Oops....

What a weekend of ups and downs in Burlington. I'll begin with the bad news, I didn't finish. That dang knee soreness came out full swing at mile 9 and by mile 14, I could barely move at more than a mild shuffle. But more on that later...

I flew into Burlington on Saturday afternoon and was picked up at the airport by my Aunt's parents. They really made the experience a stellar one, they've been in Burlington for almost 60 years and have been watching the race (they live directly on the route) for the past 20. A quick trip to the Race Expo yielded a pleasant surprise - no line for check in! Just walked right up, got my bib, chip and shwag and even had time to pick up some other race momentos. [I should have taken pictures and forwarded it to the Philly organizers...] I spent the evening in the lap of luxury with my host family and even indulged in my pre-race chocolate cake (if you stop in Burlington, visit Mirabelle's, stuff is a close second to Naked Choc) 

I arrived at the starting line about 45 minutes before the race started hoping to spy Christina but ended up chatting with a group with Jay Mountain Ultra-Marathon shirts on. (check out the link to the right of the post for more on that race, it's incredible!) The day couldn't have been better - clear skies, low 60's at race start and just barely a trace of a breeze off the lake. The race began downtown and did a few loops around Church Street and Battery Park before leaving town around mile 5 and headed up the Beltway (is that right?). I should mention that I was booking at this point, my pace never slowed past 6:45 according to my garmin and I felt GREAT, just flying. My turnover was fantastic and the sunshine and breeze kept me in a very good mood. What a wonderful day and beautiful course to be feeling good. However, by the second pass through church street, about mile 9, my left knee was starting sound an alarm. Mile 11 brought us to the south eastern part of Burlington, around the coast of Lake Champlain.... and hills... so many hills... I was done, I knew it. My pace fell rapidly.. 6:50......7:15......7:45... 

Quote of the race - "Hoh, boy....This one ain't doing aiight..." - Cop at Mile 12 Marker

I pushed it out to the half, 1:30ish... and that was it. My hosts lived at mile 18 so I shuffled, then walked, then hobbled the final 5 miles. DNF, but still a fantastic race in a fantastic city... I'll be back Burlington, you can count on that.

I'm feeling much better now, it seems it's just an ITB flare-up. The good news is that it's not a big problem, I just need to cut down on my miles and take it easy for a week or two. As an added plus, biking and swimming are two of the top recommended treatments to strengthen the injured muscles and tendons. Score...