In awe

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  • Day506 Race Schedule

    End of October and the start of the month of November is usually for me the time to consider and plan on what races to run for next year. See last year schedule 2021 (I have been doing so for the last few years).

    2022, I have been affected by mission creep, i.e, adding more and more races outside of my scope, but that is okay. It is part of the fun to explore all dimension of running.

    Initially, started way back when, I only wanted to run marathons and to do it all in 50 states. I figured, if I run one race a year, I will finish all the states before I die. Say 30 y.o. plus 50 years, I will finish around 80-ish.

    Based on this metric I am on schedule, because I already have 10-11 states done.

    But the last few years since the start of the pandemic, I have been branching off into trail races and doing longer runs — also known as ultra-marathons. It has been quite fun and I don’t want to give it up. I think doing ultras is what I like now.

    Also, I kind of get bored with the idea of only running marathons because it became too easy for me. Only thing that is stopping me from doing them all in one shot is money. I can only affort one or two out-of-state races a year, unless I get creative (many do, such as sleeping in a car, or sharing a hotel room with someone).

    What is my budget? I spent about $7000 on running. Note, this goes toward everything related to my hobby (shoes, gas, travel, registration, and for all races local as well as far away), so I am not saying that a single race is costing $3500. Of course, if I am disciplined, I could get more races out of my money by only running marathons for my 50 states goal.

    Also, off topic, I spent about that much ($7000) on my other hobby this year on twitch tv, so I know, if I am a bit disciplined in my spending for other things, I could make more trips for my marathons. Good news is, I am likely to cut back on twitch (maybe a post for another time). In theory, I could easily squeeze out about 10 races (states) a year, assuming budgeting $1000 per trip ($700 flight, $300 for car rental/hotel). These are rough figures. Again I could get creative by camping out or sleeping in the car and might even double the number of races to do in a year.

    Because my interest has widen, there are so many races I want to run. Hopefully this post provide some order to my mess.

    My goal for each year is to “improve” myself. Mostly this means, I want to do something I have not done before. I think of going to another country — for 2023, it will be my international debut!

    My A-race will be Toronto Marathon. (May). I’m scared. I need to step up, sign up and run this. Registration is open, I need to commit. (I registered.)

    Second race, Blackbeard 100 (OBX) is something I will continue to challenge myself. (March). I committed to this. Signed up already last April.

    Third, I have my eyes on GSER, in Atlanta. I attempted it in 2020. Maybe this is the year I will do it. Registration has not opened. I need to commit to this as well. There is a long story why I want this race. I will leave it for another post. The short version is, Atlanta was my first attempt at 100 mile distance back in 2020. I had fond memory of this and wanted to complete this.

    On the 50 States marathon front, I am thinking to get Texas. I have not decided on which races. I signed up for Cowtown, but that is a 50k. Hopefully, races at beginning the year work better for me. If the schedule doesn’t work out, then I will do San Antonio in December. Again, I need to commit. Registrations for Dallas, Austin and Houston are open. Commitment seems to be a common theme for me. O am reluctance because I don’t want to break the bank.

    Georgia, (Nov), there is this race in Chattanooga, but it conflicts with another race I run every year (Stone Mill). I have not decided if I am will to sacrifice one of my races to take Georgia. Eventually, I would have to. I like running Stone Mill a lot. The Atlanta marathon in April conflicts with another of my race. It is hard getting Georgia down for next year. In short, if I want Georgia, I must be willing to let go one of my other races.

    North Carolina, is also up in the air. This race was not held in 2022, so I don’t know if it will be held in 2023. Grandfather’s Marathon in July. But if I get to do this one, I will be happy because it completes the Grandparent theme (I ran the Grandma’s this year.)

    Tulsa, Route 66 Marathon. This race was on my schedule last year, but I backed put due to budget. In fact, it has been bumped around from year to year. This one is money issue. I am unwilling to spend $700 for the airfare. If I save up, I can have this race done in 2023. At some point I will need to bite the bullet.

    If I am ambitious, I can do Portland Maine Marathon. I kind of want it, but I am not committed to it yet. May/October. I generally prefer May over October. I have too many October races. This race also has been kicked around from year to year.

    As for the Hundred Mile Races — Being ambitious, there are a couple 100 races. Pinhoti, some said it is hard, some said it is not. I am not sure if I am ready fro another 100. There is also the Creeper Trail 100 (Yeti), easy. Lastly, there is the Cloud Spitter, some said this is as hard as the MMT. Not sure if I am bold enough to step up to this. Any of these races, would be enough for me for 2023. I am currently fearful to commit to any. Help!

    Note this is only a plan. Things are subject to change. My biggest struggle is commitment, then money, third training and lastly continued desire to get myself over to the finish line. I have been good at keeping up my passion. I wish I can handle the financial aspect well so I don’t have to worry as much and then could make the commitment ahead of time.

    Here is the full schedule as of now. Of course, the most up to date one is here.

    ===== 2023 schedule =====

    Marathon Goals: TX, NC, OK, GA, ME

    (Jan 1) (likely) New Year Red Eye Run (prince william forest/WTF50) fatass run. Semi private run (club activity).

    (Jan 15) (thinking about it, but not likely) Houston Marathon

    (Feb 17) (thinking, but not likely) Austin Marathon. TX

    (Feb 24-26) (reg’d) Cowtown Marathon (50k) Ft Worth

    (Feb 26-27) (conflict w Cowtown) Atlanta Publix Marathon. hmm. I think they changed the course (reg open $100)

    -(Mar 25) (reg’d) Blackbeard Revenge 100 OBX. purchased shuttle return ticket to the start

    (Mar 25) (conflict) Georgia Death March (possibly support

    (Apr 22) (reg’d) 2023 Blue Ridge Marathon, double marathon. Too close to MmT

    (Apr 22) (conflict) One Day Hike on C & O. 100k

    (Apr 29) (possibly, volunteering or run) C&O 100, or running it! Q: Can I do two 100s?

    -(April 22) (confict) Promise Land 50k, Bedford, VA. Last weekend in April. Very interested!

    (May 1) (considering, but scare, conflict) GSER 100K, in-person. Atlanta, 2023?

    (May 7) (reg’d: but see GSER) Toronto Marathon! Intl Debut? May is better on scheduling than Oct.

    (May 20) Massanutten 2nd attempt? Q: Can I do 3 100s back to back? Is it even a question?

    (Jun 20) (considering) Highlands Sky 40. Lanesville (dolly sods, WV). Fall back option. reg opens in Feb.

    (Jul ?, 2nd week) (considering) Grandfather’s Marathon

    (Oct 4) (considering) Maine Marathon, Portland is likely the play. There’s also Acadia one, but it is a bit far.

    (Oct 15-ish, 2nd weekend) (considering) Tahoe Marathon 70M. around Lake Tahoe. highly desiring

    (Oct 25) (reg’d/but need confirm, deferred from 2020 & 2021) MCM 50K, again! 6 hr course limit. Need to re-reg in April.

    (Nov 5~) (considering, but scared) Alabama Pinhoti 100. something worth considering or, am I dead focus on Massanutten?

    (Nov 13) (considering; likely) Stone Mill 50. would want to run this again?

    (Nov 13?) (considering but conflict) Chickamauga Battlefield GA, Marathon. desiring.

    (Nov 21-22) (considering) Route 66 (Tulsa City) Marathon – Oklahoma (fall), might defer. maybe this is the year.

    (Dec 3-4) (not likely) San Antonio Marathon.

    (Dec 4) Rocky Phily Fatass Run 50k.

  • Day505 Stone Mill TR2

    Stone Mill 2nd Training Run. For those who like to compare what it was like last year, I was able to find the last year entry (SM TR21, day445).

    I have nothing much to write about since I am grounded. No, I mean I have no where to go and it felt like being grounded. It was fun last couple months when I traveled everywhere to run. Now, I am back in my local area every single weekend.

    Training runs are as exciting as they get. I don’t actually need to train for Stone Mill. It is a race I’ve already done twice and I am familiar with it but it wouldn’t hurt to go for the training runs. It also gives me something to write about.

    Note, I just reread last year entry, and even with this close to the race day last year, the surprising thing was I at the time did not intend to run in the Stone Mill for a second time. I guess I must have sign up later after the training run.

    It has been my policy not to rerun a race. Apparantly that was no longer apply to this year plan. I knew very early on I was going to do Stone Mill the third time (and as well as the Devil Dog, and Iron Mountain).

    Last year, around this time in the season I was burnt out from running. I start to have that feeling again. I started to think do I really want to do this. I don’t remember how I got over it. Maybe it was a new season that got me out of my mood.

    I still run a lot. In fact, I just signed up a bunch of races. Nothing too earth shattering. I added the Bobcat Trail 11 Mile Run. A short one but I think it is technical – the stuff I like. It is from the famous director of the MMT and the Cat 50. I had ton of fun and heartache from his past races.

    I also added a 5K, this weekend, nothing to write about except that I can still run fast! This is probably my 2nd 5K this year. I almost thought I couldn’t be able to run it under 30 mins. I did it in like 25 minutes! I would like to have 24 or less, but I will take 25 mins any day.

