This week run was similar to one I did last week. It is spring so we have a lot of rain. As you can guess, it makes running “fun”, meaning running in mud and being wet and cold.
I take it all. Give me the toughest conditions for me to be ready for my future races. No complaints.
We ran a 50k on Saturday. In truth, it was not as muddy as the weekend before. We started our race with slight sprinkling. The temperature was warmer, at least by 10 (F) degrees than previous week. It was around 60F, so some runners ran in t-shirt and shorts. We knew rain was coming, so a jacket or a rain poncho or a houdini was a must.
I dressed pretty much like last week to make sure I was warm. I had long pants, long sleeves, an inner layer, and a jacket. It was not raining heavily, so I didn’t put on my rain poncho. I figured once it came down heavier, I put that on too to keep me completely dry. I was probably only one wearing hiking boots. Someone noticed and said, are those boots! Yep! The heaviest pair I got. At least they would keep my feet from mud, and that was the plan. Rain did get in later on, but for half of the race, my feet were totally dry.
We started on time. Several of my friends and running buddies were there. We started together but everyone quickly spreaded out.
Paul, the dude I recently met from Rock n the Knob and other races, like the Naked Bavarian, the previous weekend was there also. I was surprised to see him. We joked around. Since I arrived early, I was standing at the front of the line with Caroline and others. Paul joked we should go a bit to the rear. He was right indeed. We being slower runners shouldn’t try to claim first at starting out the gate.
So I went all the way to the last place. Paul shifted back too but to about middle. So I went to join him. He seemed to be familar with the course because he told me instead of trying to be first out the gate, we should get to the part where the trail narrowed and he and I would slow down to block off everyone from the rear. We were joking of course. Usually everyone slow down to a walk once we hit the trail. We saw some frustrated runners trying pass people there. For me, I knew the race will be long, and those who were trying to pass at this point, would get overtaken soon.
I ran this race, the Seneca Greenway 50k the last several years and so I knew that the race would get harder toward end.
The first few miles were the happiest miles. I ran with Paul for a bit until he left me, which was fine. He usually is faster. He has improved lately. Caroline my other friend was already long gone. Adeline, another friend, was a few paces in front but then she dropped back once we reached the creek near Riffleford AS.
Adeline usually is much faster than me, so once she slowed down, I did too. My shoelaces came undone a few times and I made frequent stops to have them tied again. It was unusual. Usually I double knot them so it would stay. They wouldn’t stay tight for some reason, probably due to sand and mud from the previous weekend that got into the fabric and the laces lost its elasticity.
By mile 4-5, I caught up to my friend Caroline. She was a happy runner, singing and leaping here and there. I followed from behind. Her pace was decent. We crossed a bridge, I took a wipe-out but was ok. She said something about suck it up, showing me tough love. I know, either turn around or press forth, there was no sitting around. I got up and caught back up to her. Everything was ok and I wasn’t hurt, just maybe my bum and pride.
We arrived at our first Aid Station. It was at where I expected. I have done this race a few times, plus the Stone Mill 50, which was on mostly the same course, they used the same location for their stops too, at Rt 28.
Here, I decided to leave Caroline behind. My goal was to catch up to Paul and the initial pack of people I started with. Slowly, I reeled people in one after another. The pack has dispersed but I recognized most of the runners when I passed them.
We crossed another creek and came to Mike and Mike unofficial stop (AS). Unofficially, because they said to pretend that they are not there, they were to support some biking event. I knew he was pulling my leg. I saw no one biking on a rainy day. These two were my “coaches” for my Stone Mill training runs back in November. Mike helped me at Devil Dog 100 each year, usually by reminding me to put on my jacket and then rushing me to the cafeteria for some hot food. They had true ultra food at their aid station and the food was glutin free. They proudly advertised it. Mike was grilling some hot food for us.
It was good to see Mike here. I started to feel tired, so I stopped and chatted for maybe 10 minutes. Mike E just finished a 200 miler two weeks ago. It was a race I wanted to do. He gave me some information for next year race (registration will start on April 1).
Now it started to get colder and rain was about to get heavier. Reluctantly, I left to continue with the race. I had to keep moving to stay warm. Once stopped, the body was cooling quickly.
I decided not to put on my rain poncho at this time until I get to the aid station, since it was a hastle to take it off to fill up water and my water was about to run out. I wanted to wait after refilling water to do it all at once. In the end, I didn’t wear it. My friend Caroline got very cold, but unfortunately, I was not with her to give her my poncho. She survived.
Trail became much worse and there was nothing dry but mud everywhere and on occasion there were pools of water, and they were so large there was no point but to go through it. My boots got wet on one of these crossings. I could not wait till reach the turn around point. There was nothing there, but it was a goal for me to push on. I put in more effort to catch up with people. We reached the road section. I saw three or four runners ahead. I was glad some slowed to a walk. I kept my pace and soon I passed them. I told them the next aid station, Berryville Road should be near, though exactly where I was not sure.
I reached the aid station. It was at the creek crossing (the Stone Mill Big creek crossing). They also had our dropbags. It was good to be refreshed. I recognized one of the volunteers. He said we finished together at the JFK 50. I did not remember. It must have been awhile ago. The next section was not too memorable. It was muddy and swampy. This section is same as the Stone Mill and I used that knowledge to recall some familar trail markings I would come across. All trails look alike for first time runner. It was hard for me too and I challenged myself to recall some specific things to keep myself from boredom. I remembered crossing two open fields, ran up some hill, and more fields, then couple bridges and a river crossing before seeing the highway. Often you hear it first before seeing it.
I passed more walkers and reached Rt 28. A runner felt on one of the bridges. I told him I did too earlier. He seemed to be struggling and had a knee brace on. I hoped he could make it. He said he was ok but he was limping. I believe the aid station was only a mile away.
From Rt 28, we had about a 8-9 miles stretch. It was less muddy here on the Seneca Ridge but we had many (big) hills to climb. This is the section that I usually get hurt or “destroyed”. The elevation here kills me each year. Hill were runnable but after 4-5 of them, legs just could not manage any more. I knew this would be a good training for me.
I was able to catch up to more runners, including Paul after mile 20. I joked with him on how many people he and I had blocked so far. He spreaded his arms to try block me from passing him. I knew we were only goofing around. I was hoping he would stay my pace, but not long later, he had dropped farther and farther back. He asked me how many more miles to go. I said, probably 4 miles, but I think now looking back, it was probably 6 miles instead of 4. Sorry, I always underestimated how long this section section for me. This section always seems too long.
I made it to the last Aid Station, Riffleford at mile 27. It was half a mile to the decision point and another half mile for the marathon finish (total 28 miles). I had maybe 4 miles left, which included a run around the lake. If I wanted to, I could take a shorter way back, but that only means a marathon finish. I wanted a full 50k. They called this part the decision point to whether choose for more suffering or have it done quicker. I think most would prefer the quicker end for a day like today.
I finished before 8 hours. I hoped to finish before her. I came in at 07:45, and she did it at 7:59. I was hoping to see her come in at the finish. However, I was too cold to stay outside to wait and I went to my car to change into dry clothes and missed her arrival. I only saw her half hour later when she went to her car for changing clothes.
I was 5 minutes slower than last year. My friend said to be thankful and enjoy the day. Indeed.
—
So what is the point. I am training for some tougher races, especially the Western States, plus the rest of the grand slam, which some are equally as hard or harder even.
People want to know how my training been. It is like that. Tough. Sorry for not posting much about my training because there was nothing much to share. I know the actual race (WS100) will be even tougher. I don’t have any confident on finishing. I gave myself maybe a 10% chance. My friend said stop being wishy washy. Yes, I hope to get my odds above 51-49.
