A new year means a new beginning. A new year?! Yes. It’s my anniversary of being on WordPress for 6/7 years. I started this blog 6 years ago, something like that and posted my first hello world on here. [A look back at Hello World | No. 6]
I wanted to blog about computer/technology, running, and about life. This was not my first blogging platform. I had another site that started about 10 years before that, mainly on technology, kind of on issues I dealt with at work. That site’s host has changed owner several times and went out of favor with the general public. This is quite common with social media. Then there’s tumblr and twitter (now X), and BlueSky. I have not migrated to BlueSky yet. WP lately has its tantrums, and I am not getting in to it. It is bad for everyone is my take.
I am still blogging frequently. It might not be as frequently as before, but I try to release something periodically.
Yep, not much running’s being done. I am at a crossroad. I know, I am not at my full potential. Years of my running is almost as long as my blogging. I ran for 7 years. This blog started when I ran my first ultra, The Seashore 50k in December. My experiences of first year of running during 2016 unfortunately was not recorded. Anyway, from my first 50k to my 1st 100 mile are all kept here. Not sure if I will reach my first 200 miler.
I am a bit at a lost of where I will be heading. Hopefully I will run many more races in the coming years.
This Hello World is a bit longer than a paragraph. Until next time~
We are not invincible. No one would think they are. We though often time just don’t remember we might be taken from this world in an instant, unplanned and unprepared. My friend’s recent sudden passing away reminded me of how fragile life us and how I should live my life more purposefully.
I like to think I am still in my prime, like my friend, just a little over the hill, but still he was supposed to have many years left.
We even made plans about races to do. At least next year, I am going to go to this race or that race so on. Among several friends, we frequently share about our dreams and goals as we all do when after a race or something, we plan for the next.
When I signed up for Old Dominion this year, my friend mentioned he would like to do it too but the time requirement to finish is incredibly fast for a 100 mile. Normally, other races give 30-32 hours, Old Dominion sets it at 28 hours. It is not impossible but it a limit that stops many people.
We were also toying the idea of running Vermont 100, which has a 30 hour limit, so a bit easier. I had to do both since they were part of the grand slam which I was aiming for at the time. So there was no ifs or buts for me.
We made plans how to train to break the 28 hours. If we could not do it this year, we believed we would have many years to attempt them. There’s always next year or so they say.
All those plans came to a halt. We did not know how little time we (he) had left.
Sometimes, we wish if we had just a bit more time or if we only knew ahead of time how much time we have left. We would treasure those moments a bit more.
I could not say whether if I have done anything differently. It was a sobering moment when I woke up this week and found he was no longer here.
My friend left memories he had spent with his daughters, his coworkers, his golf buddies and his running friends.
My friend was commended for the community he built. At his service, various people from his circle of friends spoke of his traits and the special moments they had with him.
As an ultrarunner, I paid more attention when someone told of the time he overcame a hard race known as The Ring (our local club’s famous mountain race). No one in their right mind would do something like that for fun. As an ultrarunner, we knew but could not explain why either other than we enjoy doing hard things.
It made me to reflect on my own life and what if it were my own funeral. What would people say about me. In a sense, I don’t really care. They can say whatever they want. However, deep down, I think anyone would want to know they are less of a jerk and more of qualities someone would love to remember by.
My friend was a decent guy. Even though his brother-in-law said the guy had a lot of flaws. I was all ear ready to hear what I did not know about him. They said he spoke his mind and did not mince words. He loved eating. He drove fast and lived life to the extreme (being an ultra runner that is, anyone who ran a 100 mile to the world is a little craze craze). I translated that to living to the fullest.
All those things are not too bad. He was one of us. Not sure how to end this. His family was heartbroken as is anybody who knew him. I knew through running. Surely, he will be missed each year I am running the same race he was in and he won’t be there. Some of us, as his running friend will remember him throufg our runs. I have not gone out the trail, but today, I made it that at least I made some effort to do a mile for my friend Tony.
Fall season is here! And so too for signing up for races
I just paid a lot of mulla for this website. It is not yet due but they already took my money. But they asked me for payment the other day. No they don’t ask, they just charged it to my card.
I am poorer by the minute. Now race sign up season is upon me.
I have not decided which races to run for next year. Never look back. Always step foward.
Looking back, I have done a lot. I only want to run a marathon. Now I have ran close to 20 one-hundred milers. Ran 8 this year alone and there are couple more left. Where am I heading next?
Tough. I want to have an over arching strategy of where I will be heading. The original mission was to run across the US one day. Still is. It is the reason I am running ultras.
Next goal originally was to do the UTMB and Hard Rock. I do have the lottery tickets (stones), from having run the Western States this year, but feeling cold feet at the moment making the next step.
My motto is to reach for the impossible. Never look back always forward.
