Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc Race Week Day 3

AND ONLY 2 DAYS TO GO UNTIL UTMB !

Being surrounded with mountains like this makes it real hard to be good and taper before a major race.  One has to do what one must do and for me I continue to be drawn to the mountains to explore.

Another beautiful day in Chamonix.

Today started off with a late awakening to a beautiful morning again looking up at Mont-Blanc.  After a leisurely breakfast it was off to Chamonix Center to sign in for the race.  One of my hostel mates, Margaretha and I went over together on the bus. Upon arrival we quickly saw "the line".

Margaretha from Australia waiting in line.

Registration began at 10:00 am and I think half the competitors thought to come over at that same time.  In all it took about 2 hours to get through the process which included the passport check and then the gear check.  We had to sign waivers to verify that we had all the obligatory equipment for the race.  If found on course without, it could lead to a time penalty or disqualification.  At one point I thought I was being taken aside to have a blood test for doping.  I didn't quite understand what the person was saying in french so another came by to take me to the doctors.  I think it was about some form that was sent to me that I didn't fill out.  But as I was being taken away, another person came by to say it wasn't necessary.  I was relieved.  Needles are not my thing.  Afterwards we headed over to the Expo to check out some of the vendors and sponsors of the event.  I was hoping for better food samples but only managed to find some rather nasty tasting energy bars and some milky drinks that I wouldn't want to drink for even 5 miles.  Margaretha soon hooked up with a friend for lunch and I headed back to the hostel to plan my afternoon adventure.  With some minor difficulties like not catching the bus and walking around for quite some time to find the train station, I did make it back, only took an extra hour but in that time I become buddies with some guy at the train station.  He talked my ear off in french and never stopped, (he was also drinking capachino, must have been high test).  I just nodded and smiled most of the time until the train arrived and I was gone.

Back at the hostel I had a quick snack and decided to venture across the street to climb up towards Les Grand Montets, another mountain peak next to the Argentiere Glacier and just north of Mont-Blanc.  This was to be a full on uphill climb along a trail/mountain service road to the plateau and I had thought I might even take the cable car from there on to the top.  This would also be a great opportunity to help break in the new shoes which arrived on Saturday, the day before I flew out.  A new pair of the Mizuno Ascend 6's which have always treated my nicely, (Thanks Tina).  There was no running involved once I got to the hill, it was a power hike all the way up for a good 40 minutes.  I was dreading thinking about the pounding coming down, as I didn't want to crush the quads 2 days before the race.  I stopped in to see about taking the cable car up to the summit but of course was too late as the last car just made the trip.  I could also take the cable car down to avoid the downhill and the last car was available but no, I couldn't do that and decided to hang at this plateau where there was a full lodge and deck overlooking the valley below.  The sun was out so I just relaxed for a good 45 minutes enjoying the peace and the views.

I finally decided it was time to go and found a possible alternative trail down the face of the mountain but in the trees with lots of switchbacks.  That would certainly be easier on the quads.  As I was heading down I ran into 2 English speaking climbers who were just coming down from the top.  They told me the Glacier was just over the horizon.  I hadn't yet been up close to the Glacier so without hesitation, I was heading up again in search of the Glacier.  The trail was much more reasonable and was only moderately going up and was mostly runnable.  After about 15 minutes I was perched over the massive Argentiere Glacier.

It was truly impressive and I could also feel the temperature drop as I approached.  I was hanging over the end taking pictures and enjoying the site when the rumbling started.  Another afternoon storm was approaching and I was totally exposed above the treeline.  Time to go as the rain started in and the lightening was getting more frequent.  I got back to the mid mountain lodge just in time as torrential rains, lightening and hail came down.  I knew the next trail section would be totally exposed as well so I made a good decision and hung out until the storm had passed.  I saw a break in the clouds and that was my Que to get going.  As I was starting I kept hearing music.  Nobody was in site so I figured I was just delirious and hearing things, it wouldn't have been the first time so I continued on.  As I made the cutoff to the trail down I saw a peculiar site, a line of some kind of animals for as far as I could see.  They were walking along this trail that I wanted.  I slowly approached and got closer only to see hundreds and maybe thousands of goats and sheep, many with bells on (The music I heard) on a hike down the trail.  I stood there for quite some time trying to figure this out.  Never seen this before, where is the herder and when will the line of animals end.

It never ended for the five minutes I stood there.  Many of the goats had these huge racks on their heads, looked like smaller moose antlers.  All I could think of was that I would get bucked and have stitches in my butt and not be able to race.  Finally I found a group of more friendly looking sheep and jumped in with the crowd as we ran down the mountain together.

They were all right, not aggressive even the sheep with the horns and I even caught up to some goats and they were fine too so we continued on for quite some time until I had to turn off.  I said my au revoir and headed down the mountain to a long section of steep switchbacks to get me to the bottom, eventually.  At least it was in the woods and much softer than the service road would have been.  Finally I was out of there and just in time as another storm was brewing.  Within minutes I was back at the hostel.

Another fine day.  Tomorrow I will begin my taper, really.

Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc Race Week Day 1 & 2

RACE WEEK IS HERE:  3 days to go until UTMB!

After attending the "Redneck" Party Saturday evening, involving a little bit of tequila and other fine cuisines and company, it was time to get up 3 hours later for my ride to the airport for the 5:45 am flight from Burlington to the Washington DC airport (Dulles).  Thanks to Bob Ayers Jr. for getting my butt to the airport in time!  Getting out of Burlington was easy but then it was to be a long day in Washington, from 7:45 am until my flight out at 5:45 PM to Geneva.  The big challenge in Washington was to figure out a way to get a run in.  I had 2 bags I was carrying around and there was no great place to run at this airport.  The Washington Reagan airport has a whole network of trails out the front door but here at Dulles, it was only highways.  After some investigation work I discovered a public bus that would take me over to the Air and Space Museum at the far end of the airport property and was told they had lockers available for the bags.  I had to wait a couple of hours to catch the bus but at least they have free wifi at the airport now which occupied my time until the bus arrived.  Then a short 15 minute bus ride to the museum and there I was.  As soon as I arrived I found the lockers to ditch my bags and what a deal.  For 25 cents you could fit 2 large bags in and when you returned to get your bags, you got the 25 cents back.  So I was in and out of that locker many times.  I did the tour around the museum which was all indoors and it was very interesting.

Lots of planes from day 1 of flying to the present fighter planes to the shuttle.

