The Zen of Ultra Running

First trail race of the year. The first time I ran trail was in 2014 at Surly loppet trail run. It was 7 miles (same distance) but at that time I did not even know what trail running was. I felt weird and enjoyed the race at the same time. After that race, I did not run any trail again until late of last year.  The starting point of everything was when I volunteered at the Fall back blast. I was motivated by all runners to start trail running. I joined CVTR on their regular runs. This year I signed up for the big trail race - Superior Spring Trail 25K in May. The Chippewa 10K trail race was the perfect practice race for Superior Spring Trail.  The race was in New Auburn, WI only 45 minutes from Eau Claire. Drove there with Ann and Cate in the morning. Both of them were faster than me and I'd been sick for a past week. I decided to take it slow and enjoy the race. Ended up running with Sharyn and Jessica whom I met through different occasions in Eau Claire. We had fun an...

Spring Fever 5K and 10K is usually a good race if one is doing a half or a full marathon. It's a race that you can do the speed workout (because you are 'racing'). I did this race last year (10K) to prepare myself of the EC half marathon. This year, because I got more involved with the track club, I both volunteered and ran at this race (both 10K and 5K). They were looking for someone to work at the registration area so I signed up for that. Arrived at the race location at 7am and helped at the day-off registration counter. Then, the 10K race started at 8.30am. My goal was to run 'faster' than the last one and try to get in under 1 hour. Turned out that it went better than I thought so I came in around 56 mins (fast for me). The weather was kinda chilly and windy this morning (c'mon Spring, please give us warmer weather). The 5K race did not start until 10am (I guess that's because they needed to give enough time for people to finish their 10K). So, ...

Finally nailed the eight angle pose. I was able to get in and out of the pose smoothly and hold the pose for at least 2-3 breaths. Yay.

The training for the Eau Claire marathon has begun! University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has a long distance running class for the students and community members who want to start running or learn how to run long distance. The class is organized by a professor who is also a part of the Indianhead Track Club. Every Saturday morning there is a long run starting at Haas fine art building and everyone is welcome to join the run. My running group also joins their run to support the club event. The run starts at 8.15 and we usually run 10 miles (although the distance varies depending on the week). I have missed some of the runs because I was out of town. I have been under high stress lately, which I think it affects my performance (as stress takes the hit on my body). However, things are better now than in the past 2-3 weeks and I should be able to come back to my routine workout. Two months until the EC half marathon! How exciting...

*This is the article that I wrote for Indianhead Track Club newsletter* When someone talks about Thailand, the first thing that comes to mind would be Thai food – Pad Thai, Tom Yum, or green curry. Most people know Thailand by its delicious food and beautiful beaches (and, of course, inexpensive cost of living). As a person from Thailand who has lived in and traveled to many countries, this is how I promote Thailand. Recently, running has become a “trendy” activity among Thais. The number of race participants has grown significantly in the past couple of years. There are many races that you can sign up for on almost every weekend. Most people run a race because their friends are running and, yes, to take selfies and post the pictures on social media showing that they live a “healthy and active” lifestyle. This winter my husband and I went back to visit our families and friends in Bangkok, Thailand, the city where both of us are from. I knew it would be difficult to maintain ...

Last run of the year with Indianhead Track Club before I leave for Thailand for winter break. It was sunny and super cold (9F, -4F with wind chill). The run started at the same place that we always meet on Saturday morning - Owen park. We had a great turnout this year and everyone's sweater was beyond my expectation. My ugly sweater was "too cute" compared to others'. Need to work harder next year!!! I got my ugly sweater from Savers and paid 3 dollars for it. Got to use it twice this year (once to the department party and another for the run). We ran the same loop (5 mile Carson park) and came back to drink hot chocolate and coffee with some treats. I brought the wrong pair of glove so my hands were freezing! urgh. After the drinks, we ran the loop for the second time. This time my hands were too cold and that made me miserable. So, I decided to did the short loop (only 4 miles). The total was 9 miles on that day. Indianhead Track Club people are sup...

I originally signed up for Thermal 3 (3 miles) but switched to 8 miles on the race morning. The course was quite hilly (I was told there was ONLY one hill). It turned out that there were more than ONE and it's also windy. However, we were fortunate to have a nice weather on the race day (40F, sunny). I was glad to run 8 miles and get to spend more time on the road :) Final time was okay. My average pace was 9.19 min/mile (improved from last time) but I'm happy with it. Better yet, I felt involved in the community for the first time. So, I wrote a post on my FB page below. *Repost from my Facebook page* Six months ago at an ITC race, I walked into the registration area to pick up the race package by myself. I did not know anyone and most people were there with their friends or family. At that time, we had been in EC for almost 2 years and still did not know many people. I felt out of place. After the race, I sent an email to  Paul Wagner  asking why I should join ‪#‎...