In awe

Tag: MMT

  • [672] MMT Chocolate Bunny Run

    (2022 and 2023 report)

    Chocolate Bunny is the 4th and last official training run for the Massanutten mountain 100 race (MMT).  I am not sure how many times I have done this training run, probably twice.  It is always take place at night on the Saturday before Easter, so it is known as the Chocolate Bunny Run. 

    It covers the hardest section and final section of the race (about 25/26 miles). Most runners would be going through this section at night. It makes sense to train this at night.

    Night run has an spooky feeling and beautiful at the same time. We were blessed that all my Chocolate Bunny runs happened on a clear night with moon rising. 2022 year we had a full moon, but this year though was the final quarter. I didn’t notice it because I was already passed the Waterfall Trail.

    Last year, the Chocolate Bunny was canceled due to a mountain fire in the area.

    I have come to love the Chocolate Bunny run.  It is very cool to run at night with some of best people, whom I call friends.  I believe it is only one night run we do as a club other than the MMT race itself.  Rumors had it the club used to do a no-light night run and Bull Run night run. Probably, local law enforcement did not appreciate a bunch of runners running around somewhere in their parks, and we no longer do it except the Chocolate Bunny.

    Indeed, as fate would have it, someone (not one of our people) broke their foot on the Big Run Trail and called the police for help at 4 am.  No one was pleased to try to locate the missing injured hiker somewhere up on the mountain. We denied, it was not us. I hope the club was not implicated in it and we will continue to have Chocolate Bunny Run next year.

    This year I am not running in the race and so I have skipped the first 3 training runs (also it was because of scheduling conflict).  I was debating whether to sign up for the last training run since it happens over Easter, and there was church event (Good Friday) and then Saturday Scripture reading through the night, and then Sunrise Worship on Easter morning). I tried to do them all, but in the end, it has to be one or the other, run or church.

    My friend Jeremy will be running in the MMT this year.  So I had a private training run with him in the day time. 

    We also did a made-up MMT 3 training run a week before, which is almost like the Chocolate Bunny run but in the day time and the course was 10 miles longer.  We covered it in 12 hours.  We were proud of our ability to pull off a training run on our own without support, but placing couple water drop.

    On the day of the the Chocolate Bunny, we again went out to the course early, waking up at 5, and starting our run at 7:30. We ran part of the MMT 1 training run, since Jeremy hasn’t done that section before, mostly we wanted to cover the Short Mountain Section, which was about 10 miles.  Then we hiked up Edinburg Gap, for an out and back of maybe 4 miles, so ended up having a total of 18 miles for the day so far.  We knew we have to conserve our energy for the night time run.  So we finished our morning run around 2 pm and went into town (Woodstock) to get rested, food, and be refreshed.  In truth, we were almost spent all our energy.

    The afternoon was hot, so there was nothing much to do but to head to the Chocolate Bunny meeting point and hoping to catch some sleep in thr shades before the run.

    We drove separately and I arrived later at around 5:30 pm. I thought I was being there early to get a parking spot but many other runners were already there.  Fellow runners and friends: Bob, Jeff and Laura  were about to set out early.  When I found out, I asked if I too could go with them.  They said yes. There really no need to ask.  It was a training run, everyone could start whenever they want but it is good to have accountability. 

    I wanted an early start because I am usually the last runner to finish.  By starting early, volunteers would not have to wait at the end for too long for me to finish.  I quickly looked for Jeremy to see if he was interested in the early start.  He was. So the five of us, start at six.  Robert P. too started out early after we have left.

    We had to be careful of not to run too fast to pass the first aid station at Gap Creek ahead of volunteers showing up. Generally, it takes me about two hours to cover the Big Run section to Gap Creek. By 7:30, we already got to Crisman Hollow Road.  Larry (Rusty) our RD (race director) and his wife drove by as we came off the trail.  It was a good sign we would have aids at the aid station.  About a mile later, we arrived at Gap Creek and we were greeted by cheerful volunteers. They were my favorite people, Ram, who paced me last year and Amanda who I ran with a few times in other events.  Kevin, our trail boss was also there (he and his people are in charge of marking the course for the MMT 100 each year).

    This was my first time getting to Gap Creek while sun had not set yet. 

    After Gap Creek we climbed up to Jaw Bone and crossed Kerns Mountain. By now, the fast front runners caught up to us.  It would be a night where many runners would pass us while we were on Kerns. By 11 pm, we reached the Visitor Center, our second and final aid station, which is also about the halfway point. I estimated that it would take another 4 hours to finish the run.

    Jeremy by now had run on ahead. My other friend Wayne who started at the normal time caught up. I checked back my previous run, and it seemed tonight I was a bit slower.

    It could have been the food I ate that was not settling well, by the time I climbed up on Bird Knob, I felt I wanted vomit. Note, others also mentioned similar experience.  It could be a flu or something going on (looking back). We were spreading germs.  I was lightheaded and was feeling unwell.  Robert P. passed me and it was kind enough for him to stop to check on me.  I told him I was not feeling well and possibly due to lack of salt.  So he gave me some Salt-caps and tums.

    I slowed down my walk hoping my body would recover.  After about an hour or so, by midnight, I felt a bit better but by now, I still could not bring myself to run, but at least moving faster.  I am guessing there were 8 miles left.

    The climb up on the purple trail (Brown Hollow) was long and tough. More runners passed me.  I got to meet a new runner, Ian who had gone too far and missed a turn and he was backtracking. He helped me too so I was aware of not going too far.

    I gave him some tips that MMT 100 is doable as long as one keeps on pressing and not give up.

    He and I ran the next four miles together always staying ahead two runners who were trying to catch up to us.

    It so happened the two runners that kept chasing us were also our friends (Emily and Lance). It was good we finally learned who were behind us.

    Now there were only couple miles left. I haven’t gotten lost yet.  A volunteer joked with me earlier saying don’t get lost out there.  I tried not to.  The trail was more familar to me by now where I kind of know where to turn except the last hill up to the finish.  Somehow I got off the trail and for a brief time unable to locate it.  It took me 15 minutes trying to find it and then hiked out. I almost gave up and just bushwhacked out but ended up finding the trail again.

    My fellow friends were waiting for me at the finish.  We cheered, laughed and chatted till wee hours when the cops showed up to look for a missing hiker.  So the party ended for me.  I made a trip home.  The rest of the trip was uneventful.  I made a pitstop at a Sheetz gas station and slept till I was good enough to drive again.  Coffee helped. Days later, looking back, we were grateful to make it back home safely. 

    Lessons/thoughts:  None.  I just love to be out there whether alone or with a friend or in a group, it was a good run.  My weekend was all of the above.  We thank volunteers of sacrificing their sleep and time for us to be able to enjoy and train up on a race.  Actually, it is better to sleep at the trail after the run instead of making the long drive home. I would still be able to make it to the Easter Worship on Sunday.

  • [629] MMT 2024

    Wow, what a weekend! In my last post, I said I some hard races are ahead, I did not expect this one would be one of them that would need my 100%-200% effort.

    I knew MMT would be hard but I felt, with three years of preparation, I got it down. I was going in with 70-75% effort and believed I could get it done, thinking it would be just a bit tougher than my C&O 100 and the GSER 100k I just did.

    [MMT1] [MMT2] Reports from my previous years, showed the race was tough. This year was no different.

    While last year I finished, I can’t remember if I could walk to my car or not, I remembered thinking the race was easier than I expected, because I had adaquate training and I managed to get through to the hard sections and it was mostly smooth sailing afterward.

    Maybe that gave me a false sense of confident for this year. I came in feeling prepared and I was.

    Like last year, I hit all early aid stations on pace and some even ahead of pace. It would be my fastest time finishing if the second half was the same and I was aiming for a faster finish.

    I was not even struggling. In my mind, I was going at a very relaxed pace, and I was gaining faster time.

    This year trail condition was worse than last year. Most trails were flooded and muddy and we started under a steady rain.

    I had no idea, why I was ahead of pace by halfway. I had better shoes. I kept my feet better. It was not until mile 90 when my race fell apart. 

    I did not have sleeppiness issues like last year. My energy level was strong for most of the race except the final few miles. And the race at that point on became like my first MMT, struggle bus.

    I had a theory why my energy unexpectedly crashed. I think I drank too many cups of coffee and Red Bulls. That’s my theory. My body was probably over stimulated and final crashed.  I still managed a finish, since I built up enough lead time.

    That’s pretty much a summary of MMT 100 this year. I did have a good time. It was one of my best time out of all 3 years. It was the people I got to be with. More will be said below.

    As for race preparation, I did like what I did in the past. I did the training runs (and wrote about those) and looking back, just like previous years, while it seems my training runs were horrible, but by race day time, I was fully ready. This change always surprises me.

    I prepared a pace chart (I used the same one as last year, except updated it with my actual last year splits).

    I prepared my drop bags. They were much simplier than previous years. They were smaller and I put everything in a gallon size ziplock bag, except for shoes. I packed mostly a change of clothes and socks.

    I only used four drop bag locations this year: Elizabeth Furnace (50k ish), Habron Gap (55 mi), Roosevelt (65 mi), and Gap Creek (70).

    I had a crew (Cheryl, who was Wayne’s friend and crew person, I first met and ran with Wayne at MMT2). I was lucky to have a crew. She fed me well. She met me from midnight to end of the race. She was a new friend I came to know since the start of this year training cycle.

    As for training runs, I ran TR1 and TR2 but missed TR3 and TR4 due to being away for my Taiwan trip (and also the TR’ courses were changed at the time because of a forest fire!) 

    People were talking about the firewall/fire breakers they came across during the race. I was like scratching my head because this was my most run on trail for last three years and I saw no firewalls.

      I had forgotten about the recent forest fire there!  I even peed on a burned tree and was thinking huh, why was the tree like that. I had forgotten about the fire until now after the race.  It was only a month ago.  It was my big curiosity to go up to the MMT mountain after coming back from Taiwan to check out what the fire did to it.  Then I totally forgotten it.  Understandably, I had so many races the past month.  But wow. Now it made sense. There was a vast stretch seemed to be empty than before. Some trails like the Stephen’s Trail was bulldozed, I think for the fire fighting effort.  I heard Kern’s was burned but we went through it at night, so did not get to see it first hand.  wow!

    We were blessed to be able to run on the MMT race course without any diversion. I am so grateful.

    So I knew the course well except only the last 50k section.   (a few times, I dropped, such as during Waterfall 50k, I didn’t go up to Bird Knob, my memory escaped me what other events caused me to miss the Bird Knob’s section).

    This year, since rerunning MMT 100 again, I made many friends.  Caroline, a new friend and one I ran many recent races with since the last MMT, was my cheerleader from start to finish.

    Iris, too, my earliest fan and friend (from even before MMT1) and supporter was there cheering and volunteering with her husband.

    Plus there were many old friends and new friends I made. I could not named them all. Mike Ed was there, whom I ran with last year. I guess that what makes MMT special. It was like a family reunion. 

    The connections we made, some mentioned were why we ran 100 mile races. Many people I don’t know their names.  Definitely many volunteers put their hearts into making it a successful weekend.  You can tell when people, runners (past runners too), families and friends are enthusiastic about this event and making it feels like this is one and only one. We were under rain and cold for like 2/3 of the time, but seeing them warmed our hearts.

    Yes, this was my third time running it, and it felt like it was my very first. The atmosphere was different in a good way (at least to me). I think almost at all aid stations, there was someone who knows me. I got hugs and fist bumps and encouragements even in the dead of night. I felt special.

    And even when I could not see their faces. Thry said hi and gave words of encouragement. Gap Creek was loud! Amanda, also a friend I made during MMT 1 and 2, gave some personal greeting at 4 am (3:45 exact), something about she and I ran through this section and I look strong today, before I took on the trek up Jawbone, which also known be pretty hard and an ankle killer (Kerns is, but I always lump the both together). I was able to went through it rather quickly this year.

    Trail Con: we touched on earlier, The ground was well saturated. The top soil was slick as it can be. MMT trail is covered with rocks and this rich top soil. So it was treacherous conditions to be out there when is wet.  I took a few falls but nothing as a race ending event. My right knee was hurting and was bruised after the race morning but I did not realized which fall that injured it.  My hands and legs were cut by thorns and bushes (note the trails were trimmed a couple weeks before the race, but they always grow back so quickly). I lost a couple toenails (they were blackened, which will eventually fall off).

    For the record, temperature was like the previous year, around 50  F.  I could see my breath throughout the first 50 miles. Night and early morning was a bit cooler. The second day was better. Started overcast then cleared up.

    Anyway any of those falls could have weeded me out early in the race. I think many runners dropped because of the cold, wet, and muddy course, including some runners I highly respected and thought they could grunt it through.

    —-

    The rest of the post is my play-by-play account.

    Start to Edingburg: I ran from the back of the pack. rain. had a good rain poncho on but water did get through. I wore long sleeves so it helped keeping me warm. I was wet too. Climbed on the Moreland Road and Short Mountain was not as bad as during the training run. I was with a new friend Arun (whom I met during the first training run) and then with Jeff P. 8:00 am rain stopped. And later with Scott. Unfortunately, I don’t get to see them again.

    Edingburg to Woodstock. Caroline met me at the AS. I felt pretty good. I did not have a drop bag so I did not stay too long.  I was with Scott, a strong runner, and there I also met Kiran and Sunny. I pretty much stay at Kiran’s pace through most of the run, and I knew she was a strong runner. At the time, she did not introduced herself, and from time to time I saw her again and again at an aid station, most of the time I thought she was ahead of me but I caught up to her. I ran at my pace. I did realize it until after 50 miles.

    Woodstock to Elizabeth Furnace, passing through Fort Powell.  I met Charleen. There was Alex, and Brian, I don’t remember exactly where I saw them, but they gave me much needed encouragements. Brian’s wife, Ashley was running in it. Brian kept giving me updates how far she was behind me.  Ashley passed me during training runs, and I had expected the same.  I was not competing with her but it was fun being chased.  Ashley at the finish came and said hi! She finally overtook me on the last stretch. A friendly competition.

    And of course, where there’s Charleen, there’s John also who encouraged me. It is like having a crew without having a crew. Similarily, there were other families waiting for their runners, so I see the same people at every AS. Alex was waiting for his.

    Elizabeth Furnace, was where my first drop bag located. I changed socks and fixed my feet. Popped a blister. My right heel was cut from the back of my shoe digging in. A volunteer offered me black tape (duct tape) and a paper towel and so I created my own sport tape / bandaid with those.  It helped. Saved my race. I knew I was a bit tired here already. My legs wanted to cramp up, so I got up to get moving (last year I cramped up here).

    Shaw, Veach and Indian Grave. The Climb up to Shaw was not too bad.  I was with #125. She was a strong runner earlier but she had what she said was a heat flash halfway up on Shaw. She was half bending over, two hands on a tree breathing hard. Me and another runner stopped to ask if she was having a medical emergency. She said she did not need help.  Later she appeared quite strong again after an aid station. She and a bunch of people sharted running after Midford Gap (someone, Larry and friends, carried like 50 gals of water up from Veech to here), so I stopped to refill.  They did not. It was not an official aid station, but it saved runners like me who ran out of water.  Why I ran out of water, was I did not refill my water bag while I was at Veech.

    Getting down to Indian Grave was brutal for me.  This is at mile 49-50. My left knee started acting up. It was not pain but it was like not willing to extend and it had a funny feeling, like my funny bone is being tapped.

    It felt weak, momentary and every time when I put weight on it, I felt it might collapse under me.  Back of my mind was, uh-oh, I might have to drop from the race at the next aid station or a later station if it started hurting. Lucky, it didn’t hurt until near to the end of the race. I got down the mountain with a few close calls but did not fall. Indian Grave always is scary to me even on a good day because of the steepness. 

    I was moving slowly due to my knees while many people passed me.

    About a mile-ish to the aid station, I saw #125 again and I thought she would be long gone. So I stopped and asked her condition. She was clearly struggling and in great deal of pain. #105 (Melissa) also came by, we talked since we passed each other a few times. She also tried to help #125. Her issue was beyond our ability because she was suffering from chafing. Melissa offered her tapes, but it was probably too severe now to use. #125 ended dropping. Also, Melissa stopped and rested at the station, while I pushed on through as fast as possible. I did not see Melissa again until at the end of the race when she came in just couple minutes after me. I am very happy for her.

    In this section, I was with Ben and Charles. Charles was someone I met during a  training run and at Boyers 50K. Ben is from Boone and Asheville, NC. Ben is this year the longest time a runner spent on the trail also known as DFL. It was heartfelt seeing him come in later at the finish. Note, Ben has done some harder races like the Hellbender. Charles and Ben were real chill. I met Ben early in the race and now he was back here. I would see him again from time to time. They chatted a lot. Together, we got to Habron.

    Charles plans to run Old Dominion in two weeks, so like me this run is supposed to be an easy (joking) training run. Charles is a stronger hiker even without effort, he was passing ahead of me on technical sections and so on the road, he was flying to Habron. But he also waited for me a few times. I was surprised that later he tapped out.

    Habron to Elizabeth Furnace. Night came and settled in. Originally I was secretly hoping to get to Elizabeth Furnace (mile 65) before nightfall. I know it was a wishful thinking. Then I bargained it down to Habron Gap by nightfall.

    I took a significant time at Habron AS to fix my feet since they had been wet throughout the day. I was now an expert at this unlike during my first MMT. We had similar wet conditions this year. Feet were good. No blisters, but couple hot spots were forming. I knew I had to keep those under control.

    The trek up Habron was not as bad as I thought. I caught up to Kiran again. She had her pacer. Somehow, I was able to lead them up. They were pretty much on my heels. A few people passed us. From here on out, I was with her.

    When we went down on Stephen’s, Kiran led because my left knee was weak but apparently I could still keep up with her pace. Note, Stephen’s Trail was unlike during training. The whole trail was bulldozed, probably for the fire fighting effort. We hiked on clay and mud. We passed a lot of people (4-5 runners, but in my mind were a lot, none of them I knew or seen before).

    At Camp Roosevelt (Camp Roo), Cheryl, my crew, and who was also an aid station’s volunteer, helped me.  I stayed for a long time. I was ahead of pace so the long stay evened it out. I might have changed socks. I had a good meal.

    Normally I’d carry food out to eat while on the trail, but here, Cheryl had me sat down, covered me, and I took a breather. I told myself won’t argue with my crew chief since I appointed her to that position. She did me much good to get enough caffeine into my system and also food for energy for the following day. Kiran had her feet fixed by her team.

    Camp Roo to Gap Creek 1.  Everyone knew this was the worse section on the course. Or so they thought. I knew ahead of time how wet it would be and tough. For me, I think, the last section from 211 to Crisman Hollow road, was the hardest.

    Gap Creek is never dry even on a good day. We sloshed through river of mud and puddles. It was not unlike any trail we have been doing much of the day except a bit more muddy here. The cold water actually helped with my feet (since there were hot spots, the cold served as a numbing effect). 

    Many though did not expect the steep climb up to Duncan Hollow and then the long descent on the other side.  Many passed me while we ran up, but got exhausted at the top. I was exhausted too. My left knee might had given me some issue. Going downhill was fine for me.

    Kevin M. (I believe this was his 8th MMT) showed up out of the blue. He passed me long ago early in the day, but he said he got lost and went on a white trail at Roosevelt, not sure which trail he went to. We arrived at Gap Creek together. Of course, he did not need much at the aid station. He wore flipflops on the trail and his feet were fine. Interesting guy. He has been to  Western States and told me about Truckee. about weeds and booze at one of the aid stations but he said young people like me probably prefer sugary candies over those adult beverages.

    Gap Creek to Visitor Center.  I had my drop bag at Gap Creek with dry shoes. I changed shoes and socks. I might have taken a long time to get out. I thought it was before 3 AM but when I checked the clock on my way out it was closer to 4 am (3:48 or something), I was shock. I was not sure if I could get to Visitor by 7 like last year. So I was almost an hour late on my pace at this point.

    We had to go up Jawbone. I did not think it was too bad. I was with Ben. I led Ben through. I thought the whole time, he was behind me. It was until morning came I turned around, it was a completely different runner and their pacer.

    They, by the look, they were super strong runners and I felt embarassed, I did not offer them a chance to pass me. I called out a few times but now was not sure I was speaking to the same person.

    At Q view, when I took a pee break, the whole train maybe 5-6 runners ran/fast hiked passed me. Why did not anyone say anything!  The faster pace did help me get to the Visitor Center early.  I think I arrived around 7:10 but I was exhausted. In theory, I went through Kerns an hour faster than last year. Cheryl was there and helped me. I don’t remember what she did for me, but I let her fix me as best as she could and off I went. I think, I aslo stayed there quite a while, maybe 30 minutes. Kiran caught up again.

    Visitor Center to Picnic Area via Bird Knob.  In my mind, I dreaded this loop, mostly the climb up to Bird Knob. I remember I passed out here in a previous year (MMT1). Bird Knob was not as bad as Habron or Jawbone. Sure, there were some climbing, but I was on top in no time.  Kiran and Sunny came by.  Sunny passed us looking very strong. This was her first 100. I spoke with her Friday at the bib pickup but during the race I didn’t see her much except once at Edingburg and now here.

    I wanted to stay with Sunny, but her pace was beyond my ability to keep up. So Kiran and her pacer again were again setting my pace. They gave me a good pace. I laughed and talked. Kiran took a pee break so I went on ahead and lo and behold I saw Sunny, either she slowed down her pace or my pace was really fast. I thought she would have left me, but it seemed many times she waited for me. Her climbing was super strong but she was slow enough on the downhills and I was able to stay with her. This section had longer stretches of down than uphills.