There is the Rocky Slam, Hard Rock, Big Horn, Bear, and Wasatch. I might go for one of them.
Then there’s the Midwest Slam, Indiana, Hallucination, Mohican, and Burning River, Kettle Moraine
Personally, I want to do Bootlegged, or Red Dirt, some easy 100, like Pine Creek or Oil Creek. There’s also the Pinhoti some said is doable.
Then there is the Cruel Jewel. I have been avoiding that one, but it pops back from time to time. It will going take a lot of self talk to get me to sign up.
I am thinking of running some of the same race over, Burning River, Devil Dog, Massanutten and maybe C&O Canal. Doing something familiar is easier than doing something new.
Enough for now. I have to sleep on it.
(I have nothing to write, so I am just filling up the paper with my thoughts on next year plan, which I don’t have any at the moment)
I finally have a bit of breathing room from all the races I have been doing.
Since the end of last year, I have been on edge because of the race of Western States 100. It was a big race. I did not know if I was up to the challenge to do it. Days and nights, and every waking moment I was consumed with the race. I watched countless videos, formulated many plans, listened to other people who had run it, and waited for more than six months to run it. It was finally over.
No more training. No more worrying. No more thinking if I have done enough or having the dreaded feeling that I could do more or feeling regretful that I might have taken too many off days.
It is like a balloon deflating. Finally everything is over. Almost… But we can call it done.
Now I am thinking about next year. What do I want to do? I could do the same thing. It is a question I asked myself each new year. What are you planning to do! The answer always have been “To take over the world” (reference to Pinky and the Brain in Animaniacs, one of my favorite cartoons). To me it has always been to run more races!
Somehow, I don’t want to run any more races. Yes, I would run races, but they are no longer part of the must-do things for me. It would still be nice to run some more races, but they are no longer my sole goal.
Several years ago, I wanted to run in all 50 states, primarily marathons, and only marathons but now I wanted to do the same for 100 miles. However, both of these goals now seem pretty boring once I realize there are no longer “risky”. I could now run 100s, or at least I feel like, with my eyes close. They are still hard and there are plenty hard 100s out there, but I felt I figured it out at least for the average 100 races. At least, I can have a completion rate of above 50%. The key to 100 miler, is as long as you run like the first half, you can walk the second half and finish.
Something in me wanted to try new things. It is not just because of seeking new riskier or dangerous things to do. Partly yes, I wanted more thrill but risk of physically harm is not part of the calculus. I just want a new type of adventure, at least that what got me into running the first place. The Adventure and travel.
Sorry, this feels a lot like ranting.
Maybe next year should be rim to rim to rim year I always wanted to do. I don’t know. I would like something like that, something off the beaten path, something more organic. Rim to Rim is a run (self supported) to cross the grand canyon (big G), in a day and back. It is about 40 miles. It has some element of danger (people do die doing it, usually from the heat). It is something that involves a bit of planning. Somehow, it requires months of booking in advance. Plus dealing with the uncertainty of the weather and such and to have a plan B in place.
Anyway, I hope to do more of this kind of thing instead of signing up for races, I should make my own kind of races.
I have been bored out of my mind the last week. I know, do something. (Yes, I did, a lot boring stuff: I totalled up the cost of this year race and it was a lot of $$. I figured out next year race schedule, like 50% of it, there are a few races I haven’t committed to yet. The schedule will be released later in the year once I signed up. I signed up to a marathon in the fall! Which one? The one I have been jinxed since the pandamic. I’ll reveal once the date is closer. I believe this is only one marathon left I have not done in my area. It is quite famous. OK. I will leave it at that. It is already added on my calendar for those who want to know 😉
Yes, I love running marathon a lot still, more than any other distances.
Looking back at my last pause, [Day600], about six months ago, I don’t have much to say today. This one won’t do justice compares to the previous one. Maybe because there is not much time separation. I know I had a great six months, but it is too much to dive in. The next six months will be even more critical how my plan will turn out. So, I don’t want to brag too much of the first half of the year, fearing the second half I won’t able to reach as high as I did already.
The year, or my training to be exact, started off slowly. The main goal was to train for the Western States 100. This race is in two weeks, depending when this post will be published. The end is in sight. I have no idea how it will turn out but I was not as nervous as 6 months ago. At least I am confident I have a good chance of finishing it. (Race report will be posted soon)
As for my other goals (races), I had done well. I ran many races. Almost in my opinion, since I haven’t counted up, I ran as many races as my entire 2023 in the first half of 2024. I am happy and as well as tired. More excited overall. I was not going to go for the grand slam six months ago but as things played out, I am going for it now. First of the four grand slam races is done. So, I am going for it. 3 more will take place over the summer.
