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Afton 50K

For quite some time, state was preparing for a government shutdown and, indeed, growing concerns for such event became reality on June 30th.  The shutdown affects so many people, businesses, and almost all government-regulated functions and areas.  As a result, all the state parks are closed.  Until the two political parties reach an agreement or come to a compromise, the situation continues to be pessimistic.  You may wonder if perhaps I have shifted my interest to address political issues; this is not the case; however, they have inadvertently affected many races that would have been taken place at the state parks as Afton was one of them.

Due to Afton State Park being closed, the race took place in Afton Alps.  Thanks to the experienced race director and his loyal crew who made it all possible for the Afton 50K to carry on.

As usual a few minutes before the race, we were informed of some details about the course, and that each lap was about 12.5K, which for the 50K runners that would be 4 times.  The race started at 6:30 a.m..  I was probably in the first half of the group who quickly first got my 50 meters.  We were expecting a small hill, and that was just the beginning.  After that was a flat of 400 meters into the woods, followed by a large puddle of water, along with fun single track climbs and descents will come shortly.  Then I came to the first aid station and refilled my water bottle.  I took off again and kept running, battling this part of the trail since it was very very technical, so I decided to not turn on the mp3 and paid more attention instead.

Just before reaching the second aid station, I met Helen, who was taking pictures of and supporting the runners.  It was then that I realized the electrolyte pills I kept in my shorts pocket were gone.  Given the heat and the temperature of 80 F, I was fortunate to be able to stock up on the electrolytes, gels, and some snacks at the aid station; otherwise, I would be in trouble.  Then I was right back on the trail once again.  After a while, I finally crossed the first of 4 laps.  As I continued on, I came across three MN pacers: Dan, Adam, and Tim.  Overall, the course was very technical, yet it was also fun since it was my first time at Afton Alps.  While I tried to maintain my pace, it was difficult since the heat was more intense, and some areas didn't have any trees; it felt like fire was coming from the ground.

 But I kept battling and with ample water supply, I was still safe in the race.  After 7 hours, I made it to the finish line.  I removed the shoes and laid on the grass...relaxing.  I chatted with other runners about races, gear, nutrition while I was enjoying a delicious burger and lemonade.  When the race director said that the course was really hard, he was nowhere joking indeed because not only were there DNFs in the 50K but also the 25K.  I felt lucky to have remembered to take the electrolyte pills every 20 minutes consistently and water constantly to help out with the terrible temperatures. 

Well, I hope you enjoy reading about my racing experience as I do very much.  As for the remainder of this month and August, I haven't scheduled any races; however, I will do something a little different even though it still involves the trail, of course.  I will keep you posted, but until then I will simply let know that it has something to do with non-stop thru-hike of 1100 miles and self-support.

            

     

More coffee please...

Kettle Moraine 100 Mile

It started with planning and organzing my 4 drop bags, making sure I got all the essentials like socks, gels, electrolyte capsules, Desitin, Aquaphor, atlethic tape, long-sleeved shirt, lamps, shoes and, of course, my mp3.

After 5 hours and 30 minutes of driving, I finally got to the General Store location where I was supposed to pick up my race packet.  This time my number is 76.  I was greeted by the race director, who seemed very nice and thanked me for coming.  After a quick chat, I headed out to the Nordic Trail, our starting point for tomorrow's race.  I walked around and checked out the trail a bit, then it was time to check into Corssroads Motel.  We unpacked and relaxed for awhile and went to grab some food.  As always, I had pasta, pizza, and Gatorade.  I quickly chowed down the food and, at the same, tried to prepare my things for tomorrow.  Shortly after, I took a bath and relaxed in bed, ready to fall asleep. 

Saturday, June 4th, 4:30 am.  The alarm went off, but I wanted to continue dreaming.  I slept for a few more minutes, then I got up and went to check the parking lot.  I noticed that the weather was starting to warm up, and the temperature began to increase.  At this point, I knew I had to make changes to the drop bags, switching my headlamp from the 63 mile to the 47 mile marker because with this heat, it would slow me down.

Already in the start line and just minutes before the race, I found my buddy, Nate Jackson, who is also competing in the race.  We stood amongst the crowd, waiting for the signal to go off at 6:00 am.  Surely, it did; everyone started out slowly; some even walked.  And, after we all warmed up, I completed my first mile in 10 minutes.  I kept up and greeted everyone I know like John Taylor, who by the way was taking pictures.  As we are in mile 5 at the aid station, I grabbed a banana and continued on to the next station, about 2.7 miles. That took me 30 minutes, and when I got to mile 15, I checked in.  From this point on, the heat became a problem since we were so much in the open with no shades from the trees.  I felt nauseous, and it was difficult to maintain my pace.  I decided to walk for a bit.  After walking for a while, I started to get worried since it was too early into the race to walk already.   