After seeing enough I decided to get a run in around the museum grounds.  I did the quick change into the running gear and headed outside.  Going outside was like hitting a wall.  The temps must have been in the mid 90's.  I sort of plotted out a run and headed out to the far end of the parking lot and would follow the perimeter. The grounds were like being in a prison camp, surrounded by tall metal fences with barbed wire at the top.  It was all airport property surrounding the museum.  I followed the fence line and over small hill and dale made a loop around.

Museum running route as seen from the observation tower.

Probably only 2 miles in all but that was just enough to stretch out the legs a bit.  Then it was back inside to have lunch and finish up the tour before heading back to the airport.  Lunch was very limited as all they had was a McDonald's.  I can't remember the last time I've eaten at one but I had no choice.  I did find a salad that looked safe and went with it.  I survived, barely.  I finished my tour at the museum with a visit to the observation tower and then went outside to wait for the bus.  While waiting I remembered a special snack I had, a bag of peanut m&m's.  I dug into the bag but ran into a little problem.  The bottom of the bag blew out and they spewed out all over the sidewalk.  I'm not one to usually pick up food off sidewalks but this was chocolate and I also figured, in a trail race you eat and do things that normal people might think was disgusting so what the heck, with people all around I started picking up the m&m's and enjoying every last one off the sidewalk, except for the one stuck in the crack of the sidewalk under someone's foot.  I had to let that one go.  Afterwards it was a quick ride back to the airport and through security.  I thought I was in for a pat down but instead had the arms in the air for picture time screening.  Maybe next time.  Finally it was time to board the plane.  Everything was going smoothly until we started to taxi out for take off.  Apparently the earlier storms delayed some previous flights so we had to sit and wait and wait for nearly an hour and a half on the runway before we could get in the air.  After that it was smooth going all the way to Geneva, but it was a long time for sitting and made for a long night with very little sleep.

The plane arrived in Geneva, Switzerland just over an hour late.  Meanwhile my shuttle bus to Chamonix was waiting very impatiently for my arrival.  When they spotted me it was the quick dash to the bus to try to keep the driver on schedule.  He kept talking to me as he rushed me along but I had no idea what he was saying as he spoke French.  The only thing he understood from me was that I had to get some Euros to pay him.  So we were off and going to Chamonix for the hour or so drive.  The shuttle bus was some mini bus but the driver thought he had some Ferrari as he flew around the corners and cut off any cars in his way.  We first stopped in the center of Chamonix to drop off another passenger and then the driver stopped suddenly and said something to me in french which I had no idea what he was saying.  Finally another passenger who spoke some English told me there was an ATM machine so I could get cash but to hurry.  So I ran out only to find the machine not working.  So quickly back in the bus to the next corner for another machine.  This one was working but when I put the card in, it asked for a number code.  I hadn't used this card in years but put in a familiar number and... it worked and money came out!  Back in the bus and on route again.  Finally when we got to another street just outside of Chamonix in the town of Argentiere, the driver stopped, got out and put my bags on the ground.  I paid him the fee in Euros and off he went.  So there I was, somewhere in France without a clue as to where I was or where I was going.  After strolling along the street I spotted a paper hand written sign up an alley of the Elevated Backpacker's Chalet, my home for the next 6 nights.

View of Mont Blanc from my bedroom window.

The new home was a small hostel in the center of this small mountain town and only a short bus or train ride into the center of Chamonix, the start of the race on Friday evening.  I spent much of the day organizing my travel gear and then shopping at the local market.  This was another big experience for me as a foreigner.  All the packaging was in french and all the people spoke french so it was resorting back to french 101 from the early high school days.  I did ok for the most part but the fresh cheese I couldn't wait to eat turned out to be butter.  I couldn't find much of any cold cuts to make sandwiches but did find some unique beers to sample.  Trying to be good for the race I kept it to a minimum as far as the beer was concerned.  I first found a Bud can, usually my favorite back in the states.  But this was a special Czech Republic blend.  And then there was some french blonde bier that sounded good too.  And for an extra bonus, these foreign beers are typically stronger that the US beer.  A special treat to look forward to with tonight's dinner!  But first it was time for lunch and then time to check out the trails.

I decided on the first day to get up in elevation to see how it was and discovered a trail just out the back door that went up to Le Blanc, a mountain directly across from the famed, Mount Blanc.  After a long gradual uphill it went into more switchback single tracks until above the tree line.  From there is turned out to be very nice single track that you could see winding all throughout the mountains.  I got to the summit of this peak as a storm was approaching.  Elevation was 2350 meters or so, I think about 7,000 feet and you were totally exposed so I thought it was best to head down.

I tried to take it easy on the downhills to preserve the quad pounding for the race which was hard to do on an hour down a fairly steep downhill.  Overall a great training run during this race week with just over 2 1/2 hours on the trail.  Afterwards it was pasta and beer to enjoy at the hostel before retiring from a long 2 days of traveling.  I did re-learn some french today.  Nearly every one you see on the trail says "bonjour" so I politely I would return the "bonjour".  And I'm using "merci" too when I get something.

I awoke Tuesday morning feeling well rested after a great night's sleep.  I ventured out to the market to try my luck again in finding cheese and also brought back some fresh bread and eggs to make a great egg sandwich to start off the day.  Then it was time to head in to explore Chamonix.  I walked over to the train station and jumped on the train.  They have a great public transportation system in place and with my special pass have full and free access to the train and bus to get around.  Fifteen minutes on the train while looking at incredible views and I was in Chamonix.

Chamonix is quite busy with many tourists and many shops.  One of my goals on this day was to find a bank to exchange some US money into Euros.  Again I was lost in this department and found a bank where no English was spoken.  I was given a sheet with the current exchange rate and the bank charge for exchanging which all meant nothing to me as you really have no choice and it is what it is.  So the $260 I gave the bank translated into $167 Euros.  What I do know is that Coke is very expensive so you might as well be drinking beer.  A 16 oz bottle of coke cost $2.50 Euros or about $3.50 US dollars.  Another learning experience, when I bought a sandwich I thought I was getting a nice ham and cheese sandwich, my lack of french got me a 1/2 a baguette with ham on it.  No mayo, cheese or veggies.  I knew the woman was trying to say what else but I forgot how to say "legumes"  which I think means vegetables and fromage for cheese.  I'm learning, slowly.

