24-Hour Racing: Individual or Team Sport?

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

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



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

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

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

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

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!