Of the four grand slam races, I got into three of them. This week, I made certain to get into the last one (Vermont 100) through a coaching program. They would accept 5 entrants who are willing to be coached through their affiliated training program. They still had rooms for one or two more, so I contacted the RD (M) and she put me in touch with the program manager (R) and who got me a coach (V). Yes, I will reveal my coach once I did my race.
I am excited having a coach. My training will get tougher. When I am my own coach, I took a lot of rest days. I expect my new coach will push me much much more. I want to earn the compliant every single week. He said he plans to me stronger. I thought it was gym, but he said he would give me certain workouts to make my legs stronger (like box hopping). I totally agree. I need to be stronger for my races.
A runner at the creek crossing, I love rock hopping. My wolf pack for most of the race. I caught up to all but one runner in my pack
conclusion. I have my eyes on the big races, and use the smaller races as training runs. Things are looking good. Up next, I have some exciting news to share. Wait and see! Hint, 2024 International debut!
2023 Seneca Race report. I have been getting slower every year
My life consists of work work work and run run run.
When I was in school, we had the motto to work hard and to play hard. We often use a blowfish to represent us which can drink up 10x – 20x their body weight. Meaning, we take things to the excess. Not much is change now. I don’t drink or party in excess but I do love running.
For me nothing is more fulfilling than to be out on the trail and run.
This past weekend I was at the Naked Bavarian 40 miler. Of course, it has been raining the whole week. Luckily the race was not canceled. However, the Race Director had reduced the distance from 40 miles to 20 miles.
Many of us did not mind a bit because the trail condition was horrible.
It was a mud fest. Every inch of the trail was in a foot deep of mud. I might be exaggerated a bit but not by much.
It was slipping and sliding. By the time we finished the first 20 miles no one wanted to go back out for another 20.
This was my first time at the Naked Bavarian but the race organization is known to me. I ran their Naked Nick twice (the 50k in December). I got to know them through the Philadelphia trail marathon, though the year I wanted to run it, it was canceled due to the pandemic and I still haven’t had the chance to return to do it. I almost did in 2021, but decided not to at the last moment, so 2022 and 2023, I ran their Naked Nick.
Naked Bavarian was at the same location as the Naked Nick at Blue Marsh, Leesport, in central Pennsylvania, near the town Reading. The course is run on the north part of the lake as oppose to the south side.
The trail is generally runable. We had a bit of climbs about 2000 ft total. There were about 200+ runners, which is really big for a trail race.
My friend Jana was there. She was there during my last two Naked Nick run too. This time I did not see her at all during the race until later seeing her social media posting. I finished first, but I was away from the finish line (in my car changing).
I generally don’t like rain or mud but once I am on the trail I don’t mind it. It was a hard run but fun.
I came prepared. I had on two raincoats (a jacket and poncho). One is enough but two…I don’t know why, maybe I like my legs being covered too. I felt better with two on me. The day was cold maybe around 40 F. It was raining but not heavily. The trail turned muddy once runners were on it. It meant every step, we had to put more effort in picking up our feet and also watched where we were stepping. In the end it did not matter, because everywhere was mud. Mud acts like suction cups, so our feet were stuck with each step. It was gross all over.
Aid stations were good. We had good supports. I stopped at every one.
A runner, Paul, was with me for the entire race. I have seen him at other races. He has become quite a runner like me.
We chatted and such. I finished around 12:38 (about 4:38 hr for the 20 miler). I stayed in my car the next hour or so to change and get warm before heading back out to watch the finish.
I then stayed till the last runner came in. The race closed around 3 pm. I had good soup from the station. The rest of the day and weekend was uneventful.
Ah the next day I went out to the Roller Coaster of the AT had a day of hiking. Nothing much to be said. I put in probably another 20 miles. It was my cool down day and I felt so much better after an intense Saturday. I could say a lot more. I got my training in.
Time flew by. I could not remember much.
The place where I almost lost my phone. Luckily two hikers (backpacker, or thru hiker) found my phone and brought it with them to the trailhead.
The Ring and the Reverse Ring. Those who are in the know know. It is not a secret but the Ring and the Reverse Ring is like a secret club run. I think because it is hard and very few people do it. It ends up as a clique thing.
First, it has certain entry requirements especially for the Reverse Ring. Runners cannot sign up unless they did the Ring (summer version first).
Typically, you are looking at a dozen of so runners and some years there were just a handful. When you finish, your name is written forever on tge club page and you are part of the fellowship of the Ring. It is like being in a selective club. The Reverse Ring they say is harder, though it is on the same course but run in the reverse direction (counterclockwise).
About the course, it is 100% on the Massanutten Trail. This trail is the central to many of the club runs with the most notably, the Massanutten 100, the 100 miler everyone knows and loves. The Ring only runs about 70 miles (71) on it, the northern half. You would think that would be easier for those who have done the 100 mile version to do this one. Maybe is true, but there is less fanfare about the Ring, so maybe runners are not seriously as prepared to run it as in the 100 miler.
I myself truly did not know for I have never done it. Like most races from the Virginia Happy people, I’ve heard of the Ring in passing but once come to running in it, it gets tricky in the signing up process. I usually don’t pay attention to when it is open for signup and usually a lowly club event falls off from my radar.
Thankfully the MMT 100 signup has moved to the normal website (ultrasignup) and thus, I was able to run it the last two years.
The Ring is the free version, a fatass they call it. Maybe because it is free, not many people sign up to run it.
Those who have done it love it. It is their Orange trail. Orange because the trail is blazed with orange color paint. I heard of the Orange trail etc. It is rocky and difficult. Those who did it always complain that they hate it but always will come back next year for more.
This year was doubly hard because in the middle of the event we had a surprise winter storm (snow) on the mountain. The race/run continued.
I had a free weekend. The two RDs for the Reverse Ring sent out a call for volunteers. It was their first time in charge. We had an unusual high number of participants (30+ signed up), 24 toed the start, but only about 10 finished.
I was put my name to join the first Aid Station at Woodstock Tower which was about 13-15 miles in the race. The race started at 6 am. I was at my station by 7. We had a bit of time before the first runner showed up, which was predicted to be around 8:10. Daisy and Jesse (the two RDs) said, let’s climb the Woodstock Tower since none of us never been up there. I always wondered in the past when I ran by it during my race or training run, exactly what’s the view is up there. Curiosity got better of us.
Lookout from Woodstock Tower, facing east
All three of us were scare of height and we quickly descended once we took some bragging selfies.
The First runner arrived right on the dot at 8:11/8:12. (He will be at the Western States 100). He was sure fast. Carl, another fast runner came not long after. Then there were a trickle of runners. Lastly all my slower friends came in, including, Wayne, Jamie, Q, and Carol. These were people I often get to run with.
Our AS was the first one so there was very little for us to do to help runners. All were happy people. Also the time spread from the first to the last runners were still kind of close, about two hours apart unlike at the later stations, which could be as long as 12 hours. We were done by 10:30 in the morning.
I had the rest of the day to myself, so I decided to drive about 45 minutes down Fort Valley Road to Camp Roosevelt (Camp Roo as it is known among us). This is the last crew station and final cutoff at their mile 50. It was still early and the aid station at Camp Roo had not set up yet.
I then went out for a run, decided to head up to Kerns Mountain intended to do my MMT 3rd training run. It would take about 12 hours for me to tackle this 35 mile run. Little did I know the weather had other idea.
I got on Orange around 11 am. Went down toward Duncan Knob. Duncan Hollow was as muddy as ever. Took Blue trail and climb up on Gap Creek. From Gap Creek to the little bridge, crossed over Crisman Hollow Rd and climbed Jaw Bone. Then I realized my mistake of not bringing a rain jacket or winter clothes because it started raining and quickly turned into snow. Soon before I reached Kerns Mnt, the trail started turning white. I heard later it was at least 4 inches.
Trail turning white.
The trail was completely covered. There was no longer any rock seen. It was slip and slide. A few runners from the Ring run caught up to me. The front runners (1-4) already had been through but these who were passing me also are pretty good runners and they were battling the element (Justin, Jaque and Luc).
I was glad the trial finally ended for me once I got back on Crisman Hollow Rd. The runners who were doing the Ring, they had to descend the Waterfall trail which was notorious steep. No thanks for me. I took the Road back to Camp Roo. The Road portion is same for MMT 100 and Old Dominion 100 (to Four Point AS). I have never ran from here to Camp Roo before so it was a good run for me. It was about 8 miles back. I was happy to be back.
Bird Knob was my original plan after Kerns Mountain but with the snow, no way would I want to ascend Bird Knob.
I stayed at Camp Roo from 5 to closing at 10pm. The three runners I met eventually made it to Camp Roo and they also called quit after arriving. I took the honor to drive them back to the start at Signal Knob.
A side story, was I became kind of sick afterward. The mountain road of the Fort Valley Road made my head dizzy. I made it back to camp Roo around 8/9 o clock but I was feeling dizzy. Wayne came in. I helped him with what he needed. He stayed about half an hour before heading back out. They were asking me if I would accompany him (pacing). I would but I was kind of sick so I turned it down. He did fine without me any way and finished.
Jamie came in. Her friend Larry helped her and paced her through the night.
John H and John C came in. Nick too. These were the final runners. John H decided it was enough of Orange for him. John C and Nick were cold. They also stayed a while at the camp fire to warm up. Someone donated a jacket to John and thank God, that got him through the night.
The Reverse Ring showed grit some runners had.
I took the easy way. I drove to Signal Knob after the last runner came through. There I slept till 6 am in the morning. Wayne said he would arrive at 6 am. I know that was just a prediction. He came in a little after 7. He was happy as so were other runners, John and Nick and Jamie. They all made it back.
I was not running in it. I was happy to experience their thrill. We were tracking them from station to station.
On a personal note, once the race was over, Dan, and his wife and I decided to climb the Signal Knob. It was about a 10 mile to go around. This is my stumping ground so I am pretty familiar. I took the Meneka Peak path. It was an awesome day for me.
I fnished my short version of the run and was exhausted. The night sleeping in the car was not fun, but it definitely beat being out on the trail that night. I heard the temperature was around 24 at the base. With wind chill factoring in and elevation, it might have been in the teens. Those runners survived the night. Hat off to them. Yes, the winter storm was not in the forecast. It was beautiful nonetheless. I slept the next 14-16 hours after I got home. I call that a great weekend.
We have a total of four training for MMT 100 mile race. The past weekend, we did the second run. Each run is about 30 ish mile and over four training, we would cover the entire course. For me, the training runs are more fun the the race itself.
Night before the run, we had a quick winter storm system swept through the area. The initial forecast was that we would received up to 6 inches of snow. Note, we had not had snow in our area for about two years until couple weeks ago. Now we had another. The governor did not declare a state of emergency but everyone was getting ready to brace the storm.
A friend asked if I would head to the training location ahead of time. To me that is silly talk. I love my sleep. I’d rather wake up early at 4 am to drive out than to camp out a night early.
As I was getting off work, the cars on the roads seemed getting nervous and maybe it was just me. I changed my plan to go home as soon as I could and packed my things. Everyone I know too was skipping town ahead of the storm.
I made it to the site by 8 pm. The night was cold. No snow yet. Our RD also arrived ahead of time and he built me a fire that potentially could last the night.
By midnight, he left to check the course and various locations. I let the fire died out and went to bed. It started raining a bit. By the time I woke up, the whole place was in a winter wonderland.
Everyone showed up. We left our cars at the finish and carpooled together to the start. I had a good day. My run was 30 minutes slower than last year. I was being careful of not to fall. And I was wearing my hiking boots instead of my trail shoes.
RD said, we need to carry headlamp in case some of us would be finishing at night. I had mine but I was telling myself, I don’t want to finish in the dark. I got back as the sun was setting and so were the last few of us.
It has been a quiet week. After the Icy-8, the next day I went out on the Bull Run trail to run. This is the trail in my neighborhood. We have a race called Bull Run Run (BRR) 50 (mile). I ran it last year. It is usually at the beginning of April and was a quite popular trail race, that usually sold out. Only last year was my first time getting in. They say, you have to be fast or lucky to sign up. I got in again this year, so I have to train for it. There used to be a lottery system because it was so popular.
I want to run better than last year when finished with only 15 minutes to spare. My secret goal (or not so secret) is to run it under 12 hours. This is hard.
It has some good climbings. Nothing too serious but the first time I ran on it, it was a what-the-hell moment. Now a year has past, and hills there are not too threatening. I would still walk up on most of them instead of running. I am no longer get out of breath. The goal is to be good enough to run on them even when I am tired.
So the last few Sundays, I have been covering the Bull Run trail. Usually I put in 25-30 miles. I call it my long run day.
This past Saturday, we had an official Bull Run Run training run at one of the notorious sections called the Death by Do-Loop. I suspect whoever came up with the name is a computer programmer because there is something called the Do While Loop. The concept is the same, you keep doing until it expires and for computer, it means go on forever (in an infinite loop). So our training was to run on the Do Loop until we can’t any more.
The portion we ran was about 7-8 miles long. There is a 1.5-2 mile loop at the end where many people usually get lost. I got lost there last year during my BRR race, so this year, I said I must run it so much that it would be impossible for me to get lost again.
I did get lost. I ran only two loops that day. My first loop was fine as I was following other runners. By second loop I was by myself. It was when the fun began. I was mostly deep in thoughts. And somehow I never exited the Do Loop but kept walking and running back and forth. I was not really lost but the trail was still new to me and I was surprised how it looped me around at some portion when I was not paying attention. So I went back and investigated how that happened. A friend, Ram came along and helped me and led me through the whole Do Loop again and I finished it. I did a partial 3rd and 4th Loop with another friend until it was near sunset before quitting. I had a good day.
I had an admirer who was impressed because I got into the Western States 100. We talked about Wasatch (another 100). They laughed when they found out I signed up for about ten 100 mile races this year. They said I must be rich! Not only is the race expensive, but flying there and the hotel cost would be through the roof. I said, I haven’t told my boss yet for the days I would be off. I am counting all my PTO.
My left ankle took some beating from the weekend training. I did not roll it. It felt numb after spending a day on the Do Loop. I have not been on trail that much the last couple months since the Devil Dog. Now suddenly I am back on the trail my ankle is complaining.
The very next day, I hit the Bull Run trail again. While it was raining a bit, a friend came and join misery. There was a lot of mud. We slipped and slided around. It was fun, satisfactory fun that we put a good training. I finished the day with a bowl of hot soup.
I am proud that I have been consistently trained on the Bull Run. Definitely, I will run better this year.
Where was I the last two weeks? I have not been training much since coming back from Florida. There is very little to report. Time flies. Summary, I trained for first 6 weeks. Took 3 weeks of easy running. Took last 3 weeks off. We are now at week #12 of 25 weeks, midpoint. Another 12 weeks of training comes race day.
