Shine on You Crazy Diamond(s)

Last post, I commented on how strange and altered normal life had become. This was just short of two months ago – and that seemed as crazy as things could get. And yet again, the world did a “hold my drink” and crazier, more horrifying stuff kicked off. The social unrest is staggering these days, troubling to watch, even more disturbing and distracting when friends, family, and colleagues are in the midst of it while I sit safely away in my ignorance bubble of small-town PA. I’m shocked by how quickly rational, reasonable humans resort to extremes. How we demonize others who don’t explicitly agree with us, shutting down the opportunity to listen, learn, or even entertain the idea that “I might be wrong about this.” It’s heartbreaking to me. And as frustrated, sad, and confused as I am about my friend who died earlier this year, I’m so very grateful she doesn’t have to experience this. She’d hurt for the hurt – on both sides of the aisle. My feeble efforts of the past week have been to honor her by doing what I think she would do – engage others, different others than are my usual crew, and listen. Shut up…and just listen.

I did this with a coworker. This is someone I don’t think I’ve ever just stopped to talk to – as a fellow human being not as a producer of things that I need in order to do my job and deliver on the things I’m responsible for. Instead, we just talked for 30 minutes. She’s a person of color, a person of a different faith, a person with a different background than mine. And we’re so alike. She feels she’s doing a good job when people trust her to handle things, not needing to check in or check up but just delegate (that’s my preference too). She prefers direct, in the moment and factual feedback (also me). She strives to develop her team so she is replaceable, so there are 10 of her instead of 1 (also me). We didn’t talk about what makes us different much – we found so many things we have in common.

Another thing we do have in common is what we’ve turned to during this pandemic and the pressures of being quarantined – baking. I am reminded over and over that I just do not like being told what to do. Whether it’s a recipe or a government official, I find a way to rebel! In this cinnamon roll recipe, the rebellion is in the icing – literally…orange zest and a small bit of freshly squeezed orange juice. These babies are DELICIOUS – will definitely whip up a batch for at least one aid station, but maybe for the aid station volunteers vs. the runners :).

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

• 1 c warm milk
• 1 Tbsp instant dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp white granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp butter softened
• 1 large egg
• 3 c all-purpose flour

Filling (will have leftover)

• ½ c butter, melted
• 1 c brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Glaze (will have leftover)

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• ¼ c butter, softened
• 1 – 1 ½ c powdered sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 – 2 Tbsp milk
• ½ – 2 tsp orange zest, to taste

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine warm milk, yeast, sugar, salt, butter and eggs. Add in flour. Using a dough hook, turn the mixer on to a low speed.
2. Once the flour starts to incorporate into the dough, increase the speed to a medium range. Add more flour as necessary so that the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough mixture should be tacky, but not stick to your hands. It should be soft. Add more or less flour until the dough reaches the desired consistency. The amount of flour you add in bread making is always an approximation and you should go by feel.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
4. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Punch down the dough and roll into a 12” by 18” rectangle.
5. Brush the dough with the ½ cup melted butter (you won’t necessarily use it all). In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of the melted butter.  Roll up tightly lengthwise so you have one long roll. Use plain dental floss or a sharp knive to cut the dough into one-inch slices.
6. Place the slices onto a lightly greased 9×13 pan. Cover and let rise 30 to 45 minutes.
7. Preheat over to 325 or 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 14 – 17 minutes, until just kissed with brown on top. Note that ovens vary and you may need to adjust times/temperature.
8. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the cream cheese glaze by using a hand mixer to whip together cream cheese and butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Whip in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Add enough milk to achieve a drizzle-like consistency.
9. Frost the rolls while still warm. Serve immediately or cool and store. Stays good for 4 to 5 days in air tight container.

Make Ahead Instructions:

Overnight: complete recipe through step 5. Place the slices on the 9×13 pan and cover with plastic wrap. Place in your refrigerator. The next day, remove them from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature – 45 minutes to one hour. Then bake as instructed.

Freezer: complete through step 5. Place several inches apart on a baking sheet and freeze rolls. Once frozen, transfer to a resealable plastic freezer bag. When ready to bake, place in a lightly greased baking dish and allow to come to room temperature. Then bake as instructed.

