Ragnar Relay NorthWest Passage 2012

For people who don't know about Ragnar, its a 200 mile relay run, run over two days by a team of 12 people grouped in two vans, typically starting on a Friday and finishing on Saturday, Wherein each of the 12 runners get 3 legs to run with varying distances, with a maximum distance of 24.4 miles including all the 3 legs

This was my third time running ragnar northwest passage with the same team. Our team is know by the name CRAWLERS, truly we are crawling for 6 years as a team. we had varied combinations of team members for the past 6 years in the team, but I suppose this was the first year that it turned out to be an all men's team.

Our team was scheduled to start at 12:30 PM from the start line, for people who don't know each team has to volunteer for some time at some point over the two day time or else have to pay for a volunteer. I was in van2 and our van1 guys had already been there at 7 AM or so. I have to say, this was the first time in 6 years it was raining on the day of ragnar, not sure what to expect and how things are going to be.

Start Point - Peach Arch Park Blaine - 11:45 AM

Van 1 guys volunteered at the start line, while we from van2 drove to the start line at Blaine, reaching there at around 11:45, while we took over the volunteer work, let the team take the safety training, collect the bibs and be ready for the scheduled start at 12:30 PM. We volunteered there at the Packet pick up tent, helping out teams with their t-shirt's and bibs after then had completed their safety training. we leave from there to exchange 6, where our van runners start.

Exchange 6 - Bellingham High School - 4:00 PM

Reached exchange 6, we as van2 guys had to take the safety training(they explain the rules to be followed on the course, rules by ragnar team, rules by local laws, what to do in night, what to do when get lost etc...). Only upon completing the safety training, will we get the bibs for the runners in our van, hence we got done with that, met few chuckit runners, had a brief chat and posed for a snap :)
Waited for the van1 runners to reach exchange 6, they were expected to arrive at 5:30, sun was starting to show up at 4:30 or so, giving a sense of relief

Exchange 7 - 11 5:30 - 9:30

We had our first runner Todd, who started from exchange 6, he had a tough hill to climb, he was sprinting by, doing 7's or 7:15's, helped out with water in between before he takes a trail, Madhu was  the 8th runner, he took over from todd, he was doing 6.5 miles finishing with a hill, he did great with sub 8's and Biddu took over from him as the 9th runner running easy 2.8 miles, again him doing a sub 8's, Anand took over from him as the 10th runner running 6.1 miles, he was doing great too, then it was time for Jaydev to run as 11th runner, he had a good hill, he was cruising past the hills, helping out with couple of sips of water for him, it was time for me to get ready to the longest of legs of anybody has got.

Exchange 11 - 9:00 PM
I was the 12th runner, my first leg was 10.8 miles, totally flat, our Captain Anand, had suggested the running times for each runner in each leg based of our 10 k pace, so I was expected to run 7:30 for the first leg.

LEG 1 ELEVATION

LEG 1 PACE

I was the first runner in van 2 to wear the reflective vest and lights, I was all set with it for jay to arrive, primed with Gaitorade carb drink and got the band passed on from jay, took off, it was getting dark, it was a long run but I took off so fast, doing 6:50 for my first mile and slowly brough it to target pace of 7:30, about 3 miles I already had 4 kills, there was this old guy who wanted to just run with me at my pace, i was running with him until around 7 miles, honestly he kept the pace and he had to stop to stretch, I just kept my pace and the last 2 miles I again picked it up, finishing my first leg in 1 hour 20 minutes at 7:25 m/mile pace. that was clear 5 sec/mile faster than what our captain had for me for the first leg :).

Exchange 12 - 10:20 PM - Burlington Edison high school
I reached the exchange 12 close to 11 pm, what a great relief to get done with one of your legs, that too within the expected pace. Quickly used the potty, and we were off to a Bobs burger shop for our dinner, we had to rush as the shop was closing by 11 PM, reached there on time, had a big meal for dinner, had nice conversations amongst us, teasing our captain for generously giving us stipulated times to run. obvious to say it was just a guideline, but we were just pulling his leg for all reasons.