    I added a marathon (NCR) for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. At first, I was going to do the VDM (Vicky’s Death March, a self run), but then I am probably too lazy to get myself to do it, so NCR it will be. I have done the NCR before. Usually, I don’t rerun a race unless it is very special. NCR doesn’t meet that standard. oh well. It is something to do on an empty weekend.

    Note, in last year entry, the focus was on the race following the training run, but this year, I didn’t want to talk about the race. Not that it was anything bad, but I felt my experience was so more exciting at the training run.

    Now about my training run, we met on an early Saturday morning. The meeting time was 7:30 but I wanted to be the first guy arriving, so around 5-ish I was up already. In fact, I did not sleep much after 2 AM.

    The run was 18 miles on easy rolling hills. This will be my third time running Stone Mill, so nothing in race really challenges me. I am aiming to get a faster time (maybe under 12 hours). The race will be in about 3 weeks.

    Was the training run necessary for me? No, but I like having a refresher of the course. It also motivates me to run, otherwise, I would be lazy and stay home.

    I wanted more miles so I added 10-12 miles. I did not know how many miles to add to it, but in my mind, I wanted to run until I bonked — that is couldn’t run any more. Later, while on the course, I settled to go around Lake Clopper which was about couple miles away and would take four miles to run around. This gave about 12 miles. Of course, I got lost a few times trying to find the trail and that added couple more miles. I finished with 32.5 miles for the day.

    One thing I like about the run was we had beautiful fall weather. I took a few photos.

    A deer blocking my way. I had to wait till it moved out the way

    There was one new thing I learned. The trail was blazed (color painted on trees to give direction) with a blue bar. Occasionally, the blazes changed to a slash. In previous years, I had no idea why they did that. On this run, it occured to me the slash indicates the trail is turning. Forward slash (slash to right) means the trail is shifting to the right. And the backward slash, (slashing to the left) means the trail is curving to the left. I just thought that was interesting. I have been hiking for 5-6 years, and only now I got it. Actually, I haven’t seen this convention being used on any other trails.

    I also noticed on bike trails, the trail blazes and markers are painted near the ground (because) bikers keep their eyes glue to the ground, instead of higher up at eye level. I did not take a picture of this, but I thought it was interesting.

    I have two more training runs in the next two weeks. Another neat thing was I got to see how the Lake change from week to week. I didn’t take photos the first week, but trust me, the leaves were still green the first week, and last week, the leaves were turning. I wonder what the leaves going to be next week. By race day, I bet there won’t be any leaves left.

  • Day504 Oil Change – A slice of life

    Disclaimer: This post might might give you a foul mood. I was debating whether to post it or not, since it is off topic or one I don’t enjoy writing because I come across as fussy and complaining.

    Several things happened that kind of put me off balance (this happened a few weeks ago). I am going tell one of them. I already forgot what other things were since I did not write them down. I do remember this. I hope I can keep my thoughts organized for me to retell.

    I took my car in for an oil change. I just finished paying off my car loan this summer and was planning to do my own oil change from now on to save some money.

    I have been using professional service center for oil changes. I know it costs a lot more but I would have a peace of mind that my car was taken care of and had best resell value for the bank if possible. I am joking right? No. I just love my car and the previous owner also treated it special.

    It so happened I have been out every weekend (to run) and did not get a chance to do the oil change myself. I decided then just go to an oil change place I have been going all these years and have them do it for me. The mileage has passed 8000 miles and was reaching 9000 and I was afraid I would burn the engine if I didn’t replace the oil soon. The reminder sticker recommended every 5000 miles. I was panicking that I was ruining the car.

    I received a big bill as usual because I always requested to have everything recommended done. The techician then brought over the dipstick to show me they did a good job except, she also commented the oil on the stick was somewhat of a dark color and not the light clear caramel color as it should be and recommended me to ask for an engine flush at the next oil change for $100. This was kind of a fairwell to me as if I would accept it.

    However, I wanted to ask if they did really change my oil but held my tongue because I was worried that my car actually needed an engine flush and I wanted to have one done right away.

    Looking back, this might be their way to hook me in spending more money or guilt tripping me that I did not bring it in at the 5000 mile mark. Why was I not told about the engine flush earlier when I came in and I wanted a flush to be done right now. I was willing to pay whatever price to have my car declared good. However, I felt my sale person wanted me out of the shop. It was a tense moment.

    I never heard of an engine flush before (I had, but at that time I did not remember). The gears in my mind started to spin. I am npt an engineer but I have an inclination toward how things work. You can’t pull things on me. If I don’t I will study until I feel I think I am an expert. I’m one of the those armchair generals. If there is something wrong, I would get to the bottom of it. Google is my friend.

    to me a flush is when you empty and refill it. Maybe doing two oil changes in a row, fill and drain and repeat. Simple physic would clean out anything. If you try to sell something to me, you have to talk physic and engine.

    Trying to avoid getting to an argument, I decided to leave. I was concerned about the car and I was about to drive to a nearby auto part store to pick up some motor oil and redo the oil change myself because I got an impression they did not change my oil at all and I did not trust this person who might be pulling my legs with an engine flush thing.

    I did not want the same crew to do a second oil change for me. They sensed I was a bit upset. Surely I was. I was triggered and about to lose it.

    After some googling, I found out an engine flush is what oil change places try to upsell. For $100, they will pour some additives into the engine that cost about maybe $20-30 if I do it myself. It will clean out the gunks in the engine and then flush them out during the oil change.

    No car manufactures would recommend this type of service. It also mentioned the same in my car manual of not to add any addictives to the engine. The reason being, it might get the dirty stuff to lodge deeper into the engine and damage it. Also the additives might eat away the engine rubber seals and gaskets and cause an engine leak, which is many times worse than the original problem. My car is out of warranty, but I would not risk it.

    Many attested that doing this on an old engine would result in a leak soon. The bottom line is, I do not want it. The consensus is to only do it if I brought a secondhand car and was doubtful if the previous owner has been upkeeping it. My previous owner took care of the car well (I know the owner) and so have I been good to my car.

    Then I was wondering back, did they really change my oil? Often times I went to this service station, they would do a bunch of free check ups, like lights, brake, fluids, tire pressure etc. This time I clearly saw the technician clicking on the computer screen as done without doing the actual checks. I did not say anything at the time, thinking they will get back to it later to do them.

    I know because when they do the check, they would actually call out what is being done. Left signal light, right signal right, pressure good, brake good etc. They would ask you to step on the brake or turn on the light. It is interactive with the driver as well as with their other staff. I know it is part of the show to make you feel like being a race car driver at a pit stop. They do this each time except this time.

    The one who was helping me, was talking to me all the time at the computer terminal. The other staff was servicing the car next to me. No other staff was nearby. There were no calling out from the pit crew beneath us, though she was talking to them on something unrelated the whole time. The below deck crew was doing something (rear diff for my car, will get to that later).

    At first I was puzzling. Note, I came maybe an hour before closing, so they seemed to be slacking and wanted to close the shop soon. I didn’t want to attack their character, you know always give them the benefit of the doubt.

    And I wanted two other services done beside the oil change. Maybe that was too much for them. This is also a lesson to self, do one thing and one thing only. This way I can be sure they have done it. If I asked too many things, I would get them confused or forget to do some of them but will charge me all the same.

    I wanted the rear differential fluid replaced and the transfer case fluid replaced. The representative checked the computer log and told me they would do the rear differential but I don’t need to change the transfer case fluid. This irritated me, because I know what my car needs but who am I to argue with a mechanic.

    This is also a lesson to their representative, to listen to their customer. Instead, the representative kind of treated me as if I did not know better and that their computer is correct. I bet next time I go there, the reminder for transfer fluid would come up. They did not ask me if I still wanted the transfer case fluid replace. I felt a bit miffed already.

    This somehow brought to mind of a previous visit. I told them I don’t trust their computer recommendations because I found it to be wrong in a previous visit.

    I started telling them how their computer recommended for me to replace the front differential fluid in my car one time when my car doesn’t have a front differential, but I didn’t know at the time and I went ahead and let them to replace it. They did amazingly!

    It had a note in their system to call the manufacturer for the right oil type. However, they could not find the answer of what oil to put in, whether it was VTM-4 or VTM-5. The mechanic from below believed it should be VTM-4, but the counter staff was not sure. Later on they decided to go with VTM-4.

    Just because their computer said I needed a front differential they would give me one even if they couldn’t locate it in my car or the oil type for it. Looking back, it was so crazy. Just because the computer says it is there, they really thought it was there.

    At the time, I told them I trust them whatever they put in is right because they are supposed to be the professionals.

    Later, I googled on my own which oil should be used for my front differential. People in an online forum were saying my car model though has a front differential but it is part of (or inside) the transmission and does not need a separate fluid change!! If a change is needed, they would need to disassamble it and should use the same type as my transmission fluid not any VTM stuff.

    I was about to explode when I read that. So then what oil did they replaced it with for my baby? If they poured rear differential fluid into my transmission (or any where near the front differential, I would cry. I would need to do a transmission flush and the whole nine yards or else my transmission would be damaged and need an expensive replacement job. I couldn’t believe they pull a wool over my eyes. That time I just brought the car for a lot of money.

    In the end their corporate reached out to me after I express my big concern on an “anonymous user/performance survey” they sent me a few days later to see if I was happy with their service and they got to hear an earful that I was not happy. The corporate got the store manager to call me immediately on my phone. It was nice to know the survey was not as “annonymous” as I thought.

