Vermont 100 (DNF) experience - Beautiful course but relentless heat
I DNFed Vermont 100 (VT100) this past weekend.
Vermont 100 is one of the six oldest 100-mile races in the US and it's also part of the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning. The cool thing about VT100 is that they also have a concurrent 100-mile horse race so the runners and the horses share most of the course. I used my CC100 time to qualify and enter VT100 lottery this year. In order to enter, you have to finish a 100-mile race within 30 hours or a 50-mile race within 12 hours or a 100K race within 16 hours. You also have to submit your "service hours" by volunteering at a race or doing trail work for at least 8 hours. Since I was the aid station captain for Run with Scissors last year, I used that time as the service hours.
Regarding the training, I could say I trained as hard as I could (while trying not to jeopardize my marriage and career) this year in order to prepare for VT100. The race, while it's "runnable", has 17,000 feet of elevation gain. So, I focused on hill training and strengthening my quads. I read, asked questions to those who have done it, worked with Coach C., and did my best in the preparation.
Leading up to the race weekend, I was REALLY busy at work as I had a big deadline before I left for Vermont. We also just came back from our 2-week vacation in Europe so there were a lot of things to catch up on. The weekend before the race, I volunteered as the aid station captain for the Canal Corridor 100. My body was also too tired from the trip and from staying up all night at the CC100. So, I did not get many runs in.
After I knew I got in VT100, I immediately asked T. (my crew boss for the CC100) and T. (my fellow pacer at MMT100 and Mohican 100). Later on, D. also wanted to join us and she ran VT100 before (7 years ago). I could not have asked for better crew and pacers and felt very very fortunate to have this team. We left for Vermont on Thursday morning and it took us 10 hours to get there.
The weather on the race weekend was predicted to rise up to 97 degrees in the Northeast region of the country including Vermont. We got messages from the race saying they will have more ice at the aid stations and that we had to stay hydrated. I was anxious about the weather but there was nothing I could do but to take care of myself during the race. I could not control the weather and would have to accept the challenge that Nature would throw at us.
On Friday, we woke up and went to breakfast before we went to the packet pickup/mandatory pre-race meeting. They had a VT100 lite 5k race for crew and family members of the runners so the ladies participated in that race. It was so much fun to cheer them on.
The horses and riders
On the race day, we woke up at 2:30am to prepare and leave for the race. The race started at 4am but I would like to get there a bit early to use the restroom and check-in. And then, we took off. Many people told me NOT to go out too fast as the first 20 miles were really "runnable" and many people made mistakes by going out too fast. I kept that in mind and tried to keep a relaxed pace. About 10 miles in, we heard someone shouted from the back "horses back!". I turned around and saw the horses running toward us. It was one of the best moments of my life - horses, trail running, morning fresh air. What else could I ask for?
VT100 course was as I expected - rolling hills. While there was no major technical climb (at least from the 70 miles that I ran it), there were A LOT of ups and downs and most of them were pretty long. Luckily, I trained myself to love hills.
The weather got warmer and warmer. By the time I reached the first crewed aid station (Pretty House) where I saw my team, it got much warmer and I had to start using the ice bandana. I tried to get in and out of the aid station as fast as I could. However, I had to stop and refill the ice in my bladder, bandana, bottle, as well as put ice everywhere to cool down at EVERY manned and unmanned aid station. By the time, I saw my team again at Mile 30 (Stage Rd aid station), they said many people had already dropped because it's too hot.
After I left Stage Rd aid station at Mile 30, I could feel that the temperature rose even higher and that the ice melt more quickly. Some sections of the course were also out in the open area so we got direct sun. It was a huge energy drain. I slowed down a lot between Mile 30 and 50.
Another course change this year was there was a river crossing around Mile 39 because the covered bridge was closed. While the water was not deep, but due to rocks at the bottom of the river, it took me a while to cross the river.
Once I got to Camp 10 Bear at Mile 50, I was unbelievably tired. The crew did their best to feed me, change my socks and shoes, and refill my bladder/bottle. The chafing was also bad that I had to carry many lube products with me. I left Camp 10 Bear and started to slow down a lot due to fatigue from the heat. At one point, a couple of runners and I missed a turn so we had to turnaround and ended up adding about 0.5-0.75 miles.
