I wrote up two entries this week. They are not related. I am excited of both of them. Here is the first. I will be also traveling this weekend for a race. I will write about that race soon. Keeping it under wrap for now as not to jink it.
I deferred the Richmond race two years ago because of the Corona. Last year, I was waiting for the signup email and it came late after I already signed up for another race. This year I knew what to expect.
Yesterday I received the email from the race organization with the signup link for it (for people who deferred). Originally I was not going to run the Richmond race. Just like last year, I already picked out another race for that weekend. This year I didn’t antagonize over whether to do the Richmond race or the other one. In fact, I had four races to choose from for that weekend. Richmond was at the very bottom of my list. Then I realized what if they have a virtual option. They do, so I signed up to run it virtually.
This is for November 12 weekend. I probably will fulfill my virtual obligation the week prior. I plan to travel down to Richmond to do it. It seems silly but it will give me the motivation to run it.
As for what race I picked to run on November 12, readers would have to wait and see. It is not a big secret, but I like to keep it kind of a secret for now.
Related I signed up for The Wild Oak Run (they called it applying but I think likely I will be accepted since I am doing a “fun” run). More on this when the event arrives.
I might have mentioned I signed up for Lake Ridge Ultra (Lake Claytor) on 9/11 weekend and the Iron Mountain Ultra (Hurricane trail).
My next ultra will be the Catoctin. A few years ago when I wanted to run it, the race description scared me, so I ended up running 25K instead. Well that was really last year and when I showed up to the course, I was like what!? 25k is like a half marathon. Can you believe I was freaked out by a 50k? I am amazed by how my perspective has changed after running a 100 mile.
Also in case I forgot to say, I locked in a spot for the 24 5k at Pemberton. It is highly anticipated. I have been wanting to do it since I had an eye on running ultras. Can I do it? The answer should be yes.
What this all about? Somehow signing up races get me excited. Also relating to the last blog entry how my perspective change the 2nd year of redoing some of the same races.
There’s a saying you can’t step into the same river twice. This becomes more likely as I repeat many of my past races or events. My weekend at the Worlds End Ultra (WEU) was my attempt this year to step into the same river twice (2021) and ended mildly disappointed. Disappointed might be a bit harsh but being unexpectedly disatisfied is more like it when compared to last year. What did they say about jealousy? Comparison is the thief of joy?
Why did I go in the first place? It was a race I wanted to do myself. It’s a very hard race and with a lot of friendly people. It has beautiful views. I only knew about it last year when a friend promoted volunteering for it on his social media. I joined him there. To me it was like a retreat and a runner paradise. I never run in the official Worlds End Ultra but being a volunteer there was like brush with celebrities.
Like in Psalm, the psalmist wrote a day in your court (temple) is better than a thousand elsewhere.
Going to a race is like going on a pilgrimage for me.
I signed up to volunteer maybe back in January. I booked my camp in March. As the race day approached, I was a bit concern after not receiving any confirmation/instructional email of what I will be doing and who’s my boss. Maybe I did receive but I couldn’t find it or maybe the email might have gone into the spam folder.
So I went and signed up again. I signed up to help clean up on Sunday too. This time I received an email both from the signup site and from the volunteer director. I got things settled. Basically, I was asked if proofing the course would be fine with me. I’d rather to do sweeping as I have done that last year, but if that is not available, proofing would be fine too. Best of all, I could run on the official course before anyone.
So I prepared for the weekend. Here I have a bit of complaint. Mostly it was my fault too of not asking for the pertinent info: who, what, when, where, and how. I had only the location and what I would be doing. I was not told where to meet and when to meet or more details on what I will be doing. I guess most volunteers would get there on Friday night and received their briefing. I live about 5 hours drive away and though I wanted to be there as early as I can, but realistically I could not arrive until Saturday.
The coordinator understood this and assigned me a post where I don’t have to start until noon.
Like last year, I plan on driving to PA on Saturday morning instead of Friday due to work. It is a 5 hour drive for me (4:30 according to Google map) but Google Map assumed I will be driving 55 mph or more on mountain roads where sometimes they posted a very high limit higher than what I am comfortable driving and driving it in the dark. Their time estimation is usually wrong for me. Never trust google when going to a remote place.
After thinking a bit I’d rather drive there late at night than early in the morning since I rarely was able to sleep early enough to wake up before the crack of dawn unless it is for my own race. This race starts at 5 AM, so if I want to make it to the start I would have to leave my house at the latest by midnight, meaning I have to be in bed by 6 pm. I do plan to depart way before then. I hate late night driving too, but I felt I could at least make some miles before I was tired.
What I wanted to do rarely goes according to plan. I had a dental appointment that afternoon. It was partly unexpected, and forgotten. When I thought I went in for a filling, I came out with a deep below the gum cleaning. My mouth was bleeding during it because they had to cut into my gum. It was not painful but it was uncomfortable. I compared that to running with blisters on my foot, which I had done quite a few times in my ultra marathon runs. I could stand the pain and the uncomfortableness and the bleeding. I was advised to rinse my mouth with salt water but I told my dentist I was going camping immediately that night. Salt would be hard to come by. There wouldn’t be salt etc out in the woods. I would deal with the pain was what I told myself. It couldn’t get it infected over the weekend. F*
The Friday afternoon traffic was as bad as usual and by the time I got home it was 6 pm. I wanted to eat and pack — it was my fault for not packing the night before. I got those taking care of by 7 ish. Then I still had some work left from my day job to be taken care of. Theoretically, I could do them on Monday but I try never move things planned for that day to the next day. My home computer acted up and needed an update. I couldn’t get to my work without the update since it fixes the two factor authentication that I needed for the company login. Long story short, I spent another hour getting the computer ready for work and by the time I finished everything it was 9 o clock, much later than I wanted, but at least now I could get on the road. The pressure I was put under to try get as much done as possible and also my own internal deadline dealing with the trip, because my mind kept saying, I got to leave now every five minutes.
I loaded up everything and went to a gas station to get myself a tall cup coffee. I needed it and I knew it would be a long night. I’m not a coffee drinker but I found it helps for long trips. I could run while being half awake but driving in that condition is not something I want to stake my life or any other people’s life. It’s dangerous. I can tell first hand, having been through an accident due to lack of sleep.
The drive that evening was peaceful because it was past rush hour. It was finally a release from all the stresses I faced that day/week. I used a local road to get to PA (hwy 15) instead of the Interstates. Once in PA, I went passed Gettysburg and passed a lot of familar places where I raced before. I continued on to Harrisburg. The drive brought back memories of various trips I took the past few years. I usually use the same roads. From there, I headed toward Williamsport, the nearest city near the race site. I booked hotel there and I knew I probably be tired by then. Midnight came. Then 1 AM, I was started to get drowsy, but luckily I got to the hotel just as it started becoming hard to stay awake.
The hotel staff was cheerful and checked me in. They had expected me and left the light on in my room and also cooled my room. Probably I was the last guest to show up that night. This was a low end inn but I was greeted by name. The place was a bit dated but room was good and comfortable. I only planned to stay for a couple hours to get rested enough to drive again, for I still planned to get to race by 4 ish in the morning. I have an hour more to go. It means I would have an hour and at max two hours of sleep. By now I was no longer sleepy but I knew I was also in no condition to drive. I was still full of adrenaline (probably from the coffee), like I was in a race, but I knew I must sleep. I set my alarm for 4 am as a compromise, but waking up at 3 AM was originally the plan. Now it was near 2 AM. I did not have a lot of time left. I didn’t even change my clothes but laid across the bed. Alarm went off not long after as if I didn’t sleep. Still I did not feel ready to drive. Since I promised to arrive before noon, I decided to at least sleep at least till 7:00 before continuing the trip. The sun came up at 5, and with the curtains opened and I couldn’t sleep any longer so I decided to check out and be on my way. I felt much refresh by now. Initially, I planned to sleep by the side of the road to save money, but having a hotel room was a wise decision.
They had breakfast at the hotel so I made myself a waffle and grabbed an apple and some cake. I went then to a nearby gas station to refill my car. I was too early that the pumps there did not work yet. Small town gas stations do not operate 24 hours. The staff was there but they had to set up their registers and computers first, which also control the pump. I think they did not close the book the previous night, so they had to print their sale records first before the pump could be operated. The clerk was having trouble doing that. Another person was there training the person. So I waited, and one of the staff smoked by the door. When everything was ready, they apologized to me for the wait. I got my tank filled and drove out of the town. The sun has fully risen by then.
Anyway, I arrived at the race site exactly 7:00 as the 50K runners went out. I saw them took off up the road as I walked up to the start. It has been 10 hours since I first left the house for this trip. Finally I arrived.
