We have a total of four training for MMT 100 mile race. The past weekend, we did the second run. Each run is about 30 ish mile and over four training, we would cover the entire course. For me, the training runs are more fun the the race itself.
Night before the run, we had a quick winter storm system swept through the area. The initial forecast was that we would received up to 6 inches of snow. Note, we had not had snow in our area for about two years until couple weeks ago. Now we had another. The governor did not declare a state of emergency but everyone was getting ready to brace the storm.
A friend asked if I would head to the training location ahead of time. To me that is silly talk. I love my sleep. I’d rather wake up early at 4 am to drive out than to camp out a night early.
As I was getting off work, the cars on the roads seemed getting nervous and maybe it was just me. I changed my plan to go home as soon as I could and packed my things. Everyone I know too was skipping town ahead of the storm.
I made it to the site by 8 pm. The night was cold. No snow yet. Our RD also arrived ahead of time and he built me a fire that potentially could last the night.
By midnight, he left to check the course and various locations. I let the fire died out and went to bed. It started raining a bit. By the time I woke up, the whole place was in a winter wonderland.
Everyone showed up. We left our cars at the finish and carpooled together to the start. I had a good day. My run was 30 minutes slower than last year. I was being careful of not to fall. And I was wearing my hiking boots instead of my trail shoes.
RD said, we need to carry headlamp in case some of us would be finishing at night. I had mine but I was telling myself, I don’t want to finish in the dark. I got back as the sun was setting and so were the last few of us.
It has been a quiet week. After the Icy-8, the next day I went out on the Bull Run trail to run. This is the trail in my neighborhood. We have a race called Bull Run Run (BRR) 50 (mile). I ran it last year. It is usually at the beginning of April and was a quite popular trail race, that usually sold out. Only last year was my first time getting in. They say, you have to be fast or lucky to sign up. I got in again this year, so I have to train for it. There used to be a lottery system because it was so popular.
I want to run better than last year when finished with only 15 minutes to spare. My secret goal (or not so secret) is to run it under 12 hours. This is hard.
It has some good climbings. Nothing too serious but the first time I ran on it, it was a what-the-hell moment. Now a year has past, and hills there are not too threatening. I would still walk up on most of them instead of running. I am no longer get out of breath. The goal is to be good enough to run on them even when I am tired.
So the last few Sundays, I have been covering the Bull Run trail. Usually I put in 25-30 miles. I call it my long run day.
This past Saturday, we had an official Bull Run Run training run at one of the notorious sections called the Death by Do-Loop. I suspect whoever came up with the name is a computer programmer because there is something called the Do While Loop. The concept is the same, you keep doing until it expires and for computer, it means go on forever (in an infinite loop). So our training was to run on the Do Loop until we can’t any more.
The portion we ran was about 7-8 miles long. There is a 1.5-2 mile loop at the end where many people usually get lost. I got lost there last year during my BRR race, so this year, I said I must run it so much that it would be impossible for me to get lost again.
I did get lost. I ran only two loops that day. My first loop was fine as I was following other runners. By second loop I was by myself. It was when the fun began. I was mostly deep in thoughts. And somehow I never exited the Do Loop but kept walking and running back and forth. I was not really lost but the trail was still new to me and I was surprised how it looped me around at some portion when I was not paying attention. So I went back and investigated how that happened. A friend, Ram came along and helped me and led me through the whole Do Loop again and I finished it. I did a partial 3rd and 4th Loop with another friend until it was near sunset before quitting. I had a good day.
I had an admirer who was impressed because I got into the Western States 100. We talked about Wasatch (another 100). They laughed when they found out I signed up for about ten 100 mile races this year. They said I must be rich! Not only is the race expensive, but flying there and the hotel cost would be through the roof. I said, I haven’t told my boss yet for the days I would be off. I am counting all my PTO.
My left ankle took some beating from the weekend training. I did not roll it. It felt numb after spending a day on the Do Loop. I have not been on trail that much the last couple months since the Devil Dog. Now suddenly I am back on the trail my ankle is complaining.
The very next day, I hit the Bull Run trail again. While it was raining a bit, a friend came and join misery. There was a lot of mud. We slipped and slided around. It was fun, satisfactory fun that we put a good training. I finished the day with a bowl of hot soup.
I am proud that I have been consistently trained on the Bull Run. Definitely, I will run better this year.
Where was I the last two weeks? I have not been training much since coming back from Florida. There is very little to report. Time flies. Summary, I trained for first 6 weeks. Took 3 weeks of easy running. Took last 3 weeks off. We are now at week #12 of 25 weeks, midpoint. Another 12 weeks of training comes race day.
We had the warmer weather back. Mid February usually means icy and cold. I signed up to run Icy 8 just to fill my schedule. It was one of those last minute sign up.
It is a local race about an hour away at Lake Anna, a well known location for the Virginia triathlon in warmer time. This was my first time there
I know some local runners would be also running in it. I met the race director from other races I ran. I ran their OSS/CIA as well their 12+hour ATR maybe last year. It was good doing a race from the same organization because I know what to expect even if this was the first time running at this particular event.
The race format was new to me but nothing too difficult. We had eight hours to run as many miles as we could. We had two courses to choose from, a short course of about 4 miles (more closer to 5 miles really) and a long course of 8 miles (I think a bit less than 8). Then there is a mini 1.5 mile loop as a last loop for those who still have time for it. During the 8 hours we could choose to run either the long or short. I ended up doing a short, 3 long and a short, so ended with about 32 miles.
The terrain was trail with some rolling hills, nothing too technical. It has 600-700 ft (640) of elevation over 8 miles, which translates to couple steep hills and a bunch of smaller ones. They are runable. Not too bad but not a walk in the park either. I ran the hills initially but over time, it got difficult by the second loop. Most people on average could do about 38-40 miles. The top crowd could put in 50 miles. For me of getting 32 miles is not bad, but I wish I could push a bit harder. My race at Clearwater had sapped my strength and I was not recovered yet from it. I did use up most of my time allowed. I finished my last loop with 10 minutes left. It was ideal.
A walk on the beach after finishing Icy 8.
It was a peaceful day for me. I arrived super early around 5 ish. The race doesn’t start until 7. I wanted to make sure I had a spot to park. Certainly, I did. I had the first spot near the finish. We could set up our aid station. I did not need to place a dropbag, so I did not set out anything. It was very cold that morning being so early. I think the temperature was around 32 but I knew it would rise to 65 later. I made myself to stand outside to acclimate. Many runners stayed in their cars after picking up their bibs. I wanted to chat with the RD because I was interested in maybe having him to be my coach.
15 minutes toward 7, we had the usual race briefing. We started off exactly at 7. The half marathon start around 9 (I think). I did the short loop first because I was running with a friend (Charlie). We ran the MMT last year together. I met him and his few other friends again during the OSS/CIA and of course at Redeye 50k too. He wanted to do 8 loops for 40 miles and to focus on running just the small loop. We did the first loop together and finished just before the hour was up (like 4 minutes to spare). He was humoring me by keeping my pace since he is a much faster runner. We wanted to get back out quickly. We did. We only stayed at the aid station for couple minutes to refill our water.
Then I focused on my race. The long loop actually did not feel that long. I was expecting it would take me 2 hours to do but I finished the extra section within an hour. The Long loop actually connects back into the short loop with about two miles to the finish. I checked the clock and I would arrived back before the hour was up (9:30 I think).
The half marathon had started. My goal was to refill and head back out hoping to catch up with some half marathon runners. The faster people would already near finishing but the slower ones (walkers), there was a chance I could. I did catch some.
