Swimming week/ Burning River 100 volunteer
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 because I really wanted to be part of her first 100 miler and paid it forward when I could. Since I did not have to pacer my friend, I volunteered at RunningDog Aid Station (Mile 96) instead.
RunningDog AS was at Memorial Parkway trailhead. It was also the last stop before the finish line. In my opinion and experience, any aid station after Mile 50 in a 100-mile race is very crucial. The runners are usually exhausted and they needed AS volunteer's help the most. You also see their low points in the race, which to me is very fascinating. I signed up to volunteer from 4am to 9am on Sunday morning because that's when they needed volunteers the most. I showed up at the aid station about 3:30am. Then, I got to see many faster 100 milers and some relay runners. It's not until the sun came up when we started to get busier.
Now that I have run a 100-mile race, I knew how the runners felt and needed at that point in the race, and was able to offer things they needed. I also got to see many friends that ran either the 100 miler and the back 50 miler, and gave them a hug and emotional support.
What I learned from volunteering at BR100 is the 100/50 miler runners are generally nice to the volunteers. They always appreciate what we do and us being there in the wee hours of the morning but some crew can be mean and rude to the volunteers. I understand that you want to take care of your runner but we are there to help everyone, not just your runner. We have things to do, other runners to take care of, and sometimes we can't get what you want right away. Please be considerate and appreciative of the volunteers.
This is me after 3 hours of sleep and volunteering at the aid station from 3 to 10am.
Sydney
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 because I really wanted to be part of her first 100 miler and paid it forward when I could. Since I did not have to pacer my friend, I volunteered at RunningDog Aid Station (Mile 96) instead.
RunningDog AS was at Memorial Parkway trailhead. It was also the last stop before the finish line. In my opinion and experience, any aid station after Mile 50 in a 100-mile race is very crucial. The runners are usually exhausted and they needed AS volunteer's help the most. You also see their low points in the race, which to me is very fascinating. I signed up to volunteer from 4am to 9am on Sunday morning because that's when they needed volunteers the most. I showed up at the aid station about 3:30am. Then, I got to see many faster 100 milers and some relay runners. It's not until the sun came up when we started to get busier.
Now that I have run a 100-mile race, I knew how the runners felt and needed at that point in the race, and was able to offer things they needed. I also got to see many friends that ran either the 100 miler and the back 50 miler, and gave them a hug and emotional support.
What I learned from volunteering at BR100 is the 100/50 miler runners are generally nice to the volunteers. They always appreciate what we do and us being there in the wee hours of the morning but some crew can be mean and rude to the volunteers. I understand that you want to take care of your runner but we are there to help everyone, not just your runner. We have things to do, other runners to take care of, and sometimes we can't get what you want right away. Please be considerate and appreciative of the volunteers.
This is me after 3 hours of sleep and volunteering at the aid station from 3 to 10am.
Sydney
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