In awe

Tag: run

  • [684] The Ring (70~ Fatass Run)

    Those who know, know, what the Ring is.  It is not a secretive run, but is a 70 mile *free* run and with the club, some call it a fatass.  It was started as a fatass of two runners who wanted to be the first to run on the newly built Massanutten trail.  Now, it it is more than a fatass because we have a race director and Virgnia Happy Trail’s signature aid stations and each one is captained by an experienced ultra runner. A free race that rival and surpass in quality of many paid races.

    However, the race is not widely known to people outside the Happy Trail club.  And there are some prerequisites for the registration that at least one to many are a bar to get over.  It was that runners must be familar with the course, since it is unmarked, this is usually meant having done one of the MMT 100 training runs or one of other runs there such as Boyers, Elizabeth, or Catherine Run.  This restriction excludes a lot people who are not from the area or part of the club.  RDs screen the signups and weed out those who are not qualified.

    I think the mystery of the race involves how hard it can be.  I have done the Massanutten Trail 100, which is known as a kicking rock good hard race.  The Ring is just like that, hard, and on the same Massanutten Trail, but without most of the road sections.  To many, including myself who have done the MMT100, we were surprised by how difficult the run is.  Might be because it was my lack of training for it since it is not a real race per se and because it was free.

    Also, another mystery is the signup is through the club’s own website, which is a bit hard to use and the registration opens almost unannounced.  Opening date for registration is posted in the club’s calendar, but I guess only the die-hard runners of the club monitor it.  I have in the past missed the signup (openning date) and by the time I realized it, the registration is closed or race is full.  You got to be on top of the signup game to run in this. The signup page is also a bit intimidating because it asks you for the day of the week and splits out some random number that in the past, related to the closing of the stock market to find your position on the waitlist.  It was a mouthful of what the heck lunatic is this website. In the past, I was confused by it and stayed away from the signup.  Today, it is only used to combat spam or robot (AI) signing up.

    Third mystery, maybe the name.  Obviously, it was vaguely refering to the movie of Lord of the Ring (The Fellowship of the Ring).  The run itself has nothing to do with Frodo or Bilbo. Well maybe it is a bit adventurous heading to Mt Doom. Or maybe to rid of the Ring of obsession.  I don’t really know.  We ultra runners are bit of obsessive cuckoo.  Probably the name came about because the first two runners who ran around the mountain loved the movie or maybe it was during the time the movie came out.  The name probably more has to do with going around the two mountain ridges in a circle around Fort Valley.  Maybe again it is about how hard it is, almost impossible but inevitable, we would get it done in some epic fashion.

    Forth mystery is the lingos, staying on Orange.  It was the mantra of not getting lost.  The course is not marked other than following the orange trail blazes (orane paint on tree trunks and rocks).  So for those who know, we would advise each other to stay on Orange to avoid getting lost.  The funny thing, though we all know this, yet we still get lost out there.  So it is like an inside joke of sort about being lost on the trail.  They also say don’t pee on the fence. I still don’t get that though.  You get the shock I know, but why?  Maybe of the rocks I think. The attempt running on the Massanutten is like peeing on the fence.  We knew not to do it, but still do.   Curiosity got the better of us.

    What makes me want to run it?  The run has been around a long time, since 2001 or 2002.  Runners in our club are proud of it.  It is like an initiation or a rite of passage thing and a badge of honor.  You have to have run the run to be a truly badass. So, now I finished it, I am a bona fide member of the club! 

    Many of our runs in our clubs involve some form of doing it on the Massanutten mountain, the Waterfall 50k (aka slang or abbreviate as WTF, yes really the expletive), Boyers, Catherine, or Elizabeth Furnace, MMT100 and its training runs, and the Chocolate Bunny. I have done many of those runs the last four or five years.  I fall in love with it.   So I was familiar with the mountain and trails and when people say it is a hard race, why not give it a try.  How hard can it be, right? Also, friends and others have return to running it again and again, so it got to be fun. To me it is more a FOMO, fear of missing out to be with them to make history.

    Why I didn’t do it sooner?  Because, yearly since I started trail running, I traditionally went down to Damascus (VA) on Labor Day weekend to run or help in a race called the Iron Mountain, another hard hard race.  That race conflicts with the Ring every year since both occur on Labor Day’s weekend.  This year, the other race was initially not going to take place because Hurricane Helene, which caused significant damges to the area and trails near Abingdon.  So I immediately decided to do the Ring.  I got in during the signup period.  It was a done deal even after I knew the Damascus race was happening.

    Another reason, maybe a more real reason for me is that I have been envious of people who were doing the Reverse Ring every winter while I voluntering at the event and I wanted to run in it too except of its requirement that runners must completed the Ring first.  Everyone knows I could do it without having to do the Ring first.  But rules are rules. One has to run the Ring first before doing the Reverse Ring.

    This year, A few of my friends who I ran the Massanutten 100 together two years ago, decided to take a crack at this.  To me it was like a reunion run with my pals on the infamously hard trail.  I got to suffer it with them once more time.  I guess it is a guy thing.

    I prepared as usual, meaning very little the weeks leading up.  Doing more mountain runs would have help!  The night before the race, I was scrambling at the last minute looking for headlamps, shoes, batteries, and other running stuff needed for the run.  As for food, I do

    ordered a chinese carry-out fried rics for breakfast.  We knew the first 25 miles won’t have any food and packing something to eat for the long run seems wise. However, I was too lazy to pack sandwiches or what not except a candy bar I had left over from a previous run. Ouch, ya. It almost derailed my race for lack of food in the early stage.

    Water was also important.  I was smart enough to pack some carbonated beverages in my drop bags, two cans of Red Bull for energy at night and that was pretty much it.  I trusted the aid stations would tilt me through. And they did.  John who ran with me asked me for one of the Red Bull, so I gave it to him.  I drank the other one and it helped both of us through the night.  John decided to nap, which we all kind of made of fun of him for being a softy.  It was his MO though to nap on the trail.  You can see where or who I learned it from to sleep while running in my 100 mile races. John.

    So, at the crack of dawn, we assembled at the Signal Knob parking lot, our base, start and finish line.  There were 54-55 of us.  It was more than the lot could accommodate.  At early pre dawn hours and the race or run, which does not start until 7 but by 6 am, already had a full lot.  Some had to do shuttling from a nearby sister lot at the Elizabeth Furnace Campground. I was lucky to get a parking spot. We should have carpooled.

