The Zen of Ultra Running

Thailand International Half Marathon is always on the 3rd week of December. Last year I ran the race for the first time. Actually, I was not quite impressed with the race and its organization but the timing and distance fit my schedule. This year I asked my extended family if anyone would be interested in running the half marathon (or any distance) with me at this race. One of my cousins has recently started running and done 2 half marathons this year. She wanted to run another one especially when she knew I was going to run with her. Another cousin decided to run her first half at this race. We also persuaded her brother to join us. I had always wanted to run with my family for AGES. Tried to persuade my sisters to start running but none of them was interested. When my cousins (who grew up with me) decided to run this race, I was very excited. We started a group chat called "Happy Running" and used it as our team name when we signed up for the race. Since this race was

My last ultra marathon of the year - Regal Beagle 50K. I ran the inaugural race last year and really liked it. Last year course was flat and fast. I PRed the 50K at this race. This year they had to re-route the course due to heavy rain on Saturday. Some part of the course was flooded and not runnable. The new course had more paved trail but more hilly. I did not go to the training run a week ago but heard from someone who went. After multiple late arrivals at the races this year, I figured it would be better to get there super early (due to limited parking space). The race was only 7 minutes from my house. I got there about 7 - an hour before the race started. Picked up my race packet, ate my pre-race breakfast, and went to the bathroom. Darn, I was so prepared this time. The weather was nice - 50 degrees and sunny when we started. Could not have asked for the better weather. Then, it got warmer during the day so I had to switch from long sleeves to short sleeves t-shirt. I saw

Oh boy, what a busy (and lazy) Thanksgiving break! On Thursday (Thanksgiving), I signed up for the Home Run for the Homeless 4 miler (turkey trot) in Akron. I did this race last year with a colleague (and her family) and really liked the idea of running a turkey trot on Thanksgiving. So, this year I signed up to do it again. A couple of days before the race, I realized that a lot of my running friends would be there, too. That made me even more excited. On the race day, there were sooo many people making it very hard to find my friends. There was a group picture in front of Krispy Kreme at 8:45am. I did not know which group the picture was for and found out later that it was for another group that I have not even run with them (but heard of them). So, I felt bad that I appeared like I belonged to that group in the group picture. After the group picture, I slowly made my way to the front of the pack where I found E. and J. (and their friends). E. is a fast/badass ultra marathon runner

In 2016, when I first moved to NE Ohio, someone told me about Bills' Badass 50K. I also got to run with the race director and became friends with him and the group. I was only training for my first marathon at that time and ran the marathon at Run with Scissors 2 weeks before BBA50K. After considering all the factors involved, I decided NOT to run BBA that year but volunteer at the race instead (to get the feeling/experience of the trail community in NE Ohio). I fell in love with the community on that day.  Bills' Badass 50K started 10 years ago. It's a free race because the RD wanted to make the race accessible to everyone. However, they encourage runners to make donations and each year the money goes to one of the non-profit organizations in NE Ohio.  In 2017, I ran the double marathon at Run with Scissors and had enough of the muddy, wet, cold rain condition that I did not want to run another 50K two weeks later in the same weather condition. So, I again volunte

The first time I ran Autumn Leaves 5 miler was in 2016. I did not run it last year because I just finished the double marathon at Run with Scissors. This year I signed up with a couple of friends again. We also know the race director and wanted to give her the support. The week leading to the race was kinda...blah... It was raining everyday for a week, which made everything so dull. I managed to get some run in everyday even though I did not feel like it. On Friday, I had a curriculum summit on campus in the morning and in the evening I ran with H. on her birthday run. She turned 40 this year and wanted to run 40 miles on her birthday (pretty cool, eh?). She invited a couple of friends to run with her during different sections and I ran 5 miles with her on the Bills' Badass loop. Saturday there was a training run for Bills' Badass 50K. Many people showed up to the group run. We ran about 1.5 loops at BBA before some of us went to grab coffee at the coffee shop in Richfield.