Exchange 18 - 11:20 PM - La Conner High School

we had our dinner, and drove to our next exchange point where we have to start our 2nd leg, this is the chance for us to rest quickly, all of us quickly settled with our sleeping bags, couple of us went to take shower and slept at peace, with clear instructions from the van1 leader valor, to have our phones switched on and with high volume :) . we probably got around 2 hours undisturbed sleep, which was great in terms of ragnar conditions. At close to 3 AM, we got message from valor, and our first runner Todd, was already up and getting warmed up, I just woke up then to see todd performing push ups at 3 AM in the morning :) , he was really serious about it. slowly all of us packed our sleeping bags, while van1's last runner came in with todd starting to start his second leg

Exchange 19-23 - 3:00 AM to 7:30 AM

again we got to rotate our runners, todd going strong, lost his way on the very first mile, we backtracked the path to find him finally on the right route. Then it was Madhu, who had a awesome run across a bridge in the night light, but that part of that was not supported, hence helped him out at mile 4.8 and we drove to the next exchange point, while all our runners were resting in the van, biddu , the next runner got ready and was all set to run his shortest leg, I drove to the next exchange point soon after Madhu came in since the distance was short for biddu. Anand was the next runner who got all ready, I had jaydev alone after anand, hence I got myself ready and was all set mentally, I drove to the next exchange point so that jay had some time to use the potty's and be ready to take his leg as anand arrived. I always wanted to run across the deception pass bridge, this time it was jay's turn to run across deception pass bridge, which was totally foggy, it was reasonably bright around 7:15, but no view point due to drizzle and the resulting foggy situation. I was mentally more tensed, since my next leg was hilly, and its not short either its 8.9 miles, had my carb primer and quickly used the potty, and I see jay reaching the exchange point already. got the batton and started my second leg

Exchange 23 - 7:30 AM

I was mentally not prepared to run, but as time nears to my turn, I have to just do it, got the batton from jay and happily started the second leg, since it was slightly drizzling and daylight was total on by then. totally happy to start with a down hill, with my left ankle still totally not co-operating, I wasn't sure about climbing even a single hill, but slowly as I was getting more kills, up the hills, that motivated me to keep going, my target page set by anand was 7:52, I at least wanted to be under that, but I was doing way better than I expected, I was doing 7:35's up the fist hill, 6:50's down the hills happily, which was totally compensated in subsequent hills over the course of my second leg, my this leg was 8.9 miles, i see chuck's group runner and the team van, got a great cheer from tien, that was just another boost. having known that i am done with almost all the hills of that leg, I started speeding doing 7:30's and finished strong to average 7:40 for 8.9 miles. totally satisfying run given the elevation of the leg. happy to have done my second long leg. I just had a 4.5 miler in the third leg, which i was totally happy. Here is the when we saw our chuckit group runners waiting for their runner. had a quick snap with dana and sumanth, and we set out to the school for a happy shower.

Exchange 24 Oak Harbor High School 8:15 AM

Always has been a favorite spot, just for the chance to sleep and eat. took shower quickly and had the breakfast in the school across the street and totally felt fresh, but we were expecting the van1 guys to arrive at 11:30, so we had close to 2 hours to sleep then, happily went ahead and slept in the gym for solid 2 hours, and around 11:30, we were up and were about to start, while Todd had already started his leg, an awesome route around the oak harbor, I remember doing that leg last year, its really a nice scenic route, Jay quickly helped all of us with a pack of yogurt, which totally felt great for the heat, when van 1 had come in, quickly snapped them all for a group snap and we leave to support todd and start our last and final legs.

Exchange 25 - Exchange  Bay View Road 35: 11:30 AM to 3:19 PM  
It was all of ours last legs, and most of us were already beaten up from previous legs and the heat then, Todd was as usual rocking doing 7's finishing his leg, it was already hot, madhu had a burst of hills in his last leg, with part of it not supported by van, yet they had two water stations along that leg which was cool, he did great too,  Biddu took over, he had a shady route, but pretty bad downhill to finish with, finish alongside a beach, he did great too, finding it hard to control down the hills, he finished his leg and directly ran in the beach and had a whole dip into the water, it should definitely have been so refreshing.anand took over and he had pretty brutal hills, and with atmost heat and light, it feels even harder, he being a ragnar veteran, took it fine and finish in great shape. Jay had shorter leg this time, but it was really hot with absolutely no shade all along his route, he had water but he was maintaining a pretty good pace. I was really tensed to have me save energy till the end and finish strong.