    After gotten out of my car, I saw many friends and chatted and fooled around till the race start.  And thus, I forgot about carrying an extra bottle of water.  I had everything I needed so I believed, turn sheets, map, my pack and I turned in my drop bags.  We could have two bags this year, one for roving  that goes from station to station and one to be placed at Woodstock, the second to last aid station. I think the reason is there are not a lot of volunteers to take bags from Edinburg to Woodstock, which is like a 30-45 min drive and back. I think was a wise decision from the race management.

    We started out at one end of the parking lot, used a short back trail (Orange) to run back to the other end before crossing Fort Valley Road to head to Elizabeth Furnace side, then climb up to Shaw Gap. 

    I ran with two buddies, Charles and Costi.  We were mostly hiking it since Charles said he wasn’t trained for it and neither was I.  We were the last two runners.  Costi dropped back to talk to us.  Along the way we picked up Michelle of West Virginia who said she met me at C&O 100 last year at her first 100 and knew I would finish that race, which I did and she wanted to  stay with me to finish the Ring.  Not sure if that to stroke my ego, I do take pride in my pacing ability.   Though I know today is not to pace anyone since I am not sure if the pace we were doing would carry us through. 

    To pass the first cutoff, we would have to do a 21 min pace.  I hiked around that pace, so I knew I would need to run a little bit to not get behind on the pace.  Note, the first cutoff is at mile 40, at 9:30 pm, a long way to go (14:30 hours), so it would be hard to control the pace for that long.

    We hiked up Shaw, did make a slight booboo by following a white trail instead of Orange/Blue (the Tuscarora Tr.). We had to backtrack. Then we descended to West Veach and hiked up east side of Veach, from there it was a long hike to Milford Gap – 13 mile long. Volunteers (Amanda, Larry and Andy), all are my friends, were there to refill our water. So glad they were there.  I knew there wouldn’t be any food, so I joked about having miraculous pizza, which was a reference to the Reverse Ring because they managed to bake home made pizza on an improvised rock oven there.

    I felt I was on pace at Midford.  Maybe just a tad 10 mins ahead, which was really good for having done 13 miles in 4 hours and only off by 10 mins.  Leaving the aid station, Charles already gone on ahead since he had a faster pace, I joined up with Karen  from there to mile 35. She was a stronger hiker. By then both Costi and Michelle had dropped back due to my aggressive pace.  I held onto Karen’s pace.

    Along the way after Kennedy Peak, we ran into Dr. Cooper, who has gotten lost, and went off trail with Charles and they were coming back toward our way.  This saved us from going off course too.  I knew about that particular turn because, I got off trail there many times.  Together, we descended to Camp Roosevelt.  It was not Cooper’s day because he had to double over from time to time to calm the crambing.  I arrived at Camp Roo by 3:00 pm, which was 30 mins before the suggested cutoff. I knew I was on pace.

    Cooper and Charles stayed behind to rest a bit while Karen and I pressed on ahead to tackle Duncan Hollow, Big Run and the Waterfall climb.  Charles was dejected that his drop bag was already sent ahead to the next station by accident. Mistakes were made is all we say. Later, we found out he ended up dropping there. Poor Charles.

    The afternoon sun shined on us.  Soon after a few miles, my water was out.  I did not fill my own water earlier at the aid station but handed off the pack to a volunteer, so it was likely they only filled it half way and I did not recheck it or likely because it was hot, I drank a lot more and water was empty before I knew.  Oh well, it was what we could do.  I knew I would not die of thirst today, it only made the run a bit uncomfortable for couple hours.  It was kind of ironic, I would be suffered from thirst when Duncan Hollow and Waterfall are known for being wet and have a lot of water all around. I wish I had carried a water filter. Too late for that, as I was feeling sorry for myself.  Then all a sudden Karen fell down in front. 

    I ran up to her to see if she was alright.  She bruished her chin, elbows and knees.  Not sure what had happened, maybe kicked a rock or root something.  She seemed alright but the air was knocked out of her.  Her strong marching pace was gone.  I left Karen before we got to Peach Orchard, while she stopped to use the toilet or so I heard she said. I did not look back or offer to wait, knowing, it is anyone race.  If I stop, I would not finish. Later, I think she dropped at Crisman.

    Going down on the Big Run was not hard but time was flying away.  At the bottom of Big Run was the Waterfall Trail that many dreaded.  Interestingly, I didn’t see any waterfall. It is just the name of a very steep trail.  I called it  our first big climb of the day.  I knew we climbed Veach and Shaw, which both were quite big climbs, but they were nothing compared to this one because of the steepness.  I was stopped to mentally prepare myself and then hiked up in one breath (one take).  My friend Jeremy and I came out to hike the Waterfall two weeks before, and every 10 steps, I had to pause to breathe. So today, I thought I would be doing the same, and it surprised me I was doing much better.  I had wanted to reach the top by 6 pm but then settled with 6:30 as time slipped slowly by.  I made a second booboo when I reached the top by following a false trail into a thicket.  It was soon impassible and I turned around and found the correct trail to take.

    Reaching Crisman Hollow was a welcoming sight.  There was real food and really my first real meal.  A volunteer handed me a freshly grilled cheeseburger, with pickles, ketchup, mustard, and the whole deal. Mouth-watering good food. That is the signature service aid station of our club. There is joy and laughters. And I got all the water I needed.  Several other runners were around.  Really first time during the day to see any other runners beside those few I were with earlier.  Charlene was there and her companion John2, who was crewing her.   Cooper got lost and arrived there before me by taking the Chrisman Hollow road instead, so  ended his run there. He was retelling how he got off the wrong turn by following some streamers, I did too and almost got lost there where he took the wrong turn.  I had the map on my phone and was smart enough to double check so I found the right Orange to go (Orange there can be confused with Yellow).

    As much as I wanted to stay for a bit, I had to cross Kerns before nightfall. It would be dark in two hours. Kerns is known for being hard, rocky, and slow to traverse.  I had less than two hours to do it.  If after dark it might take 3 or more hours and it would mean not making the first cutoff.  I got to say, it was easy doing it in the daylight. I reached Jawbone when I had to turn on my headlamp, maybe by 8:30 then.

    The descent to Moreland Gap was not easy.  I knew that, having done it two weeks prior.  So, I did not arrive at Moreland until 9 pm, 30 minutes left before the cutoff. It was what I hoped for.