We had the warmer weather back. Mid February usually means icy and cold. I signed up to run Icy 8 just to fill my schedule. It was one of those last minute sign up.
It is a local race about an hour away at Lake Anna, a well known location for the Virginia triathlon in warmer time. This was my first time there
I know some local runners would be also running in it. I met the race director from other races I ran. I ran their OSS/CIA as well their 12+hour ATR maybe last year. It was good doing a race from the same organization because I know what to expect even if this was the first time running at this particular event.
The race format was new to me but nothing too difficult. We had eight hours to run as many miles as we could. We had two courses to choose from, a short course of about 4 miles (more closer to 5 miles really) and a long course of 8 miles (I think a bit less than 8). Then there is a mini 1.5 mile loop as a last loop for those who still have time for it. During the 8 hours we could choose to run either the long or short. I ended up doing a short, 3 long and a short, so ended with about 32 miles.
The terrain was trail with some rolling hills, nothing too technical. It has 600-700 ft (640) of elevation over 8 miles, which translates to couple steep hills and a bunch of smaller ones. They are runable. Not too bad but not a walk in the park either. I ran the hills initially but over time, it got difficult by the second loop. Most people on average could do about 38-40 miles. The top crowd could put in 50 miles. For me of getting 32 miles is not bad, but I wish I could push a bit harder. My race at Clearwater had sapped my strength and I was not recovered yet from it. I did use up most of my time allowed. I finished my last loop with 10 minutes left. It was ideal.
A walk on the beach after finishing Icy 8.
It was a peaceful day for me. I arrived super early around 5 ish. The race doesn’t start until 7. I wanted to make sure I had a spot to park. Certainly, I did. I had the first spot near the finish. We could set up our aid station. I did not need to place a dropbag, so I did not set out anything. It was very cold that morning being so early. I think the temperature was around 32 but I knew it would rise to 65 later. I made myself to stand outside to acclimate. Many runners stayed in their cars after picking up their bibs. I wanted to chat with the RD because I was interested in maybe having him to be my coach.
15 minutes toward 7, we had the usual race briefing. We started off exactly at 7. The half marathon start around 9 (I think). I did the short loop first because I was running with a friend (Charlie). We ran the MMT last year together. I met him and his few other friends again during the OSS/CIA and of course at Redeye 50k too. He wanted to do 8 loops for 40 miles and to focus on running just the small loop. We did the first loop together and finished just before the hour was up (like 4 minutes to spare). He was humoring me by keeping my pace since he is a much faster runner. We wanted to get back out quickly. We did. We only stayed at the aid station for couple minutes to refill our water.
Then I focused on my race. The long loop actually did not feel that long. I was expecting it would take me 2 hours to do but I finished the extra section within an hour. The Long loop actually connects back into the short loop with about two miles to the finish. I checked the clock and I would arrived back before the hour was up (9:30 I think).
The half marathon had started. My goal was to refill and head back out hoping to catch up with some half marathon runners. The faster people would already near finishing but the slower ones (walkers), there was a chance I could. I did catch some.
I finished my third loop some time after 12. I don’t remember the time. Now it was a decision, should I do a short loop and then push for a long loop at end. I know doing two long loops was out of my ability (due to time constraint). I really wanted to have a short loop in. The smart way is to put in a long loop first, so I decided to run smart. By now I was tired. I stayed at the aid station for over 15 minutes. It was way too long but I felt I needed the food, etc. I took a hot dog and some ramen soup. Also I refilled my water. I knew this was probably my last loop.
I got the long loop done and I still had an hour 10 minutes left. Some runners already called it a day and was packing up. I knew I could fit in a short loop so I went back out. Some who knew me was surprised. I said I can’t leave time on the table (I see time as money).
Halfway through the short loop, Charlie joined back in. He came out the long loop extension and caught up from behind. He was tired and so was I but seeing him brought my spirit up. He said the same that caused him to run faster. I stayed on his pace for a mile or so. We knew we still had 30 minutes left on the course so we tried to push to the finish. Charlie took off at the last mile. I at first was encouraging him to go faster hoping both of us could get back with 20 minutes to spare to do the mini loop (1.5 miles). Charlie did not believe we had time left. I said, lets decide once we get to the finish. We ended up did not have the time. I finished my loop with only 10 minutes left. I knew doing 1.5 miles (closer to 2 miles) was out of the question. Charlie finished ahead of me and was waiting for me to come in. I was happy with my 32 miles.
We had the award ceremony. Everyone got something. There were some goofy awards such as oldest runner, happiest runner, and other categories. The day was beautiful. We finished early. I was glad it was one of those rare day in where I could just run and enjoy.
I thought I have a good sense on my ability after these last 7 years. My fastest runs all have been in the early years 2016-2018. I went into Clearwater Marathon to do a 50k with more like a vacation in mind and not expecting to set a record. It surprised me when I finished faster than I ever had before. Must be the nice weather and water.
Clearwater is a destination marathon. When I checked the entrant list out of habit to see if anyone I know, I saw there were a lot people from out of states.
It has been on my list of places to visit since couple years ago. My cousin has been there. He isn’t a runner. You can’t go wrong with a visit to Florida in the winter. I searched and found they do have a marathon. So I registered. It served for me to cross off one of the 50 states. At least that was last year plan. This was before I decided to run at Space Coast.
I did an impromptu visit to Florida over the Thanksgiving and ran the Space Coast Marathon (report). I picked Clearwater over Space Coast because it was the cheaper option (my logic, ended up doing both, the irony of instead saving money I spent twice as much). A marathon in Florida wasn’t technically needed any more. Still, I like to run as many marathons as I possibly can. It was in the pipeline, and the show must go on. Other justification was this was a last fun trip before the hard work for the 100 milers.
Clearwater was kind of my first 50k for 2024. Road marathon, that is. Now here I view 50k and marathons to be equivalent. Yes, a 50k is almost 5 miles more, i.e, 31 mile instead of 26.
I ran a 50k not long after the new year at the Mid Maryland 50k race, which was a trail race in bad weather. Also I ran Redeye 50k on New Year day. Those kind of runs did not count because rail runs are a different beast. Trail runs are almost training runs. I don’t put all my effort in it like road races. Mostly it is the pacing. Trails, I run at 15-17 (even 18-20) min a mile but road races, my speed is higher and this time at 11-12 mins per mile. Road running is what I like the most. I like the fast pace, big hype, and many people. I don’t know why I like it. I just do. All those things are what many ultra people do not like (true, UTMB Grindstone, left a bit of sand and aftertaste in my mouth). The debate of road race vs trail race can go on forever.
Clearwater Marathon was held on a sunny weekend with 65-70F on a beach. It was a worthy vacation in the middle of winter. I can’t say enough, no wonder people love to go to Florida. Back home for me was still cold and in near freezing temp. Two different worlds.
My mom chose to come along. I don’t mind. I did want her to come along. Trips are better when they are shared to have someone to witness my performance and fun. However, I have gotten used to traveling alone, so having an extra guest kind of change the dynamic.
My trip started with a lot of rough spots and mishaps, though many were out of our control. First was the last minute need to go back to my house for my ID card (because I wouldn’t be able to board the plane without one). I didn’t plan to take the day off work, but situation forced me to leave my work early.
