Epilepsy and 24-Hour Training

I'm finally getting to the "home" stretch in training for the World 24-hour race with less than one month to go.  I have to admit I am getting a little bored with running so much and I am probably the slacker among all of my teammates.  My crazy team member, Carilyn Johnson, has been racking up 140+ miles a week.  I cannot even fathom that!

In order to keep some of my sanity while training, I've started listening to audiobooks.  I have learned that there is an art to picking the right audiobook book, not always the most literary book is the best one to listen to for hours on end.  My mind tends to wander as I'm running so if the plot is too complicated, I get hopelessly lost.  In the last few months I've listened to the following books that were good listening "reads:" The Double Bind and Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian, Goodbye Columbus by Philip Roth, Wild by Cheryl Strayed and A Free Life by Ha Jin. 

When I am not wrapped up in audiobooks, I've been out running for the Epilepsy Association.  Again this year, we are sponsoring a program called "The Virtual Runner."  You can sign up at the Epilepsy Association website.  From August through October, you log your race miles (can be run anywhere in the World and any length).  At the end of the race period, the runner with either the most miles run or the most money raised wins a prize.  We are looking for more runners, so please sign up if you're looking for a way to give back to a charity through running!

We kicked off the Virtual Runner this past Saturday with a training run at Edgewater Park, the home of the North Coast 24-hour race. 

Enjoying cool temps at the beach at Edgewater Park 

Everyone ran some loops (some running 20 miles while I opted for 6-ish miles) and then we chowed down on breakfast.  It was awesome getting to meet new runners and get together for a good cause.  While listening to audiobooks passes the time, this is a much more rewarding way to run!