In awe

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  • Day432 mind dump

    I used to post every day but have switched to weekly posting. Why? Less for readers to follow and read.

    I like to write about my runs. I had good run each day. They seem mundane but each one is special to me. Something I love to blog about but I think my readers might have fatigue in reading the same thing over and over.

    Last night, I ran to Arlington. Almost wanted to circle around to the Airport and to headed DC and back to Arlington – they called this the Arlington Loop, which is about 15 miles long and usually can easily take 4 or more hours to do it. I could run it faster but I like to take my time with longer routes.

    Two Fridays ago I did the Arlington Loop after work. I didn’t get back to my car until near midnight. Of course I added in an extra 5-6 miles from work to where the loop starts. And also stopped by my company to finish up some work (that is another story).

    It brought back feelings I had before the pandemic where I used to do this route before church on Sunday. Actually, I used to bike around it and now I am running it – kind of a crazy feeling to know how much I have improved. Ya 13-15 miles each day, no problem when thinking back 13-15 used to be something I dread about and we only did it like in once a month.

    With the Pademic, there is no more church and I rarely ever go to Arlington any more. Also my work relocated. I am no longer going downtown into DC for work. So the run I brought back some memories when I saw the Airport and the Monument and the river.

    This time I ran at night. I don’t think I did this nighttime before. I always like night runs. Just a different feeling when you can’t see much and everything is a shadow. Sometimes creepy feeling. There is a section that always spook me near where I live. There is some kind of posts the use for fence at this housing complex. And at night I always feel like it is a torso and I jump each time I run past one. Then I would laugh at myself for being a scary cat. For this kind of feeling is why I like night run.

    Also it is lot cooler and calmer to run at night. It is kind of lonely too since usually I would be the only one out. I run late into the night.

    I have been thinking. I need to do an all night run one weekend. I think that would be cool. Yes cooler as temperature and cool as in something new to do. Except I do get pretty sleepy once it is past my bed time.

    This is more a filler post. Not much is planned for today. I finished the CRAW Region 5 two weeks ago. My team pulled us through. We were missing 10 miles on Sunday night. Several of them went back out and ran 14 miles and finished the region. That was huge. I was too tired to celebrate. I was too tired to go back out and run actually. But we finished it – like running over 150 miles over the two days. I didn’t expected that from them. I didn’t expect anyone to go back out and run it. Sometimes people are amazing.

    Last weekend was a less intense run. I went to Mt Rogers vicinity / Hurricane Trail. It was an awesome weekend and an epic run. Running like this feels me up. I was in a happy place. The main point was Hurricane Trail was less scary than what I made out to be. I will be going back next weekend. I wish I wrote about it. There is only so much time available to write. I can’t write about my every run.

    While away last weekend I signed up for a race – The Devil Dog 100. I forgot about it until I saw the charge on my credit card and wondered when did I make such a purchase. It was an arm and a leg. Then after some googling, yes, I did sign up in the middle of the night. There is no buyer remorse. I am hyped about it actually. It will be a hard race. Expensive but I think worth it. (I will be doing the 100k not the 100 mile one)

    Finally, what I want to say is I still have lot of running till the end of the month. I am doing the GVRAT (back again version) – the Tennessee race. I am still 100 miles behind. I need about 100 miles every week to reach it, but unfortunately I am pulling about 80-90 miles. It doesn’t mean I am doomed but it has been a struggle and continue will be until I am absoulutely sure I have no chance to finish. By the way, I hope to get to halfway across Tennessee this weekend and then there would be about 322 miles left. My projected finish is around Sept 10…of course I need and wish to finish it by August 31 to have it counted.

  • Day431 killing time

    I haven’t had much time this week because I have been running as much as I could. The cure for burn out is more running! I was very happy to run till I drop. Not the healthest way to train but it satisfied that craving for more running.

    I aimed to run at least 100 miles a week. It is a bit much from my usual of 50-60 miles. Any sane person out there wouldn’t attempt this.

    I feel like I can do it. It is just for a month. I am doing this virtual race across Tennessee and I need about 400 miles to finish it. 100 miles a week for 4 weeks.

    The week result has been good. I haven’t slacked off. I did about 10 miles a day during the week and on the weekend I would do 25 miles a day. So every night I walk or run for 3 hours. Weekend would be the entire day spent on running.

