Running On Thin Ice

US 24-Hour Nationals Springing Foward

2012-01-17T18:22:00.001-05:00

Due to the 24-Hour World competition taking place in September this year, the 2012 US National 24-Hour Championship has been scheduled by USATF to the Spring.... May 5-6, 2012 in Cleveland. The venue for the race is exactly the same as the Fall North Coast 24-hour race - Edgewater Park, approximately a .9 mile loop.

Having run the race three times, I can testify that the course can't be beat. Super fast times are for the taking... and while this race will not automatically qualify anyone to run at the 2012 Worlds, you can still qualify for the World race if you run lots of miles! At this point, according to USATF representatives, race results from the Spring 2012 National Championship could qualify a runner for BOTH the 2012 Worlds (in Poland this September) AND the 2013 Worlds (in the Netherlands in May 2013). I think that is an excellent incentive to run this race!! I will be there.

Following the Philosophy of Yiannis

2011-12-28T10:55:00.001-05:00

A surprising benefit of running the Desert Solstice race a few weeks ago was the goodie bag, which had a copy of the DVD “Forever Running,” featuring Yiannis Kouros. For anyone who hasn’t heard of Yiannis, he is the best ultrarunner ever, holding many records including the World’s 24-hour record at 188 miles. He set that record in 1997 and many believe it is untouchable.

After returning from the race, while procrastinating over writing out holiday cards, I decided to distract myself and popped in the DVD to check it out. Not knowing what to expect, I quickly became engrossed in this seemingly low-budget movie shot in Greek with English subtitles. Most of the DVD is Yiannis either running or providing insights into his philosophy of running and training, etc.

It is hard to compare myself to Yiannis. I require more that 2 ½ hours of sleep a night. I also do not run marathons in sub-3 hours. I also do not have 150-plus World records!

It turns out, however, that Yiannis and I do have a few things in common. Unwittingly, over the years, I have subscribed to some of his training philosophy. I wholeheartedly agree with Yiannis’ observation that “some runners worship the body, simply run all day. If I am to do this, I shall become inhuman and will not find inspiration in the race. I practice a couple of hours morning and evening with many breaks. Run too much, where is time for something else? … I disagree with speed and quantities; I do quality training with rhythm depending on the race’s needs.”

I am also in the less is more camp. Unlike many runners I know who spend their entire weekend running, I spend very little time running but instead enjoy time with family, friends and other hobbies. Then, when I actually run a 24-hour race, the experience is very fresh since going into the race I haven’t run for more than 4-5 hours at a time. For my preparation for my last 24-hour race at the North Coast 24 in September, I concentrated on speed work and running twice a day and had my best race ever!

Yiannis also comments on the concept of patience in an ultra race. “The verb ‘endure’ is not a physical verb, it’s a spiritual one. Endure means to withstand…you must be patient and then do solid training. Without patience, you will never conquer endurance.” Also, “No one completes a race via his body but with his mind.”

I too think of the 24-hour race as more of a spiritual experience than a physical one. I find it to be a form a meditation. In a 24-hour race, there are no physical obstacles, no need to pay attention to rocks, roots or see if you’re still on the course. It is just running and, at its best, I tune out everything and just concentrate on running. I ignore other runners since, as Yiannis also says, “we are not racing against co-runners but we are racing against nature, clock, time, distance.” Those are the only thoughts that cross my mind as well. I know that at the end of the race many runners who are faster and much more talented than me will have faltered so I do not pay any attention to them but only to the clock, time and distance…. You can be well trained but if your mind is not focused – a certain mental toughness – your body will not cooperate.

Finally Yiannis sums up why ultrarunners run. “The rational in doing such a sport is to experience the extraordinary moments of ‘exceeding.’ You cannot experience them in normal life.” Ultras are truly extraordinary events and it is for this reason that we all keep returning to run them again and again.

Desert Solstice - Breaking Records on a Track

2011-12-19T15:15:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, I received an e-mail from Nick Coury inviting me to a track 24-hour race in Phoenix called the Desert Solstice. The purpose of the race was for record setting and as a qualifier for the 2012 U.S. 24-Hour team. The idea of running a track race has always intrigued me. Running at its purest. Nothing to think about, just running.

I had been fortunate to actually qualify for the U.S. Team at the North Coast 24-hour Nationals in Cleveland this past September. I looked at the American age group track records, though, and the longer distances seemed beatable so I signed up to try to get at least one age group record.

While having the best of intentions, since the North Coast race, my training has been a bit thin. Curling 3-4 times a week cuts into the running hours. As the race approached, I realized that I had done no long training runs since the Chicago marathon in early October. This made me a little nervous so, the week before the race, I ran 20 miles on Saturday and then again on Sunday. That would have to do.

Before race day, the race entrants ebbed and flowed but at the starting line nine individuals were ready to run. There were three women, Carilyn Johnson, Suzanna Bon and me. We joked that we should all place in the race. Both were trying to qualify for the U.S. team, Carilyn having been on the team in 2009 and Suzanna in 2010. Three of the men were “only” running 100 miles and were lightning fast the entire time they were on the track.

Suzanne, me and Carilyn before the race.

The 400 meter track was a rubberized surface at a local high school. The straight-away surface was only a year old and the turn surface was four years old so the course was in excellent shape. The track, however, was quite open with only some aluminum bleachers around part of it so nothing to block any wind.

We started running at 8:00 a.m. under cloudy skies. Weather initially looked promising but a fairly stiff breeze started blowing early on, hitting us in the face on one of the turns. Then the clouds blew away, the sun poked out and it started getting plenty warm for a Clevelander used to GRAY skies and COLD weather!!! The aid station workers were awesome, however. They had everything and so I bummed sun screen from them and also put a bag of ice on my head to try and keep me cool. Regrettably, I had forgotten sun glasses since the forecast was for clouds and rain but I did remember a hat. I originally was planning a fairly aggressive pace (at least for me) but decided because of the warmer temperature to run a little slower in the early part of the race.

My good luck charm watching the race.

We switched directions every four hours so we could use some different muscles. Every time I passed the clock, my pace per lap was displayed. This was awesome as I could know every 400 meters what my pace was. This kept me occupied for most of the race and believe it or not I did not get bored at all! I really didn’t pay attention to much else. By 12 hours, I was close to 72 miles, a very good pace for me. I was shooting for 133 miles for 24 hours (American age group record) and that seemed doable if I had no major catastrophe!

After the sun set, temps were cooler and downright pleasant. Intermittently, a few sprinkles kept us cool, but nothing major. Phoenix definitely has a dry climate. I was drinking plenty of fluids or so I thought. The first time I had to go to the bathroom, however, was 8 hours into the race!

From the turning motion, I did develop some blisters on my feet. I also think I had a small rock in my shoe that I didn’t want to stop to address, causing a blister on the bottom of my foot. I probably should have stopped early on to fix my feet but I just kept going and started calculating what my time would be at the 100 mile mark. There was a fairly soft age group record of 19 hours and 25 minutes. I thought I should be able to beat that, no problem. That became my goal and my fixation. Round I went until I hit 100 miles, about 17 hours and 14 minutes. Hooray! I had a new record…. and I then promptly went to check on my foot situation. By then it was raining, I popped a few blisters and then pondered whether to continue and try for the 133 mile age group record. Based on my 100 mile split, I definitely had enough time to hit those miles… but I was not feeling confident that I could maintain a steady pace without a lot of discomfort, started thinking I was really not in great shape to continue strong for another 6 ½ hours and so decided to stop at that point. I was very happy getting my age group 100 mile record, however, and now I have something to shoot for when I run another track 24-hour!

Congrats to Suzanna for getting an American age group record for 100 miles (around 16:02) and to Carilyn for running almost 131 miles. Also the super fast guys had a good day. Mike Arnstein ran a 13:46 for 100 miles and Jay Aldous ran a 13:52, which was a new World record for his age group!

Nick and his crew did an excellent job with the race. Everything was spot on and I could not have asked for anything more. Looking forward to trying it again!!

Trials, Tribulations and Chi-Town

2011-10-20T15:00:00.002-04:00

As scheduling would have it, right after the North Coast 24-hour race, work went crazy. The timing from a running standpoint was just pure luck because after September 18^th, I didn’t have time to even run a few miles a day. My forced recovery period actually was pretty good for me. I really feel totally recovered now and ready for another running challenge.

My work commitments culminated in a 4-day jury trial starting on October 3rd. When those happen – most cases settle so this is not too often – you feel like you’re in a black hole. You live and breathe the case and of course no running. The jury deliberations were pretty quick and ended with a unanimous verdict in favor of my client. We went for a celebratory lunch and drink. I then headed to my bee hives since I had neglected them too. I needed to remove the honey frames and harvest honey before it got too cold. Well, I was almost finished with my harvest when I got nailed on my outer thigh (through thick blue jeans) by a honey bee. This was quite painful and I hobbled into the house to assess the damage. The stinger was still implanted so I quickly removed it and downed a few Benadryl. Over the course of the next day, the sting spread until I had an 8-inch round, red swollen welt on my thigh and it hurt! This happened on Thursday. On Friday I flew to Chicago to run the marathon on Sunday…. Again, good timing as if I had been stung before the NC24, it could have been real trouble.

As it was, the swelling started migrating in my leg down to my knee and was not so fun on Sunday…. Before the marathon, however, I was able to squeeze in a few fun things....

Dinner with friends Sharon & Meg

My first Big-10 game, Michigan/Northwestern

For the marathon, I was running incognito (with someone else’s bib) so I was really planning to make this a “fun run” anyway…. But as I plodded along the streets of Chicago after starting in the “open” corral area, I was constantly being elbowed, tripped, and generally trying to dodge slower runners. Then at aid stations, it was a battle to get to the water and Gatorade (UGH) not to mention the million cups and sponges that runners threw in the middle of the road. I had not run a “big” marathon for a LONG time… and with this experience fresh in my mind I can’t say I would run another one. It was fun being with friends and the free beer at the end was a nice touch…. Otherwise I’m sticking with the smaller marathon…

312 Beer tastes better than Gatorade any day! With friend, Karen at the finish.

North Coast 24-Hour - PR's Are Possible At 50-Plus!

2011-09-26T20:56:00.000-04:00

A confluence of events came together at the North Coast 24-Hour race (Sept. 17-18, 2011) in order for me to reach a long-held goal of hitting 130 miles in a 24-hour race – excellent weather, a fantastic crew and a little bit of luck.

Training for this 24-hour race has been interesting. I typically am not a high mileage runner. I usually though run at least a few "faster" marathons and at least one 5-6 hour training run before a 24-hour event. For the NC24 race, due to other time commitments, I wasn’t able to get in any long runs. After the 48-Hour race I ran in early May, my longest training run up to the NC24 has been 20 miles. Since I didn’t have time for longer runs, I tried to double up, running 10 miles in the morning before work and 10 miles at night. I never was able to hit 100 miles in any given week, but came close a few weeks. I can also say it was a first for me to get out the door at 4:00 a.m. to squeeze in a number of 20-milers before work. Just to mix things up, I also met my friend, Karen, at the high school track once a week for some speedwork to try and energize my running since I felt I was getting way too slow.

Jamie Donaldson & me before the race

With my somewhat low training miles, I was a bit nervous going into the NC24. The field of women runners was very strong and only the top two women were guaranteed a spot on the 2012 national team. My only goal going in to the race was to hit my elusive “130.” I really didn’t see a second place finish as a possibility.

Race day dawned and indeed the weather forecast was right! Perfect running weather. At the start, I even resorted to gloves and arm warmers, which I peeled after a few hours. My original plan was to start about a 9:30 minute per mile pace for the first three hours and then go right to a 10:00 pace for hours 3-6, and then every 3 hours adding 15 seconds to my pace. Because the weather was so good, I abandoned that plan when I started running and hoped my exuberance would not be costly. I started at a faster 9:15 pace and then dropped to a 9:30 pace for hours 3-6.

Everything was going like clockwork until about 4:00 PM when I started feeling kind of sick. This coincided with the sun coming out and actually getting somewhat warm. The way the course is configured, the northern side (by Lake Erie) was breezy and cool. As soon as you turned the corner on the south side, the wind stopped and it was HOT. Courtney, my crew chief extraordinaire, was on top of things and dug out some anti-nauseous pills and tons of ginger ale. I also started increasing electrolytes. Something worked and after an hour or two, I recovered. From that point on, I felt remarkably well the rest of the race.

I have been tweaking what combination of calories to consume during a race. This time, I mixed 1 1/2 scoops of Perpetuem to fit into a small flask that I drank every hour. I supplemented this with water as needed and hammer gels and hammer solids. I can now say definitively that the solids are not anything I can use over very long periods of time. Also the Perpetuem strawberry and coffee flavors were pretty good while the unflavored and orange got pretty nasty. I was able to keep consuming this mix for most of the race. I also ate oatmeal, oranges, peanut butter sandwiches and bananas and my friend’s special “long run cake.” Courtney was excellent monitoring my calorie intake and kept shoving stuff in my mouth!!

Mission Control.... with crew chief Courtney

One new product I tried were these caffeine strips called “Sheets.” I saw them advertised in a magazine a few weeks ago and thought I’d give them a try. They actually had a strong bitter taste but dissolve on your tongue so they are convenient to consume and easier on the stomach than coffee, Red Bull, etc.

I don’t know if it was the “Sheets," cooler weather, almost stepping on a rat, or something else, but once midnight hit, I felt energized and was able to run at about a 10:15 minute mile pace from midnight to about 3 a.m. I felt like I was "flying" because most people are either trudging or off the course at this point.

This year the race had a leader board that I didn’t pay too much attention to during the first half of the race. As is typical, most of the runners on the leader board go out too fast and fade before the race is over. That certainly happened at this race… for different reasons both Jamie Donaldson and Anna Piskorska dropped. Connie was her phenomenal self and unstoppable. Lisa Bliss was running very strong. I don’t think it was until the middle of the night before I caught up with her and got a lead. Every time I saw Lisa she looked so strong so I knew I had to keep running once I moved into the number 2 spot.

There were a few glitches in the timing system during the first half of the race. I was pretty sure that some of my laps were missed. According to the official count, I hit the “130” mark with about 15 minutes to spare. I wanted to quit then but Courtney wisely said, "Keep running…. You need one more lap for extra measure.” I trudged on for one more lap. With 5 minutes left, I kept running for a few minutes and then called it a day. Final mileage, I thought, was 131.75, a little over 2 miles better than my previous PR. After getting the laps splits and comparing them to my watch splits, I could easily see that some of my laps were indeed missed. Bonus now for me is that I am getting"credit" for 3 additional laps so my actual mileage was 134!!!!

The end.... with Courtney!

When all the dust settled, Phil McCarthy ran a solid race and was the men’s champ with 153 miles and Connie Gardner was the women’s champ with 144 miles, just missing the women's American Record by about 1 mile. I fully expect to Connie to break that record one of these days and I hope I am there to witness it!! Jonathan Savage was 2^nd with 146 miles and he earned a spot on the national team. Still in shock over this, I also am now guaranteed a spot on the 2012 national team as the 2^nd place female. Lisa Bliss was 3^rd female with just shy of 126 miles and could possibly qualify for one of the open spots on the national team.

Lessons learned?

1. Expect the unexpected. I’m feeling a little creaky and old at 52 to be on the national team but I guess that gives me incentive to stay as fit as possible for another year!

2. Stay out of the medical tent! In my typical 24-hour races, I have to make at least one stop at the medical tent to get something fixed! I love Dr. Andy and his medical students but this year I got to chat with them AFTER the race, which saved me a lot of time during the race.

3. Don’t overestimate the value of a well-organized crew. This race, I thought absolutely about nothing…. To the point that I didn’t know who had won the men’s race until after the race was over….

