Crazy Brits! - Tough Man 2009

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/02/tough_guy_challenge_2009.html

February 2, 2009
Tough Guy Challenge 2009
Billed as "the safest most dangerous taste of physical and mental endurance pain in the world", the Tough Guy Challenge took place yesterday, February 1st, on South Perton Farm, near Wolverhampton, England. Thousands of challengers (men and women) started the endurance race, with hundreds dropping out along the way due to exhaustion or injury - broken bones, dislocations, and over 600 cases of hypothermia. Even the overall winner, James Appleton, was treated briefly for hypothermia. The course takes racers through 21 obstacles - through mud, freezing water, across ropes and burning terrain. The challenge is also a fundraiser for charity, with funds going to the Mr. Mouse Farm for Unfortunates, which looks after hundreds of retired horses and provides jobs to young offenders. Here are a handful of photos from yesterday's race.
Click on the link above to see the photos.

Stairmaster: Greenwich woman reaches new heights

Stairmaster: Greenwich woman reaches new heights
Runner battles head cold in race up Empire State Building
By Colin GustafsonStaff Writer
Posted: 02/03/2009 10:47:51 PM EST

Emmy Stocker of Greenwich finishes Tuesday's Empire State Building stair climb. (Colin Gustafson/Staff photo)

NEW YORK CITY -- A stubborn cough and head cold might have sidelined lesser athletes, but it only slowed down Emmy Stocker.

Stocker, 50, was one of nearly 350 athletes to complete a mad dash up 1,576 steps to the observation deck of the Empire State Building on Tuesday in the New York Road Runners' 32nd annual "Run-Up" race.

The Cos Cob mother of three, who has competed in six previous races, finished this year's race in 95th place overall, climbing from the building's stately lobby to the 86th-floor observatory in 17 minutes, 7 seconds.

Although that's not her personal best of about 15 minutes, Stocker said she was happy to have finished after falling ill with "mild bronchitis" before another 4-mile race last

Emmy Stocker, a resident of Greenwich, is still standing after Tuesday's stair run-up at the Empire State Building. (Colin Gustafson/Staff photo)Sunday.

"Today is a day you want to stay in bed. But what can I say? I'm hard-core," she said.
Stocker said she rose early Tuesday to hop a train to Grand Central Terminal before jogging 10 blocks to the Empire State Building to meet up with her racing buddy, Frank Colella, 46, of Scarsdale, N.Y.

She also was joined by neighbor John Gibbons, husband of state Rep. Lile Gibbons, R-Greenwich, who said he took some time off work from his Midtown investment firm to cheer her on.

Stocker said the run-up was difficult this year for under-the-weather runners like her because they had to breathe musty air in the service stairwell, then get hit with a frigid blast of winter air and snow after emerging on the outdoor observation deck.

Still, the racing conditions were not enough to keep her from bowing out, she said.
"I'm not physically tired, just weak from being sick," Stocker said as she caught her breath on the top floor, a medal on a ribbon draped around her neck. "But I got through it. You just gotta suck it up and give it your all."

In this year's race, Thomas Dold, 24, of Germany, won his fourth consecutive title in the men's competition, clocking in at 10 minutes, 7 seconds. He beat his previous record by 1 second.
Suzy Walsham, 35, of Singapore, marked her third consecutive win, climbing the steps in 13 minutes, 27 seconds, despite a fall before entering the stairwell.

The women's record is 11 minutes, 23 seconds.

The event is one of the world's premier tower races, beginning with a mad dash in the lobby and finishing on the observation deck.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Weekly Update - February 2, 2009

Happy Days again! Here is a happy recap for my past week.

Monday night was Westport volleyball. My knee felt pretty good for the entire game and afterwards.

Tuesday morning I went for a short run with hopes of increasing my running from 2 days a week to 3 days a week. I ran 5.15 miles and felt pretty good. My knee still didn't feel perfect, but it was more of a slight discomfort than any pain. Tuesday night was Norwalk volleyball. Again, all was well with my knee and we won all 3 games in the match!

Wednesday evening I went to spin class at the gym. The bicycle riding has been hurting my knee more so than running, but in this class I noticed a slight improvement from the past few weeks. As usual, Kellie made sure I worked hard by asking all students to follow my lead in a group sprint. It's hard not to give it 100% when she's telling the class that it's a piece of cake for me since I'm a marathon runner. ;o) After class I did some weight lifting to work on building up my calves, quads, glutes and hips and then finished with some stretching exercises.

