In awe

Tag: 50 miler

  • [688] DC Peaks 50 – Utah (dnf)

    Uffdah Utah, Another DNF — a did not finish race, but it was a blessing in disguised.

    My 50 mile DC Peaks race in Salt Lake City ended as soon as I started after 10-ish into it at the first aid station, due to hypothermia.  I wanted to continue but the staff noticed my uncontrollable shivering and decided to pull me out of the race. There is no arguing for a medical reason. We never argue with volunteers since that would be an automatic DNF and ban from all future races. We always treat volunteers well. 

    At the time, I was debating inside me if to continue or not before being pulled. The staff made the decision easier for me.  There was no more ifs, only obey and accept the outcome. The decision was then out of my hand. I was shivering uncontrollably even long after getting back to the hotel and after changing into my warm and dry clothes.  It was always the right call to be cut for health reason.  And I was glad I did not continue. Who knows what would have happened if I did not get warm and dry and were out on the trail for another few hours before I get to the next aid station.  It would likely have ended in a medical emergency or worse. So it was definitely a right call though the decision was not for me to make at the time.

    The race was originally to be started at 5, and I originally planned for an even earlier start at 4 am (which was an option at this race).  Due to the wet weather condition, the course was rerouted to a lower elevation and thus should have been an “easier” course and the start time was pushed back to 6 am for everyone (in the 50 miler). 

    I showed up, and felt I was appropriately dressed for the occasion with layered clothes and 3 rain jackets with me.  I only had one on at the time, with the other two packed away.  Wind was blowing but I felt warm enough and a bit hot as I started running.  I incorrectly believed that soon the sun would be up and temperature would continue to rise and it would have been enough and even with a little rain added, it was not anything I could not handle as I have done this many times in the past.  That proved wrong real fast as the rain and cold wind started to beat down on us.

    The rain started when I was about a mile in.  It was a light rain at first and I had on a light rain jacket.  It was still sufficient at the time.  Then the wind blew on my wet clothes.  The thing is running in the rain would get us wet regardless what we wear.  Pretty soon, what I wore was insufficient to keep the cold draft from getting in. 

    Our route for the first 10 miles was an out and back lollipop with some rolling hills and one major climb near the turn around.  It was nothing too technical.  Most of the time, we were on the exposed side of the ridge overlooking houses below, with occasionally dipped under treelines and into tree covers.  Those time were great, being sheltered away from the rain and wind.  But the sheltered portions of the course were short and few in between.  At the end of the outbound, morning came and we climbed our first mountain (pass) maybe about couple thousands of feet upward with the gray sky above.  It was not too hard.  But we were met with the really cold rain, and it might have been sleets or freezing rain, plus the wind blowing at us constantly and we had nowhere to hide.  My temperature started to drop and to me it was no longer fun.

    Our pace was slow on the ascent.  Soon, in my mind I was thinking how much longer before we get back and was wishing to be back in a sheltered place.  My hands though had both mitten and glove on were soaked and cold.  The gloves were not waterproof. How I wished I had them someway somehow, even if they were kitcken sink gloves (as a friend of mine wore them in a race at the Reverse Ring before and how ridiculous he looks I thought and now I could not be happier if I had those on), just something to keep my hands dry and warm. My pants too were not waterproof either.  Legs were of a lesser concern. Still, they were losing heat and having them covered and keeping them warm would have done me much good.  At the time, I knew my shirts were wet.  Running in the rain, you get wet regardless what you wear.  The key is having clothing that could still provide warmth even when they are wet. I was longing for my fleece jacket even a puffy jacket would have be good but I did not have those with me.  They were in the car, back at home. After a few hours plastered by my icy wet shirt, my body no longer could maintain its core temperature.

      At the time, I did not know the actual temperature, but when I was rescued and on my way back to the hotel, the car temperature reading was 42F at 10:30 AM.  So, around 6-7 AM, the windchill and wet temperature was probably around 32-35 F. I did not have much winter gear on.  I was running as if it were spring or cooler summer night.  The temperature might have been even lower at the pass or top of the ridge. I was really lucky, my body did not give out even earlier on.

