In awe

Author: Antin

  • [682] Vermont 100, 2nd time

    I am happy that I finished this race the Vermont 100 a second time.  A few of my friends have done it multiple times.  This was my 2nd 100 this year, first finish of the year. It was not any harder than other 100s, but difficult enough.  I had expected a faster finish, but had to struggle to almost to the final hour. 

    It was not easy.  15,000-17,000 ft of climbing is a lot.  Imagine like running a marathon with 4000+ ft of elevation.  Marine Corps Marathon has 699 ft gain, and people said that is a hard and hilly marathon.  Richmond Marathon has 683 ft is a a hilly course.  I was so happy when one volunteer told me she did that marathon last year when she recognize the shirt I was wearing.  America toughest marathon, the Roanoke Blue Ridge Footleveler Marathon has 3564 ft of gain.

    Those who run 100s don’t usually choose a flat course.  I think 17,000 ft is a typical elevation gain.  There are some 100s with more extreme climbing.  And some with a flatter course.  Grinstone 100, the one I will be doing in September has 21,000 ft of gain.

    Vermont is a good beginner 100.  It is challenging but doable for many first time attempt.  During the prerace meeting, there were about 50% from a show of hands that this was their first 100 mile/100k run.  100k too is a good stepping stone before trying the 100 miler.  100k is 62 miles, just a bit over 50 mile.  50 milers are what people (or least I used) before attempting a 100 mile run.

    A few friends from my area also were in the race and at time they were good motivators.  We all started together.  I was the second slowest in the group. I had a goal to catch up to them.  I guess it was a friendly competition.  

    I knew I had to run my own race.  As this was my second time doing it, I had last year result to aim for.  This year body was different from last year.  I felt being less trained.  Result showed I was slower.  I finished about 2 and half hour slower at 28:56.  And very early on, I had to give up at running the last year’s pace.

    Since I started from the back of the pack, I ran with people around me. There were at various time, I was joined by Tek, Roy, Dave to about Stage Road (mile 31).  Later I passed them and was joined by Anuj and Carita to mile 62, they kept me going at time I was about to flame out.  Later still Brian and Pete.  Brian was pretty much kept with me to mile 90 before taking off.  Roy passed me at Cowshed and at the time I was doubting if I could finish even though I was an hour ahead of the cutoff.  Roy thought my math was way off. 

    I finished the race with Carita, Justin and Charlie.  I met Carita earlier on in the race but forgot who she was after she ran off.  She later told me she went the wrong way and was 3 miles off course.  Similarily, Justin has gone off course for maybe a mile and caught back up to me around 3-4 am.  We pretty much then powerhiked together the rest of the way.  I was glad to finish together with them.  I too gone off course, maybe a quarter mile.  It was not due to markings though, I somehow assumed the turn was to the left when it was to the right because I saw people’s headlamps going left.  It could all have been my imagination at the time.

    I did not have a crew or pacer, but people around were like pacers to me. The best was Anuj, he and I chattered for a long time on the course, maybe 8 hours or more.  I amost thought he could not make it but he did finish, just 10 minutes behind me.  And he took a 45 minutes break at a aid station (Camp Ten Bear before midnight), meaning, he must have run to catch up in the morning. I said he passed a lot of people.

    My report is pretty much echoing a fellow runner Eric’s report.  It was a redemption run.  I did not finish an earlier race this year, this race I did almost everything needed to get it done. 

    Nutrition, I watched my calorie intake, that is to Eat early and often.  By afternoon, I did not want to eat.  I switched to fluid, mixing Skratch with my water.  A side effect was it made me super thirsty for 8 plus hours.  There was nothing to cure the thirst, drinking water didn’t help, nor sodas nor more Skratch.  So I stopped drinking Skratch and switched back to water and sodas.  By 1-2 AM, Spirit 76 (mile 76), I was extremely hungry, the people at the aid station fed me and I was well.

    Shoes:  They say the course can be done with road shoes.  I ran with my trusted trail Altra Lone Peak.  I don’t know which series, probably 9.  I did not have switched them out.  I ran with just one pair all the way through.  I did have a backup pair at Spirit 76 (mile 76), but I did not have to switch.  The road was sandy and dusty, so from time to time, I did have to empty out the grits.  Feet were healthy, no hot spots or blisters.

    Simplified.  So many races I worried about various things, like dropbags and equipment.  I went light this time.  I prepared two drop bags.  Brought no extra food.  First drop bag had my balms and lotions and sprays for curing various ailments. I placed that at mile 62.  My second drop bag was my extra pair of shoes, I left it mile 76.  I did not need to use either of them.  It was good to know I would have them if needed.

    I wore a hydration vest with a 1.5 L bladder.  I carried a 20 oz bottle for filling with soda drink along the way (I like Ice, the sparking soda). I carried a zip lock bag to take extra food out the station.

    I knew Aid stations are time killer if not careful.  I wanted to minimize time needed to stop.  There were 25 aid stations.  Each of them, I stopped for about 5 minutes.  People might think that is too long.  Yes, indeed, but by the time of grabbing something to eat, filling up water, fixing shoes or what not, thanking volunteers, that 5 minutes were up.  I did a race before (Old Dominion) where we only stopped only for 10 seconds at each station, because that time, I was running with pros good at time keeping (one was a former NFL level coach) who know every second count.  Not stopping for too long at an aid station contributed toward a successful run. 

    The rest was just being “Chill.” My understanding was to enjoy the race and sight.  Indeed, I had a peaceful run. 

    My personal entertainment during the race was trying to figure out the minimum pace I needed to maintain and still finish it.  It is a harder problem than it seems especially in a race when your brain refuses to work.  I had a spreadsheet setup on my phone, so at various point of the race, I could update it and it spits out my target time for the next aid station and so forth.  I knew I was ahead of race pace for finishing under 30 hours at least by an hour. 

    It was an interesting “math” problem I did not solve it until the next evening after driving home.  The problem goes like this.  Like any runner, typically, our pace would start slowing down.  At what point would our pace be too slow to finish?  For Vermont 100, I knew I need to maintain above 17:50 pace (overall average pace, 18 min is needed for a 30 hour finish, but the last runner came in with 17:50 pace, so to be safe,we  target 17:50 pace).

    For example, if I arrive at mile 50 an hour ahead of the cutoff (and say the cutoff is set at 18:00 min pace, meaning closing at 15th hour).  I arrive in 14 hours.  What the slowest pace I could maintain if I am slowly slowing down.  I’m an hour ahead.  Solution, If I am halfway and I am an hour ahead, I only have 30 minutes leadway not an hour is the answer.  If used up more than, 30 minutes, I would have to run at a faster pace to catch back up for remaining half. How I came up with 30 minutes?  It is the ratio of mile already ran (50 miles) over total miles multiply by the total time I am ahead of the cutoff (60 minites).  I was proud of myself to figure out using ratio instead of a traditional way.

    Another way to solve it is more straight forward, You take the total amount time left divided by the total distance left to get the minimum pace to run.   To find what time you need to be at the next aid station, you multiple the pace with the distance to the next aid station.  To see how much lead time, You do the same with the current pace and multiple by the mileage to the next aid station.  Then subtract both times.  Sorry it is a lot of math and I lost all my readers.  Anyway, those were the math I did repeatedly during my run.  In the end it was just garble garble in the middle of the night.  I relied heavily on my spreadsheet and a lot precaculated figures. 

    Running 100s is hard, especially with the math.  I appreciated friends who came out and supported me.  I am thankful for all the volunteers and neighbors.  Other than the race, I had memorable experiences on the way up, the food I ate and the conversations I had. 

    Some notable places: Molly’s at Hanover – I had tacos. The Cappadocia Cafe in White River Junction – I had Pogaca.  The Vermont Welcome Center in Guilford.  Lombardi Rest Area on the Jersey Turnpike.  Biden Rest Area in Delaware.  Labanese food stop in Danbury.  Korean BBQ afterward.

    I wish I had taken more pictures but I got tired after 20 miles and so no more photos after that.

  • [681] July 4 Hike – BP (TWOT)

    I have been on the Twot loop, as it is known among us local runners but its real name is the Wild Oak Trail, many times either hiking, running, racing what not, except for biking and swimming boating or fishing.  

    It was the trail that I earned my backpacking badge.  It was my earliest known trail even before I hiked Signal Knob or Massanutten or Bull Run or the Seneca Creek trail. 

    I don’t write about it specifically, because the two races there the TWOT 100 or 200, and the Grindstone 100, I was not able to do yet to this day (to finish with an official time) even though I have run so many hundred mile races.  It does rub the wrong way for me to be on my home court and couldn’t finish it.  The trail is way harder than the Massanutten.

    But I have run, hiked, trained, and camped there many times.  Hone Quarry is near there and I visited it during the past late winter and spring this year.  (Hone Quarry 40, preview run, Grindstone 100).

    The Wild Oak Trail (TWOT) is located in Spokeville, VA, about 10-ish miles from Harrisonburg and Staunton.

    It is a place I prefer more than the Shenandoah, mostly to avoid the crowd since we are so close to the cities in east coast, primarily the DC area.  

    The AT is fine place to hike, camp and run, but the TWOT is my favorite place.  The views are just as good if not better than many places.

    Last weekend, just off the cuff, I wanted to go for camping. I did have an ulterior motive.  Since I DNF’d at the last Grindstone race, I wanted to go back to know and experience again why I did not do as well as I anticipated in it.  I knew already from my race report, but I wanted to walk back on the ground to see if there any stones I should uncover or memorize.  So it was going to be a holy experience for me.  I had intended to go back there several times after my race last September but whatever the reason I was not able to until the Fourth of July weekend.  I dragged my friend along for the fun of it. Misery loves company they say.

    I have not done a real backpack trip since summer 2021, when I visited the Smoky.  I don’t remember if I posted any about it.  Usually, I don’t like doing a write-up for things that are not running related.  If I find it, I will link it here in the future.

    I really wanted to get back into hiking/camping.   One of my big goals and always have been, is to backpack the one of the very long trails, like the AT, PCT, or CDT, or the one that goes from east to west of the country, for thousand of miles long.  The mountain is always calling me.  Except I just don’t have time.  Running have taken over my life the last few years.

    This year July 4th fell on a Friday and it was a great opportunity to do it for a long three day trip.

    I had in mind to check out or have refresher of the Grindstone 100 course, and the race is coming up in a month or so.  I would like to have a weekend on the course. 

    The short version was everything kind of worked out.