After wandering around I had enough and took the train back to Argentiere to figure out the afternoons hike/run.  I decided to venture out to the north and follow the river but soon learned that the river ended just up the street coming down directly from the Argentiere Glacier so I found a trail that headed up alongside the glacier for a ways until it dead ended as the surrounding walls got too steep.  So I turned around and followed the river south towards Chamonix not really knowing how far I would be going but I knew the train also followed along the river and was smart enough to bring my train pass.  I ended up in a very small town of Les Tines and from there took the train back to Argentiere.  After eating so much bread today I decided to only have a salad tonight which was awesome as they do have great veggies when you know what to call them.  For my beverage of choice this evening it was another blond bier of a different variety.  Tomorrow will be a busy day with race check in and equipment check for the required gear needed during the race and then another hike/run in the mountains.  "Au Revoir"

ANOTHER FUN FILLED WEEK OF TRAINING

And only 2 Weeks Until UTMB!

This week continued with some fun days of training.  The foot continues to get better and after a good training week last week I'm at least confident that I can at least finish the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc.  It may not be my best race but I'm determined to enjoy my time in Europe.

Monday:  Trouble at 12,000 feet.
This was an awesome day with abundant sunshine.  I thought I better take advantage of the day so after some morning work, I headed down to VT Skydiving Adventures in Addison for mental therapy.  It was a busy morning at VAS but I was able to get on a load rather quickly.  I was waiting for one of the chutes to be packed when it was time to go.  Ole soon came out of the trailer with a new chute for me to try, a Stiletto 150.  The winds were a bit gusty so I figured a slightly smaller chute than what I had been using would be just fine.  So I quickly put on my gear and jumped into the already loaded plane.  As we were heading up, which seemed to take extra long as we had some big guys on board, I chatted with Mike about the Stiletto.  He informed me that this was a "performance" chute and had some unique characteristics, one being to make sure you have a very stable body position before you deploy as it has a tendency to get line twist.  OK, I can handle that.  When we got to 12,000 feet, it was time for the 4 guys to go.  One would be hanging upside down from the wing while the other 3 would be hanging on the strut before they all dropped.  I would head out after them.  Didn't seem like anything unusual.  But with all 4 big guys hanging outside the plane, 1000 pounds of guys and gear, it caused the plane to slow down and tip quite a bit.  I didn't have much weight to counter balance and neither did the pilot, a new addition to VAS crew in the last 2 weeks.  As soon as the guys dropped it caused the plane to roll in the opposite direction and increase in speed.  With that, the door shut hard as I was trying to get in position to exit.  I pushed as hard as I could, not happening.  I kept pushing and pushing and eventually got the door to open enough to get out.  I could feel the plane was still traveling a bit fast but as soon as I was clear of the door, out I went like Superman.

It felt good to get out, the air was cool and the views were great.  As I was looking around, I could see the drop zone in the distance.  Problem... it was due northwest quite a ways and there was a gusty northwest wind.  Hmm, do I pull early and try to fly it back into the wind or will that cause me to be dragged backwards more by the wind.  I finally pulled the chute around 4,000 ft. and put it in forward motion to see what this Stiletto could do.  It would be touch and go.  I looked for alternative landing spots.  Luckily in Addison there are a lot of farm fields.  Been there, done that before.  The Stiletto seemed to be gaining forward momentum which was great but still would it be enough to get over the tree line and into the drop zone.  I kept it going, tacking a bit to keep moving forward.  Luckily the Stiletto was a performance chute and had great flying capabilities.  I made it back to the drop zone.  And even with all the challenges, it was a blast to jump as usual.

After the jump I thought I would get in a run up Snake Mountain since it was right there.  It's basically a 2+ mile run up and then down with some great views of the valley from the top but I wanted to explore the backside of the mountain.  The VAST trail runs back there and I used to mountain bike there as well.  The VAST trail was a no go so I continued down and then found another way to the backside.  I discovered some real sweet single track.  I wasn't sure where I would end up but in the end it was a loop that took about a half hour returning right where I went in.  Nice Find!

Tuesday:  Catamount Running Night
Before the weekly 5k trail race Todd Archambault and I both arrived early to get some early miles in.  Another stellar day so we got in a 90 minute warm-up running parts of the Red course and then some made up loops.  Todd's training for the VT 50 and in need of some miles after time off on maternity leave.  Probably not the smartest thing to do running an hour and a half before a race but these are just fun races.


The race tonight would be on the Pink course so after the warm-up we headed over to the race.  250+ runners, another great turnout.  I looked at tonight as another test for the foot and would try to push it.  As usual the start was fast and furious but with an immediate slow uphill, the field gradually thinned out.  I ran comfortably and was able to push the foot, all good.  In the end I was pleased, not my best time but not my worst and the foot felt good.




Wednesday:  Catamount Mtn. Bike Races
Another great day, but then the clouds rolled in as I headed over to Catamount for a pre-race trail run.  After the lightening storm and heavy rains ended, I headed out for a good hour and a half trail run.  A bit muddy after the rains but still a fun run although I felt exhausted.  I had been on a ladder all day and my body just ached.  I decided to just do the 2 lapper mountain bike race feeling tired as I was and knowing the course would be full of mud.  But once I started the race I felt better and was having fun.  I never have a good starting position by tonight I at least was in the top 10 of 30 or so racers.  With the gradual uphill start, I slowly worked my way up.  By 3/4 of the first lap I was comfortably sitting in 2nd place.  I kept it that way through the first half of the 2nd lap and then passed the leader before we headed into the tight single track which was good and muddy.  I was having fun and took off.  In the end, to my surprise I held on to the lead despite my aching body which wasn't aching anymore.  Funny how that works.

Thursday:  Dr. Rob Rinaldi Visit
Thursday late morning I had a second visit with Doc Rinaldi for anther cortisone shot in the foot.  I had a horrible sleep that night thinking about that needle going into my foot 1 1/2 inches.  Yes I'm still a weenie when it comes to needles, especially when the first one hurt real bad.  Not knowing if I could run afterwards, I got in an early morning easy run.  When I arrived, Rob grabbed my foot and pushed and pulled.  He was very pleased and the good news, decided I didn't need anther shot :)  Suddenly I was relieved.  Instead he put me on some anti-inflammatory drugs for 10 days.  Yes, a good day!  Later that night it was the Thursday Fun Run night at Catamount.  I was supposed to meet up with Aliza but arrived a bit late so headed out on my own.  Not more than a mile into it, I tripped on a root and did my usual tuck and roll but this time I landed on a log. I smashed my upper thigh so hard that I just stayed there on the ground for a while.  It hurt big, more than the needle in my foot.  I got up and tried to stretch it out.  Not good.  I did the run, hobble and it did loosen up a bit but still hurt as I was determined to get in my hour and a half run, which I did.  Afterwards, I grabbed my mountain bike and rode a loop hoping that would help loosen it up too.

