The Zen of Ultra Running

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...