ptipirneni's posterous http://ptipirneni.posterous.com Most recent posts at ptipirneni's posterous posterous.com Sun, 21 Nov 2010 19:36:00 -0800 Review of Tough Mudder Challenge. Exec. Summary - It's tough! http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/review-of-tough-mudder-challenge-exec-summary http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/review-of-tough-mudder-challenge-exec-summary

The  course is unrelenting and can only be described as punishing.  I’ll get to that.

Maybe that is what it takes to show the amazing human spirit – Hundreds/Thousands working together and helping each other get through obstacles, through water, over mud hills.  Despite the fact that most everyone must have been in a mildly hypothermic state most of the time (I was), there was nothing but good will, enthusiasm and drive.

This course was the most ambitious put together by Tough Mudder to date – double the length (12.5 miles) and number of obstacles (18). 

Everyone I had invited to do the race with me bagged except for Sanjay, a critical care physician at Hopkins.  He brought eight of his friends (six doctors) – a great group.

After running a mile or so, the first major obstacle (#3) was a drop into a lake from a platform you wall climb up with  a rope.  From there, you swim/bob 50 feet across the lake  Lorien, a teammate I had just met, and I were on the platform at the same time.  She is an ER physician by day – skills that could prove useful.  I have been in this situation so many times in my life – times when you’re scared to death and lightly flirting with feelings of quitting – but knowing intellectually that it would just take seconds and you’ll be fine on the other side of it.  I activated my usual auto-pilot (Go on three – 1,2, Jump).

Both Lauren and I jumped within seconds of each other.  The impact was a massive shock to the system.  I made my way to the surface; and saw above water the other side of the river.  I started to swim and immediately realized that there was no way I could make it to the other side.  I could not catch my breath.  I started to make my way to the bank.  Lauren said she saw me heading to the side and did the same.  We stepped out of the water; and tried to catch our breath.  Given that there was no way around but through, I made my way across with reassurances that the water would shallow out to enable standing a quarter to a half way out.  The water was freezing!!! 

Mildly scared – each step looking for some footing surprisingly there at the last possible moment before my head would begin to be submerged – I made my way across.  Three quarters of the way across my thoughts were overwhelmed by my sheer state of frigidity.  Stepping out of the opposite bank, I felt naked. Lycra clung to my skin in a way that you had to examine yourself for reassurance that you weren’t standing there butt naked.  Even looking at my Lululemon T and shorts clinging to my body, I still wasn’t fully convinced.  You had to choose which of your senses to trust – it felt so bare.    

Lauren was making her way out of the water.  She gave a huge high five and said “great job.”  I looked at her – and it felt as if I knew her for 20 years rather than an actual 20 minutes.  How many times, on a regular basis, do I hear good job with a high five.  I can’t remember the last time where it felt quite this significant.

Our group converged on the opposite bank and we reassured ourselves that we must have gotten the worst over.  Spirits were high.  There wasn’t a complaint to be heard.  Surely nothing else could possibly compare to that.

After moving forward maybe 200 yards, it quickly dawned on us that we have to go back through this lake downstream and get back to the other bank.  A soaring mood was quickly brought back down to earth.  We are going to have to endure this for longer than any of us wanted to contemplate at that second. 

But we made it through that as well and it went on and on.  I was up to practically my shoulders in the mud mile.  I must have had one hell of a look on my face.  This beautiful TV anchor had her camera pointed on me and yelled – You look cold.  If Rob was here, he would have called her Captain Obvious.  Then on to miles of mud hills. 

Whose idea was the fire hose sprinklers?  Was that really necessary?  That question was continually being asked by nearly everyone around me.  As you’re struggling through the mud, you rise over one peak only to get sprayed across your face by water funnels.

At every turn, just as you flirt with the idea that the worst is over, that thought is quickly extinguished.  Next up – low crawl in the mud under barbed wire.  Yes.  Most of the time your head is submerged in mud.

After another several hours of climbing under tunnels, over monkey bars, walking the plank, running through fire, carrying tires, climbing over walls, including a net based climb over a massive men’s porta-poddy, you see the Finish line in front of you.

But true to this race’s nature, you can hardly believe your eyes when you see that there is another obstacle before the final half mile.  There can’t be.  I went through the obstacles in my mind – that’s right there is the mystery obstacle.  I’m glad I didn’t know about this one until this point.  There would have been a good chance that I wouldn’t have showed up.

