Success at Vermont 100 in 2009

After VT100, I decided a post-race dip in a stream seemed like the right idea. The cold mountain stream felt so good on my legs and hopefully will aid in a quick recovery (especially since I have a marathon this weekend!) The stream was pretty fast so in addition to being quite refreshing it also gave my legs a small massage. This stream was right near a public library off Rt. 12 (near an intersection that veers off to Interstate 91).

This impulsive little stop was really great! Next year in fact I think Tristan and I will stay through mid-day Monday and I will let Tristan abandon me in the stream Sunday afternoon and I will completely immerse myself.

Of course my post race dip in the steam was followed by a game of putt putt. Here you can see me during my near victory at Putt putt near Quechee Gorge.

Although I am really bad at Putt-putt, I really like it alot. And this course was particularly challenging because there were all sorts of barely noticeable slopes and hazards.

Oh yeah and the fact I had to pee from about the 3rd hole didn't add to my concentration ability and focus (that and the fact I had been up for 30+ hours by this time!)


At one point (okay many points) in this race I had serious doubts I could beat the 30 hour cutoff. I had 2 very LONG shoe changes, loitered quite a bit from mile 62 to mile 70, I was averaging 20-25 minute miles and came into mile 70 needing less than 20 minute miles for a victory.

But with so much help from Shane and Dan I completed this race in 29 hours and 40 minutes.

This time for the VT100 miler is 34 minutes slower than last year, however because of losing my mom followed immediately by Gilligan's cancer diagnosis my training has been abysmal since May. I am thrilled I even finished!

I will write more later but as a post race celebration I waded in a frigid mountain stream and nearly beat Tristan in putt putt golf (My score was about 87 and his was 85 on a par 45 course!).

By the time we arrived home last night, I had been awake 48 hours straight...I need some sleep! And of course some tasty treats such as donuts or ice cream:-)

Vermont 100 pictures and splits from Last Year and goals for this year

This is one of my favorite pictures from last year. It was taken relatively early in the day between storm #1 and storm #2 (of about 5 storms!). This is a nice pasture/field on the top of a mountain. It was pretty steep getting to the top and I was a little worried about falling on the way down, but the other side of the mountain was a bit more gradual.

Here is my friend Rob A with a horse approaching. Rob was really good company and an excellent mentor during our many miles last year. He was very cautious to never run up any hills. I have the tendency to get in a zone and would forget and be trotting along. He also was really funny, had lots of good stories and has run well over 550 ultra's!!! He is a running machine.

Going up a pretty steep hill in the hail...yes, hail. This was immediately following the storm in which there was lightening that we could see, feel and hear simultaneously. In fact at one point I simply stopped because I was so panicked (although there was pretty much nothing I could do except "pick a god" as one of Tristan's mountain guides suggested on Rainier if it did happen to blow up!)

This was the most unsatisfactory shoe change I have ever had! You will notice my "camp chair" is conspicuously missing and I am stuck sitting on a guardrail. And look what a mess my feet/shoes and gaiters were! This is a self portrait. If it included my face, you would see extreme rage as I was emoting "grudging" because Tristan was not where he was supposed to be with what he was supposed to be with. Oh yeah and as I was washing my feet he would bring over 6 oz cups...until finally a nice volunteer brought over a pitcher of water. I REALLY hate dirty feet!

Before the start of the race, I feel welcomed...perhaps it is because of the sign. This race is extremely well organized and implemented. The entire race I felt taken care of and well supported by the staff, volunteers and other runners/riders. Even the horses were encouraging as one licked me. Maybe for my salty sweat but I like to think because he/she was a sweetie!

Having run out of calendar days to train and being all packed and ready to go, I have spent the last few days reminscing about what a great time I had at the Vermont 100 mile last year. I was able to reconnect with lots of friends and make lots of new friends (including several of the horse riders).

The 2008 race definitely was challenging with lots and lots of hills, hail, lightening striking within a few hundred meters (splitting a tree in fact!), strong winds and several torrential downpours. I would like to think this year can only be better (well except for the hills...to bad the stimulus $$ is not going to level a few of the huge mountains or to connect them with a nice bridge!).

So far the weather is predicted to be in the mid/upper 70's during the day with lows in the mid 50's. This is acceptable to me but not ideal. I would much prefer mid-80's for the high and upper 60's for the low because I tend to get chilled very easily. There also may be the chance for rain/showers on Saturday. I am not a fan of rain; however, I have packed lots of raingear and will have a poncho in my fanny pack so I will be prepared for whatever the weather is.

I plan one change of shoes at mile 62 (Margaritaville) and even have a back up pair of shoes in my drop bag at that location. I have a second change of shoes at "Camp 10 Bear" which is an aid station we pass at mile 47 and 70. I don't plan to change my shoes more than once but a pair will be available if I decide spur of the moment at the Camp 10 Bear Aid Station.

