In awe

Tag: recap

  • Day523 2022 race recap

    I wrote up a list of all my races this year after running Naked Nick 50K, though I felt that entry did not do the justice. Here goes a 2nd round.

    100 mile:

    Massanutten 100 – May 14. Reached mile 95 but couldn’t finish it, mainly due to time management issue in the mid/late stage for aid station stops. Also I pressed too hard between mile 50-60 and bonked the rest of the way.

    Devil Dog 100 – December 3-4. Redeemption arc. I finished it this time. It was a huge relief. A bunch of new friends I met this year came and supported me including Iris and David.

    50 mile:

    Iron Mountain 50 – Sep 3. DNF. finished over 12 hours. It was a goal race and it hurt when I did not reach my goal. My fitness level was not where I wanted. I glad I ran and finished it with a friend, Eileen, who was more fit than me (we both DNF’d together). Also, got to meet Caroline.

    Stone Mill 50 – Nov 12. Finished it under 12 hours. Ran with two good friends, David and Alex.

    JFK 50 – Nov 19. Also ran with two friends, (another) David and Robert. Improved my 50 mile time by running under 11 though that was not my goal. Truly believe it set me for Devil Dog.

    50K:

    Catoctin 50k – July 9. One of hardest 50K I did. Almost took me 9 hours.

    Naked Nick 50k. Dec 18. Ran with Coraline as a recovery run. It was one of most calm races I did.

    Other weird distances trail races:

    Pemberton 24. Ran a 5k every hour for 24 hours I did 20 5k’s. Was an odd race but it was kind of fun.

    Lake Ridge 12h. Sep 10-11. Run for 12 hours. 2pm to 2am. My second time doing it but was a relaxing weekend with a small group of runners.

    Adventure Trail – I ran 8 hours or something. Also fun to run through the night. Didn’t know I was pacing a top female runner (who were at the end of her 24 hour run).

    Rock -n- the Knob – Sep 17. Hardest trail marathon. Took me about 7 hours. This is one of my favorites.

    River Rock – trail festival in Richmond. Kind of relaxing. 13 mile. Fun. My third or 4th time there.

    Marathons:

    1. Newport News – first marathon of the year and finally was able to run this one
    2. Salisbury Marathon – Ran with David and his friends. The best was having brunch after
    3. Grandma’s Marathon – out of state. stressful experience in getting pre race stuff working out, but was a memorable race. Adventurous with only couple hours of sleep
    4. Probility Ann Arbor Marathon – a surprise (unplanned) marathon to see a friend and also cross off one of the states.
    5. Atlantic City Marathon – Unplanned, but got it done because I was itching for a run and got a discount. Met a new friend (Sanjay)
    6. NCR Marathon – also unplanned because I was itching for a run. Had a good time to rerun this
    7. Rock -n- Knob – technically a marathon, but it felt more like a 50k.
    8. Richmond Marathon. Virtually done. It stressed me out for the whole month of November of how to get it done, and I finally ran it during the JFK 50. Only listed it here for completeness.

    Half marathon distances or less

    Bishop Half – June 12. It is a race I ran it once before and I relived the experience of last time when I ran it with Brian and the other David

    Richmond’s Bust the Banks Half. May 21. Same race as the river rock. River Rock was the name for the whole weekend. Bust the Banks was the name for the half marathon. Of course, I was there for the whole festival.

    Army 10 – Oct 9. Redoing this race after 20 years passed. Interesting feeling now I am a runner to look back when I first did it as a nobody

    Bobcats Trail 11. Nov 5. A hard short race

    Got Your Back 5k – I did a 5K. Probably only 5k I ran this year

    I feel better now that this list is more organized. My main races were MMT, Iron Mountain, and the Devil Dog. I put considerable time training for them.

    Other races kind of appeared and I ran them. Some I got to run with friends, which was pretty cool. Some I did to remember what they were like when I did them years ago and that was interesting to relive the experiences. A few were out of states where I get to cross them off my to-do list. They were also interesting in that I got to travel and experience running in new places. This sums up my 2022.

    Conclusion, (2022 original plan) How do I feel? I am proud my races. Originally my scope was much smaller and mostly for first half of the year. After MMT in May, I tried to change it, yes redeem it or redo however you call it. My second half of 2022 blossomed and was many times more exciting than my first half, and of course all thank to being able to finishing the Devil Dog 100. Looking back, it seemed easy and was a sure thing, but at the time nothing was set in stone. It could have turned out ugly. I felt lucky.

    What does it mean for next year? I don’t know yet. I had some races planned. At this point I don’t feel I have any sharp focus of what I want 2023 to be. I wrote about this a couple posts back, I am still seeking how I want to define 2023 to be. I have plans but they are just not that exciting. They feel more like chores to be done. We’ll see.

  • Parks 10K

    Day 189

    Fidelity Investments Parks 10K is one of races I run each year. Each year as far as I can remember, the weather was cold. We started at 8AM. The sun was already up and started to warm up a bit but I think the temperature is still uncomfortably cold in tees and shorts. I woke up early again though not as early as 3AM like the previous day.

    Most people bundled up. I started with two layers and a fleece and took off most of them and ran in my short sleeves and shorts. Only a few of us did so. I was very cold in the end. Again took me the rest of the day to warm back up.

    It got warmer later in the race and I did not regret my decision. I love running in the cold. I love running fast.

    I have been running marathons lately and my average pace for those were between 11-12 min pace, about 6 mph. Finally to be able to run a 10K felt great. I ran it like it was a 5K, fast, then after the first couple miles, I started to realize this race would last an hour instead of half an hour.

    I noted that I was not gasping for breath at any point the during the race. My muscles though were a bit tired. I couldn’t really push them to my max.

    I thought I did very well. I finished in 54 min. However, my previous fastest time for the course was 48 or 49 mins. I had no regret about my current time, but thinking I was indeed much slower now than before. It is hard to train for being fast and also running for long distance.

  • Impression

    Day 103

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

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

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

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

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

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

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