I finished my third loop some time after 12. I don’t remember the time. Now it was a decision, should I do a short loop and then push for a long loop at end. I know doing two long loops was out of my ability (due to time constraint). I really wanted to have a short loop in. The smart way is to put in a long loop first, so I decided to run smart. By now I was tired. I stayed at the aid station for over 15 minutes. It was way too long but I felt I needed the food, etc. I took a hot dog and some ramen soup. Also I refilled my water. I knew this was probably my last loop.
I got the long loop done and I still had an hour 10 minutes left. Some runners already called it a day and was packing up. I knew I could fit in a short loop so I went back out. Some who knew me was surprised. I said I can’t leave time on the table (I see time as money).
Halfway through the short loop, Charlie joined back in. He came out the long loop extension and caught up from behind. He was tired and so was I but seeing him brought my spirit up. He said the same that caused him to run faster. I stayed on his pace for a mile or so. We knew we still had 30 minutes left on the course so we tried to push to the finish. Charlie took off at the last mile. I at first was encouraging him to go faster hoping both of us could get back with 20 minutes to spare to do the mini loop (1.5 miles). Charlie did not believe we had time left. I said, lets decide once we get to the finish. We ended up did not have the time. I finished my loop with only 10 minutes left. I knew doing 1.5 miles (closer to 2 miles) was out of the question. Charlie finished ahead of me and was waiting for me to come in. I was happy with my 32 miles.
We had the award ceremony. Everyone got something. There were some goofy awards such as oldest runner, happiest runner, and other categories. The day was beautiful. We finished early. I was glad it was one of those rare day in where I could just run and enjoy.
I thought I have a good sense on my ability after these last 7 years. My fastest runs all have been in the early years 2016-2018. I went into Clearwater Marathon to do a 50k with more like a vacation in mind and not expecting to set a record. It surprised me when I finished faster than I ever had before. Must be the nice weather and water.
Clearwater is a destination marathon. When I checked the entrant list out of habit to see if anyone I know, I saw there were a lot people from out of states.
It has been on my list of places to visit since couple years ago. My cousin has been there. He isn’t a runner. You can’t go wrong with a visit to Florida in the winter. I searched and found they do have a marathon. So I registered. It served for me to cross off one of the 50 states. At least that was last year plan. This was before I decided to run at Space Coast.
I did an impromptu visit to Florida over the Thanksgiving and ran the Space Coast Marathon (report). I picked Clearwater over Space Coast because it was the cheaper option (my logic, ended up doing both, the irony of instead saving money I spent twice as much). A marathon in Florida wasn’t technically needed any more. Still, I like to run as many marathons as I possibly can. It was in the pipeline, and the show must go on. Other justification was this was a last fun trip before the hard work for the 100 milers.
Clearwater was kind of my first 50k for 2024. Road marathon, that is. Now here I view 50k and marathons to be equivalent. Yes, a 50k is almost 5 miles more, i.e, 31 mile instead of 26.
I ran a 50k not long after the new year at the Mid Maryland 50k race, which was a trail race in bad weather. Also I ran Redeye 50k on New Year day. Those kind of runs did not count because rail runs are a different beast. Trail runs are almost training runs. I don’t put all my effort in it like road races. Mostly it is the pacing. Trails, I run at 15-17 (even 18-20) min a mile but road races, my speed is higher and this time at 11-12 mins per mile. Road running is what I like the most. I like the fast pace, big hype, and many people. I don’t know why I like it. I just do. All those things are what many ultra people do not like (true, UTMB Grindstone, left a bit of sand and aftertaste in my mouth). The debate of road race vs trail race can go on forever.
Clearwater Marathon was held on a sunny weekend with 65-70F on a beach. It was a worthy vacation in the middle of winter. I can’t say enough, no wonder people love to go to Florida. Back home for me was still cold and in near freezing temp. Two different worlds.
My mom chose to come along. I don’t mind. I did want her to come along. Trips are better when they are shared to have someone to witness my performance and fun. However, I have gotten used to traveling alone, so having an extra guest kind of change the dynamic.
My trip started with a lot of rough spots and mishaps, though many were out of our control. First was the last minute need to go back to my house for my ID card (because I wouldn’t be able to board the plane without one). I didn’t plan to take the day off work, but situation forced me to leave my work early.
Then I had to pick up my mom, which was not on my agenda. She was going to meet me at the airport originally but some complication came up, too long to share. My mom always wants to do thing her way. She had arranged without my knowing, my transportation by asking my cousin for a ride for me! It was quite convoluted, in that I had to drive to such and such place, leave my car, etc, meeting her, wait for my cousin. Also on the way back, I would have to find a ride to my car etc. It is like 9-10 steps to get one thing done. At the time, we were expecting a snow storm on our return. I wouldn’t like planning things depending on contingency, like what if we won’t make it back in time. In our area, with snow, all plans are off. And indeed, we couldn’t make it back. Why don’t I just meet her directly at the airport, just one step. I can get myself to the airport just fine as I have done so on many of my trips. I don’t need my travel plan to get more complicated involving myself with everyone in my family and hers. Then the argument became, if I can get to the airport so easily, why don’t I go pick her up too. But she lives literally next to the airport. The drama. The planning differences between someone who flies once every 10 years versus one who does it 10 times a year.
It changed my travel plan a bit from taking the rail to driving and parking at the airport. It ended up being a better plan to have a car instead of taking the train, because I went straight into work once I came back. Having a car at the airport was nice (I could also leave my car at work). The cost was about the same (I got a discount for parking at the airport).
At the airport, the airport’s internal rail to our departing gate (concourse) was not available. We were not sure what happened, nor did the staff. No announcement was made. They must have taken one of the trains offline or trains were required single tracking (sharing the same rail going both direction). We waited on a crowded platform for 30-45 minutes at the busiest time with no train appeared going to C Gate and it brought undue stress for my travel companion whether we should walk or continue to wait for the train. A side comment, after being in many other airports, our airport at IAD is a bit over complicated and over-engineered. It also lack of signs and such of where and how you need to go if things go wrong, this time, train was not working. Taking the train was the main (and only) way to go from Gate (concourse) to Gate (concourse). And hmm, the planner never expected the train to not being available.
The train did come, and it was packed already. People were smart to take the train to B Gate then rode it back to C — which might seem logical but not, because the line is is not linear, anyway, they were smart in beating the crowd. Don’t ask why B Gate is in the opposite direction as C and our location we were at was not A but T, which is in the middle between B and C, yes Dulles is confusing; the staff told everyone not to board for B Gate train because it was going the other way, however, many did and ignored the staff. Luckily, we managed to squeezed in and we got to our gate just in time for boarding. The parking and train delay used up our two hours we planned to be at the airport. I was planning to work remotely at the airport as I had done in past trips. Not this time. We barely made it to our departing gate. I don’t usually use gate C either, being I don’t usually take this particular airline. I did it this time because it was the cheapest direct flight. When it comes down to traveling on 3-4 major airlines, there is not much choices. Each airline like cable companies carved up routes where they have a monopoly over. My opinion, air traveling is dreadful, yet the only way. (I heard stories of those making 3-4 connections to get to a place, such as my Idaho trip).
We arrived late Friday night in Florida (when all settled, it was past midnight). The car rental was a breeze though, because we got into line before the crowd showed up, but I was given an electrical car, which I did not want due to lack of charging stations available and the time (7 hours) required to charge it before returning it. I did not want to complain too much seeing the long line and took what they gave me. I know I could “upgrade” or change or cancel my reservation and pick a different car, but it was late and I wanted to get to bed as soon as possible because we would have to be up before 5 for my 5k in Saturday. I was grumpy because my trip started out since noon, and I missed both real lunch and dinner. A couple hour trip has turned into a 12 hour ordeal (yes, first world problem). All the while, back of my mind, I needed to sleep. I have been training my body to shut off around 8 pm. I was cranky by now because it was way past my bedtime.
