Charleston Marathon: The Half Aftermath (Tomorrow Is Another Day...)

I did it!

Saturday morning, I rolled out of bed at 5 in the morning and bundled up in my warmest running attire for the coldest, longest run of my entire life. I downed some maximum strength Mucinex, a glass of water, and grabbed a peanut butter sandwich for the road, and by 6:30 I was in the car with some friends on our way to the old Navy Yard. As became the theme of the race, some people had some issues with the shuttle buses dropping them off late for the start of the race, and I would certainly agree that they could have used a few more buses at the finish, but I also feel like if you show up at 7:30 for a race that starts at 8 am 13 miles away, you can't really be toooo angry if you aren't there exactly on time.

The buses dropped us off a couple of blocks from the start and we got in the long line for the porta potties. Fortunately, the lines moved pretty quickly, and I had plenty of time to drop off my bag and we got to the start about 10 minutes before 8.

It was still in the mid 30s at this point, and the wind was whipping pretty strongly. I had on some capri running pants, and spaghetti strap cami under the long sleeve race tee under a zip up compression running jacket. I had cut the feet off some wool socks and was wearing them like leg warmers, and some ear muffs, and still we were hopping around trying to keep warm. Finally, it was start time, and while the walk up to the start mat was slow, I was able to get off to a good pace as soon as I hit the starting line to the blasting theme of Chariots of Fire. I was very glad that they were using chip time instead of just gun time to track our race time.
Paaaaiiiin... The first four miles were beautiful. We started at the top of East Bay and made our way around the peninsula, running through the historic downtown and along the beautiful battery. Fortunately, despite the cold, the sun was shining and it was truly a magical feeling knowing that all of my training had led up to this moment. Unfortunately, as documented here, I'd gone a long ten day stretch with no running at all, had only fit in three training runs in the week prior to the race (3 miles, 4 miles, and 5 miles) that had all been incredibly awful, and I was still coughing and feeling a bit of congestion in my chest, so the magic was not to last for long.

I started to cough a bit around mile 5, which was also the first time I actually saw a mile marker. This was also right around the time that I realized I had accidentally pushed a button on my watch that stopped my timer and I had no idea how long I'd been running. This was also around the time that the route got a lot less scenic. The good part of the route is that it was incredibly flat--I can see how adding in more scenic parts of the lowcountry would require bridges which of course involve inclines. But I wouldn't have minded crossing the Ravenel Bridge to get into the Mt Pleasant/Shem Creek area instead of the exceptionally sketchy North Charleston area. However, at mile 8 I was extremely grateful for the flat road, and mile 9 marked the longest I had ever gone in a training run.

I was feeling pretty tired at this point, and my hips were a little sore, but I was lucky that there was plenty of water and Powerade available at each of the mile markers. Apparently this didn't hold true for some people, and I can't imagine how brutal it must have felt running all those miles with no hydration. By the time I hit mile 11 my legs were DONE and I was just praying to make it to the end of the course. I was still forcing myself to run some, but there was a lot of walking happening at this point.
The course did get a bit prettier in the last couple of miles as we ran through a residential area and along the waterfront, and my mood improved when I saw mile 12 looming. I got my last cup of water and took off for the end of the course. I finished the race at a run, and crossed the finish line at 2:38:37, or a 12:05 minute mile pace. I got my medal (which again, a number of racers who finished after me didn't get because the organiers ran out early), and suddenly there was Colby with his camera and a giant hug.

I collapsed on the curb to attempt a stretch while I sent him off in search of water. At the moment, I was thinking thank jebus that's over, but with some reflection and distance I'm really thinking I'd like to to another half. I think with proper training and hopefully not getting sick right before the race, I could probably shave about a minute off of my pace, and I really did find the majority of the run bearable. It was only the last few miles that were miserable at the time and I think it was only because I'd never made it that far in my training. I was pretty sore and tired on Saturday after the race, Sunday I actually felt a little less sore, and by Monday I felt totally back to normal.

Charleston Marathon specific, I think the course could certainly use some improvements, and for safety reasons, there MUST be water along the course for everyone. People came from 46 states to participate in this race, and it would be nice to show them the beauty of the lowcountry instead of strip clubs and crack dens. But I did very much appreciate the flatness of the course, and I think for it only being the race's second year in existence they did a great job.
Up next is the Cooper River Bridge 10K at the end of March. Today I'm hitting the pavement again for my first post-race run, but I'm excited about cutting out some of my runs each week and adding back in my quality time with Jillian Michaels and Jackie Warner.

Comments

I am so proud of you -- who knew that long ago in a far away land that the dream of an ice cream from Cold Stone would start you on your journey to this healthier lifestyle and running for your medals;) Great photos for us to enjoy thanks to Colby! Love and hugs -

Posted by: The Incubator | January 17, 2012 at 04:27 PM

YAY!!! YOU did it! SO proud of you :)

Posted by: erin | January 17, 2012 at 04:43 PM

great job, angela! and awesome time too :) i felt the same way about mile 9, it was definitely the longest. i tried to walk around mile 10, but it was more painful. so i kept on, slow and steady.

Posted by: terri | January 17, 2012 at 04:43 PM

Angela Zamperini!!!!!

Posted by: Old Warrior | January 17, 2012 at 05:31 PM

Yay you did it! Congrats!

Posted by: Janine | January 17, 2012 at 05:42 PM

Great job!!!! What a fantastic time :) You are an inspiration!!!

Posted by: Solange | January 17, 2012 at 05:44 PM