Once I reached Margaritaville (Mile 60), I was 5 minutes ahead of the cutoff, which was pretty stressful but at that point, I did not have much energy to speed up. It also got dark and I had to turn on the light. I was really really sleepy so I took a 5-minute nap on the trail, which made me feel better.
The 5-minute nap made me missed the cutoff at AS#15 Puckerbrush by 4 minutes but they let me continue. They said I had one hour to get to the next aid station, which was 2.6 miles away. I told them I could do that. I made up my time and got to Brown School before the cutoff. Then, it's 4.8 miles back to Camp 10 Bear and I only had 90 minutes.
I did my best to run/walk back to Camp 10 Bear. I was REALLY REALLY sleepy at that point (again). I sleepwalked up the hill. At 1am, I was VERY close to being back but unfortunately, that aid station had a hard cutoff time. I missed the cutoff by 8 minutes.
Des was supposed to pace me from Mile 70 to 88. While I was walking uphill to the aid station, I still had some hope that my watch might be "off". However, when I saw Des walking toward me in her pacer bib and she gave me a hug, I knew it was over. I was pulled at Camp 10 Bear - Mile 70 of the race.
On Sunday, after I woke up, I kept thinking to myself what went wrong and what could I have done to make up that 8 minutes or go faster in the afternoon. One good thing was no major issue came up. I was able to eat and drink, I did not get nauseous, I did not vomit, and I did not have heatstroke. I intentionally slowed down to save energy for the night run but I also underestimate how hilly the course was. That weekend Vermont reported 100-degree heat index (link here). This year the race only had 48% finish rate, which is considered very low for VT100 as the race usually has 77-80% finish rate in the previous years.
I did everything I could to get myself to the finish line. This weekend was just not my weekend. Someone once told me "You are not a 100-mile runner until you dnf a race". I guess I could say I am now a real 100-mile ultra runner.
I would say I learned a lot more from a dnf than from a successful race. The beauty of a 100-mile distance is that there are many unknown variables, which requires problem-solving skill and the ability to keep moving forward no matter what. At least I did not quit this time.
oh well, I still don't know what is next for me. I signed up for a 50K and a marathon in September. Right now I am trying to figure out whether I want to try another 100 or I should give it a break for now. My life will be hectic once school starts and I am not sure how much I can commit to the training.
All I know is I still have unfinished business at Vermont 100.
Vermont 100 is one of the six oldest 100-mile races in the US and it's also part of the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning. The cool thing about VT100 is that they also have a concurrent 100-mile horse race so the runners and the horses share most of the course. I used my CC100 time to qualify and enter VT100 lottery this year. In order to enter, you have to finish a 100-mile race within 30 hours or a 50-mile race within 12 hours or a 100K race within 16 hours. You also have to submit your "service hours" by volunteering at a race or doing trail work for at least 8 hours. Since I was the aid station captain for Run with Scissors last year, I used that time as the service hours.
Regarding the training, I could say I trained as hard as I could (while trying not to jeopardize my marriage and career) this year in order to prepare for VT100. The race, while it's "runnable", has 17,000 feet of elevation gain. So, I focused on hill training and strengthening my quads. I read, asked questions to those who have done it, worked with Coach C., and did my best in the preparation.
Leading up to the race weekend, I was REALLY busy at work as I had a big deadline before I left for Vermont. We also just came back from our 2-week vacation in Europe so there were a lot of things to catch up on. The weekend before the race, I volunteered as the aid station captain for the Canal Corridor 100. My body was also too tired from the trip and from staying up all night at the CC100. So, I did not get many runs in.
After I knew I got in VT100, I immediately asked T. (my crew boss for the CC100) and T. (my fellow pacer at MMT100 and Mohican 100). Later on, D. also wanted to join us and she ran VT100 before (7 years ago). I could not have asked for better crew and pacers and felt very very fortunate to have this team. We left for Vermont on Thursday morning and it took us 10 hours to get there.
The weather on the race weekend was predicted to rise up to 97 degrees in the Northeast region of the country including Vermont. We got messages from the race saying they will have more ice at the aid stations and that we had to stay hydrated. I was anxious about the weather but there was nothing I could do but to take care of myself during the race. I could not control the weather and would have to accept the challenge that Nature would throw at us.
On Friday, we woke up and went to breakfast before we went to the packet pickup/mandatory pre-race meeting. They had a VT100 lite 5k race for crew and family members of the runners so the ladies participated in that race. It was so much fun to cheer them on.