It also added extra burden to learn how to drive an electrical vehicle. It was not hard, but took me time to google how to turn on/off the car. There was no on/off button like I expected. Basically, step on the pedal and go. There is the little shifter thing but it has only three positions (not marked) forward for reverse, shifting back to drive. No one cares about neutral, unless of course your car breaks down and it needs to be pushed. There is a button for park on the side. You could go directly into park from either the forward/reverse mode. I was playing with the thing since it was so simple to me and didn’t know I had it on reverse, so when I let go the pedal, my car accelerated backward. I thought pushing the stick forward was to start the engine or go forward. Yes stupid me of not reading. Polestar was aiming for the minimalist look and feel, so instructions and words are few. Luckily, no one or car or pillar behind the car. The car was okay. I had a scare. I quickly, changed direction and headed out the lot. A fun learning experience. This is like in a movie. Comical at best.
Our hotel was satisfactory. It was one of the cheaper ones but it was along the race course. Ideally, my mom could wait for me there while I run. I would go by it twice during my race. Ideally, but things never work out like that. It was only a mile from the start and finish. However, the plan fell through due to my mom unable to get to the finish line on her own, so she had to come with me at the start of the race and waited, so much for the hotel.
I needed the walk and training for my hundred mile while on the trip. By training, I chose to walk to most places because most places were quite close and I did not want to pay for parking. My mom walked along with me but however, due to her footwear choice of wearing sandals, she got blisters early on (first couple minutes into the trip). I told her to go back to the hotel to change shoes, but she wasn’t sure she could find me again, so she stayed close to me. I was not going to go back with her. I got a race to do.
By Saturday, I had to sleep early for my Sunday race. I slept well, but my mom was up and about. She blamed the coffee that kept her up at night but I think it was her being on the phone the whole evening. She got very excited when she talked with her friends. For me, I needed my sleep.
She also did not bring enough warm clothing. The weather was not hot as she expected but got windy and “cold” in the 50s. It was 45F in Atlanta during our layover. By any measure, it got chilly on Sunday even down in Florida.
Her wellbeing became my another thing I needed to check off. It was not a game stopping moment but issues like these put a damper on the trip (things like not getting enough sleep, not wearing the right clothes or shoes or bringing an ID or whether she has her medications). I felt like taking care an adult child. I don’t check these things unless it is taking a newbie on a backpacking, where safety issue comes into play, even then, everyone is on their own if one chooses to bring less things. It must have been so long since I had a trip with my mom.
Even toward the end of our trip, we ran into issues. We ended up being stranded in Atlanta after not being able to make our connection flight due to our earlier flight being delayed nearly an hour. We might have made our connection (with only 5 minutes for the transfer) but I went to the wrong gate previously shown on my phone/pass (they didn’t expect me making it, so it was already changed; I thought I could beat the system by going there anyway), which did not help. Delta gave us vouchers for hotel and food. It was not bad, but we were separated from our luggages. Our luggages made it onto the plane and arrived safely home (Delta held our bags for us; and we were grateful), but we were left behind in Atlanta.
There were also major oopsies trying to get to the hotel in Atlanta during our layover with many other stranded travelers like us. There were two hotels having the same name (they are different tier) and my taxi driver took us to the wrong one somehow assuming we were rich people (what, is it because we took a cab rather than wait for the shuttle?)! We were not aware of it until at the check-in counter. My mom said I was scammed. The receptionist told us to wait for the shuttle, which might take us to the other hotel. I thought not. I decided to call an Uber to get us to the correct hotel. I guess, I should have gone with Uber instead of the airport taxi to avoid such mistake. Only good thing was we beat the other hotel shuttle van, which carried all other stranded travelers. The hotel shuttle only runs once every half hour (we did wait almost that long but it seemed never came). We had our room first. It was near midnight by the time we had everything settled down. Things like these made me angry, but I swallowed my pride and rode it out. By then it was the third day of having very little sleep.
We did not even talk about the TSA. Yes, Unlucky me. I was stopped by the TSA. It delayed me at least for 30 minutes when normally takes only a minute for me to get through. I had to be checked like 5 times. The first time, they said I was a pre-check passenger so they waved me through (I had to hold a sign so that people knows I was a pre-check; weird that I was the only pre check there, and maybe because I was the only one), but I think my laptop was causing an issue. I think some areas, like in the South, there is a deep distrust of the federal government, so people do not use the pre check program. They needed me to go back to be rescanned along with everything. I took off my shoes, my jacket, my hoodies, everything they wanted. I don’t mind. I’ve been through three airports on this trip and each airport TSA procedures were a bit different, but yes, I knew carrying less is better, clothes, shoes, belts, no papers or phone in pockets. Funny, they said I was not listening to their instructions because I started to take off my shoes. There was absolutely nothing on me. The guard had no clue what was setting off the alarm. It was flagged by probably people in the backroom. They couldn’t find anything. I think because my bag also used for backpacking and has been to many places, so it might have picked chemicals like propane that might trigger the sensor, but nobody knew. Yes, I had a water bottle too I forgot to empty. 5 times I had to go back through the security! The thing is each time they had to search my bag again and scanned with their special x-ray machine and made me stand aside waiting. Each time they needed a different person to check. Each time, I had to request permission to let me back out through their special gate (they said I had to go back out and I can’t just walk back through the medal detector, which makes sense to have one-way direction to avoid confusion of who being checked) and I had to cut back in line with everyone staring at me. Note, I couldn’t touch my bag. They handled it. They tried placing in different direction (somehow orientation matters). Five times, so almost all its 6 sides were scanned. They didn’t put it upside down. Each time, I was flagged again to step aside. Each time, the guards there acted like they never seen me before. I was ready to do a full body pat down, which they did. Luckily, they did not say they wanted a further interview me, they did ask where I was going and who I was traveling with, and my flight number, which are routine questions. You know you must be in deep doodo. I could not think of why I was stopped. Must be the Florida water. It was all part of the procedures. Why 5 times, my best guess was the machine malfunctioned. Yes, I hate traveling. Insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome. They could have said, I need to bagcheck it because it wouldn’t pass their sensor.
It seemed like I was just complaining a lot but like running an ultra, when I set my mind to run my race, no matters the costs or problems, I will accomplish my goal. So I pressed forward relentlessly getting past all unexpected things that always crop up. Only this time, there were more issues than normal.
I ran my race and got it done. I got myself back home to prove I did it. I was angry. The trip was exhausting for me and was many ways different from my trips in the past. It was no holiday for me. Each thing was not much, but thousand things, I was dead by a thousand cuts.
As for my run itself, I enjoyed it a whole lot. I arrived a day early so, I could run a 5k on Saturday and to check the marathon course beforehand. Sunday was the main event.
The race organization was good. It was in tip top shape like many of my races. The police and course volunteers were plenty. The course was well marked with cones. Almost every block had volunteers. Aid stations were about a mile or two apart. I did not need them but it was good that they were there. People were friendly. Only one thing that could be average was they had to reopen the road at 1:30 pm. It was enough time for me to finish a marathon, but for some people, 6.5 hours is not enough time. (Space Coast kept theirs open for 7 or more hours, I believed the last guy finish at 8 hours — officially 7 hr course but unofficially 8 hr). No such thing here. I left about 2 pm when everyone too left. The last guy came in at 7 hours (30 mins after closing).
The double loop course made things easier. We ran two loops. I think looped marathon courses are kind of boring to run. It does have the benefit of not getting lost and to go a bit faster on the second loop. I did not go faster on my second loop though.
The half marathoners were with us on the first loop. There were plenty things to see. I did not talk to anyone but #40, he said his name is Deco but I couldn’t him on the finisher list. He did finish though. Reason I mention is for trail races, we like to know who we are running with, but road marathons, people usually don’t talk. It is two different culture. The competition is more intense. There was a half marathoner who tried to race with me, and she did beat me at the last mile. She was with me for at least 10 miles. I tried to engage her in conversation, but she had her earbuds on. I was ignored. Yet, I was aware she was next to me, running side by by side. I ran hard. So because of that I got exhausted before halfway.
