Simulation Runs for MC200

Yes, that's correct...RUNS plural. 3 runs in one day. But first what is this MC200 you might ask?

MC200 is short for Madison to Chicago 200 relay race (actually it's about 205) that takes place June 11 and 12. Teams of up to 12 run from just the outskirts of downtown Madison to just north of downtown Chicago. Ultra teams consist of 6 members (those are the crazy runners). We have almost a full team, 11, so not too bad. We will all have to run 3 legs out of 36 and we rotate in order, and 3 people will get to do an extra leg since we're missing one person. Hopefully that's not me but I think I could do it if I put my mind to it. My legs will consist of 4 miles, 3.5 miles and 5.4 miles. Joshua's are 3.6, 4.6 and 6.7 miles. We have two vans and luckily Joshua is in the same van as me so he can keep me company. The only other person we know that we're running with is my sister's boyfriend who is also in the same van. It should take us about 30 to 35 hours to complete depending on how fast people run.

So what Joshua and I did yesterday was simulate our runs in less than 24 hours, about every 8 to 10 hours like we will be doing in 8 days. At 8AM, we ran 4 miles and felt good. We kept up with our normal pace.

Joshua then ran 5 miles around 1PM and I ran 4 miles again at 5PM because of our different work schedules yesterday. I missed having my running buddy with me, but I think it was good for him because I think I slow him down.

The second run felt amazingly good but maybe because it was raining and call me crazy, but I like to run in the rain. However, the downpour during the last mile was not so fun but yet refreshing. And of course, 10 minutes later after I got done, the rain stopped or at least had let up a bit. My pace surprisingly was the same as the first run.

At midnight, we ran 6 miles together then Joshua kept going for another 3/4 mile. It wasn't raining this time on me but brrr was it chilly. We definitely slowed our pace down due to not being able to see in the dark and of course from running twice already that day. However, I was proud of us being able to do this without stopping to rest or walk and I was super proud of Joshua for running at midnight after being on his feet for 8 hours.

This morning when I woke up, I felt a bit tired but my legs did not crumble when I got out of bed. I think I'm ready for the race. There's only 8 days left until the relay race and I'm really excited for it. For now, I'm resting for a few days, doing light running for a couple of days after resting then resting up again for a few more days before the race.

MC200...I'm ready for you!!!