For those of you interested in what last years splits were, here is a summary. You will notice that I averaged about a 12-13 minute miles early in the race and over a 15 minute mile later in the race. I don't do negative splits for 100 milers!

AS…Name………Mile…..Prev Time
3…..Taftsville B..….15.3…….7:37a
5…..Pretty House.…21.1….....9:17a
7…..Stage Rd….…..30.1….…11:50a
8…..Route 12…..….33.9…….12:50p
10.…L_Covered B…39.2….…2:06p
12….Lillians…….….43.5…….3:14p
14.…C_10 Bear…….47.2…….4:04p
15.…Pinky's………...51………5:12p
16.…Birmingham.….54.1…….6:01p
17.…Tracer Brk…….57 ………6:41p
19.…Margarita…..….62.1…….8:11p
20.…Schl House.……65.1……8:56p
21.…C_10 Bear……..70.1……10:12p
22.…Seabrook………74.7……11:47p
23.…West Winds…...77……..12:38p
25.…Cow Shed….….83.6…….3:10a
26.…Bill's…………...88.6……..4:48a
27.…Keating's.……...92.………6:09a
28.…Polly's………….95.5…….7:19a

Finish.......................100........9:06a

My goals for VT100 this year include:

1) Finishing in relatively good health (ie conscious with all limbs, toenails and organs I started the race with--I could stand to lose a few pounds so a loss of 2-3 lbs might be nice--Maybe too much ice cream and donuts this summer:-)

2) Finishing in under 28 hours. Based on Umstead 100 this past April, this time might work. But the lack of training may adversely impact this goal

3) Finishing in under 29 hours. Last year my time was 29:06....just 6 minutes away from being sub-29 hours. I know the course, have excellent pacers lined up and have (hopefully) successfully fired "dead weight" Tristan (well except for Margaritaville--and all I need him to be is halfway coherent--coherent enough to read and follow his explicit directions!).

4) Finishing in under 30 hours. While 100 milers definitely have a wild card component, I think I can finish the entire race assuming I do not have some catastrophic event occur. The question in my mind is can I beat the time cutoffs? And of course the catastrophic events are always possible. All it takes is one good pukefest, a case of explosive intenstinal distress or even a stumble on a root or rock (*or running away from a snake).

This may be my last post until Monday, however, perhaps at VT Tristan and I will locate a library where I can create a quick post before and/or after the race.

*most likely scenario!

Congratulations to my friend Jamie, first place female at Badwater, Snakes on the run and an event I am missing

With my friend Jamie, Badwater Women's Champion 2008 and 2009 and Morrison (her Newfie) this past April. We had a really nice hike up Deer Canyon. This is where I learned that both my dog and I are slower than her dog and her! Morrison was bookin up the mountain (even though she kept insisting he was lazy:-) He needs a few lessons about lazy from Gilligan

After I caught my breath from screaming like a girl, I realized I should take a picture of the snake to prove I did see one on my run today. I sure hope this is not a sign of things to come at VT 100 because I am not a big fan of snakes but every time I go to Vermont I seem to see them.

A sign advertising the free concert at the park Tristan and I live by. But we will not be here. This park we could easily walk the 5 minutes to the park and check out the music. Historically it has been blues or folk, so after partaking in the $4 full barbeque meal (in the old days...last year it was a wallet busting $7) we could head home. Quite a few years the concert ended up competing with thunderstorms but when your house is a mere 400 meters from the concert venue you don't have to worry.

Today I ran an easy (but confidence building) 4 mile loop by our house. This loop entails only 5 turns, one of which cuts through green acres into a quiet neighborhood using a recreation trail. Right along the recreation trail I saw it...a snake. I hate snakes. Or is it I fear snakes. Regardless this did not make me happy. In fact after my snake sighting (which I took a picture of), I continued on with a bit more pep in my step.

I also learned today Tristan and I are going to miss one of the yearly highlights of living where we do, a free concert on the park. Every year to date we have been around for this Thursday night concert and are able to grab our lawn chairs, our dog and a few bucks for treats. But this year we will miss it. Alas, Vermont 100 is considerably more important.

Finally, I have been riveted by the Badwater action via webcasts. I have many friends running this year including Jamie D (from Umstead 100 & Rocky Raccoon--and of course Morrison:-), Iris (from Niagara Ultra & VT100), Anthony P(from VT100, Rocky Raccoon and Umstead), Keith S (from the Marathon Maniacs--whom I have run numerous marathons with although considerably slower--and he looks way better in pink then I do!).

Jamie has come in first place female in an amazing time of just over 27 hours. She will be continuing on to the summit of Mt Whitney and I know she will be setting a new record for the entire Badwater course (from the lowest point in the continental US to the highest).

Vermont 100: What was I thinking??