I did start off faster than I knew was wise. We crossed over three bridges. Those were the tougher sections.
We started at Sand Key Park. There were plenty of parkings. Race started at 7:00 but we were there by 6:00. We ran to Clearwater Beach (on the road, mostly main road). Then we were moved to a wide sidewalk/bike lane around mile 3-4. We crossed over to mainland. From there we entered some residental areas. We passed by a golf course. Basically running in a big rectangular shape on the map and we crossed another bridge to get back to Sand Key Park.
As with most races once the half marathoners left us, it was very lonely. I hit my wall early around mile 13-14 to my surprise (normally I don’t until mile 21-23).
There were about 1000+ half marathoners but only maybe 300-400 marathoners. The ultra runners were even fewer, about 100 of us. So the course felt a lot empty after the half marathoners left us. There were a few marathoners and ultra (50k runners) around me but everyone was far apart. Unlike before, there was no more running elbow to elbow. It really cut any chance of a conversation.
I have been in the rut before so I knew I just had to keep moving regardless if people were passing me and leaving me behind. Aid stations were about every couple miles apart. I persisted to go from aid station to aid station. I did not use aid stations much on my first loop since I carried my hydration pack. On the second loop though, stopping at the aid stations gave me a target to get to. Soon I got back into my running pace by mile 15 and 16. As an ultra runner, I learned to set mental goals, such as reaching the next bridge or the next aid station. No matter how long or far, you just have to pull yourself together. You just got to do it over and over again. It is a mental thing.
I was able to catch back up with some runners now. I also know there would be many new runners and they would too hit their walls for the first time in their life. Pretty soon I saw a few started walking. This was still early, not yet at mile 20 when majority of people would start dropping into a walk. I urged those not to give up. I was surging forward.
At mile 17, the 50k runners (myself included) we had a 5 mile section spur of an out and back (2.5 miles out and 2.5 miles back) and we were separated from the marathoners. I knew, it would put me an hour behind the marathoners by the time I rejoined their course. This also was my second low point because we were leaving all the familiar people around us.
I knew I had to do it, to make this trek. I signed up for a 50k so this was my race and my course. Luckily, once I made the turn, I was with many 50k runners. There were at least a 100 of us. It was a surprise to me because for the past couple hours, it was hard to find any ultra runners and suddenly everyone I saw was an ultra runner. It was an out and back, so on my way out I could see the faster runners already on their way back and after the turn around I could see the slower runners who were behind me. I was not so lonely after all. It was in about 40th place, mid pack, dropped to 46th after the official result released. We all gave each other encouragements when we passed because we know how boring the out and back course could be. This cheered me up considerably when I saw people, especially those who were struggling, making myself feel lucky that I was still running. I started to feel my pace was not bad. At the time, I did not know I was running at my personal best. It was just natural. I was not straining. It did not feel like a record breaking run. Runners call this finding the flow. I was swimming in the current.
I regained my momentum on the way back after rejoining the marathoners. I did not feel extremely tired as before and I was moving. I took some gummies that were available at one of the aid stations and swallowed down some Gatorade. My fastest 50k run was a little shy of 6 hours at the Marine Corps Marathon (around 5:56 time). I was not certain I could beat that, since I have been much slower recently since October of last year.
As I rejoined back the marathon course, I saw an official pacer ahead. I was not sure what pace she was pacing, since she reached already at the end of the street (maybe 100-200 yards away – 300 meters).
I asked the aid station volunteers what pace she was running but they seemed not to understand my question. I asked a few other volunteers too, none of them know or understood me or they were ignoring me. I did not want to waste too much time at the station. It was late in the day (for they probably were out there for 4-5 hours) and volunteers were tired. Unlike volunteers at ultra events who are usually knowledgeable and ready to help, these volunteers were only there to pour water for us and probably hoped their shift would end soon. They felt they had down their job with all the cups available on the table and I was ignored. Maybe I surprised them as the only runner who needed more than water. Only way for me to find out what pace the pacer is pacing was to catch up to her. It gave me the motivation to keep the pacer in my sight.
Less than a mile later, I caught up. She was the 6 hour pacer. I knew if I stay in front of her, I would get my 6 hour 50k finish and likely PR (setting a personal record). I told her how helpful she has been for me to have her as a target. Even though, I did not run with her at the beginning (since I was doing an ultra and ran faster than marathon crowd, but having her at the end helped; note, 50k people did not have pacers; some races do, but not here), but in my mind I was expecting the 6 hour marathon pacer to be around once I rejoined the course. My goal has been to keep the pacer in sight.
Funny, I did not see the 5:45 pacer. Probably there was not any 5:45 pacer. Maybe I did but did not remember. Somehow now that I was on the marathon course again, I was catching up the marathoners. Ultra runners were moving much faster compared to the remaining marathoners. Most 6 hour marathoners were either walking or doing walk and run. For me, I got a second wind and I was running. It felt good to show off. Soon there was only 5 miles left. I sent my mom a message to let her know I am expected to arrive on time. It was 11:50, and I had only 4 miles left. In my mind, I know I could reach the finish in an hour.
Then there were 2 miles left. The resorts and condos near the start came into view. I started to see many more runners, because many were moving slower, but I was moving faster. Everyone was like 3 ft to 10 yard apart. I continued to catch up to people closing the gap on many. I finished at 5:39 (race clock, bib time was 5:37). I was just happy to get it done and set a personal 50k record while at it. It was 14 minutes faster than my previous record. Not earth shattering fast for a 50k, but it is 30 seconds faster per mile. I ran at a 11 min pace. I know there is still room for improvement. I take it and PR is a good thing. Note, a 12 min mile pace is my normal pace. It felt good to run fast. Of course, I would like to do it in 9 min or 10 min, because in an ultra, that translates to hours or more of early finishes. In a race, every second count!
Unrelated. After I just finished the race, a running friend texted me that I got into Wasatch 100 on lottery! He was the same guy who first told me about my entry to Western States, a bearer of good news. The drawing was the day before but they did not post the entrant list until Sunday. I was following the lottery but they had computer issues, so we did not know the results until Sunday. Not many people were aware of me getting into Wasatch than Western States.
What this means, it is a grand slam (to do 4 of 5 historically prestigious races in a sunmer; I got into 3 so far) minus Vermont! I am on the waiting list for Vermont 100. Come on Vermont! Let me in. A friend said I should write to the RD to petition for an entry (they do have provision tickets available for grand slamers, however, I did not select it during the initial signup). I rather try my “luck”. I am 73rd on the waiting list at the moment. My chance to get in is not that great but there is a chance. We still have 4 more months before panicking. If I get in, that would be great, if not, I won’t cry over it.
Also unrelated, I had a EV rental car, believe to be a Polestar 2. It drove fine but finding a charging station and charging it to the full 100% was impossible. We did find an EV charging station in an empty office building parking lot across from the Buccaneers stadium, and it was cool I got to see the Stadium as a side trip. The office parking was secluded (dark) and kind of creepy to stay there to charge the car. We felt like trespassers. We charged it for 2 hours and it got it from 75% to 87%, which was good enough if it was my personal car, however, our rental agreement required it to be at 100%. It probably would take another 3-4 hours to get it to 100%. I had to pay a surcharge for returning it less than a full charge. The fee was almost as much as my rental. Yes, my rental cost was quite low, cheaper than hiring an Uber. I was not happy nonetheless. I wouldn’t want an EV again but the experience of driving an EV the first time was well worth it.
Conclusion: We encountered a host of minor annoyances on this trip, but we were blessed with the warmer weather compared to back at home. Be thankful. We (I) had fun running my race and setting a personal record. I have been a slow runner, so it not typical for me to do a marathon and break a record. I take that gladly when it happens. Clearwater is definitely a destination marathon. I recommend it. I would go back if not for the other 35-36 more states I want to visit.
