"Running" on top of the world

Only 30% oxygen, 17580 feet and a run from the world's second highest motorable pass, Tang Lang La. With the sky filled with an ocean of clouds, and the sun beating down, it was a pleasant cold day at the top. Snow caps to your left, and the Tanglang peak to the right, and view covering more than a hundred miles towards Morey Plains behind you, words aren't enough to describe the experience at Tang Lang La.

Most of the runners and crew have arrived a week earlier, which meant they were better acclimatized to the altitude.


As for me, having arrived only two days earlier, the acclimatization was just sufficient. Mark Woolley wanted to go Tang Lang La, for a recce of the route, as well as, to get some running exposure at that altitude. SeowKong Kim, the ultra-runner from Malaysia, also joined in. We were a total of six people, including two crew members for each runner.

Mark, myself and Romila 

Before we started at eight am in the morning, I got a decent walk up to Shanti Stupa, where we had the marathon the previous day. Tang Lang La, was about a 100 kilometres from Leh, and the roads were mostly  good.

Picture says it all

We started as planned, and had a small tea stop at Upshi. We passed through a few villages, Taru, Gya, Sasoma, Rumptse, before hitting the uphill to Tang Lang La.

We walked the last one kilometre of uphill leading to Tang Lang La. Mark was gracious enough to wait for me, while I changed over to some warm gear. We spent a few minutes on top of the pass, evaluating the course, and also taking pictures of the marvellous scenery around.

I skipped the morning run in anticipation of this run, and was hoping that I would be able to run along with Mark and Seowkong. Being downhill, I had a 10kph pace in mind, which is reasonable at lower altitudes.

When we started, Mark and Seowkong were a few paces ahead, and I was following them. After a few minutes, I had some breathlessness, and the altitude began to take its toll. I continued slowly putting each step forward.  The road was of dirt, because of which, I wasn't getting enough bounce from the shoes, which made each step harder.

I stopped a couple of times, to get water, and after a while, I could hear my heart pounding like a metronome. I haven't felt such pounding even at peak interval training for 100 or 200m intervals. I started walking downhill. Meanwhile, Mark and Seowkong had extended their lead quite a bit. The only regret that I had was that I couldn't run along with them.

Running on the roof of the world

At around six km, Mark, the crew car caught up with me, and asked me to join back in. With the tarmac, only a few metres ahead, and knowing that I would be able to get a better pace on the tarmac, I insisted that I run for another km or so. I asked the crew car to wait for ten minutes and then start.

The run on the tarmac was quite good. I was still facing breathlessness, but yet, was enjoying the run. When the crew car caught up with me, I joined back in, and we found Seowkong running another 2km ahead, and Mark, one more km ahead of Seowkong. Both of them readily jumped into the car, feeling very satisfied with the high altitude experience.

Incidentally, I had come to know that Mark had run up Khardung La, (which is higher than T. La, and is the world's highest motorable pass).

