In awe

This was supposed to be posted for last week before the race and its race report, but things got busy with packing during writing of it and it never saw daylight. Actually, for once, I actually packed and got race stuff 3 days ahead of time.

I was going to procastinate by writing this blog, but during the middle of it, it got some sense in me to get ready for the race…so this entry did what it was suppose to do.

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As my first big race of the year is about to get underway (in maybe 48 hours), I have some time to reflect and write out this post.

This will hopefully be my fourth buckle (100 mile race). I have great expectation that I should finish.

It has gotten easier. I can’t boast much though. 100 mile race is still a beast and unpredictable. However, if the weather works out, it should be an easy race.

Currently the biggest foreseeable challenge would be the winds and possibly some rain on Saturday. About the wind, last week, I ran the Virginia Beach Marathon, I felt it. It was crazy to run with such strong winds. We are expecting between 25 -50 mph. However, now it seems to calm down a bit and maybe at most 25 mph.

I am prepared. I packed my drop bags already. There are a few items I might want to to get. Masking tape (optional), sunscreen lotion (maybe), lipbalm (maybe), vaseline (maybe), some AAA bateries (maybe). Futureself: I got everything but the spare batteries.

I haven’t planned for my nutrition. I reread my Devil Dog’s race report. And I glad I came across the tip I gave myself, of having your own food at the dropbag’s location. This totally escaped my mind when I was packing.

I reread some 2021 race reports of why I didn’t finish the Devil Dog and other races. That was helpful as well. Basically don’t push too hard in the beginning. Since this (Blackbeard’s Revenge) course is flat, it is easy to go too fast in the first half. In theory, I could aim for a sub-24 finishing.

I guess I am having some pre race jitter.

There is not much I can do. I was reviewing course materials. Some regrets I had was I didn’t book my hotel closer to the start or the finish. Anyway, nothing can be done by now. I could cancel my booking and rebook closer, but I don’t want to make changes this late. Anyway, my present location is not bad. It is about at 20 mile on the course, so I could stop by during the race.

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In the last post I had so much I wanted to write but didn’t get to everything. It was about my MMT third training run but thr Shamrock Marathon overshadowed it.

I reviewed my first and second MMT training run. Time flew by so quickly. In the first training, we were running in the snow.

I was not ready for the run back then because my left ankle was still hurting. I got the run done.

On the second training run, I was in a much better shape. I felt fast. The hill climbs were not that hard. I ran with Tony, and a few others.

On third training run, I was the last four to finish. We started early, so we finished early. It took me 11 hours. 5 am to 4 pm. To me it was a fast time. My ankle was mostly healed. About that, usually the first step I took, it has some discomfort. By second and subsequent steps, I don’t feel it any more.

My ankle hinders me on the downhills. It was a reason why my TWOT time was so slow. It took me 12.5 hours to get around that course. I bet I could do it an hour or two faster with a fully healed ankle.

Funny thing is the last few weeks, even with an ankle that is not 100%, I ran two 50k and 1 marathon. I finished them.

I was hoping the ankle would be fully healed by the time I am running this 100 mile race. There isn’t any hill, so technically it should be fine. My ankle just doesn’t like uneven surfaces or downhills.

One last thing, those people I did not get along that well on the first training run, are now very cordial. I knew it. They ran at my pace and we see each other at every training runs and will be together during the race. It would be quite awkward if we didn’t get along.

The big picture. Finally what all these trainings and running in the Blackbeard’s Revenge have to do with anything? I have been training hard to do the MMT again and hopefully this time will be more successful.

I have not focused much on training for Blackbeard’s Revenge. Blackbeard’s would have been a challenge for me to run two years ago, but currently should not be. The current challenge is to do two one-hundred races in the same season, note, MMT is just a month or so away after Blackbeard’s. My concern was that this 100-race would derail my next one. Future self: I came out the race stronger.

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Afterword, One reason this blog didn’t get posted was I got bored toward the end. I felt I needed something. As said, some I was too busy with the race. Now looking back, everything went well.

I had some thoughts about the race. It was refreshing. It was short. And it was one of those things you do only once in your lifetime. I felt so blessed to have done it. One regret was I did not stay there longer. As with anything, I felt like I came in at night and leave during the day time. The enjoyment was too brief.

This happened at many of my other races, where I had daja vu from previous experience while running. I think I did not mention this in the race report. I came away feeling lacking because I couldn’t exactly create the same happiness and feeling of the first time being at that place. It is not anything bad. It is just me feeling sentimental. Anyway, to finish on a brighter note, The race added newer experience to the old ones. All the preparation that went into it was worth it. Who knows when I can get to do it again!