With my 100 mile races getting in the way soon this year, doing marathons would have to wait a bit till next year or later. There is at least one more marathon this year (Delaware in May). Clearwater definitely was a time to be treasured and remembered.
Last week of January and my training had been through a rough patch.
Snow came and gone. Temperature was warmer now (70F this weekend).
No more excuses of not running.
Why sign up for a race if I don’t intend to run it someone asked me? Many people would want to take my place! 🙂
I guess I have to put more effort in it
This week had some exciting news. I participated in the Vermont 100 lottery. I did not get in. But the whole time I was on the edge of my seat. Then I was hoping to get on the waitlist. I did not get placed in the top of the list but around middle at number 82. As of today, I was moved forward to places to #80. It is not likely I will be get in. I was offered to crew for a friend so I hope maybe at the last minute on the day of the race if somone drops out, I could take their place. Keep positive!
Another lottery is coming up. Wasatch Front 100 lottery is taking place this weekend. I will be again on the edge of my seat. I hope to get in. There is a 30% chance. Vermont I had 50% chance. By the time this post goes live, I will know the result.
Race related: I checked (map study) the Old Dominion course.
I planned to sign up for Icy 8 (next weekend). It is also Twot 100. Holiday Lake is still open. I almost signed up for Red Dirt 100. I might still go. There is Mt Michel marathon. I didn’t think February would be so busy.
I need to train for BRR 50. I hope to get a better score this year.
I don’t remember much. We had two snow storms. They shouldn’t interfere with my trainings much because most of the snow started or peaked during the day time after my normal morning runs. However, I chose to sleep in on both day.
So nothing much to report.
Monday. I believed I went out to the Bull Run trail and did 12-13 miles. Monday was a federal holiday, so I did not work. MLK.
Tuesday, an excuse to sleep in. Snow did not start until later. I don’t know if I ran since I did not record
Wednesday. I remembered I went out on one of the snow days and it probably was on Wednesday. Training on snow was hard. It was still soft on Tuesday but by Wednesday there were patches of ice. I stepped on couple of them and did some weird Michael Jackson dances but didn’t fall. After those couple close calls I decided to just walk the route instead of running it.
Thursday and Friday, I don’t remember being out. We had a second storm system plowing through. I took the night off.
Saturday, ran on fresh powdered snow for 10 miles. It was a good workout on muscles I rarely used. Running on snow is a different beast. Was moving slow. Downhills were especially fun. I tripped once and almost fell in face first on a creek but was able to regain my balance at the last moment and cleared the water. After that no more running for me.
Got two new pairs trainers, both are trail shoes on discounted prices. Happy about them because they were discounted. I wore New Balance before (road shoes but ran them on trail) that did not work quite well at my last MMT (feet were hurting badly at the last 25 miles). I plan to test/use these for my MMT100.
I still need some road shoes for my normal marathons. Personally I perfer wearing Altra Lone Peak but mine only last through a season. Devil Dog 100 totally trashed my favorite Altra. I have two other Altras for road but they seemed to fall apart too after a few marathons. I probably put over 100 miles on those as well.
Funny story (or a stupid thing), I never considered wearing trail shoes for trail racing until after Burning River where I did not have much traction support from my worn out road shoes on a slick muddy downhill trail where I took a few tumbles. Now I swore by it thag trail shoes are really made for trail races!
Health report. My left foot has completely recovered after a few days of resting. Now my right foot is acting up a bit after the Saturday run. Not really hurting but whenever I stretch it or curl up my toes, I felt some pain. Also, my weight has gone up a bit (4 lbs) maybe from a few days of resting.
Week 8 (last week of January) is mostly like week 7. I missed couple days of training for some unknown or reasons I couldn’t remember. Anyway, I will try to do better, now I am over a third of my 25 week plan. 16 weeks left. It was a good time to refocus.
This is the second half of the last post when I got too tired to finish.
Waterfall 50k (WTF50k) was like a walk down the memory lane when I attempted the first (virtual) waterfall run in 2020). I don’t remember why I even wanted to look for trail to run in the middle of a cold winter back then. I might be training for something. On a cold Christmas Day in 2020, I decided Waterfall was the hike for me, and I downloaded the trail notes and drove out by myself. At the time I had not met my trail family. I did everything by myself back then. I wanted to get into this run many times but I was not able to because I always missed the opening signup date, so I did many things by myself. The way of how the club work was not known to me at the time. This was back in 2020.
Ever since, I had kept my eyes on the Waterfall 50K run each year to run it in person. It was usually occurred on the coldest and nastiest day in our winter. Finally this year, I got to run both the MMT training run 1 and the Waterfall all in one weekend. That was a lot going on and as in my last post, mentally I was toasted, more on this. But now I have my trail family, and it is quite fun to see the same people over on both days.
Two 50k back to back is kind of crazy, but hey, as an ultramarathon runner, we kind of get used to it. Still the course was not an easy one.
This year WTF50 fell on another coldest day in the winter. The whole day was below 24 F (probably was between 18-24), and we knew it would be cold the whole day. Waterfall course would be mostly the last part of MMT, with Kerns Mountain, Duncan Hollows, and then Bird Knob. Duncan Knob is the extra and also going up Waterfall is not part of the MMT100 but it was worth it.
My memory of WTF was the nasty river crossing on Orange and I thought that was the Waterfall mountain. Nope, that was just the Orange trail, was it it at Gap Creek or Duncan Hollow. It was just nasty mud stepping on a creek up the mountain.
I never really found out what so bad about the real waterfall mountain climb until this year when I actually ran on the course. It is on Orange as well, but there is just one steep climb up to Chisman Hollow Road. Now I finally got my geography straight in that part of the trail from the parking at rt211 to here.
I arrived early as I usually do for all races. We were scheduled to start at 8, I made sure I was there before 7, I think I arrived around 6:30. I was not the first car but there were three or four others already arrived. Some had stayed from the night before. I could tell from the way they parked. Some were still sleeping inside their cars.
Again the day was so cold. I got out my car to stretch but quickly jumped back inside. Soon many other cars started arriving. We filled the lot. I checked myself in with the RD (Q and Burr). We had a group pic and some pre race briefing and we were off. They said we would have a clear day (no rain or snow in the forecast) but apparently they (weatherman) were wrong.
I was with my friend Amanda. I met her during my first MMT, wow it had been so long ago, since 2022. It was like a reunion since. It brought back memories. Amanda is well familar with the Orange trail since she had done the ring (twice I think) and this year she is preparing to do the reverse ring. The Ring is to run the whole Massanutten trail (70 miles) and the reverse Ring is to do it in the winter from another direction. I haven’t done the Ring myself, so I don’t know if it true that the Reverse Ring is way harder, but that what everyone said.
I followed Amanda and pretty soon we were climbing up on the Waterfall Mountain. The course was dry. But the climb was unforgetable. It was so steep. We hiked up. They had doughnuts for us at the top.
We reached Chrisman Hollow and we continued up to Kerns. I was more familar with Kerns having ran on it so many times for the MMT100. You can say I memorized every rock there. Kerns was my downfall during my first MMT, so it is always in my mind as being hard.
Today though it was not that hard. Yes it was rocky. And the leaves made it hard to run on. It started snowing when we reached about halfway. I was fine with it, but our group speed slowed down. There was another runner in front of us, but unfortunately, I did not get her name. We hiked the whole Kerns together until Jawbone.
I was still with Amanda. Amanda was being nice of not passing the the lady in front until the lady stopped to use the restroom break before descending on Jawbone. We passed her. Amanda told me turn on Jawbone and we left Orange.
