On October 19, I ran the Champlain
Islands Marathon in South Hero, VT. Deb
and I used this race as the launching pad for a Vermont vacation. It was our first trip together since Deb’s
knee surgery.
Saturday, October 18
We flew to Burlington on
Saturday. When we booked this trip, I
was surprised to find out we could get a direct flight. On prior trips to Burlington, I always had to
make connections in Detroit or New York.
At home, Deb wears
slippers that look a lot like shoes.
They give her feet the support she needs for walking within the house,
but they’re not adequate for outdoor walking.
We were already at the airport when Deb realized she was still wearing
her slippers. We got to the airport
early, but not so early that we could go home to get her shoes.
As soon as we got to
Burlington, we went shopping for shoes.
Deb’s size is hard to find, so we weren’t lucky enough to find her usual
model in her size. We were able to find
a pair that works for her. As luck would
have it, it was a model of shoes that she was already interested in trying.
The race was on Grand
Isle, but I could pick up my race packet at a SkiRack store in downtown
Burlington. That made it convenient to
stay in Burlington for the first two nights of our trip. We stayed at Hilton Garden Inn, which was
just one block from SkiRack. After
checking in at the hotel, I walked over to SkiRack, while Deb looked over the
sightseeing brochures at the hotel.
Our hotel was also close
to the Church Street Mall, which is a pedestrian-friendly shopping district in
downtown Burlington. We spent most of
the afternoon exploring the shops along the Church Street Mall. Then we had an early dinner at American
Flatbread.
Sunday, October 19
Sunday was race day. The race started at Folson Elementary School
in South Hero. From downtown Burlington,
it was about a 30-minute drive. The race
started at 8:30 AM, but I wanted to get there early enough to find parking at
the school. I was up early, so I left at
6:45.
As I started driving, I
could see the orange glow of the sunrise.
By the time I got to the school, it was light out. I got there in plenty of time to get a close
parking place.
Some of the leaves had
already fallen, but there was still plenty of color.
The temperature at the
start was about 50 degrees, but there was a strong enough wind to make it feel
colder. I started the race wearing a
jacket and gloves, knowing I would need to take them off as it got warmer.
This was my fifth
marathon in six weeks. In the previous
four, I ran times ranging from 3:47 to 3:53.
For this race, I set a more conservative goal. I just wanted to break four hours. I had never run this course before, but I
knew it had hills. I also knew we would
have a strong headwind at times.
Often in small races,
nobody wants to line up in front. When
the race director said anyone going for a PR should move near the front, there
still weren’t many runners near the starting line. Finally, he said anyone trying to win the
race should be up here. One woman
suddenly emerged from the crowd and moved to the front.
The course was an
out-and-back route that we ran twice. For the first mile, we were headed south along
South Street. We were running directly
into the wind. I quickly found my
initial pace to be tiring. I didn’t know
if I was starting too fast or if it was just the wind resistance. It turned out to be both.
My jacket was unzipped in
front, so it wouldn’t cover my race bib.
It was catching the wind like a sail, so I had to take it off and tie it
around my waist. It wasn’t easy to do
that without slowing down, but I’ve had a lot of practice.
When I finished the first
mile, I saw that I ran it in 8:26. For a
four-hour finish, I needed to average 9:09 per mile. I was hoping to average about 9:00, but I
knew some miles would be easier and some would be harder. This was one of the difficult miles, yet I
ran it fast.
Early in the second mile,
we turned onto West Shore Road and started running toward the western side of
the island. Immediately after turning,
we started running down a long gradual hill.
Here, I ran even faster. I wasn’t
trying to speed up, but I no longer had a headwind, and this mile was all
downhill. I sped up to 8:08. That turned out to be my fastest mile of the
race, by far.
After nearly a mile of
running downhill, I got my first view of Lake Champlain, as we came within
sight of White’s Beach.
After passing the beach,
we ran up a small hill and turned toward the north. The next four miles had rolling hills, but
the wind was at our backs.
The aid stations had
water and Lime Mapleaid. Lime Mapleaid
is a locally-produced sports drink made with maple syrup, lime juice, and
salt. It’s an unusual flavor
combination, but it was part of the experience.
We were running past farms, some of which were selling maple syrup.
There weren’t a lot of
spectators. They were mostly clustered
around places where the road we were on intersected other roads. At one such intersection, I saw a few
Halloween themes signs. One that caught
my attention read, “No TP in the Port-O-Potties. Scary shit.”
With the wind at my back,
I continued to run much faster than my target pace. My pace over this section ranged from 8:26 to
8:44.
As I got closer to the
turnaround at the northern end of the course, I started to see faster runners
coming back. The first runner coming
back was the same woman who moved to the front just before the race. She was the eventual winner of the half
marathon.
When I reached the turn,
I checked my time. I was on pace to
finish in 3:45, but that was over the fast part of the course. On the way back, I would face a headwind, and
I would eventually need to go up that same long hill that led me to run so fast
in mile two.