    I got into the aid station at mile 10-12-ish.  Seeing the two blazing fire bins was a welcome sight.  Rain seemed to pour harder as we huddled under the aid station’s canopy.  Nobody wanted to leave the comfortable aid station and get back into the rain.  Everyone was staying close.  My first order of business was to eat something and to stand next to the fire for some warmth. However, after 10-15 minutes there, I was not getting any warmer.  Volunteers helped me with my hydration vest and clothes. I was asking around who would be quitting there.  Everyone was saying hell no, but none wanted to leave either.  Some eventually left and continued on with their races. But most of us were just standing there hunching over the fire. 

    It was not a crew aid station, so no friends or families were around.  How I wish my crew and friend would be there anyhow, so at least I could go inside a car, which is generally a no no too, a ground for DQ (disqualification).  The next best thing was to put on some of drier clothes I had brought along, like the rain poncho.  I had to get my hydration vest off first that is under my rain jacket to reach my poncho that was stored in one of the pockets. So I had to put off the jacket before taking off my hydration vest.  From the vest, I got out the rain poncho. It all crumpled up into a small pod and it had to be expanded and fluffed out.  This was taking a bit long time to do since my hands no longer obeying me. Everything was wet and sticking and it was hard to take things off or put on.

    It was a bit too late to put on a rain poncho, but I felt I might give/trap more heat if I have it on.  I did pack a hodini in my hydration vest, but again it was too late for that.  I did not bother with it.  If I had that on earlier, it might have saved my race. So because I was wet and cold and was getting colder every minute. It took me maybe half an hour or so to put everything back on at the aid station even with couple people around me helping.  I think the staff realized by then, I was in no condition to go back out onto the trail and thus they pulled me a few minutes after checking on me.  

    At the time, I think they also were talking about calling S-R (search and rescue) for some runners they had not accounted for.  So they did not want to risk me going back out either.

    I was shaken like leaves from head to toes and was miserable.  The words from the aid station captain was a welcome relieved to me.

    I was grateful they also asked someone to put me in a van afterward and turned the heat on high while I called and waited for my crew and friend to pick me up.  I was shivering the whole time during the wait.  Even talking was hard.  I pretty much continue shaking even hours later.

    There were others who came in with me and who did not leave the aid station either.  I think they later ended up dropping there.  They were not as cold as I was, but the weather was not great.  Throughout the day, the rain continued.  The temperature did rise to around 52-53 by noon before dropping back down to low 40s. It would have been a very long miserable day even if I could continue on had I not been pulled from the race or suffered from hypothermia.

    Lesson learned, dress warmly especially when it is winter/fall rain.  I brought rain pants but at the last minute before the race start, I decided not to use it since they were baggy and would get in the way of running. 

    I could have put on more layers early in the race.  I knew it was going to rain, and I should have put on the rain poncho at the start or soon after the rain started instead of waiting till I got to the aid station when it was already too late.  Again, not saying whether the outcome might have been any different, but definitely would have increased the odds of me remaining in the race.  It is what it is.

    Did the altitude limit my running?  I think it did.  After 5 miles, people started running on the downhills on the way back to the aid station at the start, I found myself unable to run and keep up with them even though I did not think they were moving very fast, which was very rare for me not to be able to keep up.  It was definitely a sign something was wrong. I think the altitude was affecting my ability to run.  Another explantion was I was already worned out from the rain, wind and the cold temperature and my body had overspent all its energy.  

    So it was a very short race for me.

    The positive outcome was I got out of the rain before many other runners.  I was back at the hotel for a good rest and then a good long meal.  We did go back to the course to one of the aid stations to pick up my drop bag.  It was good to see some runners were still running/moving strong.

    For lunch, we got to try a Korean hot soup in Salt Lake City’s Chinatown and Galbi (flavored grilled meat).   Then we went for some good tea and dessert at a bakery next door named 85C, I like anything hot that day.  Too bad they did not served hot ginger tea. Finally we spent a nice evening to unwind at a friend’s house before flying home very early the next morning. In all, it was a running trip became a vacation.  If not for me dropping out, none of those would have happened.

    As for the trip, all was not lost, since I went out to Salt Lake couple days before the race, I was able to hike some of trails on Thrusday afternoon after we landed.   That was all worth it.  As for Friday, I we did not do much other than having lunch at the Rooster (got to try Utah beer) with a local friend and went for bib pickup. 

