Climb MS: Power Up the Tower

March 8–14 is MS Awareness Week. MMRCers Josh and Iris would like to share this video produced by their friend Chris about his wife Kim’s experience with MS. If you would like to learn more about multiple sclerosis or make a donation, visit the National MS Society’s website.

Cole instructed the group on the finer points of the Vampire Transformer, while Tamara sketched a visual interpretation. (And saved our post from having no art since we forgot the camera!)

We arrived at the St. Francis of Assisi Shamrock 10K with 20 minutes to spare, after a nice long drive to Mocksville with Barefoot Josh and our little kids, who introduced Josh to the joy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Barbie princess books. The race organizers had kindly set up a childcare area staffed by the local YMCA, so we dropped off the kids and went off to calculate the proper combination of layers to suit the sunny, 40-something-degree weather. Barefoot Josh started out as Sock-Wearing Josh, but soon returned to his roots as the pavement warmed up.

The 5K race was finishing as we arrived, and as we lined up for the 10K, Harvey and I realized that we might be slightly out of our league. In our previous races (5Ks, mostly) the other runners seemed to be a nice mix of fit racers and getting-fit joggers. At this race, however, there were few people in the small crowd who seemed to be at a similar fitness level to us, and most looked lean and fast. No matter; we were there to finish and enjoy the run, not to win. We lined up at the back with Josh, who then darted back to the tents to dispose of his water bottle, missing the actual start. Still, he promptly caught up with us, ran with us for a little way, then headed off at his pace.

Since this was our first 10K, Harvey and I more or less stuck to our plan of walking one minute of every ten. The running tour of Mocksville was good for discussion, and we concluded that Mocksville probably had more pool halls per person than most towns. We played leapfrog with some of the slower runners, but didn’t do much passing or getting passed otherwise. As we reached the end, Josh doubled back and ran in with us for the last half-mile or so. We felt great at the end and had enough energy left to sprint to the finish.

We collected the kids, then collected our post-race nosh: pizza, Subway sandwiches, enchiladas, taquitos, and brownies. After some time spent chasing the kids through the crowd (including a tense minute for Josh when I asked him to keep an eye on the kids at the same moment that our youngest decided to play hide-and-seek in the crowd, after which I’m sure Josh congratulated himself on the wisdom of being sans rugrats), we headed to the car, grabbed a cup of coffee and well-earned muffin, then headed home.

Times aren’t posted yet, but Josh noted his at about 55:33. Harvey and I were probably closer to 1:20, which is fine by us. It gives us a PR to knock down the next time.

Beautiful day. Nice race. Looking forward to the next one.

—Tamara

No, seriously. Because it would be unfortunate if everything spoiled.

LINKS!

1. What would we do without Running Is Funny? Without RIF, we never would have witnessed the beauty and elegance of The Burrito Mile. Not for the weak of tummy.

2. Das Mixture undertrains for a marathon, and both avoids the wall and logs a negative split. Nice educational write-up.

3. I not only endorse the conclusion to Running Down’s search for the cure for Runner’s Knee, I heartily endorse reading it.

4. Top 10 Most Gimmicky Shoes? I wish I had twenty feet so I could wear them all at the same time.

5. Interesting research about pre-race stretching versus pre-race chilling out.

You read that stuff. I’ll be over here in my La-Z-Boy eating a one-pound burrito and not stretching.

MadMayo at the Massacre: (from left) Jack, Lori, Tamara, Barefoot Josh (as Usain Bolt), Blair, and Royce.

Six members of the MadMayo Running Club had the idea that running the Valentine’s Day Massacre Marathon Relay at Country Park was a great way to express their love for running in 20-something-degree weather. MMRC was represented by Barefoot Josh, Blair, Tamara, and Lori, who made up Team MadMayo Misfits, while Jack and Royce paired up with a couple of dedicated marathoners to take on the Clydesdale division.

Although no designated meeting place was specified, the MadMayo Misfits met up just in time to strategically pick the running order. Deciding that running shortest to tallest would give them the best advantage over the field, Barefoot Josh had the honor of going first. Although he thought this showed that being of short stature had its advantages, he soon realized that he would be running the first and only lap that consisted of 2.2 miles. All the rest were a mere 1.6 miles. Serves him right for not organizing a meeting time.