Enjoy!

2020 so far…and some SAHO cooking

Guys – 2020 has been ridiculous. I mean. Wow!

I had a head start on the twilight zone we find ourselves in these days, but I’ll save that for a different and dedicated post sometime — maybe. Short story: A very dear and close friend succumbed to her mental illness and took her own life, leaving her husband, three kids, extended family, and close friends simply devastated over the loss of her. It’s surreal to foresee a future she’s not in and yet that’s the reality of it. It’s like learning 1+1 doesn’t equal 2. Foundations shook.

And shortly after that earthquake, COVID19 entered the media’s consciousness and politics and public health, all three, converged and here we are in this strange alternate universe. My children are basically being homeschooled though we aren’t following closely the curriculum sent home for their ongoing enrichment and occupation. Instead, they’re dissecting owl poop, mixing new musical beats, and reading and reading and reading. We’re also celebrating birthday after birthday but without the expected and promised fan fare of friends and big parties. Where foundations shook in February, it’s as if that earthquake knocked earth off its axis and now we spin wildly and dangerously all over the place.

Enter some normalcy: BAKING! As panic buying cleared shelves of boxed pasta, toilet paper, canned goods, peanut butter, and yeast – we adapted at our house. I’d been practicing bread making since the middle part of last year and found this the perfect opportunity to make the family bread needs vs. ignoring social distancing recommendations and elbowing some 40+ year old woman at the grocery store to get to that last loaf of artisan sara lee or honey wheat Naturefest or whatever. I have to give credit to Lyn Chartowich for this recipe – it makes an excellent sandwich bread, this version makes 2 loaves in normal loaf pans. I make 2 at a time because I only have 2 loaf pans. It’s nearly perfect every batch.

I use my standing mixer for the whole first half of this effort. SAF Instant Yeast has proved to be the best result from Red Starr, Fleishmann’s and the other one that I can’t remember right now. Flour in bread making isn’t an exact value though – you’ve got to go for consistency. the flour should be sticky but not stick too you. add a little flour at a time until you get to that perfect balance.

I’ll possibly be making a few loaves for the next Canyon Vista aid station – but these definitely make a different experience of PB&J. Next time around, I’ll share the cinnamon rolls recipe that another friend shared with me and our house has simply LOVED, and a really tasty kale salad..mmmm.

Run on, Runners!

 

Chartowich Bread

Ingredients:

1 2/3 c warm H2O

1 tab yeast

1 2/3 Tbsp oil

1/3 c sugar

1 1/3 tsp salt

3-4 c high gluten flour

Directions:

Mix H2O, oil, sugar, yeast & salt. Work in flour. Knead well (ten minutes)

Let rise 2 hours or until double in size

Punch down. Let rise 1 more hour

Divide into 5 or 6 loaves and put into greased pans

Let rise in pans approx. 2 hours

Bake 325 or 350 for 25 minutes. Butter tops and serve.

RD Wife on Assignment…

Worlds End Fall Classic was just yesterday and, unlike other years, I was sent on assignment to AS2 up at Canyon Vista vs. being at the finish line. It was a brave new world for me, but I had the good fortune of not worrying even a little bit about the finish line situation. You see, like I mentioned in my last post, Adam Quinton accepted the post of Food Chief. I’ll get in to the whys and hows of knowing this is proving to be one of those things that probably should have happened a long time ago later. This WEFC was a number of firsts, though. 1) A new Food Chief. 2) me captaining and Aid Station instead of the finish line. 3) the littles coming to “help” at the aid station.

An aid station is much different than the finish line. For one, you need a lot less food. Second, most people want fast service, if any, and to scoot right along. Third, it’s for a much more limited amount of time. Forth, you see all different beautiful parts of Worlds End State Park. Fifth, there’s a fun flow of visitors and people asking “What’s going on here?” and offering to give donations and asking directions to different things. I don’t experience this at the finish line, so that was sort of fun, to actually be done with my responsibility much sooner and be more free to just go home if I wanted to. Really people, Aid Station volunteering may be the best answer I have for this busier work life that limits the time I have for RD Wife support.