My hardest race so far was the Massanutten 100 (MMT), not part of the slam. Well it was my personal slam (or triple crown, C&O, MMT, and OD). I trained for MMT last year and I did the same this year. The result was not as good as last year. It was unexpected. I had the race locked in to finish with a good time but it slipped out of me at the final moment. I still finished but it was tough physically. It took every ounce of me to reach the end. The race just wore me out. We could blame the wet weather but to me I don’t think that affected me much during the race. My feet were fine. I did not have blisters or anything, I was just out of energy. I even had a good crew helping me this year too. Anyway, I will leave the monday quarterbacking for another time. The full report of it already was written. I was grateful, I got it done and had a memorable time. And I was in good health.
Other major races were, OD100, C&O100, and the Taiwan WJS Marathon. I did very well in all of them. I ran a bunch of smaller races and training runs too. Unfortunately, many were forgotten at this point. They are written down somewhere, so I can always go back to read them, like Seneca, Bull Run Run, Naked Bavarian, and Mid-Maryland.
My trip to Taiwan was memorable. It was my second international marathon. I was pleased how it turned out compares to my first international marathon. I did not have a concrete plan six months ago (well I signed up the race in October), but glad everything fell into place.
Running has kept me busy through the spring. I have not had any time to pause for planning, like what I will be doing next year or even for the fall. As readers know, I paused my regular marathon race schedule, to make this year focusing on running 100 milers. So, I need to see how to line up my marathon races once again. It feels like a big task.
It is easy to pencil in races. But my way of making decisions is I only run a race if I really have a strong emotional tie to it. I need a strong draw from the race in order to sign up. Getting this strong feeling is harder when I am distracted with many other races. Yes, it is a weird way of making decisions. The past six months, I had nothing but constant motion. And it is so little time left for soul searching decision, jk. Yes, making the decision of which races to run is a serious business for me each summer.
Anyway, I have no further things to say. I hope to build up my savings again for future trips. I made a big travel over the spring to Taiwan (and Sydney). It is easy to spend money but took me a long time to save up. I still want to travel more, such as to do the trek in Napal when I am still physically fit. Grand Canyon, while I have been there couple times, I will want to go back there again, at least, to attempt the Rim to Rim (to Rim) hike/run in one day. Not sure if this is a near term of a long term plan. At first, I did not have anyone to do this with, but now, likely things are falling in place. Yes, I need to get my finance and time available to do this. The globe trekkers buddies were itching for a trip too. I went with them to most of my international trips. Not sure if I will join them, though likely not. I am nowaday prefer solo traveling.
Those are some longer terms challenges. My short term challenges are still the same: train and finish up the year races. It is like an iceberg. I did 3 big 100s but there were like 7 more. I lost count. My pacer at OD100, tried to help me count them, and came to about 7 races are left.
Heart. Passion. Motivation. I struggle with this in the past. When I am doing too much, I lost sight of the vision why I am doing them. Along with, I am losing the passion of doing things. I only do things because I like doing them. And if the passion is not there, I don’t want to do it. I think that is the biggest issue for the next six months and the next year is to keep my passion up.
Wow these were news that hit home on the day I got back from Sydney. The Baltimore bridge is no longer there. I am not sentimentally attached to it, being on it maybe once or twice in my life but seeing it on the news the next day, was a OMG, what just happened. Those who watched the news knew all about it already. I won’t add more here.
A much bigger and personal news was my beloved mountain MMT is on fire. Not sure if it was accidental or part of a controled burn, but MMT (Massanuttan Mountain) has several wild fires raging from north to south. Before I went on my trip, I heard the forest service was trying to do a controlled burn on one of the peaks, maybe it went out of control. MMT training run No. 3 was rerouted due to it. Basically, we have to stay away the whole area for now. Meaning, the Chocolate Bunny run (Easter midnight/sunrise celebration, MMT training run) was canceled.
There is a possibility the MMT race itself too might get canceled. We are standing by, once the fire is put out, and a call for trail maintenance put forth, we would fix up the trail for the race. It might be a tall task. OD100 sent out their assessment that their race will still be held since the burn area doesn’t affect their course. OD100 and MMT100 do share a similar course. MMT100 though mostly is on the MMT trail and does go through the fire area. I will be running in both events.
Instead of the Chocolate Bunny Run, I was invited to join the CAT runners (Charlottesville Area Trail) for their weekend run. I always want to run on the Priest and Three Ridges, having hiked and backpacked there many years ago (when I was 18) long before I was into trail running. It was be good to go back and see how things have changed.
Initially, I wanted to write about it, but there was very little to share. My heart about the run was not in it. I got off work, packed, then went to the trailhead. It was a three hour drive. I got there around 2:30 am, which was perfect for me since I was still suffering insomnia from jetlag. Morning was night and night was morning to my body.