Thursday was my mid-week lunch time run that I've just added to my schedule. I started out on a snow covered trail behind my office building and then transitioned to the roads. I didn't realize that the route I picked was almost all uphill for the first 2 miles, but the hills were moderate and it was good to go slow. I misjudged the distance of the loop and had to add on at the end by running a small loop around Wilton center. That ended up being the worst part of the run due to the large puddles at the side of the road and too much ice to run on the sidewalks. However, it was a good 4 mile run that didn't bring about any knee pain.

Friday was a much needed rest day.

Saturday morning was when I had scheduled my long run. My previous long runs had all been about 10 miles so I really needed to get in a longer run this time. The Boston Buildup 20k/12.4 miles is next Sunday so I was hoping to get in at least that distance. I started with my usual route beginning at Fox Run school and headed towards New Canaan. I wanted to change it up a little and get in more miles in this first loop so once I got to the top of Farm Road I continued right on instead of turning left to loop back around. This new route took me around the back of Waveny Park and onto Route 106. Little did I realize that the way back was on Talmadge Hill Road, which was quite a significant hill. However, I managed the hill with no problems and no aches and pains. I continued on to join up with my usual loop and was starting to try to figure out which roads to take once I was back to Fox Run School. I ended up heading to Hunters Lane and then up Ponus Ave to get in another hill. At that point I still had about a mile to go to get to 13 miles so I did a mini loop around the Fox Run area to finish up. In my past runs I had felt some knee and hip pain starting around 7 miles, but in this run I felt almost nothing for the entire 13 miles. In the last mile or two I had the feeling that my knees and knee were getting a little tired and that they might start to ache if I went much further, but that was about it. After the run I went home and did lots of stretching.

Sunday morning I went to the gym for another spin class. I'm not sure if the class was really difficult or if my legs were just tired from running 13 miles the day before. My quads felt pretty tired and I couldn't give it my all. I found myself spinning a little slower and with a little less tension on the bike than usual, but it was all due to fatigue and not pain. This was actually the first spin class in a long time that my knee felt relatively normal. After class I went through my weight lifting and then stretching routine.

It's now Monday morning and all still feels good.

Emmy preparing to run the Empire State Run-up

Greenwich Time Article
Stair master: Greenwich woman set to compete in Empire State Building Run-Up
By Colin GustafsonStaff Writer
Posted: 02/01/2009 11:25:36 PM EST

(Helen Neafsey/Staff photo)



Emmy Stocker of Cos Cob will be competing in the 32nd annual New York Road Runners Empire State Building Run-Up. The race is up 86 floors from the ground floor to the Observatory Deck. Here she trains on the stairs at the YMCA.

To make it to the top, Cos Cob resident Emmy Stocker isn't afraid to throw a few friendly elbows.

She hopes that competitive streak serves her well when she races up a service stairwell of the Empire State Building against 300 competitive "stair climbers" Tuesday.

A freelance writer and mother of three, Stocker will compete in the 32nd annual New York Road Runners Empire State Building Run-Up in Manhattan.

The race pits hundreds of male and female road-running enthusiasts against each other as they bound -- and sometimes muscle -- their way up 1,576 steps to the building's 96th floor landing.

"There's a little pushing and shoving along the way," said Stocker, 50, who has competed in six previous run-ups, "but sometimes you have to be aggressive to get ahead of everybody."

To train for the event, Stocker says she hits the stair-climber at the Greenwich Family YMCA for a couple hours a few times a week, but usually gets a better workout by simply jogging across the town's hilly terrain.

"The best way to prepare is running hills," she said. "Luckily, all of Greenwich is hills."

This training regimen also helps her prepare for a variety of other endurance competitions throughout the year, from five-mile road races to 100-mile marathons (her favorite event) that span across hilly, wooded terrain and often take 24 hours to finish.

That's not to say the Empire State run-up isn't a challenge.

To get started during the race, Stocker says she usually tries to begin with a burst of speed, using her arms to pull her body up by the railings and sometimes taking two steps at a time. Once near the front of the pack, Stocker says she settles into a slower, steadier pace while climbing to the finish line at the Observatory Deck.

By the time you get to the 40th floor, "your lungs are killing you, your quads are killing you, and you think you can't go any higher," she said. "But you realize you can, and you do."

