Saying I am lost for words to describe seems like a lazy way to put it. This is not a race report. It is too raw and there are too many thoughts to condense it to something as a report.
I just posted the pre-race feeling. There were a lot of anticipations. There had been a lot of training runs and a lot work putting into it. Preparation. Thoughts. I looked at the last year race, especially why I could not finish and why this year would be different. The run was pretty much in line with my expectation at every phase.
100 mile races are tough. Unlike with marathons, I go in not knowing if I would finish. In fact the drop rate for any ultras are usually high, like 30-40% and sometimes even 50%. This year is no different. No one goes into a race and think they wouldn’t finish. We all go in thinking we have a fighting chance. For me, not having finished last year, put a lot pressure on me, because it is more likely I would not finish again. What happen once can happen again! I know couple runners who did not finish last year and I asked them what were their expectation. They didn’t tell me. Statistically, they did not finish. I was afraid myself.
With the dismal stuff out of the way, yes I was excited and I was confident. It was not a blind confidence like last year. I knew where I will be struggling and I knew almost every inch of the course. Some parts, I have been through multiple times training on it.
I entered the race probably was not in my optimal condition. Left foot was still bothering me since December. I was hoping it would be healed by now. I had a sprain (twice) during Naked Nick 50k. Ever since, It has been hurting. I haven’t reinjured it since but it hasn’t either completely healed either, maybe because I haven’t ever truly taken a break from running.
Also, nights leading up to the race, I haven’t been sleeping well. I stayed up late for way too many nights. Thursday night I stayed up till 3 packing (packing was done by 1 ish, but I was no longer sleepy afterward). Friday night was the pre-race camping out, bugs and cold temperature, and maybe anxiety had kept me up.
Lastly, I didn’t taper! I ran a 44 mile the week right before the race. Many of my running friends were suprised to see me still running. To say I was a bit tired is an understatement. Plus I was trying the Streak thing with Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee (GVRAT – Rat race). I ended the streak after day 14 though (not by choice), which was probably a good thing looking back to give my body a week of rest from running before the race.
There are just so much to say! The race is big. It has a lot of history. It is well known for friendly people. Everyone knows everyone! Last year I didn’t know anybody but this year coming in to the race, I almost know everyone (well maybe about 25% of the people there) and if I didn’t know them, I would be by the end of the day. It has many great aid stations, probably the best in all the races I have been to. It was super fun and well organized. The race is epic. I can just heap on superlatives. Unlike many popular 100 mile races, this one is one giant hoop in a relatively remote area and is a mountain race, so in theory, it is a bit hard to support, but the race did above and beyond to get the race done year after year.
There were those who ran it twenty years ago and came back for a second time! MMT branded itself as multi-generational race. I bet for every runner, they must have known someone from somewhere who had run the MMT before. There were very few fresh first timers (Costi & Charlie, Stuart and Wayne too, but it wasn’t their first rodeo), but who just happened to sign up for the race.
It is my second time running it, so a lot of the mysteries are no longer a surprise (my last year MMT’s report). The race being hard, and that was handled in training runs. The race being long (36 hours, new this year). I did a few 12-hr runs. I still struggled with sleep deprivation but it is no longer strange to me. A few times in the final miles I saw trees turning into people taking pictures of me and then turning back to trees! — or maybe they might have been actual people being camouflaged well, who knows.
The main things entering this race were to correct my last year’s mistakes. I wanted this race to be a redemption. It did. The joy of succeeding in doing something when the first time failed is so much enriching. Because last year there were a series of races that I DNF’d (didn’t finish) — Devil Dog 100k, MMT, and Iron Mountain. MMT was the most important to me. I was able to redo the Devil last December and redeemed it. I ran Blackbeard 100 successfully to show myself I can still do a 100 mile race. MMT was like the final exam. Can I put everything I have learned so far into the real deal?
My flaws of last year race was mainly not having sufficient energy for the final push up the last mountain (mile 88-mile 96), Scothorn. Also I was wasting too much time at many of the aid stations leaving not enough time for the run itself. Third flaw was physical condition, the long format race wears the body out, especially the feet. I was not taking care of my body enough.
So this time around, I prioritized more time on the course and less time at the aid stations. It mean being smart and planning ahead. It takes care of all my three major flaws.
Packing food and leaving them in drop bags, is one solution. My last year solution was to carry two foot long hogies and that did not work well once I finished eating them early in the race. My thinking back then was I wouldn’t have the appetite to eat on the second half anyway, so I pigged out at the beginning. It doesn’t work like that for ultras unfortunately. The key is to eat little by little!