I was not sure where to park my car. The lot seemed small and full. I pulled into a space I found. Everything was quiet. I walked and hiked up a bit on the trail and then found a place to pee. I decided not to wander too far in case I might get lost, so I headed back to the car. I set alarm to wake me up later. About 5:30 other people arrived. Somehow everyone managed to fit their cars into the small lot. We ran. We finished pretty early. It was only 20-ish miles. I wanted a 30 mile day but I needed to use the restroom again, so I did not continue for climbing the Priest a second time as some of them did (it was a hill repeat day, 7000 ft) but went into town for food and to rest.
Afterward, I felt the Wild Oak Course would be a good follow up to the Priest since I didn’t want to do another loop at the Priest. The Wild Oak Trail was only an hour away and my favorite place to be. I celebrated Easter there (by tuning in to a church in Sydney). The night passed quietly, with a storm came at midnight but I slept through it. The morning came. I wanted to start early so I could finish the run early, however, my legs were more tired than I anticipated.
After hiking up for a mile, I decided to trust my instinct to go back to my car. Wild Oak course would be a 20-mile loop (I was thinking of skipping Big Bald, and using the road to Camp Todd; this was Grindstone 100 training loop). I had a nagging feeling that it might not be a good idea to hike Wild Oak at this time. The good feeling was not there. Usually my gut feeling is right, and I told myself to trust it. Nothing bad happened to me but I met a fisherman who said a tree has fallen over the main road and blocking access into deeper in the park. I felt better when I decided turn back. I was able to leave since I parked outside of it.
I am writing this because, normally, I like doing a big run. The day before, while the run was hard, I felt it was not enough. The next day, the run on Grindstone was supposed to be hard, but I did not have the mental prepareness to handle it. So, I canceled it. So I felt the trip was unfulfilling as I was leaving.
While driving back home, I stopped at Ashby Gap near Sky Meadow State Park, which was much closer to home and finished my 10 mile hike/run on the AT, by visited the Wiskey Hollow shelter. Someone wrote in the Logbook there “Happy Easter.” I doubted they stayed there for the night. The hike on the AT felt very good. I guess I wanted to see people on the trail and Sky Meadow area was a better choice compares to the Wild Oak Trail. I still got a significant hill workout. The AT is never easy.
I have been trying to get back into my normal routine now I am back home. The marathon I did in Taiwan was such a high point, now everything else seems so normal. I have been asking myself what to do next. I do know what I wanted to do. I have a huge to-do bucket list, but none of the items seems inspiring at the moment. They were when I made them.
I want to feel goals with urgency. I want to do everything. Feed the fire.
Seven years ago, running in all 50 states seemed like a good goal, maybe because it was eternal or impossible to me at the time. Now, it is just tedious. Should I continue? I concluded, yes, as long as I still enjoy running marathons. And I do enjoy.
I am reading Into the Wild, and that kind of life excites me, it was a short one, but it fully embraced the ethos of pursuing ones ideal, and not many people live like that — walking the walk to the point of foolhardy — he chose to go to Alaska during a winter with insufficient provisions and so ended being trapped and dying there, which might be too simplistic an explanation; surely he must have known the consequences and I am sure he did not want to die. My running is like that. I want something that I feel worth living for and worth the pursuit.
I need to do some soulsearching to find out what I really want. (Hint, a podcast I am listening, said try to ask yourself the 5 Why deep question, like why do I like running?, If my response is I feel good while doing it, then the next level, why does it makes it feel good. So usually by 5th level, you get to the motivation)
I ran in both Taipei and Sydney but did feel out of place while running there because there were not a lot of runners around except on a weekend. Running in Sydney felt more at home, due to less chance of running into people. I usually run in early morning to avoid people. Taiwan though felt small and often time the sidewalk is narrow.
The Sport arena in New Taipei where we picked up our runner’s package. It was about 30 minutes train ride. Notice, the signs are bilangual. Also, see the 7-eleven in the corner. They are everywhere. I felt they are better than ones we have here in the US. They serve (cheap but acceptable) food too. I was told that public bathroom requires squatting. I did not use one while out and about.While taking the bus to Wanli, we passed by Taipei 101. There was not enough time to stop for sight-seeing around the area. My Taiwan friend gave me a list of suggestions of places to see and food to try. I did several of them, especially the beef noodle dish, which Taiwan is famous for. And yes bubble tea (at the airport). Not that we did not have enough time to do everything, I just did not want to rush to rush from place to place. I had about 12 hours of sleep each night! Usually, I sleep from 6 pm to early morning (due to jetlag).We did walk around the memorial square, was it freedom square? Quite a big area. I climbed the stairs to one of the palaces. I think it is a concert hallMarathon location, Green Bay (Fei Cue Wan). We ran past other wan (bays) too but I couldn’t remember their names. Green Bay the most famous one. Leaving Taipei, the city is so organized viewed from the air. Taiwanese people are well known for their organization skill. There are a lot of future developmentsGrace Point Church in Sydney. We stayed near there. Arrived in Sydney but did not take many photos on my own. Houses, churches, school almost look the same. Everything is very blocky/rectangular. They love round-abouts. These two roads are main roads but only have single lane. People don’t mind going slow. On my way out from Australia, the security guard tossed out my sealed and unopened bottle of Vegemite (yeast, for bread spread). Just a few moments later, I found the “taste like Australia” stuff in one of the airport stores, bigger than the bottle that was tossed out. I did not want to be scammed again (by our TSA once I reached SFO), so I didn’t purchase it. I still have no clue what Australia tastes like
Hard to believe my trip of the decade/century is over. I don’t remember when I last went to Sydney. Some believed it was 2009. I was there for another cousin’s wedding previously and again this time. It was actually my third time. Was it really that long ago?