While the women's record for the run-up is 11 minutes, 23 seconds, Stocker says she usually clocks in around 15 minutes.

Still, the event is more about camaraderie than competition, said Stocker, who said she enjoys seeing office workers gathering in the stairwell doorway, some with perplexed looks on their face, others cheering her to the top.

"It's not really about winning, but just challenging yourself with friends," she said.

Boston Buildup 15k - January 25, 2009 - Ridgefield

I was surprised to see such a good turn out for the 15k since the new postponed date conflicted with the Winter Wonderland 5 Miler in Milford and the Manhattan half.

It was a very cold morning, which always seems to be the case with this race so we were all prepared for it. I hung out with Sean, Ikuko, Jill, Joe, Jeanette, Brian and Roy a little before the race started and then stood next to Jill, Joe and Jeanette at the start line.

Jill and I ran the entire race together with Joe close by for the first few miles. Neither Jill or Joe had been able to run throughout the week so they knew that they would be a little rusty. Joe was tempted to call it quits after 2 miles, but ended up toughing it out and running the entire race. Jeanette is only 2 weeks out from running the Disney marathon also so she was happy taking it easy also. It was a difficult race with many hills. The last two miles before the halfway turn around seemed to be all uphill, but the two miles after the turn around didn't seem to be downhill. Go figure! Jill and I like the out and back course design in this race because it gives us the opportunity too see the front runners come by on their way back from the turn around and to see some of our other friends as we came back from the turn around. We had a nice time running and chatting together and cheering for other runners as we passed by each other.

On the injury front - my knee hurt a little, but nothing significant so it was a good day!

Race Results:

http://www.clubct.org/Results/09Results/09BB15kRes.html


Kate, Jill and Joe

Roy, Jill and Joe

Anton with Icicles

Sean

Maria (in green)

Jeanette

Joe

Tony giving Ikuko a massage

Jeanette, Joe and Jill

Wind chill temperature of about 3 degrees - January 21, 2009

I am so happy to report that my knee felt really good throughout the day yesterday. It also felt great for volleyball last night. I planned to do my usual mid-week run this morning and with my knee feeling so good I was really excited about it. I turned on the travel and weather channel to find out that the temperature was about 3 degrees with the wind chill. Brrrrhhhh! I put on 2 pairs of gloves, but other than that I just had my usual winter running attire. With a short sleeved Under Armour shirt and a regular long-sleeved running shirt my torso was pretty warm, except for a slight chill on my tummy. My quads were pretty cold for most of the run and my fingers kept getting cold so I pulled them out of the fingers of my gloves and made a fist inside the glove to warm them up. Overall, I felt pretty good about the temperature considering. I wasn't sure how far to run, but selected a route that could be 3.75 miles or about 5.5 miles. As luck would have it I felt a slight twinge in both knees right at the time I needed to decide which route to take so I opted for the short one. However, within a minute or two my knees felt totally fine. Instead of running the basic 3.75 mile route I figured out a way to make another turn further along to increase it up to 5 miles. I finished the 5 mile run in just under 45 minutes and felt great!

I usually do some stretching on my front steps after my run, but with it being so cold I figured I'd do all my stretching inside. However, I immediately got a little distracted and forget to do so. I did remember after my shower and did some stretching at that point. My leg still felt really good so I wasn't too worried. I think the worst thing about this morning's run was trying to warm-up after my shower. I sat on my bed in a robe while eating breakfast and watching the Australian Open (tennis) as I shivered. I couldn't stop shaking for about 20 minutes. Now that I have thoroughly warmed up everything feels good.

Injury update - January 20th, 2009

My last report was a very happy one that came about from completing a 10 mile training run with very little pain on Friday January 9th.

Monday night is Westport volleyball night for me and I'm usually one of the first ones to arrive at the field house. In order to kill some time I generally spend a significant amount of time stretching my knee, quads and ITB. However, on Monday the 12th I got to there a little later than usual and started to warm up with my team right away. I found that my knee wasn't feeling so good every time I had to run and then stop short so I stepped away from my team and did some stretches. The stretching didn't help at this point, but I'm not sure if it was due to me stretching too late or because my knee was wasn't up for feeling good that day no matter how I went about stretching it. I played with entire game with some pain and discomfort.

