NYC Marathon

TCS NYC Marathon – The first marathon I ever heard about but because of the difficulty of getting in, my 13th marathon.

Staten Island – Arrived at Race village around by 6:50 am. Hanged out with Cathy and Larry for a bit, then walked around with Larry and hanged out with him till around 9 am. Headed to my corral and waited till 10:30 am to start. The corral area was so tiny! You pretty much had to wait in between porter potty lines. The waiting pretty much killed any excitement I had. Finally get to start and go over the bridge. To my pleasant surprise I got to run on the upper level, yay for not getting peed on. Another reason for upper was that I have already ridden the lower path in the TD 5 boro bike tour.

Brooklyn – As soon as I hit Brooklyn I found the crowds to uplifting and encouraging. Around mile 4 I found out I dropped my dukin donut hat. A member of Marathon maniacs made it sound pretty exclusive (you could only get it early of race morning). Oh well, it was a bit annoyed at having to carry it. I meet friends and coworkers which also boosted my spirits. Eventually I started struggling and I wasn’t even half way done. I decided to not worry about time and I started to give out more high fives (that also messed up my pace since I would start sprinting after a round of high fives). It was great to see a diversity of people come out. It felt like the city had your back.

Queens – The course only goes a bit into Queens but the crowds were packed. Before long I was in the bridge to Manhattan. No crowds here but I have ran this part many times so I know it’s not a big deal. My Garmin gps watch lost signal here and my mileage got messed up on the watch.
Manhattan – Off the bridge and into the city! The crowds were large but by this time they had a diminishing effect on me. I still found giving high fives a mental boost and continued my quest to get high fives in the boroughs. As started to struggle more I started to just walk to get water instead of trying to grab a cup and then drink a slip and then throw the rest out. I regret not bringing my own water.


Bronx – Super short stop here, got some high fives and a pretzel which I later found out I wasn’t able to eat (not really able to chew hard food while running). 


Back to Manhattan – A nice welcome as runners entered Harlem! As I approached Central Park my spirits lifted. I run here weekly and know the remaining course exactly. I started running hard. At 800 meters (half mile to finish) I started sprinting. I had to do some extreme zig zags. I started gassing out at 400 meters but at that point, can’t stop!


Got my medal! Overall I would say the experience of the crowds and volunteers is amazing! But I didn’t like the long wait time at the beginning, the items in recovery bag was lacking (though the bag itself is nice) and the inability to cheer your fellow runners at the finish line sucked! They just marshaled you along to your drop bag or poncho and then you exit. I didn’t feel any sense of running community that I usually feel in the races I do.

Mountain Lakes 100

Mountain Lakes 100 - First 100 miler attempt - Dropped out at mile 55

"There will be low points, there will be high points, there will be low points, more low points and in the end, it is going to suck"
--Race Director

Strategy: The first 26.1 miles of the race are the hardest so I decide to start off with a handheld bottle and hip belt bottle. About 1 liter of water. At mile 26.1, first drop bags awaits where I would switch to a race vest. The race vest contains 1 liter of water, 1 liter of Gatorade, ultra jacket and headlamp. At my second drop bag in mile 55 I would take out another layer and one more headlamp and a handheld lamp.
Nutrition: I do my usual start off with salt tablets an hour, then slowly start using gu, then Gatorade, then caffeine gu and real food.

0-5 The race starts off on jeep road and two miles in breaks into trail. My motivation increased a lot going into the trails. The beauty of the area was stunning. 

5-11 "If you think you are going slow, slow down" --Someone's Coach. Back onto jeep road leads to easy fast miles. I met a woman from Baltimore and talked with her for a bit. I found out that she did her first 100 miler last year, 4 years after she started running and knew someone that was planning his first 100 miler the following year which would also make it his 4 year. I guess my attempt at 100 miler in 4 years fits into a certain category of runners.

11-20 The trail gets technical and there are lots of uphills. My pace gets slow but the easy miles before made up for them.

20-26 An hour and back lets fast runners (coming back) to offer words of encouragement which was great after 9 hard miles. I run with Patricia, a woman from Portland. She seems to know a lot of the volunteers.

26-30 I drop the bottles and switch to the race vest. These miles are mostly downhill and I feel pretty strong.