    I was surprised how fast they acted. They said they got it on video of the whole transaction and assured me they did not pour VTM fluid into my transmission. If I wanted to come into the store to see the video myself, I could. The video showed they replaced the rear differential fluid and not the front differential fluid, which was a relief to me though billing me for the front differential fluid service.

    I caught them redhanded. Note, they didn’t apologize for their blatant mix up or how they would correct this. This was not an unintentional mixed up! They confirmed they did not pour VTM fluid or any other fluid into my transmission. They offered me a free oil change on my next visit. Note, I did not ask them to refund me the difference in price between the front and rear differential. They probably would say they both costed the same amount.

    At the time I was more than mad. They lied to me about the service they did and did not do the service they were supposed to do or billed me for. It was a multitude mixups on their part — and outright fraud because it was not jist one staff in on it but whole crew. It was blatantly lying to customers (not tiny white lies). They could have gotten out when they couldn’t figure out which fluid to use and any one of their staff could have said my car doesn’t have that part. It was unbelievable.

    I was ranting at the store again this time about their computer being wrong. I tried to not blame the staff. I know they tried to do their best and I came in and found fault with their system. The point I tried to make is I don’t trust their conputer system (or their sale associates). They should listen to their customers for once.

    Real engineer is knowing the real parts on the actual car and not some phoney computer. Seriously, their staff needed training too both on the mechanic aspect as well as customer relationship.

    Of course, they gave me a free oil change amd all were forgiven and they fixed their computer so it no longer prompted their service staff to offer me to do fluid replacement for the particular part my car doesn’t have.

    While telling this story to lady, I was not sure of they actually get to my oil change. The sale person was inexperience. To the person I was just an angry boomer. She was a female (though I never doubt a female couldn’t do car work — my mom knows how to do an oil change). However, in telling this story, I got on their bad side.

    The technician made a great deal this time of calling in to my car manufacture to be certain what type of differential fluid to replace with. I think she totally missed my point. In her mind, I was the customer who gave a bad review on a previous visit of blaming them of using the wrong fluid. So this time, the attention was totally on the rear differential fluid. The oil change and the transfer case I asked for was completely forgotten.

    They were trying to appease me and patronizing me except they missed a bigger picture — that is, they need to take care of my car.

    As I was wondering whether I should do my own oil change just to feel at ease with myself in case they did not replace my oil, I google searched what color the oil my dipstick should be after an oil change. I went and did a pull on the dipstick check myself the next day and found the color looked perfect to me. The color of the oil in my car looked fresh. What was all this talk about having an engine flush! I felt being lied to a second time whether intentionally or not, I don’t know. Or truly it was the technician first day on the job and never looked at a dipstick before. Why even commented that the oil looking a bit dark is puzzling!

    Additional info I later found, that I have been using full synthetic oil for the past five years on this car, which could last for 15,000 miles between each oil change. I did not know this at the time and thought it was way over due for an oil change and was played into their fear. However, I usually take it in at halfway by around 8000 miles. Of course, the service station recommended at an even shorter interval of 5000 miles or less. I normally wait until my car prompt me (my car has a timer for oil change). People’s car only have dark color oil if they drove it for too long way past due without having an oil change, but I have been taking mine in regularly for oil changes always on schedule. There is no need for an engine flush.

    I was relieved that even if they did not do an oil change, my previous oil can still last for another 7000 miles.

    Second, full synthetic oil has additives that are almost the same as those an engine flush stuff. Exactly why are they recommending me to do an engine flush when I am already using full synthetic oil? Unless they did not put full synthetic oil in there? They should know this at least and not try to sell me engine flush.

    If they speak engineering stuff with me, I would accept it. Exactly, because of the drama, I plan to do my own oil change next time.

    Should you take a car to those lube places? If you can’t do your own fluid replacement, then definitely. However, if you know how to service your own car, then it depends if you can trust your mechanic. In my situation, though I go to the same shop, but different persons service my car each time and I never get to meet the pit crew (those below the deck who actually do the work). It was so happened this time I was there, the shop manager was not on duty (because it was Sunday). Many of the usual things they do were skipped and the quality of my visit was not good.

    PS. Sorry if this comes across rant-ty. Sometimes, things just get me frustrated and I need to let off some steam.

  • Day503 Run – Stone Mill TR1, plus weekend

    Columbus Weekend with lot more running

    This brings an end of my 5 week streak since Labor Day where every weekend I ran a big race.

    Post marathon blue kind of set in this week. I kept it from me since the Iron Mountain 50 mile, after Labor Day. Maybe I did not have time to be sad, when I had the Lake Ridge 12 hour run to do. After that was Pemberton 24 hour 5k, and right after that was Ann Arbor Marathon. Rock n the Knob was somewhere in there. It was just one big event after another. I woke up each weekend and asked what is next. Finally, this week is calming down a bit.

    This weekend I had just the Army 10 miler. What could I be stressed out about? Nothing much except for the logistics of getting myself to the race and running on tired legs. I still treated it as a simi big race because I haven’t done a 10 miler for a long time.

    What was so crazy right, was I did a long run the day before. I was wondering if I could still run fast the next day. The 26 miles was to stay in shape for my longer race later in the year. The 10 mile though did drain everything from me.

    I don’t know what I like better, the Saturday training run or the Sunday race. I guess I like them both together.

    I have been trying to up my mileage to 50 miles on the weekend trying to get ready for a 100 miler race in December. This weekend, I started the Stone Mill training series. Don’t worry about all the names I am throwing around. I am using races too as my training runs. Readers will hear a lot about races like Stone Mill and Devil Dog here as the season intensifies.

    The training was a “short” 20 mile run long and so I added an extra 6 miles at the end to make it a 26 miles just for the fun of it, and to brag I did a marathon again. My take is, my body can do a marathon every weekend.

    I was tired from it, indeed. The run started early at 7:30 and I had to be up before 6 to get ready. I think I set my alarm at 5:30 or something. It was god early hour. I did not want to get up. Normally I don’t get up this early for anything. but for a run? You bet, I didn’t want to miss the run.

    The training run was easy the first 13 miles. I ran with a friend who kept me on a nice easy pace. We were behind an older gentleman who looks like he is in his 60s or more. Not really that old when compare to my age. He was leading the pack for the first 4 miles until his pace started to lag and people started to pass him.

    My friend stayed with him. I personally wanted to pass the guy, but for the sake of my friend I stayed back too. My friend will be doing the Stone Mill 50. It will be his first, but it will be my third. I have a bunch of 50 milers under my belt. The trails are not unfarmiliar to me since I also ran the Seneca Greenway 50k there too annually, which uses almost the same course.

    I was pretty sure my friend could run faster. He finished his first 50 miler last year around 10 hours, while I’m still trying to bust my butt to make it under 12 hours. Soon the older gentleman stopped and turned back (our run was an out and back). My friend and I wanted at least another 5 miles, and we continued on. By mile 10, my friend turned around. There was another runner with us (Jackie), so my friend wasn’t alone. I didn’t want him to get lost. I wanted some more miles by myself.

    I stayed on the Seneca Greenway for 3 more miles and then ran along a road south to the Seneca Ridge Trail. I took Seneca Ridge back to Rifleford where I separated from my friend earlier. But it was a slow march back for me especially without a companion. I did not get back until after 2 pm. Hours after I was supposed to be back. The last mile crushed me. I like this kind of exhaustion training though. I like runs where I just lay everything down and had nothing left to give.

    What does my run have to do with what I am about to tell next? Nothing really. I just like flexing.

    The next day, getting up for the Army Ten Miler was hard. I had to get up even earlier so as to be out of the house by 6 am. The race did not start until 8, but knowing I would be fighting for a parking spot with 20,000+ other cars, I had to be there early. I was right. Roads were closed by 5:30. Google map estimated driving time was way off. Luckily, Google map was aware of the road closures and was able to direct me around them. The remaining open roads were congested (at least for those who used Google map and such). We had to make a few big detours.

    I headed south away from the Pentagon where to race was to be held and looked for a parking in Crystal City. Off topic, they renamed part of the area as Capital Landing for where the Amazon HQ2 is located (new to me) — also Crystal City shopping area has become a ghost town to my disappointment.

    I took a long stroll (maybe 2 miles), from my parking to the Pentagon — but we followed a wrong crowd who wanted to see the sunrise and so we all ended taking a long way to get to the Pentagon. Normally, they say it would be about a half mile walk. The walk became a good warm up.

    I got to my corral in time, maybe about 30 minutes prior to the start. We saw the paratroopers landed as we were arriving at the pentagon and we made it before the singing of the national anthem. There was the helicopter (I don’t know the model) fly-by.

    I was assigned to the fourth wave. It was not bad. I think it was right for my pace. Though during that morning, I had no idea whether I was with the right crowd or not since when I went to pick up my bib, they asked me to pick a color and I randomly picked blue. I did not know that each color corresponds to our pace. I was aiming for a 1:40:00 run, a 10 min mile pace.

    The first mile, I did it in 10:05. It was about the right pace. I was a bit behind the pace needed for the 1:40 finish but I did not let that worry me.