4. Maybe my haphazard training program wasn’t so bad after all.

5. Comfort is key. No chaffing or blisters this race. My Epilepsy Association tech shirt worked perfectly. And of course, Drymax socks were on my feet the entire race. Thank you Drymax for your continued support of the National 24-hour Championship!!

24-Hour Racing: Individual or Team Sport?

2011-09-12T17:24:00.000-04:00

Less than one week to go before the start of the North Coast 24-Hour National Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. For better or worse, my training is complete. Now, I just have to wait for the start...

With all this time on my hands, I started thinking about the benefits of running the race solo or using a crew. While I have done 24-hour races without a crew a number of times, it is definitely not as much fun as having an attentive crew to help with anything you need. Much of the details are worked out by the crew and at the end of the race I feel like we all ran the race, not just me. Definitely a TEAM effort.

I am very lucky to have the National Championships in my backyard, just a few miles from where I live (and more importantly where my friends live). From some crazy reason, I have a number of friends who seem to be looking as forward to the race as much as me.

Just one more bite, Courtney likes to say...

First, I have an amazing "Crew Chief," Courtney. She is incredibly organized, stays up all night, and forces me to eat and drink.

What would I do without my own personal chef? Karen is whipping up some awesome snacks. They are special reserves to break open in the middle of the night. I will definitely be looking forward to them.

Don't mess with Chef Karen. She has sharp knives!

Night owl, Laurel, will be stopping by for the "second shift," any time after dark. I will be using some of her lucky charms during the race....

No, this is not Laurel's lucky charm.... that is top secret....

I think though my number one fan is Mindy. She is drawn to the race like a moth to a flame (or possibly a midge... hope they don't make an appearance at the race this year). Her smiling face is a constant.... lap after lap.

Mindy's smile won't let me stop running!

Finally, my Equipment manager/photographer/master of ceremonies/masseur extra-ordinaire (and S.O.) - Roger. He'd rather be doing anything else besides hanging out at Edgewater all weekend. The race would definitely not be fun if he wasn't there!

Curling, not running, is Roger's thing!

I could post a TON more pictures of all the wonderful support I get during the race. Those pics will be posted AFTER the race. Whatever the results of the race this weekend, I know that I am spending 24 hours with wonderful friends and that makes me a winner any day.

Back to the Loop

2011-07-25T13:03:00.002-04:00

This past Saturday we had our first "training run" for the North Coast 24 hour race. We had some new faces show up to give the loop a try before the race in September. The training run was combined with the kick-off for the Virtual Runner competition, a fundraiser for the Epilepsy Association.

The loop is actually not exactly a circle. There are several twists and turns so you get to use both sides of your body. The loop is certified at .90075 miles. While I just like to think of it as a .9 mile course, those ".0075" miles add up over a 24-hour time period...

New this year for the race.... Honey Hut Ice Cream has its kiosk right next to the race aid station and they have PROMISED to be open race weekend!!! For those not familiar with Honey Hut ice cream, it is delicious!! Of course, having grown up in America's Dairyland (Wisconsin), any ice cream is delicious. Last year the race temps were pretty warm so if that holds true this year, Honey Hut will have alot of customers (including runners).

Cruising around the North Coast race course, I am reminded how pretty it really is. Part of the course is right along Lake Erie and some of the views are of downtown Cleveland (all lit up at night it's pretty cool to see). On Saturday, the weather was quite warm but then suddenly a storm appeared to be brewing. We all watched the storm roll in from the Lake and then as if by magic it disappeared. I guess part of the challenge (or charm) of the race is trying to deal with and predict the weather. Always be prepared is the key phrase.

A view of downtown Cleveland from the race course.

I am looking forward to the new runner faces -- Jeanette, Rick A and Bill D.... and possibly Bill R (on the fence)... And for those of you ON THE FENCE, we are approaching our field limit of 200 runners. Sign up now to avoid the price increase on August 17th AND the chance that you just might get closed out!!

Lessons From My Cats

2011-06-22T13:42:00.000-04:00

My kitten, Cartman, checking out my running shoes.

I have recently become the proud parent of two very lively kittens. Their energy is unlimited and they have fun with the simplest of toys. Wads of paper are their No. 1 favorite thing to play with. It doesn't take much to keep them occupied and having fun.

For the last several months, I've felt like I've been running with cement shoes. My runs have become a chore. Taking a few lessons from my kittens, I've decided to put the fun back in the run. I'm mixing up some 5k races with long runs in between. I've started adding some official speed work to my routine to get the energy back. We'll see how this pans out in the fall for the North Coast 24-hour race. Regardless, though, I'm having a good time with these simple, but new, challenges.

Hanging Out With New & Old Friends At The Fair

2011-05-18T14:18:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since I ran a race.... work, curling and life in general have just got in the way. When my schedule miraculously cleared, I jumped at the chance to try another 48 hour race in New Jersey at Three Days at The Fair. The race took place on May 13-14, in conjunction with 72, 24, 12 and 6 hour races.

Going in to the race, I was hopeful that I could reach the 200 mile mark. I thought I was capable of doing that at Across The Years this past New Years but just got annihilated and beaten down by the incredibly bad weather. If I had good weather, I was thinking no problem....

Of course, then I totally forgot about actually TRAINING for the event! Going in to the race, I had done limited long runs, basically one 4-hour run since New Years. Would that be enough???

My friend, Courtney, rode with me to NJ, helped set up and stayed at the race for the first 5 hours. She then went to NYC and planned to return to help on Saturday night and drive me home to Cleveland on Sunday.

Courtney setting up - No. 1 Crew Chief!!

I set up my aid with Phil McCarthy, who I knew was trying for a new 48-hour record. I also had e-mailed back and forth with Sabrina Moran, a young ultrarunning phenom. She was intending to run unsupported so I invited her to our "party."

Sabrina, Phil and me before the start

Race day started out cool and cloudy. This was perfect. The location was the Sussex County Fairgrounds. Most of the course was asphalt with a little bit of gravel and grass thrown in the mix. The first 5 hours of the race went totally as planned. I was running at the exact pace that I wanted to. Sabrina was whizzing by me but I expected her to run a fast 24 and then run out of steam. I was planning to run slower but keep cranking out miles.

In the afternoon, the weather started to get humid and warm. The sun broke out from the clouds. I'm not exactly sure how this happened but around hour 7 I started feeling sick... I usually have a cast-iron stomach so this was somewhat new and I was not really prepared. I took some Tums and ginger pills. That did not help. I kept running but in hindsight was not taking in enough calories. I just couldn't eat anything. This was not a good sign. I knew in my mind that this was a recipe for disaster but my body refused to do anything about it. When I hit the 100 mile mark around 20:30 hours, I decided to take a break to get my stomach under control. I fell asleep for about 2 hours and then just sat in my chair watching the runners go by. Every time Phil came around, he yelled at me to get up and start moving. I eventually was shamed into moving and shuffled back on the race course with about an hour to go in Day 1. At that point, my quads had turned to cement and I was reduced to walking. I ended the first 24 hours at around 104 miles. Sabrina was super strong and amazing, logging about 130 miles. Phil was just a MACHINE on pace for an American Record!

At the end of Day 1, Sabrina and me - both HURTING!

For the start of Day 2, I was trying to run but I don't think you could tell my "run" pace from my "walk" pace. Sabrina was not feeling well and took the opportunity to go home (10 minutes away) and regroup. When she left, I wasn't sure if I'd see her again. The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. I did stop again in the afternoon for about 45 minutes for a nap. My stomach had started to cooperate and I was able to eat and keep things down. Unfortunately, my legs were like lead and I couldn't run..... Phil was still amazing. Anna P. had started the 24 hour race that morning and she was very encouraging every time she lapped me (which was many times!)

Late in the afternoon (I think), Sabrina reappeared.... energized and ready to run. She again whipped around the course in what seemed like amazing speed. I just kept plodding along. As darkness fell, it started misting, which felt very nice. Sabrina had slowed and we ended up walking together for a few hours, chatting about many things. I had calculated out in my mind what my mileage would be if I kept up my excruciatingly slow pace and wasn't too happy about that. Even best case, I would not hit my mileage from ATY. If I had ANY run left in my legs, I would have stuck it out. But having walked for HOURS already, I decided when I hit 150 miles that I would call it a race. With around 9 hours to go (midnight), I retired to the tent. Around 2:00 am, Courtney cam back from NYC and we drove to a hotel for a nice hot shower and a bed!

In the morning, we drove back to the race and I discovered that Phil had indeed set a new 48-hour American Record by 9 miles with 257 miles!!!!! I was so happy for him. Sabrina was the women's 48-hour winner with 172 miles and Anna won the 24-hour outright with 115 miles. I ended up in 2nd place and received a very cool piece of pottery and a 100-mile coin.

Lessons learned?

1. I cannot fool myself into thinking I can squeak by for a 48-hour race with minimal training and expect big miles.

2. I need to be better prepared for the unexpected (i.e. bad stomach) and get it under control. On my to-do list is to contact Dr. Andy for advice! This was one of my first timed races without his sage direction!!

3. Sometimes these races are not about the miles but the people you meet. Although my mileage goal was not met, I came out a big winner by all the wonderful runners and volunteers I got to talk with throughout the race and the new friends I made.

Wine, Dine, Curl

2011-03-18T10:59:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we headed south to Columbus for their Women's bon spiel, which had the theme of Wines of the World. No one on my team had been to the Columbus Curling Club before, which has only been open at its new location for a few years. We were all pleasantly surprised. A charming place ... hard to imagine it had once been a warehouse!

Courtney, Karen and Laurel

The ice was a bit challenging, very fast but some strange curls to it. It took us awhile to get a read on the ice and we got behind in our first game. We shook after 7 ends and wracked up a loss. We took a break and were feted at the home of one of the Club members, a South American themed menu with accompanying Chilean wine. That must have cleared our heads as we came back in our second game in the afternoon and handily won.

After curling concluded on Saturday, the Club hosted a wine tasting that evening, with different food pairings and tasty wines.... Laurel and I ended up the big winners in the raffle and our team won a prize for best song.... Good thing that wasn't recorded!

On Sunday, we won our final game and ended up the winner of the "B" event. Prizes were bottles of wine (of course).

Me, Courtney, Laurel and Karen with our "trophies."

Columbus outdid themselves on a terrific event and we hope to return next year.

Curling Update - USCA Senior Nationals

2011-03-18T10:26:00.001-04:00

Pardon the lag in posting.... but I've been busy curling!

First a quick report from the USCA Seniors, which were the first weekend in February in Bismarck, ND. That weekend coincided with the worst snowstorm of the season that shut down a large portion of the country... nerve-wracking travel and one team from Maine cancelled due to the snow. We also started the competition late in order to wait for all of the remaining six teams to arrive in one piece.

In a nutshell, the Capital Curling Club was a very nice facility with four sheets of ice. We started strong, winning our first game against Wisconsin. After that, our team struggled and we definitely did not play up to our potential. We won one other game against North Dakota and lost to the eventual winner, Minnesota, as well as teams from Illinois and Washington. We finished in a three-way tie at 2-3 with Wisconsin and Washington. Since we had better scores for the draws to the button, we "officially" ended up in third place.

In between games we tasted some of the local food (deep fried cheese sandwiches!!) .....

And toured some of the sites. It was pretty cold so mainly we stayed indoors!

My niece, Michelle, me and Sacajawea (the statute).

Overall, it was a good experience. While my lucky socks didn't help us win more games, I will maybe give them a try at my next race to see if they work better when I'm running...

My lucky socks (although my Drymax socks are on underneath!)

MCC Hosts Scot Ladies on American Tour

2011-01-14T15:10:00.000-05:00

It feels like a tornado came through Cleveland! Yesterday, the Scot ladies arrived in Cleveland as part of their 30-game curling competition that started in Boston and ends in Seattle three weeks later. Mayfield Curling Club was fortunate to be designated as home hosts for the 20 Scots and I was honored to be able to host two of the women, Caroleen from Glasgow and Barbara from Dundee. The women had been on a break-neck schedule and were happy yesterday to have some "down" time for massages and manicures. The evening was capped off with a McGonagall dinner, a very fun backward dinner (having dessert first, etc) to celebrate Scotland's worst poet William Topaz McGonagall. We toasted the Poet many times throughout the evening!

The ladies Scots at MCC.

My house guests were super and were very thoughtful to give me a beautiful silver quaich (a Scottish cup for drinking whiskey) and a charming bookmark and pen in the design of famous Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. I also received a specially designed silver tour pin with a curling stone between the Scottish and US flags.

Caroleen, me and Barbara at the MCC dinner.

Today, three of the teams took to the ice for a match with three MCC teams. Sadly for MCC and the US, we lost two of the games and only won one. My team had a few problems (me!) and we had a few bad ends that brought us down to defeat.

Even with the loss, the game was very fun. We exchanged club pins after the game, shared a drink, and they were off before we knew it in their tour bus to their next curling match at the Cleveland Skating Club. I am exhausted and I can only imagine how grueling the schedule is for the 20 women Scots. Thanks for the game and friendship and GOOD CURLING!

Across The Years - 48 Hours of Rain, Wind & Mud

2011-01-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

“If you can’t change fate, change your attitude.” That phrase kept going through my head the week before the ATY 48-hour race. Each day, as I checked the local weather reports, the forecast kept getting worse and worse. Well, I guess I had to get used to the idea that conditions might not be ideal for the race. This I could handle but I was feeling very sorry for my crew…

Speaking of which, I had two wonderful crew members for the race. First, my boyfriend Roger – a nonrunner who absolutely hates sitting around watching these races. Can’t say that I blame him…. But he tolerates going (especially to cool places like Italy and France) and his favorite part of crewing is going on treasure hunts to find whatever is needed… he was able to track down asparagus soup in France and corn juice in Korea. He can find anything! My other crew member was Courtney. She is a runner but not an ultrarunner. She claims to have gotten “hooked” on these loop races when she helped out at the North Coast 24 in 2009. This year, she took control of everything at the North Coast race, doing a fantastic job, and then insisted that she really wanted to come and help at ATY. I still remain skeptical. I think this must be like watching a bad train wreck…. It’s an awful experience but you just can’t stay away…..

Roger & Courtney trying to stay warm

We were only delayed about three hours on December 28th, the night before the race, due to bad weather on the East Coast and got to our hotel about 10:30 pm. Plenty of time to get some rest. We arrived at Nardini Manor about 8:00 am on Wednesday, December 29th, and began scouting around for a good location for our tent/aid station. We ended up under a eucalyptus tree that in hindsight turned out to be a rather sheltered spot. Jamie and David Donaldson were signed up for the 24-hour run that day and we offered them a spot under our tent.

My goal before the race was to hit 200 miles. To do that, I planned to run about 120 miles for the first 24 hours and then get whatever I could during the second 24-hour. I had heard from many people that it is very difficult to get 100 miles the second day and that your miles really diminish…. I figured that if I hit 120 miles on Day One I should be in pretty good shape for the second day. The weather at the start was cool and overcast; I would dare to say almost perfect. I started out running 9:45 minute miles and planned to go a little bit slower in 2-hour increments (which was when we switch directions on the course). In spite of being the smallest loop course I have run, I found it to be a great course and not boring at all. There was a lot of vegetation and things to see on the small loop. Changing directions also gave a new perspective and kept everything fresh. Just when you were getting sick of looking at something, you got to turn the other way.

One of many statues lining the course.

I had started the race in shorts and a t-shirt. After a few hours, there were sprinkles but nothing serious. I then had to take a few work calls and e-mails so I walked for awhile. Once I was finished with those, I was totally chilled to the bone and this is where the race began to feel like a fashion show…. I have never changed clothes so many times in a race! I was putting on a long-sleeve shirt, then a vest, then a jacket, then switching to a short-sleeve shirt with jacket, then a hat, etc, etc, etc. It was crazy! For some reason I really couldn’t figure out the right thing to be wearing…. I was either too hot or too cold!

