Relay Update

Our relay team has grown! Joining us on our 208 mile trek through the Blue Ridge Mountains are David Ploskonka from Baltimore, MD and Eric Charette from Huntsville, AL, and we are glad to have them! Instead of 4 people running 50+ miles each, we have a wider range of distances, starting from 44.5 to 28.5, all hitting difficult levels of elevation gain and loss.

For me, this is good news. The challenge of 4 runners tackling 208 miles was exciting…and daunting. The idea of having 5 was much better, giving us all 43-44 miles, and in our search for another runner, we found two, making the race and a good time two things that could more easily go hand in hand.

We will now have two support vehicles. Van one will drive Kristi, Kandi, and David. Van two will drive Jason, Eric, and myself (Jane). Van one will run legs 1-3 and van two will run legs 4-6, continuing this rotation throughout the race.

I am thrilled with our new team and more excited now than I was before. The pressure of making the cut-off time and the fear of overdoing it are issues of the past. That doesn’t mean that we won’t experience fatigue and a strong desire to shut our eyes when we must open them and run, but it means we can give a little more and push a little harder on our respective legs that are now fewer in number.

As I write, our adventure begins in less than a week. I have trained hard and I feel ready. I’m ready for the challenge, ready for the experience, ready for the beauty of unseen mountains, and ready to spend this time with my husband and our good friends.

This time last year I was getting ready to get married. I married my husband, Jason Reneau, on Sept 3, 2007, which was Memorial Day. I can’t help but think it is fitting for the two of us as runners to begin our second year of marriage this way. Maybe it will be a new tradition – to try something new together each new year.

To me, this relay is a bit like marriage. It is longer than most races and certainly not the easiest one to choose. There are moments of joy, moments of hardship, moments of rest, and moments where one has to ignore how they feel and give it all they’ve got to succeed. In a relay, just like in marriage, one doesn’t run only for himself, but for another. It is a team effort, requiring all participants to work hard to obtain the goal.

So while this relay will most certainly be an amazing personal accomplishment, I don’t run it only for myself. I run to support my team, to give my all, and to celebrate another year of life with a beloved teammate.

This has been your Cheesy Moment with Jane Tortoise (and knowing me, there are probably more to come).

- Jane Reneau Tortoise

The Interruption of Injury

I’ve been watching the Olympics almost every night since they started. And while they are definitely inspiring, they are nerve-racking and exciting and heart-breaking at the same time. I’ve watched athletes with triumphant finishes and I’ve watched athletes with crushing defeats and shattered hopes. I’ve watched athletes with injuries and mistakes not make it to the finish, and my heart goes out for them.

Even though I want the US to win in everything, I can’t help but support other teams who have worked so hard to get to where they are. When the program does a spotlight on an Olympian, I start feeling like I know them and I want them to succeed.

From Liu Xiang, China’s hope for a track and field victory, to Lolo Jones who everyone knew had it in the bag, these stories broke my heart for these runners who had worked so hard only to have an injury or mistake that kept them from the gold in what should have been their finest hour.

And then I had a little mishap of my own that gave me a moment of panic and frustration last night. Not that I in any way compare to these Olympians, I don’t. But what we DO have in common is a goal of some sort that requires us to train hard, to push, to start even when we are tired, and to give it all we’ve got when the moment of truth arrives.

Tuesday morning I ran 9 miles, 4.5 with my friend Mimi, and 4.5 alone. I strategically placed Eastview (a murderous hill in Madison) in the midst of both routes so that I would have to climb it twice. The relay we are to run will have elevation similar to the hills of Eastview, and so I try to fit it in at least once a week, using Cecil Ashburn for the other hill-work day.

Even with 9 miles run already, I knew that for the relay I’d be running several times a day, and so a double or two each week would be a good idea. Jason was going to run the Cross Country Run Tuesday night, so I packed some clothes and planned to go too.

I hadn’t planned on trying to run fast, but it is hard to do when surrounded by other runners who are keeping a good pace. I gave myself a word of warning as we hit the trails. I haven’t been running trails at all, and while these are not the most difficult Huntsville has to offer, they are filled with rocks, roots, and plenty of uneven terrain.

I knew I should probably slow down, but I’d made up my mind not to let the runner behind me catch me so I ran as fast as I could, trying to watch my step as I went.

On the last mile of the run, my foot struck too close to the edge and my ankle turned inward. I yelped and corrected, still running. The pain wasn’t bad at first, just a little notification that something wasn’t right. As I ran, though, the pain increased slowing me down and letting the guy behind me pass (two guys, in fact).

By the time I finished it was throbbing. I looked for Jason trying not to panic. I wanted to cry, not from the pain, but because I didn’t have time for an injury and I had no idea if it was a bad one or not.

I told Jason and he looked at it. It had not started to swell and that was a good sign. He gave me strict orders to head home, shower, and get ice on it as fast as I could. I called my mom on the way home and she seconded his instructions. “Ice it until you feel like your bone is going to fall off,” she said.