    Thursday night, Campsite unknown

    I left work a little later than I wanted.  We did not get on the road until after 8 pm.  I knew the campsite would be hard to find after dark.  Indeed, I could not find it, the one I camped at in November.  In the end it was already midnight, and we were tired. 

    We drove in the park over an hour turning at one wrong turn after another arriving at who know where.  I actually reached the place where we were supposed to leave our water around halfway through the course.  The original plan was to drive there in the morning to drop off water first before starting out. 

    We could have gone without leaving water since there is a creek nearby and a gas station too about a few miles away, but that would leave some uncertainties and extra hiking to seek water. 

    Since I had a friend with me, I did not want to cause an alarm about not having water.   (As luck would have it, we did run out of water, or due to poor planning on my part, we leave that later).

    At the moment we were in middle of the night without a camp, so the first order of business is still have a place to sleep.  We could sleep in our car until morning, which is kind of bad because we intended to do “real camping.  So I pulled the car into a place at a trailhead and dropped off the water jugs.  Then I decided to hike a little bit into the trail in the middle of the night, from memory there should be a place to camp.  I was unsure how far though.  We lugged all our packs along just in case we needed our things but I knew we would come back to the car in the morning to head to the real trailhead we original intended to go.

    We might have got to our camp after 1 am.  Then quickly set things up and went to bed.  First night was uneventful.  The night was hot.  Moon was out.  So were stars.  We just did a hike that got our blood flowing.  Now we needed to sleep.  I kept the canopy open, we slept under the stars, till it got colder and then I went out to close it.  First night usually is hard to fall asleep for me.

    Friday, the next day. A real hike.

    The next day was our first long day.  We had some decisions to make.  Since the course was a loop, we could actually start from where we camped.  However, the rest of our trip, and where we stay, and where we get water would need to be adjusted.  I felt that was too many things to change on the fly.  Again, if I were on my own, I don’t mind, but since I was with someone, we had filed a flight “plan”, we had to stick to it, you know in case something happened, people can search for us.

    We headed back to our car and drove to the orignal trailhead — the Twot Lot, and started from there. In broad daylight while driving back, we saw all the campsites we missed the night earlier.

    I signed in at the guestbook, noted other people on the trail that weekend.  Not too many maybe two other parties and we did not encounter them at all.  My friend later commented, that Frozen Ed (a famous runner in our community) checked in there a few weeks ago. It is interesting to know who has been there.

     We then prepared our breakfast in the Twot parking lot.  It seemed like cheating and not real camping experience, but we needed our calories.  The day would be long.

    A little past 8 o’clock, we started our hiking for real, going clockwise. As my convention, I gave my friend a choice of going either left or right.  I decided beforehand already of going “left”. This was to climb Lookout Mountain first instead of the Grindstone Mountain.  I have done in the counterclockwise many times but seldom hiked in the clockwise direction except for the Grindstone 100 race.  I actually like this direction because the camping and water points work out fine, as also more ways to change midway.

    The planned course was a 50 mile-ish trip.  Later, once on the trail, wisdom dictated to cut it down to half, which was part of the plan too, a plan B.  This course has several ways of making it shorter, such as heading to Camp Todd or to the start at Twot parking lot by road if needed to instead of on the trail.

    First, we went up onto Lookout Mnt, then crossed over on Hankey Mnt, was to descend to Doswells Draft, and to cross over to Chimley Hollow, then up on Crawford Mnt, down into Dry Branch, climb to Elliot Knob, to descend into Cold Springs, and hike on forest road back to Crawford to climb it second time, backtrack to Chimney Rock, up over Doswells Draft to Hankey again, (we skipped all those) but continued on the TWOT counterclockwise loop to Magic Moss, climbed up on Dividing Ridge to Grind Spring Ridge and passed over Big Bald, descended to Camp Todd, up Little Bald, and was to travel to Reddish Knob if time permits then find our way back to the Todd Lot either on Tilman Rd or through one of those trails like Reservor or Tower trail. It is a lot for the weekend.  Generally, would have to run it to cover everything on the Grindstone 100 course in 4 days instead of 2. For those who want the GPS file, they are available on the Grindstone 100 mile race website.  For future trip, if we want to make it longer, it could join up with the Hone Quarry 40 loop, to make it into 140+ mile adventure.

    So actuality, we stayed on the Twot loop our whole weekend, just 25 miles and cut out all the Crawford loop and Reddish Knob loop. 

    There were no rush for us since we had three days to do it, even out to about 9 miles a day.  I realized we couldn’t do 25 miles a day for three days straight.  I had on near 50 lbs pack.  So it was not going to happen to push the pace.

    By noon on Friday, we just reached the top of Lookout Mountain, maybe about 4-5 miles.  We decided to stop for lunch. I unpacked and had a proper hot meal. I calculated we likely reached our campsite by 4 pm. 

    After lunch we continued climbing up to up on Hankey Mountain.  By 3:00 pm we reached Doswells Draft Trail.  I was out of water by now.  I estimated it might be 3 miles to descend off the mountain to a water point (where I did the water drop the night before) or we could continue climbing up Hankey to a place I know there is a very nice campsite.  Valley always bring to mind flies, gnats, ants and other bugs.  And the place we stayed the night before seemed to have lot of ants.  I was trying to avoid it.

    After talking over with my friend, who had some water left, we went up the ridge to set camp.  There were about two liters of water shared between us.  We still had to cook plus over 16 hours left before we reached our next water source.

    There were no water to clean or wash anything.  The climb up was extremely hard but we were glad we made it. Yes, had to go to bed sticky and dirty.

    I was tired so the first thing of business was to set up camp (the tent) and then changed into dry/clean clothes.  Then I had a small meal since water was lacking, and everything I cook needed a lot of water.  I did not want to make a fire since there was no water to put it out if in an emergency we needed to (Yes, I was taught by others to pee into the fire to put it out if necessary, generally not an appealing task to do). 

    It just meant we headed to bed early.  A slight passing rain came through but nothing was really wet.  In a sense, I was hoping to refill our bottles from the rain, but it did not rain very hard.

    The next day, we headed off to an early start skipping breakfast.  I wanted to head to our water source first before having breakfast.  A side note, our mountain camp was full of spiders and ants, exactly the kinds of bugs I wanted to avoid in the first place.  The view though made it up. Plus the night was cooler. Air smelled better.  We were not disturbed up on the ridge.

    Saturday, 2nd full day.

    We descended back to where we left our water (2 Gal) Thursday night.   The water crisis was now resolved. The two water jugs were still there and in good condition.  I might have stayed two hours here to cook and rested.  The campsite actually did not have any bugs and we could have descended the night before and stayed here. It was a fairly big site for two of us and could have fit 4-5 people.

    After the big breakfast/lunch we headed up to Big Bald. This was our first hard climb of the day.  While climbing up we saw some race ribbons, likely from a past race or something.

    The afternoon was uneventful.  We friend pointed out the Bear Bog, called Bradley Pond (not the same one on Bradley Rd).  I never recalled there was a bear bog here, but I have not been this way for a long time since Grindstone course doesn’t go through here.  We took some photos and continued on.

    We reached over the other side, which was Camp Todd.  We filtered our water (actually a full gallon, 4L).  We probably needed 6L, but 4 L would do.  We then lugged the water upto Little Bald where would be camping for the night.

    It was 4:30 pm as we started off from Camp Todd.  I knew it would take a very long time to get up to the Ridge, and was hoping no more than 3 hours. 

    It was just constant climbing.  We arrived around 8 pm, backpacker midnight some call it.  We set up camp, cooked, cleaned, by the time I went to bed it was 9:30-10 pm.  It was very late and I was tired.  I think I immediately felt asleep.  This site though had very little insects, but we were drenched by the heavy dew.  So the tent was very wet the next morning.

    Sunday, last day of the trip

    Sunday, we had 7 (but felt like 8) miles remaining.  It would be all descending.  I estimated probably took us 4-5 hours to descend.  I had a lot of food left over, so instead of carrying them back down the mountain, it was good to eat them. I had a feast.  My friend had a meal package left (intended for me).  I had maybe 1.5-2 days of food myself, even after I had my big breakfast. 

    The descent was fast initially.  But the day wore on. Sun shone down. At the last part, it was not all descending but some climbling too.  Maybe we got to two miles at the end, we had to climb up maybe a mile.  That really worn us down.  We did reached the parking lot around noon and that was a good feeling we got the weekend wrapped up early. 

    We had plenty time to head home, then we cleaned up and then enjoyed a good Korean BBQ before the day was over.  There was nowhere better than home.

    Conclusion.  Backpacking doesn’t have the excitement of getting to the finish line like in a race.  It is something that takes a lot of time to plan, prepare and execute.  Like running, sometimes we have to make decisions on the fly, such as what to do when running out of water, or that we are carrying too much food, or what if we got lost. 

    Time seems to flow differently while on the trail. Like with running, a four day weekend seems like only one or two days, yes, I wish I would take a day or two off to make it into a 5 day weekend trip. 

    The TWOT loop was like my backyard kind of camping trip.  It provides just the right amount of challenge but also nearby. In no time we were home and back to the society.

    Afterward, another friend of mine reached out, asking if I be interested in backpacking in Colorado and if I have any backpacking experience.  Do I!? 

    I won’t claim myself to be an expert but I am all for going out to Colorado.  I have not done something like that, other than going to the Smoky, Patagonia or the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  I am looking at 60,000 ft climbs and descents and 100+ miles, with the highest point at 15,000 ft. 

    We haven’t settled on how many days, we would do it in.  Likely 4-5 days or 6-7 days, plus couple days to get acclimated. (Location is the famous Silverton for the Hard Rock 100). If the trip is successful, I will do doing a lot more stuff out in the west.  Montanta, I’m looking at you and Grand Canyon.  I have plenty of trips I want to do in the high sierra, slot canyons, JMT, etc. Mt Elbert too. Until next time.

    I don’t think I ever did a proper twot write up, so I did it here for memory and reference. And indeed, some day, if I have a week time, to attempt a 140-150 mile backpacking trip at Twot.

  • [680] Cacapon 12-Hour

    I woke up on Monday and wondered why was I so sore, then I remembered I ran a 12 hour race (11:15) on Saturday at Cacapon State Park in Berkeley Springs, WV. 

    I think it is funny I don’t remember what I did over the weekend.  Like why I felt being beaten up. 

    I was just being out of shape after three weeks with little to no running, nursing an injured leg.  But it was good to be back.  Now I could run and jump again.  My cardio has taken a nose dive.  While Cacapon was a good work out session, I could not really fly on the trail.  My average pace was over 20 min per mile so I will have to go back there to do better, maybe next year.