    I could not be able keep up with Sunny once we arrived at the Picnic Area. Cheryl again met me. She did what she did. I was definitely beyond tired at this stage. There were about 10-13 miles left.

    I fixed my feet again. There was no med kit, and Cheryl found a tube of something that to me like lubricant, maybe vasaline but in a tube form. I put that on my feet after cleaning them. Glad, Cheryl had baby wipes. I had them too but they were packed away in my hydration pack. I took a cup of coffee. Cheryl gave me another Red Bull,

    I think it was my fourth but can’t remember. I knew I had too much sugar and caffeine in me, but I felt I had to stay awake. And of course, the caffeine crash came next. I also stayed here a long time (there’s a video on Youtube of probably 12 hours timelapse collapsed into 3 min, and I could see myself in it, meaning I stayed a rather long time).

    Picnic Area to Gap Creek 2. I promised Cheryl I would be at Gap Creek by 1pm.  I figured, I could do 6 miles in two hours. I knew there would be a lot of climbing. The mile section from Picnic Area to 211 East Parking Lot was shorter than I thought.  It was also wetter than I expected. But feet were wet most of the time any way, so it did not matter much. I just waddled through.

    Kiran and her new pacer (she swapped out after the Picnic Area) passed me extremely fast.  I had no intention to keep up with them like before. The two hard boiled eggs (soy sauced favored) I had and was about to eat one of them, dropped onto the trail. Nooo, I screemed in my head. Note, Kiran did not bump into me, she was probably still 50-100 ft behind. She asked if I was okay. I felt fine but it seemed my pace was all but gone. This stretch was shorter than I thought and soon I arrived at RT 211 Parking.

    At 211 Parking, I met many good friends, and couldn’t remember all but Marty gave me a big hug and told me to go get it.

    This section was my waterloo during MMT 2022. It still gave me nightmares. My energy level tanked just like that time. I reassured myself that God sent Elaina and Christian just at the right moment to pace me through Gap Creek that time.  Christian was at the Visitor Center AS earlier in morning and I told him it wouldn’t happen like in 2022. The thoughts of them gave me new strength to climb up. A mile at a time. It was a very long climb, first on the white trail, and that was like 2-3 miles in my mind and but got through them.

    We turned onto the Orange trail. I haven’t been on this part since last year, and all I remember was it kept going up. Maybe for 5-6 miles at least felt like that in my mind. I know in training runs we ran up on these hills. Now, it seeemed almost like Mt Everest. We came to creek crossing after creek crossing. I did not mind. This was the last ordeal and soon I knew we would be on the final road section.

    I think we got up on Duncan Hollow a second time. This part always confuses me. The course was well marked so we don’t usually pay attention but I had a feeling we’ve been up here. Anyway, we got to the downhill. My legs could move better. Earlier it was the downhill that hurts.

    On the Crisman Road, a few runners passed me, notably was KC. At the time, I was doubting my chance of finishing. My leg, especially the left knee obviously was not able to hike fast. It was slightly swollen. Luckily, I could still put weight on it. So I started to lock my knee and I started  limping.

    The Aid Station was still a long way. In my mind was a mile but it seemed like two as I started limping. I saw friends who gave out words of encouragement along the way. Some people I knew, some I didn’t but they knew me and some were completely strangers. Everyone was driving carefully. I arrived at at Gap Creek at 3 pm exactly as KC told me. She was then took off.

    Gap Creek to Finish.  Cheryl waited for me at Gap Creek since noon.  I was two hours late and was very late. I felt really indebted to her. This time, I tried to leave the station as quickly as possible. I couldn’t find my drop bag, but anyway, there was nothing I needed from it other than put away things I didn’t need.

    Mike Ed said I carry half a kitchen sink on me. True. I had two shirts, a rain jacket, a full water bladder, my head lamp, trashes, a can of Red Bull and many stuff include the two hard boiled eggs that were dropped on the ground.  I carried everything to the finish.

    Happy to have a crew in this late stage. My mind was zombie by now. Cheryl put a gel in my hand and out I went.

    There was only 3.8 miles left. Likely the road was about 3 miles and there was a 0.8 of trail at Camp Caroline, our Finish. I moved even slower than before.

    I tried to get an app to tell me how was fast I was moving and how far I needed to go. But those apps required me to log in. I did not have internet. I gave up. I hoped I would be making 2.5 miles per hour needed for a finish. Nothing stressed out more of than not knowing my pace.

    Once I entered the campground of Caroline Furnace, I was pretty sure I would finish.  The time then was around 4:30 and I had half an hour left and there was not much more trail. Katie K (the former Bull Run Run 50 co-RD)  passed me, plus many others.  Caroline came out to meet me, and joked with her that I would have to crawl in and get it to a time of 35:58, the exact time when she finished her first MMT.

    She then tripped over at a bridge crossing. I hardened my heart and not stopped. Got to get to the finish. 

    I wouldn’t be running. But then I did, when Dan looked at me and said come on, Run it in, with his hand beckoning me. To hell with the knee, I gave one final push and I stepped across the finish and in my mind it was the fastest run I could manage.

    Everyone was there cheering. Many more runners also came in (10 after me, totally 119 finished that day). Melissa came just after me. Plus Ben and Donnelly.

    Donnelly was like a legend at the club, but I did not know her, but I think she had one of the most finishes (20 finishes, second to Keith). There were many club VIPs around. I don’t know the whos who. Wheeler was talking to Caroline the whole time and from time to time engaged me in their conversation. I didn’t know she was also a VIP! She broke the women’s age group record that day. She could run this race faster than I could dreamed. All these runners are giants to me.

      Cheryl had me sit down, got me food and said she would look for my drop bags. We stayed until 5 or 6-ish. I lost track of time. Once sat down, I could not get back up, until two last sweepers came in and they sat at my table or so one over and they offered me advils and also a hand to get me on my feet.

    They started closing down the place. Many people came by to congratulate me. There were a lot of laughters. I saw people in their various states — some and many had already taking off their shoes, but some like me preferred to keep them on because we knew it would be painful and ugly to fix. I turned and saw Katie K foot, omg, the blister.  Yes, it probably took me an hour to just taking my own shoes off. I was wishing that somone would dress my feet for me. Time slowed down. I tried to get to my car and tried to sleep before going home.  It was like doing everything all at once. I did sleep first.

    To me, this was just a training run but a very hard one. It did not hit me until much later, what it means after waking up that it was a very important race, probably the one most significant race this year.  I avoided a DNF.

    Taking a DNF (didn’t finish) is hard. Almost all runners have encountered a blockage or a DNF at some points. Some might never getting over a race and MMT is such a race that is an impossibility to overcome for some. I know people were proud of me when I crossed the finish line.

    Q said, I was someone who got a redemption. My redemption was last year. I don’t mind to relive it again. It is a special feeling. Many themselves had run this race. They knew how tough and some too had experienced disappointments like me. For me to cross it, they either experienced the joy when they ran it, or the joy of overcoming this trail with me even if they never ran it.  I felt blessed that I received a gift of a body of capable to do this hard 100 mile run. I did not know, I was so loved by many.

    It was a very good challenge while on the trail.  I really think the last 50k ish of the course was fun. Sunny asked me why I love this race and why I love trail running, the answer is complex, but ultimately, I found doing hard things like this fun.

    Unlike at the end of my last report, I wrote there were many serious races ahead, now after MMT, I am not sure if I had the ability to do the next one. There’s a possibility I need to deregister myself on some. My knee is certainly an issue with no solution I can think of. Yes, see a doc, but. Can I still run at my level and how soon? I know there are many unknowns.

    I wrote a lot already, the question of why I run comes up from time to time. There are several levels. I just attended a prep meeting for a later 100 mile I will be doing not long from now and people in it said, if you want to finish a 100 miler, you have to find your Why. A strong Why will keep you going. I did it because it was fun. I did it to see how far I can go. I did it for people, to fun with together on the course. Rarely have I done a 100 mile race where I didn’t know anyone. I think I run to build a little treasure of memories, to look back on in the future and to relive it.  Nothing like a 100 miler, you get the ups and the downs and everything.  My friend told me something about changing the world with my running, I think that is too deep for me. Whether my runs will have a lasting impression, likely not, and do I need to? It is something to explore in future runs.

  • [617] Surprise 3rd winter storm (the Reverse Ring)

    The Ring and the Reverse Ring. Those who are in the know know. It is not a secret but the Ring and the Reverse Ring is like a secret club run. I think because it is hard and very few people do it. It ends up as a clique thing.

    First, it has certain entry requirements especially for the Reverse Ring.  Runners cannot sign up unless they did the Ring (summer version first).

    Typically, you are looking at a dozen of so runners and some years there were just a handful.  When you finish, your name is written forever on tge club page and you are part of the fellowship of the Ring. It is like being in a selective club. The Reverse Ring they say is harder, though it is on the same course but run in the reverse direction (counterclockwise).

    About the course, it is 100% on the Massanutten Trail. This trail is the central to many of the club runs with the most notably, the Massanutten 100, the 100 miler everyone knows and loves.  The Ring only runs about 70 miles (71) on it, the northern half. You would think that would be easier for those who have done the 100 mile version to do this one.  Maybe is true, but there is less fanfare about the Ring, so maybe runners are not seriously as prepared to run it as in the 100 miler.

    I myself truly did not know for I have never done it. Like most races from the Virginia Happy people, I’ve heard of the Ring in passing but once come to running in it, it gets tricky in the signing up process. I usually don’t pay attention to when it is open for signup and usually a lowly club event falls off from my radar.

    Thankfully the MMT 100 signup has moved to the normal website (ultrasignup) and thus, I was able to run it the last two years.

    The Ring is the free version, a fatass they call it.  Maybe because it is free, not many people sign up to run it.

    Those who have done it love it.  It is their Orange trail. Orange because the trail is blazed with orange color paint.  I heard of the Orange trail etc.  It is rocky and difficult. Those who did it always complain that they hate it but always will come back next year for more.

    This year was doubly hard because in the middle of the event we had a surprise winter storm (snow) on the mountain.  The race/run continued.

    I had a free weekend. The two RDs for the Reverse Ring sent out a call for volunteers.  It was their first time in charge.  We had an unusual high number of participants (30+ signed up), 24 toed the start, but only about 10 finished.

    I was put my name to join the first Aid Station at Woodstock Tower which was about 13-15 miles in the race.  The race started at 6 am.  I was at my station by 7.  We had a bit of time before the first runner showed up, which was predicted to be around 8:10.  Daisy and Jesse (the two RDs) said, let’s climb the Woodstock Tower since none of us never been up there.  I always wondered in the past when I ran by it during my race or training run, exactly what’s the view is up there. Curiosity got better of us.

    Lookout from Woodstock Tower, facing east

    All three of us were scare of height and we quickly descended once we took some bragging selfies. 