For the next couple hours I had nothing to do but walking around. I couldn’t find my contact person or any of race staff at the start. Again that was on my part of not communicate better beforehand. I thought I was going surprise them by arriving earlier than my scheduled time. There were other volunteers there cleaning up the breakfast table but they had their jobs and from experience I know the one in charge was probably busy since the race had just started and I didn’t mind waiting around a bit. I thought soon someone would be back at the start since that was the traditional headquarter for the race. No one came. A few other volunteers showed up too looking for the same person I was looking for, so it was good, at least I had someone to talk to and follow. Someone directed us to look for the Aid Station 4 across the street, likely the coordinator would be there. They were short on staff, it seemed.
A little while later a runner got lost and came back to the starting line. I think he was one of the 50K runners. He said he has run this race 7 times and had usually gotten lost in the same place. Another volunteer offered to lead the runner back onto the trail saying she knew the way, and so I later decided followed them. I wanted to explore the course. We came to one of the stations (picnic shelter) where the RD (race director) was. By the way, the runner should have been DQ or pulled from the race since it was impossible for the runner to make the next cut off, but we didn’t know. It was not our fault there was no race marshall at the start. The race director told us that the sweeper already went out and so the runner would likely be behind the sweeper if he got back on the trail. We did not know that and we shouldn’t have guided the runner back onto the trail. Oops, but what done was done. The RD was not happy of what we told him of what we just did since now he would have to contact subsequent aid stations to keep a lookout for this particular runner and we had no idea of what the runner’s bib was. I offered to chase down the runner, but the race director did not want that, because it would have ended up with two unknown runners now they have to track. Also we were not a race official that has the power to pull a runner from the race.
I asked about my volunteering. Fortunately the person I needed to talk to was also there. I did not recognize him at all but he recognized me from last year. He was the volunteer coordinator and he gave me my briefing and basically said I could start my shift any time. He had to bring water to another station so he could not drop me at where I needed to be.
I was given a race phone and the RD gave me the direction to the part of the course I had to proof. The phone was important because it was specifically set up for our location and would allow me to be in contact with the race management team. I believed AT&T set up a special cell network wih a temporary mobile cell tower(s) for the race and the phone only worked on this network. We each have a preset phone list of various volunteers (such as head of each aid stations/radio operators/my team/etc). They also had traditional ham radio at each station and they used it to track runners and report them back to headquarter because cellular signal is not always the best.
Proofing in traditional sense is to make sure the course is set up correctly. However, I had no clue how my section of the course is supposed to be like, so no way to confirm if the course was according to the intended course. It is my first time running on it. My section was from Brunnerdale to the Finish, about 14 miles. I drove to Brunnerdale, which I believe was the farest point on the course (took about 30 minutes drive). Finding the trail was easy. The runner handbook had everything I needed, plus I had the verbal directions from the RD. I had the gps offline map on my phone, but I didn’t get lost and didn’t have to use it. I got there before the Aid Station was even set up.
I enjoyed my run. Basically I was the course’s test bunny. I won’t go into details. 100K course is much harder than the 50K, especially near the finishing. We had maybe 2000 ft climb. The section was muddy. My duty was to add markings to the course if I think they were needed. If I was confused about some part of the course so would the runners. My job was to make those confusing parts clearer. I was given a roll of ribbons to mark the course if needed. I could hang as much tape as I wanted to direct runners to the right way. This was not the first time the race was held, and the course was marked by one of the race directors or his friends so it was well marked and guaranteed to be correct. My only confusion was when I came to a tall maybe 8 ft fence across the trail. The fence extends in both direction indefinitely and it seems we either climb across or go around. I tried going around first but had to back track when the trail disappeared. I was not sure if I was to climb the fence. I haven’t been to any races where we had to trespass into private property. Luckily later, I found a “hole” / a window gate to climb through. The window is normally locked but was unlocked for us on race weekend. After getting through it was obvious that was the way. As for the rest of the trail, I only had minimal work to do, basically, just run it was what I needed. My coordinator was surprised how little tape I used when I got back. Was I supposed to use all of it?
I thought also I had whole day to run it since I started a little after 9:30 and I had only 14 miles to cover. I should be back by 12:30, well before 100k runners get there. For the 100K runners, there race didn’t end until midnight. Unexpected to me, the course final couple miles were shared with the 50k people. It always has been for this race but it slipped my mind. The first 50k already finished by noon. So I was really racing against time when it dawned on me to try to beat the 50K people and I ran against the faster runners from the 50k event. It was kind of embarrassing as I came into the Coal Mine Aid Station (last aid station for the 50K) and they asked me what was I doing there. Noted, it was my fault too to come into the station from the wrong way where they didn’t expect. I was not aware I had gotten off course at the time because I missed an earlier turn near the station. Looking back, I failed my proofing duty there, because if I missed a directional sign or ribbon, it means others might miss it too, and I should have gone back to mark it. I said I am a volunteer, proofing the course. They didn’t laugh at me, but they kind of took a double-take because, since both the first 50k and 100k people already passed by and were on their way out (to High Knob), there was nothing left of the course to be proofed. They told me the 100k proofer already came through too earlier as if they didn’t believe my story. I did not argue with them, since that section was done by two 100k proofers, one to proof the way going out from Coal Mine to Brunnerdale passing through High Knob and mine was from Brunnerdale coming back to Coal Mine and to the Finish on a different trail. It was a small loop. I know I did my part but it got on my nerve when people didn’t believe me. It was not particularly from staffers I was being irritated at, but because of the situation I was put in. All this spoke of the lack of foresight in arranging the proofers in proofing the course. I know, I just need to do my part.
Later I found that front runners of the 100k actually over took some of proofers in the earlier sections. Luckily I had the last stretch and the 100k guy did not catch up to me. I was like still a couple hours ahead of him. However, I felt I failed them by not proofing the last couple miles of the course before the 50k runners got there. Not sure if the 50k proofer covered the last section to the Finish or whether they relied on me since both trails are joined there. I found it was generally well marked, so I was not worried or blaming myself for not covering the last couple miles. If I had known, I would have started out a bit earlier to avoid such incident.
One critique on my section where most runners would reach it at nightfall is we should also proof it by running it at night to be in similar condition as the runners. There was only little value for me to proof that section in the daytime, except for me not to get lost. The reason being is it was so much easier during the day to find my way and what might have seemed fine to me in daytime might not be when the course is completely dark. So even though the markings might be adequate during the day time, it might not be at night. Hopefully not many runners got lost in my section that night.
For the rest of my weekend, it was uneventful. I got back to the Finish around 1 pm. I had food from the finish line and reconnected with my volunteer coordinator and turned in my phone. He drove me to get my car back from Brunnerdale. The Aid Station captain there said the 1st and 2nd place 100k runner already came through. It was around 3 pm and likely the first place would finish by 4 pm. I and the captain talked about last year event. I was there last year with her because I was the sweeper for that section. They were waiting for me that time to come through. She asked if I wanted to hangout there again with them this year. I said I have to figure out my campsite and get some rest to enjoy the late evening hours. I was sleep deprived and I started to feel the effect in the afternoon sun. So next up for me was to set up my camp and have some rest first.
For the rest of the day, I was driving around looking for cell signal because I found out when I got to the campground, I did not know which campsite I made reservation. Due to budget cut, the campground was unstaffed. This year, might be due to privacy reason, the camper names were redacted on their posted master list of who occupying where. So there was no way for me to find out my site number from the list. I needed the cell signal to access my email reservation for my site number. I remembered reading that the highest point on the course, High Knob, has signal, so I drove up to High Knob. I got signal and what I needed from my phone. I stayed longer afterward at High Knob since the aid station there was about to close in an hour, at 5 pm. I actually waited there until 7:30 when everyone left because we were waiting for the sweeper to come through and I was trying to relive my last year experience too as being a sweeper. Last year, I was the sweeper from High Knob to Brunnerdale. Sweeper was supposed to be a designated person on the trail to accompany the last runner. But the sweeper never came through at High Knob or I somehow missed the person. We were all waiting. By 7:30, we all left. I don’t know if they finally figured out where the sweeper was or whether there was even one for that section. I know they tried to call the person on the phone.
View from High Knob
It was evening by the time I descended from High Knob. Having very little sleep and hadn’t eaten much for whole day except some aid station food and candies, I was exhausted. This year, the Aid Station staff only fed me a little (like couple spoonful of mac and cheese). I wasn’t complaining, food was for runners and since I didn’t have a runner bib, they were not supposed to feed me. They had to make sure their food would last for a whole day until midnight.
I headed to my campsite, hoping to cook my dinner, setting up a base before heading to the finish to watch the race. Most 100k people would be coming into the finish around 9 pm to 12 am. I wanted to go watch them. However, after dinner, it got dark and cold fast and only thing I wanted was sleep. We had an unusual cold weekend where temperature was down low 45 F at night where the previous weekend was around 90+. I crawled into my tent and felt asleep not long after. The race could have their own fun for all I care.