    At Moreland Gap aid station, I caught up to John and possibly Lisa.  She dropped at Moreland while John and I were trying persuade her to join our misery in climbing Short Mountain at night.  We knew it would be a piece of work (hard) to tackle Short Mountain.  We resupplied at the wonderful aid station.  Tom S., a friend, got us everything we asked.  Temperature was already dropping.  John seriously said to me, while half jokingly, that we needed to pack winter gloves for this night hike.  My hands were cold and stuck them inside my shorts pockets.

    Nothing much could be said about our trek over Short Mountain.  We passed couple people. The name of the runner escaped me.  I think couple of them later dropped. Short Mountain seemed harder than Kerns and rocky. We were battling fatigue and sleepiness. When we arrived at Edinburg Gap, it was midnight.  There were maybe 7-8 other runners around, which made our arrival very festive.  First time to see so many people.  I met Demitre, Collen and others.  I finally caught up to Charlie too.  He was the person I have been chasing but everyone said he was swift.  He was with another friend (Caleb) as he was headed out while I just arrived. His wife was there crewing. It was the last time I saw Charlie since he is way faster and gone on ahead.

    I stayed at Edinburg for about half an hour to change socks and replenished everything.  I don’t remember what I had eaten, but probably something good and hearty for the next climb. The aid station was not bad.

    Indeed, on a normal day, the next section should not be too challenging.  It was about 7 miles and should take maybe a little over 2 hours.  It was longest section for me that night timewise, taking me 3.5 hours.  I arrived at Woodstock at 4 am.  I think mostly it was fatigue that slowed me down.  However, I was moving.  This section I was alone, by myself.  I saw a headlamp far ahead and followed it but did not really catch up to anyone. 

    At Woodstock, again it was a party.  There were many people there (runners).  Some were sleeping, others were on their way out.  I asked for wipes and cream for lubing up.  They had all kind of things but runner’s stuff.  I carried them in my pack but it wad too much work to dig them out of my bag. 

    As for food, I had a good ginger broth, then headed out.  There were others sitting around still, covered with blanket.  One might have been my friend Robert.  I was too rush to notice. We were two hours ahead of the cutoff, so in theory, a nap is quite appropriate.  While I was tired, I wanted to get the run done.  We only had less than 13 miles to go. I wanted to finish it before sunrise.

    From Woodstock, it was a gentle climb for like 4 miles before descending to Fort Powells.  It was uneventful.  One runner followed me out, hoping to keep up with me.  I did not wait but maintained my pace.  By morning, some time after 6 am, I arrived at Fort Powells.  There again, running friends Nick and Samantha, filled up my hydration pack and resupplied me for my next stretch. This was the coldest time of the night (or day now), temperature might be low 50s or high 40s.  I was covered in a blanket, sitting with Caleb to take a breather.  Michael, a runner from behind us, came in and then took off running.  I then set off chasing after him.

    We had just 8 miles left.  4 miles on road/ with a bit of trails, and always uphill climbing to Signal Knob.  It was a gradual uphill so I just had to be patient.  With going at 2 miles an hour pace, I knew my estimated arrival time was 10 am, so there was no need to rush rush. 

    At top of Signal Knob, I stopped to enjoy the morning sun.  The antenna tower was an amazing and  welcoming sight after the all night climbing. I said to myself, I climb 65 miles just to see this. Our wonder. Our Mount Doom.

    The descent from there was definitely the hardest of the whole course.  I had no idea even though I had hiked there a zillion times.  It caught me by surprise.  There were only four miles left, so had to suck it up and took it slowly.  The last mile was a joy.  I could almost run it.  People then were waiting for me at the finish. I could not wait to tell the whole world I did it.

    I stayed to cheer the several who were behind me, including Robert, Caleb, and John, who came in as this year DFL (dead last runner). He was awarded with slices of cheese. I’m sure he was proud of it.  I think that was so goofy. Charlie waited for all his friends to come in. We laughed and ate.  Tracy was serving.  Q was around cracking jokes, asking of we wanted to do it again.

    The run was amazing.  It was hard and well earned.  As much as I would like all those who started with me to finish with me, but like any races, some made it and some didn’t.  I was not fast and I was around many who did not finish.  Many (30-40 other runners) finished ahead of me and I never get to see them, like Siqi, who finished second and Dan came on first at 16 hours and something.  The run has a group component as well as individual.  It is meaningful only what I put into it.  While placement is important in a race (to some) but what more was having fun.  I think I had a nice day being out there.  It felt like an accomplishment to join the cohort of others who are part of the fellowship of the Ring.  I am so grateful for all the volunteers who made it all possible.

    Most welcoming sight. The end of the final climb before descending for four miles. Mt Doom of our quest.
    A runner asked if we get to see the overlook! You can see Shire (Front Royal) in the distance.  I didn’t know we do get to see it if we stayed on Orange. Some runners didn’t know Orange goes that way and missed by staying on the fireroad.
    Camera really makes the sun so beautiful. What a joy to see the sun to my sleep deprived eyes
    Another view from Signal Knob

    So, I have overcome the Ring.  That’s that.  Q, the former RD, sneakily asked if anyone of us would want to do the winter version, called the Reverse Ring, because you do it in the reverse direction.  I think all of us said no.  He slyly let us know that the registration is open already.  For Fear of Missing Out, I put my name in. I’m third.  John was first to register. Until then, I got to train.

  • [678] OSS/CIA 50 mile (DNF)

    Two years ago I did this race (report) and I liked it a lot.  Have I ever not liked a race? Last year I volunteered. This year, even with an overloaded schedule I wanted to runnit again. Maybe a bit of hubris on my part that I could finish it even right after a 100 mile race. It is a local race in my area on a trail now I have known like the back of my hands, having done couple hundred mile races there, i.e., the Devil Dog 100. 

    OSS/CIA is a kind of celebrity race in that I could brag about the OSS officers (precursor of the CIA) used to train there.  There’s another place near our area that has a celebrity status, and that is Camp David, where there are trails nearby and which we will be doing a 50k the following weekend. 

    Don’t take my words, I don’t know where Camp David is before writing this (a quick Google search did show where), but some say it is somewhere near there and I did see security presence when we passed by the camp entrance as we drove from Owens Creek to Gambrill Park. 

    In this report, we will focus on the OSS/CIA 50.  For me it was pretty cool to say I run in the Prince William Forest for the OSS/CIA 50.