As usually happens in these timed races, I really don’t have a very good memory of exactly what was going on. I think about 9 hours into the race, I had to stop and change socks because my socks were so mud-encrusted and uncomfortable… What this means is that the sprinkles turned to rain and the nice smooth track turned to mud. At points it was raining quite hard and so the course could not properly drain. The volunteers were working hard to dig ditches and trenches to divert water off of the track but they could not keep up. I guess the good news was that the mud was not the shoe-sucking kind that grabs your shoe and pulls it off. The mud was not terribly deep but it was quite slippery. And, of course, it was sloppy and did get in my shoes and socks. Coupled with the mud and rain, there were fairly high winds making everything cold and I expended a lot of energy trying to make some headway against the wind. Then the course lights shorted out due to the rain so that the muddiest area of the course had very low light. I can’t see that well in the dark (must be old age) so going through this section at night every 4-5 minutes was not a lot of fun. I felt like I was slowing way down and also expending too much energy slipping around.

I plodded along however and at the 12-hour mark was around 66 miles. This was below my goal and things did not look good at this early time for hitting 200 miles. Around 2:00 am, the heavens let loose and I ducked for cover in our tent. It felt like a monsoon! David had also taken cover but we watched with amazement as Jamie ran by. We yelled at her to come in and get out of the storm but she was on a mission for 140 miles and said she wanted to keep running. After about 20 minutes, the worst of the storm had passed, so I set out again in the rain, this time having changed into Gortex pants.

At the 24-hour mark, I had reached about 110 miles. Based on that mileage, I was fairly certain that 200 miles was now beyond my grasp, especially since I had tapped so much energy to get to that point. I now started thinking about getting as many miles as I could and refocused on a new goal of 180. Jamie had finished her 24-hour race with 123.6 miles (well below her goal but good for a first-place overall finish!) and David with 74 miles. They yelled to me as they were having a beer after their run and asked if I wanted one. Tempting…. But on I trudged!

Courtney had been sleeping during the worst of the storm and now, in the early morning, had changed places and Roger had gone back to the room to sleep. I patiently waited for him to return to the course (OK, not really, I kept asking Courtney, “Is Roger back yet?”) and then, once he returned about 11:00 am, we borrowed Dr. Andy’s table and Roger gave me an excellent leg massage. That was definitely heaven and worth the wait! Once that was over, back on the course I went.

The sun makes a brief appearance on Day Two.

With the start of Day Two, the rain had stopped. Nonetheless, the wind continued to howl making the temperature still pretty cold and a battle when running against the wind. The track did dry out by mid-day and I used that opportunity to change my shoes and socks. When I took off my socks, to my surprise, I noticed large bruises on the tops of both feet. That has never happened before. I suspect it may have been caused from running in the mud for so long as Jamie told me later that she also had bruises on the tops of her feet! After observing that, I hunted down Dr. Andy (who was registered for the 72-hour and was also getting in laps on the course). I followed him into the medical tent and he relaced my shoes to get the pressure off those spots and also put foam between my socks and feet to also provide more cushioning. That seemed to do the trick. After a quick stretch from Andy, I was on the track again.

Day Two, taking a stretching break

Around noon of Day Two, a high school friend of Roger’s, Doug, came to visit with his son. Doug is a transplant from Cleveland and Roger had hung out at Doug’s for a few hours during Day One. It was fun to get visitors but I probably didn’t make a good first impression as I think by then I looked like a crazy lady.

Around 7:00 pm, I had another surprise as Carolyn Johnson (US national teammate) and her family swung by on their way to LA from Texas. I only go to talk to them for a few minutes but it was very fun to see them. Once they left, I decided to take a little 15 minute nap. The race had a huge unheated tent with a small heated tent inside that had cots. I went in the heated tent, peeled off my jackets (at this point I was wearing two) and lowered myself for a little rest. I would repeat this “15” minute nap strategy three more times…. Although by the time I walked into the tent, took off my jackets, got settled, etc, it probably was closer to 30 minute breaks.

Throughout the night, the air temperature kept getting colder so in addition to two jackets, I also added long tights to my arsenal and changed into larger shoes. To make this last change, Courtney and I went into the heated bathroom, which was stocked which such toiletries as Scope. As weird as it sounds, I used the Scope and felt like a new woman!

By the middle of the night, there was heavy frost on the car windows, a beautiful starry night and a sliver of a moon. This was the calmest time of the last two days with virtually no wind. Unfortunately I wasn’t running very fast so I did not capitalize on the good conditions but it was just nice to not be battling the weather for a change.

While I was falling short of my goals, I still had my eye on what other 48-hour women runners were doing. Liz Bauer, who has run 200-plus miles in a 48-hour race this year, looked very strong early on. We were neck and neck for a long time. I think at some point she was having some ankle problems and ended up sitting out for a period of time so I ended up pulling away from her. The course had very good computer screens that detailed your mileage and pace per lap. There was a small computer that had the standings. I couldn’t really see the computer that had the standings on it (yes, I guess I should have been wearing glasses), so I would periodically ask Courtney if there were any other women who looked like they were mounting a charge as I had to look not only at the women I started with but also at the women who started the 48-hour race a day later. Based on her calculations, though, she didn’t see anyone who could catch me if I kept moving at a decent pace. This was somewhat comforting as I really did not have to focus as much on my competitors but only my own mileage goal of 180…. So, I just kept plodding. It seemed like I was stuck in the 130s for an eternity…

Not too tired to give the "peace" sign!

Somewhere in the middle of the night, Courtney told me that I was in 2nd place and that the 1st place runner, Davy Crockett, was off the course and not running. He had around 160 miles. I really didn’t think too much of this because Phil McCarthy, who started his 48-hour race a day later, was running strong and was hoping to reach about 240 miles. He has previously run 234 miles at a 48-hour race in France. There were also a few other 48-hour males who started the 2nd day that appeared strong. So I my mind 160 miles was not going to win any race. When I actually surpassed Davy's miles and held the “No. 1” spot, I found it pretty amusing since I have never held that spot before but really didn’t place any significance to it.

I had been eating pretty healthy the entire race - oatmeal and rice cereal were just a few of my delicacies -but John Geesler put it in my head that I wanted a milkshake. Yes, he had mentioned that he wanted one earlier in the day so Courtney went out and got him one. Once I saw that milkshake, I thought, that looks pretty good. As the hours ticked away, I asked Roger if he could get me one too. Maybe around 2-3:00 am, he came back with a vanilla and a strawberry milkshake. I had some of the vanilla and Roger donated the strawberry one to the aid station (and they said it was surprisingly popular). I then started thinking what I needed to do in order to hit 180 miles. I had really been lagging and was tired. Maybe it was the sugar in the milkshake but all the sudden I felt like I had a “burst” of energy and started running good. I kept thinking about how many miles I needed for the 180 goal. I didn’t want to be short! Every time I looped Dr. Andy, he’d give me words of encouragement, it was very fun. In this time frame, Davy had reentered the course and was moving fast. I knew if he kept that up he would take over the “lead” no problem but I was not concerned because I didn’t think our miles would end up being the top miles for the race (who would have thought?) It seemed like there weren’t a lot of runners on the course running at that time so it was good to see him running as it helped to keep me running too. Once everyone is walking, it’s easy to get sucked into walking…

Dawn finally broke even though roosters had been crowing since 3:00 am (don't they know how to tell time?) With an hour to go, I hit 180. Relief! At that point, I was fairly sure that none of the woman would reach my miles and I decided to walk it in with Ray K. I was getting very drowsy in the last minutes but he convinced me that we could walk one more lap before I was done (he of course still had another day since he was running the 72-hour). Once I crossed the timing mat for the last time, Courtney turned in my chip, I hugged a few people, said some quick goodbyes and then we were off for showers and the airport. Roger and Courtney were worried that there would be a lot of traffic and the car return at the airport is just plain ridiculously slow…. We did make it to the airport with enough time to have a celebratory beer before boarding. Courtney, a frequent flyer, was super kind to give up her first-class seat so I had a wonderful nap on the plane before touching down in Cleveland to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

After arriving home, Roger and I managed to stay up until midnight and then went to bed until 2:00 pm New Years Day. After waking, I did check to make sure I was still in first place. I was surprised to learn that not only was I first place woman but also 2nd place overall! Davy had managed a first place win with 187 miles. I was just short of 183 miles. A huge congrats to Davy. There were definitely tough weather conditions on the course and he conquered the course. Way to go!!

As a postscript, I must say that, with the wet weather and mud, I changed my socks often. At the end of the race, my Drymax socks came through with flying colors - no blisters! THANKS DRYMAX!!
* Photos courtesy of Ray K and Tammy M.

A "Formal" Curling Experience

2010-12-06T15:55:00.000-05:00

Ok, not your typical bon spiel.... But the Mayfield Curling Club hosted its Women's One-Day Spiel last Saturday. Keeping with the color theme that was started with the Inaugural "Lilacs and Lace" Spiel of four years ago, this year's theme was the "Blue Bridesmaid" Spiel....

Of course, bad bridesmaid dresses were encouraged to be worn. I was a bit skeptical that people would participate in wearing dresses.... not the most practical in 40 degree weather while curling. Also, I didn't have any dresses! Lucky for me, I had a choice of bridesmaid dresses to pick from since my friend, Karen, had a closet-full of bridesmaid dresses. I braved the cold to throw one rock in my "formal" before putting on my regular curling clothes!

Definitely not recommended!

I was actually excited to curl since our team was 3/4 of our Senior Nationals team. Dee, our skip, was not available. Otherwise, Tracie (vice) and Sue (lead) were part of the team. We had Diane from MCC step in to complete the team. This ended up being good practice for Nationals.

We ended up playing teamw from Columbus and the Cleveland Skating Club. We played very well together and were able to win both of our games. Because it was a points spiel, we barely got knocked out of 1st place by another Mayfield team and ended up in 2nd place overall.

We have a few more practice games scheduled with all members of our Senior Nationals team so am hoping for a successful tournament in North Dakota in February.

Training for a 48-Hour

2010-12-02T10:57:00.001-05:00

Having signed up for Across The Years 48-Hour, I've been trying to figure out the best way to train for the race. Two weeks ago, I went to Texas for the Ultracentric 24-hour. My thought was to run at least 100 miles at a moderate pace to see how things went.

In Houston, I met up with Jamie Donaldson and we ate our pre-race meal in of all places Cleveland, Texas at the local Pizza Hut.

The next morning, we drove to the race in a nice park setting about 30 minutes away. As we drove the .6 mile loop, we noted the rolling hills, a fairly steep downhill at the mid-point and a short steep uphill at the end of the loop. Pretty much at that point I decided that 100 miles would be a good place to stop.

Jamie and I got to catch up before the race with fellow 24-hour teammate Amy Palmiero-Winters, who was also running the race. Here's a picture with our Drymax socks before the race!

I put on my I-pod right away as the race was very small and lonely! The weather was partly cloudy and got warm after a few hours. Given the hill at the end of each loop, I walked every loop which ended up being every 6 or 7 minutes. I wanted to experiment with walking breaks at this race as I am planning to take walking breaks during the 48-hour but this is a little more frequent than I had planned. I also tried something new, Hammer Perpetuem solids - coffee flavor. These worked really well and were easy to ingest until I got sick of them after about 12 hours. Further experimenting, I tried some longer shorts that had a pocket in the back. The pocket was nice but the shorts drove me crazy. I ended up changing into shorter shorts at the 12 hour mark.

I hit the 100 mark around 19:15 and called it a day. I tried to get some sleep and then watched Jamie keep looping around the course. She was very strong and ended up with almost 137 miles. Jamie had a great run given that the course was a bit challenging.

Now, on to actually run the 48-hour. I just need to find enough music for the I-pod....

Yes, You Can Run With Scissors

2010-11-02T16:54:00.000-04:00

Halloween, no better day to run a double marathon trail race (two loop course). I was curious about this newer trail race and signed up for the Fourth Annual Run With Scissors race through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It was perfect weather, not too hot and not too cold. We would run through two well-stocked aid stations in addition to the start/finish area. At the second aid station (about mile 11) we would complete a five mile loop before heading back through the aid stations to the start and then repeat the entire course again.

The race was supposed to start at 5:00 a.m. so I was up at 3:15 to get ready and then driving to the start about an hour away. That was definitely a bit of a challenge for me. With the early start, we would be running in darkness for at least a few hours. After arriving at the Ledges shelter area for the race start, we learned that there had been a serious accident involving fatalities on one of the roads that runners would travel on to get to the race. That was a very somber moment. We were told by Roy Heger, the wonderful race director (in costume as Death), that we'd delay the start until 5:30 so everyone registered could get to the race before it started.
At 5:30, the race began and I turned on my headlight and discovered that it didn't work! Not a good omen! I was planning to just run a nice and slow race anyway so I got in a cluster of people and hoped that I could see good enough until dawn broke.

The trails were in great shape (this is from a non-trail runner so they really were probably in excellent shape) but LOTS of ups and downs with only an occasional "flat" part. There was some mud and at least six stream crossings so lots of stuff to keep me focused. After about an hour, Frank D. ran by and had an extra flashlight that he graciously lent me. That was a big help.

Then the miles just kept ticking by. At the second aid station, we were given scissors and told that to prove that we had completed the 5-mile loop we had to cut a page out of a hanging book. Fun stuff. The book turned out to be hanging by a skeleton and was a book having to do with anatomy. Along the course there were also plastic pumpkins with Halloween candy. Very festive!

I complete the 1st loop in about 5:30 hours. I was taking my time and walking up all the hills as well as walking down the very steep one. For part of the first loop, I hung with a fellow runner, Michael, who kept me entertained. Thanks, Michael! The second loop was even slower, about 6 hours. All I can say is that I really need to do hill work because my legs are still killing me.

Coming through the start/finish after the First Loop.

At the finish, I learned that I was "First Female Grand Master." In truth only three women finished the double (including Connie Gardner who finished in a little over 8 hours!), most runners opting for the single marathon course. There was a very hearty meal waiting for us stragglers, which was most appreciated. A wonderful and well organized race!

Virtual Runners Hit The Towpath

2010-10-12T13:07:00.000-04:00

The Virtual Runner team, supporting the Epilepsy Association, was out in force for the Towpath half-marathon. Unseasonably warm weather continued through last weekend and we were greeted on Sunday morning with very mild temperatures.

Courtney, me Ben, Karen & Karl

The Towpath marathon and Half-Marathon are run in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, south of Cleveland. This was actually my first time running the half-marathon. I, though, have run the Towpath marathon quite a few times. Years ago they used to beg people to sign up and run it as the number of entrants were so small. Not any more. All of the races, including a 10k, were sold out.

Traffic to get to the start of the race was crazy. Organizers recommended getting to the race at least an hour before race-start. That was good advice as the traffic was bad and even with that cushion I still only parked my car with 30 minutes to spare.

This was to be a fun run so to speak as I was running with my friend and "chief crew" member, Courtney. She was running her very first (and she claims last) half-marathon. The goal at the start was to run a 1:55 race.

We started out slow due to the large crowd of runners but then sped up to close to an 8 minute per mile pace. I knew we were running too fast for our target but Courtney was feeling good so we just went with it....

Two-thirds of the way through, Courtney developed a side ache so we spent some time walking to get that worked out. I tried to keep her entertained and distracted.... Before we knew it we were at the finish (with a chip time of 1:53) and in the beer tent.

I was actually glad that I was only running the half as temperatures continued to rise and hit 80-plus by mid-day. All in all, a fun way to spend a beautiful fall day.

