By the time this post is published, I should be near the end of my run, probably 24 hours into it. There will be a proper race report after I get enough sleep – either I finish it or I DNF (not finish) halfway.
Pretty much the same theme from previous posts. I couldn’t really sleep during the day time. My Hotel is comfortable. It is one of the better inn and I got a very good deal, something close to 50% off, granted no one is traveling at this time…, or you would think. I couldn’t resist not sleeping the night of and ruin my Friday morning :(, ah, got to suffer tonight.
Atlanta airport is completely different than Dulles (IAD). There are so many people. ATL being one of the busiest airports is no joke. Stores are closed but they have vending machines in the airport! I was thinking earlier where would people going to eat, for those who have to transfer. I can say it was so much more crowded here!
Weather was OK, not too hot, granted it was 9 pm. There is a chance of rain on Saturday afternoon. I should be OK. Will let you know. I probably passed it or in the middle of it.
Altanta in what we call a phase 3 so I shouldn’t have problem getting food. However, I am kind of annoyed by Walmart closing early! I thought they are open late, but I think they now close at 8pm. They are still operating under a phase 1 reopening! Well probably a good thing.
Most of my run will be during night time. The morning stretch will be going toward in the suburb and remote areas.
Still going to do according to plan. Going to head up the trail around 6-7 in the evening. There is no rush. I have a window from 6-midnight, in order to not rush and catch the flight home after finish. I need to be back at the airport by noon. So I need to finish no later than 10:30 on Sunday. Meaning 2AM is the latest time to start (still within a safe margin), and anything after that is tempting fate and I have been getting a series of bad lucks for this trip of days leading up to it. So the earlier the better, so I could finish at sun down too around that time the following day. The later I start, means the less time to sleep after I’m done and also increase the risk of DNF. Will see if this was a smart move.
I repacked my pack once arrived at my hotel. I brought a bigger pack 18L in addition to my normal 6-8L. It is big for running. I tossed this in the suitcase at the last minute. It is a day pack for hiking, so running might be a challenge (I did use it to run a few times before). Since I am expecting most places to be closed, I am lugging my own food supplies with me. I tossed in a water filter too just in case I couldn’t get water and will rely on nature to provide. I study the map, there is a few places that open 24 hours, so I am not too concerned. It is a tough to run 100 miles while carry such a pack. I pretty much decided to use this bigger/heavier pack though.
I have about 2500-2700 calories packed for 34 hours. Not a lot but will be sufficient to pull me through. Most of them are sugary, such as candies, beef jerky, and bars, so not sure if they can starve the hunger. My math might be wrong, in my mind they look more 1000 calories at most.
I have not calculated how much calories I will be burning, maybe over 30000 and probably closer to 5000-6000. Hopefully I will get some supplements on the way. The choices I had were not ideal since I couldn’t get to Walmart and now is a bit late to do things. I wish I have real food. They got to do and hope there will be real food along the way.
I brought some food too, to leave behind at the hotel to eat after I finish. I might go to a McDonalds or Wendys once I’m done, unless it is midnight.
Just when I was about to finish this post, I came across an article of a planned protest at Centennial Olympic Park, which is my finish line. I couldn’t find the time. It will be evening during my finish time (7-9pm ish). Out of all the luck…this is probably the worse. Yesterday, I was even imagining heading into Atlanta with the full fireworks display in front of me as I triumphantly finish my first 100 mile run. Such romanticism. Now I have plan around to avoid the protest. I can’t control the course, but I can control the finishing time. Oh by the way, I just read, no fireworks this year due to covid19. bummer.
Edit to add: I quitted the race a little over halfway point when I don’t think I could finish. I still got 40 miles to go and about 10 hours to do it, however I was moving at 2 miles an hour. I was hoping the darkness will give me the umph, but it didn’t come. So why suffer for another sleepless night. I will hopefully write a report why. Called an uber, and hour later, I am back at the hotel.
In awe 