30-37 At the aid station at mile 30, I eat soup with rice and salty mashed potatoes for lunch. Best feeling ever. My quads start bugging at mile 34

37-44 At mile 37 I start losing the group I been going back and forth with since mile 5. My pace slows but still doing good time wise.

44-50 My quads burn out at mile 46 and I can no longer run uphill. It's night and the weather is in the low 40s. I can't run so I move slower and can't warm up. Motivation is dead and I want to quit by mile 50.


50-55 I went into the aid station at mile 50 wanting to quit but there are only two volunteers and it doesn't look like they could help. I eat real food and sit down for two minutes. Then I move on the next aid station mile 55 which I know is a major one. I limp walk till I met two sweepers catch up. Their presence helps me get back into a speed walk. The miles feel like forever. 


Finally at the aid station, I debate going on for another 16 miles. It's hard to quit even though I want to. I know I can't make the hard cutoff at mile 71. I check in with the medic hoping he would advise me to drop out but he doesn't. Finally I drop out. I change my clothes and spend the next two hours with a sleeping blanket and in front of a heater trying to warm up. I never get warm in the heat tent. I talk with pacers and learn how they are pretty much do the thinking of their partners at the later parts of the race.


Looking forward, I need to train with my quads dead and I need to train a lot more in the night.

Erie Marathon

Marathon #12 in the books!
Mile 1-2 easy run
Mile 3 - got to put some work in
Mile 6 - Hi Lanson! Meet Hally who is also in her 12th marathon. We talk till Mille 11 when she fell slightly behind and then soon passed me.
Mile 11 - Met Harrison? and Nathan and we talk till mile 15
Mile 15 - Low point. Quads feel sore and pace drops
Mile 16 - Yay, 16 miles. Only an hour more to go. I could do an hour. Few minutes later I realize that I made the same math error as my first marathon.
Mile 17 - Notice my steps are more towards heel than toe. Start focusing on the elastic return part of form.
Mile 20 - High Point - I get into my happy place. Pace returns and I try encourage other runners as I pass.
Mile 22 - I start using jelly beans. Pretend they are senzu beans. Pass Harrison and Nathan yelling golden corral.
Mile 23 - I slow down to get water and I find my left calf has a slight cramp. Run or cramp it is!
Mile 24 - As happy place wears off I try to phase out but doesn't work. Focus on form till I'm ready to kick. I practice sprint breathing.
Mile 25 - Start to pick up the pace.
Mile 25.5 - A woman named Cathy gets someone to run the last bit with her. I pretend the encourages are towards me.
26 - All out sprint.
26.21 - Medic staff watches me but I'm fine, whew!
26.3 - Meet Michael and Lanson!
26.4 - Find the barrels of cholocate milk and in a few minutes, 6 cartons are done.

Elkhorn Endurance Run

The Elkhorn Endurance Run was my third 50 miler and first DNF.  After the Moab trail marathon back in November of last year I talked with another finisher who told me if you like rocks there's a 50 miler in the first weekend of Montana that I need to check out.  I didn't need more convincing.  I signed up pretty quickly.  I finally looked at the details the week before, 53 miles (3 more than my previous best!), 13450 feet of elevation gain (4450 more than more previous day best), and between 5000 feet to 9000 feet.  Doesn't look good to me.

I flew to Salt Lake City August 3rd and drove straight to West Yellowstone.  I had the intention of doing the 20 mile sky rim loop that backpacker magazine had labelled as one of the best loop hikes.  Another one an equal drive from Salt Lake City was a 18 mile loop in Sawtooth National forest but that was still 6 hours away from Helena whereas this hike brought me within 2 hours of Helena.  During the airplane ride I decided against doing the full loop and instead to do an out and back of Bighorn peak (9930 feet).  The hike was about 13 miles and 3000 feet of gain.  I only got to hike .04 of the sky rim trail (most of the hike was just to get to the trail) but from what I saw it was very beautiful!  I'm definitely adding it to my bucket list.  I also saw my very first grizzly bear who noticed me first and ran away.  That encounter had me on edge for a while.  I also saw a bird I never seen before but no idea on what it's name could be.  Afterwards I drove to Helena, I stopped by Best Burger Bozeman.  The huckleberry shake was really good.  I found the burger alright.  At night I ate at Melaque Mexican Restaurant in Helena.  I found the food good and the servings huge.  The chip dip was also surprising good.  I stayed at Shilo Inns.  I regret not looking for place sooner and taking advantage of the race discounts.  It would have been nice to stay at a place where other runners were.

