In awe

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  • Last day

    Day 108
    It is the last day on my training plan but no running for me today because …it is the day before my marathon. I totalled up my mileage this winter/spring training. I ran more miles than in previous trainings, just by a little, rounding up 350 miles (spread sheet says 346). Personally, I didn’t feel I have run that much over last 16 weeks. I had too much time off. I was aiming for 500 miles at the beginning. O well, maybe next time which is from summer to fall, I will put up 500 miles.

    Week 0: 5

    Week 1: 10

    Week 2: 17

    Week 3: 18

    Week 4: 25

    Week 5: 24

    Week 6: 22

    Week 7: 25

    Week 8: 45

    Week 9: 42

    Week 10: 43

    Week 11: 13

    Week 12: 11

    Week 13: 10

    Week 14: 15

    Week 15: 18 + 26.2 (if I finish the race!)

  • Calm before the storm

    Day 107
    I am having a great calm before this weekend race. No marathon is easy. I don’t think this one will be any easier than the last one. Three more days. As they say, I hope to remain healthy until the race day.

    I had a nice run last night. I almost tripped at the beginning for hopping on the sidewall curb and then lossed my balance. It reminded me to not to do silly/risky things before the race. The rest of the run was uneventful. I was running with some weight and almost couldn’t keep up with the group. It was another silly thing that could overtax myself before the big race.

    Our family is dealing with some family emergency/crisis and my mom probably won’t be able to attend my race. I am also kind of not wanting to run but instead to go for a camping / backpacking trip. I will be packing tonight and get on the road after work tomorrow. Probably doing another silly thing before my race. I know racing is everything to me…but kind of want to drop it all and walk away. I could in theory go camping, then show up on Saturday early morning (5 am + 2 hrs from campground) for bib pickup and run and then head back to the woods for more camping before going home.

    Don’t know yet. Will have to do all the planning tonight.

  • Pretty normal

    Day 106 – weekend

    The weekend unfolded as planned. It was a little better than planned because I picked up my bib on Friday instead of Saturday (I used the extra time to catch some afternoon zzz). The biking event went as expected. Me and another guy biked into DC for the cherry blossoms. It was part exercise and part social. The flowers were past their peak bloom but they were still stunning nonetheless. Heap of people. We couldn’t really bike, we dismounted and walked and then biked back to Alexandria.

    The next day, I did the famed cherry blossom 10 miler. It was my first year running it. I was assigned to the red wave starting group (2nd wave), 3rd wave from the elite group. I got as close to the first wave as possible to see the elites off but couldn’t see anything. When it was my wave group turn to run, of course everyone around me was super fast. The entire race, I felt I was running backward and it was demoralizing that I couldn’t keep up with them.

    My time wasn’t bad. I reached 5K point at 25 min (I ran 24 something couple days before). I reached 10K right on pace too at 50 mins and 15K at 1:15, still pretty much on pace. I was keeping a pretty constant pace. I finished about 30 seconds from my personal best but didn’t break it. It was close. I actually was not trying to run too hard because my marathon is coming up. It was still taxing no less.

    At halfway I was a bit tired and my pace was slipping. A friend came out and cheered me unexpectedly. I heard someone shouting out my name from the crowd, of course my bib has my name, but I turned and searched for the voice. And saw my friend, someone whom I run with weekly, from the crowd waving. It gave me an extra boost for the next couple miles.

    Also, I reached the part of the course where the marching band were performing, and they gave me a boost. I don’t know why I love cadences. My feet felt in step and I was surging forward. Too bad it was short lived. Once I don’t hear the drum any more, my pace slowed down and people were passing me again.

    The event was well organized. I didn’t stay too long afterward. I had scheduled a fitness session at noon so, I left to get ready for it.

    We did about couple hours of light exercises and hiked along the C&O Canal.

  • Nearer

    Day 105 – kind of a long Saturday Rambling

    I feel like whining. I have been sleeping early and waking up early. Trying to square away my life. Boy do I need to get my life together. It was a little in that direction this week.