    Generally everyone run their fastest on the first mile. I think I did too. My left back side started to have stitches from the lack of oxygen and from the lactic acid build up. I always had them in weird places (most people have them in the front). They made me hard to breath as with each inhale my back was hurting. I continued to press the fast pace until the pain was gone. There was a guy in front holding a big the flag and I used him as my target. By mile 2, I passed him.

    Because we ran with a lot of people, there were a lot of faster people in the rear and they caught up and passed me all during the race. I passed many people in the front of me too. I don’t think I was slow.

    When each wave started, they fired off the cannon (not sure what gun, probably a howitzer). I was keeping track of the sound. We could hear the cannon blast through out the course. Those people from the back waves surged up to us.

    I was trying to find the gap between my wave and the immediate wave before us. We had a seven minute separation, so in theory, there should be a gap. I never was able to find that dead space. I think over time, the space was filled in. There were always people around me.

    I tried to look at the bib color. I started with the light blue bib crowd. The white bibs were the wave behind me. Green and red were ones ahead. The yellow (gold) bibs were for the fastest runners. There were no exclusive elite runners as with the Cherry Blossom Ten Miller. The elite runners join in with the gold bibs.

    Supposingly we were seeded into our wave based on our predicted finishing time. They want the fast people to line up in the front and the slower people in the back. During the race, all the color were mixed up. I saw many of the supposingly slower people ran fast and sped their way to the front. The front crowd supposingly the fast people were dropping back and I passed so many of them. I caught up with a lot of the green and red bibs people. This usually means someone lied about their estimated time or they were really clueless and might have used their 5K time to estimate their pace.

    How did I do? I finished around 1:29:45. I think 1:20 was my fastest 10 miler ever. Not a bad time. I was aiming for a 1:40 finish. I must have gotten a bit faster after the first mile. Indeed, after checking the 5 mile split, 10k split, and 15k split, each time I was a second or two faster. I was averaging a 9 min mile pace. My first mile was probably my slowest mile of 10:05.

    I believe I had enough breath to sustain me on my run. I was kind of sad about the race not being a half marathon, so I could run longer. No point in the race was I out of breath. Somehow though I was not able to push myself hard enough to run faster. I hit a sweet spot of a 9 min pace and hang on to it most of the race. I tried to go a bit faster but was unable to do it. Not sure if my leg muscles were not strong enough or what was holding me back.

    I ran this race when I was 18. I did not remember much about that run, only that I woke up very early ran it and we had to leave as soon as possible to get back to our college. I did not have a car back then, so when people I was carpooling left, I left too. I tried to look up my 18 y.o. time, but it was no longer available online.

    The experience this time was fuller. It also gave me a perspective that this race overlapped the same course as the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) and it is a blessing for us locals to test run our race strategy for the Marine Corps using this race. Note, MCM will be taking place on the last weekend in October, a couple weeks from now. It is a big race for us in the area. Light went up as to why some people ran this. Why did I not think of this when I was training for the MCM a few years ago? I am not running the MCM this year, but I defer it to next year, so the Ten Miler is not helping me much.

    I stayed till 12:30-ish and went for lunch at the Pentagon City Mall because Crystal City mall was kind of dead. I actually walked to Crystal City first, but did not find anything appealling before going to Pentagon City Mall. I remissed on the memories from my first run even though they were hazy and I don’t remember much.

    P.S. I met a man who ran this 24 times!

    Some pics.

    bright and early at my starting Corral

  • Day502 reflection

    TLDR – reflection on why I love running. This topic comes up from time to time, and it might not have been my first time thinking through it

    While driving my friend to the airport over the weekend, my friend asked me a question I think deserves a good answer. She was someone I haven’t talked to since the beginning of Pararoma (coded). Actually, we might have stopped communicating since I started running about 6 years ago.

    During the trip to the airport, She asked an important question of why? Why do I run or why I love running so much? Or maybe why my love of running is more than spending time with my friends and family. Why I place running above so many things? Not sure if it was just a small talk conversation to avoid the silence, but it got me thinking.

    I kind of have an answer and not really. I think probably the heart of the matter is similar to the question Jesus asked Peter, Do you love me more than these (referring to Peter’s career as a fisherman), when Jesus reaffirmed Peter’s love after the betrayal and ressurection. My mom often tells me the same thing — to help me realize I shouldn’t make running as my life goal but that the love of God is. To me more and more, running is my purpose and calling.

    The simple reason is I love it. Other reasons follow. If I don’t run, what else would I be doing?

    Before I started into running, I spent my time for other things as watching movies and Japanese anime, and doing computer stuff or collecting music. I did run back then doing a mile here or there but never spent money on the sport!

    I was a quiet person, and still am. I used to spent my weekend programming things and installing software. It was what I liked to do. It is like stripping down a car and rebuilding it back up. However, after I discovered about running, I don’t really have time for those other activities. I gave up on doing stuff on my computer. I only touch a computer because I needed to schedule my races or track my growth, nothing more.

    I also run because I need it to train for a harder race. It is circular reasoning. I run so I could run more like doing a 200 mile race, or crossing Tennessee for real or even doing a Forest Gump style crossing the country USA. I do usually run so I can keep on running. Nothing scared me more than signing up for a race…because it means months of training. Fear is a big motivator for me.

    Running, gets me to reflect on things. It is my meditation time. I would not want to give this up. For some reason, maybe running is the only time I am away from everything, my work, responsibilities, worries and concerns. Usually if possible I am away from civilization. Sometimes, I stop carrying a phone. Maybe it is only time I could slow down. I know not many have this kind of luxury.

    Running shouldn’t be the time to hit the pause button, but life is so busy. I always felt not able to catch up. Running somehow becomes my only time to stop and be isolated for a good time. I feel so much being recharged coming back from my runs.

    Meeting with my friend brought up a lot of thoughts especially what if scenarios if I had not found running. Where had my six years of life gone? My long 9 hour race the next day gave me enough time to cool down. This was just one example why I needed running. Maybe I am using running to cope with life’s complexity.

    Note, they usually are not a problem, but sometimes things in life have a way of asking why not this way or not that way. Running let me sort them out and true, to forget them too. After my run, I felt so much better.

    Yes, I could be better at using my time and energy in other things like how to be better at making more money or how to improve myself. Why running is better than a million other things? That I don’t know. We each have a very limited amount of time available. We all have to make intentional decision how we use it.

    I could just run one or two marathons each year now with minimal effort (short training cycle). However, if I want to do trail marathons (100 miles and such) I need to put in that big commitment. The bottom line is is it worth it?

    There were many things I enjoy on my run such as being outdoor, being with friends, and being able to celebrate with other accomplishments.

    Also for me, if readers haven’t realized, I like to plan things and see things fall into places. Running allows me to test my planning skills. I don’t claim to be the world best planner, but it is something I have control over. I love it. It allows me to be foolish and try so many “new” ideas out there. It is like an ocean for me to explore. Things relating to a race have to work perfectly down to the minute and hour and every mile so on. I like being an “expert” on my body to to push it to perform. I call it self hacking.

    True, my mom always say I am not an robot, there is a limit. I know. She always tell me to run just one or two marathons a year, but I would do it every weekend if I have the means. She would read me news of people who died while running a marathon, including the first Greek guy. I would say, the first guy allegedly ran over couple hundred miles from Athen to Sparta (and back) and not just 26.2 miles from the city Marathon to Athen as most believe (well there are several versions of the story). Marathon distances used to break me too, but now they are considered a short distance to me because I believe I could run more than a marathon.

    What is my limit? I think it can be stretch. I hope to reach deep. I told my mom, my true goal is to do a 200-mile. She wanted to spank me (jokingly). My mom does not want me to hurt myself. I am sure I won’t. It is very hard to “break” the body by running. There are many things that can hurt me, but running is not one of them. I’m a softie, but I believe running won’t break me.

    My conversation with my friend made me feel sad (reflective) in a good way. It was weird how fast time flies. I knew her back in 2014, 8 years ago. Things have changed now. It made me reflect on several other friends I had somehow I were very close these eight years and how they changed as well and probably one of the few that remains as friends.

    The question then, do I ever regret getting into running. I could have been a very different person if I had not found out about running. I don’t think I am regretting it. I enjoy running as it is and the new friends and culture I was led into. I might have been a weirdo, maybe I still am, but my running friends have become my community. I am less weird.

    Can I stop running one day? Probably, but why, right? One joy I have while being out on the trail over the weekend, was I am glad I don’t have family to tie me down. It was the joy of being free. I don’t need someone’s permission. I can have every weekend being out on the trail. These last 6 years have been my most free and satisfied time in my life. Family is good, and I understand it is not an either-or option. It is that I have one less thing being responsible for.

    So when asked why do I run, I just do and I enjoy it. I could tell a long history like this, or simply I love it. There were many other answers or reasons but I think I simply love running.

  • Day501 Ann Arbor Marathon

    TLDR – 10th state completed. I enjoyed my weekend stay in Ann Arbor, Michigan, brief as it was.

    I was nervous when I arrived on Friday in Detroit, Michigan. This is a cold place. Though I run well when it is nippy, I don’t like the cold. I packed a bunch of sweaters and long pants, and all my other winter running stuff seeing the temperature might reach down to the 30s.