A super record and a thud

It was a fine morning. The monsoons haven't arrived yet. The morning breeze is filled with chilled air and that dose of adrenaline, which is only unique to Bangalore.
Otherwise, where would we find the motivation for a lazy person like me to wake up before five in the morning and complete a sixty km ride, and yet present yourself spic and span at nine.
This day was just normal like ant other day, with office work running till midnight the previous day. I got out of my home at 0530 for the Varthur circle, which marked the start point for Attibele loop, which is fast becoming my favourite. its not only the butter smooth roads, but also the rolling terrain and the green surroundings. All of the above makes a perfect combination to replace a cup of coffee, and packed enough caffeine to kick-start your day.
The loop measures 53 km, and with my commute it totaled sixty, making it an ideal two and a half hour workout on a weekday. The first time I attempted the course, I did it in 2:13. Two attempts later, I could bring the time down to 2:09.
So, todays was a much looked forward to ride, not only because of the scenery, but also because I was expecting a better timing, after the installation of toe clips.
The ground was still wet from the mild drizzle the previous night. I set my Garmin to virtual partner mode for the pre-marked course, started it, and pushed off. the traffic as usual was less. After about the kilometres, I was feeling a slight pain on the left knee. I slowed down a little before pacing further. The pain must be because of the insufficient warm up.
I just kept looking at the Garmin and paced further. All of a sudden, I realized that the Farming was a stopped. I set it right and moved along. Based on the gap in the distance, I must have had it speed for about five-six minutes, you never know.
As I continued looking at the virtual partner and paced myself, I noticed another thing. The distance remaining was never getting updated and it remained at the same eve since the start of the course. To add to that, the virtual partner also went into recalculation, and I was never sure from this point, whether I was faster than my previous time or not. I had no option to keep pushing through the ride.
On the back of my mind, I was still calculating how to get the missed time.
Except for the small bad patch after Attibele, all the ride was done pushing myself.
And finally when I arrived at Cathie circle, I stopped the watch, and reset it to save the workout. As it showed the details, I immediately knew, I beat the previous time, but not by how much.
I went over the workout details, and was in for a pleasant surprise. I beat previous time by over six minutes. I was only expecting to better it by a coupe of minutes.
With confidence brimming, I started pedalling slowly towards home. usually, the ride back home was usually the toughest, but today was different. I was happily pedalling.
As I reached Thubarahalli, I  needed to make a right turn, I WA already in the middle of the road, and it was easy. Somebody was honking very badly, and I let him pass. For all that hungama created, It was a motorcycle.
I checked again that there is nobody in the right lane and moved towards the right to make a turn. There was again another round of honking  which must have gone for two seconds. The next thing I knew was that I was lying on the road, and a cabbie had hit me from behind.
I was having an excruciating pain on my left wrist, and a few scrapes on my left elbow and leg.
With all the pain, I lifted myself up and also tried to move the bike. The rear wheel was jammed and the chain had come off from the front chain-rings.
Some passers-by were just looking, confused or otherwise wondering why people ride bicycles. Two good samaritans came to me rescue: while one offered a ride, the other offered to safe keep the bike, when I get treatment in a hospital.
I assured them I was perfectly airtight and tried to walk. aS stiffen flash of dizziness, caught me and I fainted. I waited fir another minute sipping water politely declining any help offered and carried along, carrying the bike. the first samaritan managed to catch me on his car, and gave me a ride. I has to get off the car at a fair distance from my home, just to ensure that me family doesn't get overly worried.
After reaching home my first priority was to send off Chandu to office without creating an alarm. the next task was to go to a hospital, and get an x-ray.
The orthopaedic didn't consult in the mornings, and being already at the hospital, I did not wasn't to waste time, and had to settle for a consultation with the general physician. I specifically asked the front desk if the physio will be able too take a look at the fracture, and the answer was kind if evasive. I wad  happy after the consultation. The doc simply mentioned that the wrist is write well protected and you quote him, "nothing usually happens around that area".
I was happier when I went back home. A few hours later, when the pain started increasing, I decided to consult the ortho. The ortho was quote clear, and immediately suggested a x-ray and the rest of the formalities followed. I walled out if the hospital with my wrist in cast. It turned out that I had a fracture in the scaphoid, and such fractures are quite common.Why the general physician could not figure it out its entirely a different story, and that is the state of our medical system. they could have simply asked me to consult the ortho than wasting time with an useless consultation.
the fracture would take five to six Weeks to heal, and more importantly, I cannot do any exercise during this period.

The first days in Leh

After a long night of ordeal, I finally arrived in Leh, yesterday morning. I am in Leh for La Ultra (www.thehigh.in), as part of a support crew member for one  of the runners. This is the most looked forward to "event" all this year, ahead of even my cycling and running event. So, what about the ordeal at the Delhi Airport. I had a ovenight transfer with some business to be taken care of, which meant, that I could not settle into a coze little hotel room for sleep. Moreover, the transit time was too less for me to attempt such a thing. The T3 terminal is truly world-class, kudos to GMR, it matched up to the best international airports, I have seen, including Dubai and Singaport.

So what about the ordeal. It meant that I had to spend a sleepless night in the visitors lounge at the terminal, keeping an eye on my luggage. To add to that, my early morning flight was postponed by an hour-and-a-half, which added to the wait time. And to add insult to the injury, I learned that there was another flight, which went on time, and I could have made to it, had the airline staff informed about it. So, to sum it up, a long sleepless night at the airport.

