Me during the winter storm

In the past days, I have been busy training and working with my gear, pretty much getting ready for my next race Tuscobia 150 miles. The race itself is semi self-support because we will have 2 Aid Stations along the way. The race starts from Parks Falls WI to Rice Lake, WI on the Tuscobia trail that is 75 miles, so we have to go back and forth. The final cutoff time is 60 hrs with two cutoffs in between -Birchwood, 86.5 miles at 6:00 on Sunday & Winter, 119.5 miles at 11:00 am on Sunday.

This will be my 3rd time, where in the last past two I finished second place in both, as I hope to finish again this year. During the Summer I have been thinking what if I try double, meaning 300 miles, where the first 150 miles will be the actual race and the other 150 miles will be my. In fact, that is what I will do this time. I'm going for the double 300 miles; it will be great to spend some time by myself on the trail during New Year's. For those who have been following me, I will keep you with some updates along the way. So far I plan to post once every 10 hrs or so if you think that it's cool, then that is what I will do. Please feel free to post comments. It'll be nice to know that someone is following & tracking me.

At least, winter shows up with snow storm. We got 12 inches of snow in 24 hrs. I didn't lose the chance to be outside, so I went for a 17-miles hike during the storm to try some waterproof gear. Overall, it was great experience to see and feel the power of our mother nature.

As a result of the big chunk of snow that we got already, I started to build an igloo outside my apartment. Hopefully I will finish by the end of the week and will spend some nights in there.

I hope you are having a great winter, go outside and feel the cold but be safe.

A week or so ago I went to see The Banff Mountain Festival film; it was great. I recomment it especially if you like the outdoors, then this for you. It is no your class Hollywood movie, instead it's a real deal. My favorite part of the film was the crossing the ice and climbing-hats off to the three guys who scaled the captain.

This past Saturday I was running with a group of friends in an event called Fatass, organized by a local race director, John Storkamp. We started off with trail running in Afton State Park followed by food/drinks and raffles, usually I never win anything but this was my day and I got a certificate from TC Running Company for a pair of Montrail sneakers. Also I got a bag of 10 gels, a bottle of electrolyte, and a big bottle of Heed, all thanks to Hammer Nutrition. And I left the event with a T-shirt and leftovers of banana cake from my friend Nancy. It was a great time with friends, great thanks to everyone who made this event a success. And finally, I bought a smart phone. Before I had no reception in places where I'd race like Colorado, Arkansas,or even areas of Wisconsin and Minnesota, but now I will be able to send post and photos from my phone.

Volunteering at the Surf the Murph

From left to right. Wayne A Nelson, Ross Jilk, and Londell Pease

 Last weekend I went to help out at the Surf the Murph race. It was nice to see the race from the other side of the table, I got a lot fun watching some friends doing the race.

Tuscobia Winter Ultramarathon

So, here we go...one more time - YES, I can do it!  All week long, I couldn't sleep and was more nervous than ever, as the big day was about to come.  Thursday, December 16th, okay Saint Paul, and here I come Park Falls, Wisconsin.  After 3 hours and 40 minutes of barely nothing, I reached Mason Motel.  Aahh...at last, a quiet place for me to rest my eyes.  After bringing all the things inside the room, I unpacked and repacked, making sure all the stuff is set to go in the morning.  And finally, I was ready for my cozy bed.  3:30am and I was still wide awake.  I tossed and turned all night long, perhaps it was the bed bugs marching back and forth on my body, cheering for my big day. 

6:45am rigth on the start line, I had bib number 6 on my sled (but my favorite number is 7).  Anyway, "Okay guys, it's 7:00," the race director said, as I slowly turned on my shuffle, ready to do some rockin' on the trail.  After 4 hours and 20 minutes, I finally reached 15 miles with an average speed of 3.7 miles per hr, not too bad for myself.  But I kept telling myself to maintain at least around 3.2 miles per hr with some stops for food, of course.

Jamming to my tunes and running, I came to the first checkpoint at 3:30 - OH YEAH, some warm homemade chili was waiting for me!  At this point, I also refilled my Camelbak and after 30 minutes, I hit the trail again with flashing light on my head, warning other runners to look out for me.  Again, I had recharged and ready for the next checkpoint.  Of course, porky me was getting hungry when I got to Radison (between checkpoint 1 & 2), so I chowed down some smoked salmon, yuck...it was cold.  Just when I passed Radison, I saw the firt two bikers, probably Jason and Lance.  After 50 miles on the trail, I was still ahead of 2 other runners.  Now the sad thing was, when I got cold and had to stop for my jacket and  insulated pants, I saw a couple guys gradually getting closer to me.  Already with the wamers on, I comfortably paced myself again.  With my body producing too much heat, I had to stop and take off some layers to cool down.  By this time, I met Chris (another runner); we walked for awhile, but this time he was walking faster than me.  So again, I was by myself on this moonlit night.  At last, I got my 75 miles down at Rice Lake, and I sure was happy.  Of course, I didn't want to get too excited because it's just half way! I supposed it's din-din again, right?  Here I was with the reactor stove, ready for some spaghetti with meat sauce - mmm...mmm...mmm..   I also noticed that I was chaffing - Oow.  I had to put some cream quick; I grabbed the Desitin just in time.

Back on the trail again ready for another 29 hours or so.  Considering it's my second day without rest, I decided to rest and put on some warmers for my hands and feet.  After a 2-hour nap, it was time to fire up again.  By 10 o'clock, I reached the last and 3rd check point where I got my chicken noodle soup and some warm water.  At this point, I geared up and went back to the trail, running as fast as I could for 3 hrs, eventually I felt tirred and had to slow down with almost 10 miles left.  I pushed myself to keep going, but the last mile seemed forever long - I couldn't see the finish line!  I called the race director just to make sure that I didn't pass the line; he told me to just follow the trail and would meet me there.  Indeed, he did, and I walked next to him to THE FINISH LINE with 62:45, coming in 2nd place.  I said thanks to my legs and warmed myself with the heater in the tent.   We took some pictures, got a pizza, and took off in dfferent directions.  For me, it was back to St. Paul - a long drive back home, so tired and sleepy.  

And that is Tuscobia 150...thanks everyone for a great race.  Stay tuned because Arrowhead Ultra 135 is coming!