    The cold weather ended up being not an issue. We had a great and warm day. Overcast in the morning and became sunny later on. The temperature was little cold for some, but for me it was perfect. It stayed almost constant around 60F, about 15 C. I ran in tee and shorts, though I wore a double layer tee I got from the Duluth marathon and a thick shorts, I think of wool like material. The shorts were a bit too warm later on.

    The race started at 8 AM so, to me was kind of late and it allowed me to sleep in a bit. I like starting after the sun is up. Many races usually start at the crack of dawn.

    I stayed in a motel not too far from the race location, at about three miles away. I could have run to the start. Ann Arbor is a small sweet town. It has all the city anemities without the big city’s headaches. There was plenty of time for me to get to the race. I left my hotel around 6:30 and felt kind of late, but did not have to rush.

    Ann Arbor being so close to Detroit, its marathon get over shadowed by the Detroit Free Press one that will be taking place in a couple weeks. That one is an “International” Marathon, because the course takes you into Canada and many times more people from all over will run it. It is always fun to say you run in another country.

    But today, Ann Arbor is just a “boring” two loops around the course. It seemed kind of a let down. Nevertheless it was a great marathon, and I did not regret my choice. A pacer asked me why I didn’t choose the Detroit one. I said because I did not like the cold. Plus, I was really over with the big marathons. I like the flexible low key races offer. Did you know, you could still register for the race on the morning of the race? I never heard of a recent marathon that allows you to do that! And you can pick up your package on the race day morning too! You couldn’t do such thing in any bigger marathon. Even several smaller races I did in my city, they wouldn’t allow a race day bib pick up.

    My impression is it was well run. Crowd support was tame, but they had volunteers almost at every block and I was never alone. Most of the crowd was at the start and finishing area (and at the park, mile 8-ish, and 21-22).

    They had buses to take spectators to the park (Gallup Park). Hence, there were more crowd support there a little past midway. It was also the relay exchange point.

    The course was well marked. Signs were at ever mile for the half and the full too! I noticed they replaced signs for the first loop and put up signs for the second loop (not sure how they did it)! That is attention to detail. Since the course is lap course, they really did not need signs on for the second lap (both laps should be 13.1 miles), but they did. Usually in many events, marathon is a second class citizen compares to the half marathon (nobody cares for the full once the half is done). I have been to races, where mile markers for the second half of the course were not provided (not naming which one).

    The first six miles, we followed the roads out of town. We passed through the University of Michigan. I have been through some big campuses, but this was on another level. It is a big campus. I imagined myself being on a quest in the game Final Fantasy. I already ran on the course the day before so as not be distracted by the sights on race day. I have a particular attraction toward big tall buildings and such.

    The other six miles, we were on some kind of rail to trail (I’m guessing) called the B2B (Border to Border) trail. It is paved. Nice and smooth. My first time running on a trail paved with concrete. Yes, it is same as running on the sidewalk. We were on it for maybe three miles before we reached the Arboretum. It is just a short section, maybe half a mile but there was a tough climb (I think about couple hundred feet). Later, I found out this was called the Arb Hill. Most walked up the hill. I tried to run it. On the first loop, I did it well, but on the second loop, it almost broke me. I made use of a relay team person to pace me up the hill. She was the only other person running up on the hill. Then we were back at the university and back at the start. Marathon runners were diverted to the back streets to run around the block and back out.

    The half marathon started with the full. There were many more running the Half than the full. My goal was to run fast enough so that the first place runner doesn’t lap me and that I could lap some half marathoners. I thought it might be impossible for me because I was expecting the first place to come in between 2:15-2:30. I didn’t see the first place runner passing me nor was I able to catch up to some who walked the half.

    The course was not crowded nor was the street dead empty. I have been in races where I was the only one running. Being alone doesn’t bother me, but when I do marathons, I like having some crowd around, maybe to witness me and fan my pride. I ran a 4:30-ish finishing time, so there were always people around me. Honest truth, I didn’t run slower just to be with people.

    I came to the race not sure what pace to run in or time I would get. I got a fast time back at a marathon in June. I did not feel I would be able to repeat it at this race. Any time around 5 hours would be good and was an acceptable goal for me. I lined up with the 5:00 hour pace group. Erwin, one of the pacers was pretty fun to talk to. We had done the Marine Corps the same year a while back. I didn’t know him before, but his races tied us together. By mile 2, I felt I could start pushing my pace a bit harder. I felt great and left the pace group. I was on my own. Usually this could spell disaster because I would have gone out too early and too fast and could suffer by the second half.

    The day before, I checked out the course and ran about 15 miles of it. (Not really advisable, because part of the course had no sidewalks, and required sharing the road with cars, which can be scary; this was before the race, during the race, they closed the roads, so no danger). I was a bit tired after a few miles in but not too much. In the back of my mind, I was thinking whether that “long” run I did was a smart idea, because now I started with tired legs. However, I was glad for the pre-run because I knew every turns and everything what to expect for the course. I could be more aggressively tackling the hills because I know how long they would last. Indeed, I will boast a bit, after doing trail racing, no hills in a marathon really scare me.

    By halfway, 13.1 miles, my time was around 2:18. (first place finished at 2:48).

    My feet felt a bit stiffer and heavier but miles still flew by under me. Little did I know, I was faster on the second lap than the first. My goal was to break it down by 5k, knowing recently I did 20 5k in one day, so 5k distance was fresh on my brain and easy to see in my head.

    Normally in the past, I didn’t focus much on calories. Today, I brought couple candy bars (those sticky granola bars). It was something I learned from the MMT race to be prepared for the bonking. I ate a bar for breakfast just right before the race. I did not want a heavy breakfast this time and I was too lazy to go for a real breakfast. I had another one by mile 8-ish when I was hungry. I was originally saving it for mile 13. I figured I need another bar by mile 20. Then I had a gel left for the final hill climb.

    I started hitting the wall at mile 20. So I popped my last granola bar. My strength came back and I could get to mile 23. Before mile 23, the aid station offered me gels. I took one. It kept me going to the big hill at Mile 24. By then, I lost track of the 4:30 pace team (they out ran me). According to plan, I then used my last remaining gel. Going up the hill was tough. I was able to pass some people because most were walking except the relay team people.

    There were about two more miles to go and pretty soon it was down to one mile. I love running through the school. It gave me some extra boost when I could see people around.

    I might have pushed a bit harder here. The bonking was completely out of my system. My legs felt great. No longer was I fake running. You know when you are tired, you kind of gingerly tapping you feet with each step (I called that fake running because you are in the motion of a run but you are not going anywhere fast). Real running is when you pound the pavement hard. Probably the gel kicked in by now. At this time, I knew no matter what, I would finish. Always in a race I doubted my ability to get to the end, but there is always a turning point. This was my turning point. It came kind of late, but I felt a rush of power. I reached Hill St. Basically the end is in sight, just down the road and make a right to the chute. I crossed the finish around 4:31. (The actual bib time was 4:30:01).

    Because I had a flight to catch at 4:00 pm, I did not linger long. I figured I had to absolutely leave by 2 pm in order to make it. I normally would like to wait till the race is closed before leaving. It is part of the fun. This time, I left by 1 pm (at the 5 hr mark) after my pace group came in.

    It was a small race, so I think by 5 hours, many already finished. There was no post race celebration for me. I took couple water bottles and a cookie and a banana. I was not sure if there were free beers given out like in many other marathons. I just tried to leave as quickly as possible, since I needed to return the rental car, get gas for it, and take a bus from the car rental to the airport, go through security and get to my gate. There were many unknowns that could ruin my trip home. Luckily everything worked out smoothly, I still had about an hour left before boarding when I arrive at the airport and I finally could relax. To me that was the real finish. I celebrated it at the airport and I grabbed lunch.

    Compared this to my other marathons, I enjoyed it just as much. We had great weather, and that like 75% making the race better. It was a repeated (double) loop course. I generally do not like doing a marathon of this format (because it’s boring), but the plus side was there were plenty of aid stations. My finish time was decent. I did not finish with cramping like in some of previous marathons. I think I ran at a relaxed pace, and it was alnost like a morning stroll or a training run. Weird for me to say that. My 10th state in my 50 states quest was easily completed.

    The race course and various sights

    Milesflyby also ran in the Ann Arbor (Half) Marathon. Her report is way better at describing the course. Congrats to her for a fast finish.

  • Day500 Yay! 500

    TL;DR – A regular title Review 22.12 would be enough for my highlighted events since last year (Day450). No I did not run 500 races.

    When I reread the last 50-day report of Day450, my two 100 mile races stood out. Honestly, I couldn’t top it this year. I have two 100 mile races this year too, but one of them, I already DNF’d (did not finish) it and the other I have not yet run, and it is not out of this world exciting nor do I have the confident that I will finish it! They are hard.

    In 2022, I faced with one setback after another. I don’t mean injuries, but that too. It was bad early in the year when I had to limp around and running was out of the question. I mean when I was all healed up, my performance was more than desired. I was struggling with my weight issue notwithstanding. Nothing seemed to go right. Slowly, I rebuilt my strength and speed. It was not enough for my two A-races. No, they were more S-tier races. I am not sad or mad about it. If you know, I wanted to challenge myself by stepping it up. Indeed I did.