Friday: 2 Weeks to go until UTMB !
The leg hurt all day and again I was on a ladder all day.  Since I was in the area I headed over to Catamount for a late day run.  Once I got going the leg was feeling ok, a bit stiff but getting better.  Meanwhile the foot was feeling fine.  I was running the yellow/green course tonight and ran into Serena so I turned around and followed her on the reverse red course.  We ran and chatted and had a great run.  After an hour and a half, I bailed out as I was done and had things to do.  Serena continued on as she arrived later and needed more miles.

Saturday:  Ultra-Trail Du Mansfield-night run
I had a lot of day time chores to do and with a full moon I decided to do a night run on the Mansfield Loop.  UTMB starts at 6:30 PM so I figured I would do the same to try out my night gear and capabilities.  As usual I parked at the Stevensville parking lot and headed out.  Within the first minute I was feeling exceptionally wet on my back only to discover that the hydration bag was leaking.  Not worried, I turned and headed back to the car.  On my way to tonight's run, I had stopped at the Skirack in Burlington and just purchased a new hydration bag.  Not wanting to fool with the old one, I quickly drained the leaking bag into the new one and off I went, again.  It was a great night although still warm and humid but without the mid-day sun, it was comfortable.  No headlamps were needed up the Notchbook Trail or down to the Trout Club or through Trapps.  When I came out of the woods at Trapps the moon had just risen over the Wooster Mountains and looked awesome.


Trapps was very busy as I ran through and continued up towards the Haule Road.  Once I got there and in the trees, it was dark.  The moon hadn't risen enough yet to shine through the trees so I put on the headlamp and continued on.  Up and over and then down to the Mansfield touring center, it was fun running.  Even the downhills were fun with the light of the headlamp.  Slowly the moon was getting higher and was shining through the trees with incredibly brightness.  As I headed to the bottom of the Toll Road I tried to get in to the Inn for water.  No luck, being this late everything was locked.  With 4 or so hours to go I needed water and knew this could be an issue.  I toured around the maintenance shed looking for an outdoor spigot, nothing.  Then I remembered the clay tennis courts.  Whenever there are clay courts, they have to water them on occasion so there must be water.  As I looked over I saw a possible hose down on the lower courts but as I turned the corner I saw a yellow jug on the upper court.  It was a water cooler and sure enough with ice water in it :)  Mission accomplished, filled the hydration bag and off I went while snacking on a peanut butter sandwich.  I took it sort of easy on the climb up the Toll Road enjoying the now full brightness of the moon.  I rarely turned on the headlamp.  As I got closer to the visitor center the wind was picking up and felt great.  From there I continued along the ridge and up to the chin in full moon brightness.  It was a great run along the ridge and no tourists at this hour.  I had it all to myself.  I stopped briefly at the summit, said my thanks and headed back south on the Long Trail.  Heading down the ridge was equally as nice and the footing was fine with the moonlight and headlamp.  But I knew the rest of the downhill would be more of a challenge running along the roots and rocky sections in the trees.  Just before heading into the trees I put on a second headlamp along my waist.  The lower lamp would light up directly in front of me while the one on my head would go out a bit farther.  I tried this technique at Leadville last year and it worked great.  Heading down the rock face from the Forehead was no problem as the moon was still shining brightly and going down the chutes and ladders was fun but after that, it was slower going.  The footing alone is tricky but at night, even with 2 lights, it just took longer but no problems.  The good thing, the foot was feeling fine with only minor aches and pains.  As usual I ran out of fluids but this time with only a mile to go.  Tonight was a great test for the foot and overall I was very pleased.  Plus the lighting system worked.  In all the run took under 6 hours which for night running was awesome.  And the reward for such a feat, an ice cold Bud waiting for me in the car.  It doesn't get much better than that :)

Sunday: Easy day on the trails at the Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge.

All in all a positive week.  Much improvement on the foot and the body is starting to feel good again running freely on the trails, if I can just stay upright.  Four weeks ago I didn't think I would be running like this so don't ever lose hope and remember "Impossible Is Nothing".

UTMB - HERE I COME!!

For better or for worse, I've decided to go to run the Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc later this month.

I've had three weeks of mixed training and mixed emotions about going but finally, I'm feeling better physically and mentally.  My biggest fear would be not to complete the race.  With a blow up at the Finger Lakes 50K I was definitely worried that I could bail out in the middle of the Alps somewhere in the middle of the night and who knows where.  But the last 2 weeks I've been running again and able to hammer it a bit.  Thanks to Doc Rob Rinaldi who I finally had enough sense to go visit just last week.  He figured out my foot problem may be the Baxter's Nerve which was very inflamed. With a special foot cocktail, it eliminated the swelling within days and made running on a flat foot bearable again instead of running on the side of my foot.  And I've been cross training a lot to keep the fitness level up as much as possible.

Two weeks ago it was bike, bike, bike and minimal running.  I racked up about 200 miles with a combination of road riding and mountain biking including a weekend at the Kingdom in Northeast Vermont where they have some awesome single track trails which are great for mountain biking and running.  The little town of East Burke is thriving with business around biking.  After taping up my foot, I managed to get in some mountain running up and down Burke Mountain including the fire tower.  After that it was a road ride around Lake Willoughby before settling in at the Burke Mountain campsite for the evening thanks to the efforts of Mr. Boffa.  Steaks, potatoes, Oreo cookies, beer, tequila just to name a few of the treats. The next morning another mountain run around Burke Mountain to be followed up with really fun mountain bike riding around the Kingdom Trails for 3 1/2 hours.  Then lunch from the East Burke Country Store for the ride back home to refuel before a run at the Forest and the Jedi Loop at Sleepy Hollow on my way home.  I was tired by the end of the day.