Exchange 35: 3:19 PM Bay View Road 3:19 PM
being the last leg, I had already decided to give it all out effort the last leg, I had a decent hill at mile 1.5 and at mile 4 until 4.7 the end point, I started too ambitiously at 6:50's for the first mile and then totally slowed it down up the hill, had good number of kills up the hill, I had told that I don't need support until 2 miles and then on I shall take care, but the heat was taking a toll, and I had our van stop couple of times for water and at 3 miles I felt into the rhythm again and took off from then on, doing 7:15's and as I reach the pizza shop near the end point, I heard a huge set of people encouraging and cheering, that was a great boost, soon came the final hill, I just gave it all that I could maintaining 7:20s over the hill and soon I enter the last turn and I see my team, I just was one short of 2 digit kills, so started sprinting to eventually get 12 kills in the last leg and finish is great style and felt great about finishing it strong as an individual and also as a team we were right on time and what we had planned, which was an awesome feat by the whole team.

Had quick a bit of group snaps, had the free pizza that came along for every team and people settled into the beer garden for a nice drink and a relaxed discussions after 27 long hours of team effort

 Soon after we are departed the finish line and were in queue for the ferry that took close to 1.5 hours in wait line and we stopped for a heavy meal at a thai place and left for home. it totally an awesome year and such a great team effort.

Kudos to ANAND for putting up the show year after year ! Great job by the whole team. Congratulations one and all!!

STP 2012

Lets start with Carbo Load...

Have a lot to say about STP 2012, predicted with 80 F all day, we had heated discussions and suggestions and advice during our pot luck dinner on Thursday at Rahul's place, Everyone of us were totally prepared for the scorching sun. I was all set with my usual setup of asha bikie, :), just giving it a name for the setup that you see in the picture below, making sure that I don't forget anything to carry on the ride.

This was my 4th STP ride and 3rd consecutive 1 day ride!
On the Day of the ride, one of my friend Sathish had offered to help me drop at the start line, but the surprise was that there were couple of other friends (Raja & Dinesh) who showed up along with sathish, that was just a surprise and all four of us started off from home at 3:30.

3:30 AM

• Enroute toUW parking lot anticipating a lot of traffic since 520 was closed and its a yearly ritual.

4:03 AM

•  Surprisingly enough we were already at UW parking lot, dropped the bags to the truck and was waiting for fellow 1 day riders to arrive, and was chatting with my friends on various bikes and what not.
• we had planned to leave by 4:45, official start time for 1 day riders, but got delayed a bit, waiting for venki and raghu and started 15 minutes later

5:00 AM - Mile 0

•  Second wave for 1 day riders were let start and we were on our way starting our long day with a big cheer, this time with a lot of confidence than last year with almost half a dozen of us doing 1 day ride. soon I realized that my bike computer doesn't work and had to totally rely upon folks around for pace, wasn't that bad without the bike computer, things went well.

5:20 AM - Mile 9

•  since venki and Raghu had to be rushed at the start line, they wanted to use the rest rooms, hence we stopped at Leschi Park along the lake Washington for a brief stop of 10 minutes, it was awesome to watch mercer island on the other side of the lake and sun rising, it was indeed an awesome scenery to watch. soon we started rolling.
• Was speaking about the sudden short steep hill around seward park and there we climbed that with no hassles, moved on through renton.
• Soon before we were about to hit kent, nahappan had already caught up with us, who had a delayed start.

6:25 AM - Mile 24 - REI in Kent

• Reached our much awaited first rest stop i.e REI stop, started off my countdown timer, which I promised to do at every food stop, just have an idea of how long that we were taking in rests.
• Relished upon the protein shakes, Peanut roll, filled in some electrolyte(nuun) and quickly used the honeybuckets
• while we were grouping to get our snaps, varadan joined us too, now we are all the whole 1 day group. stopped for a quick snap
• Quickly shared my thoughts on pacelining, and we planned to start pacelining from here on.
• Right at the planned 15 minute mark, we were off to start biking again, soon after we started rolling that we realized that we left varadan back, but expected him to catch up later on.
• Slowly everybody got into the rhythm and we were constantly rotation our turns to pull the paceline and kept going awaiting the lunch stop at spanaway.
• Raghu quickly snapped our paceline few miles ahead of spanaway(only to be tried by professionals :) )

8:40 AM - Mile 54 - Spanaway Junior High School

• Did not realize that we were already near the lunch stop, slowly cruised into the spanaway school, again to start the count down timer, this time for 20 minutes
• rolled the bikes, grabbed stuff to eat, some cliff bars, some gu gels and stationed near a pavement and quickly had each one.
• Quickly posed for a pose, while each one of us grabbed the delicious Jamba juice and filled our water bottles.