    On other news, I signed up for the Devil Dog Ultra. I am excited. Last year I did their lite version (50K), so this year, I will be running the 100K. Next year probably the 100M

    This weekend, I went down to near Damascus (Mt Rogers area) to do a training run for the Iron Mountain trail run. My day was great. I ran with some fast people and we hung out with the race director and his wife afterward. The most happy reason of all was I could put in some long run. The trip costed me a lot of money. On the next training run, I have to think of a cheaper alternative.

  • Day430 rest and plan

    rest is a nice way to say I am burned out from running. I took a week off. This was not intentional. It was that I couldn’t bring myself out to run. First time happened since I started running 5 years ago.

    I did take time off before – twice last year for two weeks at a time because I just came back from Atlanta and I felt I should do my civic duty by quarantine myself for two weeks. I literally did not go outside.

    repercussion: We are slightly behind in our CRAW race because of my time off (about 2 days) and I am about 150 miles behind on my GVRAT race. CRAW is a team race so my team carries my miles. Whereas GVRAT is an individual race, and whatever I didn’t do, I would have to make it up. 150 miles to make up is a lot. Whether I can finish the race is iffy.

    Last year I wasn’t able to make it. This year, it is tough. I am about at the same place as last year in term of position. I would have to run about 15 miles every day to be able to finish it. My average so far has been 7 miles. So I am kind of doom. It is not impossible but very hard to pull it off. As a runner, I can’t focus on the bad news but have to stay positive – one step at a time.

    I think I am better now. I started running again

    In another news, I should start planning/working on the New River Gorge 100, which I have been dragging my feet. Definitely I can do it without any planning but I would like to know what I get myself into – like knowing the terrain, time, (and climate) and then adjust my pacing specifically for the race. Likely it will be cold weather running, so I will need to adjust to that too. Not sure why I am delaying in training for the race.

    Another aspect to plan for is recruiting supports. If I am handpicking my pacer(s), I need to get them ready too. 20 miles is a bit hard for a normal person to pull off, so need to get them ready for the terrain as well, plus all the logistics to get them to where they need to be, and all the food/water they need as well. I might need 2-3 crew/pacer persons. The earlier the better.

    This also means doing training runs. We should have at least three or four. I do run on my own, but I would like the training to be as closely match to the race itself, best if done at location. Maybe because of the work needed I have been procastinating.

    Lastly of course is research. I would like to read as much on the race as possible. Also I like to test out my nutrition. And come up with a race plan.

  • Day429

    Contentless entry. Writing this more to myself because its another week. I want to keep up with a weekly posting so the blog wouldn’t bit rot. So want to do some computer coding at this moment! give me a math problem so I can pound it out on the keyboard. Wait I don’t even have a computer any more.

    I am on a down week – no trip planned and no anything big planned. A cool lowkey weekend though I want to redo the run I suppose to do last week, which is the true 50K run instead of just 25K at Catoctin. Poll: who think I will go and do it?

    My next race won’t be until August. I should be training for it but … it seems still so far away and I feel I can just wing it.

    It is ok to have an unscripted weekend. I need the time off. Nothing on the agenda.

    I started playing games now. Stardew Valley and Final Fantasy 4. They are old…but I am picking it up now. Nearly 20 hours into it. Yes, more time on it almost compare to working.

    I’m back to being a ‘degen’ – a buzz word now on twitch. I sleep whenever, usually at very odd hours. I am active when when most people go to bed (10pm or later). Maybe it is an excuse for training for night runs. I love night runs.

    Trying to find motivation again to run…where is the flame when I need it. I read from somewhere, motivation comes after we start doing something. The best way to get motivated for a run is to go and run.

    As for closing this entry, I did something positive by thinking a bit of how to train for my November 100 miler. I listed out the things I needed at the aid stations. It was a good start.

    Been thinking on life goals again. I think I have my vision/mission statement, and I have a few intermediate goals. Should I share them? I need to do something big and urgently – I want to go somewhere…like to Annapurna. That’s for now

  • Day428 retrospect

    I rarely ever was under-prepared for a race. Over prepared for one is just as shocking and my first for this Catoctin 50K.

    For some reason, when I signed up to run the Catoctin 50K, I signed up to only running half the distance. In the back of my mind I always thought I was doing the whole thing. I trained for it and had that respect for the course that this race would require a lot of me. Maybe that was the reason that this year would be just a scouting run and next year would be the real deal.