Our oldest mini-lady has been begging to do more with her dad. This is pretty cool, but also tough because he’s running stupid distances or out doing some heavy duty trail work. She can’t really safely help with all that. She’s growing up fast, for sure, and smart as a whip, but we have to pick and choose. So it was agreed a few months ago that she could come and volunteer at WEFC. She’s been PSYCHED about this for weeks. Recently, the other two mini-ladies were equally interested and, when our tried and true babysitter entered a new relationship with lots of potential for long term status, I suggested she spend time on that and all the mini-ladies would be volunteers. After all, at some point or another, they have to learn their family’s business. So, it was official!

On Saturday morning, the girls and I were up, dressed in warmer garb and packed up and out the door by 9:15AM – about 15 minutes ahead of schedule! This was great because you just never know with kids how much time any given thing is going to take and we needed to be all set up and ready to go by 11:30AM. Olivia was the ring leader – she has great leadership skills – and got her sisters motivated and moving. We made it to Canyon Vista at Worlds End State Park. If you haven’t been there, you should go. Gor.geous. But Olivia wasn’t to be distracted for long. Our fellow volunteer, Dan, helped us get things set up and then the girls were put to work, making PB&J and getting the cookies, gummies, chips and all that set up and out for our runners.

We were all set and ready to go by just before 11AM! Not only is that Olivia motivating, Katie is UBER efficient and Ellie managed to find some snacks and paper to be occupied and not under toe. As entertaining breaks for these girls, they would run up and play at the Rock Garden. Again, Olivia took on supervisory responsibilities, making sure her sisters stayed safe but adventured. Ellie got scared and they all came back just a few minutes before our front runners! Excellent timing, little Belle!

From here, Katie and Ellie dropped interest, but Olivia was in it for the long haul. The sisters watched a few Curious George episodes in the van, while Olivia stayed to help out. She encouraged runners to have some cookies, pointed a few disoriented ones the right way from the Vista, and helped keep things well stocked. Dan was amazing and really encouraged the girls to help too.

We didn’t have a theme for our aid station this year, but the Girl Scout cookies were a smashing success and we had a few leftover things we’d otherwise throw away that we shared first with some visiting youth groups. The kids asked a lot of questions of what was going on, many with surprised and dumbfounded looks that people could possible RUN these trails. I suggested they come back next year and they could help out!

Once our Aid Station cut off hit and it was time to wrap up, we got things packed swiftly, kids went to play at the Rock Garden for a few more minutes, and we went down to the finish line to see how things were. The girls played some more at the playground there. We stayed another few hours, heading home by 5pm and spending the rest of the evening eating, vegging out and enjoying the day. All in all, I think we can call the experience a success. I don’t think we’re ready to try a longer duration aid station with the little ones, but in the meantime, this was a great intro to the volunteering scene. It won’t be the last.

Now, when we headed back to the finish line, the new Food Chief proved his stuff – showing the purchase he’d made. Simmering plates! these are 1/8 inch pieces of metal with wholes in them that soup pots sit on top of and AVOIDS THE SOUP BURNING TO THE BOTTOM!!! I probably never mentioned how awful cleanup can be from the races because of this occurrence. Adam, in his brilliance, fixed it. And solidified his spot as the superior food chief for sure. On top of that, the food quantities were spot on and left overs were minimal. Well done, chief, well done. 🙂

All in all, WEFC was fun, relaxing, and an all around success. Our runners had fun. The new volunteers plan to be back. Here’s to hoping next week’s Black Forest 100K is a similarly enjoyable experience.

Reflections on the Race Weekend that would have been…

This weekend is not at all what it was planned for earlier this year, but I am certain what it has been is precisely what it should be. God’s providence is good. Always good and ultimately for His glory, not mine, or RD’s, or yours or any ultra runner out there.