    The First runner arrived right on the dot at 8:11/8:12. (He will be at the Western States 100).  He was sure fast.  Carl, another fast runner came not long after.  Then there were a trickle of runners.  Lastly all my slower friends came in, including, Wayne, Jamie, Q, and Carol.  These were people I often get to run with.

    Our AS was the first one so there was very little for us to do to help runners.  All were happy people.  Also the time spread from the first to the last runners were still kind of close, about two hours apart unlike at the later stations, which could be as long as 12 hours. We were done by 10:30 in the morning.

    I had the rest of the day to myself, so I decided to drive about 45 minutes down Fort Valley Road to Camp Roosevelt (Camp Roo as it is known among us).  This is the last crew station and final cutoff at their mile 50.  It was still early and the aid station at Camp Roo had not set up yet. 

    I then went out for a run, decided to head up to Kerns Mountain intended to do my MMT 3rd training run.  It would take about 12 hours for me to tackle this 35 mile run.  Little did I know the weather had other idea.

    I got on Orange around 11 am.  Went down toward Duncan Knob. Duncan Hollow was as muddy as ever. Took Blue trail and climb up on Gap Creek.  From Gap Creek to the little bridge, crossed over Crisman Hollow Rd and climbed Jaw Bone.  Then I realized my mistake of not bringing a rain jacket or winter clothes because it started raining and quickly turned into snow.  Soon before I reached Kerns Mnt, the trail started turning white. I heard later it was at least 4 inches.

    Trail turning white.

    The trail was completely covered. There was no longer any rock seen. It was slip and slide.  A few runners from the Ring run caught up to me.  The front runners (1-4) already had been through but these who were passing me also are pretty good runners and they were battling the element (Justin, Jaque and Luc).

    I was glad the trial finally ended for me once I got back on Crisman Hollow Rd.  The runners who were doing the Ring, they had to descend the Waterfall trail which was notorious steep.  No thanks for me.  I took the Road back to Camp Roo.  The Road portion is same for MMT 100 and Old Dominion 100 (to Four Point AS).  I have never ran from here to Camp Roo before so it was a good run for me.  It was about 8 miles back.  I was happy to be back.

    Bird Knob was my original plan after Kerns Mountain but with the snow, no way would I want to ascend Bird Knob.

    I stayed at Camp Roo from 5 to closing at 10pm.  The three runners I met eventually made it to Camp Roo and they also called quit after arriving.  I took the honor to drive them back to the start at Signal Knob.

    A side story, was I became kind of sick afterward.  The mountain road of the Fort Valley Road made my head dizzy.  I made it back to camp Roo around 8/9 o clock but I was feeling dizzy.  Wayne came in.  I helped him with what he needed.  He stayed about half an hour before heading back out. They were asking me if I would accompany him (pacing).  I would but I was kind of sick so I turned it down.  He did fine without me any way and finished. 

    Jamie came in.  Her friend Larry helped her and paced her through the night. 

    John H and John C came in. Nick too. These were the final runners. John H decided  it was enough of Orange for him. John C and Nick were cold. They also stayed a while at the camp fire to warm up. Someone donated a jacket to John and thank God, that got him through the night.

    The Reverse Ring showed grit some runners had.

    I took the easy way. I drove to Signal Knob after the last runner came through. There I slept till 6 am in the morning.  Wayne said he would arrive at 6 am.  I know that was just a prediction.  He came in a little after 7. He was happy as so were other runners, John and Nick and Jamie. They all made it back.

    I was not running in it. I was happy to experience their thrill.  We were tracking them from station to station. 

    On a personal note, once the race was over, Dan, and his wife and I decided to climb the  Signal Knob. It was about a 10 mile to go around. This is my stumping ground so I am pretty familiar. I took the Meneka Peak path. It was an awesome day for me.

    I fnished my short version of the run and was exhausted.  The night sleeping in the car was not fun, but it definitely beat being out on the trail that night.  I heard the temperature was around 24 at the base. With wind chill factoring in and elevation, it might have been in the teens.  Those runners survived the night. Hat off to them. Yes, the winter storm was not in the forecast. It was beautiful nonetheless.  I slept the next 14-16 hours after I got home.  I call that a great weekend.

  • MMT report [Day557]

    This is one of the more difficult race reports to write. It is harder than last year when I didn’t finish the race. Basically then I said I couldn’t finish and here are the reasons why. But when things went well, what is there to say?

    This time, I finished. I am pleased. I am happy. I am smiling and clutching my buckle in my sleep. It was a perfect race. I could not ask for more. Yes there are rooms for improvement, etc. However, whatever I set off to do in this race was done and I hit each check point as expected. Everything was smooth and easy to allow me to finish the race.

    I did not want to bored my readers. I really have nothing to say but also have so much to say about the race.

    I didn’t have many pictures during the race since I am usually too anxious and focused. My phone died by the next day. I so wanted to take a photo at Q view. Here is the sunrise after Moreland Gap. Maybe 5 miles into the race. We had beautiful weather for running. I was with Mike at the time. He is a dear friend who helped me at the Devil dog. I met him at Stone Mill training run last year and he impromptu crewed me at the Devil Dog at the final 10 miles. This time I got to run with him!

    Apologize in advance that this report won’t be my usual report. It might be I need more time for everything to sink in for me to make sense what I did. It was two years of intense training! I wanted this race so bad. Now I had it.

    Race HQ and assembly area. My friends from PA running club were also running in this race. Seeing them here was a surprise. They asked if I am going to World Ends this year!
    First AS, Mooreland Gap. water only. There were 15 AS plus 1 unofficial AS before Camp Roosevelt (someone hauled 20 1 Gal water jugs up on the mountain). It saved me.
    My splits: I am not a data guy, but I was pretty much on my planned pace almost exactly like last year. Only thing different was I get off Kern Mountain faster, from AS 11-AS12 (1hr ahead of last year). It earned an extra hour of buffer time. It guaranteed I would finish. The stress was off once I reached Visitor Center. I knew even if I walk, I have enough time to do it. I had 10 hours to walk 22 miles. (note, I just notice my pace chart final time cut off is wrong, it should be 17:00 (5pm) not 16:00 (4pm).

    My whole plan was trying keep my time of 9 hours every 25 miles. I knew I would be tired later on, so in the beginning, I was doing between 7.5 hours to 8 hours marathon.

    I did not have the time for the 25.8 mi stop. I reached Indian Grave, mi 50.1 (halfway point) at 20:15, in 15.25 hours, so roughly on target for 31 hour finish.

    It was a bit slower (45 mins) than last year. It was fine with me. I was aiming to make up time at the aid stations. Last year Habron, I used up a lot of time fixing my feet, this time I was aiming to be quicker at each station while making sure I had everything. This made a big difference. Always do things with a purpose!

    The fun of the race really began after dark! Sunset while I was making my way to Habron. It had rained earlier around 3 pm. I did switch to a dry shirt once the rain stopped. My shoes and my shorts and underpants though were wet. I had rub burns/chafing in various places. It was nothing too severe but definitely not comfortable. I did not do anything at the time, hoping I could dry out and got some cream once I reached the aid station.

    At Habron, I met Amanda. She had been ahead of me whole day. We trained together. I thought she would be struggling in this race, but she was doing very well. In training we were about at the same pace. We were targeted about 31 hour finishes. It was a relief to see she was ahead and doing well. I had throughout the day wondering where she was, whether she was behind me or in the front.

    This year, I hit my pace perfectly so I did not pass many runners nor many runners passing me. There were more than 200 runners, but I came across probably about 50 people, of the bottom half. We were together in this group pretty much for the whole race.

    I did see Tracy and other fellow runners whom I used for gauging my pace. I passed her very early on. I was hoping she would be around the next morning. I ran with another runner, who said she reached mile 88 before running out of time last year. She said she would finish with the extra hour given. I was too tired to see if she made it in. I was too expecting to be with her for a long time, but we separated as we were near mile 33. She said the heat is making her go slower. I was also with Jeff, whom I trained with. He finished around 35 hours. You kind of have to know those who run around your pace.

    Stuart too is another story. I trained with him. Stuart is over 70 year old. I ran with his son last weekend. And my original race plan was to be with Stuart for the first half then pick up my pace the second half. However, I think at around mile 10, Stuart felt he was moving too slow (he took a tumble). He basically asked me to go ahead. I did because I did not want him to be uncomfortable having the pressure of pacing me. Stuart met me at the finish!

    So without Stuart, my race plan changed. I would try to run like last year. The key point would the middle of the night whether I could save time. As it have it, I lost my pace sheet. It felt from my pocket. I was having a little runner fog at the time. I was losing things left and right. I lost my chocolate milk, unopened. It also felt off from my pocket. I lost my rain cap. Also fell off. Exactly how and when was beyond me. I lost my garmin watch, thought it fell off too but found it later after the race in my hydration pack. It was what is up with me. I decided not to put anything in that particular pocket.

    I later then caught up to Charlie and Costi at mile 25. These trio were whom I met on the first training run. They were saying just like the first training run, we are together again. They snapped a picture of three of us running (only Stuart was missing this time). I stayed with Costi until Shaw Gap. I felt I couldn’t keep their pace. I rather run at my own pace (sometimes slower and sometimes faster). Because I like to run up hills and run down hills. Costi is a very steady pace guy. I felt either I bumped into him for going too fast or being left way behind. During at one of the aid stations, I got all I needed, but Charlie was still needing more time, I set off alone leaving Costi and Charlie. Costi later (next day) at mile 88 caught back up to me. He paced me up over the final climb to Scothorn and to the final aid station at Gap Creek. Charlie dropped at Habron (we haven’t heard from him except that he was ok).

    The night was indeed fun for me. I was moving slower but none of the climbs were difficult. I got up from Habron Gap alright. A lot of people said that was a killer. It was the beginning of my unraveling last year. So this year, I was extra careful. Jim and Jamie both were knocked out by the climb. Jim was a guy whom I ran with at the Devil Dog. He has great patience. He is normally Jamie’s pacer but this year he was signed up to be a runner. I was shock to hear Jim got sick and dropped out at Roosevelt/Gap Creek. Jim was suffering from hypothermia and heat exhaustion. We had temperature around 45-55 F, plus the rain, yup, it would put one out. Jamie later recovered (next morning) and finished in 34 hours! I felt so bad if she had to drop too, but she hung on. Ram took over to pace both Jamie and Amanda. I offered to take Jamie but only found out that Jamie was sick and she politely turned down my offer fearing she might slow me down.

    I took a bit more time than last year getting off from Habron to Roosevelt. It was fine. I was not in a rush as last year. The key part would be going from Gap Creek to Kern Mountain and to the Visitor Center.

    At Roosevelt, I kept my break short, remembering I overstayed here last year. I did stock up on food. The night got cold. I had a short sleeve shirt but regretted I did not pack a long sleeve here. I took it along to double up, but found wearing two layers was too warm for me.