    It was not until at bib pickup when they couldn’t find my bib in the 50K group that I went back to check the signup confirmation email that I realized I had made a booboo.

    Still I did not mind running just the 25K. It was only that I was overly anxious preparing something for weeks that did not happen.

    I would have to wait another year to run the true Catoctin 50K.

    Another thing that did not reach my expectation was immediately after the Catoctin 50K, I was to go to Pennsylvania to do an endurance event (at Camp Anderson). I signed up to run the 3 hr event, but you could really run as far and as long as you would want. The event started on Friday and would last till Sunday. The official event was only for Saturday morning till evenning though (6 am to 6 pm). I was hoping to catch the tail end of it.

    I got to Camp Anderson (very late) after they closed. Needless to say, the event was over and no more running. I knew the course and could do it on my own if I wanted to. Many had left or on the verge of leaving. By night fall there were just four groups of us at this 100 acre land (maybe 10 of us in total). It was a bit lonely. The race director and his people had left too. I was in no mood to run my 3 hour endurance event that night on my own (by myself). I set up camp and deferred my run till the next morning. I woke up in a rain shower, which dampened my mood even more. Who want to run in wet and cold and on a muddy trail? I was not wet but the trail was wet and it could rain again. So I packed my tent and went home. The sun came out and brightened the day an hour later but I was already far away and was in no mood to turn around. Really was in no mood to run, or else no matter how far I would travel to run.

    It was not the race organization’s fault there was no one left at the camp. It was wholely mine to arrive there late. I could have gotten there earlier even after my 25K run if I wanted to and I could have run my 3 hour event too that night. You know, my motivation was no longer there.

    Why am I writing this? I felt like the weekend was a deja vue some sort though I am sure this was the first time it hapened. I felt it happened before or somehow I anticipated it. It was just a strange feeling.

    Gains. I did my 25K run (even though I did it like a 50K). I had a good time and was able finished it way earlier than I orginally planned. The run was not an issue for me. I trained on the trail. I did get lost maybe for 5 minutes, that was nothing to write about.

    I caught up with some friends like Ben and Carl at the race and made new ones like Scotty and Kendra. Even Camp Anderson which was a dud to me, I met Ferrari. He has similar aspiration as me to run in all 50 states. He finished 38 of them but he has an adversion to flying, so the remaining states are some what hard to get to for him. I only completed seven states so far. It was like looking at a legend as he recounted his experiences. He was the guy they were wispering that he cramped up and now passed out in his tent and that the race director should check in on him. So cool to have met him. He was one of the few who stayed for the night.

    Why was it called a trip? I planned the weekend like it was one big trip. The first race was not far from me (only a little over an hour), but I stayed at a hotel anyway thinking I would have to get well rest before the long day. Saturday I did go camping at Camp Anderson, that was kind of far (three- hour drive) and was only back on Sunday. So in reality, I had to pack for the first 50K, a camping trip, and possibly another 50K run (was going to run it both on Saturday and Sunday at camp Anderson), plus a hotel stay. It had been go go go mentality.

    It was some sort of cosmic comedy being played out – a strange twist of fate for my weekend. Things happened for a reason, only maybe one day I will know why. Be thankful that is all I got to say.

  • Day427 Smokies

    It was as advertised, Smokies is a paradise for people who like outdoors.

    I love every moment of it.

    I first heard of The Smoky Mountains National Park as a kid from the Smoky Bear TV ads.

    When I was a teen, a friend went there during one summer and he talked about swimming and camping and biking. Since then it was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to visit it someday.

    I started doing camping stuffs just a few years ago and it was kind of on my radar as a place to go too, but because of my running schedule and also I was still not brave enough to go out on my own, I was relunctant to make a trip there.

    Smokies reminds me of the movies the Last of the Mohicans and Dances with Wolves. Well those two movies didn’t set in the Smokies – but I associated the trip with the two movies because of the wildness and remoteness of the place.

    I stayed a week in the Smokies, from Saturday to Saturday. The first and last couple days were at Smokemont campground. Then I went out on my own to do a loop backpacking on the Benton Mackaye Trail (BMT) to Deep Creek and took the Appalachian Trail (AT) back with the help of some connector trails (Hughes and Bradley Fork) to camp Smokemont. My family members were not conditioned or had the desire to do backcountry camping like me. Also the mileage is high, totaling about 60 miles in fouqr days.