This would have been the 6th running of ES100. I would have been functioning on 4-6 hours of sleep. Up at 2AM Saturday for check in breakfast. I’d have napped a little after the 5AM start and then gone to some aid stations with RD, checking on supplies and tracking whomever the front runner would have been. We’d be talking about the front runners – male and female, and estimating all day/night when we’d most likely see them at the finish line. I’d be reminding RD to eat real food – he’s RD’d some races and not taken care of himself, forgetting to eat sufficiently until 9PM, and not really hydrating himself well. I probably over do it with reminding him, but the level of sick is just a reminder that neither of us is our 24 year old selves anymore. RD would head back to nap and hand off his radio to co-directors, and I’d be at the finish running to the inn to get him in case of an emergency. We’d swap then, I’d head back to nap before ramping up with first finishers midnight spread, then shifting to the higher volume afternoon excitement. We’d planned a combination of foods – a spread of soups, burgers, etc. but with the bulk of post-race nutrients coming from Real Food’s Mexican food truck — SO delicious and with so many fantastic options for runners of all dietary considerations. I like to think I’d be in a super excited and encouraging mood, too. I’d be basking in the vicarious glory of runners’ accomplishment of 103 miles of ridiculousness. I’d have screamed myself hoarse for all our finishers, but going especially wild for family friends racing it. By this time – 5:30pm-ish Sunday, I’d be thinking about my kiddos back at home, hoping they were well behaved at church and having a relaxing Sunday. I’d be starting breakdown of the finish line and packing things up in to the trailer before heading back for real sleep. I’d have a beer or two, sit around with RD and the crew that makes these things work and go through the list of things to tweak for next years – I’d be making food notes to make it better the next time around for volunteers and runners. But none of this happened.

ES100 was cancelled this year. We’ve heard A LOT of feedback on this, many varying emotions. I will be honest, I never expected to experience anything right out of a Harry Potter book, but there we go – I’m thinking Order of the Phoenix (*spoiler alert*) when HP received a ridiculous amount of post at breakfast after giving his interview to Rita Skeeter and it being published in the Quibbler. (and now you all know at least some depth of the nerd I am, too) But just like HP – we just gotta keep on living. And we are/did.

This weekend, we didn’t do too much. We watched a movie as a family, painted things that we meant to do 2 years ago, did some baking, planned some furniture moves, and started some laundry. The most notable event, was our typical Sunday AM church attendance. And while listening to the sermon and enjoying our fellowship afterwards, it struck me again – This is where we are supposed to be this weekend. Our friends, the Reasons, returned after a well deserved sabbatical. So many of our church family were back from vacations, wrapping up loose ends before heading off for other big adventures, or just preparing for school and work. It was like the whole family being back home. Not just visiting for the holidays, but home. I have a big family – 5 siblings and now all their spouses and kids, and then my parents, etc. It’s a clan really. We never all come home now, because home is so many different places for us. Feeling that “our family is back together” while sitting in church was surprising to me – but good. So good. Not as a replacement for my large and widely dispersed family, but additive. And though I’ve loved most race weekends and enjoyed the time with runners and crews, I wouldn’t trade this weekend. The “boys” are back in town, for sure.

As a heads up for future events – my work life in all its excitement has reached a point where I am going to have to step back from primary finish line food chief responsibilities. I tried to keep it going, but I have to be honest about my own limitations. I can’t pull 30hr WEU, 36hr M24, or 40hr ES100 weekends and then be hopping on a plane for some work trip two days later. My body, brain and spirit can’t take that – not to mention my sweet babies’ struggles with the perceived instability of Mom’s presence. RD has been very supportive and agrees with the plan. Without further adieu – the Quinton’s have agreed to step up and take this responsibility over. They’ve been a staple at these events and are trusted volunteers – always there to lend a helping hand and as committed to these trails and you runners as RD or I could be. Thank you, Amanda & Adam! I happily and in full confidence, hand over the baton.

I expect you’re not saved from these blogs though, food prep and the inner scoop of RD Wife Life is still alive and well, even if I’m not in charge of finish line food. And we are now at that stage of life where some of our little ladies will be joining us as race volunteers! The oldest has requested a helping spot at WEFC and wants to run some of the trail with her dad, so here comes the next big adventure…#daddysgirl #runningwalkers

Eastern Memories

It’s not been the best couple of weeks in this RD household. Some of you reading this are probably pretty pissed off with the RD, and maybe even tangentially this RD Wife. To you folks, let me just say, I hope your lives are long and fruitfully blessed. I hope you have the opportunity to run every race you ever want to without any impediment or unforeseen circumstance from this moment on. I hope those you hurt with your words and hatefulness aren’t so deeply cut that they give up on you, the ultra-running community, or themselves.