We did a lot the previous times, all the tourist stuff, like visiting the Opera House, taking a train ride, the walking through the Botanical Garden, the Aquarium, the ferry ride, the monorail, Blue Mountain, and the beach.
This time, I spent more time with my relatives and mostly just “partying”. We ate a lot. It was too boring stuff to post. Food blogging is not my thing. Also, blogging about family or the wedding is not my thing either.
I did try to remember what the wedding dress look like, since the last wedding I went to, a friend later asked me about the dress and all I said was I don’t know — to me all wedding dresses look like a wedding dress. Well, I tried, but I can’t recall the wedding dress this time either. Unless you have to pick one dress over another, I could not tell one from another. I could tell you about ram sticks and their clock cycle and latency, but dress, eh, they don’t capture my imagination as a piece of ram drive. Such is life.
My Uncle who has to be over 80 was driving me home one night, my last night there. I was thinking the whole time, how did I get myself in this situation. He was a safe driver, but if anything were to happen on the ride, my cousins would be blaming me for not declining his ride. My cousins love their uncle/father a lot but no one wanted to speak up telling him he shouldn’t be driving late at night. I was thinking, I could have taken the Uber. He was still a strong man.
He and his wife just wanted to spend more time with me. We went to his house and we looked at his plants (his pride possessions) and such and he also did not want his nephew to drive us home because they had kids and it was a school night (that was an excuse though because we could drop the kids off first). There are many of this kind of stories, I felt there was no point to share, but they were wonderful and weird memories for personal reasons, maybe too personal to share.
Yes, such as we did laundry and then drying them on clothlines (this is quite normal thing to do). Houses typically do not have a clothes dryer. I am just not used to airing my laundry. I think it was funny. Everyone seems to use the clothline. We are spoiled here in US.
Also, they do not have zoning laws like in the States or at least I think they don’t. I was running in a residental neighborhood, which seems to stretch forever, and occassionally, I would come across a business in someone front yard, a legit business like a cafe or a physical therapy or a hotel. It was just weird, but also good, I could stop any time to have a coffee in someone’s yard, and I did at the Swinging Monkey, which was just a small camper trailer parked in a front yard. It was just weird. Coffee was good. Aussies love their coffee.
At least, in my area in the US, if I leave one neighborhood, there is a distinct difference of a boundary. We use dead-ends to our advantage here. We have neighborhood with just only townhouses, single houses, or apartments. We don’t put it all mangling together. Usually, one community here is semi walled/separated from another, usually by a road or park or some natural/man-made barrier (trees, ponds, even fences, gated community). In the US, if I go into a community, I would get lost, unless you know how to follow the main road out. Because, usually in the US, roads just get smaller and smaller as you get deeper in and you eventually reach a dead end no matter where you turn.
Not so in Sydney. I ran like through 10-20 communities on just one street, and they seem no different from one before other than a change of name (street sign). There are no natural borders.
I have to give it to them of the good signage — they are pretty good in tell you which town you are approaching in a certain direction. I was looking for Burwood during my run, and luckily there were signs pointing me there.
In theory, I could wander around without a phone, without fear of getting lost and I tried exactly that. It was just a giant grid system.
For us, at least according to my experience, we build our community in a hub-and-spoke system, like a tree, trunk, branches, stems and leaves (because, we don’t want cars to go through local secondary or smaller roads) if they don’t belong there. It is rare where houses would be facing the main road in where I live.
Sydney is not like that. They do have interstates (Motorways), and main roads, but their secondary roads are their residential, and usually just one lane. There is no further subdivision. Houses are everywhere. There is no separation.
Their schools also are small. Elementary is just a small building that one could almost mistakenly think an apartment or something. They love their fences. Most properties are fenced off with metal fences as tall as a person. They don’t have big sport fields like we do for schools. They also don’t have school buses, at least I didn’t see any. So there is no drop off zone at school. I think eveyone walk or take public transport. There are no big parking lots (they call it car park). They do have parking decks (but not at a metro stop like we do). Like what! everyone parks on the street. Just so weird to me. Learning to parallel park is a must.