Sunday, I volunteered to clean up the course. About 10 of us met back at the volunteer shelter around 8:30. I chose to cover the first 20 miles of pulling the course ribbons and other race markings. Many of them paired up. Mine would be a looped segment and would take me back to the start where left my car, so I didn’t need to arrange for ride.
I did this loop last year too. Last year, I went out just for the fun of it. I wasn’t volunteering then. I was hoping I could make better time this year. I think I ran the course better than last year except I had only a 2L water on me this time. I had a filter but I forgot to bring a pressure bag (for reverse osmosis) to filter the water. So I had to conserve my water on my 20 mile run. As an aside, I could connect the filter to the hose of my pak but it requires some DIY of cutting the tube, and I had been reluctant to cut my pak. Last year, I had to filter water twice during my run, meaning I drank 6L that time. This time I only could take a sip when I was very thirsty. I finished the run by 4 pm still with some water remained. I dropped off the reflective ribbons I took down before heading home. They reuse the ribbons for other races. I was told those ribbons cost over $300, they would avoid spending this much every year.
Actually since the ribbons were bucky to carry when there were a lot, I was advised to hide them halfway during the run and to drive back to pick them up. I did exactly that and hid them at the Iron Bridge and later I went back to pick them up. Note, I was at the Iron Bridge at 1 pm and it took me 3 more hours to get back to the finish. But after I got back, I got into my car and drove back to the Iron Bridge to pick up the ribbons, it only took me 17 minutes to drive. The time and effort to cover the same distance by car always surprised me.
Iron Bridge. Ribbons well hidden in the bushes not shown
Anyway, there was not much happened after. I had my runs. Both runs were fairly long and decent workouts. I enjoyed the challenging course. It has becoming less challenging this year due to my improvement at trail/hill running.
One of my regrets was I wished I had rested well and so would have enjoy the race more on Saturday. I was hoping to hang out and meet runners at the finish and to basically revamp my running passion. I was pretty much beaten down from the MMT race. However, because of the rush to get to the race site on Friday, plus my volunteering duties, I ended up spent little to no time with runners.
Not all was lost, I was able to talk to and listened from other volunteers of their running stories. I learned about one volunteer is going to Laz races, the Barkley Fall Classic and the Last Annual Vol State. Someone was saying their race in France they had helicopters to transport things to the aid stations (I think they were referring to UTMB, a famous race). I think that was so amazing.
I plan to volunteer again and maybe one day soon I will run in this race as well.
In review, I spent 10 hours in the car. 3 hours at a hotel and ran about 8 hours. I had a few hours at an aid station and a few more hours in my own tent. I did not get back home until 10 pm Sunday, with a couple hours for a side trip to Harrisburg. What I used to do in other events is compared how much driving time to my running time, like whether it is worth 10 hour drive for an 8 hour run. If the driving time is longer than the running time, then it is not worth the effort. I know sometimes this is just a tease. I had signed up to run in a 10k where I had to fly across the country before. Just saying.
I don’t mean to rant but only to show logistical part often plays a big role in a race or a trip. It is like 99% of the iceberg. Most people only see the top of the iceberg. I wish I focus more on my two runs I did there that weekend. But this was my second year running them, so there was not much more to say except I enjoyed them tremendously. I actually ran fast enough that I cramped up in the end because I was racing against time, but that also had to do with me not drinking enough water. Who can brag that they almost ran with the front runners at least for couple minutes in the last couple miles in a race? They actually thought I was one of their competitors. Then the passed me and wonder what’s wrong with this guy being so slow.
In conclusion, I came into the event expecting being more involved with it. I did more this year but I was also a lot more detached from the race itself. It was not a bad thing. I felt I could have gone there any weekend to run on my own if running was what I after. Overall, I knew my purpose there was to help make the event successful. My part was small. Though I didn’t see the result directly, I knew a lot of runners enjoyed it. Later, after I reached home, I actually found out one of my friends ran in it. It was a surprise to me. I was there all weekend and did not know. That pretty much sum it all up, I felt I missed a bigger picture. If I was given a chance, I would have spent more time with my friend but then knowing the things I did to help with the race was important too.
TL;DR – some self talk to get me into training again. Goals for this year. The year is not over yet
Three weeks since I finished the 100 mile race, and I am in a rough stretch emotionally. It is expected as with any big race that there will be a big let down when the show is over and the limelight dims. It has been always like this. I am floundering.
I don’t have anything immediately to work toward. Life is back to the old grind. There is a sense I hate it here and want to break out. I need to do something different. I have been asking myself what am I trying to do again.
It was good to reread some of my older posts on here and I wrote down the exact things of what I wanted to do from past years, such as Resolutions, Unicorn goals, to this year ABC. They helped. For the past 6 years I have been trying to be a “better” runner. I mean I have been chasing the same goal the last six years and each year, I get a bit better. This year I really understood what that means, to be able to run faster, farther, stronger, longer in any conditions and at any time. I don’t have my mission statement on here but I found it written down in another place and after reading it, I am back on track. I am still shy to share my mission statement here. But this is a fresh breath at the moment when I found I have lost my direction. I felt I finally resurfacing again. MMT is not the end of things.
I reread some of my earlier goals too. They are not wrong. They were just a bit tame. In 2020, all I wanted to do was to run the C&O 100 because in my mind it was the one I could or need to do. Note in the end, I did not do it. I ran instead the Georgia GSER 100 (twice) and failing at that twice in 2020. It was only 2021, I sucessfully did a 100 mile at Raccoon100 and again at RimToRiver100. Anyway, they were my bigger goals then and that I thought they were unreachable. I still need to go back and finish these some day (I mean GSER 100 and C&O100, maybe by 2024).
This year and last year, I am getting clearer to what I wanted to do with my life especially after my mom’s illness and a big fight with my sister. Silly me to try to keep silent of what my goals are. Luckily, there were enough clues there to decipher what they were. Hey it has only been 5 months since the January 1st entry. If I myself don’t know what I want wjo would know? Yes, I wanted to achieve a bigger goal than to run another 100 mile since. Nope, it is not to run a 200 mile, though I am flirting with this. It is to run across America or one of those biggies. And especially I want to refocus on traveling to oversea. I want to travel to 10 places before I die. Don’t laugh. It is not as easy as you think. I don’t mean to travel to Europe and hit all ten at once. Back on topic, I see why I was reluctant to state this during the new year because there is no way for my brain to wrap around those big goals. Also I was afraid of failure. What worse than failure is I fear being laughed at when I fail, even though why would people laugh at me, right? Apparently this year I am been back to my old self of trying to lower the risk of failures and to stay safe! What MMT taught me is I can’t play it safe. Staying safe contributed to losing that race. I was keeping too safe most of the race. It almost got me completely to forget who I am and what I try to do.
I have put them in the back of my mind for over 6 months. Now they are coming back out. Basically what am I doing this year to make that goal a step closer? Nothing much so far, but it shouldn’t be like that.
I need to identify the things that are preventing me from achieving it. Here I am talking about the Nepal trip. If it is money, I need to get my finance in order. I certainly can save up 10-20 thousand dollars if I put my mind to it. I did succeeded in getting my bank account from zero to where it is today, but again I almost ruin my own goals by being distracted by many other things recently as I see my account again going down to the red. I blame Twitch for much of my overspending.
I have been watching SubwaySean on Twitch with his training and now he is over 1 month in walking across the US. There are 5 more months remain on his journey. He basically gives me a template to follow. This goal does not have to be 4 or 5 years away! It can be done now! It takes at least a few months of planning to get me off the ground.
I need to reset my internal compass. I have been at lost after my most recent race.
Thinking more on what I am trying to do for the rest of this year:
Finish this year! Run the marathons I need to run (MM and MI). Go to ME and MA next year. Get all the M states over with -Run faster -Finish CRAW / GVRAT virtual race -evaluate how I can finish 50 states quicker. Yes go back to the planning board -get Run across America on track, need an intentional planning session. I need to say to myself I am doing this -get Annapurna Trip back on Track, seriously have that on my schedule, get the funding down. Six months ago I was hyped about this, because it will be either next spring or fall trip and it is coming up but I have done nothing. I have been waiting 5 years for this, but I have spent the funding that was saved on something else (twitch) this year and there is no room on the schedule for the trip, so I punted this to a later date (2024) -Get MMT (23) back on track. Be intentional that I want this race next year -Start training for OBX100, it won’t be like MMT. This one is all about speed -Get Ontario/Toronto Marathon into view (May for the river front marathon) and some other international marathons down. This is a definite! Have a plan down for the next few years for my international races. I was hyped about this a few years ago. Get this project Rolling
AND don’t forget Cowboy200. Have to put on the big pants to think about attempting a 200 mile race and not shy away just because it is so “impossibly” hard. It is exactly the same process I started when I put 100 mile race on my radar in 2020. Make what is hard easier
Plus add the Chile desert run (Atacama Crossing). This is currently on my peripheral vision but unlike any other goals, this is what is stirring my heart at the moment, maybe if I am really serious, 2023 might be a possibility and if not 2024 or later
Also looking peripherally, Lake Tahoe was once what I wanted to do. FYI, there is still room for registration for this year run! Not sure if this race will make it onto my schedule next year. I think they called this TRT’ER. It was supposed to be this year but I don’t have the confident to tackle this yet. I am kind of want to do a 100 mile instead 50 mile version.