Generally speaking, my experience with ultra-running has been in the support role. I’m behind the scenes – the crew chief or the aid station volunteer. I see you all at your neediest states. I’ve been awake for 30 hours, too, making grilled cheese sandwich after grilled cheese sandwich. I’ve seen your nasty feet, smelled your rank running attire. With a smile of understanding, and very little sass, I’ve replied to your comments of “just grilled cheese?” and “don’t you have any more black beans?” with understanding and an attempt to find a replacement that will satisfy your trip up to the food line. All the while, I now know that you’ll walk away with that twinge of disappointment – no, there are no more black beans.

I’ve always loved the supportive, laidback nature of so many ultra-runners. To successfully complete a 100 miler or 100K you have to roll with the punches. You have to adjust your plan, adjust your expectations, and go with what’s thrown at you. Most of the time, my conversations with ultra-runners have that common theme – an appreciation for the trail, the sport, the views. An understanding that stuff happens and sometimes that stuff stops you, shuts down the race, reroutes the course, ends your day with a DNF. For all those runners who hold to that – who are disappointed, even mad yet are taking this setback in stride and adjusting your schedule and expectations – thank you. I will miss seeing you this year at the finish line the most. You are why my RD is an RD. You are why I take my vacation time to come out to these events and serve you vs. going to the beach with my kids, to Europe with RD, or to just take a “me” day.

Yes, Eastern States 100 has been cancelled. It blows. We’ve been under a dark cloud of frustration, despair, anger, depression, panic, back to despair – all because of the unfortunate yet ever repeating evidence that people let us down. Individuals we count on to do what they say they will, they decide – maliciously or not – not to follow through with their commitments and others suffer. It’s an excellent reminder that there is one true being we should put our faith in – it is not humanity, it’s Jesus Christ. Humanity lets us down – over and over. Jesus does not. God’s providence is always good, His path for us always for our GOOD. RD and I take great solace in precisely this fact. Very angry runners – send your emails of anger, personal attack, whatever else. I get it. Get it out of your system. We’re angry too. We’re looking for God’s good intent – right now, focusing on the opportunity to show love, forgiveness, and grace. We don’t expect the same from everyone else. We can’t control the reactions and actions of others.

I’ll miss the opportunity to show you all how we were setting up the finish line food spread! Here was the plan:

• Volunteers – separate and distinct check in/out, appreciation gifts pickup, food voucher pickup, breakfast bagels, juice boxes, waters, etc.
• Runners – early finishers would have brothy soups and grilled cheese to order and breakfast bagel sandwiches from McConnels store. We secured the services of the Real Taste food truck to come and offer amazingly good Mexican options, with a voucher/ticket for each runner. Your crew and spectators would have an option to buy from the food truck.
• Soups were planned for runners and pacers who needed something to tide them over between finishing and being ready for full-fledged Real Taste meals.
• An ice cream truck coming for the mid-day heat was in the works too as an extra treat – runners covered via ticket, spectators could purchase.

But none of this will happen this year and this experience so far has left me questioning why I subject myself to this. Why shouldn’t RD and I just give this BS up? Is it really worth it?  There are a lot of checks in the “NOT WORTH IT” box….

Gang – best of luck to the ES100 displaced runners. I do hope you are able to find meaningful events to fulfill this setback. I do hope the events are superbly directing and the finish line even more satisfying than anything I’ve ever orchestrated – may they not run out of black beans for you.

Happy regards!

RD Wife

Spring Fever 2018

I love winter. I’m one of those weird people who loves winter sports, being outside in lots of snow, watching the snow from a cozy inside, playing with the kids in the snow, snow shoeing, just so much fun. But even I get to a point when I would just prefer we get on with it already. April is that time. It’s time. Time for Spring. Time for trees to grow their leaves back and for flowers to bloom. Time for my allergies to ramp up and spring colds to kick in. It’s time for rainy puddle hopping and mud pits on the trails. It is not time for highs of 40 degrees and possible snow multiple days this week. I’m over it.