    The slower pace of life rather than the DC rush-rush was refreshing.  I have an intense schedule for the rest of the month ahead, and so the 10 mile run actually put me in a good position for some later uncoming races.  It definitely would prepare me for a winter race I want to do in February (The Reverse Ring and possibly a Massanutten’s Revenge) in term what kind of clothes I needed to wear.

    Hiking around Spring Tunnel (near the finish area).  It was such good weather couple days before the race but quickly turned gloomy on the race day.  I got a good sunburn too for being out too long. Talk about a quick change of the weather.

    I do want to go back again.  There are so many other races on my schedule, I am not sure if I would be able to do so next year.  From this race, I was introduced to Goat Rattler (Ogden 100), which was either hosted by the same race organization or related.  I wanted to attempt it in the future, possible be next year if the stars aligned.  September though is a very busy month for racing. They say it is harder than the Bear or Wasatch 100.  So, the reason I was in Utah I miss those big mountains in the west when I was first encountered them last year at Wasatch 100. Definitely, I want to be back in Utah for more.

  • Day437 Iron Mountain trail run/race

    Be thankful, I say. I ran and finished the Iron Mnt Trail Race (IMTR). I did the 40 miles this time. Actually it was my first time though probably won’t be my last. I signed up for the race in 2019, but I got sick that year (caught Lyme Disease) and did not make it to the start – I could barely walk a mile at the time. Last year, the race was canceled due to Covid19 pandemic. Finally, here I was I ran and crossed the finish line in decent time. It was an almost perfect race.

    I like races where I struggle and overcome what seems to be unimaginable challenge. I guess readers would like such stories too. This one was not like that

    For me the IMTR was too perfect, like a fairy tale. I did not struggle much. It was too easy and I was a bit underwhelmed when I crossed the finish line. It was like that is it? That is the end?

    Granted I did not run the 50 mile event but the 40 miler. It might have been different if I had done that. 40 though was a magnitude easier, at least for me.

    In the end I have to be thankful. This race has been something I dreaded. It has been on my schedule for so long. I actually wanted to test myself on it. I have been good at marathons. This year I have done a few 50 mile distances. However, when it comes to trail running, I am still a pretty poor runner, meaning I usually finish near last. Placement does not bother me, but I want to do better and I also do not want to be cut from a race. IMTR was to face that fear of doing a race on a technical course in a longer distance event than I am comfortable with.

    To tell the truth, I enjoyed the two training runs (hosted by the race director) more than the race itself. Maybe, during the training run, running in the hot sun was much harder (and I did not finish my distance that time but had to cut short the training). Also, I had to keep up with the faster people who came out to the training. Lastly, it was a smaller group, and we were kind of know each other, having been on the trail for 5-6 hours together, whereas at the race, there were couple hundreds and everyone was too intensely focused in their own race.

    The race though was like strolling for me. I was not in a hurry. The weather was nice and temperature was like 15-20 degrees cooler. Most people run better in the cold than in the heat.

    I ran a fast start since the first portion was flat and on a paved bike trail (the Virginia Creeper Trail). It went rather well. It was probably a little too fast that had me bonking a few miles later when I hit the mountain. I’m not blaming it, it just turned out that way. I did not really come into a race with a strategy except to run and finish before the cutoff. I was pretty sure I would make the cut.

    The next 10 ish miles were truly on the mountain – mostly climbing on a single track trail to Iron Mountain (?). There were quite a few climbings. My body became a bit exhausted. I was out of breath, and people then were passing me right and left by then.

    One of the runners (E/moon, her trail name) caught up to me. We were on the struggle bus. Mostly she was one telling she was bonking. As a competitor, we (I) shouldn’t share about our weaknesses while on the course. But sometimes, it helps to admit the reality. I told her too I was having trouble with my race, though giving up on a race was out of the question for me, but apparently it was a real possibilty for her. When we reached the Aid Station at mile 15 (Skull Gap), her face was green and she almost turned in her bib. She later credited me for getting her through and back out the station. I didn’t know if I said anything encouraging. I was just waiting on her – like hurry up lady.