    Duncan Hollow/Gap Creek was as muddy as the previous year. I knew I had a new pair to change into at the Aid Station. I hated my new shoes.

    This probably could have been the breaking point of the race. They say don’t do anything new on race day. I went and brought two new pair shoes and used for this race. I wore a good shoes from mile start to mile 33. Then swapped out to a new pair from mile 33-64, and the moment I wore it I knew and asked myself what had I got myself into. Mile 64-70 I had a good pair. 70 to the finish I had the bad pair, but they were new! They both were unacceptable for trail run. They were as bad as they can be. I leave the brand/model unnamed. It is not the shoes but me who picked the wrong kind.

    So I finished Gap Creek, I had a decision to make, switch into a pair of shoes that I hate or kept the muddy shoes I like a lot. Both would give me blisters except which one would give me more than the other. I chose to go with the new pair.

    I could not run or hike with the new pair. It does not protect my toes nor my heels. It slided around. I felt every rocks. It did not have traction inside or on the outside. I had the most difficult time with them. There was nothing I could do about it. The next option was to go barefoot. From the ordeal, I learned about shoes. My previous sets of shoes (and they were all road shoes) had stronger/tougher sides and back of the heel. Also the top were tougher. There wouldn’t be any rocks poking me. These new pairs are so squishable. You could roll them into a ball. Now I know, how to choose shoes. Pick the hard ones.

    I survived the night to say the least. Morning was glorious. Many runners became faster. 15-20 so runners picked up their paces and passed me. They were miserable at night when I passed them. Now they were running. I wish I could join them.

    I could run too but my shoes limited my mobility. Walking was what I could do.

    Bird Knob was easy. Many said that was a hard climb, not me. Last year I fainted (blacked out) on here. I got up there in no time at all this year. I was surprised when I reached the top expecting to have a few more hundred of feet to climb. I got to the Picnic Area by 11. There I picked up Wang (Sheng). Wang is an interesting guy. He picked up running a year ago and he is hooked. He is running a 100 mile race every month.

    I only needed 5 minutes at the aid station, but Wang was tired and we stayed forever (20 mins plus). I did not mind. Volunters reminded me several times to leave. Finally Jim kicked us out (jokingly of course). Jim is a friend of Wang. Costi came and took off. I actually wanted to stay ahead of Costi because he was ‘slow’ at the time. However, I already said I would keep Wang company.

    Wang started running. I could kind of follow with a fast walk. We caught up to Costi at the Rt211 parking lot, 2 miles later. Last year I was struggling at this two miles. This year, my pace was flying. There Me, Wang, Costi, and Costi’s Wife (pacer), together tackled the last 6 mile climb (it was probably 3 miles, but trust me, it felt like 6). It was noon like last year. Sun was hot, like last year.

    Last year, that was my bonking point. This year, I was stronger. I felt it was impolite to pass the group, so I followed them.

    It was a long climb. Costi was moving slowly. No one complained. I felt I could have run up this climb. We passed couple runners. Once we reached the top, Wang took off. He was pretty fast going down hill. So did Costi. They finished about an hour ahead. I had bad shoes so couldn’t run. I did not want to risk breaking my ankle at this point in the race. I slowly made my way down. The last 4.8 miles were tougher, since it was on pavement. I got to give it to Costi and Wang. They ran in. I in theory could and should run. However, I started bonking. Costi too, at Gap Creek II, he seemed to suffer from heat exhaustion and was a mess. I left him, but 10 mins later, he caught up. He ran. Walking was all I could muster. My feet hated the pavement. I slowly in two hours made the final 5 miles. The last mile was back on trail, but it was bad trail. I arrived by 3:37 pm, ahead of 35 hours of last year cut off. This year, the race allowed for 36 hours, so we had a bonus hour. That was what I set off to do to use last year 35 hour cutoff as my goal.

    Sleep deprivation. I had a bit of sleep deprivation around midnight, but then Amanda and Ram showed up and they kept me awake until we reached Camp Roosevelt where I had a cup of coffee. There was no more issue until the afternoon. The second time I had sleep trouble was around 3 pm on the final stretch to the finish. I saw trees turning into people who were taking pictures of me but when I took a second look to smile and wave, they turned back into trees again. I felt stupid. Who knows they might have been people. My mind was pretty loopy at the time. I did make it to the finish. I slept not long after. I wanted to wait for all my slower friends to come in, but the body was too much. Amanda came in about 15 mins after me. I got to see her. I heard that Jeff came in too. He was struggling. Jeff (60+ year old) on the training run, ran faster than me.

    What went well: food. drop bags were pretty much on key. I had that system worked out at the Devil Dog and the Black Beard 100. Pacing was generally good. I could in theory go a bit faster. We had both the rain and cold and the heat, but I survived them all.

    Shoes: Get better shoes for trails. No more soft shoes.

    Also I learned to carry lotion on me later in the race. I was applying lotion constantly and that kept the chafing at bay. The most important thing I learned from this race is to heal yourself while out on the course, and rely less on coming into the aid station.

    I did have fun. I was more relaxed when there was no cut off to worry about. My average pace was around 22 mins the second half. It was a relaxing pace.

    The end was anticlimatic. Since 7 am after I got off Kern I knew I would finish. Unlike last year. Last year at 7 AM, I was struggling with cut-offs until 2 pm when I was no longer able to make it. It was stressful to race from one station to the next, but this year, I had two hours to spare. It was not even nail-biting. I was kind of floating in. Thus I struggle to say, is that all?

    Many friends congratulated me. I was happy having DNF’d last year and to overcome it this time. I knew many could not make it this year even with the extra time. It humbled me. It helped me made so many friends. They all knew how crushed I was last year. Training did help. I saw myself being transformed since Training Run #1, when I was out of shape. But by race day, I was ready for all the climbing. My body shape is still the same. I am still feeling “not fit” but at least I could “walk” a 100 mile under 35 hours.

  • MMT pre race [Day556]

    I have been a bit emotional as I stepped back on the MMT course the second time. I was not mad or disappointed the last time when I did not finish. I know I tried my hardest at the time. It is satisfying to be able to try it again.

    I have been giddy all year looking forward to this. I have done plenty of training runs. January, February, March, and April. Now finally it is time for the real deal.

    I know what to expect this second time around. I packed my drop bags, 10 of them for 9 dropbag stations (one station, Gap Creek we will pass by twice (there are total 15 aid stations)).

    I spent whole Thursday night preparing. I did not sleep until 3 AM. I finished packing by 1 AM actually, but by then I was not sleepy. I know I need all the rest I can get. It probably pre race anxiety. Some runners go for med to put the body out for the night.

    Friday. after work I drove to camp. It was exactly like last year. I was caught in the DC area traffic, but I used the Toll Road to bypass all the local traffic. Got to camp in time for the checking and dinner, but I missed the race briefing.

    I met a new friend Zheng. This is his first year running the MMT. He was the sweeper of the last miles last year. Apparently I didn’t see him in the last year race. I know I was one of the last few on the course.

    After dinner, I handed over my drop bags. They will be transported to various aid stations along the course the next day and will be available when I get there. I packed food, clothes, shoes, lubricant, wipes and various stuff. The race provides food, but sometimes it can get so crowded around the aid stations and there is no time to eat. Also the food the race provided many times would not be sufficient. As a runner, we learn to bring our own. The race provided food is supplemental only. I learned this the hard way last year. It is not that their food is not good or deficient, but that their purpose is to feed a lot of people in shortest amount of time, so it means to keep portions super small (finger food). The solution is to get a doggie bag and fill it up!

    The night settled in. I slept in the back of my car. It is a perfect day to sleep under the stars. I brought a tent but too lazy to set it up (and to put in away the next morning). I just climbed on the back of my truck, laid down some yoga mats and blankets and crawled in.

    I set an alarm for tomorow 4 AM. I made sure it is AM and not PM. Actually my watch is on military time this year so I will not mess up on the AM/PM thing. Last year, I messed up somehow and my alarm did not go off because I set it to PM. I almost missed the race. It was at the last moment I woke up in time and ran to the start line, which was only few hundred yards away.

    I had everything ready this year. Even if I missed my alarm, as long as I could wake up, I could run any time. My hydration pack is filled. My shoes are right next to me. I dressed in the clothes I will be running in and I am sleeping in them. They will be the same set for the next couple days.

    There are some annoying bugs. They don’t bite but they are crawling on me and are making me itchy. Soon I will get under my blacket and ignore the bugs.

    It got colder at night. Of course the night dew too made things wet. I had a tarp on top of my sleeping bag so it kept my blankets and sleeping bag dry.

    As you can see, I didn’t sleep too well. I checked my alarm every hour. Volunteers came a bit before 4 (maybe 3:30). A few early birds showed up and parking people were directing them how/where to park. I was awaken by then.

    I didn’t feel groggy. It is race day. I am exicited. Race report will be continued in a later post. (This post was written before I felt asleep and added the morning bit subsequently)

  • weekend [Day555]

    Being a bit time crunch but I wish to get this out.

    MMT 100 is this coming weekend. I should be ready. There are a lot I need to do. Get my pace chart ready, dropbags prepared, and make sure I get to start. This is the race I have been looking toward since last year.

    Over last weekend, I drove down to Dublin, VA, to do the Lake Ridge Endurance run (at Lake Claytor State Park), – 12-hour category. This year I only ran 44 miles, 4 less than last year. I blame the weather being hotter. I also did not have a good night rest the night prior, my fault. I was very sleepy during the first 6 hours of the race.

    It was my third year running it. I stayed over night after. I met Steven, who is this year winner. It is not a race per se but he has the most miles done for the 12 hour category. Fitz won the 24 hour. Fitz is Stuart’s son. Stuart will be at the MMT next weekend. We will see each other again since Fitz will pace his father at mile 62.

    Chrissy paced me the last 10~ish miles. I was glad she did otherwise, I might only have done 36 or so miles instead of 44. As the night approached I was able to regain my strength and ran my “full” speed of 15 min mile pace. Chrissy recently moved to area. She ran the High Bridge 50K in 5.5 hrs, impressive to me. I recommended Eastern Divides ultra to her, which I signed up already. The race will be on the first week of November.

    In the morning, I got one more lap in for my morning run. It doesn’t count toward my miles but I like to have my morning exercise. I went and did the lap with Katherine. She is a new friend I met. She did Vol State a few years back.

    In closing, I was very tired. It took me more than 8 hours to drive back home, when it should be about 4-5 hours. I made many stops along the way. Slept a bit in a rest area to catch up on needed sleep.

    I also started arranging my race schedule for next year. I signed up for Roanoke Doubler over the weekend (April 20, 2024). My cousin in Sydney sent me a save the date for her wedding. That is next year in March. I tried to look for a marathon there so I could hit two birds with one stone, but unfortunately, so far, no marathons found in Sydney in that time frame.