    This year like any other years, I did not get into Highland Sky, where many people I know went to, including my good friend David. I am happy for him to finish it.  I was not sad to miss out on that race though and was glad to take this other race instead.  Sometimes it does feel like this was the second best option.  Some of my running friends including Charlie, Randy, Brian, Eric and many others were running in this one too. 

    I was nervous on days leading up to the race whether I would be ready in time.  As some knew, I just finished a 100 mile (well nearly finished) and I was still recovering from it.  From the 100 miler I injured my right foot, maybe pulled a muscle, or some kind of inflamation going on or shin splint. My take was I kicked a rock too hard and pulled something. My foot was swelling and it hurt even when while walking.  I was hoping for a miraculous healing by race day so I could run it.  By Wednesday, I felt it was like 50% better.  Thursday, the pain went away but still felt a bit sore. And by Friday, I could feel I could have a bit mobility.  I was hoping by Saturday, I could run again.

    My friend who offered to pace me at the race checked in with me one more time on Saturday morning.  The race was at night, starting at 6 pm and would continue till 8:30 am Sunday.  I told him it is no good, it still has pain when I touch it and when I flex it in a certain position.  I knew there would be no way I could run on that foot and finish the race.  I told him not to bother coming out to support me because likely, there was no way I would be able to finish.

    Still I held the hope maybe I could do just 1 loop (25 miles) and maybe still make the cutoff for a second loop.  I showed up early at the race to get ready.  Friends showed up, we chatted and when it was time for the race, I went out. 

    I was quickly became the last person a few minutes after crossing the start line.  I was pretty much limping out.  There were a father and son with a dog in front of me.  Soon they let me pass.  I did not think that was a good idea because likely they will pass me back.  The son seemed strong but he waited for his father who was maybe in his 60s and either the dog too which was holding them back or they actually preferred doing it at a slower pace, I went on ahead. 

    The pain started to intensify after a mile. On a scale of 1-10, I put it reaching between 2.5-3.  I still could bear it but it was not fun running while in pain. I could turn back, which would be the quickest way back.  I knew the loop was long, and the point of no return is around mile 13-14.

    I was moving at a constant pace, walking mostly, doing 3 miles an hour (20 min pace). I knew I need around to 14-16 min to have a chance of making the cut and finishing, especially the first loop, we had a tighter cutoff time of 6.5-7 hrs (a 16 min pace). The loop was closer to 26 miles. It was a long course 50 mile race (actually was 52 miles).  When a race gave you 14.5 hours to do, you knew it was not easy.

    By second hour, my pain subsided a bit, maybe down to 1.  I felt it was numb and kind of had a warm pain.  And by third hour, the pain reduced to a tickling sensation.  I felt like my funny bone constantly being activated.  It was a sensation of the leg being weak, that if I put weight on it, it might collapse under me. 

    By now, I passed the first waterpoint, mile 8. I knew exactly how much farther I needed to go.  I could head back using the road or continue on the trail for the full 25 miles. I refused to give up.

    Soon it was dark, now 9 pm.  I had a pace chart on me.  My slowest pace called for reaching mile 11 by 8:30, which I already missed and mile 13 no later than 9:30.  I did not get to mile 13 until 10:00.  I knew I was way behind pace.  We had 3 hours to make it back and it took us 4 hours to reach halfway. I knew, there was no way for me to get back until 2 am. 

    Rain and storm came between 11 pm and midnight.  Fog settled in.  I treaded on.  The father and son team had split.  The father was still behind me and from time to time I saw his head lamp.  The son had gone ahead  before me.  He wanted to make the cutoff and I was rooting for him.

    The trail was mostly the same course and direction as the Devil Dog. I was making various comments to myself, here is the bridge coming up, here the Burma Road, and so on.  We turned here for Devil Dog but we were not turning here today.  Hmm, I wonder where this path would take me.  It was pretty much entertaining myself. 

    I got to the Pyrite Mine trail and I knew we were close to the start.  I could take a short cut to get back.  By now, it was passed 1 am, the cutoff.  There was no reason for me to be on the trail this long.  My leg started to hurt again and I was wondering how long I could last.  I felt I could make it back. The Swinging Bridge should not be too far away.

    If I was healthy, I could run on the final road portion.  After the Pyrite Mine Trail, we were on the Pyrite Road.  I remembered last time I did this, I was running on this stretch to make the cutoff. 

    Soon I saw the Swinging Bridge and knew just a bit more.  We had about jist couple miles to go.  They would take us through the Laurel Loop and Birch Trail.  It was uphill and long.  Then I finally reached the Cross Trail, and in my mind like half a mile more. I finally arrived back at the finish at 2:22 am. On a normal day, this portion probably only take me 30 minutes but today, it was dragging on. I was second to the last runner to finish the first loop.

    No words had to be said, I knew I did not make the cutoff (cutoff was at 1 am).  I gathered myself and walked to my car to change and sleep till morning.  The Aid Station volunteers were starting to make breakfast.  So I had some pancakes and nice food before going to bed.

    I had no idea how many people dropped or finished.  As I slept I heard the first runner finished at 3 am.  Then the second runner finished at 4.  I woke up at 5 am and chatted with friends and watched the rest of the runners came in.  Some of my friends who ran only the marathon only came in around 6 am.  I had a long celebration with them.  Eric, who ran the Old Dominion with me the prior week totally crushed this race.  Randy also finished with  a very good time.

    I could also have done the marathon by starting at midnight instead of 6 pm and I would have considered myself a finisher.  I did not.  It was hard to reason why did I not. I wanted to do a 50 mile and I thought I might have a chance. That was all.  I enjoyed the run (or walk) in a familiar park.  It was not often we got to run it at night.  Usually, it closes after dark (5 pm or something). I had an incredible time out there.  There were no special thoughts, just me, the trails, and some friends.  Of course, from time to time, I had to deal with my foot and its limitations. I felt proud I made it to the end (at least my finish point, not the race).

    That’s my race report.  A bit unusual from my normal ones. Usually I would like to include a nice lesson, (the moral of the story) is don’t run on injured foot. Rest and be smart.  I can’t preach this to others since I don’t follow my own advices. 

    Update: My foot felt better now by the second week

  • Day476 i got this / anticipation

    TL;DR – MMT race plan and bigger goals

    Season 12 has been rough. I thought I would have the perfect season. After 6 years of running, and two whole years of ultra training, that originally it seems I would have the least distractions and I would be well prepared for my 100 mile race at the MMT (Massanutten Mountain Trail) race.

