Cabot Fit Team Recap Part 2/WIAW in Vermont

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I last left off when we were wrapping up dinner, ready for an exciting race morning! We ate breakfast at the B&B (boring old milk and cereal for me- sits perfectly in my stomach without making me feel too full) and then headed over to the start line.

The Cabot team was awesome enough to have a van parked right at the start/finish so we could stay warm and dry prior to the race. The Middlebury Maple Run is a half marathon with a relay option. I was originally signed up for the half but since my tendonitis issues that started in December came back in March I asked to switch to the relay. Luckily Amanda was happy to team up with me to split the distance. There were 4 of us on the Cabot Fit Team were partnering up on the relay and 2 completed the half marathon distance.

It was a little rainy and chilly in the morning so we warmed ourselves up with selfies and pre-race photos. Katie and I ended up starting the race together and sticking with each other the whole way. It was awesome to run and chat with someone as I normally do my runs alone- fun change of pace. Speaking of pace we started out nice and easy… Katie was nursing a hamstring injury and I hadn’t run in almost 4 weeks… to say I was not properly trained is an understatement, ha. I don’t have any race photos as my personal race photographer (aka my husband) was not there.

Back to the race… after running the 1 mile or so super easy Katie said let’s pick up! My foot felt fine (yay- huge relief!) so I was happy to up the pace a little… definitely was not planning on pushing it to the max at all. I learned a lot on our run- Katie is a very accomplished blogger and also a cookbook author- maple syrup lovers need to check this out! We talked about our brands and businesses and it really made the miles fly. Since she was a local Vermonter she was definitely more used to the hilly course than I was… not going to lie the last mile was a struggle fest for me since we busted out our fastest mile and it was an uphill.

I was so happy to be finished and so glad to not be in pain! Yay foot- thank you for keeping it together! Our average pace was 9:20ish minute miles- I don’t have our exact finish time since it was a hand off at mile 7. After the race we headed over the pancake breakfast. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures from the breakfast but I can assure the pancakes were delicious and obviously covered in local Vermont maple syrup- a true match made in heaven. Once everyone on the team enjoyed a breakfast we headed back to the inn to shower.

One of my favorite parts of my room was the tub complete with jets- perfection for post-race muscle massaging! Plus the maple water provided for the race finishers- yum! (PS if you haven’t tried maple water you totally should- it’s one of my favorite ways to fuel for long bike rides). Plus I cranked up the fireplace in my room for extra warmth.

After everyone showered and relaxed we headed to a conference room for a beer/wine/cider and cheese pairing- definitely my kind of conference. All of the cheeses were made by local Cabot farms- they create their own personal cheese in addition to contributing to the popular Cabot cheeses.

Here are the cheeses:

1. Bridport Creamery Farmstead Cheese Curd
2. Sweet Rowan Storm
3. Neighborly Farms Raw Milk Cheddar
4. Landaff Cheese
5. Cabot Clothbound Cheddar
6. Cabot Artisan Cheddar

And the booze:

1. Lincoln Peak La Crescent
2. Citizen Cider Unified Press
3. Lawson’s Sip of Sunshine IPA
4. Lincoln Peak Marquette
5. 14th Star Maple Breakfast Stout

The beer pairing was a highlight for me as a craft beer lover. The Sip of Sunshine is a very highly sought after beer and a delicious IPA. The Maple Breakfast Stout was delicious too- sweet dark beers are my fav. Not many of the girls were fans of the beer so I got some extra tastes 😉  Citizen Cider is also really well known and respected- the Unified Press wasn’t my favorite but I had a sip of a teammates Dirty Mayor (a ginger flavored cider) the night before and loved it! The wines were from a local winery a few miles down the road- so cool how local everything was! My favorite cheeses were the Raw Milk Cheddar and Clothbound Cheddar.  Thank you Amanda, Sara, and Caisil for putting together such a fun and delicious event especially after spending all morning standing in the rain- we all really enjoyed learning more about how the cheese is made and tasting it!

After the tasting a few of us headed to the main room in the Inn for a rousing game of Pictionary, no joke. I hadn’t played in a while but we definitely had fun drawing and guessing. One of the coolest things about the weekends was that it was like spending time with friends even though most of us had just met.

Our Sunday night dinner was at the Lobby- a short walk from the Inn. I had a super disappointing polenta hot dog (doesn’t that sound delicious- it wasn’t) and seared salmon and grilled radicchio nicose with olives, potatoes, anchovies, hard boiled eggs, and green beans. The salad more than made up for the appetizer it was so textural and flavorful!

The girls and I hung out for a bit to chat before heading to bed for early flights. I enjoyed breakfast at the inn and then Amanda took us for a quick drive by tour of the waterfront area in Burlington (and stopping to get a maple latte made with real local maple syrup- yes it was amazing) before dropping us off at the airport.

I’m so thankful for Cabot inviting me on this trip! It was great to meet so many inspirational and talented women as well as learn more about dairy farms and cheese. #cabotfit #willrunforcheddar

What’s your favorite cheese? Have you ever participated in a cheese and wine/beer pairing?