    Timed event is a little different than other races.  Everyone had the same amount of time and the goal was to run as much distance as we could.  So faster runner likely finish with longer distance than slower runner.  It is a good way to train for endurance.

      The concept is same as any other races, but the execution is different.   There’s no DNF.  It was individual strategy of when to give up.  Most set a distance-like goal, for example to reach 26.2 miles or a 50k, then stop. 

    For those who want to use all 12 hours, it requires that mental toughness of hanging on and pacing at the beginning of not going out too fast.  I set a distance goal for myself but also wanted to stay on the course as long as I could.

    A friend and I drove up in the morning.  We arrived close to the start time, so almost all the parking spots were taken.  The RD said this was the first time where the lot is full.  We had about 50 runners.  I knew some of them.  We got our bibs and proceeded in setting up our own aid station.  The race had one aid station but we could set up our tents and chairs near there.  I did not need much so I did not set out anything but my water bottle.

    The course is a 5 mile loop and has decent elevation climb, 750 ft of change.  It is runnable but also rocky, muddy, and enough hills to make it a challenging run.  I think most people could do 1-2 loops before tiring out.  I walked all my loops. 

    My first loop, I was kind of slowing down to learn the course.  It was marked but some intersections seemed doubtful to me.  I just followed along the runners in front of me.

    By second loop, I felt a bit of leg cramp, maybe due to the humidity, and 90+ degrees heat, I needed to slow down.  By third loop, the sun was fully out and I stopped for a half hour lunch and chat with friends.  On a normal race, a half hour lunch is too long, but on a timed race, I realized I have to maintain under 90 minutes per loop to finish with 8 loops in 12 hours.  So by the third loop, I realized the most I could do is 7 loops with a lot of time left over.  So, half hour lunch was perfect to squeeze in.

    After lunch, I continue on for 4 more loops.  It was actually getting harder.  In my mind, I can go for 6 loops for a 50k without much struggle.  But whether I could motivate myself to do the last and final loop was another thing. 

    By 4:30 PM, I finished 6 loops.  I had over 2 hours left, so, I tried for the final loop.   By now everything was familar to me.  I know the trail and all the ups and downs.  I just went with the float.  Halfway through the course, a storm seemed to about to start.  There were some rumbling of thunders. I told myself to pick up the pace or else I would be drenched in the rain when it arrives. So I tried move a bit faster.  My legs were heavy.  There was another runner near me too.  Together we raced back to the start/finish area.  We made it in the nick of time before the sky opened and poured down buckets of water.

    I love being lucky. We had a good dinner  afterward and then a good rest.  The weekend was nicely tucked away.

    Other thing that happened was Western States 100 took place over the same weekend.  I was glued to Youtube and twitter updates, keeping tap on friends who were running it and other runners in general.  I took part in the a small fantasy (betting) game, so have a personal stake on some of the runners.  It made it more fun to watch.  I had fond memories of being there last year, running in the race.  I felt blessed to finish and also fortunate at the same time.  I were not running in it this year, which I was glad because I knew I probably could not do it again of giving everything on the course and get a finishing time. 

    The idea it was alright to take a DNF but at the same time it stinks to do so.  It hits close to home where I had to take some repeated DNFs.

    It was incredible hard seeing and experiencing myself of runners struggle through their 100 miles.  Who knows if I could still manage to do what I did last year.  My next race is coming up soon.

  • [679] Life, misc, catching up (Catoctin 50k)

    I wanted this year Catoctin run to be like last year except I could not step into the same river twice.  I had a series of races right before it.

    Recent setbacks.  Old Dominion 100  did not go the way I wanted to go.  It was so close yet so far. 10 miles too far.  I don’t know if I can get over that. I can blame it on the training etc of what leading up to it.  In the end, it resulted in an injury.  So I was sidelined for following two weeks (on my third week without running). I am now 99% recovered but still haven’t got back out running like I used to.

    Then came the OSS/CIA 50.  I knew I would not be able to do well when I entered.  It was hard.  I love the hard run.  I was limited by what my injured leg could bear.  Luckily I did not make it worse. 

    When the Catoctin race came, I was smart enough to sit out on it.  It pained me that I could not run in it.  I chose the second best option to volunteer.  I was asked what if one day I could not run any more, what would I do. I got a good taste of that.  I was injured once, a few years back due to a lower back pain and had to sit out for a few weeks, so this was not the first time I had to take time off from running.  If one day I never run again, which is inevitable because I will get old, I will deal with it when the time comes. I would still love to cheer on others.

    This year has been great. I don’t know why.  I haven’t done anything significant but just feel great. Maybe having less stress of not racing so much.

    I wanted so much to make it like last year, mostly because of the race Western States 100.  It has been exactly a year when I toed the start line.  This weekend is the Western States 100.  I wished I were there.  Couple of the people I know are running in it.  I will be very happy for them regardless how they will do.  Some will be chasing for the grand slam, so some I will be seeing (again) in Vermont or at Wasatch.  I am not doing the slam myself, but I hope to be there. The perspective is a bit different now playing a supportive role compares to doing it myself. 

    Likewise, I originally wished to write about my experience at the Cat 50k this year.  But as a supporter, it is not the same as running in it (2024-report).  I was happy I volunteered last weekend and saw my friends going through the aid stations on a tough course and saw them survived the race and also some that did not. We earned praises from runners and the race director for managing our station well. 

    One thing I wanted to mention was the course was slightly changed before the race (there was a reroute) and because this was an old school kind of race, in that we don’t mark the course, so it was a fun day for people getting lost (for some people not all).  We did our part, in that unofficially, we kind of marked our small section of coming into the aid station with balloons.  And because of about a quarter mile section that deviated off the trail, we sent volunteers near the exit to tell runners where to go.  I was mostly the person there unless my friends came through then I either helped them or joked around and sent them out the wrong way (joking).  I felt I did an important job that day. (I was at the Delauter aid station — we were a newbie crew but we were praised for running the aid station like pros, which I was glad).

    So as expected, the last three weeks haven’t been too well for me.  I took 3 DNF/DNS’s.  Never before had I encountered such setbacks.  They were inevitable.  I have done only two smallish runs so far, about couple miles instead of the usual 25-30 miles. 

    I was asked when is my next big one.  It is coming up in couple weeks.  I don’t feel ready for it. I know I am not. The race name (in VT) must not be mentioned for fear of jinx-ing it.  Then another big one after that (Eastern States) and then Grindstone 100.  I have an axe to grind for that one. I am not afraid of you, Mr. Grindstone (for those who grew up watching Home Alone).  They all come one after another.  Ahhh.  One harder than before.  I have to start training hard.

    That’s a wrap for this week.  I will be watching the Western States even though I am not running in it and probably never will again (report). I love my buckle!  I still need to get a belt for it. 

    When I could not run any more, all I have left is memories from my former races.  Yes, and that actually what I did while volunteering, we were talking about our races when I was asked which one was my favorite.  I love all my races, thinking back those times I was out on the trail.  There’s another alternative, that is hiking/backpacking, more to come (exciting news to share in the next post).

    A small 5 mile training run with a friend at the Manassas National Battlefield last weekend (Juneteeth).

  • [678] OSS/CIA 50 mile (DNF)

    Two years ago I did this race (report) and I liked it a lot.  Have I ever not liked a race? Last year I volunteered. This year, even with an overloaded schedule I wanted to runnit again. Maybe a bit of hubris on my part that I could finish it even right after a 100 mile race. It is a local race in my area on a trail now I have known like the back of my hands, having done couple hundred mile races there, i.e., the Devil Dog 100. 

    OSS/CIA is a kind of celebrity race in that I could brag about the OSS officers (precursor of the CIA) used to train there.  There’s another place near our area that has a celebrity status, and that is Camp David, where there are trails nearby and which we will be doing a 50k the following weekend. 

    Don’t take my words, I don’t know where Camp David is before writing this (a quick Google search did show where), but some say it is somewhere near there and I did see security presence when we passed by the camp entrance as we drove from Owens Creek to Gambrill Park. 

    In this report, we will focus on the OSS/CIA 50.  For me it was pretty cool to say I run in the Prince William Forest for the OSS/CIA 50.

    This year like any other years, I did not get into Highland Sky, where many people I know went to, including my good friend David. I am happy for him to finish it.  I was not sad to miss out on that race though and was glad to take this other race instead.  Sometimes it does feel like this was the second best option.  Some of my running friends including Charlie, Randy, Brian, Eric and many others were running in this one too. 

    I was nervous on days leading up to the race whether I would be ready in time.  As some knew, I just finished a 100 mile (well nearly finished) and I was still recovering from it.  From the 100 miler I injured my right foot, maybe pulled a muscle, or some kind of inflamation going on or shin splint. My take was I kicked a rock too hard and pulled something. My foot was swelling and it hurt even when while walking.  I was hoping for a miraculous healing by race day so I could run it.  By Wednesday, I felt it was like 50% better.  Thursday, the pain went away but still felt a bit sore. And by Friday, I could feel I could have a bit mobility.  I was hoping by Saturday, I could run again.

    My friend who offered to pace me at the race checked in with me one more time on Saturday morning.  The race was at night, starting at 6 pm and would continue till 8:30 am Sunday.  I told him it is no good, it still has pain when I touch it and when I flex it in a certain position.  I knew there would be no way I could run on that foot and finish the race.  I told him not to bother coming out to support me because likely, there was no way I would be able to finish.

    Still I held the hope maybe I could do just 1 loop (25 miles) and maybe still make the cutoff for a second loop.  I showed up early at the race to get ready.  Friends showed up, we chatted and when it was time for the race, I went out. 

    I was quickly became the last person a few minutes after crossing the start line.  I was pretty much limping out.  There were a father and son with a dog in front of me.  Soon they let me pass.  I did not think that was a good idea because likely they will pass me back.  The son seemed strong but he waited for his father who was maybe in his 60s and either the dog too which was holding them back or they actually preferred doing it at a slower pace, I went on ahead. 

    The pain started to intensify after a mile. On a scale of 1-10, I put it reaching between 2.5-3.  I still could bear it but it was not fun running while in pain. I could turn back, which would be the quickest way back.  I knew the loop was long, and the point of no return is around mile 13-14.

    I was moving at a constant pace, walking mostly, doing 3 miles an hour (20 min pace). I knew I need around to 14-16 min to have a chance of making the cut and finishing, especially the first loop, we had a tighter cutoff time of 6.5-7 hrs (a 16 min pace). The loop was closer to 26 miles. It was a long course 50 mile race (actually was 52 miles).  When a race gave you 14.5 hours to do, you knew it was not easy.

