What: Vermont 100

When: July 20, 2019

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/2551072995

A goal: Sub 24 hours / PR (23:29)

B goal: 27 hours

High Temp on Saturday: 96 degrees F (35.56 C)

Feels like On Saturday: 106 degrees F (41.11 C)

Several Video updated along the course here (https://youtu.be/B0ZrSs4nAis). I stopped making the videos after that point because I was trying to stay focused on the races and didn’t really feel like filming myself.

Training

Leading up to race, my training had been okay. I had a rough May between fighting two bouts of sickness and a tweaked ankle, but I got it sorted out, and put in a really good June, running 300 miles over the course of the month.

Lead Up

My wife, Kate, and I drove up mid morning Friday, stopping at the Harpoon Brewery before heading over to the start finish area. We set up our tent, and then I got checked in, and then it was race meeting and the pre race meal. Tried to go to bed early, but it was so hot in the tent. Probably fell asleep a little after 8:30. I think the heat in the tent gave me some wild dreams, but I figured that if I was dreaming then I was actually asleep, which would be better than just laying awake all night. Eventually my alarm went off at 3, and I started getting ready. Drank some cold brew, and ate a cliff bar, got dressed and then saw some friends while we milled about the start line.

Start - Pretty House (21.1)

The start being at 4AM meant we were in the dark for about the first hour of the race. I was running with some friends but as soon as I passed a very experienced runner who was already walking the most mild uphill, I figured that I should follow suit. I let the two run away from me as I started walking the hills.

Mostly through this part was chatting with people, and running when it made sense to do so. I got to run through some places I recognized from skiing in the area, especially cool was I got to run across the covered bridge in Taftsville, which I seen many times, and always thing it’s a good looking bridge.

Eventually made it to Pretty House which was the first crewed aid station. Kate was waiting for me there, and I was able to assess myself. Everything seemed ok, so I headed out.

Pretty house to Stage Rd (30.5)

The sun came up and with it the temps started to rise. They weren’t over the top yet, but could tell it was going to be a warm day. I was wearing a full brimmed sun hat and a long sleeve Columbia hiking shirt to try and avoid the sun. The shirt seems to hold water, which meant it was heavy, but it also seemed to help keep me cooler. Some of my friends said I had an Indiana Jones look going. Not much I can actually remember about this part. Most of the course was kind of the same. Dirt roads, to double track, running past beautiful Vermont countryside and farmhouses. I made it to Stage Road, which was the second crewed aid. There I took a moment to drink a Boost shake, and put more ice in my bandana etc. before taking off again.

Stage Rd to 10 Bear 1 (48.6)

So, about 7 miles after Stage Road was the river crossing. New to the course this year, the runners were actually getting in the water, which worked out great. I actually took my shoes and socks off to try and keep them dry and carried them across the river. Then I took my waist belt off, and got back in the river and laid down, trying to see if I couldn’t cool my body temp down. I laid down until I started to feel a little uncomfortably cold, and decided it was time to keep moving. I got out of the river, lubed my feet again, put my shoes and socks back on, and headed out. I was in the river at about 12:30ish, and I knew that the day was still going to get hotter, with the forecasted high happening around 4PM. Coming into 10 Bear, it was kind of a mess. Runners come and go from several different directions because you hit the aid twice, and it’s also an active road way. A little chaotic. I drank another Boost shake here, and maybe ate something, like Oreos (I ate a lot of Oreos during this race). Kate and my pacer Keith met up together, and Keith decided to come with Kate to Margatitaville (the next crewed aid)

10 Bear to Margaritaville (59.8)

This was peak heat now. Temps at least 95 F or higher, and a feels-like of 106. Looking back on my splits they were very slow here. I was walking all the uphills, and there are a lot of hills on this course. Total gain of 17K ft, but just endlessly rolling. More picturesque Vermont countryside and I eventually made it to Margarita Ville (my wife’s favorite aid, both because of the aid station logistics with its easiest in and out, but also because she’s a huge ParrotHead). It was starting to get dark, so I switched from my long sleeve to a short sleeve shirt, and also switched hats since I didn’t need the sun protection anymore. I don’t remember if it was here or if it was at 10 bear the next time, but sometime in the night, I started shivering a bit, and also threw on a long sleeve, but as soon as I started moving in it I warmed right back up.