My knee continued to feel pretty tender throughout the day on Tuesday just with walking around the office and the few times I had to go up and down stairs. I got up on Wednesday morning to go for my short run, but barely made it beyond a 1/4 of a mile before I gave it up. My knee was really sore and it felt as if something was going to tear if I continued to run. Since I'd done a warm up walk before my run I now had to walk over half a mile in the cold in order to get home and I was dressed for running, not walking. I tried to pick up my walking pace to get home quicker, but this just made my knee hurt more and made me limp. On Wednesday night I played volleyball with my knee still hurting me.

I had PT on Thursday evening and was hoping that this would fix everything. I received some massage around my knee and ITB and did some stretching, and had stim and an ice pack. Francesco also taped my knee again. However, when I left there I could still feel the same pain. I was starting to wonder if I was now back to where I was in December and would have to stop running again.

I went to work on Friday still feeling the discomfort, but I knew that I needed to run a little if I was going to be able to run the 15k on Sunday. After much thought I deliberation I finally decided to give it a shot at lunch time. I started out running on the snow on a trail behind my office. I was running very slowly due to the conditions and so that I could take it easy on my knee. It started out hurting a little through the first 1/2 mile or so, but the pain wasn't bad and nothing felt like it would snap. After that the pain started to ease up and I could feel that my leg was loosening up. I ended up running two small loops that was 3.5 miles. I was thrilled.

The 15k was postponed on Sunday so I opted to try for a long run in the snow. I knew that there was a good chance that I couldn't do the distance, but figured it was worth a shot. I would have planned to run more than 10 miles since I ran 10 last time, but the roads were pretty slick with the snow so I knew that it would be a great workout even if I didn't put in the distance. Sure enough, I found that it was a much more significant effort to run, especially uphill, in those conditions. I could feel my muscles working hard in order to move forward on the slippery surface. At one point my calves felt really tired and I wondered if I could even make it 5 miles, but they soon got used to it and things started to feel really good. Luckily, the huge hill on Farm Rd in New Canaan had a sidewalk with almost no snow on it so that piece wasn't as difficult as I had expected. I ended up running 10 miles in 1:44 on the same route that took me 1:34 when I ran it the previous week. So even though I didn't increase the miles I did increase the effort by running for longer and having to work harder with each stride. I was still tempted to run an extra mile or two at the end, but my hips were starting to hurt and that could then lead to knee pain so I opted to stop at that point.

Shortly after I got home I made arrangements to meet Tom part way from his house to mine and walk back with him. I ended up putting on a pair of trail shoes that I'd bought about a year ago and never had a chance to try out. I ran in them for a mile to meet up with Tom and then walked back home with him from there. So, I managed to run 11 miles for the day - even though I got to take a break before the last mile.

On Monday I went to the gym and did 20 minutes on the elliptical machine, went to spin class and then hit a weight machine for my quads and glutes. My knee did ache a little, but feels really good today.

Let's see how things go in volleyball tonight and with my next run.

UConn vs Syracuse - The Good and the Bad - Jan 17 2009

Historic Day for Huskies:

Sophomore Maya Moore scored a career-high 40 points to become the fastest player in UConn history to reach the 1,000-point milestone in 55 games, surpassing Svetlana Abrosimova’s previous record of 63 games, as the No. 1/1 University of Connecticut women’s basketball team defeated Syracuse University 107-53.

Moore finished the afternoon shooting 14-of-23 from the floor with 10 three-point field goals, a program-best as well as a new BIG EAST record, as she picked up her 18th consecutive game with double-figure points. Her 13 rebounds also marked her team-leading eighth double-double of the season and 19th of her career.

Moore’s 40-point tally made her only the second UConn player to score 40 or more points in a game, joining Nykesha Sales who registered 46 points vs. Stanford on Dec. 21, 1997. Her 10 three-pointers also broke the UConn single-game record surpassing Wendy Davis’ previous mark of eight vs. Florida on Dec. 8, 1991.

The Huskies’ 18 three-pointers broke the program single-game record of 14, which was accomplished on three previous occasions. The mark also ties the BIG EAST Conference single-game record.

Caroline Doty went down with a knee injury at the end of the first half.

The game was very physical at times with the Syracuse players taking several cheap shots. However, UConn was up for the challenge, especially Caroline Doty who stood up to them every time they got overly aggessive.

It was a very exciting game with so many great plays and shots made by the Huskies. It was a historic day with all the 3-pointers by Maya Moore and the entire team, but it was also very sad to see Caroline go down. She had torn her ACL playing soccer in high school that left her unable to play basketball in her senior year. When she went down to the ground grabbing at her knee and yelling in pain we knew that it was probably another tear. I played back those moments on DVR when I got home and to see it all happen and hear her shouts of anguish were just devastating.