They gave us 9 drop bag locations (actually 10, because we came through one twice, Gap Creek 1 and Gap Creek 2) and I packed 10 doggie bags of snacks (good snacks like granola and raisins as well as junk food like gummies — you need both because your appetite changes very quicky and you need to keep eating regardless, junk food makes good food goes in easier). I packed milk (muscle mik that doesn’t require refrigeration). I had sport drinks (Costco brand which has higher sugar and salt contents).
You can’t count on aid stations, some did have gatorade/Tailwind, but they do run out or being too diluted and they did run out. Always pack your own necessities. I don’t count calories and electrolyte intakes as some athletes do, but I monitor my overall feel. I had also a can of coconut juice for that extra refreshment. I ended up didn’t need it during the race, but at post race it was a wisdom from above and kept me awake for my drive home. As much as one been drinking, I was dehydrated, and that can of coconut juice was amazing.
I still ate at aid stations but my drop bags had my main meals. This allowed me carry food on the go, including the food provided by the aid stations. When I arrived at a station, first thing was to grab water, making sure I drink, then filled up all my water bottles (usually a voluntert would help you with that). Then I ate from the table or if something was too big (heavy) that needed more than a couple bites to chew, I’d toss them into my food bag.
Next is to go for my drop bag that is stored at the station. It either is to clean myself (like changing shoes, shirts, socks, etc) or get more food. Some drops I have baby wipes. But the most important thing is to exchange my food bags. My food bag does not always have the same food (a lesson learned from Blackbeard’s Revenge 100, where I got tired of my own food). The early stations I only leave a candy bar or so. But later stations have weightier meals. I don’t necessary finish eating everything, but I could make a decision whether to take a new bag or continue the current one, or mix-and-match food items that I like. The point is to keep eating. Note, I don’t eat much while I’m at the aid station, all those food items are meant to be taken on the go. I only eat while out on the trail to save time and to force myself to constantly feeding. Usually, time spent at a station is less than 5 minutes, but time on the trail between the stations is couple hours long. Hence, the reason to prioritize getting/packing things on the go instead of eating at the aid station (a big lesson I learned from last year MMT).
Nutrition is a big part in finishing an ultra. It is much more important than in a marathon run. In marathons, bonking usually results in a slowet finish, but with ultras, bonking usually leads to-flunking-out, because the body shuts down. I had that happened to me last year at MMT. I literally so tired that I could not even lift my foot for another step. I had seen ultra runners fainting (at the Devil Dog) and I had near fainting experiences. We were trained to push our bodies to the point of exhaustion, with very little left in the tank and if race conditions change for the worse, like temperature drops or the sun suddenly hotter than expected, or sudden climb in elevation, would lead to the body shutting down. It is a fine line we walk. The body is tough but also very fragile. You do see that in marathons too but it is so much more common in ultras. So watch the body, don’t push it till it can’t go any more.
Being smart about planning what I need and when reduced the time I need to spend an aid station leads to more time on the course. This was the key to success this year.
I might have gone out too fast last year. This year, I was willing to ‘wait’. My motto is slow is speed. By moving slower, I was actually making up more time at the end. Moving slowly actually saved me more time this year. Here is how: There were no conga lines on the way up the early mountain sections. That was always frustrating, when you felt you can run faster than the person ahead but they are blocking your way and it takes hours to clear up. Not just one person but whole line of them for the next few miles. Last year, I did not escape from the crowd until 33 miles later. I avoided all that this year. There were no frustrations and no trying pass one another. No conga line. None. Because I was willing to let all the hotshots go first.
There probably were traffic but I seemed to miss them. The first four miles seemed to separate the different pace groups well. Last year, I was passing people one after another for the whole first 33 miles. This time, I somehow hit the right pace very early on. There I stayed. No one passed me much and I didn’t pass others much either. Passing people takes a lot of energy. Not having to do it save those efforts for later push. It was amazing. If you do it right, this is how it should be. It was as if the whole field has disappeared and I was the only one running. I was very surprised myself.
One very important thing I learned this time is I could have anything solved while on the trail instead of waiting until I get to an aid station. Most of the time was being proactive at problem solving. I kept asking myself what is likely the biggest problem I am having right now or soon will have and how do I go about solving them and what is the optimal solution. I would rank them in my head and go about them in a round-robin way. I would repeat again and again. Always checking for any possibly issue. I kept asking myself “What can I do at the present.” This is the new insight I learned from this race! You have to proactively seek out problems (warning signs) — otherwise, the brain would hide them from you and you will forget them at the aid stations. This was the solution to my mistakes I made last year, when I repeatedly forget to eat, because I was so scattered brain at the aid stations. Runner’s foggy brain is real.
