Ready for the Race to the Top of VT!

I am getting nervous! Only 3 days until the Race to the Top of VT and then 1 week later I am off on my grandest athletic adventure yet... a 7-day solo trek from Stamford, VT to Pawling, NY.

I am absolutely ready for the Mt Mansfield race but I am not sure how ready I am for the 145-mile trek. I have come to realize from a few shakedown runs lately in full gear that running with a 15 pound pack on my back is tremendously more stressful and tiring than running normally.

I am down to just under 145 lbs which is just where I want to be. I feel that my strength to weight ratio is best in this area... if I drop lower I am not getting enough nutrition to keep up my energy and if I go higher I am carrying weight I don't need... especially given the extra weight on my back.

I am concerned about maintaining my weight on the AT run. I have been losing on average 2-3 lbs on a full pack run lately and I will have to keep ingesting enough water and calories to make up what I burn each day.

In order to keep my backpack weight down I have had to give up a few cherished items in my pack like an air mattress, a real tent, and extra food. I will try and make a bed of leaves and pine needles each night underneath my minimalist tarp tent shelter for comfort and I plan to run through towns each day where I will buy my lunch rather than carrying an extra meal / day. I am trying out a new water filter and a sleeping bag which barely covers the temp range I will be in at night to reduce the weight so I may be sleeping in my tights and long sleeve shirt.

My biggest concern is rain. Having a rugged tent and footprint would be ideal but again weight is my enemy. I will hope for light rain during the day and clear nights for a worst case but somehow I think a hurricane will come through during my run with my luck. Bring it on Mother Nature, I'm on a mission just as I was on Pike's Peak last year when you threw everything you had at me!

I will write at least one more time after my race and before I head out on the trek. Until then, LiveSTRONG my friends!