Yep, it's that time of the year again. This past weekend was the 2018 Run with Scissors race. I ran this race as my first marathon in 2016 (4 months after I moved to NE Ohio) and first 50ish miler in 2017 in the worst condition one could have asked for (rainy and muddy). This year I was "voluntold" to be the aid station captain at Pine Hollow. This aid station was the first aid station that the runners will run through (4 miles from the start/finish). Originally, I thought about running the double marathon again this year but because my ankle was still in the not-yet-100% condition and I wanted to help my friends, I agreed to be the aid station captain. About one week before the race day, the RD (S.) emailed me the information and turned out that my aid station had to be opened from 5:30am to 8pm! I was freaking out about the duration of the aid station hours. Not because I did not want to be there but because I did not know anyone who would show up in the wee hours o

The weather had changed dramatically in one week. Last week I was still biking in a humid 70 degree weather on Sunday and stopped by the Towpath marathon to cheer on the runners. This weekend I ran two races (5K and a half marathon) in a 40-50 degree weather. My colleague signed me up to run Komen Race for the Cure 5K on Saturday. I thought "why not?". The race was at the Rubber Duck stadium and we ran as a part of a team that her friend created. The race was to raise money for and awareness to breast cancer, and to celebrate breast cancer survivors. We arrived at the race about an hour prior to the start. It was cold and rainy in the morning. The race was fun and we went to a post-race brunch party at her friend's house. and of course, after the brunch, I came home to shower and went to Brewnuts (as usual). My husband wanted to go somewhere to study for his upcoming test. Where would be better than a donut and beer shop? I was supposed to work while he was st

After the Canal Corridor 100, I was in a boot for 3 weeks. I admit that I kinda lost my running mojo after being in the boot and being away from the trails. My left ankle still hurt every time I ran on trails especially bridle trails. I also shifted my focus to triathlon training. In other words, I was all over the place. A good friend who is also a triathlon coach kindly sent me a brief training program after seeing me freaking out about the Akron marathon. After getting out of the boot, my longest run was still at 12 miles 3 weeks prior to the marathon. Two weeks before the marathon I ran 20 slow miles on uneven trails and that made my injured ankle worse (Yes, I admit that it was a stupid decision to train for my road marathon on trail but I missed trail running and my running friends). Then, we traveled across the world to attend my sister's wedding and were super busy while we were in Bangkok. However, I got a chance to squeeze in 12 miles on Saturday (a week before the mara

Portage lake triathlon was the first and last triathlon race for me in 2018. Because my main focus since the beginning of the year was on the Canal Corridor 100, I did not allocate much time for swimming and biking (let along Brick workouts). Originally, I signed up for Vermillion triathlon (sprint) but I felt that I was not ready before Vermillion so I emailed the race organizer and asked to defer the race to Portage Lake. They were very understanding and switched my registration to Portage Lake sprint tri. A couple of weeks leading to the race day, I'd been biking with B. and K. on Sundays but did not seriously "train" for the race. I was glad to clip in and out of the bike shoes without too much ankle pain. Wednesday before the race I did Brick (bike and run) for the first and last time before the race. I did not have any expectation with this race at all. On the race day, it rained really hard and the temperature dropped to 50+ degrees that morning. Many people

One good thing about not training for any big race is my weekends are more flexible and I don't have to think about how many miles I have to cover on Saturday & Sunday (aka I don't "need" XX miles). As I wanted to slowly get back to running, I did not want to do any "crazy" long run on Saturday. Also, I missed the first Doan creek clean up this year because I ended up in the boot the day before. I decided to go to the 2nd Doan Creek clean up this weekend. It was great to see more than 30 people showed up to do something good to the community. Together we collected over a hundred bags of garbage in Rockefeller park in Cleveland. As I was picking up trash on the trail and on the street, I admit that I was mad at those irresponsible people that did not think about others in the society but themselves. We picked up a lot of beer cans, bottles, snack bags, clothes, fast food containers, etc. Cleaning up Doan Creek makes me want to be a better citizen and a

