Preparations...

Here we go! Getting ready for the 24 hour world championships!

As I flew from Frankfurt over to Milan, we flew over the Alps, and just on the northern side of the Alps we flew over this mountain. And I though, 'wow, that's a steep face! And it actually looks a lot like the Eiger north face, the face points north and has a long summit ridge to the west. ' Sure enough I checked the maps this morning and it is in fact the Eiger. Which is to say, if I could only climb one thing in the Alps, it would be the north face of the Eiger.

The North Face of the Eiger!

All of my luggage arrived, including the many drinks, more than a gallon, of liquids I was afraid would be pulled out in security somewhere along the way. Also, upon arrival in Italy, I have never gotten into any country so easily. Not a single security person checked any of my papers, luggage, or anything. Everyone on my plane streamed through the 'goods to declare' chute with no one manning the tables. 

Dinner Wednesday night was late, we left the hotel at maybe 7:30 and didn't get back until 11:30 at night. The biggest challenge is that the drives are like 1-2 miles to go anywhere, so if we walk, it takes half an hour, if we drive it still takes 20-30 minutes round trip.

Thursday so far the men checked out the course from about noon to two, after a late but thankfully quick lunch then a two hour team meeting. Two hours! My only previous ultra, and qualifying race, I showed up one hour before the race, got my bib number and timing chip, changed clothing, and set up my cooler of drinks and food. We just spent two hours, two days before the race talking about it. It's crazy.  That being said, racing in a world championships in a foreign country does take some preparation. It's oddly motivating. In other words, there are so many people stressing out over this, like for example, my mom and sister have to figure out how they are going to eat Saturday and Sunday morning, while I run, that I am getting really relaxed about the whole thing. Plus, walking a few miles over the last few days my leg has felt great! It gives me a lot of confidence, that, you know what, I could have a really good day out there. 

By the way, the Italians don't really do refrigeration, air conditioning, or ice, which you wouldn't think would be a big deal when the high temperature is only 70F, but coming from 40F and 50F, it feels warm. I haven't been focusing on taking pictures, so pictures will probably be delayed in all of these posts.