Kingdom Swim and Vermont 88.6

I will be happy to write about my fairly disasterous 10 mile swim race tomorrow but since my left arm is in a splint secondary to thumb tendonitis from swimming too far I will keep it short and sweet. I would like to give a BIG shout out to Danny for completing 88.6 miles of the grueling Vermont 100 trail race. Who suggested 100 miles anyway? 88.6 is enough of a sufferfest if I do say so myself. He claims he is done with the 100 mile challenge but I know he will be back for more...I mean who can resist trail running in the dark up and down these little piss ant hills which go on forever and ever and start to feel like mountains after you have lost eccentric control of your quads and are puking up Ramen noodles (more about that later) just to shuffle your hurting body along at a blazing 20 minute/mile pace?

Vermont 100 Crew

As this will be Danny's first 100 mile race, it will be tough enough to fathom no less motivate him in the late hours of Saturday night as he slogs through miles 70-100(hopefully). Therefore, he has decided to pick a select few elite athletes to help him along on this journey.

For Miles 70-77, Marilyn Ferreira :

Danny's Sister and "running can only be used as punishment" believer.

For Miles 77- 88, Joey Castelot

Danny's Cousin and recent running convert who recently joined GCS and now willing be running for NEC in the fall.

For miles 88-100, The Bullmoose of the Flies: Amber Cullen:

With this all-star team, how can he not finish?

Results to follow...

CULLEN IS THE LADY OF THE FLIES!

A month after winning the Bull Moose Competition, in a dramatic, come-from behind fashion, Amber Cullen won the inaugural Lady of the Flies competition as part of the Black Fly Triathlon series. The Black Fly Triathlon, the newest race series brought to you by the guys who put on Mooseman and Timberman, is set in picturesque Waterville Valley, NH.

The weekend started off on Friday night with a 4 mile time trial at which Amber placed 7th with a time of 12:19(19.5 mph) and 25 seconds off of the 1st place female. That Saturday was the International distance triathlon which due to the 53 degree temperature included a very abbreviated swim(1/4 mile), 20.5 mile bike, and a 5 mile run. Amber, disadvantaged by the short swim with which she normally builds a sizable lead, finished 2nd with a time of 1:41:38 now cutting the time for the Lady of the Flies to 11 seconds(while also beating Danny by over 4 minutes).

So Sunday arrived to herald in slightly warmer water temperatures as well as the final day of the series which was the Sprint. It consisted of another 1/4 mile swim, 15 mile bike, and 3 mile run. Speaking at the podium at the award ceremony, Amber stated that she knew she had to make up those 11 seconds and hammered it home on the bike hoping that her legs would stay strong for the run. She certainly did winning the race with a 35 second margin in a time of 1:15:17(again beating Danny by 4 1/2 minutes this time).

Full result listings can be found at: http://www.coolrunning.com/results/09/nh/Jul12_BlackF_set8.shtml

Vermont 100 on 25 mile weeks?

Danny: So I had this great plan to do the VT100 and I would ramp up my mileage in the months preceeding it. I scheduled some late winter/early spring marathons and half marathons(New Bedford Half then Peak's Snowshoe Marathon and Great Bay Half and Cape May Marathon) to get in some solid mileage early in the season to ready myself for my first year doing ultras. That was great- It carried me through Pineland Farms 50 miler in 8:22 with minimal difficulty...
Yikes! Since that late May race I have not done a long run longer than 11 miles and have not had a single week of more than 25 miles. Let's just hope that this exceptionally long taper will see me well rested and ready to take on the 100 mile buffet.
Here's to hoping!

Our First Post

4 days until the Lord of the Flies Festival at Waterville Valley

11 days until Danny's first Vermont 100 bid

18 days until Amber's 10 mile Kingdom Swim

Goals for Danny's VT100:
1) Finish
2) Finish smiling
3) Finish under 24 hours
4) Finish under 24 hours smiling

Goals for Amber's Kingdom Swim:
1) Not get eaten by Memphre the local sea serpent
2) Swim 1:30 min/100 yards for 10 miles
3) Not get left by support boat(Danny)