    Day 1 of my backpacking was pretty easy. Hiked from Smokemont Campground  following the BMT. The horse trail/road out of the camp was flat and easy. The trip to camp 47 was relatively short. I started off around 11 am and got to my night 1 camp around 3 pm. There were some elevation gains and lost. I had about a 40 lb pack on me fully loaded with water and all the things I thought I need. Certainly I could and should have packed lighter (firekit/firstaid was not used and so with many other gadgets).

    Night 1 campsite was peaceful. I had nice weather. It was by a river. I slept with fireflies dancing around my head with the sound of roaring river nearby. I had the camp all by myself.

    Day 2. I woke up early – not super early but got up when my body couldn’t sleep any more. Made Breakfast, and packed up. Little did I know it was hardest day I think. I felt the whole day was always climbing. I encountered a thunderstorm in the afternoon. Even with a rain jacket on, I was wet. It was also first time hiking through a storm. There was only one lightning strike near me, and I was on the descend portion at the time. I was not afraid. I got to camp at Mt Sterling around 5 pm. It was a solid day of 8 hours hiking.

    Night 2. I arrived at camp cold and wet. First thing was to have shelter set up, then cook, and last was water collection. I went to bed when sun was about to set. I had the site all by myself the second day. Nobody hiked up to Mt Sterling in bad weather.

    I woke up in the middle of night to a spectacular moon rise. I at first thought someone had come to camp and had a fire going. Due to needing to pee, I went out of my tent and saw it was the moon. There was an eerie feeling with the dark radio tower in the background.

    Mt Sterling tower

    Day 3 would be my longest hike. It ended up about 30 miles and a 16 hours day. I should have left camp in the wee 3 am hour when I woke up to pee in order to make it to camp in the daylight.

    I chose to sleep in till 5 am I think. By the time I was ready to leave it was 7 am. The morning was beautiful.

    I did not start the day well as the trail was still covered with dew. During the descend from Mt Sterling, I slipped couple times and one time I was on my hands and knees. Nothing seriously hurt but that experience scared me, especially while falling, my heavy pack pulled me in the direction of the fall I did not want to go. It was like a choke and a squash. I was squished and flattened like a pancake.

    I walked into a rainstorm again on the third day. I was wet then dry and then wet. I re-wore my wet clothes from the previous day and let my body and sun dry them.

    The whole trek on the third day was mostly ascend. By 2 pm my spirit and body was broken. Like in a marathon, you hit a wall and bonked. My legs refused to move, but I pushed myself on. Unless I move I wouldn’t make it to camp. There were like 15 more miles to go. I started having blisters on both feet due to the wet socks and the grits that got in. I had one pair of dry socks left and I decided to change into them. I thought it was a good decicion but just within an hour, it rained again. Still I believe fresh socks helped my feet.

    I made it to Tricorner Shelter at 7 pm. I stopped there for water only since the site was full of campers. My ultimate stopping point was at Pecks Corner which was 6 more miles away. Without a pack, I could run 6 miles in an hour but with a heavy pack and blisters on both feet, I was hoping get there by 11 pm.

    Night 3. at Tricorner Shelter, I refilled my water. Prepped for my dinner. The rain stopped/lightened off once I got started again. People at the shelter thought I was crazy to head out again with the storm just happened and night was about to fall. I had my headlamp on my head and my dinner in my hand as I set out.

    The night hike was uneventful. I made good speed after the rest at shelter. My feet didn’t bothered me that much. It was mostly downhills. There were some climbs. Then I saw Gatlinburg nightlight in the distance. My spirit was lifted. I was still 2 miles from the camp – an hour more to go.

    No one was at the Pecks Corner shelter when I arrived. I had it all to myself. At first I was worry being so late to shelter that I might not have a place to sleep and it was also not so nice to wake up everyone (since most people sleep when sun goes down). I was relief that I didn’t need to make any apologies.