I expected my pace to be
much slower now that I was running into the wind. For the first mile and a half, I was a little
slower, but not as much as I expected.
My pace was still faster than my target pace. Finally, in mile nine, it got much tougher.
I don’t know if the wind
suddenly picked up, or if we were just more exposed to it as we ran past flat
farmland. It suddenly felt much more
tiring. Making matters worse, I was starting
up what I later realized was the second longest hill on the course.
I slowed in that mile,
but only to 9:09. I was happy with that
pace. The scary part was how tiring it
felt.
The next mile was also
tiring, and for the same reasons. The
wind was still strong, and I think that mile was more up than down. I was two seconds faster in that mile, but
the wind was gradually wearing me down.
I still had one more mile
that was into the wind. As I came within
sight of White’s Beach, I was relieved to know that I was about to turn out of
the wind. I momentarily forgot that I
was about to start a mile that was all uphill.
As I ran past the beach,
I saw a flag flying about the beach. The
wind had shredded it.
Just before the 11-mile
mark, I started up the hill. When I got
my split for mile 11, I was surprised to see that I sped up to 8:34. I didn’t realize it yet, but that mile was
much more downhill than uphill.
The first half of the long
hill was gradual, but it knew it would get steeper later. I knew this mile would be slower, but I
focused on maintaining a steady effort that wouldn’t wear me out. Early in that mile, several runners passed
me. I didn’t know if they were doing the
marathon or the half marathon. If I only
had to run this hill once, I might have fought to maintain my pace. Knowing I would need to run it again later, I
was more inclined to save my energy.
As I got farther up the
hill, it got tougher. Now, I was passing
people who were walking. I ran by
them. I continued to climb at a steady
pace.
I was relieved when I
could see someone in the distance waving an orange flag. That was the course marshal showing us where
we turned back onto South Street. It was
also the top of the hill.
When I reached the top
and made that turn, it suddenly got much easier. Not only was I done with the hill, but I had
a tailwind for the remainder of my first lap.
My pace for that uphill mile
was 9:15. That was my slowest mile so
far, but I didn’t slow down nearly as much as I thought I would. I would have been satisfied with anything
faster than 10 minutes.
It took about a minute to
recover from the long hill. Then I
started to speed up. By the time I
reached 13-mile mark, I could actually feel the wind pushing at my back. Unfortunately, I would soon need to turn
around and run back into that wind.
At the halfway mark, I
was on pace to finish in 3:49, but I knew the second half would be slower. I knew from studying the hourly forecast that
the wind would gradually get stronger.
Also, the wind and the hills had a cumulative effect on me. They would gradually wear me down.
My first mile of the
second lap wasn’t nearly as fast as my first mile of the race. Still, I didn’t give back any time. I ran it in 9:05.
Next, I turned out of the
wind to run down the long hill again. I
wasn’t nearly as fast this time, but I was easily faster than my target pace.
When I reached White’s
Beach again, I could see how much stronger the wind was. There were whitecaps all over the lake.
It was in the next mile
that I realized how I managed to run so last in mile 11. As I began running with the wind at my back,
I noticed for the first time that this mile was much more up than down. This time, I found the hills to be tiring.
Things got easier in the
next few miles. I wasn’t as fast in
these miles as I was the first time, but I was staying under my target pace.
It was getting warmer
now. With the wind at my back, I started
to get sweaty. It wasn’t a big
deal. I knew I would cool down again
when I eventually ran into the wind again.
When I reached the far
turnaround for the second time, I did another time check. I had 6.55 miles to go. If I could run them in 66 minutes, I would
break four hours. Simply averaging 10
minutes per mile would be fast enough. I
knew the next five miles would be tough, but I was pretty confident I could do
that.
Coming back, I once again
found the first mile and a half to be manageable. I slowed down a little, but my pace was
closer to 9:00 than 10:00. At about 21
miles, the other shoe dropped.
Right on cue, the wind
suddenly felt much stronger. Was that a
coincidence, or was it the layout of the course? It didn’t matter. For the next two miles, I really struggled
with both the wind and the hills.
Mile 22 was tiring, but I
didn’t slow down as much as I thought. I
ran it in 9:34. That was my slowest mile
so far, but at this point, anything under 10 minutes was good.
I kept noticing one
family who lived along the course. They
stood in front of their house, and they cheered and rang cowbells whenever a
runner went by. When I ran past them for
the final time, I saw something I hadn’t noticed before. There was a chair out by the road. Next to it was a sign that read, “Beer. Take a can.”
For the first time, I noticed cans of beer and seltzer in the
chair. I was struggling too much to even
consider it.
On paper, mile 23 was no
more difficult than mile 22, but I slowed to 9:45 in that mile. That was still faster than 10:00, so I was OK
with it.
I just had one more mile
that was into the wind. I knew this mile
would be a mostly downhill mile, but that didn’t make it feel much easier. I can’t express how relieved I was when I
finally came within sight of White’s Beach.
I knew the next mile was uphill.
I didn’t care. I just wanted to
get out of the wind.