The commute from Leh airport to my assigned hotel was very smooth, with the confusions handled between the taxi driver and the event organizing staff. After having breakfast in the flight already, I wasn't  interested in breakfast either.

Having traveled an altitude of close to 3000 metres above from Bangalore, all it meant was that I had to rest all day. I am not a guy who catches sleep so easily during daytime. So, I had to resort to a book from the hotel's library. "A call of the man-eater" by Kenneth Anderson proved the right company for me during the next few hours, till I could get a little drowsy. I was always fond of colonial time Indian stories about the Indian country side, and this book was no exception. The author had an amazing touch to the descriptions of pre-independence India, some of which still remains. A good takeaway for me is that I can visit in person, some of the places described in the book.

The hotel was located just outside the city, with lots of greenery around. With lots of birds chirping around, and the view from the window covering might snowcaps, which still are snow-covered in this hot July summer, I am sure the rest of the days are going to be both exciting and refreshing.

The book, in all, talks about the hunting expeditions of the author, in which he goes after man-eaters. (Big cats which have resorted to killing humans).

The evening had a briefing meeting, where I got to my runner, Mark Wolley, who'll be attempting a distance of 222 kilometres a week from now. For mortal runners like us, running 22 km is quite a challenge. And Mark will be attempting 222 km. Distance is the last challenge in his attempt here. He is going to cross two different mountain passes both around 18000 ft, and also cover close to 30000 ft in altitude gain. The temperature in the Leh can go from a bone freezing -5 degrees in the cold of night, to a max of 40 degrees during the peak of the day.
Truly, this is a challenge reserved only for the elitest of the elite runners.

To support him for a continuous period of 60 hours, is an easy task, considering the runner he is. He is not going to present much of a challenge. Our challenge will be in keeping ourselves sane throughout those sixty hours.

I got to understand Mark's vital running habits during our hour long discussion, including, what types of food he would prefer, how he would like to run the course, and how we manage his fatigue levels. The list doesn't here. But in the end, Mark summed it up all in one sentence. "You will have to go by how I feel at the moment, at any point in the race".

This was best left to experience, than to planning. While we still have to do our fair bit of planning, we'll have communicate constantly with Mark and understand him more during the course of the race to help him complete this mammoth challenge.

The dinner back at the hotel was quite ordinary, with me getting finicky about what I eat. I did skip rice which I had been avoid for dinners during the last few months.

The next day...
There was a planned (small) marathon around Leh for all the organizers and crew members today. This was to give a high altitude running experience to whole team, and not just the elite runners.

The race started at 6:15 am, with a majority of runners taking part in the 21km half-marathon category. Interestingly, the HM participants outnumbered 10K participants by three times. Having arrived only a day early, and with limited training, I had to miss the race. Acclimitization was the prime reason. I was deeply disappointed that I could not run in such wonderfull surroundings.

Being forced to sit on the sidelines, I took responsibility of the Finishing line, along with Sakshi, another runner from Delhi. We saw through the 10K participants, the Half-marathon participants, and finally the marathon participants too. I couldn't control my urge to run, and ended up running and walking along with the last of the marathon participants for the last two kilometres.

Remarkably, Mark Collley, who I am crewing, came first in the Half-marathon, and the marathon finish was even better, with the lead runner sprinting up the hill for a complete two kilometres, which was the last of his 42km run. Everybody was just amazed at how much this runner had in store.

Being late from the race, I took a quick shower, and took a quick lunch at El Forno restaurant, the pre-determine rendezvous location for our team, which included Romila Sil, the scuba-diving instructor. The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping, first for the run along with Mark, and then for me, to carry something back home. We picked upon some fresh juicy apricots, and we liked it to the extent that we went back and got an extra serving.

With another briefing in the evening, I could just find enough time to write this blog. There may be something more coming, so stay tuned.

Two falls and a Flat later...

Huliyurdurga was the route we had done a practice ride about four weeks back, which meant that part of the course was familiar. It was also the course for the 200km brevet, by IISc Randonneurs.