    By second hour, my pain subsided a bit, maybe down to 1.  I felt it was numb and kind of had a warm pain.  And by third hour, the pain reduced to a tickling sensation.  I felt like my funny bone constantly being activated.  It was a sensation of the leg being weak, that if I put weight on it, it might collapse under me. 

    By now, I passed the first waterpoint, mile 8. I knew exactly how much farther I needed to go.  I could head back using the road or continue on the trail for the full 25 miles. I refused to give up.

    Soon it was dark, now 9 pm.  I had a pace chart on me.  My slowest pace called for reaching mile 11 by 8:30, which I already missed and mile 13 no later than 9:30.  I did not get to mile 13 until 10:00.  I knew I was way behind pace.  We had 3 hours to make it back and it took us 4 hours to reach halfway. I knew, there was no way for me to get back until 2 am. 

    Rain and storm came between 11 pm and midnight.  Fog settled in.  I treaded on.  The father and son team had split.  The father was still behind me and from time to time I saw his head lamp.  The son had gone ahead  before me.  He wanted to make the cutoff and I was rooting for him.

    The trail was mostly the same course and direction as the Devil Dog. I was making various comments to myself, here is the bridge coming up, here the Burma Road, and so on.  We turned here for Devil Dog but we were not turning here today.  Hmm, I wonder where this path would take me.  It was pretty much entertaining myself. 

    I got to the Pyrite Mine trail and I knew we were close to the start.  I could take a short cut to get back.  By now, it was passed 1 am, the cutoff.  There was no reason for me to be on the trail this long.  My leg started to hurt again and I was wondering how long I could last.  I felt I could make it back. The Swinging Bridge should not be too far away.

    If I was healthy, I could run on the final road portion.  After the Pyrite Mine Trail, we were on the Pyrite Road.  I remembered last time I did this, I was running on this stretch to make the cutoff. 

    Soon I saw the Swinging Bridge and knew just a bit more.  We had about jist couple miles to go.  They would take us through the Laurel Loop and Birch Trail.  It was uphill and long.  Then I finally reached the Cross Trail, and in my mind like half a mile more. I finally arrived back at the finish at 2:22 am. On a normal day, this portion probably only take me 30 minutes but today, it was dragging on. I was second to the last runner to finish the first loop.

    No words had to be said, I knew I did not make the cutoff (cutoff was at 1 am).  I gathered myself and walked to my car to change and sleep till morning.  The Aid Station volunteers were starting to make breakfast.  So I had some pancakes and nice food before going to bed.

    I had no idea how many people dropped or finished.  As I slept I heard the first runner finished at 3 am.  Then the second runner finished at 4.  I woke up at 5 am and chatted with friends and watched the rest of the runners came in.  Some of my friends who ran only the marathon only came in around 6 am.  I had a long celebration with them.  Eric, who ran the Old Dominion with me the prior week totally crushed this race.  Randy also finished with  a very good time.

    I could also have done the marathon by starting at midnight instead of 6 pm and I would have considered myself a finisher.  I did not.  It was hard to reason why did I not. I wanted to do a 50 mile and I thought I might have a chance. That was all.  I enjoyed the run (or walk) in a familiar park.  It was not often we got to run it at night.  Usually, it closes after dark (5 pm or something). I had an incredible time out there.  There were no special thoughts, just me, the trails, and some friends.  Of course, from time to time, I had to deal with my foot and its limitations. I felt proud I made it to the end (at least my finish point, not the race).

    That’s my race report.  A bit unusual from my normal ones. Usually I would like to include a nice lesson, (the moral of the story) is don’t run on injured foot. Rest and be smart.  I can’t preach this to others since I don’t follow my own advices. 

    Update: My foot felt better now by the second week

  • [677] Pat Pat, My epic fail at running OD100

    First of all thank you to all the volunteers, families and friends for their supports for the race.  It could not have happened without them.

    Much deserving a mention is my crew and friend who drove me to the race and back and waited at every station from 4 am to midnight after I made the last (one and only) cutoff at Elizabeth Furnace. I rarely have a crew, so, the race is a pity that I was not able to finish.

    Why I wanted to run it again?  It has to be a very special reason to run a 100 mile.  I came across a runner, Annabel, she said she wanted to run it for her mom.  As for me, I did not have a particular reason.  Last year, I signed up because of the Grand Slam.  This year, I just wanted to have fun, to experience the course without the pressure of got to do it, and of meeting everyone’s expectation.  Partly, several of my friends signed up and I wanted to join them to hang out.  I was initially going to do the Massanutten 100, since that has been my race for the last few years.  For various reasons, that did not happen and OD100 then became my race.  I wanted too to pace a runner for his Grand Slam this year.

    We went to the briefing. Nothing new.  I placed my drop bags.  Then showed up for the next day 4 AM. We ran around the parking lot twice and that was supposed to be a mile.  I was thinking great, we got to do the extra lap early so at the end we won’t have to do it again and which would save us time. In theory, we are half mile ahead of our pace chart.  I took that as a good sign.

    This year, I was not the last runner going out.  In fact, I lined up at the front.  We took our time going up on Woodstock Tower.  There were just Wayne and I and a few other runners by the time we reached the top.  I figured, like last year, I would slowly pick off runners.

    From Boyers we entered the Orange Trail heading down toward the Reservor. Then we headed back to Boyers toward St David Church.  We crossed the Fort Valley and ran toward Four Points.  About a mile from Four Points, I caught up with a bunch of runners.  I remember from former year a group of 4 runners called themselves the Lost Boys because they got lost in the Boyers loop.  So I called them the Lost Boys too.  Apparently one of them was a runner I was going to pace.  So I called out, hey would you still want me to pace you.  He said sure.  Together we headed into Four Points.  Note, only one of them (and she wasn’t a boy) finished the race as a DFL (last runner), the rest of us later dropped.

    The race was still early, only a third way into it (mile 32) but there were signs that things were not going well.  Our pace started to slack.  We were an hour behind goal pace of 26 hour finishing.  If we were wise, we should have sharpened up and started the hurry up and go mindset.

    The next 20 miles, we traveled through the swampy land of Duncan Hollow.  It was not that rough for me, but I was moving methodically slow. I did not finish the loop and arrive back at Four Points second time till after 5 pm (my pace chart called for arriving at 2:40 for 26 hours and 4 pm for 28 hours).  This was an hour behind of my 28 hour race pace.  It should have been a warning for me but apparently I ignored it because according to the math.  I reached mile 50 in 13.25 hours, so 100 miles, should take me 27 ish hours. Hence, I was not panicking.

    The next 10 miles took me 2 hours, which was good.  I figured I had plenty of time to get to mile 75, our first cutoff.  The sun soon set.  A fellow runner spoke to me that we were not going to make it.  So I started counted the time again.  We had 8 miles and we needed to get to Little Fort.  In my mind I thought I had 3 hours, but in actuality, I had 2.  I was planning to get to Little Fort by 8 pm.  She asked me to check my watch again and then I realized it was already 8 pm.  So I had to settle with 9 pm. She (Kalla) and I started running in earnest. I did arrive by 9 pm. 

    Now the next segment was 11 miles and we had 3 hours.  On paper it was doable, but this section, became more technical.  It was dark.  There were 5-6 (the Lost Boys) of us and we caught up with another 3-4 runners.  It made a fun group as we raced toward the cutoff.  I was hoping we might get to Elizabeth Furnace by midnight.  It came down very close.  I got in, got my medical check, and then headed back out.  Time was of the essence.

    At this stage, it was a relief that I made it through the one and only cutoff.  However, I was spent in term of energy.  Because I had run this race before, I knew what was to come.  We had to cross Sherman Gap and the Veach Gap and then climb Woodstock Tower, three big climbs. 

    It was mind blowing hard.  In summary, It took me 3 hours to climb Sherman and then 2 hours Veach.  I wish I could say, then I did Woodstock Tower in 1 hour.  I would have the race done.  I got halfway up near Woodstock, time was about to expire at 770+758 road. I did not think I could move another step. It was mathematically impossible for me to run 9 miles in an hour or even 2 hours. Volunteers there were more than ready to take me back.  So there I ended my race at 7 am with 9 miles left.

    I don’t like feeling sorry for myself that I could not finish the Old Dominion 100, while coming so close with 8.7-9.2 miles left.  But Pat Pat to myself.

    There were various reasons I could tell myself why the race did not go according to plan, but in the end, it was just me not having enough to survive the race.

    Some would be fine and celebrated the distance ran.  I stopped at mile 91.  I was actually done at mile 80, or even at mile 75 but mathematically, I still had a chance to get myself to the finish line.  My body started giving up at mile 86, and I knew it would be a long way to get the final 14 miles.  By then it was no longer feasible for me to attempt limping in. 

    I am grateful though to be able to run in OD100.  Weather played a part.  We knew ahead it was going to hot.  It is usually hot.  The rain was a relieve to cool off the morning portion.  The entire day was humid.  We just perservered. 

    In hindsight, I should have stopped at midnight, since trying to finish the race with 8 hours left was historically very hard at this race.  I attempted it any way knowing there were others who did that before. 

    Proverbial saying, hindsight is 20-20.  Everything fell apart the next seven hours.  The moment I left mile 75, I tripped and felt into a mud pit.  I had sand and mud all over me, on my clothes, my hands, feet, my pack, my water bottle and water hose.  I could not drink my water until I could find a creek to clean off.  My legs were giving out on me.  Then came pouring rain. The sky poured buckets.  Rocks were slick.  I did not chance it.  Even by walking I was kicking rocks and stumbling.  Each time I kicked a rock, my toes hurt.  I never kicked so many rocks even while running the MMT 100, which was known to be rocky.

    My evaluation if a race is good is by how tired I am afterward.  This race even though I did not finish, I enjoyed the course, the clock and the 1 day, 100 miles.  It is always you against the course and the clock. 

    I got a great welcome when I had to do the “walk of shame” to Henry, our race time keeper by the finish line to tell him I quit.  My friends enrupted in cheers and claps.  They thought I made it in, but in fact I was given a ride back.  I had to tell them, I got a ride! Still I was grateful they (the Lost Boys) were there.

    I am grateful to my crew, friends, volunteers and fellow runners to make Old Dominion an unforgetable experience.

  • [676] Catch up

    My head is still stuck in Atlanta of a trip I took there at the beginning of May and now we are in June.  If readers were wondering why so few posts lately, that was why.