    We pretty much hang together to the next station. By mile 21, I knew I got the race in the bag. there was no way I would be cut and not finish. We were on pace to finish within 10 hours even though we were not moving that fast (and 1 hour ahead there and I was expecting 2 hrs ahead of the final cut off). We mostly walked all the hills and gently ran all the flats and downhills. E said she would be moving slower in the second half.

    She shared about her last 41-mile run she did couple months ago and it took her 14 hours, she thinks this race would be the same as that. She and her friend were attempting the Scar Challenge at The Smoky Natl Park. I told her I was there too that July 4th weekend. I did 65 miles over like 3-4 days. They were attempting 70-ish miles in 24 hours, but she dropped about 41 miles into the event. We got excited sharing our past adventures – at least I did. We might have passed each other at Smokies.

    She was very strong in attacking hills. I was more a downhill specialist as a city boy. I love flying downhills. Well, I tried to run as fast as I could – because going downhill is easy for me – you just have to watch where you step. It is like water flowing down the hill.

    We pretty much ran the rest of the race together. There were probably only 60 of us on the whole course for the 40/50 mile distance. We did not see anyone else after the start until halfway when we finally were able to pick people off. We were able to pick up speed in the second half and caught up to a few other runners. This was a relief to me because it meant we were not lost or last. This was the kind of racing I like – to catch up to people and passing them as fast as possible. I did not say that to E but she was good at passing runners. I didn’t check, but we might have done a reverse split on this ultra – the runner’s holy grail to run the second half of a race faster than the first half.

    For her though, she likes the views. There were not any vistas but she likes the foliage and the moss and the ferns, and the light and shadows on the trail. She pointed those out to me as we passed them and indeed it was a very nice day for running. The course is beautiful if only you know where to look (and appreciate) otherwise it is like any other trails. The weather was much better than when I did my training runs there couple weeks earlier.

    The rest of the race was uneventful. E/moon asked me to pass ahead of her a few times. In the end, on the final 8 miles, I did. No longer holding back, and it was downhill. She hinted that she was not going to die and risk her life running down the hardest part of race. I trained there before and by now I was not afraid of the last few of the steep hills. In fact, I love it. I reached the finish line and was about to go back out looking for her but she was only just a bit behind me and finished it under 10 hours too, reaching her goal. Her goal became my goal as well.

    One benefit of the race was to prepare me for the next one. I will have a big one in November. I need some technical hard trails to train on. This race was perfect for that. As advice to future runners of IMTR, go to the trainning runs. The race was not hard with some practice, but the weather plays a big part. Finally, there was a cookout at the end. I see myself doing this race year after year.

  • JFK race report

    Day 198 / First 50 Miler / Long Post

    It has been two years in the making. The race was within my expectation. I was (well) prepared and finished the race within my expected time. It was long but was not too hard. I was feeling great throughout the race. We had near perfect fall running temperature. I was well pleased with everything.

    I heard about this race from my friend Jenn, who ran it in 2017. At that time, I had ran three marathons and really no desire to punish myself to do an ultra. 26.2 miles was my thing and no longer distances than that. I thought people who ran ultra were crazy.

    But Jenn was something else. She is always so cool, and speaks with a Hawaiian ascent. She left me with a deep impression after she said she did the JFK. When she said she did the JFK, I had to asked her a few times what it was. Apparently it was America’s oldest ultra. It is quite famous in the running community especially in our area. This can be considered a local race, with an hour from the nation’s capital. I was the only one of budding runners who was clueless about it. She set a dream in my heart there and then that I wanted to run the JFK too.

    My goal was, to do the JFK, so that if Jenn was going to run a longer ultra like a 100 miler, I would be ready to pace her or be part of her handlers.

    I know at the time even with three marathons under my belt, I was in no shape mentally or physically to do a 50 miler. In fact I couldn’t comprehend how far 50 miles is. Some might feel they could train up in a year, but I was a little wimpy. I felt I would need at least 2 years to get there.

    I decided to only take a baby step and planned to do a 50k ultra by the following year. I chose what now looking back was one of the easiest ultras. I glad I did it. You can read my report all about the First Landing 50k seashore marathon (report of my first 50k). I thought at the time, that was the hardest thing I have done. That was the end of 2018.

    Now brought us to this year, with a new confident of having done the 50k ultra. I was itching to sign up for the JFK. I don’t remember when I signed up, probably sometimes in March/April after a careful consideration. The rest then was history.

    I ran a few other 50k this year before doing the JFK. Three of them: Eastern Divide 50k, Marine Corps 50K, and Old Glory 50k. They were helpful. Eastern Divide was one that was planned as a training run for JFK, while the other two were incidental. However, they were great, looking back, in getting me ready. The Eastern Divide and the Old Glory were much tougher than the first 50k. Having done the Old Glory, JFK’s mountainous trail portion was truly a joke.

    I also signed up two other ultras that in the end I didn’t do: High Bridge and Iron Mnt. I’m not sure if I have done those, would I have been overtrained? Praise God for how things turned out.

    My JFK race was pretty much in line with my expectation. My goal was to finish within 12 hours. The course cut off time was 13 hours. I set a stretch goal (A-goal) to finish at 75% percentile, which is 11 and half hours. I did it (close enough to call a success, by finishing at 11:30:30).

    What I did not anticipate was how long and tiring the middle section was. I had planned to treat the race in three phases, the first trail section, the middle canal section, and the final rolling hills on the road. I expected the first segment would not be exhausting because I would walk with everyone else due to most people were not good at running on rocky trail. I placed my hope that I would still be fresh by the second part. The second and the third part was supposed to be like a 50k ultra, with couple miles extra.

    The trail section was 13 miles, and the canal section was 26 miles, and the final road section was 8 miles.

    At the start, there were a lot of people. They said the race was sold out. There were supposed to be 1500 1200 entries. However, I don’t think everyone came. I was at the bib handling out table the morning of the race and saw many bibs were uncollected by runners. I felt maybe only a thousand of us crossed the start line.

    We staged at the Boonsboro High School and from there walked about 800 yards to the starting line because there were not enough parking spaces in the downtown area of Boonsboro. The town is really small!

    I started at the end of the pack, but only 1 and half minute had elapsed as I crossed the starting line. I figured, I was not a strong runner. This was my first 50 miler and I already expected to finish around 75 percentile (meaning 75/100 will be finishing ahead of me). I didn’t mind starting at the back. Besides, if I am fast, I could pass people.

    The first two miles were on the road to Old Mountain Inn, where we would enter the Appalachian Trail. These first two miles out of the town were 1000 feet climb (maybe 1800 over 5 miles). Most people walked. I ran and passed a lot of people because I did not want to get stuck behind those who I believe couldn’t run on the trail. If they refused to run on smooth pavement, they likely would not run on rocky trail as my logic goes. I arrived at the Old Mountain Inn in 30 minutes (doing a 15 minutes pace). The pace was not fast but, compare to people who were walking, it was a fast pace.

    I entered the trail with great enthusiasm. I was surprised that people in front of me did not slow down (meaning I had caught up with my pace group). The first part of the trail was downhill. Then it got a bit technical as the trail narrows. People started stopping. The people behind me impatiently murmured that you supposed to run down hill. People were walking downhills and it was on a single trail and was difficult to pass. I kind of expecting this. I told those people behind me that the trail would widen up ahead, since I ran this section before during the preview event, I knew.

    Personally, I don’t think the trail was hard to run. There are some technical parts, but the trail, since 56 previous JFK events had been stomped ‘flat’ by thousands of feet. When the trail widen out, people in the rear passed me. I then followed along and passed the slower crowd up front. It did not take me long to pass most of those who were more cautious at handling the trail.

    It was outside of my plan to run fast on this portion. However, I think this was the best part of the race. I ran hard compared to the rest of the race. Some might view this being stupid because I used up my strength when there were still 35 more miles to do. A few times during the trail portion my calf seized up as I leaped across some rocks, but luckily, it passed without further incident.

    I entered the second segment, the canal, one and half hours ahead of schedule. Originally, my plan was to enter at near the cutoff time. However, I finished the trail in 3 hours, this included the half hour on the road section. The trail only took me two and half hours to do. This time was even faster than my preview run. At this point, I was with the 30 percentile people – there were only 300+ people ahead of me.