A Day At the Beach - North Coast 24-Hour Report

2010-09-22T14:55:00.000-04:00

Well, one thing is certain - weather reports are almost never accurate! This would hold true for last weekend. I was expecting very pleasant temperatures for the 2nd Annual North Coast 24-Hour race. Instead, the temperature during the afternoon rose to a toasty 80 degrees and the nighttime temperatures only dropped to the mid-60s.

So what does this mean? Well, in my head I was thinking cool temperatures, which is my perfect running weather. I am NOT a hot weather runner. I had calculated out a plan to run 71 miles the first 12 hours and 63 miles the second 12 hours based on nice, mild weather. Once the race started, I should have done a few things.... slowed down a bit AND increased my electrolytes. Of course, this is hindsight. So, I did neither and set out to run the 71 miles for the first 12......

Smooth sailing early in the race.

From the start, the temperature did seem hot... and I totally spaced out that I would need sun screen. For goodness sake, it's almost October and we hardly ever have SUN in Cleveland.... Another mistake. I am very sun-burnt now to say the least...

Roger and Dee relaxing in the shade while I bake in the sun...

In the early stages of the race, I was running like clockwork, completely on the pace I had set out to run.... until about 5 hours into the race. Then, my calf muscles started to cramp. I first thought, no problem, I just need a little potassium and so ate some bananas.... but more cramping.... to the point that if I ran very fast I had to catch myself from falling over. Hmmm... this is not good. I kept struggling with this thinking the cramping was a temporary condition. Not so. It just kept getting worse. By hour 6, I stopped in the medical tent to get a cranberry pill and a leg massage. That provided temporary relief before the cramping came back. It finally dawned on me (DUH!) that I needed to drastically increase my electrolyte consumption. I started doing that and after a number of hours the cramping went away, although my calf muscles were really sore from all that cramping and remained that way throughout the race.

At the 12-hour mark, instead of 71 miles, I only had 66 miles. That was pretty discouraging. Under these circumstances, it is very easy to quit. I thought there is no way I'm going to have a good race and why put myself through 12 more hours of torture for nothing.... But, the one positive in having a race like this in your home town is that I had TONS of friends stopping by and crewing for me. They were all committed to camping out overnight (some actually looking forward to it!) so I didn't want to disapoint anyone by quitting and spoiling their fun.... So on I trudged.

Just a few of my crew members having fun.....

Since I was so sun-burnt, my body temperature felt like it was boiling. Every lap the entire race I poured water over my head.... even throughout the night.

Between the hours of midnight and 3:00 a.m., I had a burst of energy and was passing runners like crazy on the course. Not sure if it was do to consuming Red Bull, or my large and boisterous cheering contingency or that my legs were finally starting to recover enough from the cramps to allow me to run again....

In for a pit stop in the middle of the night... calves still bothering me.

By morning the wind picked up along the Lake and it looked like it was going to storm. The rain held off but one section of the course was pretty windy.

Looks like whitecaps on the Lake... storm appeared to be brewing.

Sunrise was around 7:00 a.m. and the race seemed to fly by until the official ending at 9:00 a.m.

Less than a loop to go until the END!

The second half of the race I managed a little more than 60 miles for an official distance of 126.225 miles. Many people had dropped out along the way so to my surprise I ended up 4th woman and 8th overall.

Courtney and me with my race marker marking my distance.

Congrats to winners Serge Arbona and Connie Garder for running fantastic races! Also 2nd place woman Anne Lundblad and 3rd place woman Anna Piskorska ran very solid races and were very impressive. You will all represent the US well at the 24-Hour Worlds competition next year! Full results can be found at the NC24 website.

Me and Anna P. after the race - Anna doesn't even look like she ran!

Countdown to NC24 - Only days away

2010-09-13T17:13:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe that the summer has flown by and the North Coast 24 Hour race is less than a week away. So far the weather report looks excellent.- high of 69 and low of 53. Only a small chance of rain. Time will tell if the weather report holds up.

This year, participants have increased quite a bit from last year's race. As of today, 151 runners have registered - from 30 different states and 3 foreign countries. Competition looks strong so we should see some big mileage.

For those who can't come down to Edgewater Park to cheer on the runners, a "live" feed will be updating results at http://www.chaneyevents.com/nc24.html.

Once again, Drymax has stepped up to the plate and is furnishing all runners with Drymax socks. I will definitely be wearing them during the race!

Virtual Runner Kick-Off at the North Coast

2010-07-19T11:33:00.000-04:00

I am very honored to once again be named the Honorary Chair of the Epilepsy Association's Virtual Runner program. You can make your miles count…even more… by joining the Epilepsy Association’s Virtual Running Team. Once you have registered as a Virtual Runner, you’ll be able to dedicate your fall racing season to the Epilepsy Association. From August 1st through October 31st, any race you run during the competition will count in our virtual competition. Runners raising $100 or more in donations become Epilepsy Association Elite Virtual Runners and will receive a really great team t-shirt. The t-shirts are technical grade running shirts sporting the Virtual Runner logo. More information can be found at the Virtual Runner website.

As an added incentive to sign up, we're having a training run in conjunction with the North Coast 24-hour training run this Saturday, July 24th between 8:00-10:00 a.m at Edgewater Park. Afterwards, we'll have a FREE breakfast for all runners. Come join us!!

40 degrees in July

2010-07-07T09:38:00.000-04:00

Cal, me and Roger before a game.

Over the 4th of July we headed to Pittsburgh for the 5th Annual Tropicurl. Roger and I have been to every Tropicurl and so we were awarded a special patch for our loyalty! This year we had a new team, with me as skip, Laurel as vice, Roger as 2nd and Cal as lead. The first game was a bit rocky. We were all rusty, made a lot of mistakes and lost to a Canadian team on Thursday night. We regrouped on Friday and Saturday, winning three games against a Pittsburgh team and two Canadian teams. On Sunday, we played in the semi-finals against another Canadian team from Ontario. We stayed in the game until the 7th end. When we couldn't score, we shook hands after the 7th and called it a day. It's always a treat to be in a nice cool ice arena when it's 90 degrees outside!

Cal, Laurel and Roger.

Prepping the ice before the game.

North Coast Preparation

2010-06-28T11:27:00.000-04:00

A view of downtown Cleveland from Edgewater Park,
site of the North Coast 24-hour race

The North Coast 24-Hour Race has once again been designated as the National Championship site. Interest is starting to build with over 80 runners registered at this point and there are still 2 1/2 months to go before the race. The top three women and men will automatically be selected for the U.S. team, and will compete next June in Switzerland at the World 24-Hour Championship.

North Coast race organizers have scheduled a number for "training" runs at Edgewater Park. I attended the first one this past Sunday, starting at 7:00 a.m. It is a nice opportunity to get a feel for the course and chat with people who have signed up for the race. The weather was incredibly hot and humid. The positives were that there were no bugs and a nice breeze was coming off of the lake for part of the run.

Next training run will be on July 24th, starting at 9:00 a.m.

2010 World 24-Hour Wrap-Up

2010-05-28T10:20:00.003-04:00

Pardon the delayed race report but I ended up spending an extra week in France after the race, biking through the Loire Valley and enjoying the beautiful castles, drinking chenin blanc and flushing the lactic acid from my legs.

Chateau at Azay Le Rideau

Many of my teammates have already provided details of the race on their blogs, Jamie Donaldson, Dan Rose, Scott Jurek and Phil McCarthy. Rather than rehash what they’ve already written, I thought I would add my perspective from one of the old and slow people on the team.

I was in many ways dreading this race. Ever since the North Coast 24 last October, I’ve been struggling with a very inflamed Achilles. First, I ignored it, then I quit running on it, then I went to two different doctors (ankle specialists) and a physical therapist and when all that failed, I even tried some Chinese herbal medicine that made my ankle break out in a nasty rash. But when all was said and done, my Achilles remained swollen and I was reduced to minimal training. My “intense” training was in April when I ran one 3-hour training run with pain and then a marathon with intermittent pain. I did no other long runs before France since November of last year. Here are lovely pictures just days before the race.

Normal left Achilles

Swollen right Achilles

Roger and I arrived in Paris on Sunday, May 9th. We toured around Paris with fellow teammates Jamie Donaldson and Dan Rose and their spouses David and Lizzie. This was a great diversion from thinking too much about the race.

Roger and I with the Thinker at the Rodin Museum

On Wednesday we took the train to Brive, a four-hour ride. We hooked up with the team and participated in the opening ceremony where we marched through the center of town and into the covered stadium that would turn into the country aid stations in the morning. This is always a very cool event to see all of the colorful uniforms and this year we all looked like real athletes with our Nike uniforms, courtesy of USATF.

Lining up before the parade through town.

With the ceremony finished, we headed back to the hotel and then to dinner. I accidentally stumbled upon ordering a four cheese pizza, which was topped with various types of brie and gorgonzola cheese. Dr. Andy told me that this was an excellent meal for ultrarunners (the soft cheese). I figured that I needed any advantage at that point and hoped this was a good omen.

After dinner, Dr. Andy looked at my Achilles. As he suspected, I had a dropped navicular bone (that is located in the arch of the bottom of my foot). Apparently when it drops out of position, it can cause irritation in the Achilles area. He had me flex my foot different ways and then on the count of three he manipulated the bone back in place. Boy, did that hurt. I let out a yelp but instantly the pain went away. Would I be able to run in the morning with no pain and with no training? I was still skeptical.

The weather in Paris had been rainy and it was no different in Brive. The forecast also did not look promising. But when the gun went off at the start at 10:00 a.m., there was no rain. With each passing hour, I kept expecting the skies to open up but that in fact did not occur. The weather remained dry throughout the race with some humidity but cool, mid-50s at best.

At the beginning of the race.

Part of the course.

Starting to warm up, a few hours into the race.

Aid station alley in the covered pavilion. US aid station on left.

I had decided to run a very conservative race. I had expected at some point to be reduced to walking because of my Achilles so I wanted to delay that as long as possible. My exact plan was to run between 9:45 to 10:00 minute miles with stretching breaks. As always seems to happen, the race itself is much of a blur. I was aware of the US men and women doing really well. Scott’s and Jill’s names were announced over the loudspeaker many times and it was really exciting that two US runners were in first place. The other US men were running well too. Other than that, I retreated into my own little world and concentrated on moving forward and eating and drinking according to my pre-race plan. My first stretching break was 5 ½ hours into the race. After that, I stopped every three hours. Those three hour time blocks were my goals to reach at which point I would be rewarded with a 5-minute stretch. That was heaven.

Through the park and on the gravel path.

My least favorite place - a hair-pin turn.

One of the turns after a nice straight-away.

High-tech scoreboard:
Shows bib number, kilometers ran, pace per loop and what place your in.

As dusk turned to night, the temperature dropped. It felt like it was in the 40s. It was at this point that I knew the US women were in trouble. Jill had dropped out and Jamie, Suzanna and Amy were all battling different forms of illness. Anna was also having some issues but she snapped back and was looking very strong. I had stopped at the 8 and 16 hour marks to change socks. At 16 hours, I also changed into a long-sleeved shirt, and then added a sleeveless vest and my IPod to push on throughout the night. For fuel, I was using Hammer Perpetuem and Hammer Gels (besides electrolytes every hour). After I got sick of that, I ate pretzels, bananas and oranges. In the wee hours of the night, I had soup, coffee and tea.

The field seemed less crowded in the nighttime. I think a lot of people had stopped to get warm. It was actually nice running in the moonlight, very peaceful. At the same time, I was getting lapped like crazy by Scott and the Japanese runner, Inoue Shingo, who would eventually take the men’s first place slot. It was really inspiring to see them move in what appeared to be such an effortless manner.

Dawn broke and then the hours counted down until the 10:00 a.m. finish. I was still running steady and was able to move up through the ranks. In the early hours of the race, I was in 55th place (out of 81 females). Each hour I was able to move up. At 12 hours, I had about 69 miles and was in 33rd place. At a little over 18 hours, I had 100 miles and was 22nd female. By the 23rd hour, I was around the 200k mark and had moved into 14th place. I would end up 14th with 207.825 K.

Only about an hour to go!

At the end of the race, Scott had broken the American Record and came in 2nd overall and the US men had run very hard, just missing the silver medal and taking the bronze medal. Final results were: Scott Jurek, 165.70 miles; Michael Henze, 154.48 miles; Serge Arbona, 150.48 miles; Phil McCarthy, 143.23 miles; John Geesler, 108.41 miles; Dan Rose, 91.27 miles (withdrawn for medical reasons).

After the race, Scott, with 1st place male, Inoue Shingo.

The US women ended up as a team in 4th place. Final results were: Anna Piskorska, 133.23 miles; Deb Horn, 129.13 miles; Suzanna Bon, 126.36 miles; Amy Palmiero-Winters, 123.99 miles; Jamie Donaldson, 120.61 miles; Jill Perry, 80.36 miles (withdrawn for medical reasons).

After the race, Jamie, me, Suzanna, Amy & Anna.

We were all a bit in a fog but first showered and then headed to the award ceremony. It was a special treat as they served champagne before the awards!! Many THANKS to DryMax for keeping my feet happy during the race. Also, many THANKS to Nike and USATF for funding the Team and providing us with official team uniforms.

Roger and I then retreated to the hotel. I feasted on two pieces of pizza and two beers and then called it a night. We woke the next morning and headed to the Loire Valley for a week of bike riding. Here are a few photos of the beautiful countryside.

Too many vineyards, too little time!

Roger at Chateau Chambord.

Villandry Chateau

Usse Chateau

Je suis prêt à courir

2010-05-06T17:22:00.000-04:00

Well, I am definitely rusty on my French but I'm hoping to not be rusty for the World Championships. Less than a week away before we compete at the Worlds in Breve, France.

The popularity of the race continues to build each year. The list of runners was recently published and we have 81 women from 22 countries competing this year (compared to 65 women from 18 countries last year). On the men's side of the race, 153 men from 30 countries will compete.

For the team competition, we also have additional teams signed up. We had 11 in 2008, 14 in 2009 and this year 17 teams (a team must have at least 3 runners).  The countries bringing women's teams this year are: Australia, Austria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Russia, Spain, Sweden and United States.

Looking over the list, some big miles have been posted by the French team.  They have won the gold medal at the Worlds for the last two years. Can they make it three in a row? Team USA is hoping to prevent that! Other strong contenders (at least on paper) are Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Russia. The US women were able to pull out the Silver medal last year with Italy taking the bronze. Should be an exciting race.

It is interesting to note that Russia's team of three women are all older than me with one being over 60! Now that's inspiring!!

The race should be covered a few places on the Internet: the race website:   http://www.24h-brive.fr/ and the International Association of Ultrarunners website: http://www.iau.org.tw/news_detail.php?Id=561
There is even going to be live updates on Twitter: http://twitter.com/iaunews

Once the race is over, I'll be posting all the details and hopefully bring home a medal!!

Last Ohio Marathon?

2010-04-26T16:18:00.000-04:00

So, I thought I had run all of the organized marathons in Ohio. In years past, I've run (1) Cleveland Rite-Aid; (2) Cleveland Inaugural - only lasted 1 year; (3) Akron; (4) Cincinnati Flying Pig; (5) Columbus; (6) Glass City - Toledo; (7) Towpath; (8) Athens; (9) Air Force - Dayton; (10) Inland Trail - Elyria; (11) Last Chance for Boston - Dublin; and (12) Ohio River Road Runners - Xenia.

As I was searching for a training run in April, I stumbled across a new one - the Earth Day Challenge marathon in Gambier, Ohio. I quickly signed up for it as it fit perfectly into my running schedule.