    I put away reading my cheesy online novels. They are such a time sink. Most of the things I do on my phone are a time sink. Every time I pick up my phone, it could be 2 hours gone by without notice. Hence, I usually don’t sleep until past midnight. I controled myself this week.

    I had a quite an adventure yesterday. Went out for lunch and left my phone at the restaurant. Luckily the staff picked it up and kept the phone for me. I later went to get it. It created a little anxiety separation for me. And my plan for the night was disrupted.

    I was going to go out for maybe a 10 miles run and remembered that I signed up an evening 5K race at Crystal City. It was a rare event for me. People say I just signed up too many races and can’t keep track of them. I did this one last year. Pacer has this event, every Friday in April, you can do a 5K after work and then chill with a cold beer.

    I didn’t chill. I was rushing to pick up my race package for still another race back in DC, the Cherry Blossom 10 miler for Sunday. I made it back into town before the place closed. Got my bib.

    Still, I took the train home. Picked up my car, drove to the restaurant, which was back the other way across town. Got my phone, then realy chilled. It was 10 PM by then. In our beighborhood, there is a fad with popups like Kungfu Tea. They are everywhere now. So, I stopped into one of them and had my Kungfu tea before driving back home. The Tea kept me up all night and I caught up with most of the online novels. Went to bed with a smile. It is like an addiction to me! Late, very late to bed!

    I am just a week away from my spring marathon. My best friend asked me how my running has been. Not ideal. It is too late to do anything about it. I had couple weeks of rest in March because of shin splints and also some personal matters that had kept me from running. I am slowly easing back in. It is like a reverse tapering, but before the race! Interesting.

    We were blessed with good weather this week. It was actually quite good weather for running. I ran a 5k race last night. My time was 24:25. Not the best, but it was in the 24 min territory and that for me is good. There were not too many 5k where I got to the 24 min range, I probably can count them.

    I had an amazing run Thursday night with the group. There was a new guy showed up. He and I were the fastest that night. We had a slow start but gradually increased our pace over a course of 4 miles. Half way I was out of breath. We eased back down for my sake. Then at the last quarter of mile, we went all out sprinting. That was the bomb, because in my life, I never tried to run my fastest with someone except for races. … I mean in a race I run with strangers, but this time, it was like competing with a friend. I was like a 5 year old. I totally emptied my tank on that last sprint.

    No hiking for me this weekend, and kind of disappointed at this. Actually there is no hiking planned until the end of the month (and I might be leading it). Last week trip was so awesome, that it was kind of expected to have one every week. But for me, hiking/backpacking is a lot of work! I just like someone to do the work for me.

    I think this weekend will be a normal one. I will will have a social biking today from 10-3pm to see the cherry blossoms. Then I should rest early, for tomorrow I will do the cherry blossom 10 miler.

  • Blossoms

    Cherry blossoms are blooming and the horde of people descend to the Tidal Basin to film and take photo of it. I went with couple of my office mates.

    Cherry tree in full bloom with people milling about at the tidal basin, overlooking Jefferson Memorial in background
    People at the tidal basin, overlook Jefferson Memorial
    Photoshoot of cherry tree blooming with Washington monument in the distance, clear blue sky overhead

    It is a preview of the famous Cherry Blossom Race this Sunday. I will be running the full 10 miler.

    Day 104

  • Impression

    Day 103

    I have been to many great hikes. Last weekend was one of those perfect hikes. In term of work out, It was about there. I wasn’t totally exhausted but I got blisters, probably from getting my shoes wet. I got chaffing, probably from wearing cotton clothing. My hips was bruised from carry the weight of the sack, my friend was saying what do I carry in that thing. I brought more than enough food to eat. It was just perfect but my friend had the Friday meal ready for me. She also gave me ‘brownies’ that was good for lunch. We hiked out early on Sunday. So I saved three meals. I had about three meals left over.

    One thing I learned was I need to get the system down. I have been out a dozen of time but it still feels like 4 or 5 times. I still don’t know what to do or how to pack. It took me too long to organize or get dress in the morning. Twenty some minutes to take off my clothes or putting them on is way too long :). And I only had one set.

