2008 Vermont 100 Race Report - We did it!

Where to begin! I suppose at the beginning...I had told anyone that would listen over the past 6 months that Vermont 100 would be hot and humid this year because "hot and humid" seem to follow me to every race. Well, darned if I wasn't right again! Weather predictions were anywhere from upper 80's to 100 degrees with high humidity and possible thunderstorms. Oh goodie, here we go again! Well, here we all are waiting for the race to begin while trying to wait out a storm under the tent. This is the best I will look for the next 24 hours. The first pick is me getting prepped by Dawn with my Mom looking on. Below is a shot of me and my daughter, Tara. My younger daughter, Jamie, decided to sleep in, but would show up later in the race.

I was feeling pretty good about my chances for a better finish than 2 years ago. My strategy is to first set several progressive goals, so this is what I chose for this race: 1. Get family and friends together and attempt to re-create the magical experience from 2 years ago...basically share it with more people. This was a tall enough task. 2. Finish the race. 3. Break 24 hours. 4. Get a PR - sub 19 hours 5. Another Top 10 finish 6. Sub 17:30 and possibly Top 5.

I knew the last one was a stretch for 2 reasons: 1. The weather would slow all times, so sub 17:30 was a challenge 2. The Western States runners definitely made this a tougher field.

At the pre-race check in, my weight was a hair under 136, so I rounded down to 135.5. I had been training at about 132.5 and figured I gained 2 lbs. during tapering. 135.5 or 136 was about right with my shoes on.

The race started and people raced off like it was a 10K once again. I just don't understand it. I settled in at a pace that felt a bit fast - probably around 8:30-8:45 by my guess. My goal was to run around 3:25-3:30 for the first 21 miles. I knew the big dogs would be cruising it at around 3:00, and just wanted to stay within range without blowing up early. I ran with the Fitzpatrick's (Diana would finish 3rd Woman overall) from Northern Cal. for awhile. They are veteran WS100 runners and were a bit concerned about the humidity and gravel roads. One of the great things about these races is meeting good people, and they were no exception.

I used Perpetuem for my first 2 bottles and switched to Heed for No. 3. My goal was 1 bottle per hour and supplement with Hammergel and Endurolytes as needed.

I saw my crew for the first time at mile 21, and got very emotional (as I did last time) running into that Aid Station. I guess the magic was being re-created. My daughter, Tara, screamed when she saw me, and I saw my Dad shooting video.








Dawn had given everyone a task, and they were operating like a well-oiled machine. I think I had cracked the top 20 at this point, and came in right around 3:25. Everything was going according to plan.










I kept a good pace and passed a few more runners, and then the wheels started coming off the bus. Just after passing 2 guys on a long downhill, I got sick and projectile vomited large quantities of liquid. It was nasty. Never having vomited in a race, I wasn't sure what to do. I knew the guys behind me witnessed it, so I decided to act like nothing was wrong. I cruised into the next aid station - dumped the Perpetuem and switched to Heed (hoping it would help). I moved out of the aid station quickly, and those guys never caught up with me.

While I was feeling weak and concerned about the up-coming weigh-in, it was really nice to be running alone for the first time in the race. The views were amazing, and I was just happy to be taking it all in (despite my stomach woes).

At Camp 10 Bear (mile 47ish), I saw my crew and was summoned to the weigh-in before I could eat or hydrate. The scale said, "129 lbs.", and I almost passed out. I didn't say a word. They told me to look at it like a Mom chastising a child for using crayon on the wall. I acted like you do when you are pulled over by a State Trooper, "Who me, ..., speeding?" They asked if I had a crew, etc. The Doctor said I was OK to go on, but to put on sunscreen or a shirt. I had two thoughts: 1. Why aren't you pulling me from the race? 2. Thank God you're not pulling me from the race.

Sean (my cousin) forced grapes and oranges on me, and I reluctantly ate some. The grapes were tasty... Thanks Sean! I whispered to Dawn my concerns about my puking, and she told me to slow down, but don't stop. My crew was really excited, and I didn't want to disappoint them.

