"g's" comment:

This felt like an endless race. Having Paddle-Jammer pace me on the 5th and 7th (final) laps around the lake, and then the 5-mile mini loop at the end was what I needed to finish my first 100K.

By the time I completed lap #6, it was clear that running 62 miles was about as far as I ever wanted to run... the rest of my life! My 100-Mile Commitment had become simply a footnote to a great idea.

Another feature of being only one of seven 100K-ers in the 80+ pack of ultra-runners, was that by lap #6, just about everyone had finished their 50K, 50M or 100K race. By the time I crossed the finish line, I was second to last on the course and all but the timer had been dismantaled and packed away! And yet... the RD and remaining volunteers acted enthusiastic and cheered me on lap after lap as they encouraged me to finish my race! (That was very cool.)

The good news... I finished 5 minutes short of my projected 13-hour finish time... I was pretty darn happy with my time.

P-J and I had some funny running/pacer moments! In an effort to distract me from my pain, P-J told me jokes, stories, and asked me questions like, So when we finish... do you want to stop for a bite to eat? Or... What route do you want to take to get back home?

With 3 hours to go, I finally told P-J that I couldn't handle his jokes or questions anymore... i.e., anything that required me to think and then respond! It was taking my every ounce of strength and mental focus to concentrate on getting to the next aide station... and then to the one after that... and so on... I simply couldn't respond to his jokes and questions. They had become a distracting hardship that was crippling me! (On the drive home we had a good laugh about it!)

So... on Monday morning... the day after the race, I e-mailed the VT Endurance Run RD and withdrew from my 100-Mile Commitment. 62 would be the most miles I'd ever run in a race! Ever.

On Tuesday, my legs felt OK and by Wednesday I was ready for a short run. And a funny thing happened. The adventure of a 100-mile race seemed... to have appeal, again... And, then... oh my gosh! I was back in the VT 100! And you know... I'm thinking I'll actually finish the dang thing! (Cool. Very Cool.)