The marathon was held on April 25th. The course was advertised as flat. The first 4 miles, however, wound around the town of Gambier and was a series of rolling hills. After we got that out of the way, we headed out onto the Kokosing Gap Bike Trail, a well-maintained paved path - which was very flat.

It was held in conjunction with a half-marathon so there were a fair amount of people for the first half of the race. The second half was a bit lonely as I think there were about 120 total marathoners in the race. All of the aid station workers and road crossing volunteers were very friendly so I did have some company. The drink choice was Heed and Hammer Gels were passed out too. Perfect!!

Weather conditions at the start were ideal but things heated up a bit for the second-half. There was some tree cover on the path but the sun poked through a bit and I got my first sun-burn of the season. Right after the race, the sky opened up and poured. Sadly, I think a lot of the runners got caught in it.

This was a very nice, low-key race. Very well run. And in keeping with the earth day theme, all of the goodie bags had compact fluorescent light bulbs - something I can actually use. I will definitely keep this race in mind for next year.

So have I missed any other Ohio marathons?

Congrats to Teammate Amy Palmiero-Winters

2010-04-21T11:55:00.000-04:00

Last week the ultrarunning community got some very exciting news. The AAU Sullivan Committee announced that my 24-hour teammate, Amy Palmiero-Winters, was the recipient of the 2009 James E. Sullivan Award "for her outstanding athletic abilities and accomplishments in her sport as well as sportsmanship, leadership and character (on & off the field) in her lifestyle as a whole." I am certain that this is the first time an ultrarunner has received the Sullivan award.

This is a huge honor. Amy joins such other past recipients as Frank Shorter, Carol Lewis, Florence Joyner and Joan Bennoit- Samuelson. Amy's story is truly inspiring. Looking forward to finally meeting her in France.

Field Set for World Championship

2010-04-09T11:13:00.000-04:00

It is very encouraging to see the 24-Hour Race has increased participation each year from when I started four years ago. Last year, 28 countries participated and 14 women's teams competed (a team must include at least 3 runners from a country).

This year, runners from a total of 30 countries are set to participate in France on May 13th. Additionally, we now have increased the number of women's teams - 16 total! The women's teams are: Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Russia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States.

While the French women are the heavy favorites (they took the Number 1 and 2 spots last year and the Gold Team medal), I have confidence in my teammates that the French will get a run for their money. It should be exciting to watch!

Springtime in Paris

2010-03-25T16:29:00.000-04:00

Ok, maybe not Paris, but the 2010 World 24-Hour Championship will be held this Spring in Brive, France. The race is on May 13-14, a Thursday (Ascension Thursday - National Holiday) and Friday. Brive is about 4 hours by train southwest of Paris.

We have recently received some information about the course. Much of the route goes through a city park. The course is approximately 1200 meters and will be run in a clockwise direction. About 1/3rd of the course is a fine crushed gravel, a short portion is a dirt path with the remaining part on asphalt. There is one small hill with about a one meter rise and around 100 meters in length followed by a descent of the same amount. There is also a number of both left and right hand turns within the loop. Looks like the French will do a fabulous job and I am very excited to run the event.

This year, both the women's and men's US teams are very strong. On the women's team, we have Jamie Donaldson (4th overall last year), Jill Perry (US National 24-hour champ); Suzanna Bon, Anna Piskorska, Amy Palmiero-Winters and me. On the men's team, there is Phil McCarthy (US National 24-hour champ), John Geesler; Dan Rose, Serge Arbona, Scott Jurek and Michael Henze.

We are hoping to bring home some medals. Let's keep our fingers' crossed!

U.S. Nationals - A 7th Place Finish

2010-03-12T14:25:00.000-05:00

Laurel, Emilia, Courtney and me before a game.

We just returned yesterday from a very "cool" experience in Kalamazoo, Michigan. "Cool" because we had the opportunity to be on ice for nine 10-end curling games and also "cool" because we had the opportunity to curl against the best women's teams in the country.

A view from the Stadium stands.

We went in to the competition with low expectations. We were seeded 9th out of 10 teams. We had only been curling for a few years. Most of the teams (even the one Juniors team that played) had curled many more years than us, had tons more experience and even had coaches.

Contrasted to the ice we usually play on, the ice at Kalamazoo was meticulously maintained by the ever-vigilant ice crew. It was about 25 second ice and, while it started out straighter for the first few games, it developed a good 4-plus feet of curl as the week went on. It was a real treat to play on it. Now, if we could have only made all of our shots!

We ended up winning our games against the 6th, 7th and 8th seeded teams for a ending record of 3-6. Overall we finished in 7th place. While we all felt we could have played better and won more games, we were very happy with the result as it was much better than was predicted.

All of the teams were very friendly and supportive. While the level of talent varied, I think we all recognized that we need to keep improving the quality of play at the women's competitive level. We all benefited by participating and hopefully can build on the experience to step up the level of play a notch in years to come.

Thanks again to Drymax socks. They make some amazing hockey socks that worked very well for curling. The socks were warm but not bulky. Also thanks to SniperSkinz. We definitely had the best looking brooms!

Brooms wrapped in SniperSkinz.

Thanks to Sponsors Drymax and Sniperskinz

2010-03-03T15:15:00.004-05:00

Only a few more days until U.S. Nationals in Kalamazoo. Our team has been extremely fortunate to have in our corner two sponsors. Drymax, who has also sponsored my ultrarunning, has stepped up to outfit our team with socks. We will be trying out their new line of hockey socks. When I first heard that Drymax just started making hockey socks, I though it would be a perfect fit to try them out on the curling ice. Drymax agreed and we now are well stocked. Our feet should be very happy during our upcoming games.

Another company geared to hockey, Sniperskinz, has also agreed to sponsor the team. Sniperskinz makes some very cool wraps for hockey sticks. They have never made wraps for curling brooms and had to make some adjustments in the sizing to fit the brooms versus a hockey stick. Our team is the first to try out the wraps on curling brooms. We got to customize the wraps with an individual design and colors. It only took minutes to apply the wraps and our brooms look very sharp now. We will definitely have most unique brooms at Nationals.

Last Tune-Up

2010-02-28T14:37:00.000-05:00

The Team went on the road last weekend to Canada for a final tune-up before Nationals. We went to the Sun Parlour Curling Club in Lemington, Ont., by Windsor. They had a 4-sheet club. The ice was fast but had a lot of runs and falls. It was tough predicting the ice. We played two games on Saturday and recorded wins. We played in the final event on Sunday. We had a close game and were tied going into the 8th end. We didn't have hammer and had a chance for a steal but the other team's skip made a nice last shot for the win.

We got to watch a lot of curling on TV since the Olympics were in full swing. Of course, the Canadians focused on the Canadian teams so really fun to watch. Those Canadian Olympic teams were fantastic!

Magic in New York

2010-02-17T10:24:00.000-05:00

Me, Leslie, Laurel and Courtney with 1st Place trophy!

This past weekend, my Mayfield team headed to the USWCA National Bon Spiel in Schenecktady, NY. The theme of the Bon Spiel was "The Magic of Curling," and that theme proved to be a winner for us. We played teams from the following clubs: Nutmeg (Connecticut), Nashua (New Hampshire), Granite (Seattle), Madison and Arizona. We were able to win all of our games and emerged the winner of the entire Bon Spiel. The ice was a bit challenging as there were crazy curls and major falls on two of the sheets but we were able to figure it out and stay on our game.

A second Mayfield team was able to win the B event so our Club was able to take home two huge trophies. A very fun weekend!

Kudos to USATF

2010-02-05T17:36:00.000-05:00

We just received official word that the USATF will be providing funding for the US 24-Hour Team. Here is the press release:

In a landmark decision that shows support for the sport of U.S. Ultrarunning, USA Track & Field will provide funding for the 2010 Team USA Ultra teams competing at the 100 km and 24-Hour World Championship events.

Previously the two annual national ultra teams were self-funded, relying on temporary sponsorships and donations, and team members' personal funds. The recent decision by USATF will underwrite a significant portion of the two teams' travel expenses, and will provide opportunities for grants from the championship host events and other organizations to cover the remaining costs.

"It's an historic decision and a welcome statement of support for our world-class American athletes from USA Track & Field," said American Ultrarunning Association President Roy Pirrung, the 24-Hour Run national team manager, who is also a former national champion, national record holder, and 7-time national team member in the 24 Hour event. "We're grateful to USATF and its new leadership for taking this huge step to enable our best ultra athletes to represent their country on the world stage."

As Roy Pirrung said, this is wonderful news for the ultra community. USATF has really stepped up to help ultra athletes, not just shorter distance Olympic athletes. Hopefully, USAFT's commitment will continue into the future and the ultra-running community will continue to improve and gain more runners and supporters.

Ninth End Defeat

2010-02-01T14:37:00.003-05:00

Else, Bob, me and Roger

We spent the past weekend at the Cleveland Skating Club curling in their mixed bon spiel. Our team returned with the same line-up as last year: Roger at lead, me playing second, Bob at vice and Else as skip. Last year we lost our first game, dropped to the 2nd event and then won the remainder of our games. This year, we would reverse that order. We won our first 4 games. For the last game, which was the championship game or First Event, we ended up tying after 8 ends. This was somewhat of a miracle as we had not been playing very well at all. We were down 3 with the hammer in the 8th end and got 3 points for the tie. In the 9th end, without the hammer, we were trying to force the opposing skip to draw. Else's final rock was a bit heavy and it ended up just floating by the other team's shot rock so that was the end of the game. An exciting game in any event. Our wins were against Roseland (Windsor), Skating Club (Cleveland) and two Annandale (Ontario) teams. Our only loss was to Ridgetown (Ontario).

Day-Tripping at Welland Curling Club

2010-01-28T17:38:00.001-05:00

Last weekend the team went on the road so to speak for a one-day bon spiel at Welland, Ontario. Three of us went via Cleveland and one went the other way around (via Detroit). It took both cars about 3 1/2 hours to get to our destination.

Welland is a town not too far from Niagara Falls. The border crossing took only a few minutes. Any time you tell a Canadian border guard that the purpose of your visit is curling, they LOVE it!! Obviously, it's not a common occurence.

We had two 8-end games on Saturday. We played pretty well but lost our first game with the last rock. I missed a guard and the other skip was able to take out our shot rock for the win. The second game we faired better and won.

The ice was good practice for us. Very fast and it had quite a bit of curl to it. Our second game, however, had a bit of funky ice. One side of the sheet curled like crazy and the other side fell out. I guess that's part of the challenge!! We were the only US team at the event so that was pretty cool. The Canadians were happy to have an international flavor to the event and were great hosts. Definitely a bon spiel to return to.

The team is continuing to practice and gel. We're still meeting for Monday practices and have one more spiel to test ourselves in February. Only a little over a month until Nationals.

2010 - Looking Forward

2010-01-11T16:48:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's already 2010! I have been very remiss in posting what's been going with my running and curling. Most of my "free" time has been devoted to curling. Considering a game takes two-plus hours, curling can eat up a lot of time. For example, this past week, I played one game on Monday, Tuesday and Sunday and played two games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday! Only one day (Wednesday) to do my laundry!!

My curling team has been trying to get focused on the US Nationals. Nationals are coming up fast. Besides practicing with Mayfield teams, we have a few Canadian bon spiels lined up for January and February to test out some really fast ice. Of course, we also have to figure out uniforms. If we're not the best team at Nationals, we aim to be best dressed! Time will tell.....

On the running front, I have been doing very minimal miles. I've still be plagued by a swollen tendon in my ankle that doesn't seem to want to go away. Combined with the huge snow banks, I've been limiting my running to the treadmill. I will need to start increasing my miles shortly so I'm hoping both the swelling and snow banks disappear soon!

The US 24-hour team for France should be announced shortly. Based on results from 24-hour races this past year, I think we will have superb women's and men's teams. I can't wait to see how the race unfolds in France - only 4 months away! Other than the World race, I haven't planned anything else except the North Coast 24-hour in September. Given the curling practices (and work), my time seems taken up until mid-March. We will just have to see what develops. Stay tuned.

Kalamazoo in March

2009-11-20T17:21:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official. We brazenly signed up to compete at the 2010 U.S.A. Curling Nationals in Kalamazoo, Michigan next March. Only ten women's teams signed up so we don't have to curl down for the privilege of playing at Nationals. Instead, our team is automatically IN! Apparently, the women's Olympic team, skipped by Debbie McCormack, is taking a pass at Nationals (the Olympics will be two weeks before Nationals).

This will definitely be a learning experience. Now the hard part.... practice, practice, practice.

Trying Out The "New" Team

2009-11-10T17:18:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we were at Bowling Green Curling Club curling in their Women's Bon Spiel. There were 14 teams from Ohio, Michigan and Ontario competing. Besides Courtney and Laurel from my Club, we had invited Emilia from Detroit. We were hoping that this could be the start of a great team. We just hadn't played together before.

Courtney, Emilia, Laurel and me

The ice was super slow, in part because the ice is always slow at Bowling Green and there was the added factor that the temperature was downright HOT outside (temp. hit 70 on Sunday). The warmer the ice, the slower it is. We were in control of all of our games. Unfortunately, the first three games were only 6 ends (which I hate) and in our first game I made a major blunder. Even though we were ahead after 5 ends, we lost in the sixth end. Stupid on my part (but I'm trying to learn from my mistakes). In the rest of our games (three more), we played well and won easily. I am excited to play some more and get more challenges. Nothing definitive set up right now but should know shortly.....

Time for a Rest

2009-11-03T18:02:00.000-05:00

After having pain on the outside of my ankle for the last few weeks (which I have self-diagnosed as peroneal tendon strain - at least that sounds good!), I'm taking a running break. This past weekend I ran a 5-mile Halloween race in downtown Cleveland with my ankle throbbing and for good measure threw in a marathon on Sunday (the Inland Trail Marathon in Elyria). Saturday the weather was not the best. The race course was along Lake Erie and the last few miles involved running directly into a strong headwind. The picture on the right is of me after the race freezing to death!

The weather on Sunday was fantastic for a marathon. Again, however, I was not in perfect form as the nagging ankle would not let up throughout the race. At this point, I think my body is telling me to take a break. I was happy to complete these races though as I had pledged to run them for the Epilepsy Fundraiser I've been involved with, which is ending next week.

Now, I can concentrate on strength training and of course CURLING. We have our first official bon spiel this weekend so I will report next week how that went and curling plans for the upcoming season.

Canada Tune-Up

2009-10-28T14:40:00.000-04:00

Although the temps in Cleveland remain in the 60s, winter is nonetheless approaching and that means CURLING season is almost here! Yes, our club league play starts this Friday night, October 30th. In anticipation of the start of the season, Roger and I traveled with two other MCC couples to the Kitchner/Waterloo Granite Club in Ontario last weekend to get in a little practice.

The bon spiel is called the "Funnenspiel" and encourages costumes and not taking things too seriously. To emphasize that point, we started with two 6-end games and every person on the 6-person team rotated each end to a new position (so 2 people were sitting out each end). There was definitely some strategy to putting together the right rotation. We all were a little rusty the first game and got creamed by one of the host club teams.

Being the only U.S. team, we kicked it into a higher gear for the remaining two games and managed to win, I think to the Canadians' surprise. We ended with a 4th place finish and more importantly got our fill of delicious Brick Beer, one of the sponsors of the spiel. This was our second year attending this spiel and it is one worth returning to again and again... just for the Brick Beer!