    Other news, I am still streaking for the GVRAT. Day 14 so far. It has gotten easier after day 3 during my Canada trip. As for tapering for the MMT, I wish I don’t have GVRAT to do, because it gets my legs tired. But oh well. I chose this path. MMT will be interesting in that I am not entering it with a 100% fresh body. My next report will probably be the MMT race report or similar.

  • Last training for MMT [Day546]

    I posted on other social media about this last run. However, I did not go into too much details. It was quite a fun adventure, I lost a glove twice that night, same pair, and I got lost myself when I decided to back track to look for it the second time. Yes, how can you get lost by backtracking, but you can! All I am saying is it meant to be lost. The training run went well overall. I finished by 3 am. I stayed for the night and did an extra run the next day. Here is the full scope.

    Last year I was trying to run the MMT 100. Someone (Iris) suggested that I should do their training runs. I was nervous because they called their training runs the Massanutten Academy! You have to apply for it! Later I found out it was just a silly thing. The runs are free. Anyone can join. There were four training runs spanned over four months before the race. And you can sign up each one individually with no commitment to go to the next one or even have to be registered for the MMT race itself. The actual race is in May.

    This year I heard about it early and I signed up for all four runs. Tonight training was the last of the four.

    The training runs were to be on the actual course. Three of them would be enough to cover every mile of the course. The last one was a bonus night run on the hardest and final section of the MMT course.

    This was the section that derailed my race last year. It was also the night time. The training was very important in planning how to deal with it this year. The third training already covered the similar ground. Just having it at night gives the actual race day condition since most of us would arrive at this section some point when we were most tired and vulnerable and the hardest section. Most of us could do well during the day time, but night time when we are out of our comfort zone, that is where it gets hard.

    The MMT 4th training event started at 7 pm. I arrived before 4 pm, first to get a parking spot, and second to do some day time exploring. One other car also arrived before me. They were already out running by the time I pulled in. Though they and I would all be back at the parking lot to sign in at 7 to start with the rest. There were more than 50 of us running this.

    There was a mile stretch from the Picnic Area aid station to Rt 211 Parking Lot. Last year, this section took me an hour to cover (maybe around mile 87-88 in the real race). So I went out on it to figure out why and to get a better feel of the trail. Indeed, during day time and being full of energy, I had no problem with this section. I walked back and forth at least twice. I learned the trail cold. I was confident I could do this little section on race day. Funny how seemingly I made an ant hill into a mountain last year. There were a lot of this kind of aha moments during the training run.

    By 6 pm the rest of the runners showed up. We had a full house. Some people came from far away like Ohio and Pennsylvania to do this training run. The race director (the night event coordinator Larry) and a few also said this year had the most turnouts.

    By a little before 7 pm, we took a group picture and crossed over Rt 211 to begin the run. The traffic stopped for us. I met a lot of friends I made previously on other trainings, Amanda, Costi, Stuart, Carl, Jeff, Morty, and some I couldn’t remember the name, but seeing them again brought happiness. Many will be running in the real race in May.

    I started out slowly. Many and all passed me. Amanda and I were ones left behind, as usual, and I called myself an unofficial sweeper. Generally, in a race there is a person to pick up trashes and take care of people in the back and that is the sweeper. That was fine with me. Amanda set a good walking pace and I did not mind unlike last year where I tried to get ahead of slowpokes. I know this was a run, and last year I did run it. I knew I wanted the race day pace. No need to run faster than that. Amanda dialed it in perfectly. I knew I would make the midnight halfway point cut off at the Visitor Center.

    I knew Amanda from last year training runs. She was a friend of a friend. Her pacer Ram, was an amazing helper to me during my Devil Dog 100. I am forever grateful to him. Amanda has not done well in recent races. Tonight was the first time I saw her again. Well, I met her once at Stone Mill 50 last November but we did not get a chance to catch up in that race.

    There were a time we were alone. It was uphill. We got on the Orange trail after an hour in. Night was coming. We caught up to John. Amanda did not pass John. I was kind of impatient but I held my tongue. At the time, I did not know who John was.

    John started to talk about various things. He was not training for the MMT, his wife, I think is. He ran the MMT last year. This year he is training for the Eastern States 100. If you know Eastern States is a very hard race and I don’t think I can run it. He got my respect when he mentioned that. John has done the Barkley. I was not sure if that the fall classic or the real Barkley. Wow I was in the present of a superstar (I met a few that night). Indeed duing the uphill section, John was very strong. There was no way I would be able to pass him and I was glad I did not because I would have made an ass out of myself later.

    We reached the top when the last light was fading. It was around 8:45. We then was racing downhill. We caught with John’s wife Charleen. I then realized this couple were manning the aid station on the last MMT training. They know me but I didn’t know them by name until this run.

    sunset, as we were about to descend into Gap Creek II (Amanda was up ahead, right behind John. The bright light is from John. He was using a chest lamp as well as a head torch)

    This hill tonight seemed easy. It took us only couple hours to reach here. With maybe 3 hours left to get down onto Gap Creek II station, climb Jawbone, and traverse over Kerns, and run to Visitor Center. The cutoff is around midnight at the Visitor Center. I was confident we would make it even though there was a lot of miles to go.

    Getting over the first hill, here at Scothorn trail was what led me a DNF during last year MMT. It was incredible hard between mile 90-95. I just could not bring forth any energy at the time.

    It did not seem that hard tonight. Charleen set a good downhill speed. We reached the road pavement. John led us across the creek with our feet kept dry. Once on the road, Charleen, Amanda and I raced to the aid station about a mile to 2 miles away. It was a long run but we held a steady pace at least of 12 min mile or faster. Might even be at 10 mins but none of us were out of breath. John fell behind.

    At the aid station, we all did our various things. Some used the restroom behind some trees. Some readjusted their pack, or put on layers. Temperture was dropping. We started the run in upper 60s but very soon, we were feeling it was in the low 50s and we knew it would continue to fall to low 30s by midnight. I started to see my own breath. I refilled my water. Got some sodas, and cookie chips. This was the last stop before midnight. The time was around 9 pm. We had a long way to go.

    In the 100 mile race, after Creek Gap II, we would have 5 miles of road to the finish. However, tonight, we changed to Gap Creek I (mile 65-67 in the MMT course) by going to Kerns Mountain. Kerns Mountain is the roughest section in the whole race in my opinion. The first time I was on this, I had to used hands and knees, ya, crawling over rocks and boulders. It was slow going.

    But first we had to climb Jawbone. John and Charleen led the pack (John caught back up). I took the last position. Halfway up, Stuart and another guy went the wrong way and we found them while they were backtracking. So our group of 4 became a group of 6. It was a joy to have a bigger group. I met Stuart from previous runs.

    Amanda could not keep up with John’s pace and she stopped for a break. I stayed with her while the rest of the group continued on. Stuart and his friend passed us. Again I was in the last position.

    Tonight I was not in a rush. I wanted to simulate my race day pace. Precisely going up Jawbone was what messed me up last year. People were passing me on this section, and it was about 2 am at the time, and I became anxious during the race to push extra hard. I became even more out of breath, etc. It ended up costing me more time later on (of 6 hours to traverse Kerns instead of 2 hours).

    Tonight, when Amanda decided to stop for a breather, I stopped too. Amanda was much better this year compared to last year. She got sick last year. She only stopped once ascending Jawbone.

    When we got to Kerns, we caught back up with John and his group. Amanda kept a close pace behind them. I kept a looser pace. If it was an easier section I could hop over rocks and catch up easily. However, I took extra time in more difficult sections. Most of the time, we were 50-100 yards apart. Sometimes though I could get right behind them.

    What I learned tonight was my balance had improved since a month ago. I had trouble on this section previously and that was during day time. Now at night, even without shining light on the path, my feet found their footing. It was almost like I couldn’t fall. I hit all the right rocks. My ankles were strong. I was not tripping or rolling my ankles or slipping. Every step was sure and full of confident. I was moving at a good pace. I could run it if I wanted. I walked fast and at times I tried running. All system was good.

    Kerns was a long section. I was more mentally prepared. Soon though we reached Q’s view. We know we would be near to Crisman Road. Once on the road, we would run again. We were ahead of our pace. We had maybe two miles to reach the (Massanutten’s) Visitor Center. Amanda put on a steady pace. We left John and Charleen behind. Soon we caught up to Stuart and his companion. We went on to passed some other people.

    There was a white van near the end of this section. Some runners were concern about the van following them, especially female runners. The time was near midnight and we were on a remote trail. There shouldn’t be anyone driving around on this part of mountain. One runner was scared enough and waited for us to join up so we would pass the van together. The van seemed to be stalking us. Amanda mentioned she had similar experience last year and she had to hide in the woods until the van disappeared.

    We had no more scary incident afterward. We crossed over Rt 211 to the Visitor Center. There were a whole crew of people waiting for us.

    I flopped down to the nearest camp chair next to the firepit. We made the cut off. It was a little passed 11:30. I believed I stayed for nearly 20 minutes. Soon I remembered I needed to fill up my hydration pack. John and Charleen would not do the next half but instead going to hike two miles back to Rt 211 parking where our cars were parked.

    I grabbed some fries and peirogis from Dan (our MMT RD, overlord). Amanda was waiting for me. I thought her husband was coming to pace her and I didn’t know she was waiting for me otherwise I would have been quicker at the aid station.

    We set off for Bird Knob. Stuart and his friend just arrived and we couldn’t wait for them. In the 100 mile race, this was an even harder climb after Kerns Mountain. I blacked out on this section during last year race. Tonight though I was full of energy. I let Amanda lead. It was a hard climb up. The moon came out. I believe it was a full moon.

    Once on Bird Knob, it was not too bad. It was just long. We reached the purple trail. We almost missed it but Amanda had good sense once we passed it, she knew. We knew to back tracked. We found the purple trailhead. Someone had knocked down the post indicating the turn.

    Purple to pink trail was not hard to find. Indeed it was long section too, maybe 6-8 miles. It took us like three hours. We reached the picnic area and made the turn on the Orange trail. Lucky we did not miss the trail but we found two other people who missed it. A third person was hurt and stayed at the Picnic Area to be picked up. We did not know until we finished. We had a mile to go to get back to 211 parking. Amanda was very good here. We arrived at 3:20.

    Meaning the entire 25 miles took us 8 hours and 20 minutes. Meaning for the 100 mile, it would took us 33:20 hour:min. This is definitely an acceptable time. The race cutoff for this year is 36 hours. I felt I was only using 30 % of my effort. I was not rushing. I felt at this slow walking pace I definitely would make the final cutoff on race day.

    I told Amanda, she has to keep this pace to finish and keep the time at the aid stations short. Not like tonight because I spent ungodly amount of time at the Visitor Center. Got to keep it down to 5 mins or less. In the real race, we have a total of 2:30 hours for aid stations and pace slowdown due to being tired. If there will be 10 stations, then we could stay up to 15 minutes, but of there will be close to 20 stations, we can only stay at most 7 mins. So, plan the stops carefully.