You’re essentially running the gauntlet.  There are electric wires hanging down that shock you as you run through the chamber.  Two possibilities.  You could try low crawling through the mud and potentially go under the wires or muscle through it.    I was essentially alone at this point.  I left the group I was with a few miles back for a final push.  I thought for sure I was hypothermic at this point – and need to massively increase my running speed to gain back my temperature (Yes – I know you never leave your wingman; But I don’t ever remember a hypothermic Iceman).

I opted to run the gauntlet standing and go for pure speed and momentum.  I made it halfway through seemingly avoiding the cables fairly well when I got a massive shock to my right arm.  The right arm limped against my side.  Legs were still working.  Almost through – I could see the other side.  I think my head may have already been through.

I felt a massive jolt and my right leg went limp.  Fortunately, my momentum carried me through the gauntlet and I collapsed on the grass past all the cables.

The shock was just enough to momentarily disable your muscles but was transient.  Immediately after landing on the ground, I got back up and accelerated for the last half mile kick.

It’s very difficult not to like (or maybe even love) the Tough Mudder.  I felt comaraderie and kinship with folks I barely knew.  Though I feel no particular need to do this race again, I would in an instant – with a group of friends.

 

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Sat, 06 Nov 2010 19:46:00 -0700 The 5 principles I used to pick my wife's 40th birthday present http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/the-5-principles-i-used-to-pick-my-wifes-40th http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/the-5-principles-i-used-to-pick-my-wifes-40th

1.  Anticipation increases happiness.  (Applied Research in Quality of Life).  The study showed that the greatest boost in happiness of a vacation came before the vacation.

2.  Spending money on experiences has a much bigger impact on happiness than material goods. (Leaf Van Boven and Thomas Gilovich)

3.  There is a strong correlation between quality of people's relationships and their happiness (just Google it - massive number of studies).  Activities that lead to stronger social bonds between friends and family are likely to lead to last increases in happiness.

4.  "Hedonic adaptation" is where you rapidly get used to changes.  It's harder to adapt to experiences because they are typically so many small aspects to them, as opposed to turning on a new TV or starting a new car.  However, you can adapt to experiences as well.  It's best to break up experiences as well to avoid adaptation.  More frequent experiences as opposed to one big one maximally prevents adaptation.

 

....finally if all doesn't work out just right - (5)  it turns out that you remember your experiences fondly regardless of what actually happened.    In the NYTimes, Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at University of California, Riverside said that experienes are typically "airbrushed" with "rosy collection."  Your mind forgets the bad moments over time.  There clearly is a huge evolutionary advantage in this.

Can anyone guess the present?

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Sat, 25 Sep 2010 20:38:32 -0700 Hiked Mt Washington on Thursday http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/hiked-mt-washington-on-thursday http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/hiked-mt-washington-on-thursday

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Everyone up there said don't expect weather like this ever again - it was that good.

These are the three peaks we did after climbing Mt Washington.

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Sun, 11 Jul 2010 11:02:57 -0700 Mudpie Malay at the Beach http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/mudpie-malay-at-the-beach http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/mudpie-malay-at-the-beach

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Thu, 01 Jul 2010 02:17:57 -0700 Brad and Tamara in Paris http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/brad-and-tamara-in-paris http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/brad-and-tamara-in-paris

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Great location Brad at the Louvre! Eiffel tower in background. Next time let's get the food faster.

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Sat, 03 Apr 2010 13:20:42 -0700 Bobby wedding (1st few moments) http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/bobby-wedding-1st-few-moments http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/bobby-wedding-1st-few-moments

IMG_0021.mov Watch on Posterous

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Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:11:10 -0800 Ishaan the fireman http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/ishaan-the-fireman http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/ishaan-the-fireman

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Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:34:38 -0800 San Juan view of resort from boat http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/san-juan-view-of-resort-from-boat http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/san-juan-view-of-resort-from-boat

Last day in San Juan for Armaan's school vacation. Great trip. Kids loved the water slide resort.

