Flash back to March 13, 2020: the email arrives in my inbox, “Shamrock Shuffle Postponed.” It is now apparent that all spring races are going to be cancelled (as they should). A plan is hatched. I really enjoy training in the spring, but it’s really hard to train with no race in mind. So, I decide to run a virtual race, a half marathon on or around the original date of the Covered Bridges Half Marathon, June 7.

The original plan was to run the CBHM course in Woodstock, VT. It’s a fast-ish course, and on good weather days I’ve put up quite respectable times at that race. However, as spring proceeded, and I’m training on the soft, flat Northern Rail Trail, the plan shifted; I will run the Rail Trail from Canaan, NH back to Lebanon. The whole way is flat or gentle downhill. If I’m going to run by myself, why not choose the fastest course possible? Also, since I am a competitive runner, like Eliud Kipchoge during his breaking 2:00 marathon project, I will adjust the actual race date for ideal weather.

I didn’t really advertise my plan; it’s my own thing. The old joke goes, “How do you know if someone is training for a marathon?” “Don’t worry, they’ll let you know.” However, my family knew, so my wife Nancy and daughter Emma decided to bike with me in support.

Now in late May, I was carefully tracking the weather forecast looking for the best day. A thunderstorm was projected for May 29th or 30th, but Sunday May 31st or Monday June 1st were projected to be cool. Research has shown that around 48 degrees is the ideal temperature for distance running performance. My own experience suggests that once you get into the 60s, things start to get tougher. Tentative plans were made for Monday June 1st, to let the Rail Trail dry out a bit.

But then emergency struck! Training on the Rail Trail had made it apparent that wind could be an issue, especially on the exposed sections along Lake Mascoma. The forecast for both May 31st and June 1st were for 10-15 mile per hour winds out of the north-west, meaning a significant head-wind for the entire race! Plans adjusted, and I decided to go back to the CBHM course which runs mostly east or south-east. However, by Friday, the forecast shifted a bit and the winds were still projected to be strong on Sunday, but less so on Monday, so I switched back to the Rail Trail plan.

Race morning Nancy and Emma moseyed out of bed just in time, and we drove to the trailhead in Canaan at 8am. Emma would bike with me the whole way, and Nancy would drive back to Lebanon and then bike out to meet us. After a short warm-up, Emma and I were off. My race goal was to come in under 1:30, a 6:52 pace. The first mile came in around 6:40, I missed mile 2, but mile 3 was 6:45. Things were looking pretty good.

Having Emma along was a big help. A half-marathon pace for me isn’t that hard for the first few miles, but the thought, “I have to keep doing this for 10 more miles?” definitely crept into my head. Since this was a race of one person, with no other runners to provide mental energy, having a biker along the whole way was great. Since I wasn’t one for much conversation, she filled me in on what she had recently learned in school, mostly Roman history and mythology. It was like listening to the “History with Emma” podcast.

I stopped looking at my watch after mile 5, figuring it was going to be what it was going to be. In Enfield, around half-way, we met Nancy biking up the other way, and she cheered and then turned and joined us. Nancy also took a video:

CBHM2020.mp4

Emma and Nancy chatted for the rest of the way while I concentrated on the work at hand. A little head-wind kicked up along Lake Mascoma, but not too bad. Thankfully the last three miles of the course are the steadiest downhill of the course. I even picked it up a little for the last mile! Going by GPS, I stopped running (and my watch) at 13.12 miles, for a time of 1:28:18. Here’s my Strava:

https://www.strava.com/activities/3547576984/overview

Overall this was a very satisfying experience. Thanks especially to my biking support crew. It would have been more fun to run the real CBHM with a few thousand of my closest friends, but we must do the best we can do. Here’s the Strava segment if you want to join me in this particular virtual race (UVRC-adjacent runner Andy McGibbon is the current leader at 1:19):

https://www.strava.com/activities/3547576984/segments/2702559099920128267