And with the change in race schedule – it’s time for race prep! That’s right. In spite of the annoyances of chill when warmth is expected, I’m kicking it off with Montour 24 soup prep. Because Montour is starting on a Friday night this year, we’ll have dinner for runners, overnight soups and grilled cheese – cause let’s be honest, it could be heat wave or freeze out that weekend…who knows? I’m still going to be supplying and serving that part because I’m excited to see all you runners and I can’t give it up 100%. We are, though, calling in the troops for the long day of Saturday. A friend who is local is getting in to the catering business and we know from first hand the HIGH QUALITY deliciousness of her cooking. I’ve asked her to prep breakfast items for the Saturday morning span of time. After that, we’ve got a local food truck coming!! We still have to work out the details but I’m really excited to see how runners take to the alternative sustenance options. That schedule change means runners are all wrapped up by Saturday night and are still more than welcome to camp out at Hess Field. We’re still deciding whether we’ll do a closing out BBQ-style post-race party, but also want to encourage runners enjoy some of our fine local eateries too. Many are pretty tolerant of the stinkiest of runners, too :).

So I am making soup in April. And because we have the big deep freezer (thanks, RD!) I’m getting started on the Worlds End soups that can tolerate deep freezing for 2 months and still be good.

• Gram’s Chicken Noodle Soup – 8 gallons
• Vegan Bean Chili – 4 gallons
• Taco Soup – 4 gallons
• Mexican Meatball Soup – 4 gallons

Beyond this, I’ll be making Loaded Baked Potato soups for some of the later WEU aid stations, and more Chicken Noodle as needed, but we have to prioritize.

So we’ll keep rolling with our soup selections. I learned in February that a couple stalwarts of the finish line crew won’t be able to make it for WEU due to a family member’s wedding, but are sending in reinforcements and hopefully we can continue to build out the finish line volunteers. If you haven’t completed your registration to be a volunteer, go here: https://runsignup.com/Race/Volunteer/PA/Forksville/worldsendultra. We want to be able to a) know who is helping, b) recognize your awesomeness, and c) solicit your feedback for how we can improve. Like anything, if you don’t measure it you don’t manage it.

Can’t wait to see runners and friends at Montour 24! The races are nearly on!!

 

Let me tell you about…

Guys – I have been traveling like mad for work lately. This has put a huge damper on my race posting and prep stuffs. Remember, I posted menus for the races already and I have to say right now – Thanks in advance to the volunteers who will step up and help me immensely over this season. The work stuff + the race stuff will mean vendors and delegation and I am so grateful and thankful for the crew that steps up here. I’ll miss being involved in all of it, but at the same time ….semi-sanity.

Last week, I spent a day in NYC for a meeting with IT folks and my team. Surprisingly, the meeting was really encouraging and productive! And I got a trip to Wisconsin assigned from that for mid-February!! This would not excite everyone…but it does me!!! I have been DYING to go to Wisconsin in the winter for years. Snow shoeing in the midwest of this country is something I must do with RD. This month, I’ll get in to Madison and check things out. We’ll plan a trip eventually…

On this NYC trip, I promised the family I’d bring them home some cheesecake. And did I ever deliver!! Actually, the bakery delivered to me and then I delivered to the family. I had to research this because there are so many good cheesecake options in NYC. The recommendation I landed on was Eileen’s Special Cheesecake, located in SoHo. Yeah….definitely worth it. Cheesecake was originally made, apparently, by the Greeks as a health food for Olympians – ricotta cheese based, that’s now more often cream cheese based. Eileen’s cheesecake is this perfect, amazing happy place of dense cream cheese with airy ricotta. It was…well…orgasmicly good cake. You can order this cake to be shipped to you from their website…it’s pricey, but really if I had known of this while pregnant with any of my three littles, I probably would be in much more massive debt from the craving shopping. SO. GOOD!