    I have a bit of catching up to do.  Maybe it is a little understatement nothing much happened in that time. Well, nothing big happened.  I lived my life.  Things happened.

    A week was spent for an one night camping trip at Lake Fairfax. It was my best trip in a lomg time.  I haven’t done a camping trip since maybe 2020.  This was not per se a real trip, because it was literally by my house, about 30 minutes away.  However, I had such a good time with the people there.  Then best of all, I was able to do some trail running and a super long urban run on the following day, something I also haven’t done for a long time, possibly since Covid time.

     I cowboy-camped, meaning sleeping without a tent, right under the stars.  It was a good night. The temperature was about right on the cooler side, maybe in the 50s, so it was a comfortable sleep. 

    I ran about 30 ish miles, might have been 35 miles, mostly on a flat rail to trail path nearby, the W & OD trail.  It has been a long time since I have been on this trail and many sights have changed such a whole lot more data centers.   The highlight of the run was eating at the Carolina Brothers Pit BBQ about near the turn around point in Ashburn. We actually ran past it for maybe 3-5 more miles before turning around.  Then I ran all the way back to the car just before subset. It was a day that worn me out, which is rare. Possibly, I was no longer in top shape.

    The following weekend, I volunteered at our local running club 100 miler, the famous Massanutten Mountain Trail 100, which I ran in the last three years but this year I decided to sit out and volunteer at an aid station and to cheer runners on. 

    I had a chance to mark the course the day before in one of my favorite sections of the course, the Kerns Mountain, a notorious nasty and rocky section of the race. 

    When the race was happening, I was one of a few to pre run sections of it (as a course checker, in case more markers/ribbons should be placed) and mine was from mile 50-62. While doing so, I also took part in clearing a blow down. 

    A volunteer and I was using a hand saw to cut a fallen tree that was blocking the trail.  It took us an hour or so and we ended up giving up since it was too heavy to move it to a side.  We did improve the passage by lowering the branch closer to the ground so runners could just hop across instead of climbing over it.

    Little did we know once we left the trail that afternoon, the wind blew down a bigger tree just outside the trailhead, blocking the exit for cars onto the road and some volunteer cars therefore, were trapped in in a nearby lot.  There was no one with a powered chain saw clear the logjam.  So it was an evening adventure for a bunch of volunteers sent in to clear it.  Yes, eventually, someone was able to borrow a saw and cleared the blow downs.  A side note, the following day after the race, more trees were blown down there and a runner (a friend of mine), had their car trapped in the parking lot a second time.  We had some strong winds that night for volunteers and runners.  And a storm blew through before the race and course was as wet as it can be.

    The best was yet to come, a friend called me up not on the race day but a week before and asked if I could pace him.  I promised sure, since I was not running in it, pacing would be the next best thing. 

    So throughout the day while volunteering at various jobs, I kept track on my runner.  It seemed my runner might not going to make the cut offs.  Each one was very close like by a minute or two.  I was betting, likely this dude wouldn’t make it past to where I was supposed to pace him and I would have a night of sleep.  I was supposed to meet him at mile 65, like at 3-4 am in the morning.  I feared, I might overslept and be a no-show. 

    So by evening, with no updates yet if my runner had dropped, I figured I better get ready and went to an earlier aid station at mile 50 to meet up instead of at mile 65.

    My runner made it in in the nick of time.  From 10:30 pm onward, we would continue battling one cut off after another to the next day’s afternoon 5:00 pm, which was the end of the race. 

    There were high points when morning arrived and the low points like noon the second day when the uncertainty whether we would finish.  As a cinderella story, we did make it in, they recorded the time as 35:59:54.  A hairbreath, 36 hours being the time limit.  Everyone cheered. I was glad. It was crazy. Words could not describe what went through our heads. This was for a 74 year old for his 10th finish at this race.

    Why this affected me so much was three years ago when I was falling behind on my pace at this race, I was chasing cutoffs.  But unlike him, I did not make it to the finish line but stopped at mile 95.  My friend did what I could not do by keeping at it one step after another, even when things seemed bleak, he finished. 

    Many people think I might have something to do with helping him, maybe my presence or encouragement got him through.  I do take the credit of being there, but all the work and struggles were him alone.  As the clock was ticking down, I was thinking to myself, if that were me, I wouldn’t make it.  Yet on the flipside even if I were not there, he would still have made history.  I was happy I got to experience it on the front row seat with him, battling with him of beating the cutoffs. What an excitement.  My blog entry just doesn’t do justice.

    The last weekend in May (Memorial Day weekend), I ran a 50k at Cowans Gap.  More will be written later if I get to it.  It was a fine weekend and a very good run.  10 hours were a little too long for me. I wish I could have done it in 9 or less. It is what it is.

    Then this week, I went to Roanoke and did a trail marathon.  It was also a fine weekend. I wish I have time to write about it. I ran it in 6:03, (with the time cutoff being 6:30) probably my best effort before my 100 mile.

    Briefly, I had one of the best hike while there. And here is a picture.

    Out on McAfee Knob, the most photographed place on the whole Appalachian Trail (might be a bit of an exaggeration).  I had to do the signsture AT pose.

  • [675:25.18] Quarterly update

    Awhile ago, I wrote a summary of runs I did up to 2021,  in a post called (Hello4). It is time for another update to bring up to the present. 

    Also I just realized it is time for a quarterly update. The last two updates are (634-24.16) and here (651-24.17).

    In first quarterly of last year, I mentioned what I was going to do with a lot of races lining for 2024 and by the second quarterly 24.17, I wrote I ran them.  The key take away was to find what I like to do and keep doing it. Nothing has changed much since. I am still trying to keep my passion up for running.

    I was going to save this to the end of the year for a Hello World post (last year Hello7, for the curious), which is a kind of post when I have nothing to write about and need to put something in. However, I also did not have much to write for the quarterly update. So why not do it now and have it done.

    Here goes. 

    2022:  I finally finished the CRAW, a virtual run around the world with a group of 8-9 people.  I was going to write about the experience, but never get to it.  The world is big.  Virtual run started out as fun but ended being a drudgery.  Originally, there’s a map and blog posts of each place we visited, but by the end, all the places seem almost the same.  The Google map did not look too appealing.  Also there was a time constraint of doing research or reading up on the places we been.  By the way, I finally glued all the medals I received for the race on a world map board the race sent me. It took me just as long putting up the medals as running the thing (a 5 year project!)

    Meanwhile, I did many in real life (IRL) races that year as marathon races started back up since Covid-19 closing, including: Grandma’s in Minnesota, Ann Arbor in Michigan, Atlantic City in New Jersey, and NCR in Maryland. 

    I ran some repeated races: JFK, Marine Corps 50k, Rock & the Knob, Naked Nick, Catoctin 50k, Iron Mountain and Stone Mill.  Those who know me or in the area would recognize those races.  They are my favorites and thus I have gone back year after year. Stone Mill, now I have ran it 5 times and got a free shirt!  I don’t know if there any races I ran that many times.

    2023: I did even more than the prior year. How could that be, but it is true. It would be too much to list them all.

    For marathons, Cowtown in Fort Worth Texas was a fun one.  Shamrock in Virginia Beach. Hayden Lake in Idaho, Philadelphia Marathon, and Space Coast Marathon in Florida.  I love running my marathons and I was crossing states off races from my 50 states list.  Little did I know the next two years, I  transitioned  into doing ultra marathons.

    I started doing some of my favorite long races this year, the Massanutten 100, Bull Run Run 50, Boyer’s Furnace. They are still my favorites.

    2024: Last year I did the Grand slam and voted as Runner of the year in my runner club ;), I am embarrassed by the fact I did it. I am not the type of runners people imagine me to be.

     In a million years, I would not dream of doing even one of those races, but I was fortunate to get to do them all (almost all minus Leadville 100 and Angeles Crest). The eight 100-milers I did (not all are part or required for the grand slam) were C&O 100, Massanutten 100, Old Dominion, Western States, Vermont, Burning River, Grindstone, Wasatch Front, and Devil Dog. It is a mouthful to say and remember them. I learned of other slams while at it, so in the future, I might do some of them like the Midwest Slam, or the Rocky Slam.  Nothing is like the Grand Slam though.

    There was no time for me to run normal marathons.  I did get to go to Taipei, Taiwan, ran the WJS marathon.   Also I ran the Richmond Marathon in my home state, and it was special to me.  It was a memory to treasure. 

    2025.  This leads us to the first quarter of 2025.  I felt I haven’t done much for the half of the year.  One highlight was the Virginia Marathon.  I did not know there’s a marathon called Virginia Marathon until this year.  It was recommended to me by a friend.

    My schedule has been busy.  It is a slower pace than last year but I felt still every weekend I have something needed to do.  I ran runs such as Hone Quarry and making a trip down to Atlanta for GSER or Dark Anchor in Savannah was special. 

    I also spent more time supporting other runners and traveling to Savannah and Atlanta for such.

    In a prior weekend, I was at Harper Ferry helping out at the C&O Canal 100.  This coming weekend I will be at the Massanutten Mountain 100 (not running but helping out), I am praying I would get a chance to shine to help some poor runners out in the depth of despair as they tried to run a 100 miler. (more to follow).

    Where will I go from here?  I am a bit under pressure cooker with time and commitments.

    Looking back the last few years, I was free and had a lot of fun and ran in a lot of races and visited a lot of places.   I still want to do the same.  I am in the same financial strait as everyone in our nation, with high inflation and tariffs.  How tariffs affect races?  Maybe our race shirts are more expensive.  We are dealing with a great deal of uncertainties.  My race plan for the next half of the year has already been or mostly  set. 

    As for next year, I will take it as it comes.  There are couple trips I have in mind, possibly visit Savannah again for Dark Anchor, or to Florida for the Long Haul 100, possibly going to doing the PolarNight Soltice Marathon Run in Tromsø in Norway, or Viet Nam for the Ho Chi Minh Marathon, or finally going run the Rim to rim to rim at the Grand Canyon.  Because there are a lot of uncertainties, I can’t say for sure any such trip would happen.  My heart still wants to complete a 200 mile marathon, looking at Cowboy 200.  So likely next year, that would be the goal to attempt. I have a bunch of targets but not sure which one will stick or none of them.

    [meta: I am thinking to reset the journal count to 1 soon, and increase the Vol to 2, because we human or me is not made to count that high a number.  I might explain the numbering in a future post. Like a sailor, the count is Days been since land/ship been sighted. Ahoy! The days of my wandering is over]

  • [674] GSER 100k – Atlanta

    GSER, Great Southern Endurance Run is not a race but a run I told myself.

