run100widow

Gettin g Ready for the next one.....

2008-08-11T18:57:00.000-07:00

It's Monday and I'm pooped from the weekend. Its not so bad when you realize that you are tired because you had a great time at Stormy.
Thursday, we are headed to Leadville, Co for the next 100 miler. It is quite exciting to know that I will be in the mountains and visiting some beautiful areas of the US. It looks like Gilles will be in good form for the race. He finished Stormy with a pea size blister. I would like to take credit for that since I taped his feet prior to the race.
Our flight leaves in the morning on Thursday. We will be staying at the Black Cat B&B in Twin Lakes. I am definitely looking forward to a few days away from the hustle and bustle of work. The good news is that Leadville has free wifi in town. I will be able to stay connected and hopefully be able to post a few pics.

2008 Stormy 100 miler

2008-08-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have updated my blog. I have been busy with life and that may be a good excuse, but I think that mostly I was affected by the cancellation of Western States. It is hard to imagine that as a wife, crew and supporter of Gilles' running shenanigans I would be so affected. Anyways, I seem to have gotten over it. I think a combination of a good time at the Vermont 100 and my experience at Stormy have set me straight. My enthusiasm is back and I am ready to get back to blogging.

This weekend was the 2nd running of the Stormy 100. I was back at the Perth Aid Station and had a great time. Linda Machray and I were in charge of making sure the runners were well hydrated and taking in enough calories.
We spent times with the runners' crew. In a small race (only 29 started) you get to know the runners and the crew quite quickly. In particular, Don, who was out to support Ralp Hirt from California (71 yrs old), spent a great deal of time with us. Since the runners come to our aid station 4 times, he decided to just hang out with us and help where needed. Not only was he good company, he watched the aid station while Linda and I went to dinner. This was very much appreciated.

The runners were fantastic. It was great to see their enthusiasm no matter how tire, hungry, or sweaty. John Machray's arrival to Perth Drive after a little over 18 miles pretty much sums up the event. With a hop, skip and a jump, John came in putting on a bit of a show and giving us a big smile. When Linda gave him a hard time for his silliness, he proudly reminded us that at least he had his clothes on.

Gilles was silly from the beginning. For a minute, I thought he might miss the start. He was checking the air pressure on the tires of the car to make sure all was ok while I was on my own. So he wasn't able to jump the gun and get a head start like he did last year. Then, when he came into Perth Dr, he was happy to report he was running with a Virgin and that he wanted to spend the night with a virgin. All was good and they were sticking together until later in the race when he ditched her for another running partner, Carlos Castillo. They too were laughing up a storm and having a blast.

The Virgin was none other that Sylvie J. who was attempting her first 100 miler which is, of course, how she got nicknamed the virgin. It's really neat to see her perseverance and strength as she tackled the 100 mile distance. At each time we saw her, she was always appreciative of our help.

At night it was a bit tougher to keep awake, but the other crews kept us well entertained. We had soup for the runners as well as good words of encouragement. I even got to drain some When Baldwin came by, he changed his shoes and we found a nasty bloody blister. In a few minutes, I had his blisters drained and patched up and he was on his way. While we enjoyed the company of the runners, we tried to send them off on their way so they would not get too comfy in the chair and call it a day.

In the end, I had a great time. Gilles finished in 27 hours and 19 minutes alongside John. We were all proud to report that Sylvie was no longer a 100 miler virgin. In all 19 out 29 runners finished. The youngest was only 19 years old and the oldest was 59?. The winner blasted through with a finishing time of 17 hours and 39 min, rested a bit and then went out to support his girlfriend who was doing her first 50 miler.

Courage to Start

2008-06-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

Big Horn 100 Miler!
I have always been very impressed with Gilles and his accomplishments with finishing the 100 milers that he starts. Today, I am impressed with something quite different: His courage to start. I always think that if his training is going well, (and we all know he has been training well) the race should go well. What we normally don't take into consideration is the runners mental state: stress at work, preoccupations. Add this to the fact that we drove 17 hours in 2 days to get here, lack of sleep and a 100 miles starts to look a little daunting.
The morning of the race, Gilles announced that he had not slept at all. He was not sure if he would even be able to start. He was demoralized before he even got started. I tried not to make a big fuss thinking maybe it would all just pass. I went to take my shower and realized that he needed a boost to his morale. I got dressed and wore my finest "Run Gilles Run" t-shirt. The, I took out my dollar store pompoms and encouraged him to give it a go.
We followed the usual routine:

Tape feet
Go to breakfast
Go to race briefing
Go to start and wait

At each step of the way, Gilles looked withdrawn. Perhaps he was mustering the courage to start. Maybe he was wondering how he could graciously bow out. Either way, he hydrated and ate a few cherries. I gave him a big kiss and a hug, told him I loved him and that he could do it. Off I went to secure a good spot for race pics.

Once the star spangled banner or pledge of allegiance or something of a patriotic nature was recited or sung (I was too far way to hear anything). I began my picture taking. At first it was random shots of runners since I did not know where Gilles would be. Then, Karl came by and warned me he would be on the other side. Great, I had a few secs to reposition my self.
Most importantly, he started!!!!

The Prince and Princess of Cairo

2008-04-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

Well, my sister moved to Cairo with her family on Monday. It is the beginning of their second adventure as a Foreign Service family. In the meantime, I have taken a break from my knitting so that I could get to work on some cute dresses for my Princess of Cairo. So far I have finished 2 dresses which I will send this weekend. I still have a few more (approx 5 still in the works). If I only had more time. Hopefully I can get the rest ready next weekend.
Lucas on the other hand is quite easy to please and a little less work. It is not like there are lots of things I can make him. His main priority is that a package must has something with a dinosaur on it.

