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August 9, 2007

Me and my pacer Jen completing the last 50 meters of the VT 100

Posted by mary at 6:34 PM | Comments (5)

My Pacers - husband Mark and friend Jen

Posted by mary at 6:33 PM | Comments (0)

My Best Friend & Her Family Surprises Me at the Finish of the VT 100

Posted by mary at 6:32 PM | Comments (0)

August 8, 2007

A little leg turn over and more trail running..

I had hoped to run twice on Tuesday but moving boxes up and down the stairs was keeping me plenty busy until it was time for our Tuesday night workout! There are two groups of runners in our workout session, a 5k group and a marathon group. The 5k group was doing 6 x 800 at a little faster than 5k pace and the marathon group was doing 2 x 2 miles at 30 sec. faster than marathon pace. I decided to pace one of the runners in the 2 x 2 mile group. His goal was 7.50 pace but we ran the first one too fast at 7.30 pace and I was psyched to feel really good and comfortable and we ran the second one right on pace. I then joined the 800 group for their last lap of their final 800 repeat. I was happy to run 89 seconds and feel like all of my joints were in place.

This morning I ran a great one hour run in the Cady's Falls trails. They are great mountain biking/running trails with tons of winds, turns, and rolling hills. It was raining and very green within the trails. I brought our dog Sebastian with me and he was very happy to be out on the trails again. He has been on the sidelines for over a month now due to a knee injury. His knee was popping out while he was running spontaneously about a month ago and he would let out a horrible yelp that was terrible to hear. We took him to the doctor and got some anti-inflammatory medicine for him and gave him a rest from his training. Today he happily chased birds and squirrels the entire time and had no problems at all. I was very relieved and happy to have my running partner back again!

Looking forward to another trail run tomorrow morning……

Posted by mary at 8:32 PM | Comments (1)

August 6, 2007

Slowly Getting Started Again...

I took 7 complete days off after the 100 mile race with no real exercise, only play which primarily consisted of pond and lake wading, floating, and movement.

The second week after the 100 mile race I biked for 5 days in a row for about 20 to 30 miles per day. Thursday of this second week I ran about three miles on a bike path and noticed that my calves were really tight, a combination of the race and the biking.

Last Friday and Saturday I had the most inspiring runs. They were the same! I ran on the Kingdom Trails in Burke Vermont which is definitely my favorite place to run in VT. Here are a few links to some pictures of the area:

http://outdoortravels.com/files/reader_vt_kingdom03_dwl.jpg

http://avalonvermont.com/vermont%20mountain%20biking%20in%20the%20northeast%20kingdom%20of%20vermont/vermont-mountain-biking-northeast-kingdom.jpg

http://www.trailsource.com/images/photos/BIKE/565x200/DSCN0534.jpg

I love these trails. They are used by many people and are very runnable and very scenic. Many mountain bikers use these trails and they are very friendly to runners. I did the same ten mile loop on both of these days. On Friday I felt stiff and out of shape while I was running. I ran a very easy pace. By Saturday morning I felt much loser. I jogged all of the uphills but felt much better on the flats. I really only felt fatigued on the uphills during Saturday's run. It has been so muggy in VT lately that the shade of the trees really made for great running. I did both of these runs around 7 in the morning. It takes a little over an hour to get to these trails from where I live but it is definitely worth it. Following both runs I went to the Buffalo Mountain Food Co-op in Hardwick which is a great place to get good tasty local food. My favorite choices are the local breads, cheeses, tomatoes, and peaches!

I continued showing a young athlete I know some of the NE colleges on Saturday afternoon. We travelved to Boston and visited many schools in the area and got to enjoy a night out on the town.

Mark meanwhile traveled to CT to prepare for the Seaside 10 mile Shuffle held on Sunday in Guilford,CT.

On Sunday I dropped the young athlete off at the airport early in the morning and was able to make it to the finish of the 10 mile race to see Mark win the race in 57 minutes. He was hoping for 55 minutes but was happy that the pace felt comfortable. Two of my brothers also ran in the race. My youngest brother ran the 5k race and got a pr of 22.30. He is scheduled to run a 5k race with my twin sister in San Francisco next weekend and looking forward to an even faster time. One of my older brothers ran the 10 miler with Mark and finished 12th in a time of 66 minutes and was happy with his effort. While I watched the runners finish I was wishing I ran the race and was happy because I felt like that was a good sign of coming back from the 100 mile race.