    Last season, I ended my training early due to my mom’s health issues. It led to a DNF (unfinished/dropped) in my final race. In that race, I injured my knee and left foot. I might have gone through some post race blues, and that delayed the start of training for this season until much later in February. Also we had some bad weather days in January, so I missed the first training run (MMT tr 1, and the WTF50 race).

    I came into the season with a vague plan of how to tackle the MMT. Unfortunately on my first MMT training run (officially it was MMT TR2), I injured myself by pulling my hamstring. At the time I didn’t know what was wrong and thought it was just being tired, but a week later, it became severe enough to keep me from walking and running and even laying down was difficult because there was no position that would keep my hamstring from hurting. Don’t ask why I didn’t seek professional help.

    This took about 8-10 weeks to recover. April came around. I was getting better with each passing week. I had to (re)build up my cardio. I ran two marathons: Newport News and Salisbury. I did much better by the second marathon. Since then, it was a mad dash to improve on my cardio and my endurance as much as possible. I ran an 8 hour endurance race night run. I felt I did well. I had a lot of fun.

    As for MMT, I went on the remaining Training Runs (#3 & #4). I DNF’ed on my 3rd but redeemed myself on the fourth. Looking back, the only section I didn’t cover was the first 30 ish miles. I guess, you should always leave some unknowns for race day to have a bit of fun.

    As of today, I feel stronger than ever been since the start of the year. My hammy though has not completely healed, but is around 95-99%. It shouldn’t hamper me. Some days it feels better but on some other days, there is a slight pull or at least a feeling of it. It is like some phantom pain. That is on me of not seeking PT to recover properly.

    I can only run with the body I have as of now and not the body I want to have. During the training runs, I was jealous of many faster (and older) people who have the ability to dash up and down on the mountain and here I was panting.

    My previous concerns regarding the MMT were whether I will make various cutoffs. I finally sat down and calculated the cutoff pace for each section of the MMT. Basically before mile 54, I need to keep a 17-18 min mile pace. It might seem easy on paper, but that has been the pace I am struggling with this whole season. My plan is to give myself about 5 mins at each aid station. After mile 54, I can go at a 22 min mile pace. This is also during the night time. So 22 min per mile makes sense because everyone slows down at night. The final few miles though requires a bit of a faster pace (I forgot what it is, but that part will be on the road). This is for a total 35 hour run. I plan to give myself a longer stop at the night time aid stations. All in all, the total time for all the stops will be around 130 mins and it gives about 33 hours of running. I will try to skip the first two aid stations, so I will make the final cutoff of 35 hours. It is a bit tight. We’ll see. I sat down and planned all these paces but usually on race day will be completely different because we will go according to what the circumstance (and body) dictates. Hopefully, I will be faster at the beginning so to give enough buffers for the night portion.

    My strategy is to go slow in the beginning, but fast enough to make the cutoffs. The point is to get to mile 54. Then hopefully I could go faster after that and the cutoff threat would be off my mind since we have more time to get to the next station.

    Currently the weather forecast is worrisome because it seems we will have some nasty storms heading our way. Both Saturday and Sunday shows rain. Temperature wise seems to be on the mild to hot side. Last weekend we had a cold spell, so I need to plan for the night if the temperature unexpectedly to be colder (imagine 50s and being wet).

    I plan to take the day off work on Friday. I still need to prepare my drop bags. I plan to have about 5, Three bigger ones and two mini ones. The big one will have almost everything. Maybe two pairs of shoes for the drops (one at mile 30 ish and another around mile 65. The small ones will have a shirt and one or two items. Mini is for optional stuff. As for something I still need is food for Friday (lunch and dinner). Saturday morning breakfast / maybe lunch. The rest will depend on the Aid Stations. The Sunday after race lunch and dinner (5-6 meals). I plan to sleep in the forest for the night before driving home on Monday morning. A tent is needed.

    Race checking in time is 1400h on Friday. Race day check in is 0300h on Saturday. I plan to leave for the camp around noon and will be camping out. I have some shopping to do first (for meals). I did my laundry. Still need to Pack and Label my stuff.

    Probably very important is trying to get some weird snacks to keep myself awake on Saturday night. I had a hard time on my last two 100 mile races to keep myself awake at night. I haven’t found a formula that works. In those races, I somehow was able to push through the night, hard it might be. Some coffee beans might help.

    Am I excited? I am hyped. I haven’t been able to sleep the last two nights. Yikes. I think I had some anxiety. I should be fine I am telling myself.

    I have been a bit introspective, like what I have done for my training. I spent a sleepless night updating my journal pages here (WP). I hope they will be of help to someone if they look up my race reports. I don’t doubt whether I have done enough or what I could do better in regard to MMT. I also reflected on my goals.

    One thing on my mind recently is what I want to do after this. A couple of weeks ago, I met a runner, Tek, who had similar goals as mine and she already finished them. It made me question myself whether I still want to do it. I know I will still run in all 50 states but I no longer see it as a life time pursuit as before. Even before meeting her, I already knew I could finish it in a year or two and there was no reason to drag it out to ten or twenty years other than for financial reasons. And I have been thinking about what to attempt next. My goal is a bit different from Tek, in that, I have no interest in getting a grand slam for ultra or to run a 100 mile in every state. I think that is crazy to even try and my ability is way below hers. Unlike her, I don’t sign up for a 50/100 mile race as a training run for another bigger race, at least not yet. There is no easy 100 for me nor is there an easy marathon.

    My focus instead is either to hike the appalachian range or walk/run across the US. I can see I have more than 50% chance of success. I wrote about SubwaySean1, how he is walking across the country and I am tracking him closely. Also there is a local runner, Wardian, who is doing it in the opposite direction started about the same time frame. Wardian is running it around 50 miles a day, so he is expected to finish sooner. I follow Sean closely because he is a twitch streamer and is more interesting to watch. Wardian has a full support crew while Sean only has a baby carriage (self support) for his trek. Sean is nothing close to an endurance athlete, but Wardian is a seasoned ultra runner. This is Sean’s first rodeo and he is two weeks in! Sean’s planning though is amazing.

    Those are the things I want to do, something a little bigger than what I think I can handle but at the same time I think I can do it. If there is a remote possibility I could do it and it is exciting, I should go and do them.