    I have been saying that I have been doing goals that were relatively easy, achievable and 100% risk-free. There was almost no risk of failures. I started to dream up goals by adding 25% beyond what I think is reasonable and tried them. I stretched myself to goals that are a bit beyond me. This season, these two races truly tested me. For this reason, the races were tantalizing close within my grasp. I got what I asked for.

    I am happy with my progress. It is hard to show “no result” and call that good. But it is. I guess in the end it is the process that matters more. Got to remind myself that.

    Which races I am talking about? The MMT – Massanutten Mountain 100. I trained very hard for this at the beginning of the year. I was on the borderline of making it happened (like actual finishing it). In the end, I was just within 15 minutes behind the final cutoff and five mile away from getting the buckle. Again, I am not mad. I wrote many posts on it. My full report of the race can be found here.

    Second one was the Iron Mountain. I was also so close of getting this race under 12 hours. I know it can be done. I was also within the 15-20 minute window. I just need to be a bit of a stronger runner. I trained for this race over the summer. There is nothing much to say. My Report of the race can be found here.

    I am so thankful I had the chance to run both races. Awesome experience and the friends I made. Regardless their outcomes, I did what I set out to do. Just fell short that’s all. It was all part of the plan. I don’t plan to fail but it was also expected. I had fun and enjoyed doing them. I sometimes feel salty about them, but it will all pass. I got to move on. This is something I learned recently. Everything is temporary. Victories or defeats, they all pass.

    Many of my events for this year were very similar to last year. I did Rock n the Knob again for the third time (report). I did the Richmond’s Dominion Power River Rock trail fest for the third time too (no reports written for any of the years). I mentioned these because I had a lot of fun there. Also I am still pursuing my 50 states marathon goal. This is a multi year adventure. I went to Minnesota (for Grandma’s in Duluth) this summer. And I went Ann Arbor (the report not yet published). In a couple weeks, I will add another state (keeping it quiet for now, but I hope to get New Jersey, fingers crossed). Slowly but surely, I am getting my 50 states done, whether it will be in the next 5 or 10 years. I wrote about a bunch of them in my last (semi-official) quarterly report (Day490), which was a long post.

    The quarterly report of Day 490 got me back on track and gave me a new impetus for the fall season.

    meta: I was glad for doing some soul searching on Day490. As going forth, I plan to write a report around every 10-15 days or so, to be more in line with the timing. I figured I need that quarterly reminder.

    Many things have happened since. I ran the Iron Mountain as mentioned. My August month was mostly training for that race (I made several trips down to Iron Mountain). In July, I ran the Catoctin. What did I do in June? I went to Minnesota, and ran the Grandma’s.

    What else did I do? I don’t remember other than running. Spring came fast. Then summer and now fall. I traveled a lot but mostly for running. Places that were far last year, no longer seem that far. I had mostly peace in my family since my mom has recovered (it was a year since she had her stroke).

    I finished the Gvrat (The Tennessee Rat Race) for the third time, running across Tennesee virtually. Note, it is actual running but not at the actual location. The excitement was not the same as the first or second year when I did it. I only did the bare minimum to get my 640 miles in over the summer for the award (a medal). In comparison, the first year, I did over 1000 miles. The second year, I did two crossings (that is 1300 miles). I was hoping to do more this year. Surprisingly, I did less this year. 640 miles is still whole lot of miles to many people.

    I am also part of the Craw Race (running around the world, virtually). After three years, we are about to finish. Similar to the Gvrat, the fervor has gone down quite a bit since we started. My original team is intached but one. Some other teams had disbanded or became too slow to finish. We are still trucking. We have only 2000 ish miles left (a month or two away). I confess we are struggling with our miles. Half of the team are injured or recovering. Some are sick, Covid too hampered our team. Plus, I bet the general life struggles is taking a toll. There are a few old guards who trudge on–that is the ultra running spirit. We likely will finish it by the end of this year. Currently our team is near the Canadian border, and we will cross into the US and then run to the Mexico border, where we all started. Winter is coming. Last year, we were bogged down by the cold.

    The last few weeks, I have been running in one event after event. I am overjoyed with so many runs, such as LakeRidge 12 hr., Rock n the Knob, and Pemberton 24. Their reports are somewhere here: 1, 2, 3.

    I still have many more races to come before the year ends. Maybe 4-5 more. I met a 62 y.o. woman (Caroline) who got me into a race in December (Naked Nick). She is an amazing avid runner. She races ever weekend just like me. I met another lady (Tek) who runs 100 miles like I run marathons. She doesn’t get tired. I have to suck it up.

    Normally, I don’t run when it is cold. It is getting cold. Now, oh a race, sign me up. There is Stone Mill 50 in November (a yearly tradition for me so far, my 3rd time) and lastly the fearsome Devil Dog 100. I won’t talk about this now.

    What about next year? I will publish it soon before the end of the year. But most important one is, I have OBX (Black Beard’s Revenge) as my biggest race. Then I’ll try to go to Canada to have my “international debut!” at the Toronto Marathon (I haven’t decided which one, May or October; October’s TCS Waterfront is more preferred). I wish to get a couple new states in but traveling is becoming costly. I have no plan yet which state to go to, maybe Georgia or North Carolina. Personally, I still want to go to Tulsa, OK except the airfare is so expensive (and I want a direct flight).

    One important thing recently I have asked myself is why am I doing this? To others it seems I have lost my mind with so many races. The answer I came up is because I love it. I actually wrote up a blog entry but haven’t published it.

    Looking even longer down the road, maybe for 2024, I want to do some big crossings, such as the 4 deserts race – Atacama Crossing. I am also thinking of crossing TN, Tennessee for real, as in the Last annual Vol State or Heart of the South if I get in that is. I also have the Nepal trip on the backburner, which was supposed to be for 2023. Plus maybe a Sydney Trip for the Sydney Marathon. There are so many races I want to do. Any one of these is a bucket list item for me. Not likely if I get any of these done but I can certainly dream.

    This past week, a similar idea came up while I was listening to classical music on my way to work. Haydn wrote 104 of symphonies, and he definitely is a prolific muscian. That is a mind bloggling number. Why? Because he was good at it and loved doing what he was doing. I don’t see myself as Haydn, but my running is like an opus. It is my work of art. I can’t get tired of running in another race. I want more of them. Maybe 104 more.

    Sorry, I digress. 2022 is not like 2021, I reached my highs and my lows. I don’t have regrets even for races that seemed to be a failure. I accepted them. Some might say, I reached my limit. I think they are just minor setbacks, bumps along the road. They are part of the journey.

    The post is long enough, I know some is wondering what about the Ann Arbor Marathon race report I just ran the past weekend! We want to know how it went, some would say. It is coming soon ™ I promise.

  • Day499 Ann Arbor

    I am on my way to Michigan for the Ann Arbor Marathon.

    This will be my 10th state.

    I am excited. This is not one of the races that has been in planning for a long time. I only wanted to go to Ann Arbor recently maybe a couple months ago. I made it happened. Here I am.

    For Michigan, if I did not know better, I would probably pick the Detroit Free Press Marathon, because I knew a friend who did it before the Pandemic.  Not anything against that race, it’s just the timing was not right. I would certainly like to run across to Canada and back.

    Ann Arbor Marathon is nothing like that. It is a two loop kind of run in  Ann Arbor. It looks quite a small place on the map. I know I will have a lot of fun running it. I think the reason I picked this race was because it is cheap.

    Gosh I am afraid of the cold. I think this weekend the temperature will drop to 36F in the morning. Brrr.

    I have never been to Detroit before. This will be my first time. Minneapolis, where I went last time is quite big and bland. I wonder if Detroit is the same.

    I only will be here for the weekend, just a little bit over 24 hours. Friday night, whole Saturday, and leave shortly after my marathon on Sunday afternoon.

    I hope to spend some time exploring if I could. I kind of want to go to Toronto too but that is 4 hours away. We will see if I can squeeze it in my schedule.

    Why I go here? I think things just worked out. As readers know, I tried to get to Tulsa, OK, but I ended up here in Ann Arbor. I might as well cross off Michigan.

    My race won’t be until Sunday morning. I hope to keep safe until then.

    PS, this morning I woke up and read about someone doing a race last weekend in Oakland University, and I thought that was Oakland, CA. It is instead here in Detroit. Go check out the blog MilesFlyBy on WordPress. She will be running in the Ann Arbor Half Marathon this weekend.

  • Day498 Pemberton 24

    How do you run a 5K every hour for 24 hours? How do you even train for it?

    At Pemberton 24, we were given the opportunity to run a 5K every hour for 24 hours this past weekend. A 5K race starts at every hour. The rule is unless you are at the starting line at the beginning of the hour or else you couldn’t run it. You have to finish before the hour ends or it doesn’t count. It was a novelty to me.

    Running a 5K in an hour was not that hard, but how many I could do was a challenge. Exactly how should I approach this race? I tried to run it like an ultra, by starting very slow — basically walking it.

    I figured this is a good way for me to test out some ideas on preparing for the Devil Dog 100.

    First of all, I needed some practice time for night time running and second, I wanted to experience sleep deprivation. It seemed silly to beg for suffering, but my last two 100 races, night time was where I struggled.

    My strategy was, to walk as many 5Ks as I could and hopefully to do all 24 of them.