Then I had to pick up my mom, which was not on my agenda. She was going to meet me at the airport originally but some complication came up, too long to share. My mom always wants to do thing her way. She had arranged without my knowing, my transportation by asking my cousin for a ride for me! It was quite convoluted, in that I had to drive to such and such place, leave my car, etc, meeting her, wait for my cousin. Also on the way back, I would have to find a ride to my car etc. It is like 9-10 steps to get one thing done. At the time, we were expecting a snow storm on our return. I wouldn’t like planning things depending on contingency, like what if we won’t make it back in time. In our area, with snow, all plans are off. And indeed, we couldn’t make it back. Why don’t I just meet her directly at the airport, just one step. I can get myself to the airport just fine as I have done so on many of my trips. I don’t need my travel plan to get more complicated involving myself with everyone in my family and hers. Then the argument became, if I can get to the airport so easily, why don’t I go pick her up too. But she lives literally next to the airport. The drama. The planning differences between someone who flies once every 10 years versus one who does it 10 times a year.
It changed my travel plan a bit from taking the rail to driving and parking at the airport. It ended up being a better plan to have a car instead of taking the train, because I went straight into work once I came back. Having a car at the airport was nice (I could also leave my car at work). The cost was about the same (I got a discount for parking at the airport).
At the airport, the airport’s internal rail to our departing gate (concourse) was not available. We were not sure what happened, nor did the staff. No announcement was made. They must have taken one of the trains offline or trains were required single tracking (sharing the same rail going both direction). We waited on a crowded platform for 30-45 minutes at the busiest time with no train appeared going to C Gate and it brought undue stress for my travel companion whether we should walk or continue to wait for the train. A side comment, after being in many other airports, our airport at IAD is a bit over complicated and over-engineered. It also lack of signs and such of where and how you need to go if things go wrong, this time, train was not working. Taking the train was the main (and only) way to go from Gate (concourse) to Gate (concourse). And hmm, the planner never expected the train to not being available.
The train did come, and it was packed already. People were smart to take the train to B Gate then rode it back to C — which might seem logical but not, because the line is is not linear, anyway, they were smart in beating the crowd. Don’t ask why B Gate is in the opposite direction as C and our location we were at was not A but T, which is in the middle between B and C, yes Dulles is confusing; the staff told everyone not to board for B Gate train because it was going the other way, however, many did and ignored the staff. Luckily, we managed to squeezed in and we got to our gate just in time for boarding. The parking and train delay used up our two hours we planned to be at the airport. I was planning to work remotely at the airport as I had done in past trips. Not this time. We barely made it to our departing gate. I don’t usually use gate C either, being I don’t usually take this particular airline. I did it this time because it was the cheapest direct flight. When it comes down to traveling on 3-4 major airlines, there is not much choices. Each airline like cable companies carved up routes where they have a monopoly over. My opinion, air traveling is dreadful, yet the only way. (I heard stories of those making 3-4 connections to get to a place, such as my Idaho trip).
We arrived late Friday night in Florida (when all settled, it was past midnight). The car rental was a breeze though, because we got into line before the crowd showed up, but I was given an electrical car, which I did not want due to lack of charging stations available and the time (7 hours) required to charge it before returning it. I did not want to complain too much seeing the long line and took what they gave me. I know I could “upgrade” or change or cancel my reservation and pick a different car, but it was late and I wanted to get to bed as soon as possible because we would have to be up before 5 for my 5k in Saturday. I was grumpy because my trip started out since noon, and I missed both real lunch and dinner. A couple hour trip has turned into a 12 hour ordeal (yes, first world problem). All the while, back of my mind, I needed to sleep. I have been training my body to shut off around 8 pm. I was cranky by now because it was way past my bedtime.
It also added extra burden to learn how to drive an electrical vehicle. It was not hard, but took me time to google how to turn on/off the car. There was no on/off button like I expected. Basically, step on the pedal and go. There is the little shifter thing but it has only three positions (not marked) forward for reverse, shifting back to drive. No one cares about neutral, unless of course your car breaks down and it needs to be pushed. There is a button for park on the side. You could go directly into park from either the forward/reverse mode. I was playing with the thing since it was so simple to me and didn’t know I had it on reverse, so when I let go the pedal, my car accelerated backward. I thought pushing the stick forward was to start the engine or go forward. Yes stupid me of not reading. Polestar was aiming for the minimalist look and feel, so instructions and words are few. Luckily, no one or car or pillar behind the car. The car was okay. I had a scare. I quickly, changed direction and headed out the lot. A fun learning experience. This is like in a movie. Comical at best.
Our hotel was satisfactory. It was one of the cheaper ones but it was along the race course. Ideally, my mom could wait for me there while I run. I would go by it twice during my race. Ideally, but things never work out like that. It was only a mile from the start and finish. However, the plan fell through due to my mom unable to get to the finish line on her own, so she had to come with me at the start of the race and waited, so much for the hotel.
I needed the walk and training for my hundred mile while on the trip. By training, I chose to walk to most places because most places were quite close and I did not want to pay for parking. My mom walked along with me but however, due to her footwear choice of wearing sandals, she got blisters early on (first couple minutes into the trip). I told her to go back to the hotel to change shoes, but she wasn’t sure she could find me again, so she stayed close to me. I was not going to go back with her. I got a race to do.
By Saturday, I had to sleep early for my Sunday race. I slept well, but my mom was up and about. She blamed the coffee that kept her up at night but I think it was her being on the phone the whole evening. She got very excited when she talked with her friends. For me, I needed my sleep.
She also did not bring enough warm clothing. The weather was not hot as she expected but got windy and “cold” in the 50s. It was 45F in Atlanta during our layover. By any measure, it got chilly on Sunday even down in Florida.
Her wellbeing became my another thing I needed to check off. It was not a game stopping moment but issues like these put a damper on the trip (things like not getting enough sleep, not wearing the right clothes or shoes or bringing an ID or whether she has her medications). I felt like taking care an adult child. I don’t check these things unless it is taking a newbie on a backpacking, where safety issue comes into play, even then, everyone is on their own if one chooses to bring less things. It must have been so long since I had a trip with my mom.
Even toward the end of our trip, we ran into issues. We ended up being stranded in Atlanta after not being able to make our connection flight due to our earlier flight being delayed nearly an hour. We might have made our connection (with only 5 minutes for the transfer) but I went to the wrong gate previously shown on my phone/pass (they didn’t expect me making it, so it was already changed; I thought I could beat the system by going there anyway), which did not help. Delta gave us vouchers for hotel and food. It was not bad, but we were separated from our luggages. Our luggages made it onto the plane and arrived safely home (Delta held our bags for us; and we were grateful), but we were left behind in Atlanta.
There were also major oopsies trying to get to the hotel in Atlanta during our layover with many other stranded travelers like us. There were two hotels having the same name (they are different tier) and my taxi driver took us to the wrong one somehow assuming we were rich people (what, is it because we took a cab rather than wait for the shuttle?)! We were not aware of it until at the check-in counter. My mom said I was scammed. The receptionist told us to wait for the shuttle, which might take us to the other hotel. I thought not. I decided to call an Uber to get us to the correct hotel. I guess, I should have gone with Uber instead of the airport taxi to avoid such mistake. Only good thing was we beat the other hotel shuttle van, which carried all other stranded travelers. The hotel shuttle only runs once every half hour (we did wait almost that long but it seemed never came). We had our room first. It was near midnight by the time we had everything settled down. Things like these made me angry, but I swallowed my pride and rode it out. By then it was the third day of having very little sleep.
We did not even talk about the TSA. Yes, Unlucky me. I was stopped by the TSA. It delayed me at least for 30 minutes when normally takes only a minute for me to get through. I had to be checked like 5 times. The first time, they said I was a pre-check passenger so they waved me through (I had to hold a sign so that people knows I was a pre-check; weird that I was the only pre check there, and maybe because I was the only one), but I think my laptop was causing an issue. I think some areas, like in the South, there is a deep distrust of the federal government, so people do not use the pre check program. They needed me to go back to be rescanned along with everything. I took off my shoes, my jacket, my hoodies, everything they wanted. I don’t mind. I’ve been through three airports on this trip and each airport TSA procedures were a bit different, but yes, I knew carrying less is better, clothes, shoes, belts, no papers or phone in pockets. Funny, they said I was not listening to their instructions because I started to take off my shoes. There was absolutely nothing on me. The guard had no clue what was setting off the alarm. It was flagged by probably people in the backroom. They couldn’t find anything. I think because my bag also used for backpacking and has been to many places, so it might have picked chemicals like propane that might trigger the sensor, but nobody knew. Yes, I had a water bottle too I forgot to empty. 5 times I had to go back through the security! The thing is each time they had to search my bag again and scanned with their special x-ray machine and made me stand aside waiting. Each time they needed a different person to check. Each time, I had to request permission to let me back out through their special gate (they said I had to go back out and I can’t just walk back through the medal detector, which makes sense to have one-way direction to avoid confusion of who being checked) and I had to cut back in line with everyone staring at me. Note, I couldn’t touch my bag. They handled it. They tried placing in different direction (somehow orientation matters). Five times, so almost all its 6 sides were scanned. They didn’t put it upside down. Each time, I was flagged again to step aside. Each time, the guards there acted like they never seen me before. I was ready to do a full body pat down, which they did. Luckily, they did not say they wanted a further interview me, they did ask where I was going and who I was traveling with, and my flight number, which are routine questions. You know you must be in deep doodo. I could not think of why I was stopped. Must be the Florida water. It was all part of the procedures. Why 5 times, my best guess was the machine malfunctioned. Yes, I hate traveling. Insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome. They could have said, I need to bagcheck it because it wouldn’t pass their sensor.
It seemed like I was just complaining a lot but like running an ultra, when I set my mind to run my race, no matters the costs or problems, I will accomplish my goal. So I pressed forward relentlessly getting past all unexpected things that always crop up. Only this time, there were more issues than normal.
I ran my race and got it done. I got myself back home to prove I did it. I was angry. The trip was exhausting for me and was many ways different from my trips in the past. It was no holiday for me. Each thing was not much, but thousand things, I was dead by a thousand cuts.
As for my run itself, I enjoyed it a whole lot. I arrived a day early so, I could run a 5k on Saturday and to check the marathon course beforehand. Sunday was the main event.
The race organization was good. It was in tip top shape like many of my races. The police and course volunteers were plenty. The course was well marked with cones. Almost every block had volunteers. Aid stations were about a mile or two apart. I did not need them but it was good that they were there. People were friendly. Only one thing that could be average was they had to reopen the road at 1:30 pm. It was enough time for me to finish a marathon, but for some people, 6.5 hours is not enough time. (Space Coast kept theirs open for 7 or more hours, I believed the last guy finish at 8 hours — officially 7 hr course but unofficially 8 hr). No such thing here. I left about 2 pm when everyone too left. The last guy came in at 7 hours (30 mins after closing).
The double loop course made things easier. We ran two loops. I think looped marathon courses are kind of boring to run. It does have the benefit of not getting lost and to go a bit faster on the second loop. I did not go faster on my second loop though.
The half marathoners were with us on the first loop. There were plenty things to see. I did not talk to anyone but #40, he said his name is Deco but I couldn’t him on the finisher list. He did finish though. Reason I mention is for trail races, we like to know who we are running with, but road marathons, people usually don’t talk. It is two different culture. The competition is more intense. There was a half marathoner who tried to race with me, and she did beat me at the last mile. She was with me for at least 10 miles. I tried to engage her in conversation, but she had her earbuds on. I was ignored. Yet, I was aware she was next to me, running side by by side. I ran hard. So because of that I got exhausted before halfway.
I did start off faster than I knew was wise. We crossed over three bridges. Those were the tougher sections.
We started at Sand Key Park. There were plenty of parkings. Race started at 7:00 but we were there by 6:00. We ran to Clearwater Beach (on the road, mostly main road). Then we were moved to a wide sidewalk/bike lane around mile 3-4. We crossed over to mainland. From there we entered some residental areas. We passed by a golf course. Basically running in a big rectangular shape on the map and we crossed another bridge to get back to Sand Key Park.
As with most races once the half marathoners left us, it was very lonely. I hit my wall early around mile 13-14 to my surprise (normally I don’t until mile 21-23).
There were about 1000+ half marathoners but only maybe 300-400 marathoners. The ultra runners were even fewer, about 100 of us. So the course felt a lot empty after the half marathoners left us. There were a few marathoners and ultra (50k runners) around me but everyone was far apart. Unlike before, there was no more running elbow to elbow. It really cut any chance of a conversation.
I have been in the rut before so I knew I just had to keep moving regardless if people were passing me and leaving me behind. Aid stations were about every couple miles apart. I persisted to go from aid station to aid station. I did not use aid stations much on my first loop since I carried my hydration pack. On the second loop though, stopping at the aid stations gave me a target to get to. Soon I got back into my running pace by mile 15 and 16. As an ultra runner, I learned to set mental goals, such as reaching the next bridge or the next aid station. No matter how long or far, you just have to pull yourself together. You just got to do it over and over again. It is a mental thing.
I was able to catch back up with some runners now. I also know there would be many new runners and they would too hit their walls for the first time in their life. Pretty soon I saw a few started walking. This was still early, not yet at mile 20 when majority of people would start dropping into a walk. I urged those not to give up. I was surging forward.
At mile 17, the 50k runners (myself included) we had a 5 mile section spur of an out and back (2.5 miles out and 2.5 miles back) and we were separated from the marathoners. I knew, it would put me an hour behind the marathoners by the time I rejoined their course. This also was my second low point because we were leaving all the familiar people around us.
I knew I had to do it, to make this trek. I signed up for a 50k so this was my race and my course. Luckily, once I made the turn, I was with many 50k runners. There were at least a 100 of us. It was a surprise to me because for the past couple hours, it was hard to find any ultra runners and suddenly everyone I saw was an ultra runner. It was an out and back, so on my way out I could see the faster runners already on their way back and after the turn around I could see the slower runners who were behind me. I was not so lonely after all. It was in about 40th place, mid pack, dropped to 46th after the official result released. We all gave each other encouragements when we passed because we know how boring the out and back course could be. This cheered me up considerably when I saw people, especially those who were struggling, making myself feel lucky that I was still running. I started to feel my pace was not bad. At the time, I did not know I was running at my personal best. It was just natural. I was not straining. It did not feel like a record breaking run. Runners call this finding the flow. I was swimming in the current.
I regained my momentum on the way back after rejoining the marathoners. I did not feel extremely tired as before and I was moving. I took some gummies that were available at one of the aid stations and swallowed down some Gatorade. My fastest 50k run was a little shy of 6 hours at the Marine Corps Marathon (around 5:56 time). I was not certain I could beat that, since I have been much slower recently since October of last year.
As I rejoined back the marathon course, I saw an official pacer ahead. I was not sure what pace she was pacing, since she reached already at the end of the street (maybe 100-200 yards away – 300 meters).
I asked the aid station volunteers what pace she was running but they seemed not to understand my question. I asked a few other volunteers too, none of them know or understood me or they were ignoring me. I did not want to waste too much time at the station. It was late in the day (for they probably were out there for 4-5 hours) and volunteers were tired. Unlike volunteers at ultra events who are usually knowledgeable and ready to help, these volunteers were only there to pour water for us and probably hoped their shift would end soon. They felt they had down their job with all the cups available on the table and I was ignored. Maybe I surprised them as the only runner who needed more than water. Only way for me to find out what pace the pacer is pacing was to catch up to her. It gave me the motivation to keep the pacer in my sight.
Less than a mile later, I caught up. She was the 6 hour pacer. I knew if I stay in front of her, I would get my 6 hour 50k finish and likely PR (setting a personal record). I told her how helpful she has been for me to have her as a target. Even though, I did not run with her at the beginning (since I was doing an ultra and ran faster than marathon crowd, but having her at the end helped; note, 50k people did not have pacers; some races do, but not here), but in my mind I was expecting the 6 hour marathon pacer to be around once I rejoined the course. My goal has been to keep the pacer in sight.
Funny, I did not see the 5:45 pacer. Probably there was not any 5:45 pacer. Maybe I did but did not remember. Somehow now that I was on the marathon course again, I was catching up the marathoners. Ultra runners were moving much faster compared to the remaining marathoners. Most 6 hour marathoners were either walking or doing walk and run. For me, I got a second wind and I was running. It felt good to show off. Soon there was only 5 miles left. I sent my mom a message to let her know I am expected to arrive on time. It was 11:50, and I had only 4 miles left. In my mind, I know I could reach the finish in an hour.
Then there were 2 miles left. The resorts and condos near the start came into view. I started to see many more runners, because many were moving slower, but I was moving faster. Everyone was like 3 ft to 10 yard apart. I continued to catch up to people closing the gap on many. I finished at 5:39 (race clock, bib time was 5:37). I was just happy to get it done and set a personal 50k record while at it. It was 14 minutes faster than my previous record. Not earth shattering fast for a 50k, but it is 30 seconds faster per mile. I ran at a 11 min pace. I know there is still room for improvement. I take it and PR is a good thing. Note, a 12 min mile pace is my normal pace. It felt good to run fast. Of course, I would like to do it in 9 min or 10 min, because in an ultra, that translates to hours or more of early finishes. In a race, every second count!
Unrelated. After I just finished the race, a running friend texted me that I got into Wasatch 100 on lottery! He was the same guy who first told me about my entry to Western States, a bearer of good news. The drawing was the day before but they did not post the entrant list until Sunday. I was following the lottery but they had computer issues, so we did not know the results until Sunday. Not many people were aware of me getting into Wasatch than Western States.
What this means, it is a grand slam (to do 4 of 5 historically prestigious races in a sunmer; I got into 3 so far) minus Vermont! I am on the waiting list for Vermont 100. Come on Vermont! Let me in. A friend said I should write to the RD to petition for an entry (they do have provision tickets available for grand slamers, however, I did not select it during the initial signup). I rather try my “luck”. I am 73rd on the waiting list at the moment. My chance to get in is not that great but there is a chance. We still have 4 more months before panicking. If I get in, that would be great, if not, I won’t cry over it.
Also unrelated, I had a EV rental car, believe to be a Polestar 2. It drove fine but finding a charging station and charging it to the full 100% was impossible. We did find an EV charging station in an empty office building parking lot across from the Buccaneers stadium, and it was cool I got to see the Stadium as a side trip. The office parking was secluded (dark) and kind of creepy to stay there to charge the car. We felt like trespassers. We charged it for 2 hours and it got it from 75% to 87%, which was good enough if it was my personal car, however, our rental agreement required it to be at 100%. It probably would take another 3-4 hours to get it to 100%. I had to pay a surcharge for returning it less than a full charge. The fee was almost as much as my rental. Yes, my rental cost was quite low, cheaper than hiring an Uber. I was not happy nonetheless. I wouldn’t want an EV again but the experience of driving an EV the first time was well worth it.
Conclusion: We encountered a host of minor annoyances on this trip, but we were blessed with the warmer weather compared to back at home. Be thankful. We (I) had fun running my race and setting a personal record. I have been a slow runner, so it not typical for me to do a marathon and break a record. I take that gladly when it happens. Clearwater is definitely a destination marathon. I recommend it. I would go back if not for the other 35-36 more states I want to visit.
With my 100 mile races getting in the way soon this year, doing marathons would have to wait a bit till next year or later. There is at least one more marathon this year (Delaware in May). Clearwater definitely was a time to be treasured and remembered.
Last week of January and my training had been through a rough patch.
Snow came and gone. Temperature was warmer now (70F this weekend).
No more excuses of not running.
Why sign up for a race if I don’t intend to run it someone asked me? Many people would want to take my place! 🙂
I guess I have to put more effort in it
This week had some exciting news. I participated in the Vermont 100 lottery. I did not get in. But the whole time I was on the edge of my seat. Then I was hoping to get on the waitlist. I did not get placed in the top of the list but around middle at number 82. As of today, I was moved forward to places to #80. It is not likely I will be get in. I was offered to crew for a friend so I hope maybe at the last minute on the day of the race if somone drops out, I could take their place. Keep positive!
Another lottery is coming up. Wasatch Front 100 lottery is taking place this weekend. I will be again on the edge of my seat. I hope to get in. There is a 30% chance. Vermont I had 50% chance. By the time this post goes live, I will know the result.
Race related: I checked (map study) the Old Dominion course.
I planned to sign up for Icy 8 (next weekend). It is also Twot 100. Holiday Lake is still open. I almost signed up for Red Dirt 100. I might still go. There is Mt Michel marathon. I didn’t think February would be so busy.
I need to train for BRR 50. I hope to get a better score this year.
I don’t remember much. We had two snow storms. They shouldn’t interfere with my trainings much because most of the snow started or peaked during the day time after my normal morning runs. However, I chose to sleep in on both day.
So nothing much to report.
Monday. I believed I went out to the Bull Run trail and did 12-13 miles. Monday was a federal holiday, so I did not work. MLK.
Tuesday, an excuse to sleep in. Snow did not start until later. I don’t know if I ran since I did not record
Wednesday. I remembered I went out on one of the snow days and it probably was on Wednesday. Training on snow was hard. It was still soft on Tuesday but by Wednesday there were patches of ice. I stepped on couple of them and did some weird Michael Jackson dances but didn’t fall. After those couple close calls I decided to just walk the route instead of running it.
Thursday and Friday, I don’t remember being out. We had a second storm system plowing through. I took the night off.
Saturday, ran on fresh powdered snow for 10 miles. It was a good workout on muscles I rarely used. Running on snow is a different beast. Was moving slow. Downhills were especially fun. I tripped once and almost fell in face first on a creek but was able to regain my balance at the last moment and cleared the water. After that no more running for me.
Got two new pairs trainers, both are trail shoes on discounted prices. Happy about them because they were discounted. I wore New Balance before (road shoes but ran them on trail) that did not work quite well at my last MMT (feet were hurting badly at the last 25 miles). I plan to test/use these for my MMT100.
I still need some road shoes for my normal marathons. Personally I perfer wearing Altra Lone Peak but mine only last through a season. Devil Dog 100 totally trashed my favorite Altra. I have two other Altras for road but they seemed to fall apart too after a few marathons. I probably put over 100 miles on those as well.
Funny story (or a stupid thing), I never considered wearing trail shoes for trail racing until after Burning River where I did not have much traction support from my worn out road shoes on a slick muddy downhill trail where I took a few tumbles. Now I swore by it thag trail shoes are really made for trail races!