I decided that I would go easy the rest of the way and hoped to finish in under 24 hours. I wanted Jamie to see me run, and wanted both girls to see me finish. All hopes of a Top 10 were gone at that point, and I settled in for the long haul.

At the next aid station (Pinky's - mile 51), a young guy caught up to me, and I tried to chat with him. He didn't say much, so I shuffled on down the road. He caught up again and this time we talked more. His name was Brian, and he was a runner from Ca. This was his first 100, and he was looking really strong. I decided to try to hang with him as long as possible. We got into a rythym and worked well together. I knew the course, and offered some info. Our crews got to know each other, and Tara got a good picture of us at the Tracer Brook (57 mile) aid station.

I told Brian I was changing shoes at Margaritaville (mile 62.1), so he should go ahead without me. My crew tried to feed me a lot knowing I had to weigh-in at Camp 10 Bear (70 miles).

After leaving the aid station with Brian and one other guy, Ryan, I quickly proceeded to do the technicolor yawn once again. I told them to go on without me in between bouts of heaving. It was not pretty!

I thought that would be it for me. I drank some water and shuffled along just hoping to keep them in sight. Ryan looked like he was hurting, and I started catching up to him. I passed without saying much and set my eyes on Brian. We worked well together, and I hoped I could still hang with him. Once we got back together, it started pouring rain right at the mile 65 aid station. Brian needed electrolyte pills and I gave him some of mine as they had none at the aid station. I figured they weren't doing me any good at this point. We ran like we were being chased by the giant ball in the first Indiana Jones movie to get through the rain. We were in a wide trail, but the puddles were turning into Lakes. At one point, we had no choice, but to go through the middle. Brian was lucky and found a high spot while I went in up to my knees. Yuck!

We finally made it to a road, and I knew we were within 1-1.5 miles on Ten Bear. It was a long down hill and then short up to hit the aid station. I weighed-in at 135 due to some extra water and mud and other assistance, and all seemed well. Dawn said we were running 10 and 11 at that point, but we passed a couple people at the aid station. I picked up my pacer, Kevin (the Goat), and I explained to him and Dawn that I had another puking fit. By this point, I was operating solely on water, hammergel, and watermelon. I wouldn't touch anything else.

Goat was a welcome companion, and we quickly settled into a nice pace. Brian stayed with us as his pacer was waiting until mile 77 to meet him. The section from 70 to 77 is one of the toughest on the course, and Kevin's experience with it from the last race really helped us. He did such a great job pacing me through the last 30 miles.

We hammered the very technical downhill into mile 75 and I was feeling good. Brian, on the other hand, was at his limit. His quads were shot, and I knew he would be slowing down. I gave him a few words of encouragement and off we went.

At mile 77, we saw our crew again. Brian's folks had donated a watermelon to my cause since it was all I would eat. Thank you! As we left the aid station, we passed John Geesler, the former 24 hour national champ, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Wow! I thought, "We are doing good now!"

At this point, I was running 9th and knew we had a couple folks in striking distance.

We caught up to the first place woman (Devon) as she had made a slight detour. We came into Bill's (mile 88.6) in 8th place and the crew was going nuts. The weigh-in was fine, and off we went with watermelon (I learned later it was from Charlotte's fruit salad) of course.

It was getting dark, so I started using the headlamp. Devon passed us in one of the fields (I hate running through wet fields), and on we rolled.

At mile 95, there was NO WATERMELON! :-) Oh well! Everyone laughed when I asked for it, and I was ready to just take care of business. Goat and I were on a mission and he was the lead dog. I tucked in behind him like a Tour de France racer behind the lead climber. We made sure to avoid the wrong turn we made 2 years earlier and passed Devon again. The fog was so bad that you could only see about 5 feet in front of you, and the trail was very technical. We had to walk most of this section. It was very muddy, and I did not want to chance twisting an ankle.

We hit the last major climb and knew we were almost home. Goat powered up the nasty, muddy slope and saw a headlamp in the distance. We didn't even have to say a word. He put the hammer down and I just hung on. We passed the number 8 man and he looked like he was done. Goat left no question and kept pounding the slope to the top of the ridge. We hit the road and went 200 yards or so with no one in sight behind us. How sweet it is to be in 7th place.