    The result was: I found early on, power walking is tough! I initially thought I could walk the whole thing and maybe at the end, run, but to me walking is actually harder than running! because it uses different muscles and I was not as fit in walking, to my surprise.

    Even early on (like by 5 loops or so), I realized I couldn’t do all 24 laps of these by walking. I started feeling soreness on my feet and others those minor muscles, exactly like if I were at the end of a 100 mile run. It was a big “oh no” moment. My goal was at least then make it to daybreak, to get 12 hours in (we started at 7 pm).

    Sleep deprivation was not as bad as I anticipated. By morning, 6 -7 am, I felt a bit of tiredness. Sleep would be nice but in theory, I think I could survive for another few hours. I did not test how much longer I could stay up.

    I decided to tap out, since there was no need for me to claim the bragging for me of doing a 24 hour run. I came to test some theory and I got my results. I got my training time in. Beside, I was not really arrived ready to do all 24 laps. Having that done would be nice, but I was not going to kill myself over it. I also have a marathon the following week, so I need a quick recovery.

    I mean I was prepared for the run but some last minute changes threw a wrench in my operation. I was working that Friday, when I should have taken the day off. I thought I could do both working and then leaving early for the race. I had things packed up and loaded up my car before the trip. However, I did not check the forecast the night before, and weather had turned colder than I was prepared for. I had long sleeves and pants but I did not bring a jacket. I did not realize it was that cold until I got to work (as I walked from the car to the building). The temperature was to drop to 45F (cold for me) that night and with the rain, it would be more than unpleasant without a thicker outer layer. I had to make a decision, to brave the cold for the night or to get the jacket, which would delay me from arriving at the race on time.

    I chose on getting the jacket. Then I just sat in the traffic for the next five hours watching the clock eating my time away. Google map always say only two and half or 3 hours to get there. It never predicts the traffic correctly for me. I made it to the event just barely. I got right in to the event without changing from my work clothes and ran 12 hours of 5k (12 laps). I just put on my bib and got into the starting coral just in time. Luckily, I had my running shoes on. They were not trail shoes, but they were sufficient.

    I knew no way would I try for another 12 hours without proper clothing and shoes, or else I would be miserable. My feet were beginning to have blisters. I felt hot in certain parts and I knew I need to take care of them.

    I had exactly the same tiredness in pretty much the same places as I had at last year Devil Dog event. My lightbulb went on, aha, I realized what costed me that race must have been the power walking that stressed my different set of muscles, since when I train to do an ultra, we I do not train on the power “walking”. Hardly ever do I take a weekend out to power walk for 12 hours. Now my feet were tired because I power walked for 12 hours straight. I felt I was about to fall over. But if I run, I should be okay.l, I think.

    I decided to take some rest and get some sleep first. I had not set up a tent yet, since I arrived late and I had not even unpacked. My personal aid station and all the things I needed were not available to me. They were there. I packed them but they were locked away in the car. At the end of the first couple loops, I tried running to the car and geting them out. Usually I only had a small window to do it. Because my car is so far away, I gave up getting all my things. I had my tent. So I set up the tent, unpacked, crawled inside and slept. Not sure if I did really sleep or not, but having my eyes closed for about an hour and half was good. Couple hours later, I got up, changed, rehydrated myself, and ready for some more laps. I fixed up my feet, etc. They were starting to go bad and I was glad I stopped just in time to fix them. Cleaned, then lubed and all. I changed shoes too. People around me joked about, wishing someone would massage their feet too. These, sleeping, unpacking, and cleaning took 3 hours off the clock. I missed the starting for the 9 AM run, so I waited for the 10 AM. I was now ready for round 2.

    some other people’s aid station, compares that to mine
    Mine. Just my pile of stuff, but I got everything I needed. I did not set up my aid station in time. Beside, my tent is too far from the starting line to make it an efficient stop for every loop. I still stopped by a few times during my 24 hour out there

    For the rest of the day, I decided to run instead of walking. True enough, my running muscles were unhampered. My legs were as fresh as they could be. I did another 8 laps easily (with one lap I sat out for lunch – I did not need to, but decided this was not a do-or-die race, and so I might just relax and enjoy the race’s local food from a food truck). I finished with a total of 20 5Ks done and that is 100k or 62 miles. Not bad for a weekend. And I did not feel as tired as if I truly ran a 62 mile race straight.

    My run was not hard, since we had an hour to do each 5K, I took my time with the running. I only ran “hard” in the last few laps and still, it was not really tiring. I put in a lot of miles but it was not stressful at all.

    There were many who completed all 24 5Ks. I did not stay around too long to celebrate with them because I was wet and cold. The race event allowed us to camp out for a second night. I did. I knew I could probably drive home, but just be safe, I decided to stay for the night. Glad I did, I had a foggy mind even by the next morning. Effects of sleep deprivation hit me much later even after a good night of sleep. I was all goggy the whole Sunday.

    I liked the camping aspect. Many came for their friends. It was a festival. We had theme run every hour. I was not into dressing up, and so kind of forgot about that part. I think it was a lot of fun if I had come with friends and dressing up.

    Take out – I might come back next year to get a true 24 hour 5k. I feel though this race gears toward the general public. There were some serious runners but many (non runners) joined us only for a few laps, which was not bad at all. I am not complaining. 4 laps is a half marathon and 7 laps a full marathon. I saw many were hook into doing 4 laps or more. Grandpas and kids and do it. It was like introducing the public to running and trail running no less. I think it was fun and well done.

  • Day497 Rock n the Knob

    Another year, another week and another race report – It was my third time running and third race this fall season! I’m not jaded by it yet. I love fall! (year1, year2)

    As if readers haven’t realized, I am hitting my races in full strides this season. This one Rock-n-the Knob is one of the hardest marathons in Pennsylvania and might be the hardest on the east coast. Couple weeks ago I was at Virginia highest peak (Mt Rogers, not literally but was in the area of Skull Gap and Grayson Highlands, while running the Iron Mountain event) and this week, I had the chance of being on Pennsylvania 2nd highest peak (Blue Knob Mnt). This stuff doesn’t mean anything to me, but they are bragging points to show how badass my races were. This time I had 7000 ft in 26.5 miles with most of the elevation at the tail end. Backloading the run. I was looking for hard races for a reason to prepare myself for my December Devil Dog 100.

    I enjoyed it for the challenge as well as the over all fun of running. I met old friends, made new ones, camped out. It was a lot of work but it was a beautiful weekend and well worth it. Thank you for all the food afterward too. Food was a bonus. My non-running friends asked me why I run so much, that’s why. I enjoy it.

    This course ran like a 50k. The first place male finisher finished it just under 5 hours. Female first place was around 6:30. My time was 8 hours. My 50k normally takes around 6-7 hours. You can say this is harder than a 50k.

    Coming in with the prior years experience, I learned to start slow, real slow. Last year I started still too fast and choked at halfway. This year was a lot easier for me to run. The climbs were still tough. I ended with sore ankles, quads, hip, and everywhere. Running hurts my shoulders too! I guess I ran while hunching over. They are the good pain mostly. Non runners were asking why!? Why put ourselves through the suffering. Somehow, they will prepare me for my next run. A lesson: no matter how hard I ran the week before, you only get a quality work out like this race, by doing hard runs. This was a hard run! A run I really need for — The Devil Dog.

    We have a field of about 50 starters, and this was fewer than last year. A Small group. This year, I was the last person (third to last) by the time I got onto the trail. Everyone had left me, unlike previous years when everyone seemed to be in my way. (I think I said the same thing last year). I couldn’t believe I was slower or people were faster.

    I ran for a long time by myself. It did not bother me. Oh, I found an iPhone, one of the newer ones (iPhone 13 or 14). A runner before me actually spotted it but she did not know what to do and was going leave it back on the trail. Someone called out to take it to the Aid Station, so I picked it up. Apparently it was dropped by one of the fast runners. He came back for it later on, like 15 minutes later. I was glad I did not have to lug the heavy phone for 6 miles to the first aid station. Not sure if he got on the podium later. He said, he would have dropped from the race if he couldn’t find it. I glad I did a good deed. I overheard him of being with the third place runner.

    By the 3rd mile, I saw the first guy I could pass (Sean). He is a big guy but he was limble as well as powerful on his feet and he out ran me on downhills and such. To me, he look like three or four times my size, yet he was pushing up and flying on down hills. I always have the image of an (American) football player doing ballerina on the trail. What a sight. I was thinking how on earth he could move and moving so well. He passed me like a freight train. However, Over time though I reeled him in. I had no doubt I could pass him.

    I caught up. He passed me back, but I waited till for another uphill and I was sure I could pass him for good. In front of him was a runner having bib 304. She was the last year last runner. She started walking on the flat portions. Soon I passed her too as my pace was still strong. I believe at this point in the race, you could walk to finish a 9-hr marathon, but you have to walk fast!

    After her were two faster ladies. We pushed our way to the first Aid Station (AS) together. At the AS, I learned from my recent ultra races to be quick! I was in and out in no time. If you can’t beat a runner on the trail beat them at the AS transition. Be faster than them going out. I was out before the two women. They were still chatting from behind but they did not catch right up. One later did catch up to me, but she seemed to overly exerted herself. If you get a good head start, they might not able to catch back up.