    Day 4. My feet improved after a night of drying out. They were still tender from the blisters, I put on old wet socks. They were all wet. I tried to find a pair that seemed clean. I tried my best to descend from Pecks Corner as fast as I could. Day 4 hike was short. There were maybe 2 miles of descend. The rest 8 miles were mostly on flat trail – Bradley Fork Trail. I made it back to Smokemont by noon feeling pretty happy to have survived the trip.

    some photos from the trail

    oh and bears. I did saw some and all of them ran away from me. They were too quick for me to snap a photo of them. Cute animal.

  • Day426 go go go

    I have nothing to post, but going to post something any way because possibly this will be my last posting before a trip to the Smokies.

    As always what they say, man proposes and God disposes, one of the camp sites where I had a reservation got canceled due to bear activities. Scary. I might seem like an outdoor man but I’m not. How many times have I gone camping? Less than what I can count with my fingers.

    Any way, I called the park this morning and I was able to find an alternate site that is 8 miles away from the canceled one. Not bad. It will be a shelter on the AT. At first, I tried to avoid AT shelters because people snore and there are rats/mice at night. uhh, I know, right? 8-10 people in a dingy three sided house in hot weather. And I haven’t showered for a week? I don’t like sleeping next to anyone, you know what I mean?

    Well they say it is part of the AT experience (Appalachian Trail, in case anyone is wondering).

    I will be the guy hiking to the shelter after dark and make a lot of noise cooking my meal, while everyone’s else try to sleep. I figure, hopefully I get to camp by 9 pm that day.

    —

    This weekend is supposed to be a down time — cool chill vibe weekend. It still is. What’s next?

    Laurel Highlands race was supposed to be the highlight of the year. It took two to three years to get me there. Finally I did it. I hiked/ran the whole thing – in a day (under 22 hours). Wooo. I had in mind 2/3 years ago, you finish one big race and you hang up your cap and that’s it for 2-3 years.

    In the end, it felt just like any weekend. I am neither happy nor sad. Just, I was a bit tired afterward – ya couldn’t move the next morning – but couldn’t really sleep in either — my body wouldn’t let me. Maybe I drank too much Coke/cola during the race, I was up by 6 then even though I had the hotel till noon. After writing up the blog (day425) I decided to grab breakfast then headed back home. It was a long drive and after two hours, I had to pull over to get some close eye because I couldn’t keep them open any more. I did sleep until noon-ish and then continue my drive home. Got home, got things cleaned up and has been pretty much laying low.

    I am totally recovered by now. I have been back to running. Nothing broken. Still can run pretty well. I haven’t tested myself on any longer run than 4 mi. Still, I think I could do it.

    This Saturday, I will be attempting a 20 miler fun run. Sunday, I am doing a 4 mi race with the Potomac River (a shoes store here). I haven’t done anything like that since COVID19 happened. This is my first attempt back into a ‘real’ fast run.

    On the schedule, I have a couple races in July – Catoctin, and Camp Anderson. In August, I have the Moonlight Falls and Iron Mnt. In September, I have Eau Claire Marathon. Something something in October and then River Gorge 100 in November.

    My schedule is pretty stacked. Yet I am not stressed out about them after finishing the Laurel Ultra. It is all perception on how we see time. Happy Holiday everyone, enjoy your weekend…found out we have a new federal holiday today.

  • Day425 Laurel Highlands 70

    I have been waiting to run this race two years ago after hiking/camping the last 40 miles of it. Finally got to run it this past weekend.

    On the map, one might be fooled that it is flat as a pancake. Laurel Highlands is not. There are many hills and over the long distances, they wear you down. The elevation chart is deceptive because change in 100-200 ft for one little hill on the map is tiny compares to 70 miles, so they appear as flat.

    The two biggest climbs are on either end of the trail, with I believe over 1000ft. Garmin told me I had over 10,000 ft of elevation gain. Not sure if it is accurate, but that gives a feel of how much climbing there is.

    I waited at the finish line at 3 AM in the morning of for the bus to take me to the starting line. It was about a little over 24 hours later, before I made it back to my car. I ran all 70.5 miles of it.

    If you ask was the race hard? I don’t think it was considered ‘hard’ for ultra people, say compares to the Worlds End Ultra that I was volunteering last weekend. Laurel Highlands Ultra was not easy either. It was not a beginner race. Many people did drop, like one I was running with for many miles.

    My initial concern was whether I would finish. The course can be technical. There were a lot of rocks, some mud, and the distance was quite long – 70 miles. We had plenty of time 22 hours total to run it. I used all 22 hours, but the last 15 minutes.