Charity a winner at the North Coast

2009-10-16T13:57:00.003-04:00

I had to dash off immediately after the North Coast 24-hour race to make a plane connection. So I was pleasantly surprised to receive a $200 check in the mail from the Race as the 3rd place "prize." I mulled over for a few days what to do with the winnings. My first thought was to throw a party for all of the wonderful friends and co-workers who came to the race to cheer me on. This is still something I will probably do.... But as I thought about it, what a better way to spend the money than to donate it to the Epilepsy Association? As I mentioned in prior posts, I am the Honorary Chair of a fundraising effort called the Virtual Runner for the Epilepsy Association. Getting 3rd place and making the National Team and raising even more money for the Epilepsy Association was a BIG win all around. Anyone interested in donating can click on the Virtual Runner hyperlink.

Luci and me (my friend's daughter - who has epilepsy)

Inaugural North Coast Race a Success

2009-10-06T16:35:00.000-04:00

I was very proud this past weekend to be a part of the inaugural Cleveland North Coast 24 hour race. What a fantastic event. The race course was in excellent shape and miraculously the weather cooperated. Volunteers and race organizers were first class. Thank you all! In addition to trying to make the U.S. National Team, I was also racking up miles for a charity event I'm involved in for the Epilepsy Association called the Virtual Runner (check out the t-shirt I have on)!

The race was just part of a whirlwind weekend for me. First the race on Saturday and Sunday and then off to St. Louis on Sunday to attend the FarmAid concert (Roger and I have gone for 5 straight years). We had it calculated out to just barely make our plane if I left the race immediately at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday.

I had two goals for the race initially. I first wanted to try to break my age group American Record for 12 hours. This has been held by Sue Ellen Trapp since1996 with mileage of 117.401 kilometers or 72.9496 miles. I had planned to try for this record at the Delano Park 12-hour race in March but a severe case of bronchitis derailed me. My secondary goal was to hit 130 miles.

Before the race, I had calculated in precise detail what pace I needed to run in four 3-hour segments to break the record. Based on that plan, I started the race at a 9:15 minute per mile pace for 3 hours, then 9:30 pace for 3 hours; then 9:45 pace for 3 hours and finally 10:00 pace for 3 hours. If I hit those splits, I would hit 82 laps or about 73.8 miles. Since it was not a 12-hour race, I couldn’t plan on getting credit for a partial lap. I gave these splits to my fabulous crew and told them to let me know if I was falling behind. I forgot to tell them though that if I hit 81 laps, I would still break the record (but just barely).

The race started under threatening skies. Weather predictions all week called for rain but none developed. There was a bit of a breeze coming from the south that hit runners on one side of the course but it did keep everything cool. The first hours of the race all blurred together. My boyfriend, Roger, had put out the word on the race and friends kept popping up all day to cheer me on. It was really fun running by our aid tent every lap and seeing new faces. I wanted to stop and chat but knew I was on a mission. As the race progressed, I realized that my careful calculations did not take into account that I might need time to stretch and go to the bathroom. Oops! So, during the first 12 hours, I stopped only once to stretch and once to go to the bathroom. I just didn’t have more time!

Trying to keep track of my splits!

Yes, there is a beach in Cleveland with part of the course running next to Lake Erie.

At the 11-hour mark, my crew appeared to be concerned. They finally confessed to me that they feared I would not make 82 laps. I then confessed that I had a one lap cushion. They were elated. Yes, I now had plenty of time! By then, I was having major cramps in my calf muscles. Dr. Andy had given me a potassium pill earlier to help alleviate the cramps but my legs kept seizing and I thought I was going to fall over a number of times. On my 80th lap, Byron Lane ran by and I commented that I needed one more lap for the record. He was kind enough to run ahead to tell the race organizers and so a race official came with us to mark my partial lap when I hit the actual 12-hour mark. Thanks Byron!! At the actual 12 hour mark, I ended up with about an extra one-half lap but I am not sure yet whether it will be counted. But even without that extra half lap, I did squeak by with 81 laps or 72.96075 miles. PHEW!

I was so happy at that point that I went by my aid station, hugged Roger and my crew and then walked a lap before heading in the medical tent to get some major stretching done on my body. It will be interesting to see the splits to see how long I was in the medical tent because it seemed like a long time but I definitely needed it. Dr. Andy and his medical students were miracle workers. They eventually worked out the kinks, wrapped me in a blanket and pointed me back out on the race course, I was seriously thinking of quitting at that time but some friends had just shown up to watch me run so it would have been pretty lame to stop before they even saw me…. So, I started walking a lap and before I knew it I was running again.

Nice and warm in the medical tent but still 12 more hours to go.

Everything seemed to be working pretty good until hour 15 when all of a sudden something popped in my hamstring and then pain. I immediately stopped running and once again hobbled into the medical tent. Dr. Andy again set me straight. Given that I still could walk, I didn’t actually pull my hamstring but he thought I had something out of whack in my back. He did some manipulations of my back, told me to change into tights to warm up my legs and to get back on the race course. I have to admit that I was very skeptical. I was in some pain and really didn’t believe I would be running again in the race. I walked a lap and still felt pain so I took 2 Advil, and then slowly started running again. Before I knew it I was feeling good.

Hours flew by. A full moon popped out of the clouds and the lights from downtown Cleveland and passing boats twinkled. It was a magical night. As the dawn approached, I found out I was the 4th place woman. I started focusing on how I could catch the 3rd place woman Anna Piskorska. I was making some headway when Connie Gardner, having major stomach issues, had to drop out. Now I was in 3rd place. Again, I kept trying to make a dent in the lead built by Anna. I think at one time I came within 2 miles. But every time I made more headway, she would revive and speed by me. With 2 hours to go, I was losing steam and I didn’t think I would catch her unless she totally fell apart and she was one tough runner. But the fourth place woman, Kim Martin, who had also been plagued by stomach problems earlier in the race, was now running very strong. She was motoring. I was about 5 miles ahead of her so I just needed to keep moving to maintain my place. But in the last two hours, Kim and I did talk a little bit and it was good to have something to focus on.

Toward the end of the race and yes, Kim Martin and I are having fun!

With three minutes to go, I was close to my boyfriend’s car and I decided to stop a tad early. We had to catch a plane to the FarmAid concert in St. Louis and had to make a dash for the airport! I ended up with a new PR (barely) of 128.933 but still shy of 130 miles. This race, however, gave me confidence that I can definitely make the 130-mile mark. Can’t wait for the next race.

Congratulations to all runners but especially top winners Phil McCarthy (151.515); John Geesler (139.408), Dan Rose (139.282), Jill Perry (136.328) and Anna Piskorska (132.265).

I got to chat during the race with a lot of very nice and inspiring runners, many of whom I’ve heard of but had not actually met in person, including Newton Baker, Suzanne Pokorney, Liz Bauer, Dan Rose, Mike Henze, Ladd Clifford, Chisholm Deupree, Ray Krolewicz, Kim Martin and Jill Perry to name a few! One of the best parts of running 24-hour races is that you actually do get to see and talk with a lot of runners who are all such wonderful and interesting people.

Kudos to Leo Lightner for breaking the American Record for his 80-84 age group for 24 hours. He was on the course the entire time and looked really strong. A true inspiration for us all!

Also, a special THANKS to my socks sponsor, DryMax socks. I only changed my DryMax socks once during the race and had no problems with blisters. DryMax also supported the Race by providing FREE socks to all participants. That was awesome!!

And yes, Roger and I did make our plane and the FarmAid concert was fabulous and yes I did stay awake until the end!

Presque Isle Marathon - Last Long Run ...

2009-09-17T12:16:00.000-04:00

Ben, Karen (1st Place Masters in the Half-marathon) and me at the end of the Race

I'm in the home-stretch. Only a few more weeks until the North Coast 24-hour race. I needed one more long run before then and picked the Presque Isle Marathon in Erie, PA. The race was last Sunday at 7:00 a.m. I had run this race last year and then it was a hot and miserable experience. I was hoping for a better effort this year.

Right before the race, the temperature was in the mid-50s. I was trying to decide what to do - a hard effort or an easy pace? Before I made up my mind, the gun sounded and we were OFF! The half-marathoners started with the marathoners - the race was 2 loops around Presque Isle for the marathon, only 1 loop for the half. The field was quite crowded in the first mile. There were about 600 marathoners and 700 half-marathoners. My first mile was about 8:30 pace. That seemed ok. But as I kept checking my mile splits, the next several were all under 8:00 minute pace. I kept thinking I should slow down but I was feeling good. At the half I was still hitting 8:00 minute pace and so thought I would see how long I could maintain that pace.

The couse is pretty flat and then weather continued to be fairly cool. The sun only poked out sporadically, the race had water stops every mile (with HEED - YES!) and even a shower to run through around mile 25. I slowly kept picking off women runners until there were only 3 women ahead of me....

In the last mile, I could not muster any more energy and came through the finish with a 3:30:10 and 4th place woman (1st place masters). I was somewhat in shock over this time as it is a PR for me by 4 minutes, not just an age group PR but a PR for my entire running career. My chip time put me at 3:29:50.

I am now in serious taper mode. Since I've had good luck on Lake Erie, I'm hoping my luck holds out for the "other" Lake Erie race, the North Coast 24-hour. Stay tuned.

Charity Two for One

2009-08-19T13:50:00.000-04:00

Now, I am not much of a trail runner, but I was lured into running the Twilight Race last Thursday night, a fundraiser for the Rape Crisis Center. I would also be able to use this race as part of the Epilepsy Association fundraiser that I'm helping out with called the Virtual Runner so I was able to participate in a reace for two good causes at one time. What a deal!

Laurel, me, and Kristen modeling our "Virtual Runner" t-shirts

The Twilight Race was held at the North chagrin Reservation, part of the "Emerald Necklace," a chain of parks surrounding the Cleveland area. Since the race would take place on a bridle path and over 200 people had signed up to run, the runners were started in waves, with the oldest runners starting first. Needless to say, I got to start way before my 30-year-old friends started. My goal was to not get passed by them during the race. I wasn't exactly running at lightening speed but I did manage to finish ahead of them and had cold beers waiting for them at the finish. Not a bad way to end a race! I, however, had to watch my intake as I was scheduled to get up at 4:15 a.m. the next day for a 20-miler before work. Oh well!

Drake Well Marathon Report

2009-08-10T14:47:00.000-04:00

No one can control the weather and it was a warm and very humid day in Titusville, PA for the inaugural Drake Well marathon on Sunday, August 9th. The day before was downright cool in Cleveland, but overnight with thunderstorms rolling in, the humidity index was in the 90s in PA for the 7:00 a.m. start of the marathon.

My friend, Karen, and I before the start of the Race.

As disclosed on the race website, the bulk of the elevation gain was over the first five miles of the course. After the first half mile, we started running on a gravel/dirt road. There, we encountered the first climb for the next mile of about 300 feet. This was pretty steep, especially at the beginning of the race. I decided to take it easy and walked! After topping out, the road dropped dramatically for the next mile before another brutal climb over the next two miles. The bulk of that elevation gain occurred over a half-mile with about 200 feet elevation gain, followed by a more gentle climb of another 150 feet over the next 1 1/2 miles. I again opted for the wimpy route, walking the steeper part and trying to conserve energy for the bulk of the race. Over the entire race, the elevation gain was about 1800 feet.

Once we finished running the "mountains," we turned off of the gravel road and did a tour through the town of Titusville. It looked like a very pretty town and it was nice to get in some sight-seeing. After about mile 10, we hit the bike path, which is where the half-marathoners had started. The bike path was heavily shaded and somewhat cool given the conditions. We continued on the bike path to the 17 1/2 mile mark before turning around. The path had a slight downhill to it going out which became tough on the return.

It was a small race, with about 120 marathoners. I plodded along for most of the race. The temps only hit about 75 degrees but the humidity was in the 90-plus range. The trees were actually dripping with water it was so humid. For parts of the bike path, it was kind of neat because it was foggy and very beautiful since we were running right next to the Oil Creek. It though was kind of lonely as there were not too many runners that you encountered.

Despite my slow pace, I apparently overtook the 3rd place woman (a young 21-year-old) at the 23 mile marker. I managed to hang on to that spot and came in as the 3rd place woman. This was a bit of a surprise but for my slow 3:56 (!!) time, I got a certificate for a runningskirts.com skirt. I'm mailing it in today so that's a pretty good prize (much better than a trophy!!)

After the race, unfortunately, there were no places open in Titusville for beers so my friends and I drove back to Erie for a celebratory drink before I headed home to Cleveland.

This was a well-organized inaugural race and has a lot of potential. There are not too many August races in this area of the country so it's good to have this one as an option. Even though the day was cloudy and we didn't need the shade, on a sunny day the bike path would definitely provide a cool cover for racers.

24-Hour Training - Getting in Gear

2009-07-22T17:04:00.003-04:00

The summer is flying by and I need to get focused on training for the U.S. National 24-Hour Championships on October 3-4. Since the FANS 24-hour race in June, I've just been doing "regular" running. I don't think I've run more than 15 miles for a long run.

With two and one-half months to go, I've decided to run a few marathons to get in shape. Marathons are much more interesting than running around my neighborhood for 4 or more hours. As luck would have it, I was able to locate 2 marathons that are within driving distance of Cleveland, both in Pennsylvania.

The first one is August 9th in Titusville, PA. It is called the Drake Well Marathon, named after the 1st oil well in the world. It may be a hot run so I will have to play it by ear as to whether I try to run a fast pace or just run a leisurely run. The other marathon is September 13th in Erie, PA, in Presque Isle. I ran this one last year and it was incredibly hot.

Other than those 2 races, I'll try to get out for a 5-6 hour run one of these weekends (probably Labor Day weekend). If past experience is any guide, this should be enough for a solid effort in October.

Badwater Race Begins

2009-07-13T08:47:00.003-04:00

Can't wait to see how the Badwater races ends up. It starts today. I have to be in Court most of the day so I'll have to wait until tonight to see how things are progressing.

Here's a link on my favorite Badwater Champion, Jamie Donaldson from The Denver Post:

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_12818524

As an update, Jamie takes 1st place woman, 5th overall. Great job!!

July 4th On Ice

2009-07-01T17:05:00.003-04:00

It's almost July 4th weekend and I'll be spending it on ICE. Yes, we'll be competing at the Tropicurl. Stay tuned for more details.....

FREE T-SHIRT

2009-06-24T15:47:00.004-04:00

Okay, now that I got your attention, yes there is a way you can get a free high-quality technical t-shirt and feel good about yourself in the process.

I am involved in a fundraiser for the Epilepsy Association called the Virtual Runner. I signed on to help with this event because of the little girl in the photo below:

Lucy, my friend and running partner’s daughter, was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was two-years-old. Lucy and her family struggled for over a year, with Lucy averaging 70 seizures in a single day. Today, through a combination of medication and diet, Lucy has been seizure-free for the last year.

After experiencing epilepsy first-hand, my friend and I are helping kick off a new running event called the “Virtual Runner.” All monies raised go to the Epilepsy Association to provide needed services to affected individuals and their families.

Anyone reading this Blog can sign up online NOW as a Virtual Runner. Then, beginning August 1st through November 8th, Virtual Runners log their race miles online. Races can be any distance and can be run anywhere in the world. At the end of the period, prizes will be awarded to the Virtual Runner with the highest mileage logged and with the highest dollar amount raised.

It is absolutely FREE to sign up as a Virtual Runner. And, by raising a mere $100 in donations, every Virtual Runner will receive a high quality technical t-shirt with the Virtual Runner logo on it.

This is a very easy thing to do with minimal effort. So, don't delay! Sign up online now, solicit donations, and start racing to help the Epilepsy Association turn your miles into money. To sign up as a Virtual Runner or for more information, click on http://www.epilepsyinfo.org/VirtualRunner.htm

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-22T12:21:00.004-04:00

After the torrential rain on Friday night, the weather shaped up and Sunday was very nice for Father's Day. I signed up this year to run a 5-mile Dad's Day run that is held at a local school one block from my house. I had toyed with the idea of running the Mohican 100 but was glad I didn't given the amount of rain we got just before the start of the Mohican race. Of course, for people who like to run in mud (not me), the Mohican trail course would have been ideal.

