My 1st Trekking at Nagalapuram Hills, Andhra Pradesh

My 1st Trekking

DATE: December 25, 2011

ROUTE: Ramapuram, Chennai – Porur – Poonamalle – Thiruvallur – Utthukottai – Nagalapuram – Aaree and Back

PLACE: Nagalapuram Hills, Andhra Pradesh, India

Anbu Mani and  I were discussed two days before about Nagalapuram trekking. If we are free at weekend. We will go to Nagalapuram, i.e., our plan.

On December 24, Saturday night we both confirmed the Nagalapuram trekking plan.

On December 25, Sunday, I woke up at 3:30 am and was ready for trekking and rode to Anbu’s Home at Ramapuram and from there, then we have travelled to Nagalapuram by his Bike [up and down - 180 km].

Morning Weather was very chill and cool, we were had frozen.

Anbu was going to this place the second time,  it’s the first trekking to me, with no idea (about route or area). So, I have followed Anbu.

We reached Uttukottai around 7 am and had breakfast and waited for Chennai Trekking Club Members, but if they went to another place or took another route. So we continued our travelling.

We reached Aaree and we walked from Aaree village to Hills 3~3.5 km.

At the entrance, there is a lake, filled with water (winter season that’s why lake otherwise only half or a quarter of its capacity were filled, nice view), then we walked toward forest. It was very beautifully and very peacefully…

          Anbu told me about his previous trekking experience and singing (shouting J) song, make a noise!!!!!!…

Around 1:30 pm, we reached (searching waterfall but failed to find) at some point, we lost hope finding the waterfall, also hungry and a little bit tired, so we both had the discussion and decided to return…

We ate fruits, Biscuits, Bread, dates, and etc.

While coming back, we both took bath at the stream, the water was so chill and refreshing. The moment I fell on the water, I feel the strange thing in my body, all my tiredness, leg pain, hungry were filed away. What a pleasant moment!!!

We enjoyed all moments during the trekking…

With full of happiness and freshness in body and mind,  we came back to Chennai…

CHENNAI BREVETS 200KM

MADRAS RANDONNEURS presents

Associate with Tamilnadu Cycling Club

CHENNAI BREVETS 200KM

ROUTE: From Uthandi Toll Gate near Chennai (ECR) to Pondicherry Toll Gate and back.

DATE: December 18, 2011, 5:30 am to 6:55 pm.

Brevets is an international cycling event, where the riders must complete long distances in a particular time frame. The distance is 200 km and has to be completed within 12:30 hrs. Otherwise, you stand disqualified.

For the first time, the event was conducted in Chennai and about 39 riders participated, many of them are members of Tamilnadu Cycling Club.

In 2011, my dream was to ride at least 200km for a long-distance ride.  The longest distance I have ridden was a 183km (TOT-2010 launches) ride in 2010.

I have been trying for the last 6 months to go for a 200 km ride, but could not do this due to my running commitments.

So when I got an opportunity to realize my dream, I participated in the event “Chennai Brevets 200km”.  Since it was my last chance in 2011, I told myself that “I WILL NOT MISS THIS EVENT”.

On 18th December, I woke up at 3:15 am and got ready for the day.

 I started riding from Velacherry (Room) to Uthandi toll gate and I reached at around 5:00 am.

After completing some formalities for the event, we celebrated NEVILLE’S Birthday.

The event was flagged off by Mr Srinath Rajam and Mr Balasundram (Balaji Cycle).

We started our journey at SBI Bank ATM, Uthandi Tollgate at 6:35 am, weather was amazing and it was breezy.

First 100km,

I started with Neville, Gopalan, Yuvraj and we did a 1-minute one-person leader rotation. This means, for every four minutes, I will follow a leader for 3 minutes and then be a leader for a minute.

We reached Mahapallipuram A2B restaurant and we had breakfast.  After breakfast, we continued the ride.

During the first 100 km, Upto 70^th km we maintained an average speed of 24~26 km per hour.

I had water every 10~12 minutes and ate some Fruits, Chocolates.