Torches marked the 99.5 mile mark and we followed the glowing gallon markers into the finish. My crew did not react because they did not expect me in 7th place. The fog didn't allow anyone to figure out who I was until I hit the finish line. Dawn yelled out, "Oh my God, it's him!", then grabbed me yelling, "They did it, they did it". My girls quickly joined the hug, and I was smiling once again. My time was 18:29:20, and life was good. Devon finished about 1 minute behind me.

At the medical tent, my blood pressure was fine. I chatted with Joe Kulak (6th place finisher who just completed his 30th 100 miler). The guy is a legend, but was so nice. I couldn't believe he asked me how I did, etc. Really nice guy! Jack Pilla (3rd place) was there and gave me some advice on electrolytes. We chatted a bit and then he recommended I get some mud off of me. Hint, hint! :-)

I started to clean up and then got the shakes really bad. The EMT covered me in blankets and I warmed up quickly. We got the car nice and warm and I jumped in while my brother, Robert, drove back to the hotel.

After a rough nights sleep, we rolled over to our cousins, Charlotte and Steve's, house for breakfast. They were great hosts for the weekend, and I'm so happy we were able to spend some time with them.

At the award ceremony, I looked for Mark and Scott (2 other UTC runners), but could not find them. When I was called up for my Top 10 finish award, I saw both of them wave at me, and it felt great to see them.
After the photos, they told me they had both finished - Mark was around 22.5 hours and Scott was 25.5 hours. Nice work guys!!! I chatted a bit with Mark's pacer, Bruce, and also found Brian. Brian finished under 20 hours and seemed a bit wiped out. He has a great future in ultra running if he hangs with it, and his parents should be proud. He's a great guy!

Many thanks to my family and friends for being there. My cousin, Sean, was a huge help, and it's always fun to spend time with him. My parents have been great supporters and this race was no exception. I was proud to finish strong in front of my girls and glad they could share the experience. As I mentioned, Steve and Charlotte hosted us, and I'm glad they could share in the experience. My brother, Robert, is one of the nicest people in the world and I was lucky to have him there.



The Goat was the man once again, and he is like a second brother to me.








Dawn pulled everything and everyone together as she has for me over the past 6 months, and I am so grateful to her. It was a joy to share the experience with her.






When it comes right down to it, my crew and pacer made the difference between 7th and 9th place. They were amazing and deserve so much credit. Thank you all!

Vermont 100: It's show time!

This will likely be my last post before the race. I've got lots to do to get ready for this weekend. I feel really good other than a slightly tweaked left calf. I should be well rested and ready for this Saturday.

For the folks that are not familiar with the Vermont 100 or haven't seen my pics from 2 years ago, I've decided to throw some in here. I was looking at them earlier today and it brought back some great memories.


Here's the start with me and Ultra-mentor Jim Campiformio. Notice the UTC endorsement.Shuffling along the country roads.

This is me and the Goat at Camp 10 Bear (around Mile 68). Mom, Amy, and Pam are in upper left corner.
I was very happy to cross the finish line. Celebrating with the Goat! CCM is our climbing group (The CT Climbers and Mountaineers).

This past week was a bit strange. Work and home life were very busy. I took two rest days after last Sunday's hill work as I wanted to be fresh. On Wednesday, I went fairly hard on a 10.5 mile run, then did about 6.3 miles at work on Friday. The weather is getting warm! Saturday, I surprised the gang by showing up for a Red Eye Runners run in the Colchester area. It's my first run there since Tim has been inviting me for more than 10 years. I'm glad he didn't give up on me. It was a real pleasure to chat with the guys while doing a nice 10 on the very scenic Airline Trail.

I only planned to do 6-8 today, but stretched it into another 10 just because I felt like doing a little more. It was such a beautiful day, and it was good to get some heat training at mid-day.

I know I should not be doing too much, but I couldn't resist catching up on a lot of chores this weekend. It's amazing what you can get done when you are not running all day or recovering from a run. Mentally, I needed to get caught up on some things.