I did not get a chance to run on Sunday because following the race we had a big family picnic in CT where we had a chance to celebrate Mark's birthday which was Sunday and we got to spend much of the afternoon swimming and competing in a cannon ball contest off the diving board. We then drove back to VT later in the evening.

We've spent all of today moving into our new house. Our friend's purchased a brand new home in Elmore, VT overlooking the lake and asked Mark and I if we'd like to live in it for the year. Meanwhile, our friends have a great deal house sitting for individuals in Stowe, VT. We are thrilled to get out of the village and live in the country for the year. Our new house has views of the lake and Elmore Mountain and we will have some spectacular running near our house and lots of opportunity to see wildlife right outside our door.

I am hoping to get in two runs tomorrow, one in the morning and one in the evening. I have been organizing summer track workouts every Tuesday night and they have been fairly successful. I plan to run every other lap with the group and see how my joints are holding up.

This weekend I am signed up for the HERC OPEN, http://www.hercopen.com/, along with Mark. It is a 16 mile speed hiking competition. It is the first time it is being held. Mark is participating as well. The course promises to be very scenic and challenging. Since I do not feel recovered completely my plan is to experience the race and have fun with it. I am excited to see the course and see who is competing.

My future plans include a few fall marathons and perhaps a 50k or 50 miler. I am not completely decided on any of those specific events yet except for Cal International which I plan to do again with my friend Frank. Mark will also be flying out for this marathon. I have my work cut out for me but I plan to have lots of fun with all of it!

Posted by mary at 8:34 PM | Comments (3)

August 2, 2007

The Vermont 100

I had hoped to run the Vermont 100 last summer but soon realized attempting my first 100 mile race the week before my wedding might not be the greatest idea. In retrospect, having completed VT this year and still recovering over a week later I am confident I made the right decision.

Heading into the spring and summer I had high hopes for vast quantities of training and inspiration here in the green mountains of Vermont, the home turf for the race. I wrote down a training plan and hung it on my refrigerator in the same manner I had always done to prepare for the Headlands 50k. Easy, right, just follow the program!

My spring was a rollercoaster of events, planning, and traveling. Mark and I spent seven months preparing for a big move to Alaska, sending applications, making connections, and getting really exciting for a big move to Anchorage. Mark flew out for an interview in late May and had a potential job offer; however, it was not economically viable for both of us. We soon realized the Anchorage Public School District was having a hiring freeze and I might not get any offers. Quickly we decided to remain in VT an additional year and reapply for our own current jobs. This brought with it a wealth of emotions and disappointments but in the end we found peace with our decision. Meanwhile, these changes provided me with a myriad of excuses for my lack of high mileage, mega long runs, and stellar weight lifting programs.

I was able to do three long events that mentally and physically prepared me a bit for the 100 miles I hoped to cover in late July.

The first was a 6 hour run on Mother’s Day in MA. I spent the day before this event volunteering at an ultra race in the same state. My goal was to complete at least a marathon and if I felt good to continue the entire six hours. The course was a four mile loop with small rolling hills which was very well marked out. I ran with another man who was preparing for the VT 100 for the first three hours. We were running exactly an eight minute pace which I was not sure I should be doing but it felt comfortable. After three hours he slowed to run with his wife who had come to pace him/crew him and I continued. He met me again about 40 minutes later just about the time I decided to finish. I completed about 28 miles in just under 4 hours and can’t say I felt horrible but mostly I just wanted to go home and see Mark and get school work done. I was pretty distracted. The man I was running with was surprised I was leaving but the only thing I had on my mind was home and mountains of school work that needed to be graded. Not completing the 6 hours of running was a disappointment and left me wondering if I’d really have it in me to run 100 miles.