I have been thinking much about Grand Canyon run. That is another thing I want to do to cross the Grand Canyon twice in one day. They called it the R2R2R (rim to rim to rim). R2R2R has been on my mind for the last few years. I need to be serious to get it onto my calendar
As I start thinking more what is left for this year, TWOT, the wild Oak Run is on the peripheral too. I forgot about this but it is likely make it onto my calendar this year. There is plenty left to do for this year. TWOT is scarier than MMT. If you think MMT psyched me out, TWOT is so many times that. There are only a handful of finishers and some people took 40+ hours to finish this thing. But this race is in my backyard! I didn’t think it was that hard. I thought 35 hours were bad. The race starts 8 am on Friday and lasts to Sunday. It is four loop totalling 112 miles. This year will be held on October 28. Registration opens on June 14!
–Devil Dog. I should seriously train for this so I won’t DNF again. Be bold and aim for the 100 mile this time in this God forsaken forest. I wrote about my feeling for this race. It is indeed a devil race
Only thing that get me excited is how hard the fall season will be! MMT was hard! But the Devil Dog will be many times harder. I was there last year and know how brutal the course was. Also next year, it is likely I will do two 100 mile races in a row. Think big. So training for that will be a new height for me. Thinking of the challenges fire me up again.
I wrote up this entry at the beginning of the week. I don’t know why it is still that I am not motivated to run. I ran once during the week on one of the hotter days near midnight. It reminded me on another similar run in January at midnight on one of winter coldest night. I was hoping the contrast somehow will prompted me to start off the fall season training.
I am going to Worlds End to volunteer in a race this weekend. Hopefully, it will raise my spirit up and jump start my training.
After a big race, my body is recovering well. Unlike other races that usually I would be in a near broken state, I am pretty much recovered after couple days resting. It could be I was not running that hard. It felt like another marathon, I just bounced back after a good night sleep. Maybe I am still young.
I went to Richmond the following week after my big race and participated in an adventure festival. It was a two-day of running, biking, watersport event, plus concerts, shows and many other things like scravenger hunt and city walk. I only did the running thing. I had ton of fun. My body recovered fully for me to enjoy two small runs (a 10k and a half marathon) over the weekend. I still ran hard but I was not as stressed as at MMT. I actually ran the half marathon 2 minutes faster than last year. I did not write a report last year, so I don’t know what effort I put into running it last year. Assuming I would be fresh last year and I ran hard, then I was on par, which is pretty good after just a week from the running a 100 miles. Statistically, it was not significant, but I felt I was on top of the world and crushed the race. I was strong in attacking the hills. I felt my peers were wowing over me as I cruised around the course. Truth, many older men out ran me. I saw a few grandpas there. They were amazing. They out ran many young men like me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t pass them.
There are still the Devil Dog and the Iron Montain to sign up. Iron Mountain’s (IMTR) registration is opening on June 1st. Iron Mountain was my last summer masterpiece. Devil Dog opens on July 4th. Devil Dog, we won’t say much until I successful finish this race. It was a PITA (pain in the behinds) race for me last year. This race I am actually feeling more frustrated over than MMT. MMT I accept the result. The course bested me and I knew that going in. I guess it had to do with expectation. I went into the Devil Dog expecting it to be easy as I had done a 50K there the prior year and then it turned out to be hard and the course defeated me, not just defeating me but was a crushing defeat. And I called myself an endurance runner. We are not going go into it. Thinking about Devil Dog each time makes my blood boil.
Now the MMT race is over, I am beginning to look to the fall. I signed up for Claytor Lake (9/11) and Stone Mill (nov) over the weekend. I was debating whether to do these two previously. Originally, I wanted to head to Georgia to do the Battlefield Marathon. Then thinking of the 9-10 hours of driving turned me off. I will stick to local races. Claytor is the 24 hour thing. I decided to be safe and signed up for the 12 hour just like last year. Stone Mill, I ran it twice already. I am going back for the third time. These two races are a lot of fun. They are cheap too. $65 for an ultra? Where do you find such a race except for the MMT and its siblings (VHTR races).
I will have a marathon in three weeks in Deluth. I haven’t given much thought to it. I think I have to do some planning. I have a place to stay in Minneapolis but it was not ideal, so I was trying to figure out something closer to the race location like sleeping in the car. Even campgrounds around are full so no luck there. Imagine 30-50 thousands people descend on this small town, all places are booked. What is the population of Deluth? 100 thousands? 85,000. Exactly, why is this race so famous? I thought I picked an out of no where place to run this and later found out every other runners out there want to show up as well. I am hyped though. It is my third and possibly the last marathon for this year unless I go to Ann Arbor in October. I haven’t signed up for Ann Arbor yet.
As for next year, I already have OBX 100 on the calendar. Officially it is the Black Beard 100, I prefer calling it OBX, because it will be held in Outer Banks, NC. Having done a few ultras this seems to be a low key event.
I also want to try MMT again. I am debating whether to do both. Knowing me, I will likely do both. MMT is not as scary now compares to 6 months ago. OBX might be a totally different beast — its on roads. I am quite sure, I would not want to sit out for MMT for a year until 2024 to redo it, but running two 100 mile races that close is asking for trouble. OBX is in march and MMT is in May. There are people who had done it, though I am not sure I am like them. There is no promise I will recover after the first race. I do not want to risk failing at MMT again. I think I have a few more months to think about. I don’t know when registration for MMT will open, maybe in September or October. One thing I learned in all these years of signing up for races is that once you committed, you don’t change your mind, otherwise your schedule will be in a spaghetti mess. So, OBX is a definite. I won’t drop that. Whether MMT will too is another question.
As for my personal life, my phone just died a few days ago and I am in process of transfering many accounts to the new phone. I hit a snag here and there, especially on the ones which I used an authentication app for 2fa login. Luckily my main email and financial service accounts are all good. A few others though I am stuck because I did not make a back up of many of the keys used by the authentication app on the old phone, so I am currently log out of some services, e.g. twitch. I am trying working with them to have my account restored. Some site unless you backup the 2fa, or you lose access to the account forever. They should have said that in bold when I first enable the 2fa (two factor authentication)! Well maybe it is a good thing, because I spent way too much time and money last two years on twitch! You would think if there’s money to be made, they would make it easy for those who are having issues login in? Nope. They likely lose me as a user forever. There is a movement to subscribe offline and I’m leaning toward that. It is to show support for the artists on their platform yet bypass twitch payment system. I’m saying this because I will be “quiet”. Luckily I have access to WP (wordpress). There won’t be any interuption on here.
Next week I will be volunteering at World’s End so not sure if there will be a post since the internet there is bad. Since now the blog is back to real time, I don’t have much to write about.
Until next time everyone…have a nice holiday for those in the US
This was one of those goals I was trying to reach and ended up failing. I have been telling myself, I picked too many safe goals in the past where failures are almost impossible and I needed to try some of those goals where success is not guaranteed. So, I am not sad about not completing the race. It was where I challenged myself. This race pushed my boundary, for that I am happy regardless of the result. I can only become a stronger runner by facing tough resistance.
It doesn’t mean MMT is or was unreachable for me. It is just that I have to do better next time. I think I know how to do it. I now have one extra tool for my toolbox, experience. I need to do better. This is what this post is.
Briefly: My biggest struggle was over staying at Aid Stations (AS). I stayed at Elizabeth Furnace, mile 35 ish for over 10 minutes. It should have been a quick in and quick out. I stayed at Habron, mile 55, for over 20 minutes, which was too long and I knew it. It was the same later at most later stations. My plan unraveled at mile 65, 70, 78 (of subsequent aid stations). I won’t go into too much detail to not be tired out my readers. But if I try to redo this again, try to keep the AS stop to one minute or less.
Second, I did not pack enough dry socks and the wet trail damaged my feet by mile 55 and I had to spend a significant amount of time to fix them. It had rained the night of the race and the trail was wet besides numerous water crossings we had to cross.
Third, was food or the lack thereof. I was good with fluid and food till mile 55. I arrived there at the Habron Station, and retrieved my drop bag. Most of the time was spent on bandaging my feet. By the time I left the station, I forgot to eat and bring along food. This was my downfall at this and later stations — of not eating enough. In the end I was caloric deficient. It cut into my performance. This happened repeatedly for the remainder of the race.
Fourth, my fire and passion was diminished during the night as was expected. Later on I found the importance of having a companion/pacer who could keep one on pace and to keep up the morale. My pace during the night segment slowed dramatically. It was hard to catch up when morning came. I wish I had arranged a pacer.