It's been a great 7 months of training. A few weeks ago, I was mentally drained from it all, but now I reflect in a positive way. I've met some new friends, completed runs that I never knew I could do, blew away my previous weekly mileage totals, and am probably in the best shape of my life. Andy Jones-Wilkins recently put up a post that indicated that the race is the dessert. I think he is right. The dessert will be sweet, but the main course was most excellent.

Many thanks to all my friends and family for being supportive and tolerant over these past months. I certainly appreciate it. This weekend, I'll have lots of family and friends at the race. The support is so appreciated. We will have a great time!

Let's go!!!!!!!

Weekly Summary -
Wed - 10.5 hard
Friday - 6.3 moderate
Saturday - 10 moderate
Sunday - 9.7 moderate
Total - 36.5 miles

The Tower Re-visited

Isn't it strange how some of your best runs come on days when you are least motivated? Afterwards, you say to yourself, "I'm glad I got out there, ...that was great!" Well, today was one of those days.

It's been really humid and wet here lately, and I was not into running today. I wanted to get at least 16 miles and 2+ hours on my feet, but was a bit tired of my usually reservoir runs. I needed to get creative and a little adventurous to keep myself motivated. I decided to head up to Heublein Tower to see if I could catch any views today. I felt like 2 trips up to the tower and some loops in the surrounding area would be good. Little did I know that I would end up doing 5 laps up to the Tower. Sure, it was a bit more than I planned, but what a huge boost to my confidence going into this race. My quads feel ready!

I finally made it up the 120 steps to the top of the Tower. The door has only been open one other time while I was up there. The views were good, but a bit hazy. The Tower is quite an architectural marvel. I highly recommend a trip.

On my second trip down on the north side, I came across a woman from work and her family. She just moved here from Egypt, and the hike up was a little more than they had anticipated. I think they thought I was crazy. In fact, I passed many people that were thinking it. I joked with some of them. Others took an interest in it and asked how many times I planned to go up. It was a lot of fun!

I thought I was finished at 4 laps, but then decided to go back up on the east side one more time before heading back. This time it was solo (no spectators), but still very satisfying.

I feel ready. I've done everything I can possibly do to prepare for this race. I'm psyched to be in real taper mode at this point. My body is starting to feel strong again.

I still have lots to do to get ready, but it feels good to be less than 2 weeks away!

Weekly summary:

Monday - rest
Tuesday - 9 easy
Wednesday - 16 moderate (first 8 with Goat)
Thursday - rest
Friday - 19.5 tempo (approx. 2.5 hours)
Saturday - spinning, 4.5 easy on treadmill, weights
Sunday - 18.25 hill training (approx. 3 hours and 7,000 ft elevation)
Total - 77.25 miles

Taper Time

My sympathy goes out to all the Western States 100 runners who did not get to run this weekend. I think I would be seriously disappointed if I trained for so long and then have the race be cancelled. I'm sure the race organizers did the right thing, but it's still tough. Big props to the Vermont 100 organizers for opening up 40 more slots. This will be one tough field for the race! It's good for the race, and good for Northeast ultrarunning.

Well, the race is less than 3 weeks away. I'm ready to taper both mentally and physically. My body was begging for rest this week.

Tuesday, 6/24 - After a rest day on Monday, I was still not up to my usual 20 miler on Tuesday. I didn't have the time, but secretly was happy to do an easy 10. I ran into the Goat along the way. We picked up the pace for a mile or two around mile 7, and then I stopped for a drink before doing a 2 mile cooldown. My right calf tightened up, and I was concerned. I massaged it quite a bit that night.

Wednesday, 6/25 - Feeling a bit tired at the start. I decided to carry a bottle due to the heat, but still managed to hold a decent pace for the first 9. I ran into Sean, husband of a friend of Dawn's, and we connected for the rest of the run. We had never run together, but I knew he had run a marathon and was a biker. He really has some lungs, and I had trouble hanging with him at the top of the big hill. He is strong, but doesn't have the endurance yet. We pushed eachother, so it was much faster than I had planned. After a 2 mile cooldown, I was feeling good, but wondered what the expended effort would do to the weekly plan.

