Throwback Thursday: Covered Bridges Half Marathon 2015 Race Recap

Mallory and I signed up for the Vermont Covered Bridges Half Marathon months ago. This is a tough race to get into as it sells out FAST! We were online registering the minute it opened and thankfully, both of us got in.

The organization was different from what I am used to, but great. Mallory and I stopped at a table in town the day before where we met the race director, got a free shirt from last year's race and a map. They keep the entry low packet pick-up is on the morning of the race at the start line. A bus is available to bring your hoodie and sweatpants or what have you back to the finish and everything was alphabetized and in order by the time runners got back. Finisher shirts are handed out after you finish and get your medal, which is great, because it is a FINISHER shirt for a reason people!

Finisher Shirt and Medal

I will spare you the where we stayed and what we ate, because this race is all about the course and weather. There is a reason this race sells out within minutes. I've completed several beautiful courses in the past few years, but this is surely one of the best. Races through ski country are always gorgeous and impressive to your friends who don't know and assume you're running up and down mountains, when generally, you're often running mostly down. This general rule is true for Covered Bridges as well with an elevation change of 200 feet. Also early summer in Northern New England is good running weather. This year the temperature as measured by my Garmin was an average of 67 degrees. I know that's not the most accurate weather gauge, but just believe me when  tell you it was pretty near ideal.

The course is also a point to point, which I prefer. We parked at the finish in Quechee, VT and took the buses to Suicide Six in South Pomfret. It was a cool sunny morning at the start and the course took us past several covered bridges and through one. Shady most of the way and surprising amount of crowd support! I gave many a high five and enjoyed musicians along several spots. I have to be honest though, even though I am not the fastest and have yet to place in anything over a 5-mile small town race, in my mind, I am Shalane Flanagan and I am all in the game and super competitive in races, so I look around very little, other than seeking spectators with hands out, because high fives are like energy gels for me. After a race, I can't usually tell you what I ran past.

While this race is said to be a fast course, there are a hill or two to get over, the largest being at mile 8. That one seriously sucked. Otherwise, the course felt relatively smooth and easy.

As for me, I decided I would use this race to practice pacing, which is so important for running a marathon in the time I will need to qualify for Boston and something I really struggle with. I run how I feel and at the start of a race, I feel PUMPED. Plus, being competitive, I get hyped up by the large pack at the beginning and fight to get in front of as many people as possible right off the rip. Many a race has seen me start at a 7 or less minute mile, which in spite of what I think, is not my pace at all. I am in fact, not Shalane Flanagan. Then I'm dead, because I just completed a mile race basically and have another 12.1 to go. Bad bad strategy people! Anyway, I decided with this race, I would attempt to maintain a pace similar to what my Garmin predicted I was capable of running, which would be a pretty decent PR. Garmin predicted I could keep a 8:07 pace. I decided to work toward anything under 8:10.

As per usual, I failed at pacing for the first two miles even though I kept looking and forcing myself to slow it down. I wonder what my splits would have been had I not been "slowing it down."

Splits as follows:
Mile 1: 7:50
Mile 2: 7:45
Mile 3: 8:14
Mile 4: 8:24 (doubting I could maintain pace and tired from starting too fast)
Mile 5: 8:07 (Talked myself through it)
Mile 6: 8:07
Mile 7: 8:13
Mile 8: 8:39 (damn hill!)
Mile 9: 8:17
Mile 10: 8:14
Mile 11: 8:08
Mile 12: 8:07
Mile 13: 7:44 (Just run it home!)

Mallory and I back at the hotel after finishing

Average: 8:09 minute mile! Official time: 01:46:50. Although this was not the cleanest pacing job, I met my goal of keeping below 8:10 and shocked myself with having enough left in the tank for that final push in the last mile.   This was a 3 minute PR for my half-marathon and I admit I teared up a little about it. I didn't think I had this in me and with the marathons and marathon training, I wasn't exactly in ideal, well-rested shape. My legs felt sore and tired throughout, but the benefit of the full marathons and marathon training is that now mentally 13.1 is no big deal and my brain had no panic about needing to run 13.1 on tired legs. It was like, "Thirteen miles? Big whoop. I walk further than that to the photocopier at work." Don't doubt the power of your mind to help you PR.

This race has some serious runners and while I felt fast and amazing, this was no great performance compared to my age group competitors. I'm gonna ride the high of this PR anyway.

New PR!!!