Blair channeled his inner Martha Stewart/Ty Pennington with his magical MadMayo Misfits Massacre baton.

Wanting to show his crafty talent side, Blair decided to make the team a baton to proudly show the MadMayo spirit. To his surprise, Barefoot Josh quickly adorned the handcrafted art piece with the team’s timing chip, and the baton was proudly carried for every lap of the relay.

After three successful baton handoffs, it was Blair’s turn to proudly carry his masterpiece for the first time. To his fellow MadMayo Misfits’ eyes, everything went smoothly and he was on his way. However, it was only upon his return that they found out that the Big Blue Carpet Monster caused him to trip and receive his first racing injury while crossing the starting line. With blood gushing down his leg and other racers fearing for his life, Blair made it to his chair to assess his injury. A little bit of water and a few Kleenex later, his injury was clean and he was ready to continue.

MMRCers Jack and Tamara show off the latest in Massacre headgear.

Given the 20-something-degree weather and the deadly ice patch on the course, Barefoot Josh had decided to keep his aqua shoes and fleece socks on for the race. However, after spotting fellow barefooter Allan, Josh decided he had to attempt at least one lap barefoot. While getting course conditions from his fellow barefooter, he didn’t realize that Blair was approaching the handoff line. A few minutes later, and after a few convulsions from trying to remove his fleece pullover, Josh was on his way for what he said was a very cold lap around Country Park.

The remainder of the relay race was incident free. Josh decided that one barefoot lap was enough for the day and Blair had no more incidents with the Carpet Monster.

3 hours and 56 minutes later (two minutes after Jack and Royce’s team finished), the MadMayo Misfits completed the Valentine’s Day Massacre Marathon Relay wondering if they would ever have so much joy standing in the cold weather that long again.

We’re working on posting all the Massacre photos on the event photo page. In the meantime, here’s a taste of the action:

Lori waits for not-Barefoot Josh to pass the baton.

They don't call it the Massacre for nothin'. Blair shows off the ravages of the relay.

Tamara makes it look so easy.

Blair's magical baton is working! He's way farther ahead of those other slowpokes!

Uh, yeah, okay, padding in the arch. And? $140! Want to support this lady jogger’s fluctuating arches? Call me when these suckers are made out of Chips Ahoys and Dove Bars. [Via Daily Mail]

Ah, love.

Read the full interview at Eddie Wooten’s Running Shorts blog >>

“The human frame is built to handle running speeds up to 40 miles per hour, scientists say. The only limiting factor is not how much brute force is required to push off the ground as previously thought, but how fast our muscle fibers can contract to ramp up that force.” Read the rest here >>

1. I agree with Running is Funny: It’s time to start getting creative with mile markers.

2. I wax satirical with a review of the latest “barefoot” shoe, the Barefoot Galosh One Finger.

3. Another fun race idea: The Prediction Run. You predict your finish time before the race, and the closest prediction wins. (Thanks, Booze Hounds, Inc.!)

4. Jim Weber, CEO of Brooks Running, calls me a gazelle. Which is weird, because I’m not a gazelle. He does, however, accurately call a spade a spade. Can’t argue with that.

5.  In the About.com running forum, the question is posed: “Am I a runner if I run/walk?” I say of course you are. If I run/drink, run/snack, run/sing, run/shadowbox, run/dance, run/trip over the dogs, run/walk, run/___, and still call myself a runner, so can you. (Also? MMRCer Iris, aka sinister Wife Monster, run/walks, so who am I to argue?)

6. At the other end of the spectrum we have Bernard Lagat, who asks, “Am I a runner if I run/break the sound barrier?” and wins his eighth Millrose Games one-mile race at Madison Square Garden. He took off on the last lap so fast, everyone else looked like they were standing still. If I were able to keep up with those guys for just one lap, you’d never hear the end of it. Once I stopped puking.

7. Can a spectrum have three ends? Laura Enyon has no identity issues as a champion runner/eater. Money quote: “You can’t let the doughnuts see you get afraid.”

8. Speaking of run, straight from 1986, Run-DMC rap it old-school on Reading Rainbow and LeVar Burton’s rocks an excellent ‘do: