Do-nut try this at home

Um, remember when I said I was going to win the female category for fastest donut-eating split? I was an idiot. I couldn't even finish all 12 donuts.

My appetite street cred has taken a dive, but I'm pretty happy that I finished 256 out of 448 women in the race (5,038 participants total). The winner was a 20-year-old guy who finished in less than 30 minutes. That is insane. Only 2,100 out of 5038 actually successfully completed the challenge (4 miles, 12 donuts all within 60 minutes).

As you can imagine, there were lots of funny characters. The pic above is of a bunch of kids who chestpainted themselves "SportsCenter" to catch the attention of the ESPN camera crew. I saw more than one of them hurling on the side of the road during the run back.

The race organization was pretty good considering there were 5,000 competitors, but it took a few minutes to get our donuts, and it was tough to find water, which was not cool.

After our first two miles, just as we got into the Krispy Kreme parking lot, some guy ran out, already starting the last leg of the race. However, his donuts did not go with him.

As we were eating, I had the perfect opportunity to get a guy on film as he was erupting (eyes glazed over, gagging), but I put my camera back in my pocket because I felt bad for him (sorry, Kevin). I would be horrified if anyone captured me looking like that.

It was a struggle to get down 8 donuts. I started gagging, and I knew it was it for me. Phil finished all 12. What a champ! We watched people smash their donuts into pancakes, stack them up and chomp em. Everyone had a different strategy.

The last two miles of the race were a combo of running, slowing down to burp, stopping to hold back a barf and then starting up again. Not my best moments.

After the race, I felt like ass, and could not stop brushing my teeth to get rid of the sugar taste. (No, I did not puke.) But, I felt better when I woke up after a two-hour sugar coma during the drive to Charlotte.

I used to LOVE glazed donuts...not no more. OK, let's be honest...at least not today.


P.S. The N.C. sunshine is fantastic and heals all ills. We're having a blast with Jen and Matt! I even kept my Luna streak going with a fun purchase last night. Jen & I wish you were here, Zone!

UPDATE: cleveland.com included an excerpt from this post in the "what local bloggers are saying" section. And, Channel 3 ran a story yesterday about the race.

UPDATE 2: Watch this hilarious video from ESPN.

4 miles + 12 donuts=Krispy Kreme Challenge

For the past four years, Phil and I have signed up for a race after the holidays to keep our Christmastime gorging in check. We like races with a twist, and until this year, have participated in the Arnold 5k Pump & Run . That race couples a bench press competition with a 5k race and is held in conjunction with the Arnold Classic in Columbus. You see some freaky bodybuilder competitors...and then there's me. My goal has always been to get one rep on the bench (seriously) and pass up the grannies during the run.

At the Arnold last year, I found out about the Krispy Kreme Challenge in Raleigh, N.C., and have been wearing Phil down ever since to sign up. My persistence paid off because this year, we're swapping the bench press with donut scarfing.

Yes, the Krispy Kreme Challenge entails running two miles to a Krispy Kreme store, eating 12 glazed donuts and running two miles back, all in under an hour. Hopefully, without puking. However, from the YouTube videos I've seen, there's quite a bit of donuts that don't stay down.

More than 5,000 people signed up, which equates to about 60,000 donuts that need eaten. I can't wait to see how this all unfolds. Usually there aren't many girls who compete, so I'm gunning for the fastest donut eating split in the female category (again, seriously). My Melt dinner club buddies won't be surprised by this goal, I'm sure.

The race starts at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at the NC State Belltower. ESPN has pledged to cover the race, so look for us. I'll be in mostly black with my CLE+ sticker pinned to my back. I'm running with my camera, so I'll do what I can to snag pics and videos...man, a helmet camera would've been great!

After the race, we're driving to Charlotte to stay with my friend Jen for the rest of the weekend. Pizza meatloaf and homemade mac n cheese is for dinner....mmm! Hopefully, we still have an appetite...

Competitor 2391

When I grow up I wanna be a maiko

I finally pulled the trigger on my Japan trip in April during cherry blossom season. The stars aligned when flight prices came down (although the Honolulu connection is now out the window), and my friend Gina signed on as my travel companion. (You might recognize her hand or elbow from some of my Heights Observer restaurant photos from my reviews since she's always a great sport about tagging along with me.)

We'll be spending a few days in Kyoto, then will take the train to the area around Mount Fugi and will end our visit with a few days in Tokyo.

Rooms have been hard to score in Kyoto since the time we're visiting is enormously popular...cherry blossoms only stay open for about a week. But, we found a ryokan in our price range, so we're good to go. I found this site really helpful for finding places to stay with traditional Japanese rooms.

Now I'm obsessed with hanging out with maikos, apprentice geisha, when we visit Gion. But, alas, I can't fulfill all 10 requirements:

1. Become an apprentice of professional female entertainer

2. Be between 15 and 17 years old (nope)

3. Be shorter than 63 inches since the okobo add another 4 inches (nope)

4. Weigh more than 95 lbs. to handle the heavy costume (definitely not an issue)

5. Have parental consent

6. Demonstrate fondness of traditional Japanese entertainment

7. Demonstrate fondness of Japanese life style (ask me after the trip)

8. Overwhelming patience (patience is not one of my virtues)

9. Be accepted by an okiya to cover monthly fees

10. Commit to a 4-5 training period

For now, I wonder if Gina will let me do something like this. She really doesn't know what she's got herself into...