I was a little tired and had to slow down.  So I missed my group at 70^th km.

I reached Pondicherry Tollgate on 10:50 am.  I have completed the first 100 km in 4 Hours and 15 minutes.

I did some stretches and took a rest for 20 minutes.

 

Second 100km,

I started with Suresh, Tamilarazan and Kriruba.

The return journey was a KILLER. ECR (East Coast Road) had a very heavy headwind and it was a struggle fighting the winds all the way back. At times the wind was so strong that it was pushing from someone off the road.  

We could not maintain an average speed, but we managed to keep riding.

I drank water every 10 minutes, a few cups of coffee, juices, fruits and Chocolates.

I successfully finished “Brevets 200km” at 11:25 hrs and we took snaps at the end of the ride.  I was dropped back to my room by Tamilarazan in his Car…

I like to thank Partha, Arun and the volunteer support team.

Thanks for the wishes and God blesses you all.

#21. Goa River Half Marathon (GRHM) — 2011 at Goa

Goa River Half Marathon (GRHM) — 2011 at Goa

On December 9th, I participated in my 21st Marathon event “GRHM – 2011” at Goa.

I completed my office work and called my family and friends before my Goa Journey. My family and friends wished me well and blessed me.

Before leaving, I went through the checklist for Garmin, Camera, Train tickets, Snacks, Water, and Dresses.

I reached Guindy at 1:30 pm to board the Vaso Express at 14.10 hrs.

My friend Anbu bought 2 tickets we both met around 1:40 pm at Guindy Railway station and proceeded to Central Station by a local train.

We reached Park Station at 14.00 hrs and sprinted to board Vasco Express at 14.10 hrs. The train left 5 minutes late and we were able to catch our breath after a few minutes.

After we boarded the train we started playing cards and we enjoyed Elagiri Hills in the evening.  We took some snaps of this amazing scenery from the train.  We reached Yesvantpur Junction, had our dinner and went to sleep.  Day 1 happily finished…

On December 10th, I woke up around 6:00 am and the train was on its way to HUBLI.

We had breakfast and we were ready to enjoy the travel from Castle Rock to Kulem hills.

It was very amazing travel with a lot of “S” band curves, tress on both sides, 20+ tunnels.  The train was going slowly and then we saw Dudhsagar falls. The travel through the mountains lasted three hours and we enjoyed this very much

We reached around 2:30 pm at Vasco railway station and went to the bib collection expo at Municipal garden, Swatantrapath, Vasco.

We collected Bib, Timing Chip and Goody bag, and we met Ashwin (RFL).

We test ran for Puma “Faas 300” shoes. The shoes were very nice to run.

We checked in the hotel and had a good lunch at a Udupi restaurant.

After returning to the hotel, we saw the movie “Death Race and 2012”.  We had dinner and prepared for the event.  Day 2 joyfully finished…

 

On December 11th, we woke up around 4 am and got ready for the event. We walked from the hotel to Municipal Garden and caught the event organizers buses to reach the starting point.

We warmed up for a few minutes and I thought about a plan similar to the Delhi Half marathon.

(First 10.5k average 12km/hr and second 10.5k increase my speed 12km+…)

The Half Marathon event countdown was started sharply at 6:00am. 9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…0... Start… All participants started running.  I’m also started running at my own pace…

The course was more up and down (like a hill runs), marked every km, every km aid station and good support volunteers.

I remember Jaga’s advice on hill running “Hills upwards: slightly down your head and short steps. Hills downwards: look forward and long step. It helps you maintain your average speed and also save energy…”

I took water breaks at 3k, 6k, 9k, 12k and 16k.

First 10.5k, I maintained my average speed. Midway I see Jaga and I told him “Your current position is in 21st place. So keep going”.

The second 10.5k, I ran with Suresh and at around 2kms, he told me “Break your records. After this, I got new energy and increased my pace and maintained my average speed and finally, I successfully finished 21.09km at 01:46:48 hrs.

I think this time there were no mistakes in my plan. I’m really happy that I participated in this event.