Thursday, 6/26 - The "Easy 10" I intended turned into a hilly, hard 10 due to the humidity and selected route. I think my body was trying to tell me something.

Friday, 6/27 - Planned to do speedwork at the track, but my body said, "No way". I went to the gym and did some spinning and stretching.

Saturday, 6/28 - Felt a bit better, and did 12 with the Goat. The pace was easy, and I was starting to feel life in my legs again. The weather was warm and humid.

Sunday, 6/29 - Very humid and warm. A good 32 miles at the reservoir in about 4.5 hours. I considered adding a couple more miles to get to 5 hours, but opted to give my body some rest. I'd like to get some speedwork in this week before the serious tapering begins.

Weekly Total - 84 miles. I'm pleased with it considering how my body felt this week. I was feeling overtrained and needed some rest. The next 20 days will be fairly tame compared to the last 4 weeks.

As many have said at this point, "The hay is in the barn". It's a matter of getting myself rested and strong over the next 19 days. There's still lots of prep work to do before heading north.

Big Weekend!

After the Montreal trip, I was exhausted. No running on Friday. I still wanted to get 100 miles in for the week, so it was going to require back-to-back long runs on the weekend.

Saturday, 6/21/08

On Saturday, I met Bill, Tim, Paul, and Pete from our Red Eye Runners Reach the Beach Relay team. It's always good to see the gang, and it was fun to catch up with everyone. Everyone likes to joke on these runs and today was no exception. We headed north from Reservoir 6 and crossed over Rt. 185 into Penwood State Forest. We did a loop through the park that was very pleasant. I usually do the Metacomet trail through there, so it was nice to try something different.

After heading back to the cars, we had logged about 10 miles. Bill was heading out for more, so I connected with him for a couple more miles before heading up to Heublein Tower. At the top, I decided to head down the paved road as I had never been that way. This added some good vertical. At the end of the run, I had covered 21.5 miles in about 3:15 running time (not including the stop at the cars in between). I felt pretty good about the running considering that I was dragging at the start. Now, the key was to follow it up with a big day on Sunday.

Sunday, 6/22/08

The Goat and I planned to meet at 7:30AM, so I figured I would get there early to log some early miles. We parked at Penwood as my plan was to do a lot of hard miles with vertical and single track. Bottom line - this was going to be a punishing run to prep for the big hills in VT. The temp was mild, but the humidity was oppressive. I headed north on the Metacomet trail at approx. 6:25AM to the lookout and looped back to catch the Goat. Goat was running late, so I managed to get 90 minutes in before we connected. We did the paved loop out and the trail back again in Penwood, and then we headed for the Tower. Goat was in good spirits and we were moving well. The conversation was the usual stuff. Goat was planning to do at least 3.5 hours with me, and he was doing great. We managed to make 3 trips up to the Tower and around the reservoir before he called it a day. Wow! Four hours for the Goat! Good stuff. I was at 5.5 hours and really wanted to get to 8 hours for the day. My breaks were getting longer and my body was hurting. I did another Penwood loop, and then convinced myself to do another reservoir loop and then head up to the Tower for trip No. 4. This last trip was brutal and I walked the trail to the top. The downhill was welcome and I cruised into the parking lot at 39.3 miles. I wanted to finish it right, so pushed on to 40 miles in exactly 8 hours. I was soaked to the bone from humidity and some rain, had some serious chafing, and was mentally burnt out. My ability to run the uphills was gone, but I was still fine on the downs and flats. I know I could have gone farther, but I figured 8 hrs was enough for the day. It's 5 miles less than last week, but the terrain was much harsher on this run. Also, I had a rest day before last week's long run compared to a 3+ hr run yesterday.

In review, I'm satisfied with the run. I have one more week of hard training, and then time to taper. Tomorrow will be a rest day to get some life back in this body.

Weekly summary -

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 20 hilly miles fast at reservoir 2:28. Fantastic Run!
Wednesday - 7.6 miles to work - Easy
Thursday - 2.5 hours in Vermont (15 miles?)
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 21.5 miles 3:15
Sunday - 40-41.4 miles (depending on GPS sites), and 12K-17K vertical depending on which site you believe.