A week ago I received my foot cocktail on Tuesday and was feeling much better in the running department.  Still I continued with some good road riding and mountain biking including the Wed. night mountain bike races at Catamount. They have done a great job on the trails this year and it's just a blast to ride there at the races. I always have the worst start and end up in the back of the pack but slowly work my way up throughout the 3 laps.  The Tuesday night trail running races I'm still running conservatively as the foot hasn't been ready to really push it yet.  The end of the week ended up with a group run of the Mansfield Loop, a 26 mile adventure which loops around Mt. Mansfield.  We had an awesome crew with some of the best ultrarunners in New England to include Aliza Lapierre, Nate Sanel, Nick Yardley, Todd Archambault, Serena Wilcox, Scott and Joyce Holsten and Bob Ayers, Jr.  The weather was just right, warm but dry.  We started out at 7:00 am, which is a bit early for me but was a good choice as later in the day the heat increased.  We had 9 of us cruising around which was quite impressive as we ran along the ridge line up to the Chin to the top of Mt. Mansfield.

The Crew on top of Mt. Mansfield

Overall I had a decent run with some foot pain on and off all day.  It would come and go.  Probably the worst was the long haul up the Toll Road, about a 4 1/2 mile climb.  After about 2 miles in, the foot started to hurt and I limped up the remainder to the visitor center.  But after that I had some good moments.  All in all, a good week.  I was back up to running about 75 miles for the week and could see some hope that the foot was getting better.

This past week, still getting in some biking with another fun race on Wed. night at Catamount.  They've made some improvements on the Blue trail and it just flows better.  Again I was having a blast winding around the trees on banked turns.  I could hear myself laughing as I was going through the woods.  Running has also been better with more miles and harder workouts.  Tuesday night at the trail races I did take it easy and Joyce, Scott and I ran from the back of the pack but it turned out more like a Fartlek run sprinting when we had the chance to pass other runners.  Wed. night before the bike races on my run I sprinted all the hills, up and down and felt good.  Thursday night I returned again to Catamount and hammered the red course before running the Green/Yellow course with others later on, so another good night.  Friday was a 14 mile run in the heat of the day with Aliza on the big hills of Huntington and Richmond at a "slow pace".  There's never a slow pace when I run with Aliza but always a good run and a good test for the foot to be running on the hard surfaces.  Saturday, successfully ran the Ultra-Trail Du Mt. Mansfield aka the Mansfield Loop.  Felt good, ran it almost an hour faster than last weekend.  With some more miles on Sunday I could be back to the 90-100 plus miles for the week.  So with all that, I just made airline reservations to fly in to Geneva Switzerland on route to Chamonix/Mt. Blanc for the UTMB.  :)

UTMB, I'm on my way!!

  I have no idea how I'm getting around in Europe or where I'm staying but that will come in time.  If any of you have suggestions, I'm all ears.  Any help would be appreciated as I've never been to Europe before.  All I know is I'm psyched to be going and while I'm there I have to visit parts of Italy where the family comes from and also want to run through the Dolomite's, where there are some awesome pics of trails running through the mountains.

The Dolomite's of Italy.

Less than 3 weeks to go!  Remember, Impossible is Nothing!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and the VT 100 Mile Endurance Race

THE WEEK IN TRAINING AND THE  VT 100 MILE ENDURANCE RACE

Let's get right into The Bad and The Ugly to get it over with.  I've been dealing with some foot issues for a while and Tuesday night was my test night to see if I could run the VT 100 on July 16th.  Aliza was all set to run with me prior to the weekly 5k trail race at Catamount Family Outdoor Center to see if I was race worthy.  We ran some on trails and then hit the hard pack roads.  I think we ran 6 or 7 miles at a good clip.  I thought I was able to hold my own and prove that I was ok.  Aliza thought not with my gait totally off from the usual.  Still I wasn't convinced so for my own sake, I wanted to race the 5k trail race to prove I was able to run 100 miles.  Well, after a mile or less, the pain kicked in and I was fading fast.  Even on the uphill which I always look forward to I was being passed by others. On the twisty turny single track I was in pain on every corner.  The only bright star was that I was so cautious on every turn that I slowed down while others excellerated only to wipe out in the mud like Todd.  In the end, it was the slowest I ever ran this course and I was in pain.  Immediately following the race I sat in my truck, foot in the beer cooler while I sucked down an ice cold Bud as I knew I couldn't run the VT 100.  That was the bad and the ugly.

Some good during the week, I finally completed the exam for the USATF Level 1 Coaching.  I took the class in March or April and finally had time to sit down and take the test.  I scored a 96%.  Besides being able to coach for endurance running, I can coach for throwing a javelin or for the pole vault event.  I always thought the pole vault would be fun, hmmm.  Any way, for the rest of the week I ran a minimal amount and biked a lot. Thursday night Joe Cararra and I cranked out a 43 miler bike ride in the hills of Hinesburg, Huntington and Richmond folowed up by dinner, beer and tequila. 

Friday was the check in for the VT 100, something I would normally be looking forward to, but not this year as I would have to declare my DNS status.  I arrived late in the afternoon and got in line to check in.  Many runners came up to me and wished me a good race, not knowing my foot status.  When I got my race packet I pulled out my number and attempted to give it up to Deb, declaring my DNS.  I had a really, really hard time letting go of my race number.  Deb even told me I could hold on to it until the morning if I decided to race but I knew better.  Sure, after some tequila I could put on the shoes and shorts and be ready to run at 4:00 AM.  So after a few give and take backs, I finally gave up my number to Deb so I could not race in the morning.  Afterwards I went out for an easy run, then a mountain bike ride on some great single track to make room for dinner.  After dinner I chatted with some of the racers and then hung with Nate Sanel for some pre-race rituals.  We enjoyed some Patron's Tequila (Thanks Nate) and had a good look at his new made shoe which he was to run in on Saturday.  Soon it was time for bed so I retired in the F-150 camper for the evening.

Jack and Nate.  Pre-race training

Saturday, 3:30 AM.  I was woken up by the loudspeaker of Julia Hutchinson.  30 minutes to go to the start.  I rolled out of bed and off to the start.  It seemed kind of odd, no running for me and no official crew or pacing, so why was I there?  What purpose?  I met up with some familiar faces and wished them the best.  4:00 AM they were off.  I felt sort of lost, thinking now what???  For now I knew it was time to go back to bed, which I did.