The Dad's Day run is pretty cool. Lots of kids with their Dads. Before the race, there was a moment of silence for all of the Dads that couldn't be there. I thought about my Dad, who passed away in February of 2005. He was not a runner and scoffed at the idea of anyone who formally exercised. Of course, he was a farmer so, to him, if you just threw around a few hay bales, etc., why do you need to exercise? He was in great shape except for this little problem called emphysema, that finally got the best of him. As runners, functioning lungs is something we take for granted. You don't realize how precious they are until they are compromised.

I finished the race in no record speed. Every racer received a tie for Dad after crossing the finish line. A nice touch, even though I didn't have a Dad to give mine too.

Race Course Update - Two Thumbs Up

2009-06-15T09:09:00.002-04:00

The organizers of the North Coast 24-Hour run where the US 24-Hour Nationals are going to be held on Oct 3-4) had a training run on the course at Edgewater Park in Cleveland this past Sunday. In all about 10 people showed up, including Connie Gardner, who is heading out this Tuesday for the 100K World Championships in Belgium. Good Luck, Connie!!

I wanted to eyeball the course so I could be 100% sure that the course would be awesome for all the runners who will be competing in October. It was a gorgeous day at the Park. Sunny, blue sky, right next to the water....

The course is a .91 mile loop. All of the surface is the same - asphalt - no concrete, dirt, or grass. It is a fairly wide path in excellent condition. No ruts, potholes or cracks. There is also no cant or camber so you will be running on a totally flat (not slanted) surface. As far as the ups and downs go, there is a very slight uphill and a very slight downhill. Otherwise, it's a pretty flat course. We will be running clockwise. This is because there is a very short section where you'll be running very close to Lake Erie (very pretty, by the way) and the thought is that if there is any wind, it will be at your back on this stretch that is most exposed.

Both Connie and I gave it the stamp of approval. I am very excited to be running the course in October and I think (assuming no horrible weather) that there are real opportunities for the "fast" runners to do really well. I know that Connie will be attempting an American Record and the course will definitely give her a good shot at it!!

Frosty FANS Report

2009-06-08T09:05:00.001-04:00

First the results from the FANS race in Minneapolis held on June 6-7: In the 24-hour Race, Michael Henze racked up 147.4 miles to break the old course record by 11 miles!! Kim Martin (formerly of Ohio) cruised in to win the women's division with 121.64. A great effort for her first 24-hour event. For the 12-hour Race, top male with 80.89 miles was John Storkamp. I ended up in first place for the women with 70.16 miles (FYI, these are all tentative distances so the mileage may change slightly).

Now for the race report. I think I am jinxed. This is my second 12-hour race in a row where it has rained the ENTIRE race. The race started at 8:00 a.m. with temps at 50 degrees and light rain. I thought initially this was a good sign as everything felt comfortable. The light rain persisted for the next few hours but before long changed to heavier stuff. At that point I was soaked but I added a jacket. Everything seemed OK but the rain kept getting heavier. This would have been OK but the temperature never did rise but instead dropped. The rest of the 12-Hour race, the temperature hovered at 48 degrees. Add to that some wind that developed in the afternoon and everything just got very cold. I finally got wise about 7 hours into the race when I stopped, changed the wet shirt and arm sleeves I had on and put on a dry long-sleeved shirt. This was much better although I still had soaked gloves, shoes and socks. The rest of the race was more of the same. My hamstrings got very tight - not sure if this due to the cold or just not yet recovered from Italy - so I ended up stretching every loop to make sure I didn't pull anything. I was extremely happy when the 12-hours were up and I could run to my car, turn on the heat and drive to my sister's house (where blankets, hot tea and dinner were awaiting me)! I understand (although I was sleeping in a nice, dry bed) that the rain finally let up about 3 a.m. and was somewhat pleasant thereafter. A number of people during the race, though, stopped for long periods of time due to hypothermia.

Some things I learned (or were reinforced) from this race: (1) Sue Olsen had a good idea of wearing latex gloves over her regular gloves to keep her hands dry. I'm going to stick some in my race bag and give them a try next time it rains; (2) Bring tights to a race just in case. My shorts were pretty cold on the legs and I had no other options; (3) Think about alternate fuel sources when it's cold. I had planned on drinking most of my calories (with Perpetuem) but I wasn't sweating enough and I ended up in the port-o-potty every hour. By hour six, I decided on Plan B, which was to drink lots less water and eat more solid food. Fortunately, the aid station was well-stocked so I ate chicken noodle soup, potatoes, pretzels, and peanut butter sandwiches in addition to Hammer Gel. While I was lucky, I need to rethink how to better fuel myself in these conditions; (4) At the last minute, I threw in my suitcase a very thin headband. This was a lifesaver. When the wind picked up during the race, it was actually blowing the rain sideways into my ear (I did have a hat on). After I added the headband, I was definitely warmer; (5) Resist the urge to change socks when it's raining. At points in the race, my shoes were making squishing noises they were so wet. I kept thinking dry socks would feel so good but I talked myself out of wasting time changing them (and of course, they would just get wet again anyway). Eventually, I just forgot about it. When I finished the race without a socks change and took off my DryMax socks, no BLISTERS.

Lake Nokomis took on a very different feel this year since it was so deserted due to the weather. There was brief activity early in the morning because another charity hosted a 5K event. Once that was over around 10:00 a.m., however, there was absolutely no one at the Lake except the people associated with FANS. Usually, there are bikers, people walking dogs, fishermen, boaters, etc. Very eerie.

The volunteers at the race were fantastic, as usual. I felt very sorry for them. At least when I was running I looked warmer than them. So, in the end, what is better? Hot and humid or cold and rainy? Hmmm.... I guess cold and rainy wins. Next time, though, I WILL be better prepared.

A Fan of FANS

2009-06-01T09:43:00.006-04:00

On Saturday, June 6th. I'll be running the 12-hour FANS race in Minneapolis. This year I decided to sign up for the "short" race since I just did a 24-hour race one month ago. No need to press my luck!

The FANS 12 & 24 Hour Run supports the FANS Scholarship Fund. FANS, which stands for Family Advocate Network System, is a program initiated in 1989 with a group of sixth-grade students from North and South Minneapolis. The Project has a vision of sending inner-city kids to college or to another post-secondary institution. FANS works with the youth and their families in a wide variety of activities geared to providing support for the vision.

Besides being a great cause, the race itself is first-rate. The course is a bit of a challenge, about 2 and one-half miles around Lake Nokomis, encompassing pavement, concrete, and grass with "Mount Nokomis" thrown in for good measure.

I plan to run a relaxed race so I can then have some time to visit with my sisters and Mom, all living in the Minneapolis area. They have had little rain this spring but I'm hoping any bad weather will hold off at least for Saturday. In previous years (have done 4 prior FANS), I've only encountered hot and humid weather, no rain. But, no matter what happens, it should be an enjoyable day at the lake.

Rest and More Rest

2009-05-26T18:06:00.006-04:00

So I've been back to running short distances for the last two weeks. The morning of the Cleveland Marathon (May 17th) I felt some regret at not having signed up as it was a beautiful day to run a marathon. But, in the end, taking more time off has been the wiser course for me. Sometimes the more I run the more injured I get. Being an "older" runner, I want to be able to keep running for the next several decades at the very least. I aspire to be like Cleveland-area Leo Lightner, age 80, who, after running a 2:11 half at the 2009 Cleveland Marathon, quipped: "I feel wonderful. I could do 20 push-ups right now. Want to see 'em?"

So, while I've been resting, I've also been busy with my bees. Yes, I am a very amateur bee-keeper (fancy name is "apiarist"). This time of year can be stressful in the bee yard as this is prime swarming season (where you can loose your hive if you are not paying attention). So far, my two hives are OK. This is all worth it when I harvest the honey this fall (I got about 60 pounds from one hive last year). Honey is an excellent source of fuel during an ultra!

That's me behind the veil checking out my bees.

World Report - US Women Take The Silver Medal

2009-05-14T08:26:00.001-04:00

We just returned this past Tuesday night from Italy after touring around the Piedmont and Tuscan countryside. What a beautiful country. Although I had a relaxing vacation after the World race, the race is still fresh in my mind so here goes my race report.

We left for Italy on April 28th, landing first in Venice. I wanted to have plenty of time to acclimatize before the race. We had a relaxing few days in Venice, strolling along the canals, touring a Murano glass factory, climbing the steps to the top of San Marco Cathedral and eating gelato. We hooked up in Venice with Jamie and David Donaldson as well as my sister, Sue and her husband Kirk. The first day in Venice it actually hailed! That would be the only bad weather we experienced during our entire stay in Italy.

On top of San Marco in Venice

On Friday, we took an uneventful 3-hour train ride to Bergamo before meeting up with the rest of Team USA. There, I was first introduced to teammates Annette Bednowsky and Jen Van Allen. Jen had just arrived a few hours earlier! We received our uniforms, chip, numbers (must wear front and back) and also received a cool jersey from the Bergamo running club. Next, we all changed into our official team uniforms and headed to the opening ceremony. This was quite a spectacle! The ceremony was held in a large auditorium and each country paraded on the stage where the country’s flag was projected and every runner was introduced. This was quite thrilling to see all of the runners and different flags and colors. After the ceremony, we headed to the pasta dinner. Mingled with runners from Great Britain and Australia and traded war stories. A number of us then walked the course. It appeared to be more up and down than was advertized. The race organizers were also busy laying carpeting and other materials down on some of the rougher areas of the course although not all of the cobblestone was covered up. I also noted that there was quite a bit of cant to the road and made a mental note to run on the inside of the road (i.e., the flatter part) as much as I could.

Part of the course - Trip hazard!

The next morning the race started at 10:00 a.m. The sky was cloudless and the temperature was starting to get warm before we even started. We all met at the US aid station and took photos before heading to the starting line. Prior to the race, I had figured out splits for anywhere between 9:00 to 12:30 minute miles. I put the splits on an armband so I could keep track of how fast I was running. Since the course was about .7 of a mile, it was hard to figure out just looking at the clock how fast I would be running unless I had the splits worked up ahead of time. I was hoping to run between 9:30 and 10:00 minute miles for as long as I could.

Annette, Jen, me, Carilyn and Jamie

Bob, Matt, Scott, Roy, Phil and Bill

Roger and me before the start.

Once the race started, I had planned to listen to my I-pod. Early on, however, Carilyn and I had started running the same pace (between 9:30-9:45) so we hung together for about 2 hours catching up. Every once in a while, Jen would join us and we’d all chat together. I think even once Annette joined the group so we had 4 USA runners all hanging together having a great time.

With Carilyn, taking it easy early on.

After awhile, Carilyn and I split and I was running by myself. The hours seemed to fly by (at least for the first 6 hours). The course started out fairly flat before taking a left turn that took the runners uphill past all of the country aid stations. Being alphabetical, USA was the last aid station (next to Sweden) which was pretty convenient for getting supplies quickly. After the aid stations, the course gradually turned right, leveled out, then went left again before going uphill over a canal. Then another left turn and the course had a nice long downhill section. This downhill section was shaded during the day and there was also a slight breeze blowing. After the downhill (and where the port-o-potties were located), a short steeper uphill followed by a left turn before arriving back where we started. The course would get ingrained in one’s memory – I looped it about 155 times (give or take a loop…)

I was surprised how the heat did not bother me initially, maybe because I took it easy during the hotter part of the day. I think the temperature hit about 80 degrees. This was a bit toasty, coming from Ohio where I did not have too much heat training yet! After about 7 hours, I suddenly had a spell where I didn’t feel too good. Dr. Andy came to the rescue, giving me a ginger pill and assuring me that I would feel better after 1 lap. True to his word, the pill worked its magic and no more nausea!

After 12 hours, I did stop and change socks. Due to the excessive left turning, I was putting quite a bit of pressure on the inside of my right foot, creating some blisters. I stopped to get them popped, put on new socks and my feet were good to go for the rest of the race.

Other than that, I had two longer stops (at about the 15 and 19 hour marks) to get stretched out by Dr. Andy. In between those stops, I also stopped every few hours to stretch my legs out. Due to the ups and downs on the course, I felt it wise to stretch both hamstrings and quads every now and then.

The US race crew had asked during the race if I wanted to know my standings. I said “no” since I knew it was really unimportant until close to the end of the race. Where you are 6 hours into the race doesn’t mean too much since things have a way of changing over 24 hours. I would not know until the awards ceremony how many miles I ran (128.831 miles) and what placed I finished in (10th woman).

The race was a bit of a blur but one thing that became obvious was that the US men were not having a good day. They were all in varying amounts of distress and that was sad to see. It was just one of those days for these very talented runners.

On the women’s front, I was told about half way through that the US women were in 2nd place but that Great Britain was very close behind. I started keeping an eye out for the Brits and began noticing that the heat was getting to them in a big way. As the Brit runners fell behind, Germany mounted a challenge to our 2nd place slot. Again, the Germans could not sustain a hard effort and all of the sudden the Italians were in 3rd place and closing in on us! “Can you run a little faster?” Dr. Andy asked. The idea was to create such a big lead that the Italians would not be able to catch us in the last few hours. That was not what I wanted to hear with just hours to go (I really wanted to start walking!) but I tried to pick up my snail’s pace, especially when I saw two of the Italian women flying around the course. The entire last few hours I was very nervous about the Italians catching us. It turns out that we beat them by about 6 miles.

Checking the Team standings with a few hours left in the race.

All of the US women put in a fantastic effort and ran really strong. We all had varying issues throughout the race but everyone dealt with them and hung in there for the team. I was very proud and excited to be on the podium accepting the silver medal with these wonderful athletes! I hope to see everyone again in Cleveland for the U.S. National 24-Hour Championship.

Jamie on her last lap looking fresh.

Jen hanging tough until the end.

Annette on last lap running strong.

Carilyn on last lap running hard.

Me on last lap - Very Happy!

On the podium, USA (2nd), France (1st), Italy (3rd).

Thanks to our wonderful Aid Station workers, my SO Roger, David, Tim, George, Donna, Peter, Grant and Spencer. Very special thanks to Bill Allen who was forced to drop out of the race early due to an injry but put in long hours at the aid station helping the US runners. DryMax socks and Aruba sunglasses were a big help during the race. CW-X donated our uniforms so we could look good on the podium. THANKS!

Chi va piano, va lontano

2009-04-26T16:59:00.000-04:00

Less than a week before the World 24- hour race in Italy. To prepare for the race, besides running, I've tried to cram in some Italian. In perusing one of my language books, I came across the phrase, "Chi va piano, va lontano." Translated, it means "He who goes slowly goes far." In English, we would say "Slow and steady wins the race." This phrase very nicely summarizes my 24-hour racing philosophy. I am not very fast so I need to stay at a slow and steady pace and maintain that pace for as long as I can. Typically, I am near the bottom of the runner standings at the beginning of the race. If I do everything right, however, as the hours tick by I slowly climb up in the standings.... We will see how things go in Bergamo. The course looks pretty good - flat, and while there are more left turns than right turns, none look too sharp. Length is approximately .7 miles. The weather forecast is also good with a predicted high of 72 and a low of 52 with 30% chance of scattered showers. For Live Updates of the race, go to the International Association of Ultrarunners website. As you're viewing the updates, just keep repeating, chi va piano, va lontano......

Cleveland to Host 24-Hour National Championship

2009-04-20T10:15:00.001-04:00

It's official. Cleveland has been chosen as the site of the U.S. National 24-Hour Championship! The race will be held during the newly created North Coast 24-Hour race, scheduled to take place on Oct. 203, 2009 at Cleveland's Edgewater Park, alongside Lake Erie. I will definitely be running it.