    I won’t mention everything but some hightlights and bloops of the trip.

    This was not my first time.  My first time was back in 2020 July and August.  I wrote couple long blogs about it.  It was a 100 mile back then.  Last year I did the 100k.  This year also a 100k. 

    My 100 miler in Atlanta was miserable and I don’t want to dwell on it.  Last year was quite fun to finally get to go back there and ran my heart out.  We had perfect weather and everything.  I got one of my to-dos checked off.  (report).  When you had a good year, you dream of coming back for a repeat, but as they say, you can nevrr step into the same river twice. This year was different.

    This year, I learned from my prior years attempts. I did almost everything perfectly (stressing on the almost). We (my friend and I) got to the finish, ahead of the expected time.  No one was hurt. Mission accomplished. The end.

    It seems I was the first to sign up.  Not sure what made me to do it again.  Usually, I only want to run a race once.  Well my friend Caroline said it was me who signed up first so she signed up.  I think it was the other way around. We were the first two to do it.  And the last two to finish! More on that.

    I usually wanted to run fast that is to get to the finish as fast as I could.  This could be a fast run but I know there were a lot to see and to do as we run through Atlanta.  The race was designed to show off the city.  To slow down and take things in. The race is only fun when you take a bit of risk of DFL-ing or worst not finishing.  

    Our race was like that.  I know we would be slow.  I looked up last year slowest time and prepared my pace chart as such. 

    I came prepared this year with turn sheet laminated knowing expecting a lot of rain.  Last year, I tried to squeeze too much info into the turn sheets my eyes went blind.  So this year, I sacrificed some extraneous info being left out and made the font as big as possible.  That caused some uff-da oopsies when some places on my turn sheets said to turn left and right at the same time.  There were several places I was confused by my own directions. Other than that, we got to the end eventually. I like each failed turn or mistake brought the blood pressure up to the roof.  We had good GPS or other runner friends to guide us in time of needs.

    Most of the course is through the city and suburbs of Atlanta. We had a lot of streets to cross and we ran on sidewalks and passed through public places like parks, stadium, cemeteries and neighborhoods.  Out of respect and sensibility we controled our speed to a slow pace. Often time it was more like doing a quick walk than a run.

    The course was not marked.  We did not expect it to be since it goes through the city for 60+ miles.  It would be a tall task to mark all and then take it down.  I was glad on some tricky trail sections we did have flags and such. Thanks Trena for marking. It was easier this year to follow than last year.

    I have been hyped about doing this kind of race since I first found out about it.  To me it was more a scavenger hunt.  Now I am eye-ing doing something similar in Tampa (Tampa 100) maybe later this year or next year.

    Overall, I enjoyed seeing Atlanta close up. 

    We entered a “restricted Area” in Palasades something Acker Mill or somewhere. The construction man made us go back when we were so close reaching the other side.  There was no construction happening at the time.  It was just an empty parking lot and they were about to open it anyway.  Rules are rules.  We obeyed because the dude was watching us like a hawk to make sure we leave.  We were lucky not being cited for tresspassing.  I believed many other runners did the same so the man was on high alert that runners would be coming through.

    A few of the pictures taken

    I wish though I stopped by more shops while during the run.  I would have liked eating at the Pho we passed by.  We stopped twice, once at a Krogger with a Starbucks and the second time was at Chick-fil-A. I was concerned we used too much time.  It was also worth it because prior years I did not stop but so wanted to.  So I got my wishes.

    Pace:  Our pace was just right.  I planned for 10 pm to reach the foot of Stone Mountain.  The cutoff was 11 and we reached it at 9 pm.  A success.  It was about a 17 min pace.  A pace I need to maintain at my next race the Old Dominion 100.  This gave me an idea how it feels to get that stored into my mind and body.

    The fun part was, the rain.  It was forecasted to start raining from 10am-10 pm.  I guess some places did get rain, but we were staying dry whole day until 8:30 pm at the final couple miles.  When it came it poured as they say.  Lightning and Thunder, the full fury.

    Yup, we got wet. I got lost. I knew the direction by heart but in a moment of confussion since my turn sheet said to go left when it was supposed to go right, I went left.  Luckily, two other runners caught up and set us straight.  We got into the finish before 9 pm. I was one second too slow and earned the Dead Last place.  There was a photo to prove it! So I would have to go back to redeem it. I am still a sore loser for not receiving a DFL prize. They did not have any to give out for being the last runner in this race.

    Besides the race, we spent the day before to ascend Stone Mountain on a nice humid day. 

    Also I found out where the Asian market (H-mart) is.  So we had lunch there and also gathered our pre run supplies.  Walmart was a good place too. 

    Sunday following the race, we ascended Stone Mountain again.  We also entered the amusement park.  It was for the laser show but we did not have time for that.  We took a train ride around (part of the entry cost).  It is costly, $20 for parking and $25 for the park entry.  Food there was alright , prices were decent below at the food court, but prices up on Stone Moutain was almost like in the movie theater ($20 for popcorns, pretzel and a drink). Note, the have stone carving on the other side, which I never know.  But you have to pay to see it.

    We spent the evening with local friends.  I got my favorite after-run drink: Kung Fu Bubble Tea!

    The biggest uff-da oopsie I made was on the day flying back when I returned the rental car.  It was an early flight so I had to be at the airport by 5 am.  That was pushing it, and lo and behold, I found out I left my backpack in the rental car as I got into the airport sky train.  Long story short, the rental could not locate my bag.  We submit a lost-and-found.  By the time we made to the gate, the airplane already pushed off from the gate.  We missed it just by maybe 10-15 minutes.  Note, we got to to the gate on time before the noted departure time, but they usually do close the gate 5-10 minutes if no more passengers were boarding.

    It just made my day.  I was put on a flight to Chicago and then rerouted back to DC.  Most of the day was gone.  The worst part is my house and car keys were all in the lost bag, plus many important items like my hydration vest! I told myself accept it as a lesson learned.  Not let it ruin my trip.  They say a little fly ruins a good perfume. So I can’t let a bit disappoinment ruins my trip.

    update: My backpack is found and it will be shipped back to me in a few days

  • [673][626] 2024 C&O 100

    This past weekend, I had a chance to be at the C&O 100 helping out at an aid station and cleaning up after runners finished.  I love the race and had run it the year before.  If I could do it again racing, I would do it in a heartbeat.  But money is tight for me this year and I have to be careful in choosing which races to do. I can’t be like last year when I could just sign up every race that comes into my inbox.  Helping out at the race is the next best thing to running in it. I brought back memories I had when I ran it.

    I wrote the entry below right after my 2024 race, though I ended up publishing a slightly different and shorter version.  I still like the one I published more, but this version below I like it in a different way, maybe it expresses more what I was feeling while running it. It is more raw.  Basically, I like the race. I like racing.

    I reread it recently, and since I don’t have anything to publish this week,  So, here goes something from my old draft (rejected) folder:

    —

    This will be a big one compares to the last few races.  I did the New Taipei Marathon, and was throughly happy once got it done.  Then there was the Bull Run Run 50, which was another high point, with a result better than I expected. Last week was the Blue Ridge Marathon and I left my heart in that race, with another successful run.  Can we have more?  Indeed. Those who have been following weekly know I have a full summer of fun (in racing).

    We are going through the spring races. There will be many races before the fall season kicks in. 

    The C&O Canal 100 went well, far above and beyond what I dreamed.  I ran my personal best time.

    A bit of history.  I wrote about how I choose my races, especially the 100 mile races. There are not that many 100 mile races compares to marathons.  So, I “did my research” of which ones I want to run by either from a word of mouth or from reading some blogs. I wish I can recall the specific blogs I read about this race. There was one that left a good impression. I wish I had the reference saved.

    My interest in the C&O 100 might have started from a blog I read. I couldn’t remember which came first. The idea to run a 100 or I came across a blog that gave me the idea to do it. From reading the blog, I learned about the course and everything.

    The following events are kind of related.  In 2019 I ran the JFK 50.  A lot of the course was on the C&O Canal towpath.  I also did my first half marathon there and later did a marathon (with the Safety and Health Foundation) on the towpath, though in a section closer to DC.  Also one of my early 5k/10k runs (Fall in Love 5k) was on the towpath. It has some kind of attraction subjectively, that I need also to do a 100 miler there, because it has such a long personal running connection I built with the place. 

    What I wanted at the time was to do a one day hike (100k/62 miles) from George Town in DC to Harper Ferry. I was into backpacking/hiking at the time in 2017 and hiking on the canal was something I was building up to do.  However, each year, I kept missing the signup from the Sierra Club.  Then Covid came. The event was not held. To this day, I have never signed up.

    So what led me to decide to run a 100 mile on the canal?  I don’t remember but I was googling if I were to do a 100 mile which ones would I want to do.  And the short list were the C&O 100, the Blackbeard ‘s Revenge, Umstead, and lastly Rocky Raccoon (as recommended by a friend from Texas).  Covid closed a lot of them.  I did not get into Umstead, missed the signup, but the following year (2021), Rocky Raccoon was available for me.  C&O was too, but I did not want to wait till April and there was a risk that it might get canceled again due to Covid, so I flew to Houston, Texas and ran the Rocky Raccoon as my first 100 mile. Also, possibly, my a running friend was going to do the Rocky Raccoon, so I went there. I also wanted to travel needed for my 50 states plan.

    Now four/five years later I finally circled back to do this C&O 100.  It is not because I am a completionist, but so happened I needed a “training run” and also to pace a friend.

    It was also it happened two years ago (2022), the race sent out a call for volunteers and I responded.  During the event, I met an ultra runner (duh) who totally blew my mind of by running 100s like I was running marathons (which at the time I just got accepted into the Marathon Maniacs club, and was very proud of my standing, reaching 5th level out 9th). I have gone back to volunteer the following year because the race organization was special to me. Since so much energy is vested in this race already, it is reasonable to take the last step, to run in it.

    The last reason is, while training for the Bull Run Run around year 2022 (I trained over 3 years for BRR), I met someone (Iris, who crewed for me at Devil Dog 100 in 2022) who did both the MMT 100 and C&O 100 back to back in the same year.  It was an unimaginable accomplishment.  I  have the urge to imitate.  It blew the whole theory that you can only run one 100 mile race a year or in a season as my mom has been telling me.  It has been awhile since and finally, I feel this year is the year to go for it. Lets try for a multiple 100s!