Every time I sign up for a 100 miler, it seems like a good idea on paper. But as time gets closer I realize how far it is. One hundred miles in the car tires me out! On my feet completely exhausts me.

But now I am committed (or is it, I should be committed). I am pretty well packed, have a race day strategy and am just waiting for the starting "GO!".

I am familiar with the course (it is described as a shamrock in which you start, run around Woodstock VT, get to "Camp 10 Bear" at mile 47 then loop around returning to "Camp 10 Bear" at mile 70, pick up a pacer and run the final 30 miles to the finish. The course goes up and down mountains sometimes getting to the top and then running down, other times getting to the top then running along the ridge. We run on asphalt, single track and mostly jeep/VT roads. The course takes us along fields, through pastures, by farms, over rivers, in forests and even through several covered bridges.

We travel up the old suicide six ski trails, we run through a maple farm and by many farms including one farm that has a warning sign indicating "You can run this pasture in 10 seconds, But the Bull can run it in 9!"

Other than the first 15 miles (which have only 1 aid station and no drop bags), the rest of the course has aid stations about every 5 miles and drop bags about every 10 miles. I have packed my drop bags with lots of items including:

Layers (shirt, pants, jacket),
Spare Shoes,
Socks
Gaiters
Glide
Bandanas
Hat
Sunglasses

For aid stations later in the day I have
spare headlamp
flashlight
more layers (shirts, pants, jacket)

I also have "med pack" which are snack sized ziplocs with
toilet paper
wet wipes
bug wipes
advil
pepto bismo
immodim
tums

In my fanny pack "Sparkeley" (the SILVER one) I will carry
a starter "med pack"
spare small flashlight
petzel elite headlamp
camera
spare battery
several sports bars
poncho
lip balm
sunscreen packets

My outfit will be my lucky outfit including my
Pink "Tammy" Hind Tank
Pink Marathongirl Skirt
Seamless Moving Comfort underwear
Seamless Champion bra
DRYMAX Trail Running Socks (best socks EVER!)
Hawaiin print "Dirty Girl" gaiters
Flower pony tail holder
Pink Bandana

I will wear my Garmin 305 and expect it will stop working about 50 miles in. Tristan will provide me my second Garmin at Margaritaville.

I have not entirely decided my shoes but know they will be Asics Gel Kayano XIV (blue/purple) or XII (red). Whichever pair I do not start in will be carried by Tristan to Margaritaville for my planned shoe change at mile 62.

This outfit has served me well (no blisters, good finish times and happy ultra's) and thus I stick with what works.

I know it will take me about 30 minutes to get ready before the race. My biggest challenge at 2 a.m. on Saturday morning will be to get in my contacts. My second challenge will be to apply glide on every potential chaffing surface on my body. This includes by my bra, underpants and every seam or location where clothing may rub. I can happily say I no longer need to waste a cannister of glide on my feet because of my DRYMAX socks (have I mentioned how GREAT they are??) but will apply a smidge to my heel because of dry skin.

I am anxious for this race to start because at this point there is no time left for cramming. Also I am now excited and ready for this big event. I know I will have an AMAZING time and will savor every minute of my journey!

Managing Expections...My VT100 crew

My pacers are lined up for Vermont 100 and I am very excited. I know Dan and Theresa are expert pacers and will keep me going with cheerful and encouraging commentary throughout the last 30 miles of my 100 mile journey.

My crew situation is a different story. Tristan, my husband, has tried and failed (or is it tried to fail) numerous times at many of my ultra-events. To reduce the odds of disaster I have fired him from all crew locations except one (last year I tasked him with three and that did not turn out well). The aid station I suggested he meet me at is mile 60, Margarittaville.

I provided him with a relatively short list of explicit tasks (less than 10 written in plain English just like the FDA-likes).

First I will provide his response and followed by my written directives. You can decide if I am being unreasonable and expecting too much (you also can see I have no idea how to spell Margaritaville:-). Or if I should hit the panic button right now!



_____________________________________________
From: Massie, Tristan
Sent: Monday, July 13, 2009 2:43 PM
To: Massie, Tammy
Subject: RE: Simple Directions for Vermont 100 miler (version 1) May be updated

I don't know about MargarETville but MargarITAville is a state of mind not an actual place so I may have trouble getting there. No, really, I'll be there.

_____________________________________________
From: Massie, Tammy
Sent: Monday, July 13, 2009 1:14 PM
To: Massie, Tristan;
Subject: Simple Directions for Vermont 100 miler (version 1) May be updated

Tristan’s directions: For the Margaretville (mile 62) Aid Station


Please ensure you arrive at Margaretville well in advance of me! My expected time based on last year is 8:11 p.m. However this may be optimistic or may be slower than this year. I would suggest that it is very unlikely I would beat 7 p.m. but I might beat 7:30 p.m..

