I'm having a lot of fun but working hard I did just 15miles in 12 hours.

Superior Hiking Trail on Snowshoes

Hola!
As they say, Minnesota weather is unpredictable. The warm temperatures and sunny days convinced me that it was time for early spring cleaning and say goodbye to some of my winter gear.  As I looked in my closet and contemplated on what I would gather to put away, I saw tons of leftover bars and gels from previous races.  I thought I should really use them on some mini adventure for I haven't been on the trail since the Arrowhead 135 race in which I dropped, unfortunately.
 
So...thoughts were racing through my head, as I wanted to challenge myself and test my limit, to see if I could accomplish an even longer distance than the last 300-mile run that I completed before the Arrowhead.  Immediately, the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) came to mind. Due to the recent snow storm and temperature drop, the SHT would be a good choice for to snowshoe.  The SHT covers 280 miles from point to point with some areas where the trail stops when it meets with local towns and then continues. My plan is to snowshoe 208.5 miles from Two Harbors to the border of Canada and then repeat the course, which will give me a goal of 417 miles total, hoping to finish by Monday, March 25th. 

Once again, thank you to those who follow me. I will keep you posted. I have included the link below on the 300-mile run for those who are interested in reading for pleasure.  Special thanks to all the individuals who supported me all the way.  And, thanks to Phillip Gary who allowed me to relive the experience through his powerful storytelling.

 

Last snow storm?

I don't know if this will be the last snow storm but while I'm inside of my cozy sleeping system. Just another excuse for to test new gear.

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.

Off season?

After three weeks without running a single mile in order to rest my muscles and also to spend more time with my family, I began my training last Sunday for two races that I'll have this winter, Tuscobia 150 mile and Arrowhead 135 mile. My training includes obviously running, winter camping,testing new gear, fixing old gear, and also some Do it Yourself (DIY) projects.

As you know, I like to do most of the outdoors sports, and this winter I'm planing to do snowshoeing on the Superior Hiking Trail. I hear from some friends that the snow can be up to 40" deep, to be sure of that I will go there and get some fun.

Ice climbing. Oh yeah! This year I'm looking forward to attend some ice climbing workshop sessions with the purpose of improve my technique. It will be from December 16th - 18th the Sandstone Ice Festival, two weeks before Tuscobia 150, so I'll have careful and avoid any possible injury.

I also have not done country skiing, so this winter I will do that. I've seen some videos on You Tube, hopefully it will help me.

Do you know that I'm have a 2 years old boy? Well, this summer I took him to the trail, and in the coming weeks I will be working on my training sled to make it warm and comfy so I can bring my little boy and show him the beauty of winter.

Arrowhead Ultra 135

Saturday, January 29th, after 5 hours of driving, we finally reached International Falls, one of the most remote cities in Minnesota bordering Canada.  After we checked out where the hotel and the start-up line were (they were basically 2.5 blocks apart), we drove to the gear check-in place.  When the check-in was done, we went back to the hotel to finally rest.

Saturday, January 30th, I spent most of my morning organizing and preparing all my gear and whatnot, taking all the right precautions I will need for the race.  Afterwards I took some time to get to know the city and take pictures.  Then we found a pretty authentic Mexican restaurant and had some delicious home-style cooking like shrimp nachos and enchilidas for lunch.  Around 4 pm we met up with the Arrowhead team for a pre-race meeting and dinner.  It was primarily going over the logistics of the race like rules, trail signage and layout, and all necessary preventions that we should know prior to and during the race.  Following this, we had a raffle drawing for goodies from other supporters and sponsors.  The dinner was a big disappointment, so we headed back to the hotel to order some food.

Monday, January 31st, around 5:30 am, I got up to take my Gatorade and Perpeteum drinks and put on my runner's outfit.  And then I gradually put everything in my sled and headed out to the start line.  The flashing lights were well-lit, as I made my way to the line.  I could see everyone all pumped up, as they checked in one by one.  After the check-in, I had a nice warm cup of coffee and my harness all ready for takeoff.  The race consisted of 3 categories: bike, ski, or run.  So, the bikers started the race first at 7am, runners at 7:05 am, and lastly the skiers.  The temperature was -15 F (-26 C) with the morning still dark, not too cold thought. After awhile I found myself running with another guy (I don't remember his name), and we arrived together at the first check point.  Here, I rested a bit, reloaded my stuff, and took off again without wasting any time. 

By midnight the temperature had already reached -34 F (-36 C).  The good thing was that I kept in motion and did not feel the cold.  But when I had to stop to eat or drink, I felt the cold, especially trying to get back into motion was the worst part.  11:30 am came around, and I finally made it to the second check point (70 miles).  And I was more tired and sleepy than ever, yet excited because I knew that if I kept going, the race would end so smoothly.  At the check point, I refilled water and ate delicious soup and a cheese sandwich. 
Someone told me that in the cabin were 20 bikers, skiers, and runners already sitting comfortably in the chairs, so after I was done eating, it was my opportunity tor review my things and change my socks.  Here I also met up with Chris, who previously ran in the Tuscobia with me.  We ran together again like we did before under such sunny day with temperature of -10 F (-23 C).  We had on our sunglasses, and I removed the midlayer off me, just the baselayer and shell on.

At 77 mile, I saw Alicia, one of the runners.  She took a couple photos of me, but with the bad lighting (it was getting dark fast), it was hard to see my face.  At this point, Chris had already been ahead of me.  I wanted to keep up the pace, but I was getting tired, so I decided to give my feet a break.  I lied down on my sled and pretty soon the temperature started to drop; I felt cold again.  However, it was a beautiful night with the stars twinkling above me, so I stayed for about an hour and a half.  A runner passed by and asked if I was ok.  Along the way, a very friendly driver (on the sled) asked if I was ok to continue to run or not, and I told him that I was fine and will take a rest on the trail.  He reminded me that this would be the last time that I would see him for a while.  After talking to him, I ran for a bit and met Brian ( we were basically the two slowest ones left on the trail).  There were so many ups and downs that I was able to do about 2 miles per hour, above all I was exhausted.  Again, I stopped to rest and tried to get some food, but my stove never started, so I just had peanuts and some water.  Afterwards, I grabbed my sleeping bag and fell asleep.  Then some time later I woke up by the sound of the friendly sled drvier.  He asked me if I planned to continue the race or not because there's about 3 hours or 12 niles left to the next check point.  Aware of my speed and condition of the trail, I closed my eyes and told myself that it was over.  Sadly, I packed up my things and got on the sled with him and headed to Crescent check point, where I would get a ride to the finish line (Fortune Bay Resort).

On the way back, we met Brian and another skier; we chatted a bit, and at the end of it, the sled driver said, "Look this is the last hill from here to the finish line, and the rest is prerty flat.  So, are you coming back next year to finish this off?"  I said, "Yes, I will come back.  I know I will no matter what I will do it.  I have to bring home the trophy no matter how many times it'll take me."  At Crescent, I took notes of my drop.  I saw Chris, and he was both happy and sad to see me because together we went through Tuscobia 150,  and we made it through with support and encouragement from one another.  The bottom line, I learned many things -  about other riders, the trail, and my own weaknesses.  For sure, I will need to train harder and lose some weights with the sled I had.  But, I had a good time, and I wanted to thank everyone who took part in this race: the race directors, the runners, bikers, skiers, volunteers (especially to Chris's dad who gave me a ride back to Fortune Bay and, of course, those who took the time to follow my blog.  Thanks!

To see more pictures click here.

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!