5:45 AM time to get up.  I heated up some hot water while I prepared for the day and then had some tea to get myself going towards Pretty House, the first aid station at mile 21.  Still not knowing my role I figured I would just help out as needed.  As the lead pack came in, Mike Arnstein was part of this group.  I knew Mike was solo and had no crew so I found his drop bag and helped him to get on his way.  Bob Ayers was not far behind and I cheered him on as he went through.  Serena came in for a shoe change and was in great shape, not too fast, not too slow.  Mike Oliva, also solo, came through so I found his bag to help him through.  Nate arrive shortly thereafter, not looking good.  Hopefully his hard training will kick in soon???  So it went, I had plenty to do throughout the day.  Helping Mike and Mike as trail bitch and giving support to Bob, Serena and Nate as well as many others. 

Serena doing a quick shoe change at Pretty House.

Same at the Stage Road Aid station but had to also help out the aid station replenish squad comprosed of 2 elders.  They parked their pickup directly in front of the aid station so it would be a challenge for any runner to come through.  I jumped in the back of the pickup and handed supplies out to speed up the process.  Shortly thereafter, Joe Carrara and I were having our own tailgate party, cooking up pancakes with VT maple syrup watching runners and horses coming in.

Next up, Camp Ten Bear, mile 47.  The Lead runners were coming in including Mike Arnstein and Leigh Schmitt.  I grabbed Mike's drop bag to help out and off he went.  Bob Ayers wasn't too far off either.  Then, there was a large gap.  At this time I found some other friends who just arrived to cheer, maybe pace and also go for a morning run. 

Jen, Bob and Jack

Glen Redpath, Theresa Ridgway, Meghan Arbogast and Aliza La Pierre.  Talk about royalty, this was the best of the best of the Ultrarunning world!  The sad part of it was that this was my dream team to help me race this VT 100.  Ugh... my crew and pacer not to happen this year, or ever like this.  Oh well, might as well enjoy the company and the great day.  We all decided to go for a nice run in the woods while it was quiet at the race so I taped up my foot and off we went.  We headed out from the course mile 70 and beyond.  Theresa and I were both having foot issues so we only ran about 2 miles out before we turned back while the others continued on for some time.

Meghan, Jack and Aliza.

Camp Ten Bear is always a busy place with a lot going on as it's the aid station for mile 47 and 70.

Mile Silverman (VT 50 RD) and Jack

There was a lot of hanging out and I drove Ron back to the Silver Meadow so he could prepare for his night of pacing and then returned back to Camp Ten Bear.  We watched the leaders coming in at mile 70, some in good shape, others fading fast or dropping out.  I continued to help for Mike and Mike.  Mike Arnstein at mile 70 said, "I'm either going to win this race or blow up".  He was looking good and was chasing the leaders at this point.  Bob Ayers was looking good and relaxed,  Serena was on a mission to conquor and wouldn't even slow down for food so hurt foot and all, I had to sprint to catch her before she was off in the woods with some solid food for her to eat.  Mike Weigand and Nate Sanel came in pretty close to each other at mile 70.  Nate had blister issues so the meds were attending to him and causing him some serious pain, but all for the better.  Mike was looking rather green.  We sat him down in a chair and soon therafter the puking began.  It was going to take a huge effort to keep him going so Team Mike was formed.  Joe Carrara was the crew but we recruited Theresa Ridgway to pace with Mike to get him to Westwinds where I would take over until Polly's where Joe would take over for the final stretch.  After about a half hour of wretching, Mike was ready to go, sort of.  Good thing he had Theresa to follow to take his mind off things for the 7 mile stretch.  Joe and I headed over to Westwinds to wait for Mike.  Meanwhile, Nate showed up feeling good and revived.

Nate ready to go at mile 77.

He was in and out in no time.  But it took Mike 2 1/2 hours to do the 7 miles.  When he arrived we got some food in him as he was still a bit weak and off I went with him at about 8:45 PM.  We had about 20 miles to go until Joe took over.  The moon was rising and the temps were comfortable and it wasn't raining so all in all a good night.  Good but long.  In the end it took us  6 1/2 hours to cover 20 miles doing the run/shuffle.  And there were many stops along the way to continually empty out Mikes stomach.  He christened Queen Victoria Rd.  He visited the woods later on and hit every port-o-let on the way.  We found a new diet for Mike, something that would stay down, it was the combo of gummy bears, chocolate chip cookies and Coke.   And he started running again, so fast that Joe mis-calculated his time and wasn't ready for us at Polly's.  At that time, it looked like Mike had a chance of getting in under 24 hours so we couldn't wait and we were in and out at Polly's.  Half a mile down, Mike had to empty his stomach again and then we were off and running.  Another half mile and headlights were coming at us, it was Joe ready to take over.  I was extremely happy as my feet were rather sore at that point.  Joe drove up the road to get himself ready and as Mike approached Joe took over.  I gladly took Joe's car and headed over to the finish with Theresa. 

Mike finally made it, a huge accomplishment!  And Team Mike celebrated the victorious day.

Jack, Theresa, Mike and Joe at the finish.

So all in all, I had a great weekend helping out and meeting some new faces and keeping up with running clients whom I coach. Serena kicked butt in the end and won for the women.  Bob Ayers ran strong throughout and took 5th for the men.  Nate after he fixed his feet from nagging blisters ran a strong second half.   Mike Arnestein ended up victorious and set a new course record with his win.  I ended up being on my feet way more than if I ran the race.  So be it.  If you can't race, you may as well help out and enjoy the day... and night :)

Alternative Training This Week

The Week in Review, a variety of training

Last week I ended the week with a sore foot after DNFing at the Finger Lakes 50's.  In an effort to try to save my chances of running at the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run in 2 weeks, I dug the road bike out of hibernation and that became my main training vehicle for this past week.  With 6 consecutive days on the road bike, the butt has finally adapted to road riding.  Each day also included at least a mile of running/stretching to see how and if I was progressing.

Highlights of the week:

Tuesday night at the Catamount Family Outdoor Center.  The usual trail series 5K run did not happen for me.  Instead I ran the cadet loop this week on the yellow course which was about 2 miles.  I was up against some good competition, 8, 9 and 10 year olds mostly.  In the end, I took 6th place overall but won my age group.  Afterwards I got in an easy mountain bike ride, riding most of the yellow course with Kelly.