    Routines. Routine is good. I need to get myself down on routine. Like what to eat and how to cook. Even boiling water took me longer than my friend who cooked her entire meal.

    Bearbag. Yup. I forgot how to do the PCT style hang. It took me too much time getting the robe over the tree. Got to remember to bring a small pouch to put a rock in to throw it over the tree. It was just unbelievable. There were many things I felt I know, but actually doing them, they felt like the first time.

    I slept great. I love sleeping next to the creek and also on the ridge.

    Another thing I appreciate from this hike was it was a preview of the run I will be doing in two weeks. My run will be on the road but it will have similar elevation change as the hike was. I will be running on Blue Ridge Parkway.

    The whole hike was generally peaceful. I had no great alarming thoughts. I was feeling generally calm and happy. My life was peaceful. In the past, hikes provide me a mean of escape, this time, I was not running from anything. It was as pleasant as a walk in the park.

  • Torry Ridge BP

    Day 102

    It was a beautiful hike. My friend and I spent a couple days doing 20+ miles. The first night, we hiked a mile to the camp site. There were three other people there already. They happily let us shared the camp. They were using hammocks and so there were still room for us to pitch our tents.

    We got up at usual backpacking time, and after breakfast we set out. There were a brief rain for maybe 30-45 minutes. We actually got back to the car and sat until the storm passed, since there was no rush.

    We hiked a short loop, 20 Minutes Cliff/Overlook — that was what it was called. It think it took us more than 20 minutes to that.

    We then got to the Slack Trail Overlook and continued hiking up on the Slack Trail to Torry Ridge. We did the whole trail and reach Sherando Lake. We stopped for a twenty minutes lunch. The lake was a popular spot. We saw several other families out and about at the lake. But we pressed on since there were some rough climbing for the rest of the day.

    He hiked up Torry Ridge again, and that was a tough climb with a full stomach. The rest of the hike was not so clear to me since I didn’t look at the map for this portion. We hiked to the Torry Furnace to connect to the Mill Trail, which runs parallel to the Torry Ridge Trail. We did the whole thing and at the end we had to climb up. That was one of the most intense climb especially when we were tired (it was around 5-6 pm by now). We could have camped below in the valley by the river but we want to leave early the next day with less mileage. Based on the map, if we camp at the ridge, we only have about 5 miles to do the next day.

    We met another backpacker and he said the ridge was too windy. However, we decided to press on ahead. It was indeed very windy. Luckily the temperature was warm. I was able to sleep but the wind kept my friend up.

    The next day was an easy down hill hike and we were out by 10.

  • Misc – Random Thursday

    Day 101

    I signed up for few more races. Now don’t remember what I signed up. The biggest race was JFK 50 Miler in November. I wrote about of not doing this race because I might not recover in time for December hiking /trek. Couple things, Earth shattering thing happened in my life last week, what do they call it? YOLO? I felt I have a new leash on life and what I immediately did was registering for this race. If I don’t do it now, I might never ever do it. There you have it

    I signed up for Crystal City 5K. They will host a 5K ever Friday in April. I also signed up for Mother’s Day 4 miler. Originally, I was going to go out of town that weekend to do some training run in the mountain, but decided to stay put.

    I learned from a few things from my friend B, who is doing some fitness courses with me. I was motivating to think on one worse part of my body and do something about it.

    Action. Action. I got a new watch! Garmin 235 something. It was an upgrade from my previous Garmin 35? Something like that. The newer watch has more function like I could read my email / notification on the watch. It buzzed a lot through out the day.

    Weekend! I live mostly for the weekend. This weekend I will head out to the mountain, Doing somewhere from 10-20 miles hike with a full pack. We not sure where will will be going. The original site Torry Ridge seems to have some road work and we might not able to get to the trailhead. White Rock is our back up plan. Will see.

    I started running again, few miles at a time. I did about 15 miles this week. Yes, it is a far cry from 40 mile week.

    Locally the cherry blossoms are blooming. There is a kite festival this weekend. My friend brought a kite of a whale and she is going to fly it. It is humongous. I will be out of town though. My Cherry Blossom 10 miler race is next week. I will be looking forward to that. Then another week, I will be doing the first marathon for the year.