    After a long post, so what, right? Indeed. Nothing will be accomplished unless I go out and do them. Back to why do I like to do them like running a 100 mile? I ask myself the same thing. The closest thing I could get is I like being alone for a long time doing nothing but running. It forces the mind and body to go into a special state that I found very relaxing. It is weird and I can only compare it to worship — I try to avoid using this word for a religious reason, but I think that is the closest I can describe it to be. Maybe more on this later.

    ps: this was originally a scheduled post before my race, but technology didn’t work as intended or maybe it did except I didn’t see it being posted. I knew the internet connection at my race was bad. Sorry, if you receive this a second time. I will have the race report up when I get to it, probably by the next posting

  • Day376 small run

    I had one of the best runs last night. It was just 10k. Just nice distance. I ran too many long miles and those were slugfest. I like short and fast runs.

    It felt fast to me though the time showed otherwise. I felt I ran the fastest ever. Zoom Zoom. Due to corona virus, there have not been any 5K or 10K in the area. I use 5K and 10K as a stress test, that is, to run my heart out. For some reason, I could not run fast if I feel it is a ‘training’ run.

    Normally last couple weeks, I did not have the motivation to do night runs. Either I was hungry, tired, sleepy, cold, or just wanted to watch youtube videos. I was slacking. The fear of lack of training for my race could not move me out of the door.

    Yet last night, I faced with all the same situation. I was cold after leaving work. I was wearing three or 4 layers and was still cold. I had not eaten dinner. The sun has set (we turned our clock back so now it gets dark after ,5:30). Funny story, I think the construction people in the area forgot about the early darkness, they were still doing road work in the dark! I thought that was funny! Oops.

    Any way, we had the coldest night so far. I made up my night to suit up and stepped out. I did a loop around my house. Did not feel like I was doing it. Feet did not want to run. However, my body started to warm up. So I stopped at my house and delayered. I dropped my two jackets. Took off my long sleeves and only have a tee on. I wrapped a glow jacket around me and headed out the second time.

    The cold evening air felt alive! I loved it. I stretched my legs and ran. It was cold but alive at the same time. Originally I wanted only to do 3 miles but it was not enough. Halfway through, I decided to stay out a bit longer.

    People at a church gave me a chill for a different reason. I did not expect anybody therrle but then cars started pulling in. They had an evening prayer virgil for the election today. The place was dark and it was just spooky as I ran across it. I felt better once I made the connection that they had a special prayer night. My church also sent out similar announcement – to pray for our nation (I think mostly so that Prez Trump would win). There though kind of panic in our area of fear of rioting. Stores in DC were boarded up. Though Virginia is calm.

    I turned around and ran back home.

    Why I wrote about the run? I had a thought this morning while in the shower. (Oh my the way, I was freezing once I got back in the house. I had to put back on 4 layers of clothes and were shaking in my bed.) My thought was our life consists of tiny events like a run here and there. It is like those tiny gears in a mechanical watch. The tiny gears drive the bigger gears, and those drive even larger gears so forth.

    I have been only blogged about ‘big events’ relating to my runs but forgot about the smaller yet boring daily runs. Maybe because I felt they were not as important.

    I actually have something I wanted to write but did not get a chance. On Sunday, I got my act together and went out to the Seneca Trail to preview the course (part of it) for my race.

    I glad I went because I spent about three hours looking for that one turn off that looked weird on the map. I traveled about 8 miles back and forth at that particular point searching it. Some people pointed me here and there. I actually got in my car and ‘case’ the neighborhood to find where the trail ends. Glad no one called the cops on me. Eventually I found something I thought that would be it and decided to go home. I ran into a local trail runner and I popped the question if she knew where the course turns. She said yes, she will be running in the race two and she knew exactly where I was talking about. She said she volunteered at that turn in a previous years and noted some people missed the turn. She offerred to lead me there. I went with her and indeed, it was sneaky because it was not a path and unmarked in any maps. The whole point of this narative is I felt a bit relieved, I resolved one suspicious turn for my race!

    I might write why this is important in another blog post about the seneca run.

    OK that is all today. Outtake: I am looking forward to a big race so I can write about. Sometimes though a small nightly run is a gem.

  • Day344 A second attempt – about to start

    I am a few hours away from starting the run. As of right now I just woke up and still am very comfortable on my bed in the hotel near the airport. By the way, after having been of other city airport hotels, this is one of the best! It is comfortable and inexpensive and you don’t hear the take offs and landing or airplane flying over. How do they do it? I found out they originally were a Motel 6, but they renovated it and upgraded all around. It is on the level of Comfort Suites. It is part of the Quality Inn chain, but the quality I am getting is way higher than all the Quality Inns I stayed at. I just love the hotel and want to sleep in. I paid for four nights, but tonight I won’t be there!

    Ideally I should have started the run yesterday because it was cooler and the chance of encountering rain storms during the run was lower (30% chance only), but today and tomorrow, my chance of running into a storm is around 50%. They are leftovers from Cat 4 Laura that made landfall in the Texas/Lousiana region couple nights ago.

    However, I was not ready yesterday. I had not reviewed the map then and had not decided on the starting time. Since the starting time would determine the ending time, it needed to be chosen carefully.

    Last time, I started in the evening at 6 pm and was aiming to finish at 4 am two days later. I thought of doing so again and maybe moving up the starting time by a few hours.

    I woke up late and had company’s work to do. It was my day off but I didn’t finish those stuff on the day before my trip (computer issue kept me from doing them – it decided to run an update when I tried to do my work before my flight! My frustration level was through the roof). So I spent the morning doing my work. I was not done until 2 pm. I then went for lunch. I knew the run was not happening because I had not packed yet! I got everything laid out, but still did not have my runner pack in a final ready to go condition. 100 mile requires careful consideration of what to take a long.

    Then I decided to go to Walmart to get a watch (you know the cheap one that have a stop watch feature?) but as I got there, I forgot all about getting a watch but instead got a lot of stuff for dinner and food for the run and food to eat after the run! I brought $30 worth of junk food. I probably wouldn’t finish them all – 7 cans of spagetti, lot of fruit cups, oreo cookies, packs of juicy fruit candies, instant cup noodles, package tunas and more. The watch would let me calculate the interval (time of a shorter distance, say 10 or 20 miles) during the run because I don’t want to mess with my main watch since that will track the overall 100 mile distance. Not having a spare watch is not a problem. I could still do it in my head and with paper and pen, it just a lot burdensome.

