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