Tom and James



Caroline Doty

Friday January 9th, 2009 - The perfect ending to a stressful week

I had a pretty stressful week at work last week. My duties included month-end, quarter-end, year-end and year-begin items. Thursday and Friday I had to make sure that all employees' open enrollment selections were put into the payroll system correctly. As usual, there were issues that had to be addressed and things to be clarified so I was getting a little crazy. I finalized the payroll at about 3pm on Friday afternoon, processed some journal entries and then headed home at about 4:30pm. I certainly had enough work to keep me there much later, but felt burnt out from the week and needed to cut my losses in order to come back fresh on Monday morning.

I had originally planned to run on Saturday morning and always prefer running in the morning, but I had many errands to run on Saturday and had to bake something for a party that I was supposed to attend that evening. I didn't want to cut my run short or be stressed out about getting everything done in time so I decided to run Friday night instead. I also needed a way to de-stress from my work week and figured that running right after work would be the perfect way to do so.

I headed out with a little flashing light clipped to the ipod strap on my arm and had some reflective strips on my hat, gloves and running pants. I was lucky to have a clear night with a moon that was almost full. However, many roads didn't have street lights and lights of the cars coming towards me threw off a glare that made it difficult to see. I almost tripped twice by not seeing obstacles on the side of the road until the last possible second. However, I managed my entire run without any incident. This run accomplished my two major goals and then some! Just being out on the road running helped me to feel much happier and took away my stress. I also managed to put in the miles that I needed to feel comfortable for my upcoming 15k race. I would usually have at least one 10-12 mile long run under my belt before a 15K race, but this year would be happy to get 7-8 miles due to my injury. I started out with a standard route that could be 4-5 miles, but with a simple turn here or there could be made a few miles longer. I had been to physical therapy on Thursday evening and Francesco had put some tape on my knee. I was amazed that with my knee taped I was not feeling the usual knee pain so when I got to the end of Nursery I opted for my longer route that goes into New Canaan and Darien. I headed up the big hill on Farm road and then down Route 124 past Waveny Park and still felt no knee pain. As I got to Stephen Mather I finally started to feel a little pain, but it wasn't too bad at all. The pain didn't get any worse and at one point moved a little from my inner knee to the outer knee. By the time I got back to my complex I was at about 9 and a half miles so I ran beyond my place to make it to an even 10!!! Yahoo!! My cool down walk is when my hip and knee usually start to hurt really badly so I was very happy to find out that there was no pain when I walked. I did some stretching on the steps outside my place and then went inside for some further stretching.

I am so amazed that I pulled off 10 miles. It's the first run over 6.2 miles since the NY marathon in the beginning of November. I do have some pain and tightness in my hip/knee and ITB since Friday's run, but nothing more than I have experienced over the past few months. I feel really good about this run and am now feeling much more confident about the upcoming race. I still keep hoping for a miracle cure that will allow my knee to get back to tracking correctly, but until then I will keep stretching my quads, hips and ITB and be happy that I can run at all.

As it turned out - my plans were cancelled for Saturday evening due to the snow storm, but I was happy to have already done my long run so that I could get my errands completed early in the day.

Boston Buildup 10K - January 4th 2009 - Norwalk

http://www.clubct.org/Buildup/BosBuild.html


I was happy to be able to run in this year's 10k. Last year I ran this race, but was not able to run the rest of the series due to an injury. I'm starting out in a similar situation this year, but hope that I can run through the injury. I am only running 2 days a week so I hope this will allow my knee to heal.

It was great to see such a big turn out for this race. The temperature was pretty good with it being in the 30s. There was some ice on the ground in the parking lot, which made for slow going at the start and finish, but the rest of the course was pretty dry.

I got to run a little with Jill, which always makes the race much more enjoyable. It was nice to see Jeanette, who I hadn't seen for a month or so. I'd like to wish her luck in the Disney Marathon, which she will be running on Sunday.

Joe, Jill, Jeanette and Kate



Joe, John, Jill, John and John

(I wasn't allowed in this picture since my name doesn't start with a 'J'. However, we should have found Jeanette and had her join this group.)


Frank and I





Me and Emmy (One of these days we'll get Emmy to pay attention when we're trying to take a picture!)