On Sunday I ran the Vermont City Marathon as a 2 person relay with my friend Meg from college. I ran the first half (13.1 miles) and Meg ran the second half. I was pretty psyched to finally be running this race, but not feeling prepared. I had only run 3 times since Boston: short run, medium run, and long run (10 miles the week before). The weather report was also daunting, calling for hot, muggy weather and thunderstorms.
Ryan and I got up to Vermont on Friday afternoon and had dinner with the crew from Myrtle Beach at American Flatbread pizza. So good! That night we stayed with Meg and her husband Ryan, also a friend of mine from college. We watched the Bruins game and started prepping for Sunday by discussing plans, outfits, food and hydration.
Saturday morning we headed to the expo to pick-up our race bibs, bags, tech shirts and check out the vendors. It was really hard not to buy anything, but I'm trying to save! It was fun to check out the free samples from Cabot and Ben & Jerry's! Later that day Ryan and I bounced around to see some of my other friends and then headed back to Ryan and Meg's where I made my Dad's homemade sauce and meatballs! Meg helped by cutting up veggies and pressing garlic! We devoured. It was good - but then I had really bad stomach pains. I forgot to add the sugar to the sauce! So maybe that's what happened!
We woke up Sunday morning at 6am to pouring rain. By the time we walked out the door it was slowing down and had stoped by the time we parked downtown. But then at the start, downpour came again!
Miles 1-3: I ran with my friend Melissa's boyfriend Sander. Their family was running as a 5 person relay. Sander was good company and helped pace me through the beginning. The first three miles were mostly residential but I saw some familiar faces, which was cool! The last part of this leg came up Church Street, where there were some Drag Queens for some entertainment!
Miles 4-6 Were the most boring part of the course. This was out on the beltline, which is a mini-highway. No spectators, long, hot, boring. The only cool part was seeing those ahead of you looping around. This is where I spotted Emily from Sweat Once a Day! I wasn't sure it was here, but her blog post confirmed it! I was also able to spot maybe alumni, which was awesome!
Miles 7-9 This was rounding out the belt line, coming back into downtown Burlington. I saw Carrie and Andrew cheering from their lawn, as well as a few others! The best part was going back down Church Street again, where I got another surge! Holly spotted me, as well as my Ryan and Meg's Ryan... and Meg's mom!
Miles 10-13.1 Also another hot, boring leg. This is where I hit my wall and the walk/run happened. More like walk/sprint. I hydrated, poured water on myself... saw more people I knew... but I was just not motivated. At this point a PR was in sight... but I let go. I knew that wasn't a goal for me today anyway. The last mile or so was through another residential area, the same as the Vermont Unplugged Half Marathon that I ran in April. Finally, the last hill - and last leg ending into Oakledge. At this point, I saw my friend Melissa (finally) - said hello, wished her luck, told her I was dying! And then just as I turned the corner, I spotted Meg! I waved my arms, handed off the bracelet, hugged her good luck and told her to drink lots of fluids!
Unofficial Split time: 2:18:56/10:36 avg pace
The exchange area has lots of snacks! I grabbed some pretzels for salt, chocolate milk, banana and water! I met up with some friends at the exchange and we took the shuttle back to the finish area.
The finish line area was insane and very crowded. Burlington has had severe flooding the past couple of months with above average and record rain falls. Props to all the volunteers that assisted in cleaning up the finish, as well the course.
I was able to squeeze into the crowd and see Meg come down the chute for the finish! I was so happy to see Meg finish. It's funny how time flies... feels like yesterday she approached me about training advice and then to run with her! I am so proud of her!
Overall the race was a blast! It was a hard race in the heat but I loved the course and love the spirit of the participants, volunteers and spectators! I definitely want to run the full marathon one year and would without a doubt run as a relay again!
Song of the Post: "If I Ruled the World" - nas ft. Lauryn Hill
No comments:
Post a Comment