I followed instructions and this morning my range of motion had improved. I’m icing it as I write. I’m planning to take today off, but tomorrow is Cecil Ashburn with Kristi and it has swiftly become my favorite run of the week.

Last week I ran a total of 57 miles. That is a first in the life of this running gal. I’m aiming for another 50 miler and then maybe a 40 before I begin to taper for the relay. I think this ankle will be fine, and for that I am extremely grateful!

Even though I’m no Olympian, I’ve still put a lot of time, training, effort, and hope into this race. I’m excited and I’m ready for the challenge, and whatever that brings along with it.

I think I’ll sit out any more trail running until afterward, however.

- Jane Tortoise

A New Kind of Challenge...

Several months ago, a very good friend and running buddy sent me the link for this relay. Instantly, I got excited and starting thinking of all my running friends who might be interested. I forwarded the email to 8 or 10 people, hoping that at least 4 of them would be available (because that's the minimum number required). However, because coordinating schedules is such a bear these days, I really didn't expect it would work out. So, I was very pleasantly surprised when my sister, Kandi, and Jane responded right away saying they'd love to do it and were available that weekend (and Jane said Jason was IN too)! And if no one else could commit (and they couldn't), then that was enough! And so... we began making plans, and it all came together!

A 208 Mile Relay will be a new kind of challenge for all of us. We will each be responsible for approximately 50 miles, give or take a few... well, Jason got the lucky draw of 59 miles... but I have faith that The Hare can handle it :) !! I have run a 54 Mile race once before, and several 40+ Mile races... and the 50 Miler was definitely the biggest physical challenge I've ever faced... but running ~50 miles in 9 segments spread across ~30 hrs is not at all the same thing. Our muscles will get tight and sore as we relax and wait for our next turn. We will get very tired, since we will be running ALL NIGHT LONG! We will need all sorts of snacks and clean/dry clothes and shoes... the logistics will be more complicated. So, I really don't know what to expect. And part of me is a little anxious about it. Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be easier to do all 50 miles at one time... and then crash and sleep until my heart's content! But our challenge will be to keep each other awake and motivated and KEEP MOVING and take good care of our tired and sore bodies for the whole of Friday, Friday night, and most of Saturday. AND I CAN'T WAIT! I like to think of it as an adventure, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun!

I've tried some new things in my training to prepare for this race. Since fast muscle recovery will be important, I've been running twice a day as often as possible, or 4 runs inside 48 hrs, and usually that only works out about twice a week. I've only ever tried doing 2-a-days a handful of times in the 5 or so years that I've been running, and it has never been very productive. The 2nd run is always really rough. But something seems different this time. It feels like a small miracle, but the more often I do these back-to-back runs, the better it feels... I guess that's the point of training, but I don't often see the benefit quite so clearly. It's been really encouraging to me!

Another new thing I tried this week was taking an ice bath to promote fast muscle recovery. Honestly, it had more to do with the fact that my air conditioning didn't seem to be working and it was 87 deg in my house... and I'd just come home from an evening run and was burning up. So I thought, "what better time to try the ice bath idea!" I ran a tub of cold water, threw in a huge block of ice from my freezer, and grabbed the latest edition of Runner's World. I don't know how much benefit I got, but it definitely didn't hurt anything, and considering how hot my house was, it actually felt pretty good!

So, we are down to 3 weeks... and counting! I've had a couple really good weeks of training, and I'm hoping for a couple more. And then it will be time to relax and rest up... and then RUN HARD!

- Kristi Tortoise

Ready or Not

In a little less than a month, my husband and I, along with our team members, Kristi and Kandi, and our two drivers, Betsy and Kalon (Kristi and Kandi’s mom and brother), will embark on our journey to Virginia where we will begin our 208 mile race through the Blue Ridge Mountains. We will be starting at 8:30 a.m., Friday, September 5 and we must be finished by 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 6.

Until then we are training, training, and training some more. Even though we all have our own strategies to get ready for such an event, our schedules intersect a few times each week. Jason and I go to the local high school track on Mondays and Wednesdays to get in some speed work, and Kristi and I tackle Cecil Ashburn, a local road that goes over the mountains, on Thursdays.

Attempting to get that late-night-run experience, Jason and I ran the EvaBank 5k Midnight Run this past Friday night, both winning 1^st place in our age groups. I haven’t won 1^st place since middle school (when I was the only runner in the age group), and while it felt great to run the fastest 5k I’ve ever run, I still heard a whisper in the back of my mind reminding me it was only 3 miles. In less than a month, I would have to run 50 of those in a day and a half…

And I can’t help but wonder, am I ready?

I’ve run 15 marathons and some of them were relatively close together. But I don’t have anything in my history as a runner to compare to this kind of mileage. And so while some days I feel strong and sure, other days I am filled with doubt and apprehension about the race ahead.

Still, I can’t help but be excited. We have a GREAT team and I believe that no matter how hard it is or how tired we feel, we will finish this race. The route will be beautiful, the experience will be new and challenging, there will be good friends present and the prayers of those far away following us mile after mile, hour after hour.

As crazy as it may be, I’m looking forward to it!

- Jane Tortoise