Spring Race the Nipmuck 16 Miler

Last week, Erik and I ran our first race of the season, a very hilly and single track 16 mile trail race in northern CT, The Nipmuck 16M. This was a big training weekend, so my morning began at 6am with a 10 mile warmup run. I showered, ate breakfast, nursed an injury, and then headed off for the race with Erik. Unfortunately, Erik was coming down with the stomach bug, so he did not have a very pleasant race. He spent the next three days in bed. I took 7th overall for women. The top 4 women were very impressive, and I hope to be up there with them once we get into the heart of racing this summer. We're off to some major training and racing in Utah and Colorado, with various team members joining at different times. We're all looking forward to the wide, hard packed surfaces of the western trails, the incredible views of rock and mountain, and the dry, hot air.

Alex and Izzy had a major training day last week, which brought another issue to our attention concerning Alex's stride. I took them on a training run/hike (in preparation for our trail running in Utah) up and down a mountain in northern CT. I estimate we covered nearly 4 miles, most of which Alex ran. He loves to run, then stop for us all to catch up, then run some more. We are working on a steadier pace, where we all run together. Although the best therapy for Alex's leg is running, and indeed it has improved his balance and helped keep both legs strong and nearly an equal size (whereas his left hand, with less therapy, is weak and smaller than his right), it also gives him some stiffness. Our concern is that his hip is not developing correctly, despite our best efforts at stretching and yoga. So, we fear there is bone rubbing on bone. We have consulted with his orthopedic surgeon, who says that a brace won't help and we need to do more stretching, more yoga, more pool time, etc. We do our best, but despite our efforts, he still complains of pain at times. The good news is that he has stopped tripping. He still occasionally wipes out, but so do Erik, Izzy and I on the trails.

So, the next race is the 50K out in Utah. We are fundraising this season through First Giving. Our page is: www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/nicole-schmidt/redmountain50k. Our goal is to raise $20,000 for research through our racing this season.

Last week we awarded $60,000 for our 2012 grants to three projects at Children's Hospital Boston, all of which are truly groundbreaking and have the potential to change pediatric brain injury medicine. To read about those, visit our website www.babyalexfoundation.com and click on our Accomplishments at the bottom of the home page.