Last Long One Before Vermont 100

My last long run before Vermont 100 went just as I hoped it would. I felt smooth and strong the whole way. I ran at a decent pace for 4 hours of hills. The only walking I did was part way up the very steepest hill. Kevin kept me company on his bike as we traveled over the single and double track trails of Northeast Vermont. I'm sure it was agonizingly slow riding for him, but it was very nice of him to give up a good mountain biking day to accompany me.  The trails were surprisingly uncrowded for such a beautiful weekend. We saw a few mountain bikers, but not as many as usual. I really enjoyed seeing things at a slower pace than we travel on the bikes. I noticed much more of the sights, sounds, and smells of the trail. Kevin mentioned noticing the same things.

We rode a counter clockwise loop and hit some of the trails we don't usually ride. It was warm and humid, but I felt good the whole way. It was very nice to get an ice cold orange Gatorade at the snack stand at the bottom of Old Webb's. We normally pedal right past this, but this time we stopped and took a brief break before moving on out of the woods and across Darling Hill Rd to the trails on the other side.

When we had almost completed our big loop, I sent Kevin up to the truck on Herb's while I continued on over the White School Trail toward home.  Before we parted I thought I might run all the way home, but cringed at the thought of the last three dusty, gravelly, full sun, uphill road miles at the end. So instead, we decided Kevin would meet me at the end of the trail, which is where he took this photo.  I'm ready! Bring on Vermont 100!