Brevets or Randonnees are self-supported rides, in which a rider has to complete the set course in given time. A rider will also have to arrive at the pre-defined control points in time, failing which, the overall ride will be disqualified, even if he/she arrives at the finish line in time. 

The time target is usually set around a pace of 15kph. Dont let the 15 number fool you, as we ride normally faster than 15. The catch is that overall average should be set at 15, and this will include all the breaks taken, which means that the average required is more than 15, and is around the 20 number. 

Huliyurdurga was a tight-course with three controls. This meant that you cannot afford to ride fast and take a longish break somewhere.

Preparations...

Thanks to my experience with the 1000K and 600K brevet attempts, I was prepared mentally. In terms of the equipment, all that was required to take the bicycle for servicing, which I had given it to RR cycles, for want of time. Otherwise, the carb-rich dinner for two nights before the brevet day, ensured that I will not bonk during the day.

The plan was to take the handle-bar bag, but the rain jacket spilled over to a backpack. After a conversation with Dileep, I ensured that the rain jacket also got in to the handle-bar bag, and I wouldn't have to carry a backpack. I had a trail-mix which took the centre of the bag, and around it went 8 to 10 packs of Gatorade. Underneath was some first-aid material. All this was packed strategically so that, one, the Gatorade packs can be pulled out easily, and two, dipping into the trail mix need only opening the handle-bar bag. This ensured that I dont have to stop and lose time during the ride.

Inquiries about parking at the start-point didn't yield much positive response. I was mentally prepared for a 1-hour ride to the start-point with the wake-up alarm set at 0300. With that set, I went to bed the previous night at 2100, which is very unusual. I still recollect Ananya and Chandu (my daughter and wife) coming to sleep at around 2230. Ananya was running all around, and did manage to wake me up, but by then, I had already got sound sleep worth half-the-night. After 0200 I kept waking up and checking the clock, and finally decided to get out of the bed by 0310.

The ride

With about 80 registrations, I didnt want to take any chances with the last minute rush at the start-point. The one-hour ride was a breeze and got me warmed up nicely. Sreepathi was at the start handing out the brevet cards. And one more IISc volunteer making the mandatory checks. Some known faces, including Karthik, Kiran, Suma (we'll cover about her later) and a few other known faces. The starting lineup also included Nirmal from IISc.

The initial directions reaching to Magadi from IISc was tricky, and I decided to stick with Aashutosh who knew the way. This ensured that the planned 30minutes for the first 7K stretch to Magadi Road was covered in about twenty minutes.

Reaching Magadi Road, there was a steep uphill, which all of us were struggling to cover. A couple of roadies were ahead, and I managed to pass each one of them. The leader, Som appeared to be peadling slowly and waiting for others. As I passed him, asked him about the same. Both of us paced ahead knowing that others will catch up later on.

A few minutes later, I asked Som, if he could join a paceline. He agreed, and we managed to convince Aashutosh, who was on a MTB. For the next twenty minutes, we rode fast with each of us taking the lead for one minute each. With a heavier MTB, Aashutosh was getting tired, and he asked us to carry along. And so, it was just me and Som, and we did great, alternating when the other's pace slowed. Som's bike computer wasn't working and he kept asking along, "How far to the control", and we faced nice rolling hills before Magadi.

The first control was set just outside Magadi fort at a small breakfast place serving Thatte idli, and the volunteers managed to signal us down as we just passed. We were pleased to know that we were the first to arrive at the control, and that boosted our confidence. There is no better breakfast than Thatte idli. Takes about two hours to comeback as energy, and very hygienic. 

I double-checked with Som, and ordered for both of us, while the control formalities were getting taken care of. The idli was about the size of a 10-inch plate, and I managed to finish 70% of it and fed the rest to a dog standing nearby. We also managed to get our bottles filled so that we dont have to make a mandatory stop later on. The big advantage with remote rural areas is that the drinking water is both hygienic (free from industrial pollution), and mineral-rich too! We kept filling along the route wherever it felt hygienic.

