Motivation for this FKT was pretty simple. 2 things: (1) I've been lurking the FKT website for a while, plotting when I'm going to go after my first, and (2) I spent a ton of time on the Colonial Parkway growing up. But I can't remember a time we drove the entire Parkway end-to-end, in either direction. And I've never run on more than a mile of it, so I figured now's as good a time as any to piece it all together... and what better way to get to know a place than by shuffling through on your own two feet.
Friday, June 3rd was the day. I spent Thurs night at my grandma's so we could get an earlier start to beat the heat. I dropped off my car at the Yorktown Visitor Center (finish) and she drove me to Jamestown (start).
Toed the start line at 8:47am -- 73F and 92% humidity. Had my Nathan VaporKrar pack strapped with 1.6L water, a handful of Endurolytes, and a few Clif Bloks and Bars. First few miles felt good, not too hot, humidity hadn't set in yet, and clouds were covering the sky. At mile 5.6 I popped in my headphones ready with 2.5 hours of Catfish and the Bottlemen queued up... only to be disappointed less than a mile later when my headphones died. Oh well.
Course was rather flat until Williamsburg. After going through the tunnel under Duke of Gloucester St there's a series of rolling hills through the end. Mile 14 I really could've used a good stretch (humidity doing its devilish work), but instead took a few more Endurolytes (which had melted b/c I forgot to store them in a bag) and powered through.
At mile 19.5 I ran out of water and was really in need of a good stretch, especially the hamstrings. At this point the wheels fell off a bit. Deep in the pain cave, the run turned into a just-get-it-done shuffle. Turned around to snap a pic with the Yorktown Battlefield sign, meaning both the finish & an ice-cold Powerade was near. Saw a few cyclists going in the opposite direction, ~100 or so cars, and one large snapping turtle.
Finished up in 3hrs 6min, at 76F w/ 53% humidity. Will try to better this time after more speedwork/road training & in more favorable weather.