Mao Mao Speaks

The February 2nd, 2018 me never thought I would be writing this race report.  That me was sitting alone in a Shenzhen hotel room wondering how the hell I was going to make it through another day.  That me was far away from home and wrestling with a million demons.  That me wasn't happy or really running much at all.   The December 11th, 2018 me is still in shock that I can say I entered, was selected to run (by the skin of my teeth) and finished the Hellgate 100k.   The race is small in field by design and daunting in it's rugged toughness.   As you climb and descend the course changes effortlessly, slyly from technical to flowing and then back again.   Just as you become comfortable with your pace and find your flow you realize it is time to adjust.  Adjust, because now you are on a gravel road.  Adjust, because now you struggle to find even footing.  Adjust.  My training was pretty good heading into Hell...

"Number 97, Sean Raines!  That is a good looking jacket!"  Those are the words of Dr. David Horton as I crossed the finish line at the Holiday Lake "50k" Saturday (Feb. 12 2018).  The jacket he was referring to was my greenish yellow Patagonia Houdini.  This particular style of jacket was awarded to those who finished the Hellgate 100k a few years ago.  It was also not the first time that day I had been confused with a finisher of the Hellgate 100k which is why I know said jacket was an award that year.  And that is what I want to write about today.  Bear with me, it might not make sense but  I will try to draw the comparison to my performance at Holiday Lake and the confusion my clothes caused. The day started as normally as any other ultra I have run.  I woke up pretty easily.  So easily that I am not sure I really slept the night before. It was a restless night.  As restless as many of my nights have been lately.  Regardle...

The grind of China is unrelenting.  It is strange to me that the more time I spend in China the more I learn I don’t know anything of significance about Chinese culture.  Even after 8 years the only thing familiar is the unfamiliarity of it all.  The people.  The culture.  The food.  The bathrooms (holy crap, the bathrooms).  And even without the warm comfort familiarity brings I still enjoy visiting China.  Today, I will write about what I know and, more importantly, what I have yet to learn. “This is China”.  A quote I hear all too often.  Usually after something indescribable happens.  Something that is so different that is evident to not only me that I will never understand.  As an example; Once, probably my first trip, my colleagues and I were picked up at the hotel to start our work day.  On the way out we passed through a toll station.  We passed that station every morning of the week prior.  Ther...

Rolling into aid station 6, mile ~26 of EDU (Eastern Divide Ultra) I was feeling pretty good.  I had walked most of the climb headed into aid station 6 but picked up my pace when I saw one Pawl Nazarewicz cheering me on from the top of the climb.  It was good to see him and it lifted my spirits.  Standing behind him was Rick.  Just past Rick was Kristen, Linda and Michelle.   Stepping up to the table I spoke to Jordan.  As he filled my water bottle and Michelle handed me a Popsicle (sorry Trevor) I bent over to get a little stretch on my legs and take a deep breath.  Deep in a cave of regret.  Jordy poured cold water on my neck (2 cups) and said "you're not going to like this but you need it.  So yeah... I don't care, you need it." photo cred goes to Kristen Chang He was right.  The cold treat and cold water in my bottle was a boost.  The cheers from friends and words of encouragement, a spirit lifter.  But it was the ...

We were lost.  Not "Cast Away" lost but, lost.  This was before GPS was readily available.  Smart phones weren't on the market yet.  iPods could only be purchased with click wheels.  Somewhere in the middle of Ohio on a February day Deb and I were driving around with our printed Mapquest directions and a cell phone. We were looking for a dog shelter.  Living in this shelter was a dog name Ricky. Ricky had been found via the Pet Finder website by Deb.  And she was in love.  Our friend, and Deb's coworker, Mindy had asked the folks that ran that shelter to hold onto Ricky so that we could come and pick him up.  And we were lost. Just when we were both about to give up, just before the closing time for this shelter...we found it.  It was a modest shelter.  Little cubicles made of cinder blocks with chain link fence doors lined the walls.  I don't remember the number of cubicles.  I don't remember how many dogs were in the...

January and February are usually  tough months for me.  Lack of sunshine, work stress and self diagnosed seasonal depression all descend on me at once, in one fell swoop.  This leaves my head swimming with a wonderful cocktail of anxiety and self depreciation.  It isn't uncommon for me to retreat into myself.  Last year I had running to focus on.  Holiday Lake 50k++ on the horizon.  I had things to keep me busy and things to look forward to.  This year... I have Umstead 100 mile endurance race and (had) Holiday Lake 50K++, the return of Mao Mao.   But this year I also have a pretty angry left leg.  My tibia is pissed.  And it has every right to be. I've overworked it even though it has been giving me the warning signs of something being wrong.  In short I haven't enjoyed a run since early December.   But this post isn't about leg pain, leg pain management or for me to complain about the pain.  I have already po...

I finished.   This is something that shouldn't be taken lightly or overlooked.  Yet, I found myself taking that fact for granted in the few weeks leading up to the MMTR.  More about that in a minute, but first... For the uninitiated, the MMTR stands for Mountain Masochist Trail Run, 50 miler.  The MMTR is directed by Clark Zealand and has been run for the past 34 years.  It is a tough, rugged run. 50+ miles with 9,000 feet of technical gain.  And Clark does a wonderful job organizing this event.  He does so after organizing the Grindstone 100 miler.  So in many ways, he is the one with the most endurance of us all. Thanks Clark and thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who were there to make sure that all 16  of the aid stations were run so well! Now that a few days have went by and I have had time to process the events of Saturday, November 5th I feel like it is OK for me post on my blog about how I feel.   A few things that my fri...