    Side story, I am very afraid of the MMT 100 because I DNF’d there the first time and adding a 100 mile couple weeks before it doesn’t seem like a smart idea.  Anyway, I want to face that pressure.

    Now onto the race! I arrived Friday night near 9 pm. I timed it so I could go straight to bed for there was nothing to do there. I camped in the back of my truck, actually outside for the fun of it. This time unlike at the MMT 100, there was no condensation (dew) on me while I slept, which is something I always forget. (Side story: there I met my guy Jeremy for the first time, who now became a good runner partner).

    The start time was 7:00 am and we had full 30 hours to run it.  The start time was a bit late for a typical 100, but I love having the later start because it allowed me to sleep in a little bit more (the volunteers were arriving around 4 am though). I was actual up by then. I had me move my truck to where other cars were. They did not like how I parked.

    The night was cold and windy, I slept but was interrupted by the elements from time to time. I slept without a tent, which would have helped a lot in a windy time like that night, but due to being too lazy to set up and break it down in the morning, I did not use it. (I brought one but didn’t want to use it). I prefer cowboy camping.

    My goal for this run was getting it done and not break any records.  It was to me a long training run.  My friend Lynne from NY would join me and I was excited.  I promised to pace her at least for the half of it through the night portion. I was her pacer at the Rim to River 100 and Yeti 100 last fall and I did not do my job there and this time I wanted to make it up. I prepared a pace chart (28 hours), and was confident I could do it.  Normally, I don’t use a pace chart, because it gets me off my natural pace. I did it this time for Lynne.

    This race being in the local area means my other running friends would be there as well. Indeed. I saw many people I know.  Caroline was there to cheer and volunteer. I did not need to be crewed. I packed everything into one big bag and left it at the start (One big drop bag), which we would be passing by twice, at mile 40 and 70. I did not plan to leave a drop bag at Brunswick.

    The course: The course was one loop of 40 miles and 2 loops of 30 miles. 

    The loop goes like this: [(from West) North Turn around ….<—5 miles—>…Antietam (towpath Mile Marker 70) …<—5 miles—>…Dargan Bend (Camp Manidokan, 1 mile away off towpath)…<—7 miles—>… Keep Tryst, which is Harper Ferry … <—3 miles—>…Brunswick (Towpath mile marker 55)]. 

    We would start from Manidokan, then head toward Antietam and go beyond it to a North turn around point. Then we head to Brunswick and do another turnaround, then we would go back to, Manidokan, the start of the second  loop. Then a third loop and done.

    The first loop was slightly longer than the last two loops. Second/third loop we turned around at Antietam.

    During the first loop, I mostly walked the first 40 miles with my friend Lynne and then ran (15-16 min mile-ish pace, sometimes a bit faster) the next 60 miles. This year we could have a pacer starting at mile 1.4 due to security concerns (there were couple recent attacks on the towpath near the area at Point of Rock;  note, I did see a suspicious person on the AT bridge during the race at night watching us running through, but it could have been someome’s crew).

    If I really wanted to run for time, I would have several pacers with me, even early on.

    My friend initially did not want to run in this race. Somehow, it might be a late text message from me convinced her to come out. She signed up kind of late and did not have much training. I promised I would go slow. However, her lack of long runs really hampered her progress once we hit the ultra distance. I didn’t know the extend of her lack of training, and hoping she could manage, with a walk and run pace.

    On the flip side, it would help me, because I did not plan to go out fast in this race. I wanted someone to hold me back. The computer (ultrasignup) predicted my finishing time to be 25:30, and I thought it got to be joking at the time.  I believed it should be more at 28/29 hours, thus planned my race for 28 hours (with no stopping at the aid stations).  There were 20-21 aid station stops (7 total, but some we would encounter more than once). With the aid station breaks included, it should get us around 30 hours. I expected 3-6 minutes break per station. If I wanted a longer break, I would have to run faster in order to have the time.

    There were no earlier cut-offs at the beginning of the race so we could leisurely stroll along in the early part.  I did not have crew or pacer other than L. There were several other people I knew running in the race, but we were moving drastically at different paces. John was 8-10 miles ahead. Even the new guy Jeremy passed me. I only stayed with L at her pace.

    My friend Lynne kept me going until later when she was hurting from the run.  The first 10 miles were fine. We were moving fast, around 11-12 mins pace.  I wanted to tell her to slow down.  But many were going even faster than us.  They must be going for a sub 24 and that was like 95% of the runners, so likely running at 9-10 min pace.  Even people I usually think of them as slow (unnamed) were passing us.

      I knew each year there would be about 20-30 runners not going to finish. So I started to count how many runners who were behind me.  It was an out-and-back course, so I could see who were still behind me at each turn around point. I counted there were 25 runners (I underestimated, this year there were around 60 dnfs).  I felt we were mostly at the pace I wanted. As long as we were not the last bunch of runners, we would be fine.

    My friend Lynne, started slowing down after the first 10 miles.  We walked more than run.  Then the rain came as we reached Harper Ferry (towpath mile marker 62).  It was about 11 am, as the weather app predicted. I put on my rain poncho.  My friend Lynne on had her wind jacket and it was not waterproof. Soon she was wet and cold. She said she did not bring extra socks or shoes, since she wasn’t planning to run the whole 100 miles. Well good luck.  100k was her goal. I told her I had an extra jacket and socks (and shoes) in my drop bag at Camp Manidokan, but we needed to get there first and that was still 20-25 miles away.

    There was nothing we could do while still on the course (I did have one of those space reflective emergency blanket and some hand warmers on me in my hydration pack if it comes to that).

    We reached Brunswick aid station (mile 30).  There, rain came down heaviest.  I stayed under a canopy at the aid station until the storm passed.  Then we went back out heading to Camp Manidokan.  We reached Keep Tryst or Tryst Keep (I never remember which is which).  There, Caroline was volunteering. She gave me a ginger rice congee/soup. It helped keep me warm. Lynne loved the Congee too and it got her going again.  We still had 7 miles.  Lynne no longer could run.  She was in serious pain at every step. I could see her hands clenched and eyes focused. We stopped talking, and she said I could run ahead and leave her. I felt sorry she did not quit at Brunswick nor at Keep Tryst. We managed to arrived back at Camp Manidokan. 

    I already concluded, I would not stay with Lynne once we reached the Camp.  I actually went ahead first so I could get into camp to change shoes, etc and to prepare for the night portion of the race. It was about 5:15-5:30 pm, pretty much on pace for me. It would be dark soon.  I wanted to be sure I had dry clothes, a warm jacket, couple of headlamps, and food.  A volunteer prepared a cheeseburger for me while I was taking care my feet (and chafe in my private area).  This was my first meal of the day.  I had some rub burns (hot spots) that I needed to take care asap before they got worse. Lucky my clothes were mostly dry due to having a rain poncho covered me. So no clothes needed changing for me. I used baby wipes to clean myself.

    Lynne decided not to go back out. I agreed with her decision. I urged her not to use painkiller to subdue the pain, which was her original plan to get through the midnight portion. But now it was too early in the race for that, there was still 6 hours before midnight and then another 6 hours before sunrise.  The night was long, there were 60 miles to go.  It would be a suffering fest for her go back out. She could barely made it up the hill at the campsite. I believe she made the right choice to quit.

    Lap 2 (mile 40-70)

    My lap 2 and lap 3 were uneventful after Lynne left.  Going back out, I was still fresh and I followed the pace I had during the day time. I believed I hit it and gained an hour back ahead of pace by the time I reached Antietam.  My friend Jana was there  cheering and volunteering. She would still be there too later in the wee hours.  I didn’t know she was the captain of the aid station.

    I did not stay too long but headed back out after getting some food. John C came in. I was happy to have caught up to John C because he was way ahead of me in loop 1, but now he did not seem too good. He seemed to be in a terrible shape. I thought he would quit. Later seeing him again in the morning, I knew he pulled through whatever was troubling him and I was rooting for him to finish. People joke about me trying imitate the man, indeed. He ran at every race I did.

    My next target was to reach Brunswick by midnight. It got dark by the time I reached Harper Ferry (towpath mile marker 62). From there to Brunswick, I was surprised so many runners did not bring a headlamp.  Many were heading back toward Camp Manidokan (faster than me). They were running in the dark.  It soon got very dark on the towpath.  We were just couple days after a full moon but the moon had not risen yet and there were also thick cloud covering.  I don’t remember if I saw the moon at all during the night.

    I called those runners commandos.  They were practising their ninja skills or their superhero’s night vision ability.  The towpath was mostly smooth and without rocks or roots, but still there could be a million things a runner could trip on at night. Soon it was completely dark and there were still many runners running without a headlamp.  I was not sharing mine. Anyway, there were not many runners in front of me or going in my direction. Note as a PSA, I always keep a headlamp in my runner pack even while day time because you don’t know when you will need it. Too many runners were over confident in their pace of getting back to their drop bag before dark but they miscalculated.

    I wasn’t that ambitious, even if I run a 5 hr marathon pace, by mile 75, it would be around 10 pm. Yes, all those runners, were calculating based on 4 hour marathon pace, so it would still be light by the time they reach mile 75 (and would have gotten through to Manidokan to pick up a head lamp). 4:30 marathon pace would be, right on verge of getting dark, at 8:30, but that would be too risky. I would have packed a lamp at Brunswick if I were them (and of course they didn’t). Hindsight is always 20-20 they say. It goes to show, either they lack doing the planning or they were overly ambitious.

    As for me, I assume my pace was a 6 hr marathon, e.g., to reach mile 50 by 7 pm, and mile 75 by 1 am. (Sorry, I love math, hope readers get the gist, I simplify a marathon length to be 25 miles instead of 26 miles, to make mental math calculation easier).

    I arrived at Brunswick two hours ahead of my pace schedule, around 10 pm. My friend Mike E was there.  He asked if I could accompany a runner.  I said sure if the runner wanted a pacer, because I am a good pacer. I could guarantee a finish or at least get the runner to camp Manidoken by 3 am. Mike said the runner wanted to quit and I believe he wanted me to encourage them not to (we were at mile 60 [100k] by now at the time, so it was a high time to make a quit decision for a lot runners). 

    Unfortunately, that was something I could not help — I didn’t want to babysit someone. It is the runner’s own decision to go back out or not. I would not try to convince otherwise. It is hard decision for the runner. From personal experience, it is usually a multitude of issues a runner has to deal with all at once, food, foot issues, chafing, low energy, low motivation, lack of sleep, etc. When one part falls apart, everything too. It is seldom just one isolated issue to deal with. Having a crew would help manage some of those. I had own race to care about and no time for this. In the end the runner did quit. I headed back out alone.