Fifth, of being better prepared to face the course. The final 20 miles were harder than expected. There is a steep 6 mile climb near the end. I should have expected the climb and be able to close out the race, meaning I should have learned to climb it so well I can do it in any conditions. Lastly, I came into the race with a recovered of a pulled hamstring and I did not truly train until a month before the race. Lack of adequate training contributed to being not totally ready to tackle the harder sections later in the race.
Really, the race was going well up to mile 55. I had various issues but nothing was a race ending event. I woke up late as the race was about to get started. I missed the opportunity to have breakfast. Luckily, I woke up and ran to the start just in time as the wave of runners set off. This is not the first time I overslept though. Throughout the whole day, I kept my speed in check. I remembered how I bonked in Devil Dog (a previous race) by mile 26, so I celebrated when I crossed mile 26, then mile 33, and then mile 55 and then mile 65 and 70 (these were aid station mile points), knowing I reached a milestone each time. Also, the day was hot and humid, but a volunteer saved me by recommending to put ice inside my hat. Cool ice was so good. Many were not as lucky as I and dropped from the race early on due to the heat. I also had minor sunburn, but luckily I had my neck covered most of the time.
What really went wrong? I think it started at mile 55. By then I ran out food. This was one thing I did not pack because I ran out of time the day of! Waking up late didn’t help. While I was in the aid station, my attention was to focus on my feet to get them taped. By the time I left the station, I forgot to eat! The stretch from Habron AS to Roosevelt AS was the hardest and longest climb in the whole race (besides the finishing climb to Scothorn). At the time, I thought I could power through but I burned more calories than I thought.
I arrived at mile 65 by 11:30 pm, Camp Roosevelt exhausted, but was on pace. I did not recognize how tired I was. I also over stayed at the station. I flopped down on a chair and aid station volunteers were bringing me various food, however, they were too little and came in small portion and I was too tired to ask for more. I might have sat there for 15 minutes (fixing my foot), but again did not eat much before leaving, and did not pack extras to take with me and that led to my downfall at the following section. Note, sitting down usually is a bad thing in a race.
The next section, time (and the race) was really slipping a little by little, and I didn’t know I was in trouble of not finishing until by mid morning the next day, maybe 8 hours later. This was the wettest section. True to its name Gap Creek, we literally, hiked on a creek up the mountain and down another one to Gap Creek Aid Station. I was hungry, tired, sleepy, wet and cold, everything. I remembered clearly people passed me going twice my speed. I knew something was not right. I asked for coffee once I arrived. I didn’t know coffee on an empty stomach caused me a slight stomach ache for the rest of the night. The theme was the same, I couldn’t and didn’t take in enough calories for the next section.
As I climbed Kern Mountain to Visitor Center at mile 78, I was moving but slowly. This was one of the hardest sections in my opinion due to technical climb over rocks and I often had to use my hands to steady myself (and getting down on my hands and feet). Some, though could move fast here and passed me. Having trekking poles might help here. I was behind on my pace chart table for the first time in the race, but I was still ahead of the cutoff. The race should have been salvageable.
We climbed Bird Knob next. There were 28 miles left of the course. I was alone. Bird Knob, in the past, was runnable. I was hobbling through it this time. I encountered Bruce, a volunteer at the Aid Station, mile 82, and he encouraged me to get to the next Aid Station by 11 AM. I think I had two hours left at that time and we had 6.5 miles to go.
I reached Picnic Area (mile 88) by 10:30 am, half an hour before the cutoff. At that point, I wanted to pull out from the race. Tracy, someone I trained with passed me. Tracy was one whom I used to gauge my pace because the previous year she dropped at mile 95. Having Tracy passing me was not a good sign because I wanted to be ahead of Tracy to have a shot of finishing. Having Tracy passing me means I was slower than her and it was the nail on the coffin that I was not going to finish. The volunteers there were most knowledgeable and experienced. The one helping me said he will pack me with all the milk cartons I could take on the go. They urged me saying I could do it. Tracy and her team also urged me on. By this time, panic has set in and it was a mad scramble to the finish, with 13 miles left and 4 hours to do it.
I ran and power hiked to mile 90 (Rt 211) and arrived by 11:30, pretty much on pace. I wished I had a crew there, because after mile 90, we had 9 miles of climbing. Note my math doesn’t add up, it was likely 5 miles. I was in my lowest state. The first time in a race I felt helpless. Countless thoughts went through my head on how I could quit. I prayed to the God of the universe for extra strength. I need any help I could get to be out of here. I knew I was stuck. He sent me an angel to guide me through. In my delusional state, Elaina and her husband found me. They could have helped anyone but they chose me. Elaina paced me to Gap Creek II (to mile 95). She offered me a salt tablet and crackers. She constantly reminded me to sip my water. She also made sure if we crossed streams, I would pour water on my head to cool off. Surprisingly those things revitalized me. Small things but made a huge difference. She actually believed I had a shot of finishing the race before the 3 pm cutoff. She encouraged me to run whenever I could. We reached Gap Creek II by 2:15 pm, just 15 min after the AS cutoff. This in itself was a miracle. I did not expect to arrive until 5pm or later, really, because I was beyond tired at this stage. All I wanted was to lay down and sleep. I felt joy instead of disappointment. I turned in my bib to the Aid Station’s manager, as required since I was cut. My race was over. This was only mile 95, there was still about a 10K distance left on the course. The course was longer than 100 miles.
I salute those who were cut here, but still continued on. Elaina offered to still pace me to the finish if I wanted to, even though it wouldn’t officially be counted as one who finished. Not that it is pointless to keep on suffering, but I couldn’t summon the strength to go on. I saw a runner, probably the last unofficial finisher, coming in around 5:30 pm, 2 and half hours after the race was over. I’d salute her.
I did surprisingly well beyond my own expectations in many ways. A few weeks before the race, I had expected to only be able to last about 26 miles when I DNF’d on the 3rd training run (TR3) and here I was so close to actually doing the whole 100. Of course, I wanted to finish. In my last post, while preparing my race pacing table, I knew to finish it depended a lot on how well I could manage the time spent at the aid stations. In the end, it did come down to the wire. The ability to quickly recover after a bonk is what sets an ultra runner apart. That’s something I needed to work on by next year. I was bonking for a long time before I recovered and rescued. I saw a dude, who bonked and a reset a few times during the race (and he finished) while for me I bonked around 8:30am and never reset until around 1:30 pm, thus jeopardized the race. I will write more on bonking and what I learned from this race in another post. Nutrition is the key to break out from it.
But what I could do better is to manage my nutrition, like carrying candy bars to sustain during low periods. Also having a good pacer made a difference between finishing and not. I wish I had pushed a bit harder at night.
There is always a next year. MMT was tough. Now I did it, kind of, I have a blueprint on how to do it again next year, and to do it better. Though there was no buckle in the end, the friends I made and the experience gained is worth attempting this race.
P.S. if I could get Tracy race report on how her race went since I believe she was a stronger runner than me and how she ended behind me until mile 88.
Season 12 has been rough. I thought I would have the perfect season. After 6 years of running, and two whole years of ultra training, that originally it seems I would have the least distractions and I would be well prepared for my 100 mile race at the MMT (Massanutten Mountain Trail) race.
Last season, I ended my training early due to my mom’s health issues. It led to a DNF (unfinished/dropped) in my final race. In that race, I injured my knee and left foot. I might have gone through some post race blues, and that delayed the start of training for this season until much later in February. Also we had some bad weather days in January, so I missed the first training run (MMT tr 1, and the WTF50 race).
I came into the season with a vague plan of how to tackle the MMT. Unfortunately on my first MMT training run (officially it was MMT TR2), I injured myself by pulling my hamstring. At the time I didn’t know what was wrong and thought it was just being tired, but a week later, it became severe enough to keep me from walking and running and even laying down was difficult because there was no position that would keep my hamstring from hurting. Don’t ask why I didn’t seek professional help.
This took about 8-10 weeks to recover. April came around. I was getting better with each passing week. I had to (re)build up my cardio. I ran two marathons: Newport News and Salisbury. I did much better by the second marathon. Since then, it was a mad dash to improve on my cardio and my endurance as much as possible. I ran an 8 hour endurance race night run. I felt I did well. I had a lot of fun.
As for MMT, I went on the remaining Training Runs (#3 & #4). I DNF’ed on my 3rd but redeemed myself on the fourth. Looking back, the only section I didn’t cover was the first 30 ish miles. I guess, you should always leave some unknowns for race day to have a bit of fun.
As of today, I feel stronger than ever been since the start of the year. My hammy though has not completely healed, but is around 95-99%. It shouldn’t hamper me. Some days it feels better but on some other days, there is a slight pull or at least a feeling of it. It is like some phantom pain. That is on me of not seeking PT to recover properly.
I can only run with the body I have as of now and not the body I want to have. During the training runs, I was jealous of many faster (and older) people who have the ability to dash up and down on the mountain and here I was panting.