I never pictured cheesecake as a post-race food. I feel like you runners wouldn’t eat it….but would you? I mean…the Olympians did, supposedly. The RD thinks a sheet cake is a good idea. What desserts are desirable though? I usually focus on the soups, BBQ, etc. But what about the best time of day…the time of day that my kids have to qualify for? What about dessert? You tell me…

Year in review – 2017

It seems like every year I look back about this time and, being the optimistic type that I am, remember the blessings and successes of the year. And I’ll be honest, I’m trying to do that, but this year was a doozy.

Our New Years weekend will include another funeral for a beloved family member. We will try to enjoy some time with family, I’m walk/running a local road 5K, and then we are singing fairwell to this hell of a year. 2017 – you sucked.

I mean, not professionally. My work was incredibly challenging, rewarding, and well received by the organization. I suppose they won’t fire me just yet :). RD’s work…well, most of you know – it was a great race season! WEU was superb weather with excellent finishing rates and a lively finish line. The pulled pork was a hit and will be back x2 in 2018. M24 would not go down as being the boring one, and RD showed his stuff and commitment to runners and the event with a mid-race reroute thanks to weather craziness. It was an incredibly exhausting M24 though and took a lot out of RD and I. ES100’s ownership transition was…not seamless. But no one was seriously injured, weather was superb and both RD and I made it through, neither too much worse for wear. The last race of the season, WEFC was at a really bad time, but the race itself was good. People were happy, plenty of food. And interest for 2018 events is as good as ever, though races are selling out faster which can be tough for runners. So, work wise, neither of us are complaining.

Some superlatives:

Best finish line spread: M24, hands down. The Drazbas pancakes and bacon is what everyone needed.

Most exciting winner race: WEU women – 100K ladies did battle!

Best moment of my prophetic capacities: early in the season, RD claimed he didn’t need to offer anymore races. To which I replied “yeah, until the next one.” Which you can all now call the Black Forrest Ultra, the race planned for October of 2018…

Least consumed soup: chicken noodle…apparently I made a lot or it just wasn’t good..who knows?

Best memory of the year: seeing friends finishing ES100 (e.g. Joe Mickey, Eric Kosek, Heather Simon, Desirea Clarke, Cory West, Stacy Kotsko, etc.) and just being super excited for them!

Worst soup attempt: butternut squash failure…mixing up dry white wine and white wine vinegar amounts is not advised.

Heres to a Happy New Year in 2018…May it be a blessed and productive one for us all…

On a Horse with No Name…

Some pretty amazing stuff going on right now and this RD house…just wow. To be honest, I completely forgot that tonight was registration for 2018’s Worlds End Ultramarathons. But here we are…and it’s the first play by play of a registration night I’ve been subject to. The runners — just wow. Apparently the excitement and anticipation of this race is wild! The 50K is sold out in under 40 minutes. The 100K has 18 slots left as of 1 hour and 10 minutes in to registration. Just really amazing.

Lately, I’ve been in training. I agreed with a friend to run a New Year’s Eve 5K….just a lowly 3.1 miles of road before ringing in the new year. But for me, it is exactly the right challenge for me. I used to run much more, usually 10K to 1/2 Marathon distances, but not really more than that. Since then, I’ve had three baby girls and have a host of excuses but really it comes down to just not wanting to feel the pain and embarrassment of being in such poor shape. RD isn’t just the creative mind behind incredibly challenging trail races, he’s also one tough coach. My training routine per the boss is to get on the dreadmill and run 3 miles at a pace slightly faster than a walk. He suggests I do that every day and in a couple of weeks, I’ll be able to run 3 miles a little faster than just a fast walk. And then more and more. Well. I can’t exactly do the 3 miles at slightly faster than a walk, but I’ll get there eventually. What I really enjoy about getting back in to it is a) the me time, b) the slow by steady progress and c) the example it sets for my kids. For me, it’s not really all about losing weight. I mean, I have A LOT of weight to lose, but I am pretty excited for the benefits of having energy again, feeling healthy and good about myself. Soon I’ll take the runs out to Geisinger trails and maybe Hess field and enjoy it much more. But my cardio is struggling…just better evidence that I need this now more than anything else this Christmas season.