Most houses are built with concrete. Maybe wood is more expensive. We saw many rebuited homes. Some are two levels. They are quite beautiful and nice. Yes, their houses are smaller than in the States, but they were also nicer looking. They love their houses with long glass panels and concrete (modern architecture style). Almost all have a balcony of some kind. They love porches. And they were not obsesses with bathrooms as we do. The whole house usually only has one bathroom! My uncle’s house is a bit better to have a separate water closet (just the toilet with no sinks!). I don’t get the rationale of having a room just for the toilet. Maybe because it is a less frequently used? My little place here in the US has four bathrooms! It was not typical for Australians to have a bathroom in the master bedroom and separate one for guests or other family members in the hallway or one for guests or a mud room. It is a reason their houses are smaller.
I did some real running while in Sydney. I did not track how far, but probably between 30-40 miles. Could be even 50. I wish I did a night run. It was my best day in Sydney after the wedding day of course.
Unfortunately, I was not able to find some dirt trails to run on. I ran on the Cooks River cycleway (paved), it was better than nothing. There were nights, I could not sleep and I wish I could go out and run, but I did not want to wake up the whole house with my nocturnal activities.
There were not a lot of changes I noticed on this trip. It has been 15+ years since I have been there so I had expected something new or an evolution. Yes, they have more US brand stores like Costco or McDonalds than last time. They love Krispy Kreme like we do. They have Planet Fitness like we do.
One change I noticed was probably at the airport where almost everything was checked by biometric. Taipei even required finger printing of both my index fingers at custom. Hong Kong required facial recognition for even boarding, no need a passport or boarding passes (they trust their system). Sydney is still like the US, they still manually check our ID cards at the boarding gate with our boarding pass (which we scanned), but facial recognition is used at border entry and departing at security checkpoint. Note, in the US, we as passengers could pay for the biometric scan (just weird, to look at the machine and it determines if we could enter the country – Global Entry program). There were only 10 or so people using the Global Entry while there were several hundred people (maybe even a thousand), lining up for the normal border check. I was pretty sure, the normal line was also using biometric. I arrived early around 8 am. So what the difference? Not many people were willing to pay for the Global Entry for the shorter line.
I glad I went. I like Taipei more but Sydney was not bad. I would have gone any way, just for the wedding. I wanted to run and I did run. I reached my objectives. I was there for a wedding and it went well. I met my relatives. checked. I don’t know anything more I wanted to do, other than if I could go for camping in the desert or mountain. Also, I wish I could run on some mountains. Maybe that something for the future. Also, New Zealand is still a goal and it was not too far from Sydney.
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.
Happy New year – It is that time again to think up on resolutions
The idea I had last year was from a bible verse “knock and the door would open.” I did not blog about it in my Jan 1 resolution post (2023), but however, this has been on my mind through out the year. I was expecting some big thing.
We could go into active seeking vs passive. However, sometimes problems are so great that there is no clear way forward. I had a bunch of those that had no apparent solutions.
So what to do? With some, I put them aside. Some, I keep them in mind into the wish catagory. From time to time, I play with them. A few, I put them into the just-try category.
Actually this has been ongoing for the past few years as I have challenged myself to exceed beyond my own fense I put up in terms of goals.
I like to set goals where I could reach. In a marathon, we were taught/advised to set A, B, and C goals. A is like super challenging, like for me it run a 4:20 marathon time. B goal is a bit easier, usually 4:30 time, and C goal is to beat the 5:00 pacer. I usually 99% would set only C goals. I love C goals a lot. B goals are very hard for me, I usually reach it once a year. A goals are like century goal, like once in 10 years. I don’t like A goal that much nor even B goal, because I always end up feeling disappointed. What I did not mention is always want to run a sub-3 marathon, but realistically, reaching below 4:20 is my current ability.
Anyway, each year when I set goals in January, I tend to lower my expectations a bit each year and pick goals I likely could do. So I made a resolution a few years ago to pick one or two goals that I have only 50% in finishing, meaning 50% of failure. I actually was more conservative in choosing goals that is like 20-30% outside my comfort zone instead of 50%.
One of those goals was running the Massanutten Mountain and Rim to River 100. Rim to River, by chance or some amazing favor from above, I finished, but Massanutten, it took me two tries! At least, I could write about it now, however, the first time I did not finish, I was crushed! I am writing this to remind me, it is okay when I don’t reach my goal. I can try again. At least, it was only two tries. I know a friend or two who had multiple tries at some races (Devil Dog 6 times before finally succeeded, Vermont 12 times, and Massanutten, 4 times, and still trying).
