I did this run to celebrate 3 years of sobriety. My last drink was February 1, 2021 -- so I did this run with 1,095 of sobriety.
I spent a lot of time in Chesapeake City as a kid. My dad grew up there and his dad (my Poppop) was a tugboat captain on the canal. My dad and my grandparents are buried about 300 meters from the start of this route. So, naturally, I spent a lot of time thinking about my dad throughout this run.
It was about 43 degrees and misty when I started -- with a slight wind at my back. I wore shorts and a tank top, a Hiss Golden Messenger hat and VaporFlys with about 120 miles on 'em. I had a Salomon vest which held 500 ml of water with an LMNT watermelon packet mixed in. I ate one Gu before I started and had 3 Gu gels with me. I ate those at miles 4, 8 and 11.
I listened to Hiss Golden Messenger's incredible album 'Jump for Joy' for the first 40 minutes. Then I put on my 1/2 marathon playlist that's full of Stevie Wonder, Sault and all my running favorites. A really great and apropos song came on the playlist for the last 1/2 mile -- more on that below.
My goal was to do 5 miles at 6:25, 5 miles at 6:20 and 5 miles at 6:15 (which is marathon pace for me).
My first two miles were right on pace. I felt strong, very strong, and let my legs do their thing. After 5 miles I was averaging 6:20.
Mile 6 had the only real climb (not anything significant truthfully) and mile 7 had the biggest down hill. The trail is also kind of confusing in the 7th mile (more on the trail below).
Half way through I was averaging 6:18s and still feeling super strong. So I adjusted my goal and settled in for 2 miles at marathon pace (6:15) with a goal of pushing the last 10k at about 6 min pace.
The last 5 miles just clicked by and I got faster and faster. Caught the only headwind of the run in mile 14 -- where the route leaves the main canal and heads into Delaware City along the Branch Canal.
As I came into Delaware City, Jason Isbell's song 'It Gets Easier' came on the playlist. If ya don't know the song (or Isbell), it's about sobriety. How's that for kismet? It propelled me to my fastest mile, as you might imagine.
The GPX file here is not accurate any more, as the paved trail has been adjusted a bunch over the last few years. But if you're planning to run this, just make sure you stay on the paved parts of the trail (and ignore the warnings from your watch that you're off the trail). Once you get into Delaware City, you can stick along the cobblestone paved part of the canal trail or run on the road. If you follow the road, you'll end up running a little bit more as the road doesn't go straight along the canal. I'm talking an extra 50 meters in total (that's what I did).
This is a SUPER FAST route. I can think of at least 10 people faster than me who can run this in sub 6s. So get out there and do it!