Race to the Top of Vermont: August 29, 2010

Here's what I can say about this race- there was no "racing" about it for me. I ran maybe 10 minutes of the entire climb, if that. Those 4.3 miles that rose 2,550 vertical feet with at 10% grade were much more grueling than I had anticipated.

Usually I sell myself and my athletic abilities short. This time, I overestimated my fitness. My legs were burning, and I was exhausted by the time I reached the summit, a full 1:34:30 after I left the start. I know this timing is accurate, because this was my first race with timing chips.

Adding insult to inury is the fact that my racing shirt is too small. I ordered a large, which has been plenty big in other races, but this time it is much too tight. Too damned bad- this is a shirt I would feel like wearing around to brag that I even survived this race.

A big positive that came out of this, though, is the fact that I had to push my body harder than I ever have on one of my runs, or my 5K races. I was panting, and my legs were on fire, and I literally thought I would fall over from exhaustion. Yet, I pushed on and finished. I think this encourages me to work harder in my training, and it gives me a better idea of how deep I can dig when I need to.

When I reached the summit of the race (the second to last runner to finish, by the way), they were out of water. I sat in the shade, very thirsty, and hungry, and started to get quite faint. I rode down the mountain in a big van with other racers, and I sat in the passenger's seat, because I was going to have to throw up out the window. I did not, luckily, but I really felt extremely weak and ill. At the BBQ aftewards, I grabbed 3 drinks from the beverage line and headed home. I drank all three, and my waterbottle full of tepid water, before I made it home- a 40 minute car ride. THEN I started to feel more like myself.

I loved the friendliness of this race, the beautiful weather, the views from the top, and the atmosphere of joy and goodwill. However, I cannot say that the memory of the agony of Sunday will have faded enough in my mind by next August to again sign up for the Race to the Top of Vermont.