THE FIRST BDM DOUBLE FINISH

Okay, BR called me "baliw at bingi" (crazy and deaf) after crossing the finish line for BDM102 yesterday. The crazy part I understand as who would have thought of doing the back-to-back BDM races (BDM102 after a week of racing BDM160). The deaf part was when I was talking to my friends and I could hardly hear him calling me out for the standard photo shoot at the finish line. Funny moment.

BDM160K Race Report

Just like my first 100 miler (GNW100) last November 2010, I don't know where to begin my story. Among my races, this is the most dramatic on account of what happened during the last 5K of the race. More on this in a while.

Personally though, the huge difference between GNW100 and BDM160 is in terms of goal. In GNW100, it was merely to finish within the cut-off time and experience a 100 mile race. In BDM160, the disparity is huge, i.e., to make it to top three (something which I did not hide).

AWESOME WEEK

It has been an awesome week for several reasons. (No, I did not win a lottery.) One reason is the 160K training per week is not elusive anymore. Second, both high volume and speed were successfully incorporated into my training with positive results and thirdly, winning two (2) events in a race last Friday. 

I remember taking a mental note during my last post on my desire/wish to reach a high mileage the week before tapering. Last week was rather uneventful as it was a rest cycle after 2 weeks of priority training. That is not to say I did not run. Rather, my mileage did not reach a triple digit. The priority was rest after all. It worked. You break down your body but make sure you rebuild it again. Rest is an indispensable part of training. 

GOOD WEEKS

The past 2 weeks have been good in terms of training for BDM160 (the BDM120 being a bonus :). Nothing extraordinary significant but nothing mundane either. The fact that there is no lingering soreness or any sign of deterioration on my health so far is something to be thankful for.

HEAT?

The initial plan was to do 3x25k yesterday. The loop of 25K is the New Balance Power race route (which race did not push through last year). That would bring it to 75K and add 2 more kilometers for a total of 120K (which is nothing significant) for this week's total mileage. (Hopefully, I can come close to 140-160K of weekly training before BDM160. Having said that, one should not get carried away by numbers.)

THE CULPRIT AND UTMB

CULPRIT

I had been nursing a tender left plantar - the part or spot below the forefoot. It is something not necessarily painful or debilitating as I still could run but it was annoying to say the least. I had not experienced this before, during or even right after GNW100. Even when I paced my 2 runners during the QCIMarathon, there was none. The soreness became apparent while running Milo Finals up until Fat Ass although it did not prevent me from racking up more than 110K of weekly distance of training.

FAT ASS IS FULL AND ... LIVE!!! ... FINAL LIST, GUIDELINES, ETC.

Happy New Year, folks!

This year seems to bring a lot of energy and new goals for the runners. Time to chart your own destiny.

FAT ASS IS FULL AND ... LIVE!!! (Think of  the UFC announcer when you read - "LIVE!!!" :)

PRE-RACE THOUGHTS ON BDM160 and BDM102 RACES

Remember these words during BDM102/160 or any ultra 100k and beyond for that matter:

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." - Kahlil Gibran


Bataan Death March (BDM) 160km will be one of my goal races for 2011 aside from UTMB. We might as well run/race while we are still relatively young (My golly I will be 41 by 06 January 2011). FAT ASS though will always hold a special place in my heart. It is not because I am one of the organizers but because it is the only running event where it is so relaxing to log in ultra distance and NOT feel drained or exhausted afterwards. The camaraderie is top notch as well. Unbelievable bonding and yet there was the subtle competition among the participants. My main concern now is the same which can be found in this post. To quote the pertinent portion: