Start of the Goshen Gallop

One word to describe today… AWESOME… on so many levels. It was a day of very different workouts all adding up to the sixteen miles I needed to complete for training today. So many different types of running and hiking happened today it was great!

I started out the morning with a quick two mile warm-up. Basically, to stretch my legs out after a day off and basically doing nothing. I ran all one pavement just up the road and back. Nothing particularly special about the run but it stretched me out. It was about 19:20 for the 2 miles.

Bib 34 was me!

I spent much of the day doing chores and hydrating for the 10.2k 33rd Annual Goshen Gallop this afternoon. The weather here was in the 80’s today which for VT is hot. I arrived at the race and met up with a my friends who convinced me to race. I will write up a full race report tomorrow evening after I have had some rest. The race overall went well overall, it had a few really good uphills. I think I finished in the middle of the pack. It was my first 10.2k trail race. I finished in 1:03:39 according to my watch. They had a great picnic dinner included in the race and music. The best part a pond to swim in after the race! Fun times! I definitely will be adding it to my calendar for next year.

Sunset almost at the top

I got back home from the race and quickly switched gears to a night hike up Killington. I loaded up my pack with 29lbs, grabbed my headlamp, changed into some night hiking clothes and was ready to take off again. Truly this hike was like the cherry on top of an amazing sundae and the highlight of my day! I pulled along a friend, Will, to go with me for safety reasons and to help push me along the last 8 miles to finish out the day. We chatted and moved at a good clip the whole way up, he had no extra weight on his back so at times it pushed me to go faster. Along the way, I recruited him as a crew member for next years Death Race. I felt so alive at the top of the mountain. The beauty was all around us and well, I feel like I am on a natural high from mother nature. The pictures don’t do it justice at all, but hey they are off my phone so can’t ask for much more. The top truly is indescribable. It was at the top that I really felt alive! The GPS paused itself part of the way but judging on experience and many hikes up the mountain we went over 8 miles in 2:30 hours. In the end the distance didn’t matter today it was the experience of trying something new, experiencing a new slice of life. A year ago if you had asked if I would do all this in a day I would have said no way. Now I look at each new day not at what I can do in the future but challenge myself to break through all the things, I once thought, “I can’t do that.” Nothing is impossible, it’s one step at a time, 5 minutes at a time. It’s when you step out on a limb and push your comfort zone that you experience living. I am just one person on a journey, and it’s been a awesome and we are only forty days in.

A very happy and sweaty me at the top of K1

DAILY TOTALS
Killington, Goshen, Killington, VT
So total workout time today: Just under 4 hours
Total Mileage: 16 miles

I can sleep happy tonight after a really fun Saturday, with some good friends and good times. A top ten day in Vermont! Tomorrow another disc golf tournament and a short run.