Man I love it when the team gets together, especially at races. The night before races forces us to not just run together, so what happens? Stuff like crowding around learning star constellations and whipping out some camp games...
Most everyone on the team slept under the stars right next to the start line and the pre-545am wakeup call came quickly. After a quick warmup and the gong-start, we were off up the first climb. I thought the ultraVT gang were all going to run as a group, but that didn't happen at all. That's another fun thing about races--they never go as planned and you adapt. Jordy Chang went off the front quickly and ended up having a very solid race (he's been due!), and I found myself running solo for a split second which was nice. I settled in quickly, not losing contact with everyone up front. Starting down the first decent Darren was 200 meters ahead of me; down the switchback I yelled "Darren slow down!" which he thankfully did a bit so I was able to catch up to him. I just wanted to run together. Work with, not against! We then ran the first 20 or so miles together in Mt. Cheaha fashion, except he was definitely setting the pace this time. Darren is a crazy good climber, so we worked together and really 95% of the big climbs. With most of the climbing over I started feeling ok and opened it up on the decent. The Hokies took 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th, along with great performances by everyone else who wasn't in top shape mainly due to injuries. Results can be found here.
Having fun with Darren round mi 15. Photos Kristen Chang
3rd, 7th, 2nd, 5th!
I only rested Thursday and Friday for Terrapin, so my legs really didn't have much of that magic pop. That being said, I'm definitely happy with how the race unfolded. I'm fit in March and was able to fuel well enough to have a good race. High mileage really does work. It's a fine line between injury/burnout and being super fit, but if you can manage it (safely!) it works wonders. I'm solidified fan after this weekend.
After the race we laid our sleeping pads out next to the finish line to cheer in the rest of the finishers, always so happy seeing folks smiling across the finish line. Post-race and burrito, seven of us from the "adventure club" of UltraVT hiked up to an AT shelter where we happily accepted the two-beer buzz and snacked heavily before we ensconced together for a great sleep. A comical hike down in the morning with trashed quads preceded a rough recovery run to hit triple digits for the week which is a great mental boost. Time to take a liberal recovery week! Cheers.
Coming down in the AM. Photo: Dylan Hesse
Freshman ladies, pure happiness. One of all time fav pics.
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