Thursday night I was invited by my friend and training partner, Joe Carrara, (who is recovering from knee surgery and unable to run at the moment), to ride with the boys on their weekly tour.  When I arrived most were ready to roll and all I could see where these fancy machines they were on.  My mid 90's Cannondale looked like a antique from the past.  We took off at sort of a slow pace until we were organized and then off we went.  These guys are serious about their riding.  In a tight pack and cruising.  Maybe we had 15 or so of us in a line doing easily 25 mph.  These guys were cruising and having fun.  We hit some patches of dirt roads, not so fun, for a few miles of the ride and the pack broke up after Roger flatted on one of the dirt sections.  In the end we rode about 40 miles averaging 19 mph which included a few miles of slow dirt road riding.  Throughout the ride, the pack looked like a bunch of kids hammering along but when we finished and they took off their helmets, I could see the gray hair and wrinkles as most were in their 50's and 60's.  Impressive!  Afterwards it was cocktails out by the man pit and a bbq dinner:)

Friday was another beautiful day so I decided to get in more mental training, a trip down to VT Skydiving.  I had an almost new parachute to use today with a container that actually fit instead of the loose rental gear.  I also opted to jump without a jump suit and was forewarned that you lose some stability.  I got to sit in the co-pilots seat as we headed up, not really a seat but on the floor next to the pilot.  As we got up to 3,000 feet, Mike was heading out to do a quick hop n'pop to work on his landings.  It was fun watching him drop for a while as I got a great view with the door wide open.  I wasn't quite sure how the door would close but Joe rolled the plane back and the door immediately shut on it's own.  Then up to 12,000 feet.  On the way up I noticed my altimeter was not working correctly and was off 500-1000 feet, hmm?  I made some mental adjustments for that as I didn't want to open 1000 feet too late but at least I was aware of it before exiting.  At 12,000 I opened the door, saw the drop zone below and I was out doing my superman thing.  Front dive into a forward flip and then belly flying.  I noticed right away the instability without the jump suit but made some adjustments and it was fun.  I did some more rolls and some sit flying.  Without the suit you can also go faster so I thought I would try it out and went into a dive.  Keeping on eye on the altimeter and the mental note of it being off, it was time to throw out the chute.  Being a new chute it had way more pop to it and was very responsive in the turns, nice.  And in for a landing, right on but was very conservative in the landing and leaned was back to skim the feet along so no chance of tweaking an ankle a week before a 100 mile race.  (Did that last year 3 weeks before Burning River last year, not fun).  Another great day of playing superman!

Friday night consisted of a guest appearance on WCAX for the 30 show to talk about the VT 100 Mile Endurance Run with Julia Hutchinson, the RD of that event.  We were both a bit nervous as neither one of us had ever been on TV.  A friend at the station, Alden Pellett, greeted us and gave us a quick tour of the studio.  At first I thought we had 30 minutes on live tv but in the end, it was 5 minutes total.  It went well I guess and I think for the first time gave some significance to this event.  Here's a link to the interview:  http://www.wcax.com/story/15049924/vermont-100-draws-hardcore-ultramarathon-runners

Saturday was to be a good test for the foot.  I ran 1-2 miles a day all week but now I needed to see if I could get in a 20 miler and survive.  I met John Izzo down at the Moosalamoo campground outside of Ripton, VT.  I found John and Marsha joined us too.  She came from the Sharon area.  John had a variety of loops as options.  The first one was a trip to the summit of Moosalamoo.  Some great single track with roots, rocks and some great views.  We went at a fairly slow pace which was perfect for this morning.  Very enjoyable except for the stinging nettles.  I ran these trails years ago and still remember the nettles from then.  After the first almost 2 hour loop, Marsha headed out.  John and I continued on another loop, not as hilly but lots of mud and wet grass.  After this loop, we both decided to keep going so John picked out a third loop for us.  It started out the same as the 2nd loop but then turned onto another trail, remember this number 43.  NEVER take trail number 43 unless it's winter.  What started out as just mud and muck turned into a torturous journey.  Stinging nettles as high as my waist, good thing they couldn't sting through my shorts.  Before we knew it, were were totally engulfed in the worst stinging nettles I have ever been exposed to and it just wouldn't end.  Patches and patches of 100 yards of total torture and just when you thought it was over, there were more ahead.  At one point I grabbed some dirt and coated my legs in mud for protection.  Not sure if it helped but it felt good.  There was nothing else we could do but just run and that we did until we hit the road.  Then the deer flies came out looking for lunch.  Finally we made it back to the car, 4 hours and 15 minutes of running through the trails of Moosalamoo.  The foot survived with some pain but I think the nettles took my mind off my foot.  Thanks John!

Shins bathed in mud for protection from stinging nettles

Saturday I met up with Aliza at Catamount.  Although shorter, this would be a good chance to run the foot a bit faster and see how it felt.  We ran the woods side of the red course.  I started off slow and cautious but by the end, the foot was feeling better.  And for the rest of the day, the foot almost felt normal.  Weird!

The week ended with 140 miles of bike riding, one skydive and 33 miles of running and so it goes.

This Week in Training - The end of June 2011

The End of June and the 4th of July Weekend

June marks the end of usually the biggest training month of the year for me.  With a number of longer races coming up, I seem to maximize my training during this period and this year was no different.  I had a goal for the month of June and in order to get there I needed about 60 more miles. That meant on average 15 miles per day for Monday thru Thursday.  That seemed possible.  Monday was a run out on the trails at The Forest and Sleepy Hollow.  Some of my favorite single track trails in the area.  Tuesday brought on the Catamount Trail Series of races weekly 5K race.  As usual a good running of the trails prior to the race and then running afterwards.  I felt good at the race with decent energy and no foot issues.  Wednsday brought about a lunch time road run around the block, running on the trails at Catamount later on then the mtn. bike races followed up with some more running the trails.  While there were threats of rain, it held off until later that night:)  Thursday was another lunch time run around the block with an evening run at Catamount after showing a house in Jericho.  And that ended June with just over 500 miles for the month.  Goal Accomplished!

With June over and just over 2 weeks until the VT 100, I thought I should do a good long run this weekend.  Being July 4th weekend, it just didn't feel right not traveling over to the Finger Lakes to run the Finger Lakes 50's which has become a tradition.  So Friday late morning the truck was packed and off I went to the Finger Lakes.  The drive is long, usually about 6 hours and can take some patience driving on the back roads of NY until you reach Rt. 90.  Once on Rt. 90 it's cruise control and away you go.  There are no big mountains to see, just rolling hills and you follow along the Erie Canal. 

Driving to the Finger Lakes

Once off the main highway it was more of the same heading south to Hector NY and the Potomac Campground.  In addition to the rolling hills were grapes, lots of grapes.  This area has turned into wine country with lots of vineyards.

One of the many vineyards offering great wine.