    That’s it.

  • Time sink

    Day 100 – Last couple days I have tried to stay away from phone, social media such as Facebook, and blogging, and email.

    My friend K and I have been discussing about these things over Sunday, how technology companies are bothering being unethical in designing their product that it is impossible to put down. The phone has features that will keep you on as long as possible. I have been notice how true that is.

    How much time do I spend on my phone? How much time is left for anything else? So I have been more conscious on what I am using my phone for. If it for checking email, I got to do it quick. If some emails are too long, then they won’t get read.

    I have been following blogs through my emails. So each day I limit myself to read one or two blogs and I got to do it quick — avoid the infinite scrolling blogs. Facebook, maybe only check once a week, and limit the time to maybe five minutes.

    Even with writing blog, … Keep it short. If it is over 5 words, it is too long. Haha. I really find myself no time for anything.

    Especially guys, my friend said, they need their sleep to produce testosterone. Their phone keeps them up and they won’t get their sleep, and so result in guys with weak body etc. Being a wimp. So I start to take heed, to sleep earlier. I’m thinking to keep my phone in the car!

  • 17.75

    Day 99

    I have been quiet the past week in term of running and really about two weeks since I put up 40+ miles. I really didn’t do much running due to work. I did not have to stay over time but it was extremely stressful and I was a zombie after I got off.

    For example, one day after work, I got on the train as usual thinking it was my train. I was sure it was my train, but didn’t realize it until it was like 10 stops later. My train does share the same track as this train until the split three stations down. Even then there was no excuse for mishearing the announcement at each station in which they would announce the color of line and destination. I missed it for like 10 stops until I looked out the window and saw the airport. My home was not any where near the airport, so only then did I realize it was the wrong train.

    The whole week was like that.

    Finally weekend came. What a relief. I had a full day. I had a race on Saturday morning, a 17.75 K, about 11 miles long, in the Prince William Forest. 17.75 represents year 1775 when the US Marine Corp was incorporated.

    I signed up this race originally to get into the Marine Corp Marathon in October. Those who successfully finish the 17.75 race is can bypass the lottery system for the marathon. However for me, I already got into the marathon because I will be doing the 50k ultra.

    The race started at 7 but we were advised to get there by 5 because we had to take a bus to the starting line (no car can park at the start line). I set my alarm for 3:30 since it would take about a hour to drive to the bus stop. I went to bed too late and slept through it. Luckily my mom called me at 4 though for an unrelated issue but that woke me up. To the race I went. I already had my clothes laid out and so, even though overslept I was not late.

    The morning was cold. The previous night we had a hail storm and high wind. Temperature steadily dropped from I think from the 50s to 30s and reaching 32 at 6:00 am. I was cold. I haven’t run for a week.

    The start for me was not good but I was in high spirit. There were more than 3000 runners. Surprisingly there were not a lot of fast runners. Most people around me were taking the race in a relaxing pace.

    After a mile we entered the forest. We had trail, gravel trail. Most people were road runners and were not used to mud and streams and rocks. I felt at home. They tried to go around puddle by getting off trail and going behind trees, etc. I stayed on trail and ran through any mud I found.

    Still because I think of lack of preparation, by mile three I was done. I was out of breath and my body wanted to stop. I couldn’t keep the pace and people whom I passed earlier were now passing me back.

    The trail portion ended and we got on paved road for most of the way. I as now tired. I had to reached deep inside me, by looking at the sky and trees and detached myself from the race. It helped. For rest of the race, my breathing calmed down. I could breath easily by mile six. I muscles though were not good.

    There were lot of hills. I think the first six miles were up hill and the remaining were mostly down except for I think at mile 9. There were couple of gigantic hills. I had to walk on those hills.

    I didn’t race so much for time. I was basically done by mile 6, so for the rest of the race, I was just hoping to finish.

    The last mile was a struggle. Everyone sped up, I was too but it was tiring. The feeling of crossing the finish line was both a relief and a feeling of checking off a box. I got my medal and food. I got my photo taken.

    The whole race was well organized. I took a bus back to my car and rushed to the next event.