The Zen of Ultra Running

It's another hot race this year! (After Hamburg half marathon and Vermont 100) I started the race injured and undertrained (as usual). The week leading to the race day I was really anxious about the race as my ankle was still not 100% and I had not been running much since YUTC 50K. Work was also overwhelming and running was not my first priority. The weekend before the race day I went out to check the back half of the course with A. (10 miles) so I knew what to expect. Worst case scenario I would just walk the back half of the course. Race morning I woke up early and drove to the finish line to catch the shuttle at 6am. Some people were skeptical about the new course and the new start line. This year the Akron marathon moved the start line to be at Stan Hywet hall. So, most people have to park at the finish (Canal Park) and take the shuttle to the start line. The process was easier and faster than I expected. Once I got to Stan Hywet I used the restroom and checked my gear ...

Great race. great course. great volunteers. Youngstown Ultra Trail Classic 50K is an old school ultra marathon event in Youngstown, OH. It's a club race put together by NEO trail running club. It's so old school that they only accept paper registration (you have to send in the paper registration form and a check). I wanted to run the race last year but I ended up in a boot after the CC100. This year I sent in my registration fee early as I did not want to miss the event. I know NEO trail club because they run one of the aid stations at the CC100. Great group of people. There are 2 distances - 25K and 50K. Of course, I signed up for the 50K. Who knew I would roll my ankle 2 weeks prior to the race? *sigh A week leading up to the race day, I did minimal running but instead did a lot of cross training to save my ankle. I was pretty bummed that no matter how much I tried to rest and do the ankle exercises, the bad ankle still hurt a bit when I walked. On the race day, I s...

Despite the beginning of the school year crisis, I managed to have some fun this weekend (after missing all the fun on the labor day weekend because of work). On Saturday, a group of us signed up for the Cleveland Fundo 30-mile bike ride around Cleveland. We started in Edgewater Park and rode to the Eastside and back. I had always wanted to explore Cleveland on the bike but did not have a chance until this event. Some friends did the 60 miles option last year and loved it. This year we opted for the shorter option because we were not ready for a long ride, which I was totally cool with the decision. I rolled my ankle during the run on Tuesday and it still hurt several days later. So, biking was the perfect opportunity to stay active without running. Rode through downtown Cleveland on Saturday morning. Very quiet. After the ride, we had lunch at the event before I came home to take a nap (and finish some work).  On Sunday morning, I woke up early to run some ...

First race since Vermont 100 in July. After Vermont DNF, I lost my motivation to exercise. It had become extremely hard for me to put on the running shoes and go out for a run or even go to a yoga class. All I wanted to do (besides working) was....nothing. I went out for a couple of runs with friends but was not able to get out and run by myself. My sleep schedule was messed up. I also tried to catch up with the work that I was supposed to finish before the beginning of the new school year. So, I was kinda stressed out about that. Then, a group of friends told me to sign up for the PorchRokr 5K, which is a 5K race on the morning of PorchRokr event in Akron. They said it's a small race and I knew the organizer. I thought it would be nice to shift gears from running a long endurance race to race a short race to see how I felt. I arrived at the race early for packet pick up. Then, did a warm up run before the race. I saw a lot of friends at the event and that was nice. PorchRokr...