The second key event I entered was the Pittsfield Peaks 50 mile race the second week of June which was actually 53 miles! I was very nervous entering this race because I heard it was incredibly hard and might involve running through bushes. I also knew the course had 14,000 feet of climbing. I told myself before hand if I did not complete this race I would not do the 100 mile race. The winner of the Pittsfield Peaks race had a huge purse but I did not even worry about it because I mostly wanted the time on my feet. The race had very little support with regard to aid stations and each hour we ran another grueling hill. The race wound up being mentally more difficult than physically difficult. I was incredibly disappointed when after running what I considered actual running rather than an ultra shuffle for two hours we had only gone eight miles. At that moment I settled in for a very long day. The first four hours of the day was good, I stayed steady and ran and took care of myself. The middle four hours I fell apart and walked a lot. Looking back I can’t believe how much walking I did. It began when I got off course with a ton of other people and we were all lost for a half hour. I was determined to finish so I continued walking fast and jogging sporadically. I got a great second wind with 15 miles to go and managed to pass tons of people and somehow really ran the last three miles at a descent pace. I finished the 53 mile race in a crazy 14+ hours in third place. I knew once I finished this race that I would not only do the 100 mile race but that I would complete it. I was very happy and so glad I stuck out the bad patch in the middle of this race.

The third key event was a 100 mile century I did with my brother in law the week before the VT 100. We did not ride especially hard but we rode nice and steady. I really wanted to pay attention to what I ate and drank and in this event knew I would be good with peanut butter and jelly and Heed. This event took me about five and a half hours and I felt very good afterwards. I had a lot of fun and it did not take a lot out of me. I also mentally focused on biking from aid station to aid station and never worried too much about how many miles I had to go in the event. This focus was what I wanted out of this race. I just stayed in the moment and had a great time.

I knew I was anxious for the VT 100 because I did not sleep well the entire week before the race. I had nightmares about missing the starting line almost every single night, I dreamed about the race itself, and I was uptight all week. I just could not relax. I figured this was good. I also continually reminded myself of my two goals. My first most important goal was to complete the race and my second goal was to finish before midnight and run under 20 hours. To prepare for this I prepared two cheat sheets with splits from two runners who have both run well on the course, Krissy Moehl who ran 18:45 on the course during her Grand Slam year and Zeke Zuker’s splits when he ran in the 19 hour range. I wanted to give myself a ball park of where I should be at the various aid stations. I lamented these splits and put them in my water bottle sleeve and also had a few memorized.

Mark and my good friend and training partner Jen were lined up to pace me. They were interested in crewing me all day long but I persuaded them to meet me at mile 70 where pacers could meet their runners. I am so happy I made this decision. It allowed me to get in and out of aid stations quickly and gave me something awesome to look forward to.

As it turned out at almost every aid station before 70 miles I knew at least one person which was a surprise to me.

One of the two things I would change about my race preparations and plans would be to have a light with me for the first hour. I feel silly that I did not have a light for the first hour at 4 a.m. and am extremely grateful to the several men who shared their lights with me. I thought the first hour was on roads so I did not use a light. That first hour was entirely on trails and I spent most of the time squeezing into other runner’s light and each person was so kind to me and did not mind at all. I ran cautiously and I think this did aid me in that I did not take off too quickly. However, next time I will definitely use a small light for this first part of the race.

For the first 70 miles I was hitting 10 minute pace per mile pretty consistently and hitting the splits I had written down. I felt relaxed and good and stuck with my plan of drinking a combination of water and heed, ¼ of a banana, and eating ¼ of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. For the first 30 miles I ran on my own and after that point I spent the next 40 miles or so running with various individuals for stretches of ten miles or so. This proved to be a great way to run some of these hilly sections. I had conversations with these individuals and stayed relaxed. From the start of the race I walked every steep hill as quickly as I could and ran all of the flats and downhills. These first 70 miles were mostly dirt roads with a few trails scattered in between.

Around 40 miles I got off course and managed to run an extra three miles on a side trail, about 15 minutes out and 15 minutes back. I was following yellow snow mobile signs instead of yellow plates that served as markers for the race. I was a little frustrated but knew that a half hour over 40 miles did not mean very much.

The VT 100 is unique in that horses are racing at the same time as the runners. I had some reservations about this initially wondering if it would be distracting yet, it was very fun and made for many more interactions. The riders were extremely friendly and supportive and the horses were athletic and beautiful.

The weather for the race was perfect. I am not sure anyone could ask for a better July day in VT. It was about 75 to 78 with no humidity. I was never bothered by the weather which I am so thankful for.

During the race I never saw another woman, someone told me around mile 30 that I was first woman and when I grew tired wondered if I would be caught. No matter what I had told myself to stick to my pace and stay steady and that is just what I did.