    When I got back to the hotel, I separated the food that I will take along into 6 ziplock bags. The goal is to eat a bag for every 6 hours (6 bags for 36 hours). I counted up each bag to have around 850 calories. I have six of these. This is much better than my last attempt. Last time, the whole run I only carried about one bag calories of food and ended up only eating about 10% and the rest of my calories came from sugarly drinks and I felt it affected my performance. First not enough, so I was dying halfway. I remembered my heart was racing crazy from the energy drink yet I didn’t have the power to run, and I was drained. I was so scared that I didn’t want another Powerade. It was not fun when your heart was about to explode and the lung was collapsing. Breathing hurt that time. I hope to avoid that mistake.

    Because I will be carrying so much food (6 meals), I am bringing my big bookbag. They won’t all fit in the smaller pack. It is a daypack from my hiking trip. It is heavy. Very heavy. I don’t like running with such a heavy pack! But I need the food, unless I have someone to carry them for me. This is why I wish I have local support crew (aid stations). Otherwise, I could leave all the food/drinks with my crew and they just have to show up at a given interval and give me the food. Last time I was hoping the stores along the way would be my aid station. However, drinks were easy to come by but not food! They had candies but no real food. Real food were out of the way and I didn’t want to take a detour.

    I think the food I am bringing along will be enough. It still is less than what my body will consume though. Every 6 hours my body will be burning 2000 calories and I am giving back only at most 1000. I plan to buy muscle milk and yogurt along the way, they will add couple hundred of calories. No more sodas this time around. They have to be high caloric drinks. I know I will still shutdown after halfway, but at least I hope it will give me enough to press on.

    I checked the map afterward packing. I am not too worry. I wish still I had memorized the turns. We do what we have to do.

    As for start time. I’m moving it up real early to 9/9:30 AM with the aim of finishing at 7:30 pm on Sat night.

    That was the main reason I couldn’t set off yesterday. I was already behind the start time once I figured I wanted a morning start instead of an afternoon/evening start.

    Having an extra day, physically was a good thing. My poison ivy infection is getting better. My left leg is almost completely healed of the ivy reaction. My right leg started to get worse on my flight to Atlanta and yesterday the bumps (30+) started weeping/oozing, that is good, it means they will be healing soon. It was what I was concerned about that the blisters from the ivy will break during my run and the friction from repetitive foot moment will agitate the wounds and they would get infected. Now they broke while I am still at the hotel. I washed and cleaned them with the poison ivy specialty soap. I should be ready for the run. I believe they will dry out during the run.

    Only last concern is my cardio aerobic performance. It degraded a lot compare to last time. Those who have been following my blog know I was struggling with my runs. My feeling is I can only do 13 miles at most and probably drag it out to 26. I don’t know if I will even reach 50, much less get to 100. That is a realistic assessment. I know it is bad luck to envision failure even before starting.

    I do want to get to the 100. It is a long shot. Even when I was in my peak, that was very hard (in the realm of impossible) thing. Now I am four times worse. Only way to find out is go out and try. I am very nervous.

    food: My main secret to get through the run

  • Day343 Atlanta here I come

    Ready or not here I come!

    I am not ready, but I am going. About 7 weeks ago (July 1/2), I was in Atlanta to run the Great Southern Endurance Run (GSER). I was only able to do it halfway and vowed I will be back to finish it.

    Here goes, this weekend I will be there to redo the run. However, I feel totally under-prepared.

    I am not as frantic as the last trip there. I don’t know why. I am even less prepared than the last time. I reread my blog of my trip last time…and I said I will do better in term of preparation, like taking the week off before the trip…change my sleep time to adjust for overnight running, pack the stuff I need for the runs (last time was last minute packing and I forgot certain things like lipbalm, sunblock lotion), get a better map and turnsheet, laminate the turnsheet, and many other things.

    I have done none of that. I am just showing up to wing it! I told my friend I probably give up at the 13th mile this time around.

    Any way, I will be flying out soon in couple hours. My run will probably be tomorrow. I could start at any time (it is a virtual race), but once it is started, I have to stay to finish. I am picking for the best day to start…Thursday or Friday? I am also thinking for a day time start instead of a night time.

    I want to lean toward a Friday start. I will check the weather tomorrow and then decide.

    It is sad to see an empty airport here at Dulles International! Just like last time. I bet though Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International will be crowded.

    Worries? I have a lot. Mainly it is the D*** poison ivy. I am much better. The blisters have stopped oozing. I am using a type of soap that basically said take 2 days to heal. I am on the 2nd day. They still itch but much less (90% less). The itch drove me crazy before the medication. But still, yesterday, a whole bunch of blisters/boils popped up on my other foot. I applied the medication. They have not started oozing yet. It might take two more days for this foot to heal. However, I will be in the middle of the run by then…so the blisters might get infected during the run. Right now they are about to pop, so I am very nervous to run with a bunch of those. It is very uncomfortable. I would take a picture, but it will gross you out! That is my worry.

    I had a history of bad allergic reaction to poison ivy. This time the overcounter medication seems to be able to suppress it. However, I hope it won’t break out while I am in Atlanta…ya, the last couple times I had poison ivy, I had to go see my family doctor for antibiotic to stop it. I won’t able to do that while in Atlanta.

    Coronavirus: Virginia number is half of that of Atlanta (Georgia). It has come down a bit but the number is like last time when I went to Atlanta (on July 1). Riskwise should be the same as last time.

    How do I feel? Not stressed. I felt I have to do it, like an obligation. So I will face all kind of ‘adversities’ and get worked up, and interfere with many other people (coworkers) to have this trip done. The truth is its not. This is a pleasure trip.

    On a happy note…for me at least, is when I get back I will start the next wild thing. We will run across the world! (virtually). I am really looking forward to that. For a week (3 weeks actually) I thought no one would want to run with me, but I found 9 random people yesterday (well not me, they found me) and we are doing it! We are running as a team, and we need 10 people because that was a requirement. They are from all over the places, some from Texas, Florida, England, etc. I couldn’t keep track of all their names.

  • Day339 fifth day

    I think I am getting a hang of it now after five days of running. Might be sixth? Who is counting? I started some time last week. I know I want that finish of 500 miles by end of August. I know how many miles to run each day and I am very much behind. So I started running.

    In the beginning, I was only able to put out about 5 miles and then upped a bit to 8 and then 11. Friday I didn’t run. Saturday and Sunday I added a bit more 13, then 14 and today 15.

    I do wish to push out 20-30 miles a day in order to reach that 500 miles. Right now I have 450 miles left. Which mean 250 miles this week and 250 next week.

    Today while running, I had a plan. Run 150 miles during week and 100 miles during the weekend. Each day I try to do 15 miles during the evening run. 5 miles during the morning run. See I can do it. 20×5 = 100.