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Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:43:35 -0800 Armaan and Ishaan keeping warm with fire http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/armaan-and-ishaan-keeping-warm-with-fire http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/armaan-and-ishaan-keeping-warm-with-fire

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Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:23:47 -0800 Ishaan Valentine card http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/ishaan-valentine-card http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/ishaan-valentine-card

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Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:05:15 -0800 Happy Holidays everyone! http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/happy-holidays-everyone-11 http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/happy-holidays-everyone-11
Tipirneni_electronic_card_2009

<<Tipirneni Electronic Card 2009.jpg>>

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Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:02:00 -0800 It's all about recovery http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/its-all-about-recovery http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/its-all-about-recovery

About two years ago, a friend of mine from college asked me if I'd be interested in a half Ironman triathlon relay where I would do the run.   At the time, the triathlon was a year away so I said that I would do it - thinking that there was plenty of time to train.

Six months before the triathalon, I got a call from my buddy and he said I think we have a chance of winning this thing.

Win!!!! What! No! 

Im hoping to Finish!  

The image of my running ability in college persisted 20 years later.  20 years is a loooooong time.

He explained that in our age class we had a chance -  if I could get to a 7:15 mile pace we could probably take the whole thing.

I initially thought the big difference in training now unlike college is that there just isn't enough time to do proper and extensive training given all of lifes time commitments.

The big difference is about time but about recovery time not exercise time.  The problem is the amount of time it takes to recover from training sessions.  It now takes days to fully recover from workouts.

Training is about continually pushing your peak then recovering.  Thus, increased recovery time means much longer to get in shape.

 

Replacing Youth with Deliberateness

This is the key for something as full body and intense as Parkour.  There must be a huge body of literature on recovery.  Time to seek it out.

 

 

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Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:10:53 -0800 Sonia's 40th birthday http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/sonias-40th-birthday http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/sonias-40th-birthday

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Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:02:00 -0800 Basic Parkour Moves http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/basic-parkour-manuevers http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/basic-parkour-manuevers

There appear to be four basic Parkour moves.

1)      Landings: Drop on your toes, plant your hands in front of you putting 30-40% of your weight on them and crouch.  

2)      Rolls: when landing off an obstacle (i.e., wall), once your feet hit the ground, you spring into a roll keeping the weight on your shoulders (not on your neck or back)

3)      Turn Vault: as you approach an obstacle, place one hand and swing your body 180 degrees over the obstacle

4)      Speed Vault: same as above but in this case, two hand are placed on the obstacle

 

These appear to be more skill related than requiring any unusual level of athletic ability (good thing).  Check this out.

 

More advanced moves: climbing and jumping

Here is a description from College Parkour: Basic moves. 

  •  

    These are two easy things to say to do, but they take a lot to master. Here’s the breakdown: Do your run-up and plant your dominant foot about waist high on the wall. The force of the run will transfer into your foot and you can launch upwards. To gain extra momentum, throw your arms upwards when launching up with your first foot. Bring up the other leg to stabilize yourself and get some extra height. Next, bring up your hands and lift yourself up. This is aided by kipping one or both legs backward, as done by bringing your heels to your butt. This helps bring your hips upwards and makes it easier to climb. Lift your legs up and climb over. After a little practice, you’ll look like a badass in no time.

 

 

Lets give these a try - with probably the exception of the climbing/jumping for now.  

 

 

 

 

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Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:52:00 -0800 Training Log for Parkour http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/training-log-for-parkour http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/training-log-for-parkour

Here's the story:

Local gym has intro Parkour class

Yours truly thinks he's The Man.

Yours truly realizes he's not The Man

Time to get in real shape.

This would have been perfect when I was 20 years old (now not so much).  However, given that I wont be stronger or faster and much more prone to injury Ill have to be a lot more deliberate.   I checked out the MTV Ultimate Parkour challenge (just hit Google and youll find it).  This was a group of the worlds best athletes and some of them were getting injured.  After a careful review of all on-line videos and some library research, here is what I will  aspire to.

 

 

This level isnt in the cards (but it is cool and worth watching)

 

I will attempt to document my attempt at middle age Parkour here.

 

 

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Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:40:34 -0800 Armaan Soccer Fall 2009 http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/armaan-soccer-fall-2009 http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/armaan-soccer-fall-2009

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Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:49:24 -0700 Armaan strutting out of Russian School of Math http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/armaan-strutting-out-of-russian-school-of-mat http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/armaan-strutting-out-of-russian-school-of-mat

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Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:21:01 -0700 Jaiden B day http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/jaiden-b-day http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/jaiden-b-day

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Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:20:46 -0700 Scotch night with the Boys http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/scotch-night-with-the-boys http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/scotch-night-with-the-boys

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Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:14:53 -0700 Sonali http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/sonali http://ptipirneni.posterous.com/sonali

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