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Maggie and I made the trip up to Burlington VT for Memorial Day weekend so that I could run my fifth marathon. And more
importantly, it was my second marathon in three weeks. I had just run the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati on May 6. I finished that race in 3:48:56, which was a PR for me by 16 minutes. So my goal in Vermont was not to set another
PR, but I merely wanted to see how well my body could handle two marathons that close together. I knew there was no way I'd
come close to a 3:48 again. The day before the race, I had said "I'll be quite happy if I'm half an hour slower than
that, and I'll be okay if I'm 45 minutes slower. Heck, I really don't care about the time at all; I just want to finish without
being in pain."
The race began on Sunday morning at 8:00am. The weather at the time was cloudy and a little cool. Not bad conditions
for running. The forecast called for rain and/or thunderstorms starting around noon with temps around 70, so there was a chance
that things could get interesting.
The course looked to be a fun one. Yes, it had some hills. But this is Vermont, so what else would you expect? But the course looped
past the start point three times -- at approximately miles 3, 8.5, and 15 -- which made it very fan-friendly. Spectators could
stay in one spot and hopefully get a glimpse of their loved ones multiple times during the race.
The first small loop was run thru downtown Burlington. After coming back past the start, we headed up a highway (Rt 127)
for about a 2.5 mile (each way) out and back. I found this very interesting, since we got the see the leaders coming right
towards us, followed by the massive crowd. This meant that for a while there was a wave of people running in one direction
on one side of the street, while another wave of people were running the opposite direction right next to them. I was tempted
to try and offer high-fives to runners coming at me, but I refrained...
As I said, I had intended to take the race very slow. I figured a 9:30 per mile pace would be the fastest I would attempt.
But after the first mile, I had settled into a pace closer to 9:15. I kept telling myself that I should slow up a bit, but
I felt good so I kept it going.
After the second swing past the start line at Mile 8.5, we headed south thru a residential area, and then into a park
for a run along a bike path back towards the start again. It was around this time (Mile 11 or so) when my legs started to
ache just a little bit. Soon before the halfway point, the course ascended a short but steep hill. I knew that I wouldn't
be able to run the entire 26.2 this soon after my last marathon, so I took this hill as an opportunity to add in my first
walk break. But since it was a short hill, the walk break didn't last very long, and I start running at the top of it.
After Mile 14, we began a prolonged hill which took us up to Mile 15 and back to the start. This hill was a real doozy.
I slowed my pace a bit, but kept climbing. Check out the pic I took at the top of that hill (a little bit below); you
can see how much sweat I worked up. I saw Maggie as I passed the start point again, and then headed north. By this point,
my legs were feeling quite heavy. My knees and feet were trying to remind me that they just ran 26.2 three weeks earlier.
My pace remained slow, and I knew there wouldn't be any more 9:15 miles.
Just before Mile 17, I slowed for another walk break, and this gave me my slowest mile up to that point, 10:42. Yes,
I was beginning to drag. But I still knew I'd finish, so I didn't really care.
Around Mile 19, a little drizzle had started. By Mile 21 it was raining. And by Mile 22 it was raining hard. Right about
at this time we had reached the northern-most point of the course, and we turned onto another bike path for a straight shot
south to the finish line. Of course, bike paths do not have the greatest drainage systems, which means the rain was creating
some rather large puddles that had to either be avoided or stomped thru. My pace had slowed to the point where every mile
was slower than 10:00. Between the rain and my aching legs, it wasn't easy for these last few miles.
But honestly, it was still a good feeling. I was struggling, but I was still content. Had I been going for a PR and been
struggling like that, I probably would have been getting more and more upset watching that PR slip away. But without any such
goal, I felt fine. I knew I'd make it, even if it was slow going.
The rain was finally letting up right around the time I was reaching Battery Park and the finish line. I crossed in 4:17:30,
which is about 28.5 minutes slower than my time in Cincy. In other words, right about where I thought I would be. It wasn't
easy, and the legs will ache for a while. But it was fun. And it was worth it.
Overall, I was very impressed with the Vermont City Marathon. The course was challenging and fun, with some beautiful
scenery. And the crowd was extremely enthusiastic. The race was very well organized. My only complaint was that the post-race
food was a little hard to find. It was located on the opposite side of the park from the finish line, and it wasn't very well
marked, making it difficult to find while limping thru the crowd in the rain. But that's a minor complaint. Overall I give
the race an enthusiastic thumbs up.
In Cincy, I had come in 880th place out of 3975, which meant I finished ahead of 78% of the runners. Here I was 1546th
out of 2506, which means I was ahead of only 38%. Half an hour makes quite a bit of difference.
Two days later, my legs were still a little sore, but not bad. After two marathons in rapid succession, a bit of time
off from running is necessary. For now, I am satisfied that I was able to complete this marathon, even if it was my slowest
one since my first one in Chicago...
The remainder of the weekend was spent seeing some of the Vermont-y tourist spots. After a quick nap back at the
hotel, we went to the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory a few miles away in nearby Waterbury VT. And that night, we
found the Vermont Brewery in downtown Burlington for dinner.
The following morning (Memorial Day), we checked out of the hotel and began the ride back to New Jersey. Along
the way, we made a few stops. The first was at the Vermont Teddy Bear factory, where we bought a little teddy bear that
we could give to our daughter some day. Next we stopped at an authentic Vermont farm, where we bought (among other things)
Vermont cheddar cheese and Vermont maple syrup. Finally, we stopped at the Otter Creek Brewery. They make a beer
(Vermont Lager) that I discovered a few years ago and I really enjoy. It's not readily available here in New Jersey,
so I made a point to pick up a couple cases. After that, we finally made our back to New Jersey. Overall, it was
another enjoyable marathon and another enjoyable weekend.
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