    Ahead of me were a couple. It seemed the guy was pacing the lady. I reeled them in slowly, gaining on them at every uphill over the next two miles. Soon I was close enough and they let me pass at one of the hills. Some asked why I did not pass them the moment I saw them?

    One of the ladies from behind caught up and kind of ask why I did not pass the couple. My reasoning was, if they provide me a good pace, (pacing) why destroy that relationship or the pace. If it is not broken don’t fix it. If you follow someone long enough you will realize whether they could provide a steady pace or not. If they could, then use them. See, if I passed them too early, they would be strong enough to overtake me again. It would be a competition of passing one another. It wastes a lot of effort. I could end up draining myself. However, if they have relatively the same pace as me, then let them lead. Then I could follow and I could go at the pace I want without doubting if I were going fast enough for people from behind.

    This couple though were able to stay on my heels till Quitter Row AS (final 10k). They were strong runners. Actually, I did not know they were behind me till we came into Quitter Row together. And that was at mile 20. They followed me for over 15 miles. Lesson: I thought I was smart in using people but people ended up using me right back!

    After passing them, I came to Brian and a 65 year old guy. They are stronger runners than those I passed. Of course. I was now with seasoned runners. So I chased them for couple of miles and was not being able to pass easily. This portion had the first big uphill “Teal is Real”. Soon we came to the 2nd AS at Pavia. Dang, both of them were super quick with the transitioning too. I thought I was good but they bested me. It seemed they didn’t need much of anything. They beated me out the station. When you are competing with a 65 y.o., they are experts at reducing every wasted second on the clock. Brian was nice to say goodbye and said he will see me in a bit. He knew I could catch up.

    It was on downhill but still took me a while to catch up to them. They were only a minute or two ahead, yet they were far enough. I was not able to pass them because they were strong runners. I learned Brian was the same guy I encountered last year at the creek (where I threw up, “I nettle do it again/Beaver Dam”) and he gave me the needed encouragement to get me back on track and to finish the race. Last year, he ended up not making the cut himself to finish the last 10k of the course. Memories from that race came in. Brian talked a lot.

    On one hand, learning that he did not make the cutoff had me a bit worried since today I was running at his pace. However the 65 year old guy said he finished around 8 hours and that boosted my confident a bit that I was with the right crowd. This was their third time too. I felt likely, we were faster than last year at that point in time.

    We arrived at Raven Rest (AS3) (not sure it it should be Raven Nest). After this, we had the hardest and longest climb in my opinion. I beated them on a climb and so arrived a little early and got out the AS before them this time around. I grabbed a bag of food-to-go I thought was a bag of chips and accidentally took all the station’s fish crackers with me. Sorry! Some might think that was a strat, but I did not mean to.

    I have gained a couple minutes. I could hear them talking in the back. Brian found a snake. In my mind, good. Go check out the snake and let me get couple more minutes ahead of them. He did. I saw him stopping and peeking to the woods. I did not see them again till Quitter Row (AS 5).

    By mile 15-17, we started to catch some half marathoners. This is always what I like to do. We are doing the full with an hour headstart but we ran 10k more by this time, by catching up to the half marathoners made me feel I was back on the course pace. The half marathons we passed were all walking, whether uphills or downhills.

    Brian commented that the half marathon’s sweeper was here at this point in the race last year as they made this climb. So we were earlier than the sweeper this year as the sweeper was no where in sight (the sweeper is my friend Aaron, and he was sweeping again this year). We had two hours to get to the next station at Heavenly Hairpins. I pushed ahead. The climb was tough but it was not like last year when I was seeing spinning stars and blacking out and then throwing up from heat exhaustion. This year, I was only sweating profusely. I made sure I continued to drink and eat my fish crackers. I got the whole bag of them. I reached to the Heavenly Hairpins AS, with an hour to spare. There I caught up with more half marathoners and a couple of the marathoners. It made me happy, I felt I caught up to the bulk of the race by now and no longer in the tailend group. I was leading them. Being in the tailend had me worry about being cut. Now I was with the good crowd. We were only 2.5 miles away from Quitter Row and I was an hour well ahead of the final cutoff.

    An overlook, I think we are at the highest knob in PA if not the second highest

    These two miles were probably the most fun in the entire race. We got to run down a ski slope and ran back up and then ran down a probably black diamond rated slope. It was too steep even to stand on, not sure how people ski down it. I remembered the first year, I had to slide down on my butt. Then we had to climb back up on the scrambling trail, which was not really a trail (I need a sherpa) but more like mountain climbing back up on your hands and knees. I was wearing road shoes that had the treads worn down, so it was super exciting trying to get a grip of the trail.

    ski lift. We would be at the bottom somewhere. It doesn’t look too steep until you have to climb back up

    We reached the Quitter Row AS. This was the race “last” cutoff. I was still an hour ahead. It was named such because here is the place if you want to quit, you could because this was the start/finish for the race and it is tempting to do so. I came in with a runner, and he said he was feeling nauseated. We had him sat down. I told him, no need to rush out, but try resetting and when he is ready go out again for the final 10K, do it. I told him last year, I was there till the cutoff, and still had two hours to do a 10K and I finished the race. Finishing at this point is doable.

    However, he was young and inexperienced. I asked if his crew/family is there, he said yes, I handed him off to his wife. However, she seemed to be unprepared to help him, only told him about don’t quit. They were standing around. I understood no crewing or pacing in this race, but I know the race rules could be bend a bit. If a runner needed help, go help!

    In my mind, he should be given a chair, and wrap in a towel, get him warm up or cool down, freshen up, take care of his food/water/feet or whatever, then get him back out. He himself did not know what to ask either. I would ask for a gatorade. Get some fluid in him. Reset his system.

    He ended up dropping. I had no time to evaluate his condition, so I did not encourage or wait on him to go back out, since I didn’t want him to stuck with 6 miles feeling miserable out there. He had to make that choice himself. If he was more direct (assertive) and committed, I would be more than willing to help him as I did last year with Jenn. Personally, I felt if he reset himself, and with a pacer, he would definitely finish it.

    I had three hours to do the final portion so even if I walk, I would still be finishing the race. As I ran, I thought back on the last year race. Jenn and I were so strong here. We blasted out the station and then flying down hills on this portion last year. This time, I was by myself and I was taking my time. There was a group of 5-6 behind me but I was always leading them. They were within earshot but I couldn’t see them. I could hear them but they were usually a good distance away to pass me. I got to Throat Punch AS. I swallowed some chocolate covered coffee beans and off I went. Three time the volunteers cheered me as they thought I was about to set off and each time I ended staying some more for their food. I stayed a bit longer here because I knew a tough climb ahead. I did not set off until I heard the group pack being near and there were cheering in the back. Off I went with a bunch of coffee beans in my mouth.

    I had maybe couple more miles to go and it was mostly an uphill climb back to Blue Knob where we would finish. The climb was much easier than I remembered. Granted this year, I was not cramping up like last year while scrambling up. I got through the Soul Sucker. I had cramps earlier while descending to Throat Punch, but now they were under control. Also I got plenty of energy from the AS to prep for the climb. I also did not have to wait for my partner like last year, when I waited 4-5 mins at every hill for Jenn. My only concern was to hold off the “wolf” pack that was chasing me. It was mostly for pride. I don’t mind if they beat me up the hill, but I hoped to do better than them.

    Cadillac Alley – the sign there Cadillac parking only…someone (a druggie) got his Cadillac up on the trail, and no tow company would go out to get it back down. It’s been there since last year

    The finish was anticlimatic. I got to the top with 15 minutes left on my target finish time. My closest competitor was maybe 5 minutes ahead, and I could not close in. There was maybe a mile of trail left. Soon I saw the road and I sprinted in, finishing before the 8 hour mark.

    The rest of the afternoon was waiting for the rest of the pack to finish. I thought they were on my heels. The 65 y.o. guy came in like 10 minutes after me, which is still quite close. I couldn’t go to greet him because I had awful cramps in both legs for an hour or so. Finally a fellow runner helped me on my feet and my cramping then was gone. I felt much better, I could run and move again. I then was able to change into my clean clothes and had a good meal as well as join in the celebration with the rest of the runners.

    The group that was chasing me came in spreading over the last hour. During the run, I felt they were on my heels. Some took my advice of not rushing the final 10k. I remember everyone I passed. It was good to cheer them as they came in.

    Sean, the big guy showed up on the road with less than 2 minutes left on the clock. Seriously, I did not expect him to finish but he did. We saw him with the sweeper from far away. Everyone jumped up and rushed to the finishing chute cheering. We were hoping he would arrive before 5 pm, when the race would close. We were on edge whether he would he make it. Sean was splinting to the end with the sweeper right behind. He made it in as the final second on the clock expired. (They actually turned off the clock ahead of 5 pm, and so some were wondering if he made it in). He did. He earned it.

    Take away – Why do I love running, going on trip, and doing these kinds of things every weekend? The full answer deserve a blog post, but the short version is, because I love it. It is exciting. It gives me a story to tell. To me, it is a good experience. I reread my last two year posts. Weird my memory has changed a bit even though I can remember a race for a long time and relive them. Even if I forget, I have it written down here. If it is not too boring, I might attempt to write a longer version.