The Stick Lady

Well I did it! I made it under 24 hours which was a bonus for me. First of all, I have to thank my awesome crew/pacers Michele and Russell, and Brian for all their hard work and encouragement to get me across that finish line! You guys are the best!!! I had some doubts going into this race since all my training was a bit of a struggle with Achilles/ankle issues so I made getting my body get better a priority with massage, acupuncture ( Katie Ferrier in Guilford) and Danny Dreyer’s Chi Running exercises.

The night before the race, I did not sleep a wink but I did get to see the full moon. The start was full of fresh faces and nervous energy, and I felt pretty calm which was unusual for me. We started at 4:00 am into the darkness. I spotted a nice stick for trekking so I picked it up and used it to help take some pressure off and provide some support for my ankles. The Dawn Chorus greeted us with their beautiful song. The mist began to lift and the morning began. At about 16 miles into the race, my left arch started to ache which led to the pain starting in the left quad. I found another stick so I used them as trekking poles since I was getting a little concerned about my leg. At Pretty House (21.1 mi) I switched into a more cushioned shoe and off I went to tackle each stage one at a time. My faithful crew was at my beck and call. I had them wash and dry my feet and apply fresh body glide at Camp Ten Bear (47 miles). I had ordered scrambled eggs for the previous stage and they did not disappoint. By 50 some odd miles, both quads were singing songs of pain. At this point I still had my two sticks which helped me earn the nickname ‘stick lady’, an ace bandage wrapped around my L quad and a bandana tied around my R quad to keep them from bouncing around. The downhills were relentless! I even began to walk them backwards. I just wanted to get to Camp Ten Bear a second time so I can meet my first pacer Michele. Brian gave me some encouragement and Russ cheered me on loudly. We set off with only 30 more miles to go. Wheee!!! We saw some amazing houses with their meticulously manicured lawns which spanned across many acres. The views were breathtaking. This section was so tough for me because of the pain in my legs (now I had another bandana on my R thigh to add to my repertoire) and the very steep downhills. Shelly kept me going and patiently waited for me to descend backwards. It was bit tricky trying to see where you are going. Shelly would describe the surface as I came down the hill. At one point, I just began to cry like a baby. I called out for my mom to help me get through the pain. I popped a few Tylenols and just before the climb up to Spirit of 76, I began to feel better. Thank you Shellygirl for being there for me!! I pick up Russ at this point and we head to Bills. We hit the trail for a short bit and came out onto a road and I started to actually run. I started to feel a little queasy on and off and I asked Russ if he could sing to me. Did I mention how cool my crew were? We passed a lot of people (ones that passed me just earlier). I kept stating how mentally alert I felt throughout the whole race. My brain wanted to go faster but my legs said “no way!” I did not feel tired until the last mile. We realized we must have missed an unmanned aid station which worked in our favor knowing we were farther along. We made good time to Bills and I picked up Shelly for the next section and we managed to go faster than the first time we ran together. She kept me going by asking me if I can run to the next chemlite. And that’s what we did till we got to Pollys. I made such good time there that Brian was still sleeping and I got to see Iggy and Allstate. It was so great to see them! I got excited to get going. Shelly got me there with just under 2 hrs to go for the 24 hr mark and I now had only 4.5 miles to go. I can do this!! Russ now paced me on to the finish. He kept reminding me to eat/drink and take my E Caps. One time I took 2 ecaps and took a swig of water and I threw up the water and swallowed the pills at the same time. I don’t think anyone could do that! I began to fall apart with just 2.3 miles to go but I still managed to run some of the flatter sections. You would think that all I wanted was to sit down but I was so glad to see everyone there to cheer me in that my goal at that point was to get to the medical tent to get some ice on my legs.

I can’t thank everyone enough for their support, encouragement, and the precious memories I gathered at this fine little race called the Vermont 100. I love you all!

P.S. To my husband, thanks for believing in me when I did not!