Later, all our participant friends met. My Friend Jaga (Bib No. 1200) finished 21.09km at 01:23:56 hrs.

After hearing some good music’s and we started to dance with co-runners and all of us enjoyed it.

The event was well-organized and we had a lovely team of supporting, Music’s and cheering volunteers.

We took snaps after having a gala time. We reached the hostel and freshened up to have lunch and caught the train.

The return journey was very tough; the train was linked from Goa to Bangalore separate compartment (1 AC, 1 UR, and 1 SL), the train was fully crowded.

We had one RAC seat and the other two were waiting listed.  

We went to sleep in the evening after we had dinner and adjusted to be seated.

I think around 12 am I got a confirmed seat and I went to sleep.

Next year if we go to the Goa marathon change the route Chennai – Palakatu – Goa and return. Day 3 gladly and tiredly finished…

On December 12th, we reached Bangalore around 8:00 am and we caught Sanghamitra Exp. at 9:00 am from Bangalore to Chennai.

We played cards sometimes and we discussed the upcoming events and reached Chennai at 3:00 pm.

We finally went home with the memories of our event. Day 4 successfully finished…

 We got a new friend and runner from Chennai Mr Srinivasan, who is eager to participate in many upcoming events.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/134452367

#20. 4th AirTel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) — 2011 at Delhi, India

4th AirTel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) — 2011 at Delhi, India

On November 24th, I participated in my 20th Marathon event “ADHM – 2011” at Delhi.

I completed my office work and called my family and friends before my Delhi Journey. My family and friends wished me well and blessed me.

Before leaving, I went through the checklist for Garmin, Camera, Train tickets, Snacks, Water, and Dresses.

I reached Guindy Railway station and caught the local train.

It was raining when we reached Park Station and then I proceeded to Central Station.

I met other two co-runners and participants for the event (Anbu and Jagadeesan).  We boarded the train at 10 pm and after a few minutes of chat went to sleep.  DAY 1 happily finished.

On November 25th, I woke up at around 9:00 am.  The train was on its way to Warangal. We had breakfast and discussed about the event.  Jaga gave me some tips for running at Delhi. After that we started playing cards and then continued playing till night, eating, and also joy of seeing nature pass by from the train’s windows. Day 2 happily ends…

On November 26th, we reached New Delhi Railway station around 8:30 am.  We took the local bus and went to Chanakyapuri.  We checked-in at the Youth Hostel.  The room was a dormitory with eight beds. There were many runners from Chennai, Ahmadabad, Mumbai, and Chandigarh sharing the dorm.  I was happy to meet other runners and then we proceeded to the expo to collect the BIBs.

After enquiring to find our way to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (JNS), we were asked to take the metro rail.  We walked from the youth hostel to the nearby metro station and went to JNS. 

We enjoyed the travel in Metro rail.  It is well maintained, each station had security checks, well marked platforms, fully automated doors and the information in the train informing the passengers of the next station.

After waiting in  a long queue, we were allowed inside JNS for the BIB collection. We met Ram Kumar and Usha.  They had helped me with this event in the previous year.

We collected the Bib, Timing Chip and Goody bag.  We headed back to the hostel and had a worst dinner at road side hotel.  Day 3 joyfully finished…

On November 27th, we woke up at around 4 am and got ready for the event. We all took the Call Taxi and reached the JNS around 5:30 am. There was big crowed and we found out our category (A, B, C) entrances and went to our positions.

I was in the C category and I reached my position around 6:15 am. The weather was freezing and I was feeling very cold.  I had to wait for 55 minutes in the cold and bitter weather.

Sharply at 7:10 am the event was started.  The Elites athletes were flagged off and then the different categories of A, B and C followed them.

I crossed the starting point at 7:12 am. This time the course was fully flat, no ups and downs.

So I started to run at my own pace, the body had to warm up in the first km and then I started to enjoy the weather since it was cool and lovely.

My plan was to complete the first 10.5 kms at an average speed of 12 kms / hour. I then wanted to increase the speed to 12 + kms/ hour for the second half.

