It’s been three weeks since my last blog post. My life has been quite busy with starting a new job, doing husband things, and training for a 200 mile race.

Also, we just found out that my wife, Kerong, is pregnant with our first child. Amazing. Hearing that for the first time is breathtaking. Different emotions start coming up. First, shock, then excitement, then some anxiety, then more excitement and curiosity. The coming months will be an interesting and new experience. I will strive to be as supportive as possible, as Kerong will be the one carrying most of the weight (pun intended) of our baby.

Three weeks ago I completed my first 100 mile week of running, reaching 118 miles. The next week I dropped my mileage back down to 63 miles, although it was supposed to be about 80 miles. I came up short because I had to cut my planned 45 mile long run to about 30 miles. This run would be a major learning experience about what my body needs at different temperature and sun exposure levels.

I gained a lot of confidence in my fitness after putting together a 118 mile week, so, I decided to go for a 45 mile route the next weekend. This was a beautiful link of the front and back country trails, organized by another local SB runner. My good friend, Helen, also has a fast FKT on the route. In the spirit of friendly competition, I wanted to go beat Helen’s time.

The morning started out going well with a big climb on techy trails and then a 2-3 mile flowy descent on service road. I was making good time. However, on the descent, I saw a dead snake sprawled across the path. For some reason, this felt like a bad omen, but I pushed the thought aside and continued on.

After descending for a couple miles, the route takes a turn onto a singletrack path, leading into more remote backcountry areas. The trail was very overgrown, and sometimes difficult to find. A couple miles later, I saw a pair of boots on the trail, perfectly undisturbed. This was an odd sighting, making me feel a bit uneasy. It was around this time I noticed the sun heating up the land much more than I anticipated. I continued on.

The trail continued to become more overgrown and difficult to navigate. One section took me along the side of a canyon wall, with multiple sections destroyed by mudslides. This was very taxing to navigate in the increasing heat. I eventually got to a shady campsite near a creek. As I jogged through I saw large pile of bear scat. It did not have a strong smell, so I thought its probably old and the bear was probably not near anymore, but I still got very nervous. At this point I also noticed that I was getting low on water. So I went to the creek to filter some water. Unfortunately I discovered that I had left my water filter in my car. I immediately realized I was in a bad position. I did not have nearly enough water to complete the 45 mile route. I was only at mile 15 or 16 at this point. I decided at the moment to take a bailout route to get back to the car.

I still needed to climb up and over the mountain and descend quite a ways to get back. I knew I would have to ration the rest of my water. I took the climb very slow. It felt like it took eternity. By the time I reached the top of the mountain, I had nearly finished my water. At the top, I realized I had about 8 miles left. It was going to be a 30 mile day. And that final 8 would take about 3 hours. I was totally out of water within a mile of descending. I could feel the heat squeezing the energy out of me. Every movement felt so hard.

Eventually I made it back to the car alive, but very dehydrated. I had to take many breaks to sit on rocks in whatever small shade I could find. That run absolutely sucked, but it made me realize how much more water I need to carry if conditions get hot. That lesson will be good to bring to Tahoe.

The next weekend, my good friend Jon ran the Born to Run 100 mile race in Los Olivos, CA. Kerong and I and fellow runner, Sophia, went out to crew/pace on Saturday afternoon. When we arrived, Jon was just finishing up mile 80. I helped him get resupplied and jumped in to pace all the way to the finish. Little did I know, the final 20 miles would turn into an 8 hour odyssey through deep discomfort for Jon. He fought a very nauseous stomach for last 20 miles. This made it difficult for him to eat anything, which only made the nausea worse. Being witness to this also taught me some lessons for Tahoe. It will be very important to stay on top of nutrition and to pace myself conservatively to not drain the tank to early. Nausea can be very debilitating because the only way to really solve it is to stop moving and let your body reset. I want to try to avoid these long breaks at Tahoe. It was very inspiring to see Jon push through the pain and get to the finish line. It showed me that is still possible, even when the body wants to totally shut down.

This past week was the last big week hump in the training block. I hit 100 miles, with about 21,000 feet of vertical. On Saturday, I did 40 miles with about 11,500 feet of vertical, followed by a 21 miler, with 5,000 feet of vertical on Sunday. The weather was excellent for long running days: somewhat overcast with a slight breeze. No water issues. Both days were hard but doable. I was able to keep a positive spirit for most of the time. I also managed to stay safe with no ankle rolls or falls. My body feels like it is in a good position to pull back on the training and float into race day ready to roll. Tahoe is three weekends away from now. The next two weeks will mostly consist of easy, relaxed runs to maintain the fitness I have built.

Some music selections from the last couple weeks of running:

Billy Strings 4/19/2025 Cary, NC. Thanks to taper: Z-Man.

Greensky Bluegrass album Shouted, Written Down, and Quoted.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit album Reunions. Really good songwriting.

Bill Frisell album Good Dog, Happy Man. Kerong and I went to Bill’s concert in SB this week, very cool band with a lot of chemistry.

Jonathan Wilson album Dixie Blur. Such cool song structures. Like little ecosystems working together.

Brent Cobb album Keep Em’ on They Toes.

Allman Brothers Band album Eat A Peach.

Faye Webster album Atlanta Millionaires Club.

Mighty Poplar self titled album.

Courtney Barnett album The Double Ep: A Sea of Split Peas.

Vampire Weekend album Father of the Bride.

American Aquarium album The Fear of Standing Still.