First Ultramarathon race - American river 50 miles
So it's been awfully quiet in the blog land. I'm sure all of you who follows me in facebook are bored with my running update but i figured one more running post won't kill ya .
There were lots of running in the past 4 months. A LOT of running.
Let's just say, it was quite an experience to venture to the running world. Having only did 1 marathon in my life time before i signed up to this race, I knew i was probably jumping way ahead. So i was approaching this journey cautiously. I didn't want to get injured.
My partner in crime and awesome runner Heather (@runlittlegoat) did a lot of research for the training and we settled with MAF training / nutrition plan. Now... the reality is.. i'm not a type A person . So I can only say I did an adaptive MAF training. But for anyone who's curious about MAF training, you should totally check out H's blog.
Alright, to sum it up . 4 months of training, 5 weeks of traveling all over the place ( including 2 countries, 3 states, 1 island ) , 3,5 weeks of sick time. Purple = travel time , green = sick time . I made it to the start line. That's already an achievement!!
Br and my other friend Lori were my crew. I would say, it was great to have a crew and they were awesome! I was looking forward for station where i knew they would be in. I think I might've break down the race based on their location. It was always a mental booster seeing them there. THANK YOU!!
Me and H took shuttle to the start line. It was pretty chilly. I wasn't feeling like eating at all. Must be the race nerves.
The supposed to be full moon night wasn't happening, instead we got a lunar eclipse night. Pretty awesome sight since i never seen one before.
I tried to sneak in some sleep while waiting for the race to start but failed miserably.
Here's the breakdown of my thought through out the race :
6 am - start time : COOLLLDDDD , let's get thing thing started!!
Mile 1: Ha! single track, rolling hills ... okay... maybe it's just for short time.
Mile 5: well that's longer than i thought. My HR is high, maybe suunto is acting up again. O well. let's do nose breathing. See how that goes ( i've been trying to run with my mouth close and just did nose breathing to know i was running in moderate pace. Why nose breathing? no clue)
need to peeeeeee!!! Oh that's one , quick quick quick .. alright back to running.
Mile 5-17 : aah sun.. that's nice.. wait.. more hills? HR still high. Eh, maybe i'll take off my HR belt on the crew station. Did I drink enough calories? maybe i should eat chew? Nah.. not feeling it. I'm passing people . YAY! I probably am going to fast.. man i'm feeling great! I'll ask my crew if i needed to slow down or not. Can't decide
Mile 17: sweet 3 more miles to my crews. Wait.. i haven't seen orange marker for awhile.. &^*#$%!* the map said i'm going south!! GAH!! SERIOUSLY .. okie the girl said just went straight to the aid station . Why is this girl with a dog looking at me weird. REALLY?? not AGAIN! BAH!! *turned around to the other intersection . AAARRGGHH so mad.. too fast.. too fast.. don't blow it out.. HEATHER!! .. i'm going way too fast.. i'm gonna screw up this race...
Mile 20 : where's my crew? man i'm totally becoming a grumpy runner. Gotta keep running!
Mile 20-29 : i was a bitch on the last aid station :( sorry guys! alright.. i'm passing the same people again.. i can do this.. settle at the new pace.. don't blow it out.. i got this.. oh man this feels good... energy's good. leg's good. pace is good. woohooooo
Mile 29-40 : longest stretch, longest miles! technical terrain, yeeeeuuhhh i like it! just don't fall. Dang, that's a lot of poison oak. O well... Man it's hot. I need ice in the next station. Wait.. the aid station is down there? So i have to run up again after? That's just mean...
Mile 40-49 : okay.. there will be hills. i'll run when it's flat. It'll start at 43.. Alright.. it's starting.. Ough.. that's steep. more walking .. there's no flat !! *facepalm.. hey! the guy with the same socks!
Mile 49-50 : last mile.. last mile.. last mile.. it's there!! will there even be a flat before the finish line??? AAHHH finish line!!!!!! i can stop now! YAY!
 |
| the difference in miles from last year |
Let's just say, it was quite an experience to venture to the running world. Having only did 1 marathon in my life time before i signed up to this race, I knew i was probably jumping way ahead. So i was approaching this journey cautiously. I didn't want to get injured.
 |
| the plan of attack |
Alright, to sum it up . 4 months of training, 5 weeks of traveling all over the place ( including 2 countries, 3 states, 1 island ) , 3,5 weeks of sick time. Purple = travel time , green = sick time . I made it to the start line. That's already an achievement!!
Br and my other friend Lori were my crew. I would say, it was great to have a crew and they were awesome! I was looking forward for station where i knew they would be in. I think I might've break down the race based on their location. It was always a mental booster seeing them there. THANK YOU!!
 |
| race gear |
The supposed to be full moon night wasn't happening, instead we got a lunar eclipse night. Pretty awesome sight since i never seen one before.
I tried to sneak in some sleep while waiting for the race to start but failed miserably.
Here's the breakdown of my thought through out the race :
 |
| random photos |
6 am - start time : COOLLLDDDD , let's get thing thing started!!
Mile 1: Ha! single track, rolling hills ... okay... maybe it's just for short time.
Mile 5: well that's longer than i thought. My HR is high, maybe suunto is acting up again. O well. let's do nose breathing. See how that goes ( i've been trying to run with my mouth close and just did nose breathing to know i was running in moderate pace. Why nose breathing? no clue)
need to peeeeeee!!! Oh that's one , quick quick quick .. alright back to running.
Mile 5-17 : aah sun.. that's nice.. wait.. more hills? HR still high. Eh, maybe i'll take off my HR belt on the crew station. Did I drink enough calories? maybe i should eat chew? Nah.. not feeling it. I'm passing people . YAY! I probably am going to fast.. man i'm feeling great! I'll ask my crew if i needed to slow down or not. Can't decide
 |
| lost for 2,8 miles :( |
Mile 20 : where's my crew? man i'm totally becoming a grumpy runner. Gotta keep running!
Mile 20-29 : i was a bitch on the last aid station :( sorry guys! alright.. i'm passing the same people again.. i can do this.. settle at the new pace.. don't blow it out.. i got this.. oh man this feels good... energy's good. leg's good. pace is good. woohooooo
Mile 29-40 : longest stretch, longest miles! technical terrain, yeeeeuuhhh i like it! just don't fall. Dang, that's a lot of poison oak. O well... Man it's hot. I need ice in the next station. Wait.. the aid station is down there? So i have to run up again after? That's just mean...
Mile 40-49 : okay.. there will be hills. i'll run when it's flat. It'll start at 43.. Alright.. it's starting.. Ough.. that's steep. more walking .. there's no flat !! *facepalm.. hey! the guy with the same socks!
Mile 49-50 : last mile.. last mile.. last mile.. it's there!! will there even be a flat before the finish line??? AAHHH finish line!!!!!! i can stop now! YAY!
 | |
| finished!! Kali is happy that it was over too |
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| awesome recovery boots |
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