The horses and riders
On the race day, we woke up at 2:30am to prepare and leave for the race. The race started at 4am but I would like to get there a bit early to use the restroom and check-in. And then, we took off. Many people told me NOT to go out too fast as the first 20 miles were really "runnable" and many people made mistakes by going out too fast. I kept that in mind and tried to keep a relaxed pace. About 10 miles in, we heard someone shouted from the back "horses back!". I turned around and saw the horses running toward us. It was one of the best moments of my life - horses, trail running, morning fresh air. What else could I ask for?
VT100 course was as I expected - rolling hills. While there was no major technical climb (at least from the 70 miles that I ran it), there were A LOT of ups and downs and most of them were pretty long. Luckily, I trained myself to love hills.
The weather got warmer and warmer. By the time I reached the first crewed aid station (Pretty House) where I saw my team, it got much warmer and I had to start using the ice bandana. I tried to get in and out of the aid station as fast as I could. However, I had to stop and refill the ice in my bladder, bandana, bottle, as well as put ice everywhere to cool down at EVERY manned and unmanned aid station. By the time, I saw my team again at Mile 30 (Stage Rd aid station), they said many people had already dropped because it's too hot.
After I left Stage Rd aid station at Mile 30, I could feel that the temperature rose even higher and that the ice melt more quickly. Some sections of the course were also out in the open area so we got direct sun. It was a huge energy drain. I slowed down a lot between Mile 30 and 50.
Another course change this year was there was a river crossing around Mile 39 because the covered bridge was closed. While the water was not deep, but due to rocks at the bottom of the river, it took me a while to cross the river.
Once I got to Camp 10 Bear at Mile 50, I was unbelievably tired. The crew did their best to feed me, change my socks and shoes, and refill my bladder/bottle. The chafing was also bad that I had to carry many lube products with me. I left Camp 10 Bear and started to slow down a lot due to fatigue from the heat. At one point, a couple of runners and I missed a turn so we had to turnaround and ended up adding about 0.5-0.75 miles.
Once I reached Margaritaville (Mile 60), I was 5 minutes ahead of the cutoff, which was pretty stressful but at that point, I did not have much energy to speed up. It also got dark and I had to turn on the light. I was really really sleepy so I took a 5-minute nap on the trail, which made me feel better.
The 5-minute nap made me missed the cutoff at AS#15 Puckerbrush by 4 minutes but they let me continue. They said I had one hour to get to the next aid station, which was 2.6 miles away. I told them I could do that. I made up my time and got to Brown School before the cutoff. Then, it's 4.8 miles back to Camp 10 Bear and I only had 90 minutes.
I did my best to run/walk back to Camp 10 Bear. I was REALLY REALLY sleepy at that point (again). I sleepwalked up the hill. At 1am, I was VERY close to being back but unfortunately, that aid station had a hard cutoff time. I missed the cutoff by 8 minutes.
Des was supposed to pace me from Mile 70 to 88. While I was walking uphill to the aid station, I still had some hope that my watch might be "off". However, when I saw Des walking toward me in her pacer bib and she gave me a hug, I knew it was over. I was pulled at Camp 10 Bear - Mile 70 of the race.
On Sunday, after I woke up, I kept thinking to myself what went wrong and what could I have done to make up that 8 minutes or go faster in the afternoon. One good thing was no major issue came up. I was able to eat and drink, I did not get nauseous, I did not vomit, and I did not have heatstroke. I intentionally slowed down to save energy for the night run but I also underestimate how hilly the course was. That weekend Vermont reported 100-degree heat index (link here). This year the race only had 48% finish rate, which is considered very low for VT100 as the race usually has 77-80% finish rate in the previous years.
I did everything I could to get myself to the finish line. This weekend was just not my weekend. Someone once told me "You are not a 100-mile runner until you dnf a race". I guess I could say I am now a real 100-mile ultra runner.
I would say I learned a lot more from a dnf than from a successful race. The beauty of a 100-mile distance is that there are many unknown variables, which requires problem-solving skill and the ability to keep moving forward no matter what. At least I did not quit this time.
oh well, I still don't know what is next for me. I signed up for a 50K and a marathon in September. Right now I am trying to figure out whether I want to try another 100 or I should give it a break for now. My life will be hectic once school starts and I am not sure how much I can commit to the training.
All I know is I still have unfinished business at Vermont 100.
Sydney
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