    My feel is, it was just hard enough for me to get my foot into the ‘real’ ultra running. I ran a few trail races before. Rocky Raccoon was one. Old Glory, 50k at First Landing, and JFK can be considered a trail race too. Those races were like baby steps because they were less technical. The courses for those were mostly flat with hills like 10 ft ish (Old Glory was much harder, but was mostly on road). The Laurel Highlands was 100% on trail and hard trail due to a lot of rocks in certain sections I got to say. The trail was mostly well maintained and marked but still, it was a hard day of running.

    I made a few friends. Mostly with people around my pace. There were many strong runners. One guy in my group of the back of the pack runners said, he hasn’t seen anyone the first 20-30 miles because the strong runners bolted out of the gate and never were seen again. There were maybe 5-10 of us in the back. I might be the first person he saw all day – and that was because I was one of the few with a 5:30 AM start and I slowed down quite a bit that the 6 AM (slower ones) caught up to me. Many in the 5:30 start were super strong runners, and they didn’t slow down. The later start was for the slower people I think. Often time, I felt I was the last one.

    As the day progressed, Aid Stations were closing and the station captain was saying to his staff as I was passing through “there were only three more out there.” I sensed I was the last few runners holding up the station from closing. I didn’t mind though because I wanted those statistics to know how close I was to the cutoffs.

    Through out the race, I know I need to run about 18:53 minute pace to finish. I was somewhere close. By halfway, I gained about just an hour of buffer. Late in the day though as evening approached, my pace was drifting more and more to 20 minutes a mile. I started to see my buffer time being cut from an hour to cut off to 30 minutes and at the last 3 hours of the race, it was nail bitting, hovering between 5 minutes to 15 minutes to the final cutoff. There was one point, I told myself, I couldn’t do it, holding a 4 miles an hour pace and I might have to come in 5-10 minutes after the bell.

    I did it. I finished it. Couple other straglers with me also finished. I was with #120 for a bit. I thought she wouldn’t make it. She was sitting at the side of the trail around mile 55 at 9:45 pm the last time I saw her. She made it in like 8 minutes before the 4 AM closing (I had left the course by then, but I wish I was there to congratulate her on her huge finish). Her husband was her pacer, and he went out looking for her. He must have said many things to inspire her to get her moving and got her to the finish! She must have been like me, mad dashing to the finish line trying to beat the final cutoff. I didn’t get to witness it.

    For me this race was seeing people who were close to giving up gain a new momentum. There were couple others like this. It would be too much to share. Even if they didn’t finish, they tried and that was very inspiring (#142 too).

    Mostly note to self, #8 saved me from taking the wrong turn twice.

    Lastly, a crew at the Aid Station 5, saved my race for emptying half of the stuff in my hiking backpack. I was the only guy running an ultra with a 10+ lb sack on my back. The lady said, that wouldn’t do and made an executive decision to help me repack only the essentials. At the time, I said, I don’t even want to carry my hydration bladder. She said you must need water. Thank God for her! My pack was lighter and I drank like a liter of water every 8 miles. Was I glad I did not ditch the water at the station. Deep into the race could affect your decision making skill as you can see. I might have dropped from the race if not for her, either carrying too much or not enough. Otherwise, this would have been a very different report.

  • Day424 Worlds End

    A Big weekend – best and much hyped though I would not able to compact and let the world know how great it was.

    I forgot how I got into this but many months ago I responded to a call for volunteering at the Worlds End Ultra.

    Likely it was because my friend was also volunteering in it, I decided to do it. I might have written something about this back then if I care to go back and check.

    I was so looking forward to it and it was everything as hoped. Worlds End 100k was challenging course. Though I was not running it, I felt the intensity. I felt I walk in the field where the very best compete – the real deal of ultra marathons.

    I signed up for sweeping duty at the fifth stage, with a hard cutoff (from mile 35 to 50). There were four other sweepers before me though their cutoffs were not as strictly enforced as mine section. No one could enter my section once I started my sweep. I felt pretty important. I had the night portion from 5 pm to 9 pm, with 9 as the cutoff. They warned me that last year, they couldn’t close the race until everyone was out and they were there till 1:30 – 2 in the morning. They made sure I understand that I should get everyone through that section as quickly as possible (and we were at the most remote place on the course).