Anyway, back to the point, one of most uplifting things happened to me, is I actually got lucky in 2023, in getting into Western States 100. This is like S++ goal, way beyond A rank goals.
Why this weird ranking system? no idea. I got them from anime. S, A, B, C,…, S is always the highest.
Getting into Western States changed everything for 2024! A big change. A life change. I did not actively seek to get into WS before this. In fact, Western States was never on my list a race to run. I know it was an impossibility. But now I got in, it changes everything.
I would have to train for it. Initially, I decided not to do it, bit then why not give a try. At least I can then say I try. Now it is to train hard at every waking hour. I would have to start “envision” and believing in myself of being able to finish this race. It is very hard. Everything I read indicate as such. It will be the hardest run I will ever attempt. But isn’t life full of these stuffs? It definitely pushes me outside my comfort zone.
After so many words, my resolutions for 2024
2024.001 to train well for western states (WSER)
2024.002 eating healthy/clean food and sleeping well
2024.003 work on running faster
I know they are a bit vague compares to years past
I need to work on better planning. This year, especially the second half, I felt I was suck inside a whirlwind. It was so busy, I hardly have time to think or plan.
Annapurna trip and mexico trip were put on back burner even though it was on my resolution last year. I sat down once to do some planning but didn’t follow up.
Now, my 50 states goal also needs a sit-down session to plan out them better. I felt like 2024 would put a brake on my 50 states for the time being. No more trying to visit 5 more states. I am on state 15. Five more states would push me to 20. I want to reach halfway soon.
–Resolve to look at the big picture. Because last year was so busy, I hardly have time to step back to look at what am I trying to accomplish. I might have lost sight of the end goal by focusing on the details. I need to ask what am I trying to accomplish again
–Facing fears. I like to avoid pain/etc like any ordinary being. Yet, I should not avoid the hard stuff. This is probably my number 1 goal (resolution 23.001). This was also a key phrase of 2023.
A few years ago, I set the vision of willing to live in a different country when I retire. It means to pick up on new languages now (asian, like thai, or tagalog, chinese, korean and japanese). I need to make an effort in that direction of not talking the talk but also walking the walk. Also, got to ask myself, how comfortable am I in living in a totally strange culture. I haven’t done any of these stuffs in 2023 except watching a bunch of videos.
Also, I wrote about being financial independent. This always brings a lot of fears. As long as I have a job, money is not a problem. I expect I could reach “singularity” (point of self sustaining/target) when I retire in 25 ish years. I wrote about being have two other streams of incomes. One is passive incomes such as streaming (making videos) or doing some craft work or even blogging, income from my hobbies. I need to learn to monetize my hobbies. Second is investment. I had not make progress in these two areas in 2023. If I am serious about FI/RE goal (financial idependent/Retiring Early) then I must push myself to spend more time on familarize myself with all the investment stuff. The idea is I need money now so I could do the things I want to do while I still have the energy to do them. FI is very important and urgent goal. There is no point in running marathons when I am 65 because I no longer could run as fast as I am today! That is the tradeoff: time vs opportunity and money. Money I could get any time but time/opportunity only comes around once. Yet, I am fearful of giving up my comfortable living. They say don’t shake the boat. (2022-2023, I didn’t do much on this front except getting started with Roth, which I think was a huge step).
There was probably a reason I did not start last year with resolution 2023.001 last year because I might have a secret agenda. However, since I didn’t write it down, I don’t remember what it was! However, I think this goal was reached! I had one of most fulfilling year (2023) in recent history not just in running but in everything. I know, I am hinting again.
Lastly, I might have written about this. I like to do this from time to time to ask myself can I think of the most creative way in completing on one of my goals. This is to look at things outside the box. I need to do this more often especially for my hardest goal, and for 2024. I need to ask myself how can I do things differently in an unexpected way! Say how can I run across the US without quitting my job? Have a double! kidding. A more realistic approach is to have sponsorship. But ideas like these are a goldmine to get thinking started how if any a better way of reaching my goals. Conventional ways are okay too, but sometimes it pays to be a bit unconventional. If a goal is so important, it does not matter the means as long as the goal is accomplished.
conclusion/outake. I need to have a clearer vision for 2024. Not so much to have a checkbox so by next year I can say I did it. I need a way to continually pushing myself forward and improve to be a better person.
I know I am tilting a bit (not doing as well as I wanted).
Don’t ask me why. Maybe I lost interest. Maybe getting up in the morning is hard. I had a hard week at work. Because I had to cover for a coworker. It was almost hell and because I don’t have much time. Balls being dropped on my watch, not fun to be in the hot seat, but the week is finally over. TGIF.
Yes I know I need to push through everything and all distractions to get my trainings done. This week is really where the rubber meets the road. Things got tough and unfortunately I could not respond well to the challenges.