My best stretch of the race was probably 40-70 because I thought it would be the hardest and it turned out to be my strongest and go by the fastest. I felt good running and had great energy.

When I met my first pacer Jen I was struck with severe shin pain, the first physical effect I felt of the race. I had a really hard time running down the hills because both shins were shooting with pain. I told Jen I wanted to run the flats, walk the uphills, and jog the downhills. This worked but I knew my pace was slipping. Because my shins were so painful I told Jen all I wanted to do was finish. She paced me the next 7 miles and did a great job distracting me and helping me forget about my shins.

For the next 18 miles Mark paced me and still my shins were aching. I would ask him to run ahead a bit and then run behind a bit and walk quickly with me up the hills. I enjoyed seeing Mark at the aid stations because he loved all of the food. I would be in and out of the aid stations in a minute and he would remain behind eating sandwiches and chips, four minutes later he would catch up to me and ask me if I ate enough. Mark was looking behind to find out if a woman was near us and he also estimated mileage which I was thankful for. I wanted to keep track or at least estimate our pace. I think these last 30 miles was close to a 15 min. per mile pace, maybe a bit faster but not much. I was really worried about my shins and did not want to injury myself long term.

At miles 89 I had to weigh in and found out I had lost almost 10 pounds, just shy of 10 pounds, around 9.5 lbs over the course of the race. I estimated the water loss to be about 3 pounds every 30 miles. The medics at the aid station wanted to watch me eat and wanted me to eat soup. They were really surprised how energetic I was considering the fact that I was dehydrated. Had I not been weighed I would not have known I was so depleted. I was able to leave after about five minutes and continued to feel fine apart from my shins.

At miles 95 my friend Jen ran with me. The last 5 miles seemed to fly by even though it took me over an hour to complete this section of the race. I fell flat on my face with about a mile to go because I was hardly lifting my feet off the ground due to my sore shins. With a half mile to go I saw lanterns along the side of the trail and I got really excited. The next thing I knew I heard a familiar voice saying, “Go Fagan, Sprint, Spring!”. I told my friend Jen that sounds just like my friend Kim. And to my great surprise Kim and her husband and new born baby were there waiting for me at the finish with Mark. I was so surprised. Kim lives in DE so I never expected her to be there. I just could not believe it. I finished with both goals, completing the race and finishing under 20 hours. I finished in 19 hours and 41 minutes and surprisingly finished first.

When I finished I went to the food tent and had some chicken noodle soup that had extra doses of bouillon cubes and salts in it. As soon as I tried to get up my feet and shins hurt more than ever. Fortunately, the car was right near the tent. We all got into the car and went home which was an hour and a half away. I showered as soon as I got home and when I got out of the shower realized that my feet and shins were swollen and bruised. It looked and felt terrible. I spent the next three days with swollen and bruised feet and shins. By Wed. the swelling had gone down and I was able to walk comfortably. Apart from this I felt good and was very happy. I was beginning to think I was not really an ultra runner anymore.

Having had such severe swelling and bruising after the race the second thing I would change about my race would be to carry two bottles. I would use one for Heed and one for straight water. The Heed was terrific in that I never had any cramping and my muscles felt well feed. However, I think I would have felt better those last thirty miles had I been more hydrated and simply drank more pure water in addition to the Heed.

I knew as soon as the race started that I would finish because I did not give myself any other choice unless I was seriously injured or in medical trouble.

Lots of friends thought I’d be running two days after the race. To everyone’s surprise I did not start running until today, my birthday, and even today I only ran 3 miles. I took four days completely off and then swam for three days. This past week I have biked about 25 to 30 miles a day. And today I am going to gradually start running again slowly and start dreaming and planning about my next 100 mile race hopefully next summer. In the meantime, I want to continue to recover and look forward to some great fall centuries on my bike and marathons on trail and on the road.

I am really grateful to Liz, my twin sister, who never doubted what I could do and who is my perpetual cheerleader, to Mark, my husband, who put up with me the week before the race when I was so nervous and who did an amazing job pacing me and helping me the week after the race, and to Jen, who showed more enthusiasm for the race than I ever could have expected.

On a side note, I finished the race with zero blisters or black toes, while both Mark and Jen finished with a few blisters! I was a little surprised to find

Posted by mary at 5:43 PM | Comments (12)