    My primary concern…no I had several worries but first was that I was not able to run fast enough. Even though that is impossible but I was afraid there wouldn’t be anyone for me to sweep if I am too slow because these people were strong runners! Second that what if I injured myself on the course and they would have to send a rescue team looking for me instead. On the same vein, what if I got lost! I was afraid I would make a fool myself. Lastly, what if someone got hurt and I was not able to help them. It wouldn’t be wholely my responsibility but still I had a part in getting aid to the person and his/her safety is my responsibility.

    Me being too slow was out of the question. Still like in any races, you wouldn’t know until you do it. I had that butterfly in my stomach feeling before and during my run.

    I got to the course couple hours before my shift. It took me some time to flag down the volunteering coordinator, Tom. He was all over the place and I had no idea how he looked. Luckily I hooked up with my friend and he got me to checked out one of the radio/cell phones for key volunteers to be used for this race. I felt like a VIP carrying one. With that I got a hold of Tom. Tom was one responsible getting me to the right place on the course. It was far away from the start and finish.

    I got to the assigned station with Tom around 4:30. My start time was 5 pm. We saw two ladies leaving the station when we pulled in. I had to wait for exact time to start the sweep. However, no other runners showed up after the two ladies left (anyone showing up after 5 pm would be cut).

    So I started my shift. The first couple miles were all to myself. I was running on pace, actually a bit early. I know I was fast. The course was challenging. I immediately had about 1000 ft drop, like running along an edge of a clift. I didn’t really run but tried to get down to the bottom of the ravine as quickly as possible. It was fun and nerve whacking. This is the real deal, the kind of race I always wanted to do! Though it was not my race, I felt the excitement to be on the course.

    The afternoon was hot. The trail became smooth. There were rocks and stuff and crossings, but nothing too difficult for my fresh pair of legs. I did roll my ankle and F*, I continued on.

    Then came a big climb. Later I found out it might have been one of the hardest climbs. Midway through I caught up with the two ladies. I think I was like 5 minutes ahead of pace.

    Though I knew those two ladies were in trouble for going this slow since they had half hour ahead of me, but still enough time for me to able to catch them. I didn’t actually expect to catch them until like 8-10 miles later, but I caught them like on 2nd mile in.

    So I had a job to do. The runner, Gaby was pretty much tired but she was moving. Her pacer, Karen, was doing all she could. I didn’t have to do much to get them moving. As long as they were moving, my job is done. They were moving on pace.

    I got to say, we stayed on pace until the next Aid Station #8, Dry Run. As we near the station, I picked up another runner. He was in much worse shape. He didn’t speak much, together, we pushed into the station. Gaby arrived first.

    Dry Run station wasn’t going to close until 7pm. As me and the guy I picked up came in Gaby left the station with her pacer. As I said, the guy runner (forgot his name) was not doing great. He asked me if I was going to cut him. I said, no, he had to decide himself. If he felt he could continue, I wouldn’t stop him. I don’t think he even went to the food table but instead took a seat. He had stomach trouble.

    People at the aid station tried to help him as much as possible. There was another guy and his pacer too just dropped at the station (that was before I arrived). I announced to the station that I was the course sweeper for the section and I am the last person. They got busy then to pack up. Look how much power I had. Hehe. I was busy eating all the food they had left!

    The guy that did not do well, rested for maybe 10-15 minutes and decided to call it quit. The station captain then said I could continue on to sweep the next part.

    I am happy I got to run again and Gaby at this time had maybe a 15-20 minutes head start and I love chasing. I was wondering how long before I would catch up to her and her pacer again.

    I did catch up and we continued on pushing toward to the next part, which was about 4 miles away. We had a good chat going. Gaby was still upbeat though her chances of finishing was slipping fast. We were no longer on pace. Time was slipping. Her pace was slipping. I did not try to rush her. She had her pacer who would know how best to help her.

    Aid Station #9 was unstaffed and it was just water only. We didn’t stop. I think we were like 15 mins late by then (a mile slower). After that section, I picked up another runner and her pacer. I was not able to get her name but she was not a happy camper. I felt she was mad at me for catching up to her. Gaby quickly passed her. But I had to follow the slower runner since it was my job to stay with the last person. She told me she already decided not to continue the race and so would take her time to get to next station. I said, same, my only concern was that everyone keeps on moving and no one gets hurt. I don’t want to have to call in a rescue squad since that would mean I would remain on the course with the injured runner for a long time.

