going at it ourselves....and it worked out perfect!!

The weather makes a huge difference when it comes to enjoying snow and cold weather - we managed to pick a sunny warm day, just before the storm on weekend which closed down all major highways through the Sierras. And we are lucky that we live 90 mins from the mountains, so our Snow Day plans are always last minute, after checking the weather and road conditions!

The pretty drive through the Sierras on the way to South Lake Tahoe....

The resort area had a picnic area with benches, which really helped my friend and her mom who are not very mobile at this point due to health issues. We had packed a picnic lunch of sandwiches and snacks, and a gingerbread chocolate bar which my kids were very excited to try (they loved it).

We started out with snow tubing, and I couldn't get any pictures or videos as the kids were going very fast.

The daughter took a break and built these 4 small snow men near our picnic benches.

After tubing, we switched to sledding...and all of us took turns sledding down the hill. Its my favorite part of snow days, the thrill and adrenaline rush is amazing.

We ended our day with the kids and their daddy in a snowball fight.....thank goodness for puffy ski pants and jackets which provided much needed protection :)

And finally a family picture to end the day!!

Hope to make it back on the slopes for snow boarding later this year....the kids were very excited to try it out!

Have you been to the snow lately?

Choices

Choice #1: No Bollywood Movies for kids

A friend pinged us with a movie invite for "Simmba" today. I rarely watch Bollywood movies in theatre, and our kids have never watched any yet. The only Bollywood movie RnR watched at home over summer was Dangal - we took 3 days to finish it but it was related to boxing and girls, so it was inspiring in some ways.

I politely declined the invite. The friend kept pressing why - she wanted company for her kiddo it seems. I stuck to my ground but was left feeling the odd one out. She remarked that everyone takes their kids to Hindi movies. I simply said enjoy and moved on.

Choice #2: Stand up against people who bitch about you behind your back

I distanced myself from a so-called good friend when I found out from several sources over the course of 6 months that she had nothing but negative things to say, not just about me but also about my daughter (why??). I feel so dumb that I thought she is a well wisher - I went out of my way to keep our friendship, invited her family over many times, and also let her take advantage of me when it came to babysitting and play dates.

The issue is that our kids study together, take classes together, and we work together, in the same building/same floor. There is no choice but to bump into each other on many occasions, and I simply cannot fake my emotions all the time. At some point, it will show and I am worried how others will perceive it.

Choice #3: Avoid parties where alcohol is consumed

I have talked about this before. Hubby and I are teetotalers and we avoid parties where alcohol is consumed. If its a work thing, we go ourselves but when it's a family thing, we don't like to expose our children to that environment. It seems we are the odd ones out there too.

Choice #4: Disneyland

We've only taken our daughter to Disney once, when she turned 3. She hardly remembers her trip, but after that, none of our children have been Disney fans so they have never asked to visit. Californians, especially my American moms group, spend a ton of yearly Disney trips and passes. I don't know what the obsession is, and how you could go again and again to the same place? I found the rides boring, and everything very fake out there. I want to take both kids once, as a bucket list item of their childhood, but don't see ourselves being frequent visitors at all. Again, odd ones out around where we live.

I'm just in a pensive mood today, about the choices we make and how it affects us, shapes us. There is always this concern that your choices as a parent shouldn't impact your kids negatively, and I truly hope I can live up to that responsibility!!

Happy 2019!!

Wishing all of you a happy, healthy 2019 - may your days be filled with joy, adventures and love!

I feel very selfish as I write this post - I came to my blog today as I was feeling slightly depressed. And that too for a trivial reason.

We spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home - Hubby and I worked out at the gym from 5-6pm, while the kids watched and rated our performance. They consulted the trainer as well on their ratings :). Then we made a pizza loaded with vegetables for dinner (the kids enjoyed spreading the sauce and loading their favorite toppings), played a few card games and watched the NY Times Square ball drop on TV at 9pm PST, and called it a night.

I had made packets for them to work on their favorite memories from 2018, as well as resolutions and goals for 2019, so we brain stormed some ideas, but they didn't pen down anything on 31st.

I went to bed grateful for a TERRIFIC year for our family!

BUT - these last 2 days, all I see on my FB feed is pictures from parties, and it seems we are the only ones that chose to have quiet evening at home. FOMO - fear of missing out - came to me big time. And the only thing that I thought would help me is either writing a blog post or reading my favorite blogs!

And it did not disappoint - I read Preeti's blog on how she always welcomes the new year and instantly, I zapped out of my funk and felt better. I just needed to connect with like minded people, and filter out the noise around me. I also made a resolution to spend less time on Facebook and more time on writing this year.

So tell me, how was 2018 for you? and how did you spend your New Year's Eve?

Here's how 2018 went for us - I have SO much to share, I better make time to pen things down!!

I am BACK :)

Hello Hi Namaste Salama Aa Gaye Phir Se Karne Hungama....

Sorry for disappearing from the blogosphere for so long. I didn't intend to take such a long break, but I am back for good now. I've missed writing, and more than writing, I've missed reading all my favorite blogs - Ramesh, Sriram, SK, so many more....hope you are all doing well.

I just read my last blog entry from June 2016 where I wrote about my UK trip - WOW, has it been 2 years that I didn't write anything here? Ouch!

Life has been kind and generous during this time. No illnesses or health scares, family is doing well, kids are doing great, and work @ Intel is creatively challenging but still provides me enough flexibility n balance as a working mum.

Kids are on summer break right now, and my parents will be here next weekend to spend the summer break with us. All of us are looking forward to their company!!

On the personal front, I took a break from running in 2015, 2016 but I picked it back up in 2017, and have been consistent at it.  It's all I think about, read about, and do most days. I've run many races since I resumed in August 2017 last year. A couple weeks ago, hubby decided to join me for his 1st half marathon, and we ran it together - a memorable experience for both of us!!

My next race is the Ragnar Tahoe in July. It's a team trail relay race, where you take turns and run for 24+ hours non-stop as a team. I've never done something like this before, and it's going to be challenging, especially at 7000ft altitude, the uphill climbs and a possible middle-of-the-night run. I'll keep you all posted on it - I'm nervous but excited!!

(https://www.runragnar.com/event-detail/trail/tahoe_ca)

Another thing I have immensely enjoyed since September 2017 is working out @Orange Theory Fitness. I love the coach led, interval training at this gym, and it helped me lose so many inches as well as lbs. I participated in many special events (like the dri-tri, which is a dry triathlon at the gym - 2000m rowing, 300 reps of body weight exercises, and a 5k run on the treadmill). A year ago, I was in no state to even complete it. I finished my first dri-tri in 54 mins - and I know I could have done better!!

After every workout, we also get a summary in the form of a bar chart below - I love analyzing the numbers....whether its my heart rate, or calories, or the zones, it's my jam! I used to go into the orange/red zone very quickly in the beginning, but my cardio health has improved and it takes a huge effort now to get into those zones and bank some splat points.

I have put my Orange Theory membership on hold for the summer, as we go to another gym with pools and kids activities as a family. It's been only 10 days since my last class, but I miss it terribly. I was addicted to it these past few months.

Summer is here - it's my favorite season of the year. The days are warm and long - we try to spend a ton of time outdoors. We've done local hikes, water play at splash parks, biking and park picnics so far. We have a camping trip coming up this weekend, followed by a few days exploring San Francisco and the bay area. Kids have been swimming at every available opportunity, and I'm hoping to take them whitewater rafting this weekend on the American River.

So - how are all of you doing? What exciting adventures do you have planned for summer? How has your 2018 been so far?

I'm hoping to post a lot more in the coming days....stay tuned!!