Health report. My left foot has completely recovered after a few days of resting. Now my right foot is acting up a bit after the Saturday run. Not really hurting but whenever I stretch it or curl up my toes, I felt some pain. Also, my weight has gone up a bit (4 lbs) maybe from a few days of resting.
Week 8 (last week of January) is mostly like week 7. I missed couple days of training for some unknown or reasons I couldn’t remember. Anyway, I will try to do better, now I am over a third of my 25 week plan. 16 weeks left. It was a good time to refocus.
This is the second half of the last post when I got too tired to finish.
Waterfall 50k (WTF50k) was like a walk down the memory lane when I attempted the first (virtual) waterfall run in 2020). I don’t remember why I even wanted to look for trail to run in the middle of a cold winter back then. I might be training for something. On a cold Christmas Day in 2020, I decided Waterfall was the hike for me, and I downloaded the trail notes and drove out by myself. At the time I had not met my trail family. I did everything by myself back then. I wanted to get into this run many times but I was not able to because I always missed the opening signup date, so I did many things by myself. The way of how the club work was not known to me at the time. This was back in 2020.
Ever since, I had kept my eyes on the Waterfall 50K run each year to run it in person. It was usually occurred on the coldest and nastiest day in our winter. Finally this year, I got to run both the MMT training run 1 and the Waterfall all in one weekend. That was a lot going on and as in my last post, mentally I was toasted, more on this. But now I have my trail family, and it is quite fun to see the same people over on both days.
Two 50k back to back is kind of crazy, but hey, as an ultramarathon runner, we kind of get used to it. Still the course was not an easy one.
This year WTF50 fell on another coldest day in the winter. The whole day was below 24 F (probably was between 18-24), and we knew it would be cold the whole day. Waterfall course would be mostly the last part of MMT, with Kerns Mountain, Duncan Hollows, and then Bird Knob. Duncan Knob is the extra and also going up Waterfall is not part of the MMT100 but it was worth it.
My memory of WTF was the nasty river crossing on Orange and I thought that was the Waterfall mountain. Nope, that was just the Orange trail, was it it at Gap Creek or Duncan Hollow. It was just nasty mud stepping on a creek up the mountain.
I never really found out what so bad about the real waterfall mountain climb until this year when I actually ran on the course. It is on Orange as well, but there is just one steep climb up to Chisman Hollow Road. Now I finally got my geography straight in that part of the trail from the parking at rt211 to here.
I arrived early as I usually do for all races. We were scheduled to start at 8, I made sure I was there before 7, I think I arrived around 6:30. I was not the first car but there were three or four others already arrived. Some had stayed from the night before. I could tell from the way they parked. Some were still sleeping inside their cars.
Again the day was so cold. I got out my car to stretch but quickly jumped back inside. Soon many other cars started arriving. We filled the lot. I checked myself in with the RD (Q and Burr). We had a group pic and some pre race briefing and we were off. They said we would have a clear day (no rain or snow in the forecast) but apparently they (weatherman) were wrong.
I was with my friend Amanda. I met her during my first MMT, wow it had been so long ago, since 2022. It was like a reunion since. It brought back memories. Amanda is well familar with the Orange trail since she had done the ring (twice I think) and this year she is preparing to do the reverse ring. The Ring is to run the whole Massanutten trail (70 miles) and the reverse Ring is to do it in the winter from another direction. I haven’t done the Ring myself, so I don’t know if it true that the Reverse Ring is way harder, but that what everyone said.
I followed Amanda and pretty soon we were climbing up on the Waterfall Mountain. The course was dry. But the climb was unforgetable. It was so steep. We hiked up. They had doughnuts for us at the top.
We reached Chrisman Hollow and we continued up to Kerns. I was more familar with Kerns having ran on it so many times for the MMT100. You can say I memorized every rock there. Kerns was my downfall during my first MMT, so it is always in my mind as being hard.
Today though it was not that hard. Yes it was rocky. And the leaves made it hard to run on. It started snowing when we reached about halfway. I was fine with it, but our group speed slowed down. There was another runner in front of us, but unfortunately, I did not get her name. We hiked the whole Kerns together until Jawbone.
I was still with Amanda. Amanda was being nice of not passing the the lady in front until the lady stopped to use the restroom break before descending on Jawbone. We passed her. Amanda told me turn on Jawbone and we left Orange.
Amanda and I ran down. It was quite exciting. Now I could recognize the trails and their names, it brought back memories of how hard it was to climb up on Jawbone during my MMT. Now going down on it was a cinch. It probably only took us 15 minutes to descend.
We arrived at the first aid station. We were pretty much the last one to arrived. There Amanda went on to climb Duncan Knob, but for me, I decided to walk out with another woman, Angie whom we met at the there. Angie does not believe she had enough time to finish the loop, so call it a day. Though we still were responsible to get our butts back to the parking lot on our own power. Angie was hoping to get a ride at the net aid station. However, she did not know the way to get there without doing the full loop as laid out in our turnsheet. I don’t either, but I was guessing Chrisman Hollow should take us out. People at the aid station (Kevin and Carl) said the same. We also had the option to go down on the Waterfall at Orange. Since it was snowing, going down by that route was not a good choice. I was not sure on the distance, but our aid captain believe we could do it. I think the time was still early, around 10:30 or 11 ish. Angie agreed to take the road. Together we decided to hike out.
I did want to go up to Duncan but it was snowing a bit hard at the time, hiking out seemed to be a correct decision.
Angie is from NC. However she and her husband had done many of the runs with the club. She is not new to trail runner. She would be fine walking out herself. However, since she was on my training ground, I decided to accompany her. We talked about many things. They (her husband) will be doing Iron Stone 100k this summer, a race I was considering.
The walk out was uncomplicated. We just stayed on Crisman until we got to the Visitor Center. There was an aid station at the visitor. We had to be there before 2:30. Since we were taking the road, it was not an issue for us. Also we already dropped from the run. Soon other runners who finished the Duncan Knob loop popped out from ascending the Waterfall Mountain the second time join us on the road to the Visitor Center. We had some fun cheering them.
There was a runner, a very fast runner, one of the top 10. He did not know the way or had the trail note or map on him. He ran by following another runner. The person he followed was an unwilling party and the guy did not wait for him. He was chasing the dude from station to station.
So he asked Q and those at the aid station for direction. So they told him a quick version. Stay on White, turn on Orange, then turn on White. Orange, Purple, Pink, and back on Orange. It was a bunch of colors. We knew there was no way he could memorize all that. They simplified for him to turn whenever he sees a new color. It was a joke and we all laugh. We knew the guy would not get lost because he was fast and he was aiming to catch up to the dude who just left the aid station.
We too went out from the Aid Station heading toward the 211 Parking. We would not ascend to Bird Knob as others do but to keep on white to the picnic area and then turn on orange. There were only two or three miles to the parking. While on the last part, the first place runner (Barett) passed us. We initially though no way he would be one of us because he was so fresh. I did not recognize who he was at the time. He had his hood on.
We arrived just a little after Barrett finished. For us we ran 17 miles. He did 31 miles, almost twice our distance. The dude was not even breathing hard. It was like a light jog in the woods.
I initially wanted to go back out to do the Bird Knob loop since I still had time, but it was so cold out there. They lit the fire and offerred me soup at the finish, and I was too comfortable to go back out. I ended up just staying at the fire for the next 6 hours or so watching everyone finishing their run. That was my day.
I have not successfully finished Waterfall yet. The time requirement was quite tough. We had about 9 hours. But meeting the 2 pm cut at mile 21 is quite hard to do. I know I will try it again next year.
In awe 