24-Hour World Competitors Announced

2009-04-10T11:00:00.000-04:00

The competitors in the 24-Hour World Challenge have just been posted on the website of the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU). The race is getting more real as I can now focus on who will be running and what the competition will be like.

This year, 65 women from 18 countries are on the list, which is 10 more women than last year. It is good to see the sport growing on the women's side. Also, in addition to more individuals competing, more country teams are also entered for women. This year 14 women's teams are represented compared to 11 teams in 2008. The countries bringing women's teams this year are: Austria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Russia, Sweden and United States.

I also noticed that there are 7 women who are older than me. So I have no excuses whining about being the "old lady" on the team :)

In 2008 at the World Challenge in Korea, the French women blew out the field, followed by Japan. Looks like this year Japan is only sending 2 women - since 3 individuals are necessary to compete for team placement, Japan will not eligible for team medals.

Last year in Seoul, the third team spot was hotly contested between Germany and the U.S. We were neck and neck and actually ahead until the last few hours of the race. The Germans, however, pulled ahead eventually and ended up with 7.728 kilometers or 4.8 miles more miles than us.

We have five women on the U.S. team this year, with Jamie Donaldson and Carilyn Johnson returning. New on the team -- and both incredibly strong runners -- are Annette Bednosky and Jen Van Allen. It will be interesting and exciting to see how the race shapes up between the women in Italy. I think the U.S. women will be a force to be reckoned with and I am proud to be on a team with such talented runners.

Springtime at St. Catharines Bon Spiel

2009-04-06T10:06:00.000-04:00

Me, Laurel, Karen & Courtney

Since our curling club has been closed for two weeks, we signed up for the Women's Last Chance bon spiel in St. Catharines, Ontario this past weekend. Between now and next November, there will be little curling going on so this was a good opportunity to stretch out our season.

Our first game was on Friday night at 9:00 p.m. On Friday afternoon, we hit torrential rain driving through Ohio, PA and NY. The border-crossing,however, took 1 minute and we were in St. Catharines in record time (about 3 1/2 hours). We had a pre-game drink at the hotel and then headed to the curling club (about 5 minutes away). The bon spiel theme was "Spring Fling" so we attempted to look the part in our matching hats, vests and socks. Our first draw was a St. Catharines team. We ended tied in the 8th end and so had to play an extra half end (each person only throwing one rock). We had the hammer and so had a huge advantage. Unfortunately, we blundered and lost by 1 point.

The next day was better. We played two different Welland, Ontario teams, winning both of them. We ended up winning the 2nd event. It was fun playing on "Canadian" ice. It is much faster and swings a lot more than our ice. It is fun to actually be able to draw behind rocks (hard to do with the straight ice we have at Mayfield). The bon spiel concluded with a dinner, lots of raffle prizes and too much Niagara wine! Afterwards, we retreated to the hotel, drank beers and watched the World Men's curling competition on TV (Canada vs. Japan).

We were rousted early on Sunday morning with the hotel's fire alarms blazing. False alarm but this got us all moving. It seemed like a good idea the night before to have a "Team run" in the morning. We actually followed through with it (Laurel and Courtney are not regular runners) and ran through downtown St. Catharines for about 40 minutes. We then hit the road and arrived back in Cleveland in time for me to get in a 2-hour run before dark.

Cleveland to Debut New 24-Hour Race

2009-03-29T23:15:00.000-04:00

I have recently learned that Cleveland will be hosting a new 24-Hour race this fall. This is very exciting news as I can sleep in my own bed the night before the race and actually be familiar with the course before I run it. Check out the website for the NorthCoast 24-Hour. Usually the weather in Cleveland in October is decent, not too hot. I can also vouch that the course will be as advertized (not like some races that you get to and the course does not match what you were told about it). I'll be looking forward to running it and encourage all out-of-towners and Clevelanders to sign up. I predict a first-class race.

It's A Wrap - Curling Season Officially Over

2009-03-24T09:51:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, we had our final Club Bon spiel of the season. All the teams are mixed up so you get to curl with people you may not have had an opportunity to play with during the year. I was paired with Wayne (a very experienced curler) and Angie & Tim (2 new curlers). While we had fun, we were not too successful on the ice. In between games, we played euchre, ate, and drank some beers. The Bon Spiel is called "The Memorial" and is dedicated to those curlers who have gone before us. This year was especially meaningful as one of the pillars of our Club, Chris Moore, had died about a month ago from cancer. He was the President of the United States Curling Association and was instrumental in getting curling designated as an Olympic sport. He also worked to give people with disabilities access to curling so there is now a wheelchair curling program. Chris was 53 when he died. A Foundation at the USCA has been set up called the Chris More Legacy Foundation, which will focus on competitive, wheelchair and junior curling programs. As part of the Memorial Bon spiel, we held a silent auction to raise money for the Foundation. We raised almost $5,000 which was amazing!

On Sunday, my team didn't make it into the finals. There was a silver lining to this cloud, however, as I was able to fit in a long run. The day was gorgeous, the vestiges of the bronchitis are almost gone, and I was able to run for about 3 hours. After the run I headed to the Curling Club to watch the finals, help with the clean up, watch the plug get pulled on the ice and assist in draining the keg. Not a bad finish to the season. Can't wait for November (the start of the new curling season)!

Delano Park - 12 Hours of Wet and Wheezing

2009-03-16T18:15:00.000-04:00

I had been looking forward to the Delano Park 12-Hour race for a number of reasons. First, I turned 50 on March 11th and so thought I had a shot to break the 50-54 age-group American record for women in the 12-hour race. Hey, I would only be 50 plus 3 1/2 days! Can’t get much younger than that in my new age group. All I needed was 73 miles. My previously 12-hour best was at FANS with 67.73 miles. Second, it would be a great training run for the World 24-hour race in Italy upcoming in May. Third, I would get to see Jamie and David Donaldson, who are the sweetest couple I know!

My first objective started looking dim when, on my birthday, I reluctantly visited the UrgentCare as my lungs were just not working too well. Bronchitis was the official diagnosis. This was something new for me! The doctor, however, didn’t say I was forbidden to run, but only gave me the dire prediction that I would not do well (thanks, Doctor!) I kept thinking there would be a miracle cure by the 14th but that in fact did not happen.

Roger and I arrived in Huntsville, Alabama on Friday, the 13th (omen?) We immediately headed to a local restaurant, the Blue Plate, for fried catfish, cornbread and peach cobbler. We then visited the Marshall NASA Space Museum before heading to Decatur, which was the site of the race. We hooked up with Jamie and David at the hotel and then headed to pick up our race stuff and loaded up on pasta. Did I mention that it was raining the entire day?

Well, the rain did not let up. It continued throughout the night and actually until about an hour left in the race. The good news was that the temperatures were nice, between 48 to 54 degrees during the 12 hours and the numerous Dogwood trees lining the course were in bloom. The bad news was that I couldn’t breathe very well and parts of the course were under water (i.e. water up to my ankles).

Once I woke on race day feeling no change in my breathing, I decided that this was no day to break any records. I would just plod along and get some training miles in. Plodding was not all that enjoyable given the wheezing and coughing and wet and muddy conditions but somehow the hours “flew” by and with about 6 minutes left I crossed the finish line with 68 miles (there were no partial laps and I didn’t have time to do another lap). The entire race, my Drymax socks stayed comfortable on my feet even though everything was soaked!

Of course, the entire day, Jamie was flying by me looking fantastic. She ended up with 78 miles and was OVERALL Champion. Way to GO! She will be a force to be reckoned with in Italy. Look out FRANCE!! I ended up 5th overall, 2nd woman and “Grandmaster Champion.” I guess it paid off to turn 50 for the race!

After sandblasting our legs and feet to get all the grime off and attending the awards ceremony, the gang headed to Mama Blues buffet for more fried food!

Kudos to the race organizers for their Herculean efforts to drain the course of excessive water. Guys were out there in the rain with pumps, shovels and rakes all day long. We could have been running in a river but towards the later part of the race the course was actually pretty dry. Other than the water, the course was as advertised and a pleasant place to spend 12 hours.

No Eight-Ender at the Evergreen

2009-03-06T17:17:00.000-05:00

We were not able to recreate our eight-ender magic at MCC's Evergreen this past weekend. Last year, at the end of the season Ron & Wendy Busch and Roger and I teamed up in the Club's final bon spiel and had what all curlers dream about but few actually attain - an 8-ender!

Since Ron and Wendy had chaired last year's Evergreen, they had an automatic entry into the 2009 Evergreen and asked Roger and me to play on their team. Photo Below.

We played three games and ended up 1-2. The losing games were close so we still had fun. Unfortunately, as the weekend wore on, the evil enemy "FLU" reared its ugly head and did a number on me. I was out of commission running for four days. I am still pretty congested but started back at it to keep up conditioning for next week's Delano 12-hour race. Fluids, fluids, fluids..... I WILL get over this before the 14th!

Diana Nyad Offers Inspirational Words

2009-02-20T17:03:00.000-05:00

I attended the American Heart Association "Go Red for Women" luncheon today in downtown Cleveland. The keynote speaker was world-class long distance swimmer and journalist, Diana Nyad. She revealed to the audience that she would be turning 60 soon. I can only hope I look that good at 60. She looks incredibly fit. She had many stories of her training growing up, how a heart condition at 16 derailed her quest for competing in the Olympics in 1968 and how she turned that disappointment into a career in long-distance swimming (in 1979 she swam 102.5 miles from the Bahamas to Florida). Although we cannot all be world-class athletes like her, Diana's message was to do the very best you can each day and you will be satisfied with yourself. A simple message but her presentation was very effective. A good message to employ in long distance races. As long as I feel like I have given 100% in a race, I am happy with my performance regardless of what position I end up in.

Last Chance for Boston Lives up to its Name

2009-02-16T14:49:00.000-05:00

To many runners, the thought of running a 1-mile loop marathon course in an industrial park in the middle of winter would be pure torture. But, the idea sounded intriguing, especially since it would be a good simulation of the 24-hour race in Italy coming up in May (minus the freezing temperatures).

I woke up the morning of the race greeted by snow flurries. Since I was driving from Cleveland, I hoped the weather would warm up the further "south" I drove on I-71. By race time in Dublin, Ohio, I think the temperature had improved to a balmy 26 degrees. I was very happy that I had chosen to wear my CW-X tights and long-sleeved top as well as my cold weather Drymax socks. I was set for the chilly run.

As there was a 5K, 10k and half-marathon on the same course as the marathon, the marathon and 10K started a 10th of a mile behind the half-marathon and 5K to ease the congestion. The raced started promptly at 8:00 a.m. The loop course was laid out pretty well. There were no sharp turns. There was some crowding initially but people spread out quickly and as the 5K and 10K runners dropped off there was usually no problem getting the inside lane of the course. The only complaint I had were the lumpy timing mats that I crossed every mile. I kept thinking I would trip on the mat and slowed down crossing it to be extra careful.

With all the different races going on, people were constantly passing me. I think this helped to make me run faster too. By the half-way point, my time was 1:48. I was OK with that. I was just using this as a training run and was happy with any time under 4 hours.

As the laps added up, however, I realized that I would actually have a decent time. I was consistently hitting 8:15 splits and I wasn't getting tired. The temperature only climbed to about 32 degrees by the end of the race. The sun was out on one side of the course and was hidden by buildings on the other side of the course. I was always happy when I hit the sunny side!

I had been keeping track of my laps on my watch which was a good thing because there wasn't alot of information as to which lap you were on. The last time I received any information was when I had just finished lap 22. When I crossed the mat for what I believed was the 26th time (and the end of the race), I had to stop and verify this with the timers as I didn't want to stop unless I was really done. I was a little bit in disbelief as my finish time was 3:36.43, good for first place in the 40-49 age group and I was 5th woman overall. I haven't had this fast a time in probably the last ten years. Bottom line is that this course definitely give you the potential to run FAST!!

Swingy Ice a Challenge in Chicago

2009-02-09T18:07:00.000-05:00

We were lucky to have clear roads all the way to and from Chicago for the Exmoor bon spiel. Being on Eastern time, we were definitely ready to begin to curl when the first game started at 10 AM CST on Saturday morning. Our first opponent was a team from Exmoor. We were all a little nervous as they had "home" ice advantage but we managed a win. Next up was a fellow Mayfield team. It ended up being a tight game once we gave up 6 points in the 5th end (OUCH!) We were down by 2 at that point and ended up tying the game in the 7th. The other Mayfield team had the hammer for the final end and we thought we were in trouble but managed to steal 2 for the win.

On Sunday, we played a Detroit team. Again, we had our hands full. We seemed to struggle with the swingy ice since Mayfield's ice runs so much straighter. The game came down to the last rock. I had to draw in to the button or else Detroit won. By some miracle, I was able to do that. The win put us in the First Event. Since it was a point spiel, however, for the final game, we again played Detroit! I think they were more up for the game than us as we definitely didn't have one of our better games. Detroit ended up handily winning and won the event. We took second place.

Mayfield teams again dominated as we also had Second and Third event MCC winners. Way to go MCC ladies!

It's A Sweep

2009-02-02T11:03:00.000-05:00

From the 28-team field, the Mayfield Curling Club managed to put winners in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th events at the Cleveland Skating Club bon spiel this past weekend. Our team, the Festersen rink - Else (skip), Bob (vice), me (2nd) and Roger (lead).

Our first game on Friday was a shakey start. We played a Canadian team from Annandale. Else got caught in traffic and arrived after the first end. We gave up 3 points that end. Ouch! Things improved and after 8 ends we managed a tie, sending the game into an extra end. We didn't have quite enough though and lost in the 9th, putting us in the 2nd event bracket. We breezed through our next matches against Columbus and Cleveland Skating Club teams. For our 4th game, we got matched up against another Annandale team. It was close but we prevailed in the 8th and advanced to the finals on Sunday. Our final comeptitor was a Canadian team from Hamilton. By Sunday, the ice was very slow since the Skating Club had no scraper or nipper and the pebbling was building up on the ice. We were able to capitalize on being more used to slower ice than the Canadians and won handily after 6 ends.

Since I had not been able to run on Friday and Saturday because I was curling, I managed to squeeze in a 15-miler before nightfall since it was a warm and sunny day.

Ice Is My Enemy And Friend

2009-01-28T11:03:00.000-05:00

For the last month, we've had continuous snowfall and the resulting ice that develops from the slight thaws. My last long run outside was a 50-mile fun run on January 3rd. Since that time, I've been relegated to the dreaded treadmill because (1) it's pitch dark outside both before and after work; (2) the sidewalks and paths are covered with ice and (3) running on the road is not an option because the huge snowbanks leave no place to bale when a car bears down on you. Needless to say, my training for the World 24-Hour Challenge in early May is not progressing as I would like. To add insult to injury, it's been snowing since last night, adding about a foot of new snow and now is a mix of both snow and rain coating everything with more ice.

On the bright side, however, the curling ice is great. My team traveled in early January

(through a snow and ice storm) to the Ardsley Curling Club in New York to compete in the Olympic Qualifiers. Laurel (2nd), Courtney (lead) and me (vice) have been curling for a combined total of about 10 years. Our skip, Dee, was very experienced and that helped greatly. Although I think it's safe to assume that we were the least experienced team, we actually didn't play too badly and had the opportunity to advance to the Challenge Round in Green Bay. Given that three of us work and had already taken off one week of work, we decided to pass this time around. We'll see what 2014 holds for us!

My boyfriend, Roger, and I are also playing in the Cleveland Skating Club bon spiel this weekend. Our first game is at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. In between games and broomstacking, I'll have to try and squeeze in some runs so I can get my mileage up from the 40-50 miles per week range I've been stuck in.