No running or biking means more time to swim! Last week was a "swimming week" for me. I'm glad that the doctor still allowed me to swim and do easy yoga. After being an inactive couch potato last weekend, I felt like a worthless piece of 💩. By Sunday evening, I was already looking forward to Monday night swim in the lake. The lake only allows weekday swim. I ended up swimming 4 days last week and felt more comfortable swimming. Surprisingly, my ankle also felt better every time I swam. On Friday, we had a pretty good turnout for the morning swim. I figured I will not be able to train on the bike (not enough time between getting off the boot and the race day) but I can still practice swimming. I want to make sure that the ankle is completely back to normal before I start running/biking again. I was supposed to pace a friend at Burning River 100 (she was attempting her first 100 miler) but I could not do it because I ended up in a boot. I was pretty bummed becaus

"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."  - Alexander Graham Bell Yes, I'm benched for a couple of weeks - no running or biking or doing anything that I have to use my ankle and toes. I am allowed to do yoga but have to avoid certain poses like tree pose or other standing poses. I can bike on a recumbent bike (ugh) and swim. Wahoo! I can still swim... At the PT (Physical Therapy) visit last week, I explained the symptoms on my left ankle to my PT. She said it should still be a tendonitis but there was a chance that I could have a stress fracture in the ankle. If I did not feel better by the next visit, she said I should have imaging done on the ankle to see if there was a fracture. Well, I did not wait until the next PT visit to find out. I was supposed to pace a friend on her first 100 miler at Burning River in 2 weeks and if I could not do it, I

One week ago I ran the Canal Corridor 100. One week ago I finished something that I thought it was impossible. Here is my recap of the week after my 2018 epic race (*warning - pretty dark content*) After the race, my husband picked me up and drove me home. Then, he had to leave for a business trip on Sunday afternoon. Before he left, he made sure that I had enough food to survive the next couple of days without leaving the house. I took a nap right after I came home. I thought I was going to sleep longer but I woke up 3 hours later because every part of my body (esp the ankles) hurt so badly that I had to take a painkiller. Walking hurt so much that I ended up crawling (on my hands and knees) from the living room to the kitchen and back because I was hungry. That night I did not sleep well because I was in so much pain. Monday went by and I spent most of the day on the couch. My body and brain were still tired. The bad ankle was still screaming. I tried to think about what happ

As I'm writing this blog (3 days after the race), I still cannot believe that I ran 100 miles this past weekend. Everything was like a dream (a good one) and I am still processing what happened this weekend. After the first 50 miler (Double marathon at Run with Scissors), I was kinda of lost and was not sure what my next goal was going to be. I proved myself that I could run 50 miles (in a bad weather condition). What else should I do? As a typical goal-oriented, Type A person, I needed another goal to motivate me to run and be active. However, I did not "dare" to think about the 100 miler. The distance sounds too scary and I felt like it was only for seasoned ultramarathon runners or really strong people. I am not a type of person who would immediately jump into something without thoroughly calculating the success rate and my own ability. During a run with R., he suggested that I should consider the Canal Corridor 100. It is flat and well-supported (of course, I am als

IT WAS A GREAT WEEKEND!!! I had a blast this past weekend. Last year I was planning on doing the 50 miler at Mohican but the plan got derailed and I was not ready for Mohican 50. So, I ran the double marathon at Run with Scissors (RWS) in October instead. Since I was not able to run the race last year, I helped marking and sweeping the course to learn the route. It was a fun weekend to get involved in a race without actually running it. This year I'd been careful with the weak ankle in the training and replaced easy run days with biking, which worked really well. I also cross-trained by doing kickboxing and yoga to strengthen the core and upper body. Finishing the double marathon at RWS gave me the confidence that I could also finish Mohican 50. The advantage of running the 50 miler at Mohican 100 is that we have the same cut-off time as 100 mile runners (32 hours). So, as long as we keep moving forward, everyone will finish. The day before the race (Friday) This year I w