Monastory: Nite and morning before the toughest race in the world

I don't have much time for a big update, so am copying the email I sent out last night to a bunch of folk (with a minor correction on the amount of climbing!). Plus I have included below a snapshot of 14 year old Charlie Mead's work with my camera yesterday. Charlie is Andy's brother, and also a type one diabetic. He has been out here getting to know the team and helping out, which has been an awesome experience.

Thanks Charlie for your excellent work!

Charlie

We take off in two and a half hours. I am on the first shift with the following teammates:

Andy Mead
Mark Suprenaut
Matt Brooks

we are known as the 'A' team (A for Andy)

The 'B' team consists of:

Bob Schrank
Tim Powell
Alex Bowden
Tim Hargrave

(B for Bob)

Also - I have started to record episodes on GabCast.com I think the link to my channel is here:

http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&id=20584

These are voice recordings so you can hear the pain in my voice! Hopefully. Or else I sound like a chipmunk.

am very nervous still... but here is the email

Tomorrow I commence my defence of the Team Type 1 title as the fastest team to race across America.

It won't be easy.

3000 miles
100,000 ft of climbing
Three massive mountain passes
The insane heat and treacherous conditions through Monument Valley
The long long climbs of Colorado and the elevation factor - ie, lack of oxygen
The long steep climbs of Virginia
The short sharp ups and downs through the Ozarks
Any climb at all at any part of the journey
The long, drawn out praries across Kansas
The neverending twists and turns through Lancaster County and the eastern parts of the country (it all looks the same!)
Weather:
- the biggest tornado season so far in the States - ever
- it snowed last week in Colorado
- it is flooding all across the mid west
- the rest of the country is bloody hot right now

A team of 19 support crew
A team of eight riders - all with type one diabetes
Five 'first time' riders, and three one-year veterans

And a great big target on our backs from being the defending champions.

I am very nervous but this year its a bit different. I know what to expect. I know it won't be easy. I know I will be pushing myself harder than I have ever done before. And then I will push myself harder again. I know the biggest challenge is overcoming the mental barriers to pain and overcoming exhaustion.

And knowing all of this is incredibly daunting.

My preparation this year has been completely different to last year. I hope it still works out okay. I think I am okay. Of course my head is littered with doubts. And I know, deep down somewhere, that there is nothing I can do about my preparation now. I have worked hard. But as you sit around waiting and waiting, and checking out the competition, you cannot help but wonder: could I have worked harder?

A lot of my preparation has been on my own, pushing myself into repeated effort after effort. With no one else around. What difference would there have been had I had someone else pushing me, or being part of a training group? But I know getting through the solo training will pay off when I need to push myself again and again - on my own.

And on top of all this emotion, preparation and self doubts, sits the one thing that drove us here in the first place: showing the world that with good management of your diabetes, you can achieve great things.

All of my team members have type one diabetes. To defend out title we need to be on top of our diabetes game, making sure our glucose levels are in the zone the whole time. We'll have the Freestyle Navigator assisting us, but it still requires a lot of management. Hopefully we can avoid massive highs and bad lows, but living with diabetes we know that it doesn't take much for these things to happen. We can only do our best.

I won't be able to ramble like this during the race, so to get updates of our progress please do one of the following:

sign up for Team Type 1 updates by following the link below:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pGTuokAYvDEHOL5stVr3oTg

check out our Team blog at
www.teamtype1.org (click onto the blog link)

follow the official race at:
www.RAAMrace.org

or check out any other updates from me at:
www.moniquehanley.com
and until we meet again, may the roads be well paved, clear of traffic and the wind at your back! and may your glucose levels be 99 (or 5.5)!

Team Type 1 rider Adam Driscoll is riding on a four man fixed gear team called Adventures for the Cure. Make sure to follow his progress on this amazing attempt (he is riding an 80inch gear!).

Tim and Alex contemplate the last scenes of the west coast

The Officials lineup. Just officiating the race is a massive logistical nightmare.

Heading back to the cars - crew, riders, and some young punk in the foreground

The bikes pass inspection

Hanging out with Terry and Patty from Racing Against Diabetes. Terry has type one and has completed a number of RAAMs. His wife Patty attempted a solo crossing last year. Amazing folk.