I took water breaks at 3k, 6k, 9k, and 16k.

First 10.5k, I maintained my average speed and midway near India Gate I saw Jaga in opposite running back to stadium.

I cheered on him and shouted Come on! Jaga Come on!  At this point Jaga must have been running at 16+kph.

After the first 10.5 kms, I felt that my speed level was down.

So I found out a pace-setter and then I just followed him up to 300m to 400m till the finish.

I then overtook him and I successfully finished 21.09km at 01:44:58 hrs.

As compared to the previous year I was slower by 5 minutes.  I hope to break my record next year.

I feel there were no mistakes in my plan during the run and I enjoyed participating in the event.

Later, all of us met.  My Friend Jaga was finished 21.09km at 01:19:20 hrs.

I was very happy since he qualified for Elites Athletes category.  We took snaps after having a gala time and we reached the hostel to freshen up.

The event was well-organized and we had a lovely team of supporting, Music and cheering volunteers.

We had wonderful meals at Youth Hostel and we reached New Delhi Station to board the Tamilnadu Express at 10.30 pm.

We all went to sleep after boarding the train. Day 4 Gladly finished…

On November 28th, I woke up around 8:00 am and we had breakfast and started playing cards, continued to eat, sleep, play and sleep. Day 5 happily finished…

On November 29th, I woke up around 6:00 am and we discussed about the upcoming events. Finally we went home with the memories of our event. Day 6 successfully finished… 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/131711654

#19. 13th edition MARG Chennai Runners 10K & Half Marathon 2011 @ IIT Madras Campus

 

This was my 19th Marathon event.  I was happy participate to this event.

       When the announcement for the event was made, I started my plans to run this marathon and prepared myself both mentally and physically.

       I was glad to invite all my friends and relatives by phone calls, sms, emails, message through Facebook and Dailymile website.

       The speciality of the event is the 10 x 10 run.  I started to do a 10 x 10 and completed my runs for four days.  Unfortunately I could not complete the 10 x 10 due to personal commitments (my joining a new office and travel to home town for diwali).  So, I missed the medal for the 10 x 10.  I will definitely not miss it next year.

       During the week end runs, I discussed about the event with my co-runners.

       Ram gave me a lovely event poster and I shared this with my friends and office colleagues.

       On Friday, I cycled to Bala’s office in the rains to collect the BIB.  I met his family and Avinash.  I was very happy to meet them at the time of BIB collection.

On November 6, 2011, Sunday, we woke up at 4 am and were ready for the event.  Me and my friend cycled to IIT campus and we reached IIT Open Air Theater (Starting point) at 5:30 am.

       I met all our Chennai Runners friends, warmed-up for a few minutes. My friend Anand joined to volunteer and he encouraged all runners.

       As the Digital clock showed 06:00 am, SLMP whistled to start the event.  All runners started running.

        I started with Sundar and followed him till the 4 kms mark. We ran at 12~13 km speed.

       After I took a water break, I missed him.   I continued to run at 11~12 km speed.

       Mid-way I met Venkatesh. He was riding and encouraging all runners.  He also gave me some running tips. It was very useful for me.  I like to thank Venkatesh.  

       Our Co-Chennai runners were at the aid section.  They all encouraged me and were cheering me “Come on Anand… Come on Anand…”. This made me to restore the energy in my body.  I successfully completed this event in 1 hour 51 minutes.

       A child gave me a medal and I was very happy.

       I collected T-shirt of this Marathon event and I took snaps with my friends and Co-Chennai Runners.

       It was such a wonderful event and I enjoyed every moment of it.  The post run music, food and the silambattam performance by the group was awesome.

       Afterwards, I went to the finishing point and gave medals to many finishers.

       The running Course at IIT Madras Campus was very amazing, with lot of trees on both the sides.

       I also saw deer and it was like a forest.  I loved to run in this route.

       The weather was very nice and my Special thanks to the rain Gods.

       I also thank the Organizers and volunteers for organizing this wonderful event.

You can see my running details in

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/126757866