My previous concerns regarding the MMT were whether I will make various cutoffs. I finally sat down and calculated the cutoff pace for each section of the MMT. Basically before mile 54, I need to keep a 17-18 min mile pace. It might seem easy on paper, but that has been the pace I am struggling with this whole season. My plan is to give myself about 5 mins at each aid station. After mile 54, I can go at a 22 min mile pace. This is also during the night time. So 22 min per mile makes sense because everyone slows down at night. The final few miles though requires a bit of a faster pace (I forgot what it is, but that part will be on the road). This is for a total 35 hour run. I plan to give myself a longer stop at the night time aid stations. All in all, the total time for all the stops will be around 130 mins and it gives about 33 hours of running. I will try to skip the first two aid stations, so I will make the final cutoff of 35 hours. It is a bit tight. We’ll see. I sat down and planned all these paces but usually on race day will be completely different because we will go according to what the circumstance (and body) dictates. Hopefully, I will be faster at the beginning so to give enough buffers for the night portion.
My strategy is to go slow in the beginning, but fast enough to make the cutoffs. The point is to get to mile 54. Then hopefully I could go faster after that and the cutoff threat would be off my mind since we have more time to get to the next station.
Currently the weather forecast is worrisome because it seems we will have some nasty storms heading our way. Both Saturday and Sunday shows rain. Temperature wise seems to be on the mild to hot side. Last weekend we had a cold spell, so I need to plan for the night if the temperature unexpectedly to be colder (imagine 50s and being wet).
I plan to take the day off work on Friday. I still need to prepare my drop bags. I plan to have about 5, Three bigger ones and two mini ones. The big one will have almost everything. Maybe two pairs of shoes for the drops (one at mile 30 ish and another around mile 65. The small ones will have a shirt and one or two items. Mini is for optional stuff. As for something I still need is food for Friday (lunch and dinner). Saturday morning breakfast / maybe lunch. The rest will depend on the Aid Stations. The Sunday after race lunch and dinner (5-6 meals). I plan to sleep in the forest for the night before driving home on Monday morning. A tent is needed.
Race checking in time is 1400h on Friday. Race day check in is 0300h on Saturday. I plan to leave for the camp around noon and will be camping out. I have some shopping to do first (for meals). I did my laundry. Still need to Pack and Label my stuff.
Probably very important is trying to get some weird snacks to keep myself awake on Saturday night. I had a hard time on my last two 100 mile races to keep myself awake at night. I haven’t found a formula that works. In those races, I somehow was able to push through the night, hard it might be. Some coffee beans might help.
Am I excited? I am hyped. I haven’t been able to sleep the last two nights. Yikes. I think I had some anxiety. I should be fine I am telling myself.
I have been a bit introspective, like what I have done for my training. I spent a sleepless night updating my journal pages here (WP). I hope they will be of help to someone if they look up my race reports. I don’t doubt whether I have done enough or what I could do better in regard to MMT. I also reflected on my goals.
One thing on my mind recently is what I want to do after this. A couple of weeks ago, I met a runner, Tek, who had similar goals as mine and she already finished them. It made me question myself whether I still want to do it. I know I will still run in all 50 states but I no longer see it as a life time pursuit as before. Even before meeting her, I already knew I could finish it in a year or two and there was no reason to drag it out to ten or twenty years other than for financial reasons. And I have been thinking about what to attempt next. My goal is a bit different from Tek, in that, I have no interest in getting a grand slam for ultra or to run a 100 mile in every state. I think that is crazy to even try and my ability is way below hers. Unlike her, I don’t sign up for a 50/100 mile race as a training run for another bigger race, at least not yet. There is no easy 100 for me nor is there an easy marathon.
My focus instead is either to hike the appalachian range or walk/run across the US. I can see I have more than 50% chance of success. I wrote about SubwaySean1, how he is walking across the country and I am tracking him closely. Also there is a local runner, Wardian, who is doing it in the opposite direction started about the same time frame. Wardian is running it around 50 miles a day, so he is expected to finish sooner. I follow Sean closely because he is a twitch streamer and is more interesting to watch. Wardian has a full support crew while Sean only has a baby carriage (self support) for his trek. Sean is nothing close to an endurance athlete, but Wardian is a seasoned ultra runner. This is Sean’s first rodeo and he is two weeks in! Sean’s planning though is amazing.
Those are the things I want to do, something a little bigger than what I think I can handle but at the same time I think I can do it. If there is a remote possibility I could do it and it is exciting, I should go and do them.
After a long post, so what, right? Indeed. Nothing will be accomplished unless I go out and do them. Back to why do I like to do them like running a 100 mile? I ask myself the same thing. The closest thing I could get is I like being alone for a long time doing nothing but running. It forces the mind and body to go into a special state that I found very relaxing. It is weird and I can only compare it to worship — I try to avoid using this word for a religious reason, but I think that is the closest I can describe it to be. Maybe more on this later.
ps: this was originally a scheduled post before my race, but technology didn’t work as intended or maybe it did except I didn’t see it being posted. I knew the internet connection at my race was bad. Sorry, if you receive this a second time. I will have the race report up when I get to it, probably by the next posting
You know when your body crashes, it usually means something is wrong. I had something like that in February after my Covid booster shot. You probably know where I am headed with this.
In my last post, I mentioned how I slept through the weekend. Now thinking back, that was unusual of me. Also, my heart has been racing and vivid dreams. Not the good kind but the bad one, like a premonition. I had a spooky feeling all week. I have been going through my mental checklist, like what is wrong, where is my anxiety coming from, but everything seems ok. It was the lighter version of what I had back in February. In February, I had a full brown panic attack.
This Wednesday, after work my mom gave me a call. Actually I have been calling her the whole day because she kept on setting off her emergency alerts, like every 30 minutes. Each time, I had to call to check if she was in a real emergency. You know since after her stroke last October, any phone calls like these get me very nervous.
The setting on her phone was always there, but somehow, it was enabled that day and she kept on setting it off whenever she turned off her phone or made a call. I believe it was either the 5-second hold or a combination of key press, or the slider thing. For me, how on earth do you set the emergency calling off, but apparently it was very easy. I think too there might have been a bug in a recent update from what I read, that whenever you press the power button, it triggers it.
During the call, my mom said, you know so and so in our family was just tested positive for Covid19. It did not connect to me at that point in time that I just met the infected person about five days ago, being together in the same room. There was a chance that I was also infected. As of today, a couple other people who had come into contact with the person were themselves infected. No kidding. It confirmed there was an “outbreak” in my family (3 or more people, right?). Luckily, I only came into contact with them that one time.
So the next day, I called my boss to request to work from home. During my lunch break, I went and tested for Covid at a local drug store since I don’t have one of those at home kits. Yes, I immediately ordered a few. My result came back negative (not detected/infected). I brushed up on the current CDC guidance. I will leave my opinion on this to myself but thankfully they had a calculator to determine whether one should be in isolation and for how many days.
My big race is coming up, I have been looking forward to it for over a year. I do not want to be kept from it. My race weekend is on Friday the 13th. I know, what the freak! Will it be a full moon too? Luckily, nope. Well the race day is on Saturday morning 5/14, so I am good. Technically, I could drive there after midnight to avoid any bad luck, but ideally on the 13th, I should head to the camp. The race starts at 4 AM. The pre-race meeting though is around 5 pm on Friday. Details, details.
While I am cleared to be out of my house again, I am keeping every precaution. Stay away from crowds even from my mom. No, especially my family, until everyone is tested negative. Basically staying at home until the race time to lower the risk of getting infected. Be healthy.
The last 5-6 weekends, I have been running a marathon every week. Some were races and some were training runs.
This weekend, I had a lot of time or maybe something inline with being lazy or simply my body crashed. I ended up not doing anything. I have been increasing my volume on my training hoping to make up some of the lost training time due my hamstring injury earlier in the year. This week I was near reaching my limit. I ended up sleeping 10-16 hours on Saturday and another 10+ hours on Sunday. I avoided runs because I felt some slight aches like shin splints. It was a sign to dial back a bit. I really needed the rest.
I want to push myself because the date of my big race is near — it will be two weeks. There is never a last one but in my mind it is part of a set. I did the Newport News, and then Salisbury. And now it is the MMT’s (Massanutten Mountain Trail) turn. I ran some of the training runs and I know it is a tough race. We will have 35 hours to do it. It seems to be a lot of time. They predict I could run it in 33 hours, but I am not sure if that is realistic based on my recent training. I am getting stronger but it is no where near what I could do before. But with 12 days (or less) to go, there is nothing much I can do in terms of improving my aerobic performance. I analyzed it before, probably the only thing left is to focus on reducing my time when passing through the aid stations (transitioning time). This will be the biggest factor that will make or break my race. There are like 14 stations and if I hang around for too long at any one of them, I will be toasted.