They say if you want to form a habit, 21 days is usually when things break. I hope to get past it and reach 40 days. This is the magic week. There is also a magic of carrying past 40 days (2x 21 days). It is number that stands for hardship. Once past that, then of course, if I could reach 90 days, that normally will be where we see result. All exercise plans boast of changes in as little as 90 days, like weight lost or sliming down the tummy. My training carries to 2x 90 days (25 weeks). I don’t expect just physical changes, but by the end of 180 days to see unleashing of performance I always dream about, which is the end goal. However, at the present, I am suffering.
Monday – I was way too tired from Naked Nick, so no training
Tuesday – I could have done my training today but I skipped it to let some wear and tear healed
Tuesday Night – things got heavy at work and I could not make it to my evening training run. Emotionally I was drained.
Wednesday – Morning training was rough, beingbthe first training of the week. It was also very cold. It took me an hour and half to push myself out the door by 5:45. I had a good 1:15 run. 4-5 miles. It was a very good run on tired legs
Thursday – Work really went downhill. I had my hardest day of the week. But training was also my strongest. I had a strong morning run and I was happy
Thursday night. Had to work late so I didn’t finish until late at night. 12+ day. Meaning no night training, I normally do.
Friday. very demotivating due to work. I skipped my run both the day and night. My legs should be fresh and strong.
Weekend. Where magic happened. Probably was the hardest training I did in the past three weeks. I went out to what is known as the Roller Coaster of the AT (Appalachian Trail), at mile 1000 from Springer Mnt, Ga. Luckily it is like a 40 minute drive for me from my house. The section is 13.5 miles with 3500 ft of elevation change. I should be have it done in short amount of time. On paper, it seems like any other races I did. I did an out and back so, plus added a mile to the parking lot, so it was about 29 miles, 7000 ft. But this took me 13 hours! I was broken mentally and physically by the end.
Granted I stopped for a bit for filtering my water. So maybe 12 hours of moving time. The last 10 miles, my legs were dead. I each step required conscious effort and I almost thought I could not make it back out. I kept telling myself I am an ultra marathon runner, I should be able to do a 10 mile. I was at a breaking point. Night fell. Wind got rough. Alone.
Maybe because of it was cold. Winter training is dangerous because of wide change in temperatures. Day time was fine around 45-50 F but night time, I think the temperature was more around 35-40, but might have gotten colder on the ridge and with the wind chill. I could see my breath. Every time I hit a ridge I was freezing and every time I dropped back down in a valley I was sweating. The temperature change might be as wide as 10-15 degrees.
I think it was also hard because I tried not to drink so as not to stop to filter on water. In my mind, I had thought it ahould be half a day. I tried to last on 2 L of water for the nearly 30 miles of trail. Also I did not pack much strong food but only some candy bars, a gel, and a small rice pack. They were not enough. By noon, my energy was drained.
I really thought the run was going take half a day. I struggled with calorie defficiency like at the end of a 100 mile race. This was the hardest 50K run (28-29 miles) ever especially during the second half.
It was plodding one step at a time. Last six miles were unbelievably hard. I know I run ultras, and could last on longer distances, but it was no joke when I was thinking, I might not make it out with only 4 miles to go. I might have to consider a second option to save myself like finding shelter, and to survive the night. Or I might die here.
Note on the way in, it only took 4 hours. I guess I slowed down quite a lot on the way back, 9 hours? That was crazy but kind of expected when I slowed down by that much.
Outake. I got to do it again. I think it was a great training run to test the exhaustion state where normally I don’t get to train on that except in a real 100 race (reaching lactic threshold and pushing beyond). I might in the future to run it again by dropping supplies at the southern terminal before the run, so I could refuel and on the way back with full strength. Testing failure mode is great, but I should not do it too often. It is too dangerous especially in the winter. It also ruin the next few days of training.
This week really brought out areas I needed some work. What happen if I don’t have time and when “real life” collides in? Failure point/breaking point testing. pen test.
I also realized I am not as strong as last year. A few races I did at the end of this year that were exactly the same as last year, but I got slower times. This was telling.
We always believe we can change and improve with training. Reality, is what if I am at my peak or near there. Any training would not bring me any closer or maybe only a little bit. A fallacy I got to watch out is that I can improve dramatically with more trainings. There is a possibility, by race day, I am just the same as today. I got to let that sink in. It might be the worse case scenario, and it might be quite realistic scenerio. I got to ask myself, how much have I improved these 7 years! Anyway, it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t train. I will train but also should know its limitation and my own limitations.
A good training ground, only 40 mins away from my house. Underrated and overlooked. I struggled on this course (Roller Coaster). This is actually easy because you could step on rocks and hop from one to another. The hard part is stay on trail especially at night when I was tired
In awe 