It's not about 100 miles

None of this has really sunk in but maybe while writing it will and hopefully it all comes out right.

In 2011 I painfully dropped from the Vermont 100, due to IT Band issue before Bill's, I couldn't walk and I tried walking backwards but none of it was helping.  Instead I laid helplessly on the side of the grass, shivering, feeling bad for the people I had dragged out to crew for me and lastly for myself in what I thought was a personal failure.  It was the first time in my life of "adventure sports" I had been beaten down, kicked everywhere imaginable and left on the side of the road.

The next day we left Vermont 100 and it was morning and I remember while leaving, (it was before 10am the cut off) people were still finishing.  They were going close to 30 hours near the cutoff and I wished I could be doing at least that, instead I used it as fire for 2012.  I made a mental note that day I would train smarter and return to Vermont 100 and finish the race.

I look back on the last year, miles run, endless core routines, diet, sacrifices to family members and friends and new friends I have made and wonder about many things, but those are personal and I will leave it at that.  I guess I mention it because it is not just about running 100 miles, its the journey that one or all take on with the runner.

Here is the "Race Report" from the week before Vermont 100.  I actually did taper running 4 miles a couple of times before the races and I think I mailed it in on Thursday, we had some crazy weather one of the days and I skipped that day.  I felt like I was breaking down the week before I had a weird pain/ache in my left quad not sure if IT related or something, NEVER had problem all year, maybe just getting tight and from not running, don't know, whatever.

Friday morning rolled around and Spungie picked me up in his truck, we headed over to Pat's house, loaded up the vehicle some more and Pat drove to Silver Hill Meadow the home base of the Vermont 100.  It is an open field, that looks over some pristine views and you just feel at home being there.  Chris, Mark and Greg were already there and set up their tents and saved spots for my crew to set up.  We had 5 tents set up and everyone had their space to sleep, (Spungie slept outside of a tent in the open meadow).  .  We all went down to the race registration for medical and the pre-race meeting to get here rules and course specific information.  The weather was awesome actually cool out with zero humidity and great sleeping weather.  After the meeting we had a great meal of pasta, beans, rice, salads, chips, salsa and other fruits.  We had some great laughs and everyone was stoked and excited.  We all went to bed relatively early, not sure how everyone slept, but always tough the night before.  I slept fairly well, woke up once thinking it had to be 2am but it was only 11:38pm.  I was up at 2am and Spungie was up making some breakfast and had a almond butter sandwich ready for me with slices of banana.  I also had some water and just pretty much rested until 4am.  I did some last minute details, hit the bathroom and next thing you know we were in the race coral and everyone was counting down from 10 and we were off.

Chris, Mark and I tried to together but it was difficult and it was mostly Chris and I that ran together but eventually caught up to Mark.  Mark was clearly having a good day early running the downhills strong.  We walked some hills but managed to run more than I thought possible that early in a 100 but I felt really good.  We had some good laughs and the vibe was awesome and just what I needed.  I set off probably a little too fast but I was putting money in the bank and feeling confident.  We stayed within striking distance of each other through Densmore Hill, Dunham Hill, Garvin Hill and I saw them roll out of the first manned station near Suicide Six Ski area.  I also saw them on the long climb up to Pretty house, first Handler station.  ***I was powered washing by CC, will leave it at that, but I heard it tops the scarecrow***.

Pretty House is the one station where you figure it all out and the Handlers (DogMan, Mutha, Spungie and Pat) would figure out how the rest of their day would go.  I kind of kept things on the serious side wanting to stay in that mental state and give everyone the idea of how I was doing.  DogMan probably read me the best through observation as I was doing really well and starting to warm up.  My stomach was excellent.  I made the decision to stick with the Nathan Hydration vest, as I liked having my arms free and I was able to reach for calories easy.  I would always take some stuff like oranges or melon I could eat while running just to keep getting the added "calories".  I left Pretty House feeling good, really good.  I was a little slower than I thought but figured I could make it up at some point.

From Pretty House to Stage Road it is about 9 miles I continued to feel good slowest mile being 26 that had 347 feet of gain.

Stage Road is the next Handler station and when looking back to last year world of different stomach good and I was feeling good, I think.  I don't really remember much verbalization on my part.

I left Stage Road thinking about one thing a reminder from 2011 there is a 558 foot climb and that was all I was thinking about.  I passed a group out of there and I kept giving myself confidence knowing some my pace from the prior year and seeing the significant time I was bitting off.  I ran some of this climb.  This stretch is a long 17 miles to Camp 10 Bear and it is tough.  There are some class 4 roads that sucked and difficult to run but I hit them as hard as a I could. At 11:16am, coming down almost 500 feet through Route 12 and Vondell Reservoir my left IT Band, same injury that caused me to drop in 2011 struck BAD at mile 40.  I would say it was a code red.  I went through Lincoln Covered Bridge mile 40 and new from 2011 there was some big climbing, 617 feet over 2 miles.  I thought this would help, give the IT Band a break and let it cool down.  I took 600mg of Advil or Ibuprofen I don't remember and gave it 30 minutes and drank a ton of water to see if things would settle down.  Around mile 43 I pushed a really hard downhill 9:06 pace and it was fucking barking at me.  Another 10 minutes and the pain became "manageable".  The one lesson from 2011 I knew what was happening to my knee.  I took it "easy" coming into mile 47 Camp 10 Bear.