    We were probably 4 miles from Aid Station #10. We had two tough climbs and two also tough descends.

    I thought Gaby was long gone but she and pacer missed a turn. So they came back and we found them at the tricky turn. Gaby was able to save me from getting lost there! They brought along an even slower runner who also missed the turnoff.

    I was happy that I got a job to do. I stayed with this new runner, David, the rest of the ladies hurried passed. Comparing to David, the ladies were like flying. I was a bit sad that they were gone but I didn’t mind staying with David since it was my job.

    David was in even worse shape than any runners I came across. We had about 3 more miles to go by then.

    David was walking every few steps and had to bend over to breath. He was not injured but was totally worn. I felt sorry. I stayed with him and let him rest as long as he wanted. He was very cooperative. He would move without me prompting. I know he was doing his best. I love having him as companion. I think we were moving like a mile an hour. Time quickly passed. 9 pm came and gone – the cutoff. By then it was meaningless. Then 10 pm.

    David was kind. I tried to chat with him and he responded to everything. He did a full Ironman before, so physically he was strong. This though was his first 100k on a very hard course and on a hot weekend. His desire was strong, but the day just sapped his energy. He did improved after I met him, and was moving better and took less breaks.

    We kept pressing on to the Aid Station. There I reunited with Gaby and others. The Station captain scared me saying there was a runner still out there and they joked I should go back out on the trail to look for the dude. I took it seriously though at the time and was like a WTH moment for me. I wouldn’t cry but hell it would be whole night out there searching for this missing guy.

    We thought of different scenarios where I could miss the guy. We crossed a road couple times and ran along a road, so likely he flagged down a car and left the course. Or he might have taken a wrong turn like Gaby did, and that I passed him. Gaby said she saw a bearded guy, but I never came across a bearded runner. It got me all worry that on my first sweeping duty and I lost a guy!

    Anyway, they had someone to drive me back to the finish. I turned in my radio (was totally useless since I had no signal in my part of the course). There they told me they found the guy. He had a medical emergency earlier and had taken him off the course, so he was accounted for. It was not my fault that I supposingly missed him on my section.

    What a relief for me. I spent the rest of the weekend there, camping as well running part of the course after the race was done. It was a fulfilling personal time. I could write several entries just on the camping and the run I did. The sweeping duty is done.

    I hope to run the 50k there next year. 100k I probably can do it, but seeing so many strong runners being dropped, it gives me a pause on attempt 100k without fully know what I will be getting into. So 50k first is the thing to do to get my feet wet.

  • Day423 CRAW – a big finish

    CRAW is something so hard like impossible but once doing it, it is not too bad.

    I have been doing this virtual race, trying run around the world with a team of 10, virtually (of course). It is a bigger version of running across Tennessee, which I did last year (GVRAT) and I am doing again this year.

    What so interesting is even though it is a virtual race, it feels like we are actually doing it in real life (IRL). We are putting in our miles and doing as best as we can to finish it – like a real race. I guess a matter of perspective!

    I mean I do run a lot, but we usually don’t imagine able to run across a state in a summer or across the globe in a year (granted this is with a team). The funny thing is once you put a physical starting location and ending location, the training run reaches a whole other level. That is what the race director wants us to think. Just a different perspective. It is so cool.

    So yeah, I can say I am running around the world with 9 other people. Last night, our team finished Antarctica. It was a cold and windy night for me too. Luckily no rain. It was the biggest region of the whole race, which took us 73 days to do! I am happy.

    We know we won’t win any award. Our team is not that fast, pretty average, but we are moving consistently and we have a full team. There is a team of just 4 people-KOKO, but they are moving fast! – that’s wow. Our team is not like that. We are amazing too but just not that. Our team has been together for almost a year. We are almost halfway through.

    We’re just chugging along…

    —

    Next week…I will have some fun. I plan to be a race sweeper at the World’s End Ultra. I will be away. Wish me luck especially I got a tick bite earlier this week and it is not looking good. Fingers crossed I don’t have Lyme for a second time. That is some horrible horrible stuff. No runners want Lyme.

    After that, I have the Laurel Highland Ultra. I have been waiting for this for two years. It would be a 22 hour run for me!