    Conclusion: We were the last two out of 50 runners. By keeping a steady walking pace, we ended up passing about 6-7 people and we were no longer the DFL (dead fricking last). If we keep this same strategy of not rushing, we could do the same on race day. It does not matter which position we start in but which position we will finish. If we finish around 33 hours, we would be ahead of maybe 50 people!

    My personal plan is — likely on race day, I will be going at the same pace as Amanda, till mile 62-67. I will ram up the pace as we near the end. I know it is easier to say than done. If Amanda could keep up with me, we will finish together. By 50 miles, I know whether she will be able to keep up or not. She will have a team of pacers helping her after mile 50. I plan to do Kerns Mountain and the few sections after at a faster pace than last year. I think this time I will finish it. The web signup, puts me in the 32 hours finish time. Last year, I would not believe this, but this time after finishing Blackbeard’s Revenge in 26 hours, I believe I am capable of the MMT under 32 hours.

  • Day528 MMT Training 1

    TL;DR This race in May (MMT) means a lot, so I wrote a long post about the first training run. Summary – a cold slow run on the first third of the actual course.

    Running up the road outside Caroline Furnace

    It has begun. I am not quite in a mood for training yet after more than a month off since the Devil Dog 100 race. Whether I am ready or not, training comes upon me again. I think though I am in a better position to start this year’s training than last year. At least, I am relatively in a good health and I am more upbeat about it. There’s an urgency that I need to get back out there as soon as possible to kick start the machinery. The MMT race is in the third week of May. There is still time. Time is also short. This is a recurrent theme. I have a whole life ahead (Goal #99) and yet there seems to be not enough time. There is so much expectancy that this year will be a good year.

    A little background, though no secret at all to my regular readers. The topic of MMT came up many times. I have talked/written to death about it. Last year I attempted this 100 mile race that was considered a much tougher 100 miler race than any I tried before. I ended up getting very close to finishing it, reaching mile 95 with only about 6-7 miles to go (the course was about 102 miles). Due to a kind of weird lapsed of focus at night, I burned up a lot of time and it caused me to miss the final cutoff in the morning. This year, I hope to correct this mistake — to be a stronger night runner. Yes, this will be another redemption arc, just like the Devil Dog. And I know I have a good chance to do well.

    MMT is no joke. It is not extremely hard but it is no walk in the park. We will have four training runs before the real race. Each one is just plain hard on the actual course and they are spaced a month apart. This allows me to gauge my progress. The first run was from the race start to mile 32. They get progressively harder. They will cover the entire course by the end of all three training runs.

    MMT is known for having rocky trail. This section is easier so a brave runner attempted to run on it, but I walked.

    How did I do? I knew I was out of shape even before doing the run. I had a couple runs since my last real race (the Devil Dog). I ran Naked Nick 50k and New Year Redeye 50k. I wrote on both in previous entries. Verdict: The run was a struggle and I mostly walked the course.

    On top of being out of shape, I also had a slight injury on my foot. It is an old problem because I tend to twist my ankle (especially the left) a lot. I might have reinjured it during Devil Dog. Each subsequent runs, I hurt it more. I had couple bad rolls at Naked Nick. I did it again at Redeye. I aggravated my left ankle. The last two weeks, I was basically off my foot. You might say, why I ran then. Men are stupid is all I have to say. My justification is I could not sit around while a training run is happening.

    I was hoping for it to get better. I finished the training run with the ankle being no better or worse. I guess I was lucky.

    I knew even with the injury and being physically weak, I should get out onto the course. We met at 5:30 AM at the Signal Knob Parking which was about an hour drive from home. I had to be up by 3:30 AM, to prepare. Mind you, I hit the snooze button a few times before finally getting up and getting into my car by 4:15.

    It was hard to wake up this early on a normal day. I made it tougher on myself because the night before I had various things to do and that I did not get to bed until past 1.

    [start rant] It was a busy Friday, both at work and in my personal life. It was like a whole week of work condensed to one day. The tale is just too long to tell. My mailbox key broke and I had that replaced. It is a story for another time trying to get the post office to fix it and I had been going at it for a full week, and actually we didn’t receive mail since Christmas. 2. Plus my car was in the shop for a recall due to the gas tank could be corroded (and could fall off, and I knew about this since last summer) and it needed an inspection. They ended up spraying a sealant on it. I was worried that I would not have my car back in time for the training run. Dealing with a rental car, but in the end everything worked out. 3. Another thing was our CRAW team had only 12 miles left to go. I did not have to run it that day, because we have 9 other people on our team to do it, but no one ran. We could leave it for the next day, but I did not want that since we were so close to the finish. So around 6 pm on Friday, I put on my clothes and headed outside to do almost a half marathon to get it done. This was a virtual relay race that went around the world. By 9-ish at night I finished it. 4. I cleaned up, ate, got warm up then I attended to some work left from my company I needed to do that night. I did not finish everything until midnight. 5. Then finally there was still laundry and packing for the trip to be done. I ended up with maybe three hours of sleep. [end rant]

    When everything was packed, I was ready for bed. It was too hot to sleep with everything on me, and of course, I stripped back down. I put on again everything early in the morning.

    Dressing for the cold: For the run, I ended up having on a tee shirt as a base layer. I wear a 32 degee brand thermo long sleeve over as my mid. They are like underwear but super warm and thin. I swear by these. I think they are made out of a special material that reflects heat, like those space blanket. Then I put a super thin hoodie sweater as my outer. We were required to bring a rain jacket that also served as a windbreaker. I was warned about the high wind. The temperature ranged from 20-30 F, in the freezing range. The wind chill factor was probably in the teens. I had gloves and a wool cap, but my fingers still were cold most of the time. I added a fleece jacket and brought along a puffy down jacket, as precaution. By the time I finished the run, I wore all of them because it was that cold. The puffy jacket though I left that in the car for use after the race. Because rain was expected, a fleece was better than a down jacket because fleece will stay warm even when they wet.

    I packed myself a lunch, which was just a (cubano?) sandwich. I had the same for breakfast. I added a gatorade, some gummies and bars. I filled up my water pack. This run required having a turn sheet because the course was not flagged. I had to download the map to my phone and tried to get the offline map to work and saved a copy of the directions on my phone. I already studied the course ahead of time. I did not have a printer. So in the middle of night before falling asleep, I wrote out all the turns by hand on a piece of paper. (I actually printed out at work but forgot to take it home.) I put that in a zip lock. This would be the most important paper. I prayed that I would not get lost.

    The course: I have been on the course before because I ran the MMT last year (MMT stands for Massanutten Mountain trail 100 mile race). Supposingly, I should know the way. As I ran this again, I was surprised by new things or sights I missed during the first time because I had forgotten about them. There were way more climbs than I remembered, such as the long climb after Edinburg Gap. That whole stretch was completely new to me. Somehow it was blocked off from my mind. Also the reservoir after Woodstock was a surprised to me. I didn’t know to go around the lake. Now as I write this, I kind of have vague recollection.

    The course was not hard. It was just one way – follow the orange blazes until near the end then follow the blue blazes. There was like just one turn. There were a few tricky sections but the usual mantra was to follow the orange.

    We started out with about fifty people. Some did not show up during the roll calls. A few dropped along the way. I ran near the back end of the group as usual since I am not a strong runner. I supposed there were a few behind me. They must have dropped off later into the run and I ended up being the last four to finish. Also some would come out again the next day for the Waterfall 50k (WTF 50), the race I couldn’t get in this year.

    The first few miles were on the road. It was snowing and started sticking. I think it was beautiful. I ran in the snow before but it also made me nervous because my shoes were not made for snow. The traction on them was not that good.

    Pacing: Having done the MMT, I know to go slow. It was not a race. I stayed with maybe 10 people. We entered the trail and went up the Short mountain. Some started to run ahead. Four or five passed me by. I tried to keep my pace. By about 8 miles I was tired. Going up hills got me breathing heavily. I was not in the best shape and my glasses fogged up. It was hard and I was wondering when I would black out.

    The first aid station was at mile 12. It was a welcome sight. We had hot food, some chips and sodas. I stayed there for a bit. I remember that during my race, I did not stop here or even at the next station. Today though would be different. It was not a race. I stopped along with my group. Larry called me as I came in. He knew me by name but I never met him, well I might have, but I could not remember him. I thought he was John, another famous runner in the club. They all knew every runner by name. I was still with a group of about 8. Charleen was quite famous in our group. People were calling out to her. Michelle and Jamie were with them. Both too were excellent runners. The women were in a high spirit. Three guys in front and four ladies in the back. I was sandwiched in between them.

    The three guys pressed ahead. I followed them so I don’t have to look for directions myself. The mid section to Woodstock Tower, before our second aid stop was boring to me. The three guys took off at a much faster speed and disappeared. Mind you I was leading them before. I was left my myself. The ladies were taking their time in the back.

    A bit lost: I knew to stayed on the orange blazed trail but some sections of it seemed to be unused for some time and the blazes faded. I was started to doubt if I was on the right trail. A couple times I could not see the trail at all. It got me worried that I was off the path. I looked around by instince went on ahead following along the ridgeline. I was back on the blazed trail.

    Woodstock Tower, just before reaching the aid station. I did not remember passing by it when I ran the MMT last year. Glad I caught sight of it this time

    At 2nd Aid Station: I arrived at Woostock aid station by 1 pm, well ahead of the cutoff of 2 pm. The three guys were still there. Soon the ladies arrived as well. The temperature dropped as we stood around. My water hose became frozen. I had to kept it underneath my shirt to melt the ice. I met a few familiar faces. Carl, son of a former race director and one who ran me a few years back at this place, greeted me. He left me a good impression and he also one of those guys who wins races. Dan, the current race director was also there. Carl’s father (one of former RDs) was also there cooking for us. I took some hash browns. There was also a guy there who helped me at the MMT around mile 80-85, but I did not know his name. I was so grateful to him during my race. He was one of the best volunteers to kick me out the aid station when I was about to give up. I was glad to see him again but did not get a chance to say hi. When the guys set off, I followed along.

    The last 12 miles were easier. The three guys in front got tired and slow down their pace and I could keep up with them by now. We picked up a few other stragglers by the time we got near Signal Knob. We climbed up toward the Meneka Peak. I showed my worth of knowing the trail here but directing them away from the Meneka Peak. Both trails were to the left and the direction told us to take a left without specifying which left. I saved the whole group from getting lost there.

    We then ran down on the other side. I think it was the Sidewinder trail or something. It was basically a series of switchbacks to the parking lot. During the descends the ladies caught up to us and they were speed demons. The three guys couldn’t kept up with them, so they overtook us. I always like a fast descend. Even though it is supposed to be fast, it was 3-4 miles long and probably took us close to an hour to get down. We reached the parking lot by 4:45. 10 hours after we started. My original goal was to finish under 9 hours. During the MMT, we do not go to the Parking Area but take a short trail to Elizabeth Furnace. It is about 32 miles. My watch battery died around mile 28 so, I don’t know the distance it would have recorded for the full run.