So for all those lucky 150 who were able to squeeze in registration to WEU, I’ll see you at the finish line! And who knows, maybe toe the line at a 10K or 1/2 Marathon in 2018…but almost definitely not one of my RD’s. He’s nuts 🙂

 

 

Planning Time

Happy Thanksgiving, slightly belated, friends! I hope your holiday was an ideal blend of joyous, exciting, and relaxing. Personally, it was a weird one in this RD house. The first without my father in law, and really I hadn’t prepared fully for the impact of his absence on me, the kids or the hubs. My grandparents came to dinner which was quite the treat. I do love them tons and any time with them is really something to be thankful for. Family is where it’s at.

We don’t do Black Friday shopping in our house. There are a few reasons for this – 1) I don’t like mornings and the idea of waking up at ungodly hours to go stand in lines is furthest from my idea of fun and 2) to spend a day submitting to and feeding the big deep pockets of huge retailers who’ve been bumping prices just so it can seem like they cut them dramatically for Black Friday is stupid. The RD takes the REI challenge on Black Friday and gets outside, running with his people at Hyner View. I spend the day with our 3 little ladies, watching them smash pumpkins to collect seeds and argue with them that it is too cold for water play.

Now Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday are a different story! Today, I’ll venture out to the local shops and pick up key gift components for people on my list. Family, very good friends, and a few coworkers for this year will receive from me some small-town PA Local Business treasures. #shoplocal #shopPA

As we’re out and about in an hour or so, I’ll also be hunting down business cards and talking with vendors for races for next year because it’s planning time. RD has a few changes up his sleeve this year, which of course keeps me on my toes and the race business financials interesting. Every new race = start up costs => less profitable in year one. There’s a learning curve with each distance, and just because I know how to provide for 300 50K/100K runners doesn’t mean I automatically have 70 miles figured out. In order to keep all the other races on the docket, we’ve got some managerial changes to make – and that means vending out, too. Finish line food prep at a couple of notable events is one option, and I’m investigating. Planning for ultramarathons can’t start too soon, really.

Right now, the finish line spreads look like:

• WEU 50K/100K – 4 soups, pulled pork, grilled cheese
• ES100 – Runner/Pacer food service: breakfast sandwiches for the front runners, burrito bar, grillables; Volunteers: TBD but separate from Runner/Pacer food service, vended out likely
• WEFC – 1 soup, grilled cheese, some slow cooked meat
• M24 – vended out likely
• New Race Baby – 2 soups, grilled cheese, grillables

If you’ve got interest in helping out with finish line food for any of these events, let me know! That can be on the day or with preparation. Some things I prep myself, but I love help and company for these. This year will be different….I’m already a little nervous with the idea of using food services rather than doing it myself, but sanity is also really important. I kicked off this blog after needing a post-ES100 outlet. The critiques received post-race from multiple volunteers and spectators (but not runners, interestingly enough) quite frankly pissed me off and it was very obvious to me that little to no understanding is out there when it comes to finish line spreads and the work and planning that goes in to it. It’s honestly one of the worst arenas for predictive analytics (which is a big part of my actual real life career) –  low volumes and few data points make it very challenging to determine how much of things to prepare, and when taking on an established race the data collection methods will inevitably be different. Weather, spectator volumes and presumptions of those spectators, the “we’ve always done it” mindset – they all contribute to volatile and wild data. Those critiques came just two weeks after M24 – a race I usually love preparing for but for some reason this year, struggled to do it with a happy heart. To me, that’s evidence that I a) need the outlet and b) need to accept my limitations. I cannot do finish line spreads for all of RD’s races. I have to pass the torch and accept that I am not Wonder Woman or Super Mom/RD Wife.

I am thankful that RD and I stuck with our long standing rule that anything said on race weekend does not count and cannot be used against you in future debates. I am sure we both collected a few nuggets this year. For 2018, my goal is to balance the asks from RD wife life better and not have to work so hard at serving with a happy heart. For that, planning is now – and local businesses are hopefully lining up for the opportunity :).