Amanda and I ran down. It was quite exciting. Now I could recognize the trails and their names, it brought back memories of how hard it was to climb up on Jawbone during my MMT. Now going down on it was a cinch. It probably only took us 15 minutes to descend.
We arrived at the first aid station. We were pretty much the last one to arrived. There Amanda went on to climb Duncan Knob, but for me, I decided to walk out with another woman, Angie whom we met at the there. Angie does not believe she had enough time to finish the loop, so call it a day. Though we still were responsible to get our butts back to the parking lot on our own power. Angie was hoping to get a ride at the net aid station. However, she did not know the way to get there without doing the full loop as laid out in our turnsheet. I don’t either, but I was guessing Chrisman Hollow should take us out. People at the aid station (Kevin and Carl) said the same. We also had the option to go down on the Waterfall at Orange. Since it was snowing, going down by that route was not a good choice. I was not sure on the distance, but our aid captain believe we could do it. I think the time was still early, around 10:30 or 11 ish. Angie agreed to take the road. Together we decided to hike out.
I did want to go up to Duncan but it was snowing a bit hard at the time, hiking out seemed to be a correct decision.
Angie is from NC. However she and her husband had done many of the runs with the club. She is not new to trail runner. She would be fine walking out herself. However, since she was on my training ground, I decided to accompany her. We talked about many things. They (her husband) will be doing Iron Stone 100k this summer, a race I was considering.
The walk out was uncomplicated. We just stayed on Crisman until we got to the Visitor Center. There was an aid station at the visitor. We had to be there before 2:30. Since we were taking the road, it was not an issue for us. Also we already dropped from the run. Soon other runners who finished the Duncan Knob loop popped out from ascending the Waterfall Mountain the second time join us on the road to the Visitor Center. We had some fun cheering them.
There was a runner, a very fast runner, one of the top 10. He did not know the way or had the trail note or map on him. He ran by following another runner. The person he followed was an unwilling party and the guy did not wait for him. He was chasing the dude from station to station.
So he asked Q and those at the aid station for direction. So they told him a quick version. Stay on White, turn on Orange, then turn on White. Orange, Purple, Pink, and back on Orange. It was a bunch of colors. We knew there was no way he could memorize all that. They simplified for him to turn whenever he sees a new color. It was a joke and we all laugh. We knew the guy would not get lost because he was fast and he was aiming to catch up to the dude who just left the aid station.
We too went out from the Aid Station heading toward the 211 Parking. We would not ascend to Bird Knob as others do but to keep on white to the picnic area and then turn on orange. There were only two or three miles to the parking. While on the last part, the first place runner (Barett) passed us. We initially though no way he would be one of us because he was so fresh. I did not recognize who he was at the time. He had his hood on.
We arrived just a little after Barrett finished. For us we ran 17 miles. He did 31 miles, almost twice our distance. The dude was not even breathing hard. It was like a light jog in the woods.
I initially wanted to go back out to do the Bird Knob loop since I still had time, but it was so cold out there. They lit the fire and offerred me soup at the finish, and I was too comfortable to go back out. I ended up just staying at the fire for the next 6 hours or so watching everyone finishing their run. That was my day.
I have not successfully finished Waterfall yet. The time requirement was quite tough. We had about 9 hours. But meeting the 2 pm cut at mile 21 is quite hard to do. I know I will try it again next year.
MMT Training 1 was finally here. We did the first 32 miles of the course. I waited a year for this.
MMT stands for Massanutten Mountain Trail 100 mile endurance race, a run I have been doing the last couple years and is very if not most important run for me for the entire year. Last year, it was my biggest race. I finally “conquered” it. But still, somehow I am back at it again this year for old time’s sake.
It has a series of training runs leading up to the race day. Today was the first of four. I refer MMT both as the trail the race runs on, the mountain itself, and of course the race and the training runs. Everything is MMT. We often call the trail the orange trail or just orange because it is the color of its blazes (trail paint). We have many of our club runs taking place on it. The running club mainly started because of this race many many years ago (and the other race called BRR, but that is another story).
The day was as cold as last year. We met at Signal Knob. I arrived at 5 am like before and got myself a parking spot. Parking wouldn’t be an issue since half of us would carpool to the start. Signal knob was where we would be finished at. The group met here around 5:30 to sign in and then carpool to the Caroline Furnace and we would run back to Signal Knob Parking.
The key to this is slow people would get a ride and fast people would finish first, then someone slower would drive them back to their cars. It always work out everyone would get a ride one way or another and no one would be strainded.
This training is a point to point run as will the next one. Only the third and Chocolate Bunny Run would be on a loop.
I got a ride from Tony just like last year. We arrived and waited. This year, the ride was more subdue. I only know Tony, John, and Lorraine. Only John was talking the whole way. I didn’t mind. John was funy and my role model. People mentioned I am trying to be like John to show up at every running event. Little after 6:30, (maybe 6:40) we were given the go signal from our RD and off we went. There were about 40 of us.
We ran up the Moreland Gap Road. Soon we were sorted out by our pace. It was the same road we ran on a couple weeks ago for the Boyer’s Furnace 50k. I like seeing familar ground.
Kevin slowed down to run with me. He was the guy who finished Western States last year and was also at the Boyer’s Run. We talked about it. I told him not to wait for me since he is a faster runner. He was defintitely excited for me. He got into Leadville this year, so I am excited for him too. The other guy, Charles did Leadville last year, so it was really cool. Charles was not here today. I unfortunately did not put my name in the Leadville’s lottery, so there is nothing for me in hoping to get in. Thinking back, I should have. There’s always next year, or join the Life Time Fitness to get an entry.
When we got to the Orange trail (MMT trail), Kevin and a bunch other guys took off.
I was with a friend, Lorraine, whom I met at the Iron Mountain the last few years. This was her first time on the Orange. I liked to play the host, since she was on my training ground. She is a faster runner than me, but she held back to run with people so as not to be lost. I was pretty sure she has prepared for the run, so even if being on her own she should be okay. She is an experienced trail runner, who probably started running before the time I learned to walk. We stayed pretty much together until Edinburg (aid station).
It started snowing and also strong winds (gusts at 50 mph) were in the forecast. Lorraine was wondering if trees would topple over since the ground was saturated. We started seeing signs of strong winds. The howling from the winds was all around. Yet, we were not being blown very hard yet. There she and some others decided to head back to Caroline Furnace using the service road that ran parallel to the trail. It would be still quite a run for them. We had ran maybe 10 miles on the Short mountain so heading back would be just as long, but at least it wouldn’t be a full 32 miles as the course is called for. It is easier to get back from Edinburg than at the later station.
It was 10 am, I made it to the first cutoff and decided to move on to Woodstock. We had to be at the next cutoff before 2:30 pm.
I was moving fine but alone. Now I moved a bit faster with no one in front. Not long later I caught up to two of my favorite runners, Jeff and Jamie. They were usually faster than me but Jamie rolled her ankle and Jeff hiked with her to make sure she would be fine. Jeff gave her his trekking poles to use. Then he used some sticks he found for himself as in the year before. I always like him. What a gentleman. I slowed down to hike with them to Woodstock. Jamie was hiking but in a pretty fast pace.
We talked on various things. These two runners made me very happy as usual. I ran with them during my MMT races. Jeff has done MMT 100 and the Old Dominion race many times as a young man and until now. He gave me advices to be prepare for Old Dominion. He said expect the the heat. They ran it in 95F. Actually, last year when we met at Old Dominion, he pointed to me saying, he and I have to do this race. He has a buckle already but me, i’m in the hunt. At the time, I laughed it off, no, Old Dominion is too hard for me. Now, here I am taking it on!
They say to set “realistic” goals so we won’t disappoint ourselves. But I say, let shoot for the moon.
I arrived at Woodstock by 1 pm. About the same time Wayne and Cheryl arrived, the two of my other good friends. I was excited to see them.
I set off for the last leg toward Signal Knob parking lot along with Jamie and Jeff as they set out. We were in a group of about 6-7 people. There was Daisy and friend, Aaron and Nathan. Wayne took a bit of time so I didn’t wait for him, knowing he is fast himself and can easily catch up.
This section to me should be the easiest. Last year, I ran through this. I had expected to run through it again, hoping to beat last year time. We had about 12-13 miles left. We had at least 4 hours to do it. The elevation would not be much since we would mostly descending.
Wayne and Cheryl caught up. I decided to do a good deed for Wayne, who was being held back to stay with his friend Cheryl.
So I said to him to let me take over. I could stay with Cheryl and Wayne could run to the finish.
Initially, everything was fine. We descended from Orange after meeting the Blue trail (Tuscarora) from our left. We turned left on the service road. Jamie made a call to the RD (race director) to let him know she is ok and would expect to make it to the end.
We caught up two other runners Aaron and Nathan, who signed up for MMT 100 this year and out on training run, just like most of us. Jamie and Jeff were on a hill over. Our progress thus far was not bad. I hoped we could stay together all the way to the end.
Time passed quickly. We came to the last mountain, going up to the Meneka/Bear Wallow/Sidewinder Tr.
This is part of the Signal Knob loop. To me, this is home tuff because we only have about 4–5ish miles to go. It was 3:30 pm ish, so we still have 90 mins before 5 pm when sun would set. To me, that was plenty of time and finishing before sunset was not an issue. Often times in the past, I would run down from Signal Knob. It is easy on this side of the mountain.
I had the gpx course file loaded on my phone but I was not using it. There is no need.
Cheryl had improved of knowing how to use the directions from her watch. (see the story on New Year, when we got lost).
As we were decending from the mountain through a series of switchbacks, her watch threw her a curve ball saying we were off course. I was pretty sure we were on course to the parking lot since to me, there should only be one way off the mountain (and now I checked, only one way, unless bushwalk). Our way was the quickest.
However, we came to a fork on the trail maybe 3 miles from the parking lot. I was joking with her of asking which way we should be turning.
She was confused. Her watch was not working. I took the left branch, still being on blue (but my friend hadn’t learned to navigate by blazes). The right is the trail was to Mud pond/ mud gap was on a different color. I knew not to take that trail.
She asked me to check my trail note. I refused. But I know my trail note did not mention this trail. Cheryl believed we were close to the finish but as we hiked on, it seemed taking longer than expected and it let her to believe we were really lost because in her mind, we took the wrong fork and we should back track.
Sun was setting. Wind got stronger and temperature was dropping fast (from 60 to upper 20s, that it was around freezing). The temperature has been dropping throughout the day because a winter storm was on it way across the nation. The same storm system that caused a deep freeze through the US later in the week.
Cheryl started to panic that we were lost on the mountain and probably we would be frozen to death. To me, we were not lost, and I clearly knew we were only a few miles away. I told her before we would come to several side trails like that and a stream crossing below.
Her panic became a near total breakdown. Tears streamed down. She was not moving much. I urged her to keep on going as probably we were only half mile away from the parking at the time.
Nothing I said had any effect since she held onto the idea that her watch was infallable. Convincing her that I know the way or that we were on the right path only caused greater distress because I said those same words before couple weeks ago and got her lost ;). She kept repeating it is just like last time (meaning we were as lost as last time). I stopped responding to that. It is not like last time.
Later the next day, I was validated with a friend who confirmed his watch was also wrong at that section. There are many (technical) reasons why the watch is wrong (I won’t discuss it here). I ended up pulling out my phone and showing her we were on the race course. I am not sure if she believed me then. She followed me. Otherwise, I would have to run down to the finish to get some people to come up to lead her down.
At the last mile, the sun had completely set. We were going up on a small climb. She said, there shouldn’t be any more climbing, which was a correct idea I shared with her before, but this little climb was there from the year before. So I knew we were still going the right way. No point in arguing with her.
I continued to urge her there was only half a mile left. She later said that was longer than half a mile. She was right (half mile only starts at the group campground, where Orange met Blue), we were not at the campground yet. I didn’t intentional lie. I was just was not sure exactly how many miles at the time. I judged the distance based on my map and it showed 800 meters. I knew we were very near.
Then we saw two volunteers (Tonnie and her friend). They were either out to look for us or out for a night run. They urged us that we were less than half a mile away. We could see the Fort Valley Road. Cheryl said, she did not remember there was a road there. I told her, this location was different from when we started in the morning. All trails look the same to new trail runner. Road meant we were near to the parking lot and in no time, we popped out the forest. RD cheered us and relieved that everyone was accounted for. We were given warm soup/ramen and bread. They cleaned up and packed up. I was just glad the ordeal was over. Cheryl’s husband thanked me.
I was not lost, but the way Cheryl’s reaction or crying made everyone there believed I let her the wrong way or on a longer way. It is credible because couple weeks earlier I did lead her the wrong way and everyone knew that. So here we were again. RD was being diplomatic saying, it would be interesting to review her watch tracking later. I am pretty sure the tracking would support me.
I was a bit miffed. We missed the 5:30 cut off by a bit, so really was a DNF. I think we arrived around 5:40/5:50. We could have made it earlier if we did not slow down the last several miles, doubting which way to take. I was not doubting but I had to wait for my runner to make up her mind of which way to take.
Anyway, for me that day, getting in by certain time was not too important. It was but then wasn’t any more. I was glad no one was hurt. I believe it was a good object lesson for my inexperienced friend. I like giving real life practical training to new trail users: The to-do and not to-do when one is lost. Cheryl certainly learned/relearned many of the things I taught her during our first hike on the new year day.
#1 Lesson: again: dress warm for the weather
#2 always expext the unexpected. Murphy’s law
– expect to stay out longer than planned.
–map/directions. who didn’t bring a paper map but relied only on technology? gps is not 100% accurate especially out on the trails. Have a second and third backup, such a phone and a paper map and a friend. Someone didn’t print out the turnsheet RD provided for this run!
-Eat real food and water. my runner got tired/to the point of exhaustion by consuming mostly gels throughout the day. Gels work for marathon, but not so much for ultras. Ultras you have to pack your own food on your run
-being independent. Most trail runners are pretty independent. We help each other, but each one is expected to know the way and handle the course by themselves
–Preparation sums it all up. With preparation, you could handle most “emergencies”
We had to get home early because many of us would be out on the trail again the next day to do the Waterfall 50k. I will leave that for the next post. (Basically, I dnf-ed at the waterfall, but that is for the next entry).
Aftermath. This is pretty much a rerun of the new year post. Cheryl said no more trails for her, but her other friend told me pretty sure she would return. Soon a few days later, she messaged me about the Elizabeth Furnace Run in March, on the day the registration opened. So, I guess we are headed back out soon 😉
My friend said, she learned roads are good because you can’t get pick up (rescue) if you are not on a road when you are lost.
Almost another 3 weeks. No it is another 3 weeks. I use 21 days as a gauge. This second set of 21 days was pretty hard. Training can hit a wall as well. It is not what I want.
I want change in a good way. I want to feel a bit off balance all the time. This couple weeks seems to be my body coping with changes and tries to pull me back to the center. I need to push harder toward the changes I want instead of moving back to what I was. Yes I need a plan and stick with it. I need to up my game.
It was only last week being the new year and with new resolves and new hope. This week already felt old.
Monday: Normally I don’t run on Monday but I went ahead and did it. It felt good (or as least now it did)
Tuesday. Rain. The reason I shifted my run to Monday was because of the weather. Morning was fine though. I don’t remember if I went out to run. Tuesday night, I was working on my Sydney trip.
Wednesday. Ran well. Or I thought I did. I didn’t journal, so I don’t remember. I have been getting out the door earlier and earlier. Today I was out by 5:30 am.