About my life: Recently I read some good books. One of them was Born to Run. This is one of the must read books for runners. Indeed it was good. There are crazy runners out there who could run a marathon or even an ultra on a dime notice. This past weekend, I met one of those people…not famous like the ones in the book but no less in ability.
I have been trying to run a marathon in every state since forever (2016) and I am only on state no 8. No 9 will be the Grandma’s marathon in June and maybe No. 10 will be Ann Arbor, Michigan in October. But I met someone (Tek) who is trying to run a 100 mile race in every state because she already finished the 50 states for marathon. It is just so crazy how many 100 she is doing. I wish I’m at that level, where I can go out any weekend and have the confidence that I can run a 100 mile like it is nothing. I didn’t know that was possible before.
My eyes were open. I met her at the C&O 100 this past weekend.
Sunday morning, I went to the C&O 100 race to volunteer. I saw the call for volunteers and felt it is karma to do some volunteering before my own race. This was also a race I wanted to do for my first 100 mile race a few years back but Covid happened. I ended up going to Georgia and then Texas for my attempts. There is some interest to see the race first hand.
There, I also met a runner who remembered doing the 50 mile with me at the JFK a few years back. She remembered my name but I forgot hers. She said she paced me to the finish. It was a small world.
At this moment in time, I had no desire to run the C&O 100 any time soon because the course is unappealing flat. I prefer mountains and ocean.
Indeed, traditionally I sign up for my next 100 race when I am about to run this one (MMT). That being said, I went and signed up the Blackbeard 100 mile race for next year. Yes next year. I don’t think it will sell out but I signed up early so that I couldn’t back out. You know, once you run a 100 mile, it might feel it being the worst decision ever, and I might not ever want to do it again, but if I sign up already then I will have to train for it regardless how I feel about it. I think though I will enjoy the Outer Banks 100 mile (Blackbeard). More about this once the event gets closer. This will be a road 100 race.
Coming back to the topic, I was struggling with runner block…you know like writer block or art block, when I don’t feel like doing the things I love. Someone (Luna, a twitch streamer) suggested how she overcomes her art block by finding of a beautiful photo and draw it. So I transfer the same principle to finding a beautiful place to run. So I dream of going to Arlington because of the food at a shopping center and so I ran to Arlington after work. It was about 5 miles ish and 11 for the round trip. Even though most stores were closed by the time I arrived, I was able to get some mango sticky rice at one of the shops before it closed. It was worth the 2 hour run.
Finally, relating to looking for races, I came across the 4 desert adventure races (Antartica being a desert). One of them I like is the Atacama Desert in Chile. I have been there and know how dry and hot (and cold) it can be. This race (over 250 km) attracts me. It costs over 1,000 dollars. It is divided into 5 days and mostly doing a 26 mile run everyday with one being a 40 mile run. You carry everything (except for tent), sleeping bag, survival gear, clothes and food. It is a balance between what you need and speed.
Not sure how I got into this but I wish to do it. It seems within my ability. The cost is a bit high but not unreasonable like certain races I know of.
Anyway, closing off, I try to squeeze out two more blog entries before my big race in two weeks. This is the reason I am trying to move the posting day a bit earlier so I will make a final post before my race. Yes, trying to move it to real time now.
TL:DR; Ended up running in a nameless race overnight last weekend. The race was called 24-hr Adventure Trail Run by Athletic-Equation, but that is a generic name.
My plan for the weekend was to go to the MMT race course to have one more practice after finishing the Easter Chocolate Bunny night run. But by Wednesday or was it Thursday morning I woke up and saw a post in my running group about a 24 hour race in my local area, with openings for last a minute signup, since there were a few spots made available. 24 hour would be a bit too much for me with this close to my A race (MMT) but they also had a night event for an 8 hour run and that was perfect for me to do.
To me it was a no brainer to run it. The race was relatively inexpensive, and it was about the same as a tank of gas if I had driven out to the MMT. This race was in the city so, it saved me a trip to the mountain. They provided good aid stations as expected. I wanted to do a long run on the trail this weekend. Rather than me having to drive out to some godforsaken place and running by myself with zero supports, a race was a godsend. At least all the food and safety issues would be taken care of by them.
A race that promised a night run was all I was looking for to get ready for the 100 mile race. This race was held at the Prince William Forest, where I failed to finish the Devil Dog 100K last December, so I knew the course should be tough enough. I felt this could give me training to the Devil Dog as well. I signed up immediately.
On my race day, I was pretty busy. I had my usual Saturday morning run (16 miles ish), which I finished around 2 pm. I rested a bit until 4 pm and I got up to get ready for my race. Remember, it’s a night race but I wanted to be there at least an hour before the required time, 8:30, for the director’s briefing, plus I remembered parking being a bear when I did the Devil Dog there. I wanted some buffer room in case things go south. You never know in the DC area, because traffic could occur any time even in the middle of the night. 6:30 was the latest I would leave and still feel safe in making to there.
My friend earlier in the week had asked if I was available to help him move a piano that day, so I promised to help. I asked if he could move up the time from 5 to 4. I don’t mind helping him. The moving project was relatively fast but the place we moved the piano to was about an hour away. It took us about 2.5 hours total. There were 5 of us, but two of the men were elderly in their 70s (my friend’s dad and his dad’s friend) and we did not want them to lift anything, especially a piano. The difficult part was getting the piano from the basement. The stairway was narrow. There was not much room to grab onto the piano except on either end. That thing weighs a ton (not literally) but it was too heavy for just my friend and me to lift, because we are not body builders. We couldn’t move it even with three people. We needed four. I think it must be around 200-300 pounds.
Originally, I promised to help until 6 pm since I had to be at the race by around sun down. But seeing the lack of helps my friend had, I felt sorry for him. I knew the two old men while helpful were not able to lift. After we loaded the piano onto my friend’s van, I went with him to his house to unload it as well. The unloading process took only 15 minutes. It was pretty fast getting the piano inside his house. By then I was really pressed for time to get to the race site. I knew I would be late. It was already 7:30 and I was an hour later than planned.
I never felt so rushed to get to a race. It was about an hour to get to the site. By the time I arrived, it was exactly 8:30 pm. However, there was no group briefing, so I was not technically late. Luckily, it was a low key event. I thought there were going to be hundreds of people, but most were already done and left. Parking was not an issue. The start location was the same as the Devil Dog at Happyland (camp #5) so I was familiar in getting there even after sunset. The 24 hour people started 13.5 hours earlier, in the morning. The 50K and 100K people already finished theirs. There maybe only 30 people on the course by the time I arrived. The 8 hour people already started too. Originally, the 8 hour people (the event I signed up for) were supposed to start at 9 pm. The race director gave me my bib number, pointed me to the course and said I could start whenever and run however I wanted. There was a prepared course, but the first few hundred yards or so were unmarked and it ran through the campsite. It would be obvious during the day which way to go, but at night everything was dark. It was going to be a “fun” run, since he knew I signed up to get training time and not for any awards or placement. Off I started. The time was 8:45 pm. I asked if I could skip the portion around road and cabins, he said sure if I want to. I was not going to be DQ. Of course, I didn’t do so, but that was how low key and chill vibe the event was. The director probably did not sleep since the day before and at this point it was just me running this, and who really cares if I followed the actual course. Later, I found out there were 8 of us doing the 8-hour run, but I never once saw them.
I had a volunteer (Kevin) who wanted to do one loop with me. He was there since early in the morning doing parking lot duty and later served at an aid station. He had finished his shift. He has the same ultra running interests as I am. The director pointed to him saying he is doing what you are doing. He didn’t mean running in this race but about doing ultras in general. We got off well. He shared his race stories. He also injured his hamstring back in February and had a similar experience as I did, having literally pain in the butt and of not being able to train/run the last couple months. His next race is the Old Dominion 100, so he has one extra month than me to train. He showed me the course. He was well familiar with it since he did the 24 hr last year and he had run the Devil Dog 100k many times. I felt I met an angel. If I need any tips regarding the course, this guy knows every turn and bump. He ran at my pace too without complaining. He actually told me to go in front of him but I prefer following him since it was my first loop. I’m a pretty slow runner.
We ran fast. We had our fastest lap time. After finishing the loop, he went home. I continued on. The night was quiet. We occasionally saw those who ran the 24 hour event. I believe I was the only one running on the course. The rest were just struggling through by walking. The 24 hour people were having a rough time since the day was hot (75-80 F) (or hotter than we normally used to for this time of year). Some had dropped earlier due to the heat. Those that remained were not in any better shape. The night was cooler around 50-60 F.
I finished my 2nd lap by 12:30 am. It was much slower. Then the third lap by 2:30 and fourth by 4:15 am, I found my groove. My time was up by 5 am, so I did not plan to do a 5th lap. I felt pleased with a pretty strong run, considering I did 26 miles in 9 hours the previous week. Today, 25 miles in 7.5 hours was more than I hoped for. I found the trail was not as tough as I remembered, probably having trained on the MMT course, got me adjusted well to rocky trails. This local trail has become a childplay for me.