Coyote Two Moon Update

2008-04-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

The race director has now posted his report on line.
Check it out. Gilles makes the report for his speed and ability to get ahead of the aid station set up.
The official race results are also up.

Gilles officially finished in 31 hours (basically, that is how long he ran);
Luckily, he got lots of bonus points for getting into the aid stations first. And his time including the bonus minutes is 29 hours and 41 minutes.

Final Results

2008-03-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

All of our folks came in:

30:24 Chad Hyson and Karl Jensen
31:01 Gilles Barbeau
34:47 Al Harman
35:22 Shannon Willford
35:24 John Machray

WOOOHOOOOO

Race Update

2008-03-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

The good news:

Gilles is doing great. He is scheduled to finish around midnight. Unfortunately, he miscalculated the times and should have started later. This meant that many times the aid stations were not yet set up. I saw him at the last one, Cozy Dell, where I waited 3 hours to be sure not to miss him. He looks great a little dehydrated but in good spirits nonetheless
John is doing great but moving at a sluggish pace. He is proud to say that not only did he get bit by a tick, he ran into a nighttime aid station stark naked. Apparently there are already pics on the web.
Chad is doing great and Karl is just a little behind.
Shannon was doing great but has since run into some chaffing and blister problems. However, her tough as nails attitude and super duper support is keeping her going.
No new on Al, Charlie or Van. After spending a day of trying to chase the elusive Gilles, I was not able to figure out where they were.

Race Report 1

2008-03-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

They're off!
We had an anxious day waiting for everyone's start times.

Race Day Schedule:

9am Go to breakfast with a most of the Canadian runners: Chad, Karl, Shannon, John and Gilles
10 am Go to our respective hotel rooms to get stuff ready for the race. On the way up, Gilles starts to internalize quite how high the ridges are that he will be running on.
11 am Gilles and I go to the ranch to sign him in, have lunch and sit and wait
12:00 Barbecue lunch for runners and crew.
1pm: short race briefing
1:30 Foot preparations: I dutifully tape Gilles' feet to avoid those nasty blisters. Shannon thought that was a good idea and asked if I could do it for her. So, of course I obliged. After popping Baldwin's blisters last year, I decided prevention of other people's blisters may be the way to go.
Gilles went to take a nap in the car while I hung around with the other fools
4pm race gun went off and the tippy turtles of the race went off: Gilles and John
6pm Al and Shannon start (supposedly - since Linda and I went off to see Wicked)
9pm Chad and Karl start (supposedly - since Linda and I went off to see Wicked)

The next time we can see them will be about noon, 3:15 and 9pm. We may not be able to post anything until late tonight.
For more picks:
Coyote 2 Moon Pre-race pics
Coyote 2 Moon Pics

Race / Trip Preparations

2008-03-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

The countdown is on: 3 workdays left before we leave for LA and the preparations have begun. Today, we brought Linda our lawn chairs so we would have some place to sit at all the race events: before, during and after. Linda had a good a good idea of bringing some Fat Ass t-shirts since people all always asking us where they can get some. Ian also gave us some brochures to give out.

Tonight, Gilles prepared his drop bags. After much fiddling and maneuvering, its all ready. This trip is a little harder to prepare for since we will be flying. At the back of our minds, there is a nagging fear that airlines could lose our luggage. So, Gilles will be bringing the essentials in his carry on: a drop bag or 2, his trail shoes and water bottle holder.

I, too, began my preparations. Today, I put the finishing touches on a skirt that I wanted to wear on this trip. Nothing special, mostly sentimental. I bought the fabric last year while Gilles and the boys ran Big Horn. Linda and I had a blast exploring all the quilt / yarn shops in a 100 mile radius. That same trip, I bought some yarn to make a sweater. At the end of the day, when we had fun looking at all our our purchases, I realized that the yarn was a perfect match to the skirt fabric.
Now with the decision to go see Wicked, I thought that this might be the perfect outfit to start the 2008 100 mile season. The skirt is now finished and I have about 3 inches left on the sweater. Of course, I will still need to sew it together. Heck, that can always be done on the plane ride.

I also began cutting some fabric so that I can do a bit of hand piecing. Hopefully, this pattern will keep me going throughout the running season.

Quilt Shop: Best Kept Secret
Yarn Shop: The Fiber Shop

Bister Care and Prevention

2008-03-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

In 2006, Gilles ran Cascade Crest and got a lovely blood blister. Since then, his blisters have not lived up to that photo opportunity. He has often gotten small blisters, but never to this degree. Last year, for the first time, I taped his feet before Wasatch, His feet survived the ordeal beautifully intact.
Now the question is, when should you tape your mans' feet. Sure it prevents blisters, but you don't get the thrill of popping the that juicy sucker.
Any thoughts on when to tape?

Coyote Two Moon Ultras, Fri-Sun, March 21-23, 2008

2008-03-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

The training is mostly done but the tapering has not yet begun. Wait a minute, does Gilles really taper? He running the Chuckanut 50 K on Saturday , less than 1 week before C2M.
All the travel arrangements are done. Flight down to LA from Vancouver. Rent car from airport. Stay at the Best Western in Ojai.
Vancouver representation at C2M: Gilles, John, Karl, Chad, Al - not bad.
Widow's Race Itinerary:

4pm race starts for John and Gilles (race starts are staggered to have all runners finish within a 4 hour window).
7:30 pm: Linda (John's wife) and I enjoy the long running Wicked at the Pantages theatre.
sometime after Wicked: Linda and I check on the boys, then off to bed
Sat am: go check on boys' progress
Enjoy a little sightseeing
Sat afternoon: check on boys, bring pizza to keep them going
More sightseeing

NO need to plan it all in advance, but you get the basic plan. Any thoughts on activities in the area?

PS: The big planning now is which knitting project to take with me.