    The canal segment was not that exciting. However, my friend David was first to greet me and cheered for me. He was my support team. My other friend Brian was supporting me remotely! It was my first race with a crew. He had everything with him. I did not depend on him beforehand, so did not tell him what I need. He came up with some of my favorite snacks and candies. I had hot spots on my left foot. Unfortunately, my friend did not bring with him any cream or powder; he had band-aids. He was right, I did not ask him to bring those. Luckily, I had an extra pair of socks and I swapped the sock of the left foot. My foot was fine for the remainder of the race.

    The canal section was a whole marathon length. We had plenty of aid stations. Many people I passed earlier on the trail passed me back. It was expected because most people were road runners. I was doing around 14-15 min mile and I think people were running at around 10-11 min mile. I felt each mile was very long.

    I knew I could do it. At the same there was the uncertainty of how many miles longer I could keep going. The whole canal section could be a hump. My goal was to get to the next aid station. Usually, they were about 2-3 miles apart. The longest distance apart was closer to 5 miles.

    Also I had couple goals, and one was to get to Antietam Aqueduct or Taylor’s Landing, where my crew would be. It was very emotional each time I saw David. Taylor’s Landing was the hardest for me, because that was the last time I would see him. He said I only have 11 miles to go. It seemed short but at that time, it was beyond my expectation to say I can do it. There were only two miles to get off the canal from Taylor’s Landing and we would enter the final road section. It was a long two miles. Rain started falling. I was feeling cold.

    In fact, I was cold the whole day. I dressed in two layers a short sleeves and a long sleeves technical shirt. I had a pair of shorts on. I thought in the morning when the temperature reached 50 degrees, I would get rid of my long sleeves, I was never warm enough to do that. As the rain fell, I regretted not carrying along my rain jacket. Originally, I thought I wouldn’t mind the rain, however, as you were getting cold and I was not running fast enough to generate enough heat, an extra layer, would be a welcome. The rain did not last. I was saved. If it had come down hard, I might have quitted with only 8 miles left to go.

    The last 8 miles boistered my spirit again. I think the time was around 4:30. I had been running for 10 hours. It was longest and fartest I had ever run. I found the rolling roads were much easier to run on. In truth though my pace did not change that much. We passed people who were walking or were doing walk-run. With three hours left to do 8 miles, we were more certain even if we were to walk, we would make to the finish by cut off. My goal then was to get within the final 3 miles. We had three aid stations spread out for the final stretch.

    The reason I used ‘we’ here is, someone caught up to me and was following from behind. I felt she had the power to overtake me, but she did not do so. I did not turn around but kept on going until we got to the first of the last three stations. At first I found it was annoying of her tailing me. She seemed to be just a step behind me – not really drafting, but I felt she was very near, the feeling she was on top of me. However, I did not say anything. Readers, if you remember, I like to follow other people too, so I tried not to mind, if she decided to follow me.

    After the aid station, implicitly, she was running by my side. We exchanged info and such. She said, don’t mind her if she is running slow and I shouldn’t mind to leave her. I don’t mind pacing next to her. I believe she was a stronger runner than I, now after reviewing her pace from the whole race, the segment she was with me was much slower and she was running much faster earlier. Regardless, she paced with me and me with her to the very end. It was very good to have a companion at this final stretch. (Fair to say, another runner, Kim, paced me through a hump for 5 miles to Taylor’s Landing).

    As we got to the 2nd of the 3 aid stations, the sun had set. We put on headlamps. Some/many did not have them. Just the two of us were prepared and I was glad we had them. People on the forum said we did not need it. True, we probably could do without because the terrain was easy, but it was good to have. There were many places without street lights and it was total darkness.

    The last aid station was far compared to the first two, it was 3 miles instead of two and it was just within a mile from the finish. My companion, Marnie kept at my side. Couple times, I felt I wanted to tell her to leave me, but she stayed. We finished. I hit my goal. I felt I had superhuman strength to run the last eight miles. With Marnie, I did not walk at all. Many people we passed at the last segment, were walking. I would be walking too if not for her.

    The race itself compared with my previous ultras was pretty much kind of a cakewalk. I felt the Old Glory was much more enjoyable and challenging. JFK was just long and (can be a bit boring). What I got out was friendship and experience, which is invaluable.

    ETC: total number registered was 1200 not 1500. At least 959 people started, and 867 finished within the 13 hours limit.

    2022/11/20 – some minor editing