    Running is no longer fun when things get hard in the wee hours. We were about entering that twilight zone (10 pm-4 am), the hours when our body was not used to running at, where things could get really ugly.

    As for me, I was just getting started. I told Lynne, nightfall is when the true race begins.  I got very excited for this, because I have been looking toward it. To me this is the best part of the race. The morning portion was just a rehearsal.

    My pace chart had me back at Camp Manidokan (mile 70) by 3:20 am. I was 2 hours ahead, so I expected to be back by 1:20. I reached it by 12:40, gaining 35-40 minutes. For the rest of the race, I held onto this 2.5 hours gain. Indeed, the race got hard for me after midnight as well, otherwise, I would have a 24 hr ish finish. 

    At the camp, I needed a bit of time to clean up. I don’t remember if I ate anything before heading back out from Camp Manidokan.  My clothes were wet from sweat but I did not have time to change them. I took care of some chafing issues (my private area was hurting, yes).  I ran many 100s and still haven’t figured out what the best underwear to wear, many recommend EXOskin, plus nutbutter, which I haven’t tried either of them, though in this race I seemed to zero in the right type (similar material). I am kind of allegic to lycra material, so a lot of sportwears are not good for me.  I did not change shoes or socks this time around. They were fine. My feet were in good condition.

    Loop 3.  Mile 71-100-ish.

    Now it is the final loop.  Just another 30 miles were left. By now, I was confident I could finish the race no matter what. I had roughly 12 hours to run 30 miles. 24 mins per mile pace.

    I was tired but still could run.  A volunteer asked me if I needed any food, I said, the next aid station is just down the hill less than a mile away at Dargan Bend, I could get something there rather than now.  I was going to get myself a cup of coffee but forgot.  When I got to Dargan Bend, I again forgot to grab a cup of coffee. I did eat. I asked for a vegan soup to be mixed with mashed potatoes. At the time, I did not feel like eating, but something watery made the food goes down easier. Dargan Bend had a tent set up with a fire going.  I sat down there each time to clean my shoes.  Running on the towpath, means a lot of grits found their way into my shoes  and I would have to clear them from time to time otherwise I would expect blisters forming soon. I consistently cleaned out my shoes and so had avoided having any blisters. 

    And since lap 2, I had swapped to my trail shoes, and that helped a lot compared to loop 1 when I was wearing the road shoes. I love my trail shoes. Someone (Jeremy) asked me the night before the race what shoes to recommend for this race, I said I swear by road shoes, but sadly, it was trail shoes that saved my butt! To future runners of this race, bring both, change them out if one doesn’t work.

    Now arriving at Antietam, mile 75 at 2:17 am, Jana gave me a rock with a heart shape (I need a picture).  She is someone who always find rocks in a shape of a heart. She was so happy I remembered about the rocks and she brought out a whole pitcher of rocks for me to choose.  She gave me one of the smallest.  A volunteer joked about letting a runner carry the heaviest one (1kg) back to the finish. We all laughed. She wasn’t going to give me a 1 kg. In the back of my mind was the Georgia Death Race a friend of my just ran, where they carry a 1 kg spike from start to finish to drop it into a casket at the end.  Jana is a sweet person I see at many of my races, either volunteering or running. She is a speedy runner.

    The night was quiet.  It was roughly 3:30 by the time I got back to Dargan Bend.  On the way, I saw more runners’ headlamps went out. Oh my goodness.  There were still few more hours to go before daylight. Now is the worse time to have a headlamp died. So I saw runners running in the dark again or some with very dim light. They were heading the other direction, so I couldn’t help them. These were runners behind of me. It was not poor planning, but unfortunate that their batteries died. Mine too was getting dimmer. I was praying the whole time, because on this run, the spare batteries were left in my drop bag instead of being carried on me.

    3:45 AM was the cutoff time at Camp Manidokan.  I wanted to see who was the last runner out before the cut off time. There were not a lot runners in the very back of the pack after Dargan Bend. Dargan Bend was a very busy place at this time as runners making in and out just before the cutoff (3:20-3:30). Runners have their sixth sense, so they all rushed ahead of the cut of 3:45. They liked bunched together in one big group. I was sure other runners were probably cut at Manidokan at the time and did not get to Dargan Bend while I was there.

    My last trip heading to Brunswick was pretty uneventful.  There were not many runners ahead of me. I ran for hours before coming across one or two.  I knew I could not make it under sub 24, those who were trying to make sub 24 were at least 8 miles ahead. I actually saw those runners on their way back from Brunswick as I was heading toward it. And there were a lot of them. I gave them labels, like 4 AM finishers, 5 AM, 6M, so forth. They also knew their time table too.  They were all running, none of them walk.

    Then John called me in the dark or I thought was him. I was intrigued knowing John (H) was not too far ahead. I made it my goal to chase whoever was in front of me.

    At 5-ish, I reached Keep Tryst.  My phone died so I did not know the actual time from there. Volunteers told me it would soon be daybreak. I did not want to know the time either. There was a sense of rush to get to Brunswick before day light.

    On my way to Brunswick, I was very sleepy. I was swerving left and right on the trail like a drunken runner.  I wanted to close my eyes so bad or lay down just a bit. I knew where a bench was on the trail but couldn’t find it. My headlamp then died. It was my turn to be a commando of running without a light. But luckily indeed daybreak came a few minutes later. I was saved. 

    Then I saw the real John H and Charleen. The real John and not the imaginary one I thought I heard earlier. They actually called me by name because I couldn’t recognized them as it was still dark, twilight zone. They are always smiling. They were coming from the other direction. That got me very  excited. My savior. They were only about 2 miles ahead of me. I could catch them! If I hurry.  They had maybe 7-8 miles to the finish. I had maybe 12-13 miles.  Let’s go. The race is on. I need to run almost twice as fast as John to catch him. I figure, if John is walking, I most certainly would reel him in.

    I arrived at Brunswick one last time. Emily (later I found this was the famous Emily whom I was wondering who all this time when I got into Western States 100, and here she was the same Emily serving me coffee, and I knew this Emily for two years but never made the connection), she handed me a cup of coffee.

    Actually she was not the one who made the coffee for me, but a volunteer behind the counter. She was dishing out her wisdom as an ultra runner by saying no need to make it too hot, so that I could drink it down quickly. She was right on, without me saying it. The coffee helped. They had made it in the right temperature. I then asked her what time she got. She said it is 6:07.  I said I will try to make it to the finish by 9 am. There were 12 miles left. I made it back before 8:30.

    People who saw me said I was moving strong. Charlie said I looked like being out doing my morning run like I was not tired at all. Emily said, she knew I could get it under 3 hours. I said, it is the coffee. Charlie replied, coffee helps but not like that. We joked.

    The finish.  I remembered people whom I passed earlier as I headed toward Brunswick. So now they were my targets to chase, especially John H. Behind me (on the other side), I saw the rest of the runners who were chasing their cutoffs (I think Brunswick was closing by 9 am). I saw the last runner, Judith. I was rooting for her to finish (and she did make it in with seconds to spare). She actually ran and finished this race several times before. She ran this race every other years or so, and volunteered on her off years. She has been at my other races, such as the Devil Dog, but I didn’t know her back then.

    I was praying that John would take a slightly longer break or walk a bit more, so I could catch him.  In my mind, I needed him to take a 15 min. But Charlene, his pacer is too good and kept him on pace. I was estimating, likely it would be at the final hill battle when I would catch him. I would have to run fast to catch him there. I found out at the finish, John finished just two minutes ahead of me.

    Indeed he was at the top of the hill while I was at the bottom.  Anyway, I was more than pleased to see John at the finish. My time was very good. 25:30 was a personal best. I did not plan to run that fast. I did it almost effortlessly. I am still puzzled over it, whether being slower at the first 40 miles helped me so I could run faster in the final 60 miles?

    A lot of friends came either to watch their runners or to volunteer.  Ram was there, he spent the night pacing someone, maybe Larry. I didn’t get to see Larry when he came in. My mind was fading in and out due to the lack of sleep for the next 5-6 hours. I showered, cleaned up, slept on and off a bit.  Also during the race, I had a strong urge to use the bathroom for #2, but I did not want to do it until after the finish. I was bloated.  I felt much better afterward. Everything was out of the system.  I talked to a first time finisher, Jeremy and then Charlie. They were tired but felt so happy. Also finding out who Emily C is was enough for me. It was like a piece of puzzle is completed. I was in a zen like state, happy.

    Aftermath. Other than suffering from being lack of sleep immediately afterward, I had no usual problems with legs being sore or having clamps or having any blisters. 

    This is pretty much first time that I finished a 100 and didn’t feel like dying. I was suprised my body was taking the race well. I had less fatique than when I ran in the New Taipei Marathon or the Roanoke Marathon. My body, the next few days though, was not in a runable state. More on this in another post. Basically, I am near paralyzed.

    There were two challenges. Rain came early around at mile 20-30 for couple hours.  I had a poncho on, so I did not get wet.  Shoes got wet. I changed those out when I reached the first bag drop area.

    The second challenge was after night fall, it got windier and relatively colder. I brought my winter stuff and had those, so I was toasty warm. I was also moving fine to generate enough heat until morning came.

    Nutrition was fine. This time I didn’t pack any gel or had prepared meals ahead.  I ate whatever the course had for us. I had two main meals: tacos and burgers, and some pb&j.  I snacked on fruits and chips.  My digestive system didn’t shut down. By mile 70, I felt a bit nauseated, so I held back eating a bit until the feeling gone. By morning, I was ok again. Coffee was a wonderful thing.

    I ended up finishing at my personal best of 25:30, by 8:30 am in the morning, and was able to take a long rest until evening before driving home. 

    I did not set out to chase my PR, but when I was at mile 90, it seemed doable and I still felt fresh at the time, so I went for it. Granted it was a flat course, but last year Blackbeard Revenge 100 was on a similar course, I ran a 26 hour something (26:17:50). This was my second time I finished a 100 below 30 hours.

    My next event will be much different. It will be running through streets of Atlanta. It won’t be a race in the usual sense. There won’t be cutoffs, or rules. Mostly will be self-guided. We had 18-ish hours. The pace would be faster (for me) and it would be on pavement. Temperature would be hotter.  We will see how it goes. It will be a fun run. Praying my body to be recovered in time for it.

    As this was only the beginning of many more runs.