    The Finish: Again it was a very cold day even after we finished. The volunteers had ramen noodles for us. I would take anything hot. After me, were couple more guys. The last guy came in at 5:08. Larry (a different Larry) who organized this training run was accepted into Hard Rock, a very famous race. We all congratulated him. He said that race will be in mid July. It is like when I mentioned I run marathons to people, they think I was talking about 5k because they have no way to understand the distance. This guy is running 200 miles, and it is outside my realm of comprehension.

    This was how I imagine a good day to be. I fell asleep soon after getting home and slept in the living room. Of course, I had to wake up in the middle of the night to go to bed for real in my room. My ankle was still hurt.

    Some conclusions: 1. I know what I need to work on to be stronger. I need to work on hills. Uphill downhill. Plus I was horrible with flat. I couldn’t run much. I need to able to run for a long stretch of time. Yes I was out to of shape, so need to work on everything. Also my foot needs to heal.

    2. Challenges. My mom asked why am I doing this to myself. I realized the problems I laid out scared her. When I am worried, she is twice as worried. When I think a race is crazy, she thinks I am a complete lunatic to attempt it. She wanted me not to run. It was impossible for her to see I find joy in such a challenge. I have to be careful how I project my thoughts. I have to self-censure myself from anything that indicates danger or hardship. She asked why don’t I do races that I have confident in completing, ones that have less risks. I personally think it is because of the challenges I am attempting it. I don’t want to run easy races.

    3. This is kind of a rant because I was a bit miffed. I did not get along well with some people I ran with. They weren’t hostile, but it was like being on one toes, uncomfortable. I will leave it as that. I have many theories, however, I will keep those to myself.

    Many were their first time too. I hope they realize that the actual race is 4 times longer. So good luck to them. There are still three more training runs.

    PS. Happy Lunar New Year! (coming Sunday)

  • Day511 no buyer’s remorse (MMT, round 2)

    Halloween can mean a lot of things to different people. Candies yes, lot of them. Staying up, yes. Partying yes. For me, I’m boring, and didn’t do any of that. Instead…yes, it was about racing!

    For me one of the most exciting and anticipating things this year and by somewhat an accident too, was signing up for a race on Halloween. No I mean “the race”, the one and only I have been talking about day and night, the MMT.

    MMT registration opened on October 30 at 8pm! I wasn’t sure if it would be opened at midnight or in the middle of the day, but by October 31, when I so happened to check, 100 people already signed up.

    At first, I said I was not going to sign up, not going to sign up. I didn’t know it was open but something in me kind of prompted me. You know that 6th sense of warning or weird feeling. So I checked the website. Note, I usually don’t keep checking a race website.

    MMT scarred me. So there was no reason for me to anticipating it. I received enough of a beating from it this year. My schedule is already full when I finalized it a couple weeks ago. Well it’s kinda of full. Well maybe I could squeeze it in. But I had the other hundred mile lined up for next March. I promised myself only to do one big race a season. OBX one is pretty big. It is on road so it is a bit easier and there are no mountains to climb. So maybe it is time to do step it up and do two one hundred mile in a season! And I was thinking about running the C&O 100 too. Screw the plan. Hey let do 3 100.

    But this MMT race is hard! It was super hard and I did not finish it last time. Maybe that was just a fluke you know. I got to try it a second time to be sure. I was so close to finishing it too, so this time I’m sure can tilt it over. I literally know every mile of the course. I will be so much stronger this time and I have been training whole summer already. I will be ready by May next year.

    I said even though I am not going to sign up but I am gonna check out the website and see what’s new. I saw this!

    What is this!? MMT registration is open! And what’s new this year is it added an extra whole hour to the cut-off — a 36 hour time cut-off! Last year we only had 35 hours. This time it is 36! One whole hour! I have not check the course yet, did they add an extra mountain for us to climb? Last time they shortened the time by removed one one of the mountain (Scothorn on the return trip, we still had to climb Scothorn going out). We worry about that later. I only needed just a bit more time (I was cut at the 34th hour at mile 95). Who know if I sit out next year, they might switch back to the 35 hour limit? Maybe this is the one and only chance I get of having a good shot at finishing this?

    (Aside: I spoke with the former race director, Kevin, over the weekend when I ran another of his race Bobcat-11 and he was surprised about the changes! He was asking what time I got at the MMT. I did not want to disappoint him like na-na-na I got to run it on an easier time after he stepped down…so I promised I will finish it in 35 hrs next year, I think I can)

    After checking the list of participants, Oh, they are in. My friends, my buddies. The list already had a hundred people! Let me be the 101! I got to sign up right now. FOMO kicking in fast (fear of missing out). I did. Oh and the price is so cheap too. It is two and half dollar for every mile. A bargain! A local fifty miler cost more than that! Money speaks.

    Note, I am putting a positive spin on this. Hope y’all enjoy my rationalization. This is how sign up an expensive race ;)…More to come!

    I signed up is all that mattered. Running part we will worry later. My readers will hear about MMT for another 6 more months.

    what’s next…I didn’t do much over my weekend so nothing to write about. I did the bobcat-11, but it was like a fun run. Next week is the Stone Mill. Hopefully a report will be ready soon after.

  • Day472 MmT Tr4 Night Run

    TL:DR; final shake out run before the real thing

    I went out to redeem myself from being kicked after 13 miles on my last training run a month ago. This time, I said I would keep with the pack and avoid the cut-off. This is the last official training (actually bonus training run) for the MMT 100 race. I joined them for 3 of them.

    This one was specifically held at night to give us the feel of the night and final portion of the race. We met at 6 in the evening and I was there a little after 5 in the afternoon. I lie around trying to catch some sleep, knowing I needed it. There were 20-30 people running this, much less than before maybe due to Easter and also it was a night run. Not all of them will be doing the real race in May. Many people have no vested interest to show up in the middle of nowhere for a night run. We started off on time at 7, with about an hour of daylight left. Many only do half of the run so they could go back home and sleep.

    We went into the woods

    I knew my own pace and settled in the back. I passed a couple others I knew who probably would not run the whole thing.

    I recognized Amanda from previous training runs. She and I had about a similar pace. I told her, I would make the cut off this time. She asked what time I think the cut off would be? I took a random guess maybe at midnight, 5 hours (as it was about 5 hours last time, and I was cut). That would be my goal any way to get there before midnight, There being the Visitor Center, our first official aid station. We were spoiled by RD’s wife set up an unofficial aid station at Gap Creek (around mile 6 tonight, I think in the race it would be about mile 70) just before we made the hard climb to Jawbone and Kerns Mountain.

    I was strong  climbing up to Jawbone. I waited for Amanda at the top. She seemed to be having a bit of trouble. Later on she said she had some stomach issue and threw up in the second half, but she did finish. She actually looked stronger this time than when I first met her.

    After reaching Jawbone, we continued on the ridge of Kerns Mountain, which was the hardest section tonight I think. By then the sun had set and the moon rose over the mountain.

    Moon rose over the other side, I think is Duncan Knob, which in the real race was where we would be coming from

    We had a full moon. However, I was having a hard time seeing the trail. Several times I ran off trails unknowingly. Amanda was pretty quick with downhills. I noticed many people were pretty quick with their downhills. I have not built up my trust with my feet to be willing to run downhill. I was a bit rusty. During my first training run, I was going to train on this aspect, but I pulled my hamstring and was out for 8 weeks. Actually, now 12 weeks since, my hamstring is only about 98% healed. There occasionally still is a slight pull or stiffness. Long story short, I haven’t had the opportunity to truly train on the fundamentals for this race. My breathing and muscles are pretty good now after three months, but I could have been better with my foot technique.

    We finished Kerns Mountain by 11:22 pm and we reached the true Aid Station at the Visitor Center before midnight. I was happy to have caught up with the others. They didn’t want to run on the road portion. I love the road and was able to catch up. There were five or six others there, but when they took off I was not able to catch them again.

    The next section was uneventful. We climbed Bird Knob. On the last training, I felt this was a hard accent, but, today, it was not too difficult for me. Amanda was behind me for a little while but then she disappeared (later she told us she was throwing up). Her pacer, Ram, was with her. I was by myself until the road portion. I made all the correct turns. I caught up with another pair of runners, Tracy and John. We climbed the Roaring Run together. They were much faster than me with the descent.  I wouldn’t see them again until I reached the finish.

    The remaining 6 miles were long and boring. It was mostly downhill. I passed someone camping by the trail. It was around 2 am and I hope I didn’t wake the person. I crossed numerous streams. When I ran this section a month ago, I was able to keep my shoes dry, but this time, I stepped into every puddle and crossing. It was hard to see at night, so might as well just walk right through them. I realize what is difficult about night running is you lose your depth perception. The creek might  be an inch deep or a foot deep. They look the same. Same with rocks. Sometimes when I step over rocks instead of on top of them, I might drop down 4-6 inches and it was always a surprise how further down I get. Your mind might tell you it is a little drop and it ended up you being a couple feet down. It can be very scary and easy to lose your balance.

    My hope was to be able to finish by 3:30 am. The time ticked by and that goal became unreacheable. There was just maybe a mile left. It was always so near yet not there. I finally made it back to the start at 4:00 am. Amanda was just 15 minutes behind me.

    —-

    Reflecting on this, I was 15 min late too, if there was a cut-off. When in the actual race, I should aim for 8:30-8:45 for every 25 miles. The race is 102 miles long. We have 35 hours to do it. So I am really on the borderline of being cut since I used 9 hours for 26 miles, meaning 36 hours for 104 miles (you should always add a few miles for a long race for contingency like getting lost/off trail, or inaccurate course measurement). I would be cut at maybe mile 94-96. I realized tonight, I tarried about 30 minutes at the aid stations, otherwise I could have finished by 3:30. I also waited for Amanda for about 15 mins. In theory I could have done it within 8 hours. If I could be quicker on race day at aid stations, I would be fine.

    I compare myself with my fellow runner Amanda because in the last three training runs we were the last to finish. I think on race day, both of us are in danger of being cut. I know I am a tad faster than her, but not by much. She definitely improved dramatically since I first met her. She is my metric. I am thinking of working her into my race day’s strategy. I have not decided yet, whether going out fast, then she will catch up to me at mile 70 and hopefully then we will finish together, using each other for support. Alternatively, I will keep at her pace throughout (but if she screws, I will be as well) at least until mile 70 and then I will break out. This would be ideal. It’s a lot of trust to put my race into someone’s hand. This benefits me from not going out too fast, yet I think I don’t have the patience to be slow on race day.

    Theoretically I have a couple more weeks to fix what needed fixing, however, this is likely it. I plan to go for two more runs to fine tune it but no one can tell what will happen.