Thursday. A double run day. I ran in the morning. 10 miles. I was out by 5:15. It felt good to start early. In the afternoon, I had a solid hour of run. It was on a local trail too.
Friday. I felt strong, but I took the day off, mostly because I would have some long runs on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday. Massanutten Mountain Trail 100 training run 1. 32 miles. It should have decent workout for me
Sunday. Waterfall 50k, also on part of the MMT 100 course. It should be a good workout too. Duncan Knob, Kerns Mountain, Birb Knob. All good significant climbings.
Update: There are so many areas to focus. Hill training, speed work, down hill, strength training, interval, tempo run. Before I know it, the week is over.
I brought some new gadgets such as heart rate monitor. Trying to do zone 1 and zone 2 training to bring up my efficiency.
My ankle is a bit better than last week. There is less a feeling something is wrong with it.
I might have run a bit much, my right shin started to feel something. I lay off some miles and hopefully it would recover by next week. We will see. I am push myself toward my boundary.
The week has been normal. Next week will start again. I signed up for some races. End of the month approaching soon. BRR and MMT trainings would be in full swing soon. I signed up for Catoctin 50k, I will need training for this. Last year I DNF’d it so, I am seeking revenge. Catoctin got some wicked hills. I need to go out there to do tempo.
It was my first race of the new year. I was having racing fatique or hangover from last year. I am sure readers are too when almost every post is a race report. I was not going to sign up, sometimes it just a bit overwhelming to have a race or event every week.
In the end couple reasons got me to sign up. First, a race is always a good training run because I usually run at my best in a race.
Couple of people I know would be there. I drove up with Caroline who introduced me to her friend who finished Western States 10 times. I knew Tom Green would be there, but whether I could talk to him was unknown. My friend had a high certainty I would. There are many good runners in our area (or club) but actually to be able to talk to one is kind of hard. He is no just anyone, but a living legend.
The race started on time. We expected snow, rain, and heavy rain. They all came pretty much on schedule. We were dumped with a lot of precipitation.
The course was 6 loops, 5 miles-ish each and would give us 31 miles.
I ran as I normally would. I carried a heavy water pack. I didn’t mind. I normally drink it all without having to refill it. I dressed warmly, and purposefully overdressed for the occasion. I had a rain cover on me, a fleece, and an outer winter coat. I also brought some hand warmers and one time use rain poncho. I planned to use an umbrella too, so I had it in the car at the ready.
We arrived early and got a parking spot right in front of the start/finish pavillion. This came in handy because at each loop, I could go back to the car for my stuff and it served as my own aid station. I was not planning to use it, but since it is right there, I could if I wanted to. Many people set up tents and tables for their relay teams or their runners in the grassy area. It reminded me of Rocky Raccoon or Pemberton 24, races I did, that more like a camping trip. I did not have to set up my tent, though I had it in the car.
First loop was fine. We had the best weather of the day. You could even see the blue sky through the clouds on occassions. We knew it will snow soon though. I ran with Lynne, a friend who came down from New York. Boris too, I think I met him before. He is a triathlon guy. So he took off a bit faster. Another guy I knew from a previous race (Naked Nick and Rock-n the Knob), Paul, was even farther ahead. Based on their estimated finishing times, I wanted to be between Lynne and Paul. I looked at everyone’s predicted finishing time before the run, so I had a general sense who to follow.
After the first loop I was hot. I did not want to ditch my jacket though. Not because I would need it again, but I felt I need to learn to run when I feel hot. I think I kept it on for the second loop.
I finished loop one in 1:03. It was not fast nor slow. My goal was to maintain the pace if possible and it would be 6:18 ish finishing. My predicted finishing time was 6:00 h but I knew it was tough to reach because the course had a bit of hills.
Loop 2, I tried to keep up with Adeline, another runner, I met before, at OSS/CIA last year. She led me through the loop but I could not stay on her pace. I finished around 1:05 h as my split.
Loop 3, Not sure if it started to snow now. I think I caught up to Paul. He did not seem to doing so well. He carried a heavy pack for some reason, like me. Since it is just a 5 mile loop, we didn’t really need that much water. I carried mine just to be used to the weight as a training. I was not wearing trail shoes either, mine broke and I haven’t replaced them. The ground started getting a bit slipery.
Loop 4. Now we are more than 15 miles in. Snow had changed to rain. It was a good thing I stopped by my car to get a rain poncho. I assumed the one I brought was a winter one, but it happened to have short sleeves. It would do. Only my arms got wet. I also probably got rid of my winter coat by end of the 2nd loop. I was a bit cold now without my coat. The rain poncho though trapped heat well. It ended up balancing. I walked mostly. The Runner’s wall had set in.
Loop 5. I don’t remember much about this loop. I met couple people.
There were a long train of runners behind me. Some passed me. Melisa from the Boyers Furnace Run was behind me. I did not know that at the time but I heard a loud crash and so I turned around to look. There she was on the ground. Her friend and I went and got her back to her feet. The trail now was slick with wet mud. She stepped on one of patches and slided off. I recognized her as the birthday girl from Boyers run a week before. She did her first ultra on her birthday and now she was here to do it again. We finished the loop together. I was not sure my split for this loop because I did not check the time on Loop 3. I believed I came in at 5:25, meaning I was still hanging onto my pace.
and finally Loop 6. Last loop. If Loop 4 was hard, Loop 5 was when heaven opened. Rain poured down hard now. I stopped by my car to get my umbrella. I probably the only one who ran with one. I figured, I likely would walk more than run. Carrying an umbrella would keep my upper body dry at least. Little did I know my hand would be freezing and the umbella get heavier with each mile. There were less people on the trail now. Many had finished already. My goal was if I could to pass my friend Caroline. I believed based on Naked Nick’s pace (our last race together a month ago), I would gain about 5 miles on her by then, but she was no where in sight. I was really hoping to catch her and possibly Lynne. Though at the time I expected Lynne to be maybe 15 mins behind me based on her last year finishing time.
I started to run again even with an umbrella. I passed a few people. Winds were blowing strong. Some commented they wish they had an umbrella. The trail started to be flooded. At first I tried to avoid the water, but then it was unavoidable. I stepped through it. It was quite a joy. My feet were icy cold. To me, it made me run even faster. In my mind I was flying through the trail. It was slippery. I skided from left and right. Soon there was only a mile left. Caroline was still not in sight. I felt disappointed but then I knew, she must need plenty of time for her last loop then because by then it was closer to 6:30 (2:30 pm) otherwise she would not be able to finish, so it was good I did not catch her. I came in at 6:37 h (2:37 pm).
I waited a bit (10 mins) to see if Lynne was behind me after I crossed the finish. I was getting cold so I made my way to the car. It was too cold that day to wait for friends and runners. We joked about being selfish when it comes to our comfort. I haven’t eaten much that day so I knew I was behind on my calories. I had snacks in the car so it relieved a bit of the hunger pain. Rain came down hard then. I was glad I was back in the car. I had warm clothes and everything. We called it a day and headed home. I got treated to a nice meal too.
Caroline ran strong that day and finished the loop 20 minutes ahead before I came in. In an ideal condition, she would be able to do the 6th loop. I would not have caught her given my pace that day. It seemed the umbrella did slow me down on the last loop. I did the loop in 1:12 h. So, even if I ran the last loop in 1:03 or 1:05 time, I still would not have caught up. I would have to run under 52 mins, not an impossible pace, but a very fast 10 min mile (my 5k pace) on tired feet and hilly terrains to catch up. I was running a 14 min pace that day. The gap was too huge to overcome. Putting it down here, so next year, if I get to run this course again, I would try to reach under 1 hour per loop, possibly aiming for that 52 min on the last loop. Set high goal they say. Until next year.
In awe 