• That was the first snap with Team asha folks together in uniform :) , the wait line for the honey buckets were long, we decided to move on and find a spot on our way.
• Soon before we were about the to go, varadan again caught up with us, he was probably riding at a great speed, catching up again, now we made sure we are all together and started rolling.

• the temperature was expected to be in 80's by then, but it was cold and it was drizzling, which was in a way good for us ride without the beat out in the heat.

9:20 AM - Mile 65 - Interim Potty stop

• Having skipped the potty stop at spanaway, and we being hydrated enough even though it was raining, had to badly stop for a potty, soon when we saw few stacked at around mile 65, we stopped for it
• This was the second unplanned stop which was around 15 minutes long, we didn't mind that, we badly needed that stop
• soon then I was telling venki about the boring stretch along the trail for quite few miles until few miles before Centralia, which he found interesting for some reason :).
• we started biking on the trail soon, and kept going at a constant pace.
• for some reason, it was just me, venki and aravind, rest 3 somehow got lost from the paceline, so we three kept taking turns doing solid 18-20's all along the trail
• The most annoying part on the trail was the small pillars which are in the middle of the trail, so really have to be aware of it and be conscious all along, which we all got through.
• we were so smoothly rotating between us 3 aravind, me and venki, we didn't realize we were already near the next mini rest stop that we had planned to make a stop

10:55 AM - Mile 87 - Cliff Shot Mini Stop

• it was getting warm then when we reached the cliff shott stop, were we usually get newer varities of cliff shots and blocks and rolls, quickly filled in water bottles, used the rest room
• Soon rest of the folks nahappan, varadan, sai and aravind joined us at the stop
• we had planned for a 5 minute stop which turned into a 15 minute long stop, but we were fine.
• Venki and Raghu were with all cheers and posed for a snap

• it was exactly 17 miles to Centralia from here expecting an hour at 17 mph, we were all pumped up to reach our mid point mark,

12:08 PM - Mile 100 - Centralia

• given that we had few traffic lights to pass on to reach Centralia, we reached Centralia few minutes past noon.
• I always like to go past the small over head water sprinklers, which gives a sense of relief to whatever heat you got through until then, going past that and grabbing ice cream was more than a ritual at Centralia
• Soon started our countdown timer for 30 minutes and directly stood in line for lunch, as planned for a solid food, this time again with no choice went with Quinoa with veggie and tofu, was a treat to taste buds with ice cream, after 100 miles of all sugar stuffs.
• By the time rest of the 1 day folks nahappan, varadan, Raghu, sai and aravind had come in and got their food
• quickly finished the food and used the potty, lubricated the butt :) and that's when we started to feel the heat of the sun, it was slowly coming out of the clouds then, by when we were speaking about the heat and see how the rest of 104 miles go.
• We were glad that we had done half the distance already before sun started to show up.
• It was past our 30 minute mark, we were looking for nahappan who suddenly vanished :), soon when we were filling our water bottles did we see him and we started rolling.
• Again our trained professional who snaps while biking(Raghu :) ) got past us and snapped happily for us, the sad part is none of us probably waited for him to rejoin, he was still strong enough to push and join us in a few miles later.

12:40 PM - Mile 112 - Napavine School

• few miles ahead of this, was I telling venki and Raghu about the mid point stop that our 2 day riders would be taking at the napavine high school.
• That was a small steep hill which we were always expecting to come, venki and I, quickly climbed and waited on the top. Slowly rest of the folks caught up and we suddenly decided to take a stop right there given the heat and the hill.
• took a 15 minute long stop, which we never planned for, stating that we would skip a rest stop that we had planned a few miles later
• few folks got their but lubricated :) and few to use the rest rooms in the school and here we go, with a firm thought that we would not have a stop until Lexington, but we couldn't.

