Vermont 100 Crew

Last weekend I spent the weekend crewing for a fellow Bimbler. We had met up the week before to go over the details so I felt prepared to help out for the race. I arrived on Friday afternoon in time for the pre-race briefing and dinner. Met up with all the other Bimblers there and sat around the rest of the evening chatting and catching up. It was such a great group of people and runners, it was great listening to stories from past years and other races. I look up to so many of the other runners it was great listening to their past experiences. We went to bed early and set our alarms early for the next morning.

Everyone was up and getting ready by 3am for a race start at 4am. It was still dark at this point, and we all headed down to the Start together. We huddled around our runners sending good vibes their way. There was a lot of nervous energy in the tent and you could tell the runners just wanted to be on their way. Then they all lined up... and they were off!! 

Vermont 100 also has a horse race that goes with the runners race. I've never been to a race like this before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The 100 mile horse race starts about an hour after the runners. The horses slowly checked in and then they were off as well! It was fun to see the horses along the course and throughout the day. 

Once the runners were off, all the crew groups set off for the first aid station, and some breakfast :) From about 6am we went from aid station to aid station. The first half of the race we saw our runner about every 3 hours, but then the second half we met up with them almost every hour. Luckily my runner was very organized and knew exactly what he would want at each aid station. I pretty much just swapped his hydration vest at each place and added some gu's here and there. Pretty simple :)

It was great seeing the other Bimbler runners throughout the day, and also having their crews around to hang out with and chat. I also met a few other Connecticut and New England runners. It's great to see that even though the ultra running world is getting larger and larger, it is still such a small world and a close community. The environment at ultra events is unlike any other running events. It is low key, social, happy, and encouraging. Everyone cheers for everyone and each runner wants everyone to have a great race. 

I met up with Elaine at mile 50ish. She was meeting up with Alex at mile 70 to pace him for the rest of the race. She had never been to a 100 mile race and was a little nervous about pacing for the first time. We talked a lot about races and ultras and how crazy all the 100 mile runners were :) I think we were both getting the itch to run farther races though. Once we met up with Alex at 70 she was gone and I picked up Suresh as my new navigation partner- thank goodness too! I was so nervous about driving and getting lost in the dark in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere. 

Finally we  met up with Alex and Elaine at mile 94 (ish) and they were looking strong!! We hurried to the finish and before we knew it, they came through the finish line!! He finished in 21:20!!! It was such a great race for him, he looked so strong and focused the entire race. I stayed at the finish line for a couple hours watching other runners finishing and it was so moving and motivating. All I wanted to do at that moment was sign up for a 100. I am really starting to get the 100 mile itch. I've been around ultras my entire life and now I think I am ready to step it up a notch and try for a 100... maybe :). I have Mountain Masochist 50m in November so I will have to wait and see how that race turns out before I sign up for anything. It was the best thing in the world seeing all the runners coming through the finish line accomplishing their goals that they have been working towards for months or even years. 

Lots of Bimblers supporting their fellow Bimblers!

Here comes Mr. Bimble himself!

Getting weighed in

???

Probably my favorite aid station-Bills I think, mile 88?

Finger Lakes 50K

After backpacking for 3 days and sleeping in a tent for the 4 nights leading up to the race I was a little nervous about how my energy level and legs would be.  My mom and I decided to run the whole race together because how many people can say they ran a 50k with their mom??!! It was a great time to catch up and chat. 

We had an early start at 6:30am, the course started on a dirt/gravel road for about a quarter of a mile downhill, which helped thin everyone out. We then ducked into a single track trail and slowed way down because there were so many people. Trail followed single track for a while in the woods, then we came out to an open meadow/cow field, then ducked back into the woods. There were aid stations spaced about every 3 miles so it was easy to stop and grab anything you needed pretty frequently. We didn’t stop at too many because I had a hydration pack and mom had 2 bottles in her pack- I think we ended up saving a lot of time running past quite a few of the aid stations while others stopped at most it seemed. Most of the trail was on single track in the woods, with a couple open areas out in the sun. It was supposed to get into the 90s so I felt prepared with lots of water, food, S caps, hat, etc. First time I have used S caps and they really seemed to help with the heat- didn’t have any problems. As we were about halfway through the first loop (of 2), I stubbed my big toe/first ray on a rock and thought for a split second it was broken. Had to hobble for a while, not long after, mom fell and re-injured a strain from Bighorn a couple weeks before. We stopped and walked a while off and on until we both felt a bit better. Soon we were moving at a good pace again. There were a few more open meadows that had great views of the Seneca Lake and wineries- it was beautiful. 