After running past the
beach, I caught up to another runner. As
I went by, I said, “Let’s do this. The
next mile is uphill, but …”
He finished that sentence
for me. He said, “No more wind!”
In mile 24, I sped up to
9:02, but only because it was somewhat downhill. Now, I was about to start the tough climb
again.
There were mile markers
for the first half, but not for the second half. When I saw the “11” sign, I had 2.1 miles to
go. I did another time check. At this point, even 11 minutes per mile would
be fast enough. I had to get through the
hill again, but the last mile would be easy.
Going up the hill, I was
gradually gaining on two runners who had been ahead of me for most of the
race. I passed one as he was starting to
walk. I gradually gained ground on the
other.
Halfway up the hill, the
grade gets more difficult. I kept
looking ahead to see if I could see the top.
Eventually, I saw the volunteer with the orange flag. Now that I could see the top, I picked up my
effort.
I wasn’t quite to the top
when my watch gave me a split for mile 25.
I ran it in 10:12. That was
almost a minute slower than my time for the corresponding mile in the first lap. That was OK.
It was well under 11 minutes, and that’s all that mattered.
When I reached the top, I
turned the corner and saw the “12” sign.
I did one last time check, even though I knew it didn’t matter. To finish in four hours, I just needed to run
the last 1.1 miles in 14 minutes … with the wind at my back.
I was still trying to
catch up to the runner who finished the hill just ahead of me. Then another runner flew by me. I couldn’t match her pace, but I continued to
gain ground on the other runner. When I
passed, I said, “Almost there. Finish
strong.” Then I saw a sign saying we had
a half mile to go. It was nice to see
that, since I didn’t trust my watch to tell me exactly how much was left.
From there to the finish,
I ran harder. Having the wind at my back
obviously helped. I finished in
3:56:12. I was much slower in the second
half, but I beat my goal by almost four minutes, in spite of the strong winds
and the hilly course.
I got my finisher medal
from my friend, Anne, who lives in this area and belongs to the running club
that puts on this race. I had to lean
against a car briefly before I could walk into the school building.
Post race beverages
included apple cider. Post-race food
included chili. After drinking some
cider and getting a bowl of chili, I sat down next to my friend, Shane, who had
finished 11 minutes earlier.
By the time I was done
with the chili, they were starting the awards ceremony for the marathon. I stayed long enough to see if I won
anything. I took second in my age group. Shane also placed in his age group. The awards were coffee mugs.
Deb spent the morning in
downtown Burlington. She had lunch at a
local diner. After I got back to the
hotel, I needed some time to get cleaned up.
Then we drove to Shelburne.
We went to the Shelburne
Country Store and the Teddy Bear Factory.
We skipped some other popular destinations, because we’ve been there
before. When we were done, we had dinner
at a diner in Shelburne.
Monday, October 20
On Monday, we drove to
Waterbury. Rather than drive directly
there, we took a circuitous route, so we could make a few stops on the
way. First, we went to a chocolate
factory in Colchester. Then, we stopped
at a maple outlet in Jeffersonville.
Before continuing to Stowe, we made a brief detour to see this covered
bridge.
So far, it had been a
scenic drive with autumn colors, going through small towns with Halloween
decorations. As we continued driving, it
started to rain. We had lunch in Stowe,
but we didn’t make any other stops because of the rain. After lunch, we checked into our hotel in
Waterbury.
In the afternoon, we went
to a glass gallery, where we each got a glass blowing lesson. Our instructor explained the process to each
of us, and then guided us each in making different shapes of colorful glass
objects. Deb’s was heart-shaped. Mine was an egg.
When we left, it was
pouring. We didn’t feel like going anywhere
else in the rain, so we relaxed at the hotel for the rest of the day.
Tuesday, October 21
It was drizzly in the
morning, so we spent the first half of the day exploring various shops and
galleries in Waterbury and Stowe. We
also visited a farm that makes maple syrup.
In lieu of a real lunch, we had milkshakes at Ben & Jerry’s.
In the afternoon, the sky
cleared up, so we finally had a chance to do some outdoor sightseeing. We started by driving to the trailhead for
Bingham Falls. The hike was longer and
more strenuous than I expected.
Next, we went to Moss
Glen Falls. This was an easier hike.
Our last sightseeing stop
was the Historic Gold Brook Covered Bridge.
We spent the rest of the
afternoon strolling along Main Street in Stowe and visiting some of the
shops. Our last stop before returning to
Waterbury was the Cabot Creamery. Then
we had dinner in downtown Waterbury.
Wednesday, October 22
It was rainy in the
morning again, so we stuck to visiting local shops until the rain stopped. In the afternoon, we drove to the Montpelier
area. We had to drive through some heavy
rain, but it cleared up shortly after we arrived. We visited two more farms that make maple
syrup and browsed through their shops.
Thursday, October 23
It wasn’t raining Thursday
morning, but we needed to drive back to Burlington to fly home.
While we were in Vermont, our diet was loaded with ice cream, cheese, apple cider, and everything maple. Now that I’m home, I need to get back on a healthy diet.
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