Near the end of my last lap, I passed a runner who seemed to want to follow me, However, I was going too fast for her to keep up. I told her if she wants another lap and needed pacing I will be available at the aid station, which was also our starting and finish line.
She (Anna) came in around 4:25 and decided to go for another lap. Most runners though already gave up of doing another lap since it was not likely they would make it back by 7:00 to have the lap counted. By then most have an idea how much time needed to finish a lap. Anna told me she has been running 2.5 hour a lap (a lap being 10K). It would be a close call to get her final lap in before 7 am since I could see at that point she was exhausted and would likely be much slower on this final lap.
At this time, her pace was visibly deteriorating, but she was determined to go back out. I was willing to pace her. She asked if I think she can make it. I said I am her pacer and always believe in my runner (even if I don’t, I wouldn’t discourage them)! We did not spend too much time at the station. She just refilled her bottle and we went out immediately. Since I came in much earlier, I had time to change and ate up and be refreshed. I already changed into my good shoes and warm clothes. The temperature now was maybe around high 40s and dropping but it was cold without a jacket.
In her struggle, we reached halfway by 5:45 am. It was not bad but not ideal either. The return leg would probably take an hour and fifteen minutes, and likely much longer because she was in pain. At the halfway point, she sat down on the trail. I thought it was done for her. The station manager laid out the options for her. If she wanted to quit, she could stop there and her miles would be counted up to that point. She was trying to clarify if she finished after 7 am would her lap be counted. They radioed in to the race director. Basically she has to finish before 7 for it to count. She was determined to finish. She turned to me pleading, to run (mostly to reaffirm her own conviction). It must have been so painful for her to go into a run since earlier we were only walking and she was struggling. She was counting on me to pace her. I told her, running is not an issue for me because I was still fresh (I felt I could do a good job). So we ran. At first, I was just fast hiking and she was running. Later her pace was too fast for me to be hiking and I had to go into a slow jog. She wanted me up in front. Usually one paces from behind (for trail races). So I tried to keep a pace that was slow enough for her but not too slow. Surprisingly it was easier now with fully lighted (pre-dawn). I could see the trail even without my headlamp. It was easy. Miles flew by. Anna was pretty good. She kept up all the way until the last mile where she needed more frequent walking break. She was able to transition back to a run time and again. We finished with 30 minutes to spare! She crossed the finish line at 6:30 am.
No other people came in after her. A few went out after the race director informed them that they could get a half lap counted if they reach the halfway aid station before 7. Three or 4 people did. We saw them go out when we were close to the finish. Those were all her friends who came from Mexico to run in this race. She somehow inspired them to do a half lap. Not sure if she actually came from Mexico for this race or she is a resident here with diplomatic ties. It is not strange for our area to have people from all over the world.
We had breakfast and an award ceremony in the mess hall. There might be only 10 of us out maybe 50 in the race. None of the 8 hr people stay. Many others had left already. I felt close to this small group of runners. I ran with them through the night. I was battling sleepiness and the good food was only putting me to sleep quicker. I slept in my car for a couple hours before driving home.
This concluded my weekend. My new friend Kevin summarized for me when I first met him at the race. He said so you spent the morning running, the afternoon lifting weight and then still doing an all night run. Ya…this might seem like a lot, but as my 100 mile race is approaching, the body should be able to handle the load. It is reasonable for me to be able to do this. As for my hamstring, I think I am at 100% (recovered) now.
I went out to redeem myself from being kicked after 13 miles on my last training run a month ago. This time, I said I would keep with the pack and avoid the cut-off. This is the last official training (actually bonus training run) for the MMT 100 race. I joined them for 3 of them.
This one was specifically held at night to give us the feel of the night and final portion of the race. We met at 6 in the evening and I was there a little after 5 in the afternoon. I lie around trying to catch some sleep, knowing I needed it. There were 20-30 people running this, much less than before maybe due to Easter and also it was a night run. Not all of them will be doing the real race in May. Many people have no vested interest to show up in the middle of nowhere for a night run. We started off on time at 7, with about an hour of daylight left. Many only do half of the run so they could go back home and sleep.
We went into the woods
I knew my own pace and settled in the back. I passed a couple others I knew who probably would not run the whole thing.
I recognized Amanda from previous training runs. She and I had about a similar pace. I told her, I would make the cut off this time. She asked what time I think the cut off would be? I took a random guess maybe at midnight, 5 hours (as it was about 5 hours last time, and I was cut). That would be my goal any way to get there before midnight, There being the Visitor Center, our first official aid station. We were spoiled by RD’s wife set up an unofficial aid station at Gap Creek (around mile 6 tonight, I think in the race it would be about mile 70) just before we made the hard climb to Jawbone and Kerns Mountain.
I was strong climbing up to Jawbone. I waited for Amanda at the top. She seemed to be having a bit of trouble. Later on she said she had some stomach issue and threw up in the second half, but she did finish. She actually looked stronger this time than when I first met her.
After reaching Jawbone, we continued on the ridge of Kerns Mountain, which was the hardest section tonight I think. By then the sun had set and the moon rose over the mountain.
Moon rose over the other side, I think is Duncan Knob, which in the real race was where we would be coming from
We had a full moon. However, I was having a hard time seeing the trail. Several times I ran off trails unknowingly. Amanda was pretty quick with downhills. I noticed many people were pretty quick with their downhills. I have not built up my trust with my feet to be willing to run downhill. I was a bit rusty. During my first training run, I was going to train on this aspect, but I pulled my hamstring and was out for 8 weeks. Actually, now 12 weeks since, my hamstring is only about 98% healed. There occasionally still is a slight pull or stiffness. Long story short, I haven’t had the opportunity to truly train on the fundamentals for this race. My breathing and muscles are pretty good now after three months, but I could have been better with my foot technique.
We finished Kerns Mountain by 11:22 pm and we reached the true Aid Station at the Visitor Center before midnight. I was happy to have caught up with the others. They didn’t want to run on the road portion. I love the road and was able to catch up. There were five or six others there, but when they took off I was not able to catch them again.
The next section was uneventful. We climbed Bird Knob. On the last training, I felt this was a hard accent, but, today, it was not too difficult for me. Amanda was behind me for a little while but then she disappeared (later she told us she was throwing up). Her pacer, Ram, was with her. I was by myself until the road portion. I made all the correct turns. I caught up with another pair of runners, Tracy and John. We climbed the Roaring Run together. They were much faster than me with the descent. I wouldn’t see them again until I reached the finish.
The remaining 6 miles were long and boring. It was mostly downhill. I passed someone camping by the trail. It was around 2 am and I hope I didn’t wake the person. I crossed numerous streams. When I ran this section a month ago, I was able to keep my shoes dry, but this time, I stepped into every puddle and crossing. It was hard to see at night, so might as well just walk right through them. I realize what is difficult about night running is you lose your depth perception. The creek might be an inch deep or a foot deep. They look the same. Same with rocks. Sometimes when I step over rocks instead of on top of them, I might drop down 4-6 inches and it was always a surprise how further down I get. Your mind might tell you it is a little drop and it ended up you being a couple feet down. It can be very scary and easy to lose your balance.
My hope was to be able to finish by 3:30 am. The time ticked by and that goal became unreacheable. There was just maybe a mile left. It was always so near yet not there. I finally made it back to the start at 4:00 am. Amanda was just 15 minutes behind me.
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Reflecting on this, I was 15 min late too, if there was a cut-off. When in the actual race, I should aim for 8:30-8:45 for every 25 miles. The race is 102 miles long. We have 35 hours to do it. So I am really on the borderline of being cut since I used 9 hours for 26 miles, meaning 36 hours for 104 miles (you should always add a few miles for a long race for contingency like getting lost/off trail, or inaccurate course measurement). I would be cut at maybe mile 94-96. I realized tonight, I tarried about 30 minutes at the aid stations, otherwise I could have finished by 3:30. I also waited for Amanda for about 15 mins. In theory I could have done it within 8 hours. If I could be quicker on race day at aid stations, I would be fine.
I compare myself with my fellow runner Amanda because in the last three training runs we were the last to finish. I think on race day, both of us are in danger of being cut. I know I am a tad faster than her, but not by much. She definitely improved dramatically since I first met her. She is my metric. I am thinking of working her into my race day’s strategy. I have not decided yet, whether going out fast, then she will catch up to me at mile 70 and hopefully then we will finish together, using each other for support. Alternatively, I will keep at her pace throughout (but if she screws, I will be as well) at least until mile 70 and then I will break out. This would be ideal. It’s a lot of trust to put my race into someone’s hand. This benefits me from not going out too fast, yet I think I don’t have the patience to be slow on race day.
Theoretically I have a couple more weeks to fix what needed fixing, however, this is likely it. I plan to go for two more runs to fine tune it but no one can tell what will happen.
In awe 