The next day I hiked Casey peak near Helena.  I ended up meeting two people marking the trail for the race.  They were leap frogging and using pink duct tape since elkhorn have eaten the ribbons in the past.  Casey peak was 10.5 miles with 3500 elevation gain.  Also had some great views.  The race pasts by the peak but does not summit so this hike was a good chance to take in the scenery without worrying about time.  I'm not sure about the wisdom of doing moderate hikes the days before a race but I felt that I needed an easy warm-up.  After the hike and a good shower I filled out some post cards to sent back to NYC and went to the pre-race dinner.  Arrived there at 6 pm and checked in.  Got my bib and goody bag.  There was also a pasta dinner.  I got to talk with a few people there.  There was a race briefing at about 6:45 pm, mostly for the 50 milers.  I got about 6.5 hours of sleep which may be the most I ever gotten for an ultra.

Race day!  Wake up 2:30 to get final preparations and a small breakfast in before driving to the start.  I'm really glad that Willard Creek Trail-head showed up in my google map offline area.  I can't imagine trying to find it with pdf directions.  I was a bit surprised they didn't provide gps directions as that's my usual go to for hikes.  Good job google!  Checked in at start and race started on time at 5 am.  The first 4 miles were in the dark and I thought I made pretty good time.  I lost about three minutes from trying to go around a stream crossing which I regret but I sort of just followed the person in front of me.  There could always be a unavoidable stream crossing later on so might as well get wet.  At mile 4 aid station we could drop off gear.  Most people would have dropped off a jacket and headlamp.  I kept my headlamp just in case.  This is where I also first met racer#5 who I learned was from North Carolina.  At mile 6 I saw pink ribbons and followed them for a few minutes before deciding that the organizers would have probably have only used one kind of marking (pink duct-tape not equal to pink ribbons).  Turns out I was right but I wasted 5 minutes.  At mile 12 I realized that I wasn't able to run the gently uphills.  I realized that at 7500 feet my breathing was being affected.  The miles between 12 to 16 went pretty slow.  I made it to mile 16 aid station at borderline time. 

I had decided to switch to the 50k route being demoralized by the last few miles.  Runner#5 came into the aid station and was determined to continue the 50 miler.  A volunteer there also said he would do the 50 miler.  I got encouraged to go as far as I could at that point.  I got into 100% mode which is a state where I feel that my brain lets me digger deeper into more reserves.  I sort of realized to get into this mode that I need motivation from others, my first 50 miler went similar (except that was at mile 34, not 16).  I did a good another 6 miles till the next aid station.  I met Martin who was an experience ultra marathoner.  He started an hour and twenty minutes late, having difficulty finding the start.  We had a few conversations.  At the aid station I learned I probably won't make the hard cut off at 30 miles.  The volunteer was very optimistic but I knew my abilities.  Martin passed me on the uphill shortly after.  Now at over 8000 feet the next 3 miles were pretty bad.  Miles 27 to 30 were all downhill which is my best part but I couldn't make the time cutoff.  I continued to move slowly and my feet started to hurt.  At mile 29 runner#5 passed me and continued to push on pretty strongly.  At this point we both missed the cutoff but her push motivated me to end strongly as well.  Arrived at the mile 30 aid station 18 minutes after the cutoff. 

My race was over but I didn't feel too bad.  When I talked to people during the Ice Age 50 miler back in May, many said they didn't finish a few years and they were perfectly fine with it.  Thinking of that, I tried to not take the setback hard.  I tried my best and it sucks that it wasn't good enough.  I really feel that the altitude slowed me down a lot.  I got driven back to the start by a volunteer who gave a few museums and festivals to check out in Montana.  After the race I talked to a few people about there experiences and got some tips about how to deal with the altitude.  Overall it was a good experience and I will return next year to finish!

The next day and my final day of vacation I hiked up Mt Helena in Helena city park.  Sort, easy hike.  I wish central park had something like this though!  I ate at Bullhead for lunch which had some excellent pizza and Big Dipper for ice cream.  Then the 6.5 hours drive back to Salt Lake City.

9,930-foot

9,930-foot

9,930-foot