Margaretville will be hopping place with Jimmy Buffett songs played over and over and over. And of course to entertain yourself you can help out other runners by filling water bottles, reminding them of how many miles to the next aid station, refilling beverages or whatever the volunteers at Margaretville might need.

BEFORE I arrive
Set up camp chair very close to aid station (preferable BEFORE the Aid Station by just a few feet ~10-20). Put backpack on camp chair with "stuff". The "stuff" will include:
change of sneakers,
glass case with contact stuff & glasses,
headlamp.
Meds
Wet wipes/towel
Fresh Bandana
GARMIN #2
IPOD #2
Various Layers (shirt/pants/jacket)

There will be a "Sea to summit" waterproof bag with Sneakers, socks, gaiters and glide. Loosen laces of sneakers, take out wet wipes place in this pile.

You may leave this bundle of stuff & shoes in a plastic bag until I get there (in case people vomit, it rains, or someone spills).

WHEN I arrive
See how I am doing. Good questions are:
How are you feeling?
Is anything bothering you?
Is your waterbottle full? (let other volunteers attend to this!!)
What do you feel like eating?
Remind me of the tasty minty cupcakes!!


BEFORE I leave I have the following tasks to complete (with your help/reminding)
1) Take my contacts and give me my glasses
2) Take my camera
3) Take my GARMIN
4) Make sure I have a headlamp and back up flashlight
5) Make sure I replenish any of my medpack
Includes: Toilet paper, pepto, immodium, advil, wet wipes, bug wipes
6) Offer me a fresh IPOD
7) Take my hat and/or sunglasses if I have them.
8) LAYERS: Suggest I take a pair of pants and/or shirt/Jacket

Note:If it is muddy I will need to wash my feet. I will want pitchers of water (or water bottles—one will be in your bag) to do this, followed by wet wipes. Just ask the nice volunteers at the Aid Station (AS)!!!!

If things get rushed ask an AS volunteer to help you. That is what they are there for.

As I leave ensure I am properly dressed, hydrated, have adequate lighting, have my fanny pack filled with stuff, look comfortable and happy.
I should HAVE GLASSES on (and contacts out)
I should HAVE HEADLAMP on (and spare flashlight in my pack)
I might be carrying or have just put on LAYERS: shirts/pants/jackets
I should have a full water bottle
I should have eaten/drank and enjoyed a few minutes of not running!

A few pictures of San Diego and more VT100 preparation

Here I am in front of a Helicopter during the social event on the Aircraft Carrier the SS Midway. I spent a bit of time exploring the various helicopters and planes, then after about 2 minutes headed for the desserts!

Here I am with my friend Mike a fellow Marathon Maniac. I was quite startled when I heard my name as I was walking the EXPO one day. It was my friend Mike from the Marathon Maniacs and 50 States Marathon clubs! Mike is alot faster than I (sub 4 hour marathons by ALOT) but we Maniacs/50 Staters are a tight knit group, our insanity of running many marathons in a short amount of time bonds us.

Here I am at the Rose Garden at Balboa Park on an afternoon/evening run. I ran most days when I was in San Diego. I liked to run along the harbor as well as to Balboa Park (where the Zoo is located). One day I kind of ran too far and ended up having to get a taxi back to the hotel. So I had to put in a reciept for a one way taxi fare....so far this single direction transport has not been questioned, which is good.

One day I took the ferry to Coronado Island (really it's a peninsula) so I could try a new location to jog. It was a really pretty Island with lots of beautiful and large houses. I enjoyed jogging along the boardwalk, up and down the various roads and along the various waterways. I also got a sunburn! I would go outside for about 20 minutes and turn bright red!

Here I am on a jog to Balboa Park one morning. On this day, I knew not to continue on too far. This is the Cactus Garden which is quite interesting and has lots of different cacti. I touched a few and poked my hand up a bit. I really need to stop trying to pet animals or touch sharp objects!

In this park I was a little nervous because I asked a docent about the presence of rattlesnakes and she suggested they are lurking around. Nothing scares me more than rattlesnakes, so I did not go onto more obscure trails. I really need to get over this fear if I ever plan to do Western States!

Today I had a GREAT morning. I recieved an e-mail from a runner friend, Dan R. who will be in VT for a personal trip and noticed I mentioned that I was pacerless from mile ~90-100 at Vermont. He asked if I was still looking for a pacer and volunteered to keep me company.

Dan is a really great guy who I know several different ways: 1) I met him briefly at Bull Run Run 50 miler this past April (as well as his girlfriend Elizabeth who was crewing for him and is so sweet!) 2) He belongs to at least one of the the same running clubs as I do, the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club and 3) He is friends with super running machine Jamie D and 4) I stalk his blog (yeah, I admit it, I stalk people on blogs:-).

