Image Map

7/19/13

Red Barns and Mountains and Cows, Oh My!

You know you're a runner when the first day of vacation includes getting up at 5am to run a half marathon through the hills of Vermont. That's exactly what my brothers and I did on Sunday when we ran the Mad Half Marathon in the Mad River Valley as our spouses and children were still sound asleep.
Greg, Me & Toph

The typical early morning chilly temperature and the crisp air quickly woke us up when we arrived at the Mad River Green. Different from most races, the warm up music was very laid back and the MC's calm voice told us to take our time stretching and warming up. This is a perfect example the old joke that there's not much exciting going on in the Green Mountain State.



What Vermont lacks in thrills they certainly make up for in stunning scenery and small town hospitality. Within a mile of the start line was the first of three covered bridges on the course and then came the beautiful countryside, mountain views, red barns and the rolling hills. And by hills I mean gasp-inducing, Achilles-straining, Oh-My-Dear-Lord-Where-Is-The-Freakin-Top-Of-This-Thing monster inclines that felt like they lasted for miles. What was even more daunting was running downhill. The first time I saw a long decent up ahead I was thrilled at the potential to make-up time while resting my lungs and legs a bit. WRONG! It took a considerable amount of focus to not slap my feet, lean too far back or run too fast. Getting to the bottom of the hill and to a couple of flat miles was a delight.









As the first major hill evened out we came upon the first of a series of unofficial water stops. Families who lived on the route not only came out to cheer on the runners but they set up folding tables covered in Dixie cups to hydrate the gasping racers. In many cases, the children of the families were barefooted and still in their PJ's.Along the course we also ran past a girl watching the race with her pet calf, a Scottish piper and drummers and the fragrant perfume of early morning cow pastures. 


Admittedly, by mile 9 or 10 I started to wear out. Between the jet lag, managing a toddler on a plane and being three months pregnant this really should not have been a surprise. Plus, as the race went on and the pack continued to thin out, it was easy to be one of only a handful of runner in sight. As tends to happen during most races, I made a friend who I could talk to and pace with until mile 11ish. It never ceases to amaze me how kind and friendly our fellow runners can be and how they can really provide a boost of motivation.


Just past mile 12, just when I thought I wouldn't be able to get to the finish, my brother, Toph, came to my rescue. His motivation was more along the line of sarcastic taunts and comments than cheers of encouragement but they certainly helped me get across the finish line. My official time was 2:48:48, Greg finished (his first Half Marathon) in 2:10:49 and Toph crossed the finish line at 2:17:46.



1 comment:

  1. Wow, awesome job!! That sounds like a tough race and add in all of the extras you rocked it!! Congrats!

    ReplyDelete

 
>