Margaritaville to 10 Bear 2 (70.7)

About halfway through this section is when it got dark and I had to break out my headlamp. I saw one unfortunate soul on the trail whose headlamp was at 10 bear, and was using a glowstick on a string, held like a lantern to try and make his way down the trail. He and I continued to Yo-yo for much of the race.

I made it into 10 bear 2 and needed to take a short nap. I lied down on a cot, and tried to doze for a few minutes, but didn’t really fall asleep because of how stiff my legs were. I sat up, kind of refocused myself, and then Keith and I took off into the night

10 bear to Spirit of 76 (77.5)

This was a sleepy portion. I kept falling asleep while running. If you look very closely at my strava in this portion, you can see my tracks zig-zagging from one side to the other. My pacer did a great job of catching when I fell asleep and waking my back up. I was getting irritated too at this point, sort of unhappy that the course was so road heavy in the beginning, but now seemed to have a lot of double track and real trail. Saving the technical and hard bits for when you’re tired and in the dark.

Spirit of 76 to Bill’s (88.8)

Still more sleep running, and double track, and climbing.

I had heard early on that Bill’s had a full bar and a Burger Grill, but when I finally got their, I was interested in neither. I sat down next to several other runners and nursed a cup of broth, and ate some slices of grilled cheese sandwich. Apparently grilled cheeses are hit or miss ultra food, I’ve heard they give some people digestion problems, but they tasted great for me and presented no stomach issues. After what felt like a short stop, Keith and I took off for the final-ish (as there’s a final crew stop 3.2 from the end) stretch.

Bill’s to Polly’s (96.7)

The sun came up on this stretch and I was able to move a bit faster again. Looking at my Strava fly-bys, I lost a lot of time against other runners overnight, but then made up a lot of time once the sun came out. I’m not sure if this bodes well or not for Tor. Guess I’ll find out later! Anyways, I was pretty unhappy for this portion of the race, and just really wanted to finish. Eventually made it to Polly’s and sat down and ate a waffle, refilled my water and took off again.

Polly’s to Finish (100)

The longest 3.2 of my life (3.7 by my watch). Was daylight out, and I was trying to run everything I could, but it felt like every turn presented an unhill just steep enough to reduce me back to a walk. I also expected the finish to be in the field, the same way the start was, but then all of a sudden I saw some orange fencing, realized the cheers were actually really close, and I was staring at the finish line, so I hustled across. 27:51:26. Not the hardest 100 miler I’ve ever done (Bromont 160 km) but certainly not the easiest either.

Final thoughts

I am usually pretty bad in the heat, but seemed to manage this okay, even with less heat specific training. I went slower, and was working a lot at keeping myself cool. I think this was the difference between me throwing up versus holding things down. I walked out of and for awhile after most of the aid stations, as my stomach was really struggling with almost anything I put down. I also wonder if calorie depletion can lead to making it harder to take in calories. It’s a worrying hole to get into. Heat makes me have less of an appetite, so I eat less, which might make it even harder to eat later on.

The hills on Vermont were relentless, and really slowed me down. I think I need to add in a day or two a week of specifically working on hiking fast. According to Ian Sharman (pro ultra runner and coach), it doesn’t take too long of a time of focusing on hiking to see big gains in hiking speed.

Finally, I don’t know if this was or wasn’t a confidence booster for Tor. It was certainly difficult, but in a very different way than I expect Tor to be. It’s now time to refocus my training and get prepared for some real mountain racing.

Gear:

So I started the day with a Sunday Afternoon charter escape hat, a columbia hiking shirt, and for short I had some TNF Long Hauls. I wore injinji socks, and Topo MTN Racers for shoes. I wore an Ice Bandana around my neck that a friend from a group I run with made.I had a 12oz Amphipod Bottle in each hand, and a Naked Belt for extra gear. In the Naked Belt I had lube, extra tape, atomic fireballs, tp, hand sanitizer, my headlamp, extra batteries, my GoPro, and 1 third 12oz Amphipod bottle. When the night hit, I switched to a short sleeve quarter zip from Inov-8 and my Patagonia Duckbill cap, which I actually mostly stashed in the belt.

Pic of all 6 of my buckles: https://imgur.com/Y4iY280