Upon reading his e-mail, I immediately responded, I still need a pacer and would LOVE if he would keep me company for the last few miles.

I reminded him that I am not remotely as fast as he (he placed 10th overall at Bull Run Run...I on the other hand might still be out there)

And in my mind I thought unless there is a large portion of dessert at the finish and that is the last dessert on earth I probably would never be as fast as 99% of the population. With the last dessert on earth at stake perhaps I could come in first place, but we'll never know, will we?

Dan said he was fine with my lack of speed. He is planning to park at the finish and run his way backwards along the course to mile 88 (we ultra-runners don't get too anxious about specific distances because 10=12 miles, right?), then pace me into the finish. Based on my last years time I should arrive at Bill's about 4:48 a.m.

I mentioned to Dan that I recall I arrived at this aid station before 5 a.m. but left a bit after 5 a.m. I had to get weighed (just a few moments) then seemed to sit down for no good reason. I believe I might have wasted about 15 minutes at this aid station and as far as I can remember there was no reason for this. I had no shoe change but think I might have been depressed about starting up running after losing/breaking my pacer.

This year I will be handed off seamlessly from Theresa to Dan. And I know both Dan and Theresa will take really good care of me because both have been so encouraging via e-mail messages!

I am getting really excited about VT100! Only 7 full days to go.

Training for VT100: Eating!

Last night at Bruster's Tristan is purchasing a "to go" banana split and scores a second doggie sundae for Gilligan.

Gilligan helps himself to the doggie sundae. We are really bad parents because we did not step in to stop him but in fact let this occur and laughed about it. We really need to create and enforce rules because at the rate Gilligan is running amok he will get into all sorts of mischeif.

But then he goes and pulls the "I still have a bandage on my paw so I get to do whatever I want" card!

This is Tristan and Gilligan purchasing our first banana split (for half price) last evening. During this doggie sundae aquisition, Gilligan was better behaved and waited patiently for his sundae.

On Wednesday night we went to half price Gelati Day at Carmen's Italian Ice. Because I ran there from work after a REALLY long and trying day, I actually had eaten 2 italian ices before Karen/Simba (background) and Tristan/Gilligan (foreground) arrived. Thus by the end of the evening I had powered down 3 desserts...Life is good!

Last evening Tristan and I went to the Fleet Feet Fun Run then headed to Bruster's with Gilligan. This time he went with no T-shirt and only his paw covered with a bandage (that doesn't even cover his Mast Cell, but is just there for pity). By looking indistinct he was able to score two ice creams at Brusters. (okay this also might have been possible because Tristan and I purchsed our ice cream for "there" at one window and our "to go" ice cream about 30 min later at different window).

Gilligan really enjoyed all the attention he got and was happy to go for his second consecutive night of frozen treats (because Wednesday night we did Carmen's Italian Ice for half price Gelati's).

This brings me to a funny story. My friend Karen (Simba, a dog friend's of Gilligan's owner) was curious what flavors they have at this establishment. Last time we met up the selection of flavors was really overwhelming so she wanted to have a strategy for what flavors she might be leaning towards. So she did what any self respecting person would do: google up Carmen's and Rockville. Apparently the third website listed was my blog! She was really amused; but this did not help in figuring out which flavors were available.

In fact I have been having problems with google lately kicking up my blog for information I am trying to research. For example I wanted to register for the Kentlands 5km race which is comieng up this September. When I googled up "Kentlands", "5 km" "2009" and "register", the first 5 hits were my blog...this was not helpful at all because I cannot register for the race on my blog! In fact ultimately I was able to find the registration page but that was only because registration opened relatively recently and I had not deleted the e-mail with the registration information.

Preparing for Vermont 100 in 2009

The past several weeks I have been trying to ramp up my training for the VT 100 miler. If you go to my posts in Jan, Feb and Mar, you will notice this strategy worked pretty effectively at allowing me to beat my previous Umstead 100 miler by over an hour. Unfortunately life got in the way and my longest training week was about 45 miles. And my longest distance since the Bob Potts Marathon about the first of June has been less than 15 miles. These numbers were not what I wanted.

But on a positive note as I indicated to one of my ultra-friends who questioned how prepared I am for VT100, I eagerly replied, "I can proudly say I have no overuse injuries!" There is the chance that the training philosophy of "less is more" could kick in. Of course it was only a little over 3 months ago that I ran my last 100, so perhaps I will have some residual endurance. And of course I know what to expect both from the 100 mile distance and the Vermont 100 mile course. Knowledge may give me a tiny, itty-bitty advantage.

I have done some heat training (and in fact after chatting with a different ultra-friend) learned that by going to the Sauna for 20 minutes I can raise my temperature about 3 degrees. I assume that I am raising my core temp because I wait a few moments to take my temperature. The reason I have been stopping at 20 minutes in the Sauna is that my glasses or reading material DNF. My glasses become impossible hot to the point where I think I might get a burn on my face (and how do I explain that to my doctor, insurance and husband?). And my books and magazines really have not fared well in the sauna. I am afraid to bring my Ipod because I think it would drop dead after about 5 minutes (even if I tried to train it up!).