3:02 PM - Mile 128 - Vader Elementary School

• Few miles before this stop, I was really hungry but had nothing to eat other than cliff shots, venki offered a lemon Lara bar, which was really good and served the hunger then.
• had a quick stop for 10 minutes, had to dealy with a funky water station to fill our water bottles and started rolling
• aravind, sai, varadan had already come in by then.
• Venki was always claiming that he was not sure about doing 17 mph all along, but he was really strong, kept rolling steadily at 18-20 mph, honestly speaking I was always trying to keep up with him, eventually failing every time and I let him go :)
• Suddenly we see Raghu swish past us with a  different pace group, not sure what attracted Raghu ;) , he was riding with a really fast group, and soon after he dropped off and there another guy who was happily drafting behind him in a garmin jersey, shame on the guy, who happily drafted behind him and sped up without helping to pull his turn.
• gradually we reached Lexington stop.

4:04 PM - Mile 145 - Lexington River side Park

• It was a sense of relief to have a break at that point of the ride, I was beginning to feel the soreness and the after effects of lack of sleep the previous night by then.
• we soon, set to the food tent, grabbed the first dose of tortilla chips, juicy tasty grapes, everything was tasting awesome by then.
• Soon we saw Raghu, sai and aravind coming in and nahappan too this time.
• Nahappan was remarking that he had skipped the previous stop and also finished his 3 packs of mustard by then :) which was quite a bit to have, but good for him it was  ride without cramps with the help of mustard.
• Just when we had a count down timer buzzing for the 20 minute rest, aravind and sai had settled in for eating whatever they grabbed, it was hard to really tell them, "lets go " , waited for a bit for them to join, before which varadan, venki and Raghu kicked off to start rolling again, assuming aravind and sai are going to take some more time, I just started as well.
• That's when I started feeling the head winds, but unfortunately I was all alone, I was trying hard to catch up with venki and Raghu and varadan, they kept speeding by, added with traffic signals.
• Finally caught up with them at the Lewis & Clark Bridge, where those three were following the sings of 2 day riders and took a right turn just before the bridge.
• they saw me climbing the bridge, and I yelled at them to come back and climb the bridge,  only because they had taken a deviation, was it possible for me to catch up with them, stormed up the bridge, as fast as I can, getting past two really long pace lines up on the bridge, graciously the car drivers waited patiently, just to mention its a highway bridge that's the entry point to Oregon, I was literally trying to pass bikes on a freeway up on a hill :)
• Soon did I got down the wobbly downhill down the ramp entering Oregon.
• soon after the bridge, venki caught up with me and he was speeding at around 20 mph, I just couldn't keep up at all

5:10 PM - Mile 162 - Goble Tavern

• Suddenly when I see Venki backing towards this mini stop which we planned to skip, but he was short of electrolyte, so he was stopping, I was more than happy to stop any time, since I was racing hard to catch up with venki all the time from the bridge till then.
• We filled our water bottles, and was about to start, when we saw Raghu, soon we three started together.
• Raghu started pulling and was going faster and suddenly totally backed off and I didn't see him until the next food stop.
• Myself and Venki, were easily going past 17 mph all along , much better at times and were slowly crusing towards St Helens stop

6:15 PM - Mile 175 - St Helen's High School

• myself and venki were the only one's left from the 6 member group, we were rotating for every 10 minutes, finally I pulling into the st Helens school stop.
• reaching there at 6:15 gave me immense confidence that we were going to finish well before the finish time deadline.
• Its usual, be it run or bike, I like to give it all that I have and finish strong, so I had mentally prepared by then to give it all the rest of the 30 miles.
• while we stopped and got out of the potty, we saw Raghu coming in, he was maintaing a steady pace.
• all 3 of us grabbed something to eat, while venki sounded paranoid about finishing on time and was rushing.
• I took the whole 20 minutes that we had planned until I stood up :)(all the energy spent trying to catch up with him :) ).
• got through the water sprinklers, filled bottles and used the honey bucket again and here we go, expecting no more rest stops until finish.
• I was then remarking to venki, and Raghu that there are just two more noticeable hills to get past before the finish line.
• both venki and I were probably doing much more than 17 mph and getting past all the hills at ease.
• few miles into the city, is a long gradual climb, where I always like to get past all the long pace lines trying to climb with tired pair of legs, I luckily had some more energy left out, both I am venki stormed past the pacelines and quite a few riders to get past that final hill
• Then came the much awaited stop lights every few quarter miles, the most annoying part of the ride I would claim.
• I had a twisted ankle and clipping and unclipping every few quarter miles was so very painful after a whole day's ride.

