It was my 9th year running the Covered Bridges Half Marathon, and my favorite race didn’t disappoint. The weather was absolutely perfect for racing – chilly at the start, sunny, clear, no wind, and not too hot. This year, I ran a virtual training program through my work at the Woodstock Athletic Club and I trained 6 people for the race. It was my first experience of running the same race as clients I was training, and it was great – I met up with some of them at Suicide Six before the race, and I took them through a dynamic warm up just before the start.
My training for myself was lackluster. I had a bad cold in April, which set me back a couple of weeks in training, and I didn’t really get my mojo back in time for me to expect a particularly good result. I also moved house 3 days before the race, so I was slightly distracted in the tapering period, to say the least! I was already planning on running by feel, but of course I wanted to wear my Garmin – I always like seeing my splits after a race, and I figured I’d see where I was at by about mile 10 and decide whether I had a strong finish in me.
It wasn’t until I was halfway to the runner parking area that I realized I had forgotten my watch. OOPS. So I was really running by feel. I set my Runkeeper app on my phone as I approached the starting line, then put it in my Flipbelt for the rest of the race.
It was the first time I ran the race as a local (last year I had been living here for just a few weeks when I ran it) and I saw and heard so many friends cheering me on along the way. I also got to see my boys right near the start, since they were at their dad’s place, right on the route. It makes such a difference seeing familiar faces cheering you on, and seeing a bunch of friends near the finish line definitely helped me with a finishing kick.
I felt great throughout the race, and like I was running a good pace:
Mile 1: 9:18
Mile 2: 8:40
Mile 3: 8:47
Mile 4: 8:44
Mile 5: 8:49
Mile 6: 9:02
Mile 7: 9:14
Mile 8: 9:07
Mile 9: 9:09
Mile 10: 9:29
Mile 11: 9:17
Mile 12: 9:21
Mile 13: 9:04
0.4 miles: 8:41
So, I went out too fast and definitely could have picked up the pace toward the end if I’d been a little conservative in the first 5 miles (and if I had any idea of how close I was going to get to sub 2… 2:01:13). I felt fine at the end, and I had a lot left for my finishing kick, so I know I’m back in sub 2 shape. Now I just have to be smarter with my training and know what I’m doing when I’m out there!! 😉
My athletes did great – I had one first-timer for the distance, and it was such a privilege to be part of her first time running 13.1. Another of my runners was having her redemption run – the first race back after a major injury.
After crossing the finishing line, I had some of the best cookies in the world (they are seriously one of the things that keeps me going in the final couple of miles), and of course the heralded CBHM free beer. I hung out in the beer garden and chatted with some friends, soaking up some sunshine.
The Covered Bridges Half Marathon was my first half marathon back in 2008 and is one of the best organized, and prettiest races I’ve ever run. If you ever get an opportunity to run it (and it sells out first-come-first-served in 10 minutes), definitely jump at the chance. I can’t wait to run it for the 10th time next year.
What’s your favorite race?
Have you ever run totally by feel? How did you do?