Camp 10 Bear was where I told Mutha about my knee but asked him not to say anything to the other guys.  I 110% thought of dropping.  I was biting the inside of my left tongue to distract myself from the pain in my knee.  I was taking avocado from Spungie, Greg was rolling my left knee BUT overall I was feeling good.  My weight was down to 139lbs from my initial weigh in of 144lbs, not BAD.

Leaving Camp 10 Bear I was under mental stress the knee was all I was thinking about I knee there was some climbing but also a lot of runnable sections. The beast of this stretch until Tracer Brook is around mile 50 which is a 530 foot climb on crap loss sand/rock.  The knee was everything I was thinking about still, I kept thinking and thinking and thinking about it.  It became weird to think of something else.  I kept looking at my watch to see that how long it had been since I took the 600mg wondering when they would ware off.  The knee was manageable and at times would subside then come back then subside.  I have zero explanation for this, didn't hurt during any of the 2 50's I ran or during any of my training.  Besides the physical discomfort it was the only thing that bothered me. Tracer Brook was next on my radar and I knew I would have a nice run in to Tracer Brook.

Tracer Brook was the site of last years explosion, passing out, narrow vision, loss of hearing and puking 4 times.  This year different story.  I was taking food, water, Vita Coco water, S-Caps and still feeling "good".  My guys were nailing everything for me with giving me stuff and keeping me going, boosting me with confidence.  I remember kept taking to DogMan about pace and he kept on me about "not worrying".  I never went to the place of "I am going to finish or I might be able to buckle" until 99.5 miles.  I was nervous and I don't know if I mentioned this at Tracer Brook or Margaritaville.  DogMan was really calm and kept things in focus for me from that "race perspective".

I rolled out of Tracer Brook with roughly 700 feet of climbing over next 3 miles.  I hit the absolute lowest possible point in this race physically, I hit BONKVILLE, USA.  I had one Raw Evolution bar to get me over 5.1 miles to Margaritaville, I wish I had 5 but that was life.  I felt like complete shit and I knew what the issue was CALORIES and I need them and I wasn't going to be able to get any for 1:20

Spungie was my first sight, I think coming into Margaritaville I was still running hardly and I think I said to him I am bonking really bad I need calories.

Margaritaville is where I give DogMan, Mutha, Pat and Spungie 110% credit for me finishing this race.  We all took a collective deep breath and regrouped and got me calories.  I took a lot of S-Caps Pat helped me, next thing I knee I had pasta, grill cheese, pickles and salted potatoes.  I looked at Spungie and told him force me to eat this, don't let me leave unless I eat.  I knew I had to eat all of it, but I was afraid to eat it because I was worried about what it would do to my stomach.  I think at that point your stomach will take it all in and mine did.  The calories and what my crew did at Margaritaville was awesome, I can't thank them enough.  I was feeling much better.  It was at this time I said I need to leave Margaritaville let everything settle and take some deep breaths.

Leaving Margaritaville there is 461 feet of climbing over 3 miles and I kept eating the potatoes that DogMan gave me in zip lock bag, I forced them down, smashed them in my hand or mouth and then took water and swallowed them.  I hated eating them because you just don't feel like it but I forced myself.  The last 3 miles coming into 10 Bear the 2nd time were all under 22 hour pace my energy was coming back.

Camp 10 Bear is mile 70 I decided about 2 miles out I wanted Mutha as my pacer.  I felt terrible about this because I knew Spungie wanted to pace a little.  Mutha and I had been through this the year before and I knew that he would have all the answers to the questions that I would ask while he was pacing me and I wanted a sense of comfort.  I took on a ton more of food at Camp 10 Bear grill cheese, pickles, I think I had a Chocolate Coconut milk for some calories and protein and fat.  Overall I was feeling good and feeling a 2nd wind coming on. I had my 2nd medical and I was 141lbs, gaining back weigh which is a really good sign.  Mutha and I rolled out of Camp 10 Bear.

I don't have a lot of the #s for the last 30 miles, they are all on Spungie's Garmin watch.  I believe that I finished in 8 hours from Camp 10 Bear, not 100% sure on this.