I stopped at some point to pee and, in doing so, it clearly showed that I needed more electrolytes, so I got some more with more water, too.  By 1:20 pm, I reached the first turnaround point, Scuppernong.  I changed socks, ate, and refeuled, then I continued running.  At the mile 47 I decided to stop and took care of my blisters on both feet with the help of Vicky.  Once I felt alright about the blisters, I tried to run faster; otherwise, I would have problems with the second cutoff. 

    
At 10:41 pm, I arrived at the start/finish line, where Nate and I met up.  I was tired and with blisters on both feet, I remained in the race, as well as Nate.  I changed the socks again and put Desitin on my feet to protect the blisters for the 10-mile walk with Nate, which was a long time.  Finally, we stopped, and he said he could no longer go on because he hurt his foot and was also too tired.  For no other alternatives, I began to run again and shortly before 5 am, I reached the 77 mile marker, not to mention I fell as a result of low light and fatigue. From this point to Rice Lake turnaround, it took me an two and a half hours back and forth, and this section was supposed to be very technical.  And once again, the worry for the heat came.  With more enthusiasm than ever, I kept my pace, and it was not until mile 97 that I started to look at my watch again.  When I saw the miles continued to get closer to 99, I felt better because I knew it was only a matter of minutes before I got there to the end.  So I just gradually walked and within minutes I crossed the finish line.  Vicky, who helped me tremendously with the blisters and at almost every aid station, was there waiting with open embers to congratulate, as well as the others. 

With the kettle in my hands, I can say that it was a lot of work to win it.  To sum it up, I can say that I know now more about my body and how it responds to the heat.  Hence, I am going to consider this in my future training, for any minor details, let alone the major ones, can greatly affect me (or any ultrarunner).  As was the case this time, about 60% of all runners who started the race had problems with this issue.  So now, I can finally get some good rest at home.  Hope you enjoyed a little bit of my adventure.

                                     

Med-City Marathon in Rochester

May 29th - Med City Marathon Rochester.

I got to the Mayo Civic Center for the Expo at 3pm.  For 2 hours, I greeted runners as they came to pick up their registration and seek advice and tips from us. I recalled a young man who said that this would be his first marathon, and his goal was to finish, but if he could do it in less than 5 hours, it would be excellent.  I gave him some advice and motivation.  For the rest of the time, I talked to Matt and other pacers. 

Afterwards, I toured the city and explored downtown, trying to find some tasty foods.  I loaded myself with tons of carbohydrates from the delicious pizza and pasta in my hotel room. Then I headed for bed, but I was woken up by the whistle of the train at 4:30 am.  So, the rest of the time, I laid there for awhile before I had to get ready.  At 5:40, I caught the bus out to Byron, where we were going to start the race.  It was only about 20 minutes before I met the rest of the pacers.  A few minutes prior to the race, I headed for the restroom since it was on pavement instead of trail. 

7:00 sharp, we all started screaming with excitement.  The runners, as usual, moved along slowly with me; as a pacer, you just want to maintain your pace, so it didn't matter to be first at the finish line.  At the moment, the weather was nice even though there was a threat of rain in the morning, it soon cleared away.  Around the first mile mark, I looked at my watch to check my pace, and I noticed that it was 25 seconds faster.  I quickly corrected it.  Alongside, there was a girl whom I was quite worried about since her breathing apparatus sounded very agitated; I told her to slow down and breathe through her nose.  Meanwhile, other runners began to go faster than me; however, I didn't say anything because in the last race, I was lacking behind by some 15 miles due to the restroom episode. 

The atmosphere became lively when I caught up to them.  We saw a lot of people cheering and clapping their hands, as we got closer to the finish line.  I passed a runner by the 24-mile mark, and she asked me why I was not tired because I going faster than she was.  I told her that I am, but I had to finish on time.  When I breezed by the 26 mile, I saw the US flag.  I was pretty sure that I was 30 seconds ahead of my time, but when I saw the clock, I ran as fast as I could.  However, the timer won, and I crossed the line a minute after my 3:50 goal time.  What a disgrace...but I still carried on cause I have my 100-mile race in Wisconsin waiting for me. 










  

Updates since Arrowhead...

After the Arrowhead race, I took a long break from running; as we know here in Minnesota, the winters are long, so I decided to do some ice climbing with some local friends.

                                                             

April 16, 2011 -
It was time to train and be back on the trail again.  I received an invite on Facebook to run 50K with other ultrarunners, all of whom are very talented like John Taylor who finished 32 races of 100 miles each, and yet he's so humble.  I had a good time after 7 hours and some minutes with them and came home satisfied that I had resumed my training with 50K.

