| Pan Mass Challenge 1997 |  |
| Pan Mass Challenge 1997 | |
by Carol Goodrow and Alice Eriksen
To Whom it may Concern: Alice Eriksen asked me to write this and send it to you about my PMC experience. She thought you might like to publish it in your newsletter .
The year 1997 meant personal goals to me. I would see my youngest child, Keith, graduate from MIT, I would train for my first marathon and ride the Pan Massachusetts Challenge with my husband. My winter was spent running; freezing Sunday morning runs with Alice and the CMS group at West Boylston, hot sweatty Monday runs on the treadmill, after school Tuesdays fast with Mike in Tolland, 4:30 AM icy Wednesday fun runs with Colleen in Spencer...you get the picture; training whenever and wherever I could and racing...Stu's 30K, the Merrimac River Trail, Jeremiah's 5K etc. and finally Fred's.
Where I had originally planned to have Fred's be my first marathon, after a discussion with my other friend Mike, due to low mileage, some running discomfort, tight hamstrings, calves etc. and I opted for the half. In retrospect, it seems that as long as I was destined to have a pretty serious running injury; a torn plantar fascia which came on at mile nine of Fred's, this was probably a good time...4 months before my first Pan Mass Challenge.
This gave me time to pursue my cycling training without worrying about juggling my time between running and cycling. I had to be fit enough to ride the 194 mile two-day ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown that benefits the Dana Farber Institute and the Jimmy Fund.
So the new training began inside on my hydro-trainer. I put my spare mountain bike right on it, cranked up the CD player, and opened the window. Then came the metric centuries, CRW and King's Quabbin with Sandy, a couple 50's and 60's with my husband, Kevin, every Wednesday riding with Meg, and every Thursday with Barb. Some riding with Roger at WPI. Oh, yes, I can't forget the Sturbridge Time Trials on Tuesdays. They were a kick! Nick had asked me if I'd do them, and I agreed with the condition that my times would never go in the paper. The TT's were great. They made me ride my hardest and fastest for the total 9.5 miles. In the meantime, I had undergone about 2 months of physical therapy for my plantar fascia injury. My running was coming back...very slowly, but I could run up to 8 miles without pain. By the month of July my training consisted of about 36 miles of running/week, 100 miles of cycling, light weight lifting 2 times/week and aerobics 1 time/week. I was ready.
But before anyone can ride the Pan Massachusetts Challenge, they must commit to raising a minimum of $1,000. This part intimidated me. For the past two years I had fundraised for the Vermont Race for the Cure and my goal was 100 dollars. Let's see, if 40 people give 25 dollars, that would total 1000. I didn't even think I knew the names of 40 people. My husband had ridden last year, and raised the money without too much trouble. This was a very important personal cause to him. He had lost a brother to cancer at the too young age of 14. And it was he, who encouraged and asked me to join the PMC. I, however had only known the disease from a distance. It had terrified me as a child, but having not been closely touched by it, had not really given the disease much thought in the last few years. I discussed this with Alice on one of our cold morning training runs. She was the first to offer to sponsor me, giving me the confidence to compose a letter and distribute it. The response was tremendous. Within a month I had the minimum raised, and with many of the pledges came a story, and sometimes tears. I realized that the disease that I had not given much thought to, had devastated the lives of many people who I was close to. I decided to buy a white cycling shirt on which people could write the name of someone that they wanted to dedicate their donation to. I proudly wore this shirt on the second day of the ride.
The ride itself is the best! The PMC boasts about their volunteers, the rest stops, the mechanical and medical support etc. and all of this was cool but I loved the ride. At 6AM on Aug. 2 I was psyched, my adrenaline was flowing , about 1,700 of us took off from the Sturbridge Host, route 20 had been blocked off up to Charlton. For once, my training paid off. My cadence was up between 85 and 100, my legs only felt like they were spinning and the miles sped by.
On the road we were cheered on by many people. We heard bagbipes play, saw balloons, confetti, plenty of signs thanking us etc. The first rest stop came too fast at 20 miles. By the time we reached the Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne where we were to spend the night, we had pedaled 112 miles, more than I had ever done before in one day. I showered and then realized that my legs felt mint. I mentioned to Kevin that this was really strange, and that I couldn't believe it but I felt like running. I tried my legs out and sure enough they were ready for a run, but since I knew we had to get up early the next morning to complete the ride and since it looked like at least a thousand of the riders were lying in the grass I decided to be cautious.
After lots of pasta, Bass Ale and other goodies, we went to sleep or tried to. I was up most the night and only slept through one nightmare of being the only rider to not get any breakfast the next morning...not even a bagel.
But the morning came and there was plenty of food for all. We took off at the crack of dawn and had another super ride to Provincetown. Going over the Bourne Bridge was breathtaking. We saw the sunrise after we finished the Canal Trail leg of the ride. "Sun up!", the biker's chant. Kevin was having a little knee trouble and says I towed him along, by letting him draft off me, but I think he was actually riding very strongly and trying to compliment me on my riding. I particulary loved the left hand turn at the Provincetown Tower where it becomes very hilly right before the end of the ride (this is a very unpopular place for most). At 12:30 noon we reached Provincetown, and were greeted by cheers and congratulations.
Final thoughts: I can't wait for the Pan Mass next year, I'm training again for a running marathon ...with a 1998 goal this time, my son graduated from MIT, I have run a race with my daughter Josie as a mother-daughter team (this was not a goal, but an unexpected thrill that just naturally happened when Josie decided to start running this year), and I am glad that I am a part of a movement to defeat cancer and help others win the battle against this disease.