Mutha and I rolled out of Camp 10 Bear everything was good, I had changed to two handhelds and ws happy to lose the Nathan Hydration Vest.  We had a big climb out of there and another one as we got up into some beautiful areas of Vermont with open fields.  I think we did a lot of running this year compared to 2011 and might have caught some people.  I don't remember seeing many people while we were heading to West Wind / Spirit of '76 for some reason.  I did not take any risks on some of the descents between Camp 10 Bear and West Wind / Spirit of '76 because I didn't know the impact on my knee.  Mutha was doing text book work as pacer letting me set the pace, being mindful of making me eat and drink.  We were in sink and rolling along.  West Wind / Spirit of '76 came faster than I thought, it was still daylight when we arrived.

West Wind / Spirit of '76 this shit hit the fan but not really.  We rolled in and I was doing ok, it is a long climb up to West Wind / Spirit of '76. Spungie was at bottom of hill and ran up ahead to let the crew know I was coming in.  What the crew didn't know was the crash landing I would have.  I knew within a couple of minutes of taking down more pickles and grill cheese and grilled potatoes, I was going to have a issue.  The first clue, my hearing sounded to get really muted.  I think DogMan or Pat was with me and I confessed I needed to sit down.  When I sat down I got super cold, I think I asked Spungie to rub ice all over my knees and quads.  We had a big regroup.  I took off my wet shirt and put on a long sleeve Mountain Hardwear wicked lite, beanie and my Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer.  I was shivering and DogMan checked me out temperature wise and everything was ok.  This wasn't a 2011 Tracer Brook episode.  I remember the calmness I felt sitting down, I just needed to settle down and take in more calories. I was still nervous about my time and wanted to keep pushing.  DogMan was right there just telling me to relax we had been through this before so it really wasn't a big deal just a small, reactor shut down :-). I would say this was the 2nd time the DogMan, Pat, Spungie and Mutha saved my race.  It took them everything to calm me down and bring me back from dark place number 2 on the day the first being between Tracer Brook and Margaritaville.

After things settled down and I had some chicken broth and noodles to warm up Mutha and I headed out.  I would say things went from core melt down to I feel awesome in 10 minutes.

Mutha and I cruised through Goodman's and Cow Shed.  I remember sucking down a 3 cups of chicken broth and coca cola at Cow Shed.  Mutha and I had some incredible conversation, we were actually running at conversation pace, like going out for a regular run, like no big deal.  We clipped off miles and talked about 2011 a little and pretty much attacked the course.  We rolled into Bills I believe running and well ahead of schedule my Mutha's time estimates.  Mutha would give me time estimates of our next stops and I would try to personally beat them, it was a micro challenge the entire day at hand.

Bill's never been here before I dropped right before in 2011.  Awesome place, you could get wrapped up in the vibe and stay forever.  Big Barn, meadow incredible views, etc etc.  Spungie was doing Yoga when we strolled in.  I took on a ton more of food, had my 3rd medical as was down 2lbs from my starting weight of 144lbs.  Very good sign.  I loaded up on Coca Cola and Chicken Brooth some potatoes I think.  The vibe was awesome, everyone was relaxed and enjoying themselves.  I was getting into a better place mentally and physically starting to feel good.  We left Bills knowing we would see the crew in 7 miles at Polly's.

Mutha and I rolled out running I think and I know there were some really good sections we cruised along and put money in the bank.  I kept getting time checks from Mutha and I kept pushing to beat them.  I know we dropped a horse on one of the climbs that was just exhausted, for those that don't know the Vermont 100 also runs the Vermont 100 Endurance Run for horses simultaneously.  I think things were really doing good, we paced people and kept playing leap frog with others. Again we landed at Polly's ahead of schedule.

Polly's another great place really mellow lights hanging the crew was super pumped to see me, we were laughing and it was the first time in 95 miles I let my mind go to that place of I might finish and buckle.  DogMan and Pat gave me the you can walk it in and have plenty of time.  Weight was starting to come off my shoulders.  I had more Coca Cola and Chicken broth and Mutha and I rolled out and I remember saying to the guys, "see you at the finish make sure you come out and we will run in together".

Mutha and I cruised the final 5 miles pretty much it was all a walk, there was a really awesome field we crossed then some more dirt roads, some more climbing, I definitely started hearing things in the woods, seeing what I thought were lights, sounds, DJ's all kinds of stuff.

There was one last brute of a climb and at the top you could see some headlights.  It was DogMan, Pat and Spungie we walked the last .5 miles together which I thought was awesome.  Spungie said there is the finish line, I couldn't believe it.  I gave everyone a hug, everyone was stoked it was incredible we finished this race the same way we started together.  I crossed the finish line of the Vermont 100 with my crew with me.

This race is no joke it will eat at you at every chance it has.  I had a crew that provided everything I needed and more, they did exactly what they needed at every aid station and more.  I wanted to finish this race for them and everyone that supported me over the last year as I selfishly trained day in and day out.

This race was not about running 100 miles it was more about the journey of not one's self but the journey you go on in the months if not years leading up to it with the people that are closest to you and I am thankful to have the best family and friends to share it with.

P.S.  It has finally sunk in!!!

Picture Link attached, here.