8:23 PM - Mile 204 - Holladay Park Portland

• Finally we see our finish line in two blocks, I was trying to pedal as fast I can, and stormed into the finish line, with fisted hands, I am always skeptical to leave both my hands off my bike any time, which I always wanted to do at the end at the finish line at STP ;) some time I would do that, have to get trained for that :)
• That's a hatrick for me!!! 3rd 1 day STP ride completed in time, and 4th overall.
• Venki and I finished together, congratulating each other and was really a joy to have someone in your company while you finish.
• Also the cheers from the bystanders and spectators was just so awesome.
• I set out to drop my bike to the bike truck, grabbed my bags and got to the finish line again.
• by then Raghu, aravind and Sai had completed, while we were wishing each other, nahappan smoothly rolled into the finish line.
• While I was coming back from baggage pick up, saw varadan and family, wished him and moved to the finish line.
• While we learned that prakash, who is from asha SV who originally planned to do a 2 day, half way decided to do a 1 day and was right behind us, he rolled in much an hour later at 9:30 and that awesome feat by him, with not enough drafting, managed to do the same rolling time as us, he started an hour late than us and so did he finish.
• Venki's friend Sanjay, graciously offered to drop me off at the hostel, soon when he realized about the dinner, and offered ultimately delicious dinner at his place, thanks Sanjay!
• Should totally thank venki to drop me off back at the hostel at late hours.
• Thanks to Aravind, Sai, Venki, Raghu, Nahappan, Varadan for making it yet another successful year finishing STP ride in 1 day.
• And guess what do we get as a compliment for finishing it 1 day ??

• Got back to the hostel late in the night, had a decent sleep, boarded the train the next morning at 8:30 and happily reached seattle on sunday.

STATISTICS

				PLANNED		ACTUAL
STOPS	MILES	Duration @17 mph	Distance(miles)	Time of Day	Break(mins)	Time of Day	Break(mins)
UW				4:45:00 AM		5:00 AM	15
Stop before seward						5:20 AM	10
REI KENT	24	1h 25m	24	6:10:00 AM	15	6:25 AM	15
Spanaway Stop	54	1h 45m	30	8:10:00 AM	20	8:40 AM	20
Unplanned Stop	65					9:20 AM	15
Cliff Shot Stop	87	1h 56m	33	10:24:00 AM	5	10:55 AM	15
Centralia	102	52m	15	11:22:00 AM	30	12:08 PM	45
Napavine School	112			12:40:00 PM			15
Vader Elementary schol	128	1h 32m	26	1:24:00 PM	10		10
Lexington	145	1h	17	2:34:00 PM	20	4:04 PM	20
Goble Tavern	162					5:10 PM	10
St Helens	175	1h 45m	30	4:39:00 PM	20	6:15 PM	25
Finish	204	1h 42m	29	6:42:00 PM		8:23 PM
TOTAL					120		215

LEGEND

UNPLANNED STOP

STATISTICS
Total Ride Time	15 hours 33 minutes
Rolling Hours	11 hours 58 minutes
Actual Rest Time	3 hours 35 minutes
Additional Rest time Vs Planned	1 hour 35 minutes
Rolling Average Speed	17.04 mph

• As usual this is an obvious question, why would I do this, its just because
• Keeps me fit
• I enjoy biking
• I enjoy the opportunity to do something that many still have been thinking to do
• Spread the message and raise awareness about students who are desperately in need of assistance for the basic need of education.
• I have done my part to train hard and ride hard, with a strong request to help educate the underprivileged children in India, if its of some interest to you, do read through my PROFILE and support with any possible donation. 
• If you need further information on Asha and you can see it at WWW.ASHANET.ORG