At Chippewa Visitor Center

April 23, 2011 - Initially, my intention was to run the 100K in Kansas City, but a week before the race I felt pain in my legs, so I decided to go slow at the 50K in Chippewa.  It was about 2 hours from where I live, and I brought along a rain jacket since it rained the night before.  It didn't rain too long, and after 20 minutes, I saw some familiar faces - Misty, John Taylor,Helen and Chris.  The trail is 100 % single track with some climbs and mud puddles, which really makes you run cautiously to avoid falling.  Gradually, I felt tired and ran slower, but then when my right foot suddenly hit a rock, I kinda "woke up" cause I felt some pain.  I thought I was going to lose my toenail again , but after 6:23, I finally saw the finish line - how pleasant.

April 30, 2011 -
The marathon in Brainerd was my first debut as a pacer, leading the 4:15 group.  The morning was pouring, which I was fine since I had my rain jacket to test out.  I know that for some runners, it was probably uncomfortable to run in the rain, but for me I enjoy running in any condition.  At the start line with my sign and 18 runners ready to go, the buzzer went off exactly at 8 AM.  We started out at a slow pace during the first 2 miles as a warm-up, then I began to keep my pace of 9:43 m/m, which made some of my runners linger until the last of them encouraged me to slow down my pace a bit.  It wasn't enough to keep my runners, and there were just a few left, one of which was a woman - numbered 24.  She told me 20 days before the race, she suffered a tear in her left knee.  At some point during the race, she felt pain again, and it was uncomfortable for her to continue without aid.  So I tore a strip off my t-shirt and wrapped it around her knee for support until we reached the aid station.  Consequently, this cost me some time, and I was about 9 minutes behind my time, but I was happy to cross the finish line, knowing that I had done my part and contributed to the MN Pacers.

May 1, 2011 -
After a cold bath with ice (and calves compression), once again I declared myself ready for the Minnetonka Half Marathon with now 1:50 as my goal time.  For some reason, it didn't start out well; I had a bad stomachache, and 10 minutes before the race I was still in the bathroom.  The weather was cold and windy, the course had some ups around the lake, and at the end of the goal was a bit muddy.  MN Pacer Tim and I crossed  the line at 10 seconds before our target time, which was very good.  With a medal around my neck, I retired for the day and came home to rest after 2 races in 2 days. 

May 7, 2011 -
New Prague Half Marathon took place south of Minneapolis.  I had a companion with me to our target, Russell, who was as usual 1:45, starting at an easy pace and after the first 1.5 miles, began to maintain a steady rate.  Some runners suddenly started to lag; we just carried on.  When we crossed the 13.1 mile, we checked our watch and noticed we were 5 seconds faster than our target.  The most interesting thing I saw along the way was a runner pushing a child in a wheelchair.  Perhaps a mile before we finally reached the line, we reduced our speed to wait for some runners to cross together the final 14 seconds before our time.  This time without a medal, as they did not expect to meet their goal time.  Then came Leah B., another MN pacer with much more experience than me.  Thanks to everyone who has been following my blog.

Pacing and Me?

I remember when I was 16 years old, I would run with my friend, Carlos, on the beach of La Paz, Mexico.  Carlos was  a good runner, and I was no where near that.  I had no knowledge of nutrition, hydration, clothing, among other elements within the world of ultrarunning.  At the time, I didn't care about that stuff since I was only trying to stay healthy and fit.  Then one day Carlos and I had a dare to try for the 8K, and I
immediately took it without thinking twice.  There was nothing to lose, I thought.  After I ran my first 8K, I continued running, but I was never in any official races until I was 19.  I was in the Army and was signed up for the 10K (only available one at the time).  I ended up in 14th place with 28:00 out of 700 participants.  And now, I find myself competing in all categories from 5K to 150 Mile, as well as moutain biking and adventure races.  In spite of all this, I'm still learning from other runners, just never get tired of asking questions.  Even though I have been in several races, I still get anxious (excited, too) every time I record a race, seeing myself at full speed and getting in touch with Mother Nature.  By the way, I'd recommend cross-country running since there will be less injuries, more fresh air, and less worries about the cars.
Recently, I've been in contact with Sam, leader of the MN pacers.  As a matter of fact, there will be a get-together meeting where pacers and runners will meet and get to know one another a bit.  I'll probably give a little speech about why I am interested in becoming a pacer; this will be my first experience as a pacer.  I hope to do a great job supporting my group of marathoners.  This marathon will be in Brainerd toward the end of April, where I will lead a 4:00 group.  In the meantime, I'm still searching for other pacing opportunities.  For those of you who have had experiences in being  a pacer, please give me some tips and whatnot, so I can prepare myself.
Having said all ths, I'm working on recovering from Arrowhead.  It was definitely a bummer for me, but I'm training myself for next year.  There's about 6 weeks before I see some action again on the trail, but the weather in MN is so unpredictable.  Despite the storm we had last weekend, it's good news for those who ski or ice climb.  Speaking of ice climbing, I will do this for a couple days this week.  I'm looking forward to it!  I will keep you posted for sure and, as always, thanks for being a fan.  Remember - live your life to the fullest and do what you are most passionate about.

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.