I met up with Chris Reynolds at the race headquarters, the race directior and her faithful helper and husband Joe.  They put together a wonderful race.  Low key with lots of volunteers to help yet professional quality even with chip timing which for a trail race is unusual.  It was great to see Joe and Chris again and some other familiar faces.

Joe, Jackie & Chris

After signing in, I got my race packet and headed back to the truck which is where I would stay for the night.  But I still needed to get in a pre-dinner run which was definitely needed after the 6 hour drive.  I met up with another familar face, that of friend Chad Denning.  Chad joined me in the pre-dinner run.  Chad was new to the area so I gave him a quick tour of the beginning and end of the course.  After the run, Chad and I had some dinner on the roadside besides our car camping rigs.  Good dinner, early to bed, not much to drink.

After a good nights sleep it was up at 5:00 AM to prepare for the 6:30 AM start.  They had awesome muffins to greet the runners prior to the race along with coffe or hot water for tea.  The Finger Lakes 50's has three separate races going on.  A 50 mile, a 50k and a 25k.  The 50's start together and it's a loop course with 16.5 miles per loop.  The nice part is that you can support yourself during the race by having a drop bag in one place as you loop around.  The 50k runners will do two loops which is a bit more than a 50k but then again it's a trail race, who's counting miles.  The 50 milers run three loops plus a baby loop.  The runners have an option to end after 50k or continue on with the 50 mile as they are running the loops so on a bad day if you decide you don't have it in you to run 50 miles you can stop after two laps and have run a legitimate 50k without a dnf on the 50 mile.  And if you are feeling great after two laps you can decide at that time to continue on to run the 50 miles.  For me, it was planned from the start to only run a 50k as I had the VT 100 in two weeks and I thought it best to give myself a break here.  Chad was planning on running the 50 miler as he was training for some upcoming adventure races and really wanted the distance.  Nice thing was that we could run together for a while. 

The start went off right at 6:30 AM.  First part of the course is down a gravel road and then you turn into some nice single track.  The road downhill was fast and hard on my feet but all was feeling fine.  Sean Andrish from Virginia took off right from the start to take the lead.  I followed with Chad and some others together in a pack.  As we entered the single track, Sean was already gone.  I've run this race enough to know better than to run that fast.  Not that we were going slow as we were still going at a good clip but at a much more reasonable pace to hold on for the duration.  In the woods on the single track it was a slow gradual climb up to where you cross a road and then eventually through a cow meadow.  Chad and I had pulled away from the others at this point but after the long downhill following the cow meadow a couple of guys caught back up with us.  So for quite a while it was myself leading the pack of Chad, Peter Lawry and Jeff Powers.  The course was great with some mud holes that could pull your shoes off but still it was in great shape.  After about 8 miles or so, I was still leading this pack and felt some pain in my foot as I would go through some of the mud.  I've been dealing with this pain on and off all year and usually can run through it until it goes away or eases up and may have to slow down on hard decents.  But this trail was soft so I never anticipated any major problems.  The little pain got worse and worse.  We were still cruising but finally I had to back off to try to regroup.  The legs felt good, the energy level was good but this foot was becoming an issue.  After a few more miles I was running last in our pack but could slowly see them gaining distance.  Even on some areas where I would normally kick it in and take off, I was having a hard time even running.  With probably 4 miles to go, I finally had to walk and stretch it out as it wasn't going away.  Basically I limped it in to finish lap one in a time of 2:18 and at that point decided it was not going to happen this day.  Only my 2nd DNF ever.  Usually I can pull off a bad day and at least finish but I didn't think I wanted to walk the next 16.5 miles to get in loop number two.  Bummed I decided to go try to run slowly along the road for a bit to see if I could stretch it out.  Bad choice as I headed out for about a mile and a half doing the walk/run thing and it wasn't pretty.  Coming back it was more walk than run.

The Finish Area

I got myself changed and went to the finish area to watch the 50k guys finish and to see Chad thru after his 2nd loop of the 50 mile race.  First through from lap two even before the 50k runners was Jeff Powers a 50 mile runner followed by Chad Denning just seconds behind. Chad was looking good but would have to kick it in to pass Jeff.  Then the 50k runners came in.  As predicted, Sean slowed up on lap 2 and ended it with the 50k.  He just got back to training a month ago so this race was more to see where he was at with his training.  Still he finished the 50K in second place, first master. Excellent run, keep it up!  First in the 50K was Paul Wallace followed by Pete Lawry. 

Chad after lap 2

I enjoyed a great meal at the race BBQ as always, said my good buys to Chris and Joe and was back on the road for 6 hours to Charlotte.  The foot hurt all the way back home to which I administrered some tequila upon arrival and then rode my bike to a tiki party on the lake.  I found out later that Jeff held on to the lead in the 50 mile with Chad finishing about 10 minutes behind for second.  Good run guys!

Sunday morning, discouraged and with sore foot.  Now what, the VT 100 is in two weeks and I can't run.  I did some chores around the house and then by afternoon was thinking, "Desperate times call for desperate measures."  With that in mind I pulled out the road bike which has been sitting vacant for years.  I dusted off the saw dust and debris from it, pumped up the tires, found my shoes with the mouse family but luckily they only chewed up the pile from the winter boots and off I went on about an hour road ride.  It was scary at first looking at the pavement as I was going down a hill at 40mph wondering if I had tightened the front wheel.  It stayed on.  I guess this is training until the foot feels better.  After I got home, I did throw on the running shoes for a quick mile test run.  No, not ready to run, still hurt.


Monday was the annual 4th of July Clarence De Mar 5K road race in So. Hero.  I was signed up to run this and probably I could have pulled it off but was told by my advisor, Aliza, not to run.  So I did listen and instead of running volunteered to help out at the race.  After the race I hooked up with Joyce and Scott Holsten who had just finished running the 5k race and we went off on a bike ride in the Islands.  Joyce and Scott are avid bikers so I wasn't sure if I could even keep up. 

Joyce and Jack

North Hero Country Store

Jack and Scott

We rode about 33 miles on a perfect day.  Joyce and Scott took it easy on me and made it a short ride.  Got home, did some more chores and then time for a test run.  I went out for an easy mile and it was better but I know if I want to run the VT 100 and better yet the UTMB in August, I need to behave and take care of my foot. 

 "Desperate times call for desperate measures."  This is a variant of the proverb "Desperate diseases must have desperate remedies."  Whatever, I guess I'll be riding my bike for the next 2 weeks.