    I’m still short 75 miles. I will see how I fit that in. I might have to take Monday, August 31 off to fit that in. It will be very hard.

    My body has hurt less than before. I run a bit better now. I could do 6 miles without stopping and I got my half marathon time (13.1 miles) down from 3 hours to 2:50. There is still much to go. Hopefully I can get back to running 13 or even 20 miles without stopping.

  • Day296 holding pattern

    I’m still in a holding pattern, being lazy to do anything on everything.

    Next Next Friday is supposed to be my June race in Pennsylvania, which was already canceled, but I plan to go and run the trail any way. It is supposed to be very hard.

    Yet, I have done zero planning. Where will I sleep and when will I sleep. How long will I run. Where will I get food. The whole 70.5 miles trail is in the woods far from any stores, so only way is to stash supplies along the route. Water and food. More importantly water. I have done absolutely zero on thinking it through.

    I signed up also for the Atlanta race. I know, I need to buy a map and sit down and draw out turn by turn and have it memorized. Yet , I am sitting on my butt. If I am driving down to Atlanta, I should think about the scheduling. 10 hours going down and 34 hours running. I need 2-5 hours resting. Then 10 hours back. 60 total hours of required operation time over a four days weekend. Plus have to build in 8-10 hours of sleep. Not sure if I can pull it off. Yes, need to think things through. 60 hours is 2 and half day. Technically it is doable. Ya you don’t want me to be on the road driving a 10 hour trip back after 3 days with very little sleep. A recipe for disaster. I was thinking about flying … but possibly corona infection is a concern.

    I like doing things and thinking of the big picture, but when planning for the operational stuff, I get paralyzed and indecisive. Simple decision like plane or drive…is taking me two days thinking about it and still no solution. Ya, I know, best if not go at all.

    Third trip. I wanted to head down to Tennessee to finish my GVRAT race. I have 200 more miles to go. I think I can run the final 100 miles over a weekend. Yet I am paralyzed with when to do it. The thing stopping me is I don’t want to do it myself. The drive would be long 6-7 hours, one way. Run a 100 mile and drive back 6-7 hours. 50 hours operation. Not including sleep. Need minimum three days to do it. Technically, could leave work a little early on Friday, and do a long drive. Start the run at very early on Saturday, Will finish by noon on Sunday and make the long drive back before midnight. Very tight schedule and also very little sleep. 2-3 hours on Friday. And lucky if 2-3 hours before the drive back on Sunday if I finish the run early. Wish I can get a friend to do the driving for me.

    Prepping for a self support run is a lot of work. You have to think way ahead of where you will be at any given moment, to plan for contingency – bail out points, support points. Emergency and stuffs, but I’m so lazy of doing the homework.

    Tennesee trip would be a go if I have it on the 3rd weekend of June. This is planning. I need to set a go-no go poll.

    Anyway. My hiking buddy is asking if I am free the second weekend of June for some backpacking. I miss backpacking. Yet I want to do the running too. She found another guy to do the hike with, so my interest in it wane a bit. I know the guy. Not jealous or anything, but it was more like ‘a polite or formality’ in asking me, and like I was expected to decline the invitation. I am in a holding pattern. I wanted to go, but didn’t give my yes. Any way, I should do the PA trip myself since it was ‘planned’ since who knows when.

    I wish I am more decisive. If it were not for the pandemic, I would have all my weekends planned out…with this race and that race and I hardly have to decide on anything. They all fall into place.

  • Day295 fillers

    There will be probably a bunch of fillers from here on out to Day 300 because I just need to fill up the gap and there is not much going on.

    I guess those in the US all focusing on the civil unrest taking place. I have not much to comment on it other than I need to watch out for my own safety. I have been feeling safe in my neighborhood, as you readers know, I take long runs that sometimes last whole day 8-12 hours or longer. My usual daily run now typically last 3 hours, doing somewhere between 12-20 miles. I run from both sunrise to sunset and to late hours into the night.

    I have been feeling pretty safe. But now I have to watchout for myself. People don’t care if I am a runner. I might get caught in bad situation. Also law enforcement might not care if I am just a passerby, I might get identify as one of the rioters. I have seen even a CNN reporter was arrested on TV for doing nothing, but reporting the situation.

    I haven’t been out to DC at all. I have heard protest been going on for 5 days and police trying to clear the people out.

    Our president was trying to gather the troop as a show of force, but seems to fail spectacularly. Virginia has refused to send their national guards for the task. This is unheard of. I have never seen chain-of-command being failed to honor. The commander is chief is calling his troop and his soldiers refuse to obey. This is unheard of. I see a lot of politic going on. Virginia governor doesn’t see the protest in the capital a threat to the nation survival.

    But any way, I said my piece. I think we as a nation is comical to the world.

    Tonight run was one of my best run. I put in 18 miles. I was light. The first mile/first step always was hard for me. Before I went out I felt very sleepy and I laid on the sofa and slept until past 7 pm. Normally I go at 6. Maybe the nap help. I was an energizer bunny and was out on the road until 11 something. That is 4 hours!

    I feel very awake now. I could probably run another 3-4 more hours out there.

    During the run, my mind was mostly on the protest. I read many different things. Racial tension is not something new in this country. It relatively new for me. I remember growing up hearing about the Rodney King’s incident. Subsequently other similar stuff took place, and many more occurents in recent times. Charlottesville incident was something closer to home for me. All this was crazy to process.

    I thought back to my trip in Chile. There the protests were much more frequent (daily) and much worse. They had the popular support. Everyone would bring out their pot and pan and started banging.

    I don’t see we here will get to that level soon. This time there are a lot of popular support but it is not at anarchy state like Chile.

    I see America is changing. The constant theme of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This is so much more true today than when I grew up. I have seen reports supporting this. Real wages stagnant while expenses and cost of living go up. We have people now working two jobs and still could barely make end meet. At one point it reach a breaking point and society will unravel like in Chile.

    Today, I was talking with my manager at work. He was telling me how in China they don’t have credit card. People can only spend what they have. They now switch to digital currency similar to bitcoin. He said we can’t have something like that here because it would kill all credit cards. Our economy would collapse without credit in the system. But then it is matter of time – like inevitably we would switch to a digital currency. He said that is a scary thought.

    I don’t know what to think about that but he is right on one thing that we as a society rely heavily on the availability of credit.

    That’s it for now. I will think of something to write tomorrow.