Total Mileage - 105ish

If anyone has experience with the Garmin Forerunner 305, please comment. I get different mileage and vertical depending on whether I download to Motion Based or Garmin Training Center. Which is more accurate? I'm liking the Motion Based site better, but who knows?

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

I had one of those epiphany-type ideas earlier this week. Do you ever get those...? The idea that just jumps from your brain and you immediately embrace it as "Brilliant!" Well, my brilliant idea popped into my head while I was getting ready for a business trip to Montreal. I was driving up on Wednesday afternoon for a meeting on Thursday. The meeting was scheduled to get out by 3pm, and I would be happily on my way back through Vermont to arrive home by 9 or so. Hmmm, how was I going to get in a run on this trip? Duhhhh! I slapped myself....I'll be driving through the Woodstock, VT area around 6pm...plenty of time for a test run on the VT100 course. BRILLIANT!

I guessed that the meeting might not end by 3 as planned, and traffic might be an issue, etc. I was tired from the previous days run. I had no idea how to find the course, and I remembered very little of it. Dawn had given me a map from Google showing the aid station locations, and I had read a post recently on Sherpa John's cool blog indicating that a group had recently done the 10 Bear loop. It seemed like a good idea. So, if I could find my way to 10 Bear, memory might get me the rest of the way. I packed my new headlamp and Garmin Forerunner as I knew I would need them.

After a crazy morning which required me to drop of my car for some body work (damn deer), and run to work...I picked up a rental car and headed north. I told Dawn about my plan and she quickly emailed me the VT100 course map. Thanks Dawn!

OK, so after hours of driving and sitting in Montreal traffic for more hours and going to the wrong hotel, etc. , I pass out in my room. The next day, I am in a fog and wondering how I am going to survive the meeting. My body is tired from all the training, work, etc. I look at my running gear and think, "Why did I even bring this stuff?".

After surviving a day of meetings, I practically run to the car to get ahead of the Montreal Traffic Madness and get on the road. I drive like a crazy man..only stopping for a couple Clif bars and Powerade. After meandering through Woodstock, I jump on Rt. 106S and start looking for the Camp 10 Bear turnoff. Ten miles pass and there it was....it looked so much different without tents and people and cars everywhere. It was just so empty...like nothing special ever happened there. The memories were there though. I remember people cheering as I came into 10 Bear for the first time 2 years ago. I was hurting, but re-grouped with my crew. I weighed-in and then was off. I felt like I should have sprinted away, but just walked up that hill.

So, there I was...I wasn't sure which way the course went as I hadn't looked at the map Dawn sent. OK, I drove up to the T and tried figuring it out. After driving on the wrong road for a ways, I headed back. I asked one guy for course directions and he had no clue about the race. How could you not know about a 100 mile race that passes your front door every year?

So, I head back to 10 Bear, and pull up the map Dawn sent on my laptop while I changed into my running gear. I took a quick look and tried to commit it to memory (yeah, right). I put on the Garmin thinking this will at least get me home if I get lost. It talks back to me, "LOW BATTERY". Great! Well, at least I have my headlamp.

Off I go! I cruise up toward the T, and a couple walking along the road ask, "When's the big race?" YES! Finally, I am in the right Universe. As it turned out, the race was in exactly one month. I smiled and trotted on... turn left at the T and head down a bit, and then recognize the road...I'm back! I can feel it. I was running with the Scottish gent on this section. Cool!

I get down to the bridge and it's out. Yikes! I find a little foot bridge and sketch my way across. Take a right onto 106 and take the first right back onto gravel roads. I get to the end of the road and it's just driveways. Am I on the wrong road? I find a trail into the woods and see a pink marker...Hmm, could this be it? I go up a way and find a yellow plate on a tree...YES! The race markers...The trail seems quite overgrown, but I plug on. I see a few more yellow markers and am happy. The trail dumps out on a gravel road, and I follow it down to an intersection. I don't know which way to go, so try one road that leads to nowhere. I try another road that leads to barking dogs and a scary man that knows nothing about the VT100. By now, an hour has nearly passed, and I decide to retreat back to the T and try doing the course in reverse. I figure I can take the gravel road up to the top of Prospect Hill for some fun. Well, this didn't work too well either as I couldn't figure out which road was right. I ran up a couple hills and eventually onto a trail. It was dark by now and I was getting scared of the creatures in the woods. I figured something was about to jump on my 132 lbs. of weakling and have me for dinner. So, I high-tailed it back to the car. At the car, I wanted to get at least 2:30 on my feet, so tried heading back from 10 Bear to the earlier part of the course. I climbed another big hill and thought, "These hills sure seem a lot bigger than I remember". I headed back to the car with my tail between my legs and a better appreciation for the task ahead.