As for last minute cramming, I kind have done a little. This is more to build some confidence and also because I think I was a bit unhappy the last few weeks because I was not getting my usual exercise. The last several days I have run to and/or from work. This is about 7 miles with a few moderate hills. Each day I have finished my run and felt really good. I just wish it was 3 weeks until VT because then I could get one more long run in.

I have not started to pack, but I do have my excel spreadsheet from last year which I have updated and revised. Because my husband/crew Tristan is so unreliable (yes I have finally come to this realization), we have agreed it is best that he only meet me at Margaritteville and no other aid station. This means I actually have to have an early drop bag to put my layers and headlamp/flashlight. And since I will not see Tristan twice in the evening, I will have to really commit to taking out my contacts and put on glasses about 8 p.m. and will have to tough it out. This may be the most traumatic portion of my 100 mile run because my contacts are so thick/heavy and realistically don't work that well (stupid astigmatism!) However, this will give me something to look foward over halfway through the race.

I am really looking forward to running with my assigned pacer: Theresa. She is really sweet and has been checking up on me and encouraging me lots recently via e-mail. Her enthusiasm is so infectious that I know mile 70-90 will be manageable (I would say a breeze but that is so far from the truth!).

Tristan is thinking about running the last 5 miles of the race with me. He just needs to figure out if he can get a ride to the ~95 mile aid station. His objection is that he doesn't know what time I will make it there and does not want to spend hours waiting for me. Unless we can figure out the logistics, the last 10 miles I will be alone. But that is fine. Last year I was able to do this bit solo and other than the stupid rock wall I nearly could not climb across I did fine. And now I mentally prepared for "The Wall" at about mile 90 or 95! Maybe this year I will fling a few rocks off it to make it lower...or I still have time to vandalize it and get rid of the entire wall (if only I could figure out where it is)

I am really looking forward to the horses passing me about mile 10 or so. The riders were so nice and encouraging and the horses so cute. I hope my friend whose horse timed out about mile 30 last year is back.

And of course I am really looking forward to seeing all my ultra-friends. A bunch of Reston Runners are traveling and racing the VT100 including some of my ultra-inspirations: Jim A and Anna B. as well as Anna's husband Jim B., and Dave Y., Jim N. Mary K., Keith W., Bill T. and Tim C. I hope my words of wisdom having done this race last year helps all of them in this race. I am looking forward to seeing my ultra-friends from afar including: Emmy, Frank, Anthony, Rob and others I know from VT100, Umstead and many other races who will be there. VT100 will be a great re-union and should be lots of fun!

My intention is to have a bag at every Aid Station (5, 7, 14/21, 17, 19, 23, 26 and 28). Some of these drop bags to mostly accept items. For example 5 & 7 on Sat morning and 28 on Sunday morning will recieve layers, headlamp and flashlights. On the other hand Aid Station 17, 19 and 21 I will be taking out items such as spare shoes, layers, headlamps, etc.

I have created a crib sheet of all the aid stations; however many are unmanned and several simply will provide food & beverages but have no drop bags. At every aid station my goal is to refill my water bottle, drink at least 2 cups of gatorade, have some banana's, M&M's, pretzels and other treats. I will resupply my fanny pack with sports bars at each aid station as needed as well as grab little pre-made med-packs (Advil, Pepto, Immodium, Tums, Wet wipes, and Bug Wipes). Of course I will also potentially swap out (or add to) my bandana collection.
At the later aid stations I hope my husband is able to acquire some positive notes of encouragement to put in my drop bags to surprise me. Since I will change out my socks throughout the race and shoes sporadically I will have a bit of down time during the race. Last year my pacer and volunteers read the various notes and it really gave me lots of energy and helped me regain my "positive mental attitude". If you want to surprise me with a note you can send an e-mail to my husband at:

Tristan_Massie (at) comcast dot com.

In the subject line you can call indicate it is meant for my 100 mile race:-) And you can indicate which drop bag you might like it place in if you have a preference.

Poop Happens: A brief summary of my recent life

Pocohontas, my mom's diabetic cat. My sister and I are now sharing caretaking duties of this cat but are looking to find her a more permanent home. She is really sweet and other than her diabetes (which she definitely accepts her insulin shots like champ), she is a good natured and afectionate cat. In fact she walks on a leash quite well (my mom trained her to do this because they traveled around in the RV and it was a good way to meet people and get the cat some fresh air and exercise).

This is a picture of a sight seen during the Fleet Feet Fun Run. What you should notice is there is a deer in the middle of someone's lawn. This is a densely populated residential area. But apparently Bambi is okay with that.