I surprised myself – for instance, I was finding I started to get some rashes from the rub burn. At first, I thought, hey it’s just a little discomfort, I could wait till I get to the station for some clean shirt. Then an idea came. I carried body lotion on me (sometimes sunblock lotion, body lotion, vaseline, or even lip balm, etc). I have heard stories someone used lipbalm for underwear rashes! You got to use whatever you have on hand!
So I asked myself: Why not stop and apply them. I did, it cooled the irritable area and the problem was dealt with. There were so many similar things. Stop rashes from starting. Stop blisters from happening. That quick one or two minutes on the trail fixes saved time when arriving at an aid station. Sometimes, it is unavoidable, but we deal with as much possible while during the run rather than wait till we get to the aid station. I also stopped whenever I felt grits had gotten into my shoes and I would stop and empty them.
When things done right, the race was pretty boring and uneventful. Unlike last year or previous races, I did not let things get too far out of hand. This race I think was very boring in term of my execution! Everything was done by the book. I was bored.
My biggest problem was and it was a rookie mistake. It was my hubris. I wore the wrong type of shoes for the race. I prepared four pairs of shoes. Two pairs are old shoes, and two are completely new (same two pairs I acquired at the Roanoke Marathon).
You probably know where I am going with this. I have been running for 7 years and I pride myself of being able to run in any kinds of shoes as long as they are not sandals. I probably would, but I stubbed my toes doing that before and stopped doing it. I typically do not wear trail shoes for trail running. However, I do most of the time break in my shoes long before an important race. This time I did not do so and I suffered for it.
It was not the shoes to be blamed. I wore two new pairs on my daily usuage and even light running and they seemed fine. I had them for maybe couple weeks. I had not used them for harder stuff.
As for the race, the shoe plan was to start with my trusted old pair first, and if I like it I will continue to wear it. I stove the first new pair at mile 33/35 at Elizabeth Furnace. The next pair was at Camp Roosevelt (mile 63-65-ish), it would be an extremely old pair because it would go through mud before getting to Gap Creek. From Gap Creek I (mile 70) to the finish would be my last new pair. The plan seemed well thought out to alternate between the old and new pairs.
It is the last pair that gave me the most trouble. Well the first new pair after putting it on, I know immediately I didn’t like it. Not because it was uncomfortable, it is very comfortable but the issue was I couldn’t “dance” on the trail. Shoes required trust. I was not trusting them.
I found out the reason why! I have been lucky in all my 7 years of having road shoes that are made of harder leathery materials that protect my toes and my side and the back of my heels.
These two newer pairs were made of the lightest fabric in the universe and they offer very little protections on rocks or what not. The shoes were like having a brain of their own. I went left they went to the right. When I hope on rocks, it slides under me – very dangerous. The inside of the shoes does not stick to my feet. The shoes were too soft, and plyable. I cannot land tip toe. Many times with trail running, you got all different kind of angles you will be landing on, and I need a shoes that does not bend or move away on their own. I need them to be able to balance from any spot/point under my feet. These two new pairs failed miserably. Note, I got them half a size larger anticipating my feet to swell, my feet did not, and so, it was too roomy! It was one of the reasons, the shoes were uncontrollable.
It is not the shoes fault but the user. I chose the shoes and I had to live with the consequences. The shoes were clearly not designed for trail running.
The first new pair from mile 33-62, I beared it grudgingly. But at Gap Creek I had the important decision to make to run with a wet and muddy pair or to which to the new pair. After weighting the pros and cons I chose the newer pair.
That might have been a bad decision because I would be going through one of the most technical sections on the course. The new shoes were not helping. Because of all the slipping and sliding around, my feet were messed up. I hated my shoes every moment of it for the next 12 hours (from 3:30 AM to 3:40 pm until I finished). It was basically no more running. Even walking on the trail was difficult with the new pair. I was lucky that I did not roll or sprain my ankles out there with new but useless shoes.
Conclusion: I learned a bit about shoes especially road shoes. Need to buy shoes that you cannot fold them in your hand or roll them into a ball.
I did not want this to be my race report. There were so many other dimensions about the race. Shoes and drop bags were just a small but important aspect.
I started this post before I wrote the race report. I did not expect to get the race report finished but I did. So what to do about this post?
I tend to overthink on things like with the aid stations and drop bags. It does get tedious and boring. They worked as intented during the race. I did better this year in packing not too much and not too little. Almost just right. Actually, I could maybe reduce them a bit. It was an improvement from the Devil Dog. It was my fourth 100, so yes, I learned and improved from all the previous tries.
Anyway, I had trouble of closing this post and I lost the energy to continue. I was glad I got the race report out. This post became secondary and even unneccessary. It is a mini report. It was originally to serve something in the interim before the final report is out. However, I hope this can be interesting to some of my readers. (I found it interesting myself).
In awe 