As we were completing the formalities, the rest of the riders were arriving and getting their control formalities done. We pushed off, trying to keep the lead, which'll give us a good psychological advantage. As Som was having only one sipper, I asked him to get another waterbottle and keep it in his backpack. This was necessary, as we were approaching the hotter part of the day. We tried doing the paceline again with Ashok, another rider, but he wasn't able to catch the tail. We moved along.

As the day got hotter, we were slowing down. After a couple of stops, I pulled out my magical trail mix, and it did seem to work. Both of us were cruising along. There was a group of building to the right, what appeared to be a ITI, with some teens playing in the huge playground. I always envy these guys, bestowed with such big playgrounds. 

Just we were were cruising along, I heard, "Oh.. Oh.. Oh..", and the loud noise of a crash. Som, was tailing me, and just for a moment, he lost concentration, and when he turned back, he couldn't judge the distance, and braked hard. With his front brake applied hard, he toppled. Ashok was following us close, and he stopped and offered help. We quickly got some Neosporin and band-aids from my first aid kit. Thankfully, the first aid kit has been put to use. I kept telling Som, "Use all you want. These things arent of so much use after I get back".  

We allowed Som to rest for a while. As we were resting, we saw a few groups pass by. I kept reassuring Som that we'll be catching up and not to worry. This group included a big peloton of about 15 riders, with Nirmal curising on his Bianchi Camelonte. In this meantime, we got Som's bike checked, and fixed his seat, which got off the rails. 

With most of the group ahead of us, we started on a low note. Just as we were starting, it appeared 

as if my brakes were brushing against the well. I had to stop, and called out another roadie, Sreekanth for help. After a quick adjustment, all three of us started off. Sreekanth agreed to ride on the paceline. The next hour saw the three of us, riding on a paceline, with each one of us taking the lead. Som was less confident following and he would take the lead most the time, and would keep a longer distance, if he were to follow. We kept passing most of the riders who had crossed us when were riding, but the mystery remained, who all were ahead of us.

When we reached Huliyurdurga, a few riders were already waiting. We just stopped for sufficient time, just to get our water bottles filled. As we pushed along, we had to stop at a few places, thanks to the cue-sheet, which had some minor issues. At this time, we were a big gang of ten people. Most important was the the turn on to the mudroad, which was literally at a 'nowhere' point. After checking with villagers, we proceeded. The next five kilometres was semi-paved road, which I rolled gently off-the-saddle. The complete stretch of bad roads, was a total of 13km, half of which was damaged roads, which could be managed. But the unpaved stretch was a back-breaker. All of us were relieved when the stretch ended, and the much looked-forward to Sugar Factory arrived.

When the group is bigger, the stops only increase, and when get bigger every time you stop. Stick to smaller groups and resist the urge to stop. And yes, every minute counts.

The three of us roadies stuck together, the paceline not necessarily in formation. This was also the hotter part of the day, so we had to ride it out with patience. And when we saw the Railway overcrossing, there was a huge sigh of relief, and energy flowed out of nowhere, that we rolled on the bridge at 30kph.

Bangalore-Mysore Highway

The next control Maddur Tiffanys was not very far. As we arrived there, we saw Nirmal and Karthik, already seated at a table. They must have been five minutes ahead of us. Som wasn't inclined to take lunch. But Sreekanth, was intended on going for a double-lunch. He ordered an extra Masala Dosa. I gave clear instructions to the cashier so that each one of us would get a time-slip. As we finished out luch, the buttermilk was tasting heavenly. Such that I ordered two extra (paid) servings, and Sreekanth got one. 

With the energy flowing from the lunch, we three, cruised along a fast pace. Paceline riding always means that you get a boost of an extra few kph. As we were crusing, I felt something on my rear wheel, and then "Oooh...ahh..Oooh...ah", and I stopped to see, Sreekanth lying on the road. Quite lucky, that there wasn't any heavy vehicle following him. It turned out that he was riding close to me, and couldn't accomodate my swerve to avoid the pothole on the road.

We took the opportunity to rest, and enjoy the ambience. This happened right on a bridge, and whenever something crossed, even a small tractor, the whole bridge would vibrate. We were rattled when a few lorries passed. The most interesting fact about this stop was that, whatever we did, each of our bikes fell when they were completely stopped. Must be the winds on the bridge, or some bad omen, as Sreekanth and Som were quite fixated about my back wheel.