My mom owned a diabetic cat which about a month ago, my sister and I inherited. We are trying to find a home for Pocohontas (a hemeaphredic cat that was originally thought to be a female and alledgedly was spayed in the early 2000's). This past fall my mom went to the vet and during some diagnostic procedures, it was determined the cat was a boy (or at least had male organs). My sister thinks they misdiagnosed the cats gender and now calls "Pokey" a "he". I still call her Pocohontas and refer to her in third person feminine.

Well, my sister could not take care of the cat last weekend (which entails daily shots) because she was going out of town. Unfortunately since both Cindy and I have multi-cat families so we do not put out diabetic crunchie food as that would bankrupt us and there is no way to segregate the critters. But we do give Pocohontas her daily insulin shots. This means that for the forseeable future we will be sharing cat care duties.

When I met up with my sister at Reston we put the cat in the car and I started driving back to my home in MD. About 5 minutes into the ride it reeks!!! And it is not me. I look at the guilty culprit. The stench does not go away during the entire 30 minute drive. By the end of the trip my eyes are watering and I am about to try to find the Nuremburg or Helsinki rules (or is the Declaration of Independence) about ethical treatment of humans. After getting out of the car I notice she pooped in the back seat. And I was driving "blue-ey", my beloved car, not death trappy (my arch nemesis).

During the week I talked to my sister and mentioned this incident. My sister comments that during the cats flight from Dalles to Dulles earlier in June she apparently was taken out of her carrier during the Xray machine. Then Cindy put her on the leash for a bit and Pocohontas pooped in the Dalles Fort Worth Airport!!!

Oh by the way, we continue to look for someone who is able to take care of this cat. And other then her propensity to poop during travel she really is a sweet cat and does sort of get along acceptably with other cats. I will try to post a picture of her.

Continuing with this theme of poop. Tristan is now back in town. He survived his trip up Mt Rainier. But he had two incidents of significance.

First he took an expensive ($500+) down jacket on his trip and put it in a stuff sack. Somehow one morning the stuff sack worked its way out of his backpack and started rolling down an incline. Last Tristan saw this bag filled with his jacket it was going over the edge. Luckily as this was going on he thought about a sign we had seen during the Disney Marathon that suggested

"If your keys drop in hot flowing Lava, let 'em go man, just let 'em go!"

Apparently that should have said, "if your expensive jacket goes rolling off a 14,000 foot mountain let it go, just let it go dude".

Luckily one of his climbing group members ended up bailing at about 12,000 feet and Tristan asked and was able to borrow this very nice gentleman's jacket. This made it possible for Tristan to summit Rainier for the second time. This time on the more challenging Kautz Glacier.

The next story Tristan relayed was about their bagged dinners. Apparently they got "Tasty bits" for their final dinner. This was some type of spicey asian meal that upset most all of the climbers stomach by giving everyone gas. Sounds like a blast to be stuck in a small tent with other stinkey climbers with gas, doesn't it? Oh actually it sounds like my Monday night with Gilligan the gas-ey dog!

A currently unnamed person mentioned that during this entire trip (and every other mountaineering expedition he goes on) he ends up being really bound up (i.e. can't poop). My suggestion is some e.coli laced peanut butter but apparently this suggestion is not well recieved.

In fact this same person mentioned he has been pooping like a deer recently. I had no comeback for this comment. Does he mean he is lifting his tail and spewing out a bunch of pellets, he is pooping in people's backyards...what does he mean? Finally, I figured out this person was suggesting he was bound up. I offered my sympathy and suggested: "prunes, dates and other fruits: Gramps" I think the last suggestion nearly got me a beating (or as gramps said: "You're cruising for a bruising").

This got me to thinking in about 1 week I will have this exact same dilemma. If you read my post Umstead 100 mile or even VT100 posts you realize I pound down the banana's but don't eat many other fruits/veggies during the 100 miler. I admit I eat banana's for their binding properties, but it is not pretty after the fact when I am dehydrated and can't do my business for days.

For those of you who have made it to the end of this post, you should realize I was not joking in my blog title!

Gilligans Status: Nothing but relatively good news so far!

Gilligan and I during a freak July snowstorm in DC....just kidding. This is Gilligan running the George Washington Birthday Marathon in 2007. During this marathon, the high was about 27 degree's, the wind chill was in the teens and even a snow squall occurred during the later part of the race. But Gilligan ever the patient and supportive spectator hung around so he could run the last 400 meters of the race with me! He likes to cross the finish line of race: the enthusiastic crowds, cheering, thrill of victory are all things he really loves. He just doesn't want to run 26.2 miles for this, so he slips in right near the finish:-)
After a terrible week last week in which Gilligan had to go back for some emergency procedures because the wound on his neck was not healing and in fact had swollen to the size of a grapefruit (in which I left him at the vets Tuesday night because he was seeming to struggle to breath). This week has seen a dramatic improvement!