I was home shortly after midnight. Reflecting on the adventure, I was pleased that I made the effort to re-familiarize with part of the course. It was fun and brought back some memories. I wish I had printed a copy of the course map as it would have helped. My new headlamp works great (Thanks for the tip, Mark!), and I know I need to keep working the hills to get my quads ready. All in all, it was a successful endeavor! Total mileage was probably about 15ish, but it's just a guess. Gotta charge that Forerunner!

Looking forward to being back there in 4 weeks for the adventure of a lifetime! Cheers!

You just never know...

I was dreading today’s run. I know it’s not a healthy attitude to have when training for a 100 mile race, but I did not feel ready. My plan was to try to get in 8 hours and at least 40 miles. Here’s how it shaped up…

Friday was hot and I did a hard 20 miles in the afternoon. I’ve been taking ½ vacation days to get in some extra mileage. While the run was about the same as the previous week, the heat sucked the life out of me. I was toast. Saturday was hot and humid and I felt sluggish all day. I went to my niece’s birthday party, and felt lousy. Ugh! “How am I going to run 8 hours?", I thought. I spent some time at Dawn’s in the evening, and then tried to get ready for the run. I wanted to wake up at 4:30 to get started before the heat got bad. The humidity and loud neighbors kept me awake most of the night, so I was dragging when the morning arrived.

The sky was overcast and it was spitting some light rain. The plan was to get in a couple hours and meet Goat and 7:30. I didn’t get started until just before 6, so I decided to do my 9 mile out and back ridge run which parallel’s the Metacomet trail. I was sucking wind from the start and thought, “This is going to be a long day”. I did the run in a little under 90 minutes and met the Goat on time. I still did not feel energetic, and my feet were very sore. The Goat and I headed off toward Heublein Tower and hiked most of the trail to the top. The conversation was good and it was nice to have some company. I could feel the humidity easing up a bit, and I was starting to feel decent. I did 12 miles with the Goat, and then it was back to solo running.

I grabbed the iPod and used it for another 9 mile ridge run. I stopped for refueling at the car, and my feet were really sore from the pounding on the rocks. The music was not doing it for me, so I ditched the tunes and headed for the Tower again. As the miles clicked by, I started feeling better about things. The temp was good (low 70’s) despite the humidity, and I felt strong. I decided to run most of the trail to the tower, and was pleased with the results. No views to be had today, so back down to the car. By now, I was at 37 miles and feeling good. Wow!

I had a great surprise on the last lap by running into Dawn, and she did the last 4-5 miles with me.

This run was a great confidence builder for the race because I did not bonk at all. Other than my feet being super tender, I felt good the whole way. I’m very encouraged about my progress with 3 weeks of hard training left.

Dawn and the girls made a great Father's Day dinner for me and I felt like a king! We even had chocolate cake for dessert. What a great day!

Thanks to the Goat, Bubba, and Dawn for great running company this week.

Weekly Recap -
Monday – rest
Tuesday – 18 or so miles, 2:30…felt good despite the heat/humidity
Wednesday – Recovery run with my brother, Bubba…8 miles, 1:45…some single track, and Bubba had a groin pull.
Thursday – Speedwork, 4x1mile repeats, 11.5 miles total. Felt good, but got sun-burnt.
Friday – 20 miles, 2:35. Felt spent afterwards. Very warm.
Saturday – rest
Sunday – 45 miles, 8 hrs – felt good.
Total – 102 miles …felt like a solid week.