We made it into the halfway point at the Start/Finish at 2:20. I was aiming at a finishing time of 6:30 so I felt like I was doing OK- I later found out the race was actually 33 mi instead of 31 mi so I felt much better about my time. My legs felt good and I felt like I still had quite a bit of energy. The course wasn’t that tough technically or hilly, but the second loop definitely seemed harder! Realized that I was walking a lot more of the hills than I did before. I felt like the first loop I was running pretty slow, but I think I walked a lot more the second loop. I was hoping for negative splits but it didn’t seem like it would happen.  Mom seemed to have a new burst of energy the second loop and was definitely pushing me through. I was struggling by the last few miles and was very ready to be done! Finally we hit the last aid station with 3 miles to go and I really tried to kick it in- although I have a feeling my pace stayed the same  Mom and I crossed the finish line in 6:50 and I ended up being pretty happy with my time- I think I PR’d for my 50k time since this race was actually 33 miles. As we were walking away from the finish line someone ran up to me and said I won my age division! I couldn’t believe it!!! I received a finisher’s award of a little wooden cow. Thomas won his age division a couple years ago so I couldn’t wait to surprise him. 

My dad ran the 50 mile race and had Thomas pace him for the last 16 miles. He ended up winning his age division as well, so it was a good day for the Johnson family! Overall Finger Lakes Fifties was a great race, well organized, great people and a great area. We celebrated the race by hitting up a “healthy” Mexican restaurant in Ithaca, NY later! 

New York Vaca

We started out our vacation backpacking on the Escarpment Trail in the Catskills. We didn’t really have any set plans, we just needed to be back at the car on Friday morning to meet my parents. We started off on Tuesday night and stopped at a lean to about a mile into the trail. We first arrived at the trail head, registered and saw a bear warning!!!! Thomas had to run back to the car to get twine so we could tie up the food in a tree for the week. That definitely got my nerves going! We set up the tent and went to bed- we tried a fire but all the wood was wet from a recent rain.

Woke up early and set off after making some oatmeal and tea. We hiked about 2 ½ hours up the mountain and made it to the top of Windham High Peak at about 3500 feet. We stopped and had some snacks and enjoyed the views.

We continued on for a few hours, trail was technical and hilly and so it took us a while with the packs on. Lucy did great, even with her pack  We had to go off the main trail for a bit to find water and we were lucky we found a stream about a quarter mile off the main trail. We refilled water supplies since that was our only water for the trip. We continued on and had a tough section ahead. We had a one mile CLIMB! It was STEEP! And ROCKY! Took us quite a while to get to the top of Blackhead. Once we made it to the top we decided to take a nap and eat lunch. It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon! 

We were about 10 miles in at that point, we wanted to go on farther but decided to make that the turnaround point. We were hot and tired and we had found a great spot to camp earlier on the trail. We camped on a beautiful area surrounded by pine trees and really close to a great open rocky outlook. We made a fire, cooked dinner and sat out on the rock and watched the sunset and the stars emerge. 

The next morning we ended up hiking back to the car a few hours. Once back at the car, we drove a bit, got some lunch and then found a river we could camp at that night. We drove about 2 hours to the campground and settled in for the evening. We sat around, read, waded in the river and made a fire. I decided to buy s’more stuff for a desert  

We met up with my parents Friday morning in Ithaca, NY. We walked around the downtown for a bit then decided to head up to Finger Lakes area about an hr away. We got lunch and picnicked by Seneca Lake. We spent the afternoon at Watkins Glen State Park- beautiful waterfalls/gorges. 

Drove to the Finger Lakes Fifties race Start/campground to pick up our packets for the race and set up the tent. Spent the rest of the evening getting ready for race day. 

See race report…

Sunday after the race Thomas and I spent the day at a few wineries by Seneca Lake. What a beautiful place! Great wine, great views and great conversation!! Lucy was even allowed in!

Monday we joined back up with my parents and went Ziplining on Hunter Mountain!! SO FUN! 

We had my parents over at our campsite for a campfire, hotdogs and s’mores. Fun way to (sort of) end the vacation. Tuesday we all hiked up Hunter Mtn… straight UP! 2 miles up and gained 2000 feet of elevation. Views at the top were worth it!