Gilligan's neck wound is now barely larger than a golf ball, none of his wounds are oozing and he is now eating and drinking normally. He still takes up 90% of our bed and is on meds for the next week or so. But he seems to be back to himself.

Last week I was really upset when I left him at his vets overnight. He was struggling to breath and had been off his food from Sun-Tues. I was really worried about how bad he was and how depressed and lethargic he was acting. But now he is back closer to normal, which I am really excited about!

And this is followed by even more good news. Last week we (Gilligan and I) saw an oncologist. During this visit it was really sad to hear all the very discouraging treatment options. But we were there for more diagnostic tests including blood, radiography, etc. This week we got the results and all are looking good! This means it is unlikely his cancer has spread and he may be in 10% (as per the oncologist) or 30% (as per the literature) or 40% (as per the pathologists) of dogs who have one bought with Mast Cell and it never returns, spreads or becomes a major issue. We are treating him with Benadryl and are really thinking if his paw bump does return, the steriod has a pretty decent success rate in slowing progression and minimal side effects. The radiation and chemo sounded awful!

And as for removing more of the margins of his cancer, Tristan and I have decided we are NOT going to do this. Little literature and few medical professionals suggest this is an appropriate option considering they would need to remove two cell layers around the Mast Cell Tumor and in his case this would be bone. Finally considering he had this bump since last Fall, it is very likely it is a very slow growing tumor so it seems reasonable to assume in his case we do not need to treat it aggressively.

I am just happy to have my dog back who is now acting normally (although as lazy as usual) and seems perky and happy. He wags his tail, looks up at us when we say his name and has occasionally been seen licking his sister puffy the cats butt (which I hadn't observed for the past month). We are still going for ice cream a few times a week because now we know we must treasure every day with him.

In fact tommorrow is half price Gelato Day at Carmen's Italian ice. We are already drooling in anticipation!

Why do I run....a few pictures from San Diego to illustrate my motivation

This picture is from Extraordinary Desserts in San Diego. Out of the 5 days I was in San Diego I went to this fine establishment 3 days. I would have gone more but as you can see from the below picture one evening I was otherwise occupied at a different event. The desserts were really good. I had a brownie that was really yummy, a chocolate bundt cake, and a chocolate filled croissant for my treats. What you will notice is that all of the desserts were very elegant and included some type of flower. My brownie had a pink daisy, my chocolate bundt cake had a rose and my chocolate filled croissant had a yellow daisy and some rose petals. I am ready to go back to San Diego for these yummy treats alone!

The DIA (Drug Information Association) conference has a nice networking event each year. A few years ago it was at the Georgia Aquarium. Last year it was at the Museum of Modern Art in Boston and this year it was at the USS Midway. As usual they had really tasty desserts as well as an open bar. I cannot speak about the open bar because I was busy gorging myself on the various desserts including both a white and milk chocolate fountain. I like to think this is good training for ultra distance eating. And I would easily guess I consumed 1000 calories during the 2-3 hours I was at this event. I really need to consider becoming a competitive eater.

Where in the world is my husband?

Tristan and his group hiking down Mt Baker last September

Tristan stuck in a Crevasse waiting for his group to pull him up.

Some of his group on Mt Baker rapelling down an ice wall. Last year Tristan did a 5 day expedition on Mt Baker to learn many mountaineering skills (including: rapelling, self arrest, crevasse rescue, and lots of other skills needed for climbing big peaks). This year Tristan is learning more skills on Mt Rainier and later in the summer (Labor Day) he has another expedition planned (and paid for) on Mt Shuksan in Washington State. He is becoming quite the accomplished mountaineer!

Tristan left for Mt Rainier last Saturday. That morning we had a brief period when we were both in the same time zone but did not get to see each other as I was at Dulles Airport and Tristan was at BWI.

I called Alpine Ascents on Wednesday (the guiding group Tristan went with) and they suggested he is fine (although perhaps they are told to hide the truth for a few days as to not alarm family members). They also suggested the entire group did summit Rainier. Knowing how hard Tristan trained I was confident he would summit. And apparently they had good weather the whole time. I am a little jealous because all of my major expeditions have a 50% chance of being somewhat miserable (based on 2 out of 4 hundred milers). Maybe in just over 2 weeks this statistic can be revised to 40%.

In the meantime Gilligan had a medical issue that led him to be in the vets overnight. One of his wounds is just not healing but essentially the problem is that Gilligan continues to itch and scratch at it re-opening the wound. Recently this wound did become closed but then it filled with fluid. The doctor drained it and I am doing my best to keep Gilligan from fussing at it. This is a full time job because he is quite determined to scratch. Recently I added cold compresses to his medical treatment and this actually seems to be helping.