When we started, we decided to ride the next 15km out separately. The few minutes gained out of the paceline wasn't worth the risk. Also during this stop, we saw most of the riders pass us. We quickly reached Ramanagara, and took the road to Magadi, after a few inquiries with the locals. When I saw a water tap by the roadside, I ensured that I filled up my water bottles. Not that I needed the water, but both my bottles had extra Gatorade that the water was tasting sweet. So sweet, that I had to dilute them. Such a stop in the middle of the day under the high sun, only encourages you to take more rest. All of us took the opportunity to rest. I lied flat on the ground, even though I didn't get flat ground to do so.

As we were resting, Sreekanth commented "Lady, Lady...". And we saw Suma, the lone female rider in the whole group pass us. I replied, "Guys, we cannot afford to let a woman pass us. Even if she happens to be a Iron woman". Suma, is a half-Ironman finisher, having finished the half Ironman Triathlon. The event included, 2km of swimming, 90km of biking and 21km of running. We managed to gather ourselves and get started.

After taking the right turn to Manchanabele dam, the road wove through beautiful villages, and trees dotted the roads, giving us shade. The last couple of kilometers before Manchanabele Dam, had an excruciating climb, which I managed to cross with a lone stop. The stop was made to help out Sreekanth, who had a problem with his drivetrain. And finally when the climb ended, Som wanted to stop. I egged him on to continue the next 10 kilometres till the control. We kept looking for the control, painfully.

And when the control finally arrived, Sreepathi was greeting us. We got our cards stamped, and when we mentioned to him about the climb, he replied, "Oh, it was just 6% and it a very short climb". Eight riders were already ahead of us, and we moved on quickly to catch them if we can.

At Magadi Road

After a few stops and inquiries, we managed to get to Magadi Road, all through some very beautiful country terrain. And when we reached Magadi Road, we were looking forward to the climbs to get back to the starting poing. Magadi Road was full of rolling terrain, which we were managed quite well. The traffic was chaotic and difficult to manage.

All three of us stuck together, and as we reached the ORR junction, I realized my front tire had a flat. I couldn't stop in the middle of traffic, and hence had to ride a few more metres to stop safely. I signalled to Som and Sreekanth to stop. At this time, we would have reached the finish by 1800 if not for the flat. Both of them were in no hurry and were happy to help. 

 

We quickly removed the tube. However, the tire didn't seem to have anything.  I ran a couple of checks, and then Sreekanth did. We didn't want to risk another puncture. After a few minutes, we decided to get the new tube in. I got one of the stock Btwin tubes. The quick check for pinches revealed that a small part of the tube was still stuck between the tyre and the wheel. We did all sorts of magic tricks to get it in. However, the tube refused to go in. And finally, when it went in, we must have lost close to half-an-hour.

We quickly moved on, wading through the traffic in Outer Ring Road. Traffic was heavy, and the lights tested our patience. We managed to cross one of them by pushing the bikes. Earlier instructions from Sreepathi meant that we had to avoid Iskcon junction. We rode all the way to Tumkur Road, and rode through the traffic. I kept asking Som, if we are on the right path.

When we reached the Yeshwantpur flyover, all of us were off-the-saddle and pushing to our limits. As we got down from the bridge, there was another huge pileup of traffic, which we had to wade through. We took the turn onto MS Ramiah Road, it was less than 100 metres to the finish. Two guys were waiting at the gates, who signed off on our brevet cards. We quickly paid for the medals, went to the wash rooms, refreshed ourselves and got some water to drink.

And when we came back, we congratulated the rest of the riders, bid farewell, and left to do our chores.

There is a reason why Randonnees or brevets are not organized as races. Once you bring in the "race" word, it brings in a sense of competition, and everybody is focussed more on their performance than the actual ride. In more than one occasion on this ride, riders including me, stopped to help fellow riders who got stuck. That would be nigh impossible, if the brevet was organized like a race. 

For me, it was an enriching experience, meeting new people and riding with a common goal. At the end of the day, I did finish in time, and thats what counts!