Viet’s Blog

It’s really hard to put this event in a box. In all technicalities, it’s a 200ish mile relay race with 36 stages. And due to its nature, it really can't be compared to any other "standard" race distances, such as a Marathon, a 10km, or a 5km race. To some, it’s a fun run. To others, it’s the highlight race of the year. And maybe for a team of 12 runners with 12 different viewpoints and expectations, it’s going to be a little different for everyone.  This year is my 7th year running it in a row (6 if you exclude the virtual hood to coast from 2020). As I get a little older and get more miles underneath my feet, my own viewpoint of the race has changed as well. At first, the sheer distance seemed insurmountable. As I grew as a runner, it turned more into a fun run. Now after doing it several times and seeing it from the perspective of both Vans multiple times, I take on more of an ambassador role. Of course I'm still going to try to run fast, but that's going to be ...

This race was 100% impulse sign up the second I got the OK from the doctor that I wasn’t going to drop dead from my heart condition.   Not being allowed to stand on my own for over a day made me feel like I needed to get outside and be alive again. My hospital episode was on June 16/17 and the next available race was July 4th. So I went for it. Of course the race was sold out but they had a limited number of bibs at packet pick up, so I took time off work to get to the shoe store (foot traffic is a local chain of stores that organized the race) to get one.  My training block is basically blown to bits and I was battling some runners knee in my right leg but I was going to will myself to run this race.  I had yet another setback when I tweaked my lower back moving a mattress the day before. It was so stiff that I had to take some ibuprofen, stretch, and spend 45 minutes in a salt bath. My back was so stiff, I had trouble even getting in and out of bed! Didn’t matter. I was...

How the Concert Started How My Evening Ended I wanted to write something clever for this blog post, but I think the pictures do a good enough job getting your attention. Here’s how i ended up in the hospital. I had collapsed in the middle of June at a Death Cab for Cutie concert. When the medics checked me out, they noticed an irregular heart rhythm suggesting that a heart attack was imminent.  An ambulance came and a second set of EMTs performed another EKG. Since it was at a concert venue, they thought maybe interference from the music or the instruments was skewing the measurements. I t wasn’t. The second EKG confirmed the irregular heart rhythm so they treated me as if I was at risk for a cardiac event. It was puzzling for them because I was an otherwise healthy middle aged man. How could I be at risk for a cardiac event? My evening went from “ Death Cab for Cutie ” to “ Really Expensive Cab to Hospital ”  Upon arrival at the ER they perform a third EKG, which was no diffe...

  Here’s some video I recorded from the race. I hate that the YouTube algorithm chose the frame of me grimacing in pain— but whatever, once I figure out how to use Canva maybe I’ll make a better thumbnail.  Thanks for watching!

(Photo Credit: Dan Fauss @fullsendmedia) Summary : The course was 50 km with 1200 meters of elevation gain (or about 31 miles/4000 ft of gain) Finished  in 7:37. Overall winners had times of close to 4 hours I finished near the back of the pack, though there were still some who were out there after 8 or 9 hours. Key Takeaways : hill repeats are OP. They are what got me to the finish line Unless you are familiar with the course, you’re probably going to go slower than you think Lube up if you don’t want to chafe Dial in your nutrition/water/salts or else you’re going to be in trouble Ok, now the breakdown: TRAINING I started my training block with Jack Daniel’s in late January but the Q runs were too difficult to pull off in the middle of the week with a full time schedule. Plus the JD plan was geared more towards road marathons as opposed to ultra trail running. But I still used the principles.  Sundays were still a long day with stretches at faster pace. Eventually I settled ...