26.2 for my 26th! Lake Placid Marathon

Over the past year I have tried to push myself to new limits that I never thought were possible. I have grown as a runner and have learned a lot about myself along the way.  I ran my first half marathon a year (and a week) ago, and I have come so far from then, I never thought a 50k or a marathon would be possible! SInce that race I have run 2 more half marathons, a trail marathon, paced a part of a 100 mile race, and run 3 50ks. And I am still signing up for more!  After each race I want to try something else to push myself and see what I've got in me. 

A while ago I knew I wanted to try a road marathon, I feel like most distance runners start their career with the road marathon so I figured I should get one under my belt soon. My 26th birthday was coming up so I thought running 26 miles for my 26th birthday would be so cool!!! I searched and searched and the only one I could find close by was the Lake Placid Marathon the weekend of my birthday. It was voted the second best destination marathon by Runners World- so I was sold!! I needed a little get away anyways! I was in pretty good shape since I had run 2 50ks within a couple months. After Promise Land in April, I stuck to roads to really get ready for the marathon, I did my long solo runs and felt pretty confident coming into the race. Race week arrived and I was so excited to be running a beautiful race on my birthday. 

I arrived in Lake Placid Saturday afternoon and couldn't get over how beautiful and mountainous the area was! Made me a little nervous for the hills!!! I picked up my packet, met up with a mutual friend, CJ and had lunch. I couldn't stop looking around! I walked downtown a bit and sat by the lake- it was gorgeous! I went for a drive to try to go up to Whiteface Mtn but the road was closed so I stopped at a little hike on the side of the highway and walked about a halfmile in to another gorgeous lake. I sat there for a bit and just took in the beauty of the area. Soon it started to get a little dark so I headed back and went back to town. Met up with CJ again and met for dinner at a restaurant overlooking Mirror Lake. Again, can't say how pretty it was!! Went to bed early to get my beauty sleep for the big day ahead! :)

Then it was RACE DAY!!! I put on my custom made "26.2 for my 26th Birthday" Tshirt and was ready to go!!! The race started downtown by the Olympic Rink and Speed Skating Oval. It was so fun to have people cheering for the runners all around Mirror Lake. The view was amazing the entire race. We went around Mirror Lake once, then down along a road that we would come back to for the second half of the race. We passed by the snow ski jumps-- they were so high and so steep! Scary!!! I felt great and just tried to enjoy where I was and what I was doing. I made sure to drink/eat a lot along the way, it was probably in the high 70s and sunny- perfect running weather for me! I loved hearing the "Happy Birthdays" along the way- made me smile every time! So glad I wore my birthday tshirt :) It was 2 out and backs so we saw the runners ahead/behind and it was nice to hear people  cheering other runners along and seeing runners going through the same thing you were. At mile 20 I was still feeling good and strong, and I realized I made it there at about 3:03- and I realized- OMG! I may finish this race sub 4 hours!!! I was shooting for around 4:30 and I realized I was way ahead of schedule! Suddenly I was doing math in my head and trying to figure out what I would need to do to finish in time- I knew that I would need to get my butt into gear. I started kicking it and definitely pushed my pace and tried to not "hit the wall". I saw a few signs that said "Pain is only temporary, pride lasts forever", it was exactly what I needed to hear- I was starting to feel tired and sore  and I knew that it would only be temporary, but I would be so happy with myself forever if I gave it all I had. So I tried to keep up my pace, one step at a time. I hit mile 24 and knew I would really be pushing it to make it sub 4 hours. All of a sudden a HUGE hill starts- and doesn't stop!!!!! The last 2 miles seemed like it went up, up, and up! And that it would never stop! I looked over at a volunteer at one point and asked if this was a joke! The last few hills were so steep!!! My one goal was to run the entire thing and not walk- I wouldn't let myself walk! I struggled up the hill, but I made it, and then I was at the Olympic Speed Skating Oval and the FINISH! It was great running around the oval with everyone cheering and wishing me happy birthdays the entire way. I was so happy to be done, I pushed myself to the limit and I knew I wouldn't have been able to give anymore- what a great experience. 

I know now that I have to sign up for another one to break 4 hours, I was happily surprised that the race wasn't as miserable as I thought :) Now I need to keep up the running and prepare for the next race- Finger Lakes 50k in 3 weeks with mom and dad! :)