Fall turned out to be a good time to train, Saturday
afternoons watching football soon turned into Saturday afternoons on long runs
(which quickly turned Friday evenings out into Friday evenings resting
up). My training plan for this
race was one of the ones I have most carefully written and closely followed.
Several weeks before the race I started to get worried. With the help of my long run routines (bike
rides the day before, chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, light blue
Gatorade to drink on the run, and strawberry shot blocks to eat along the way),
training had gone well. My
last 4 long runs had been perfect.
This was what worried me, I was afraid that it was about time for a bad
run and that run would come on race day.
As hard as it was, I stuck to my schedule to taper (decreasing long runs
and weekly mileage in the 3 weeks leading up to the race). As great as it may sound to run less,
the energy I usually spent rerouted itself to into nervous energy and worries
about the upcoming race (as evidenced by my fingernails, or lack thereof).
Friday after work I dropped Josie the beagle off at her best
friends’ house and loaded myself in the car for the 5-hour drive to
Charleston. I was equipped with
several bottles of Gatorade, popcorn for the first of many car snacks, and
chocolate chip pancakes, ready to eat the next morning (I was prepared to eat
them cold, but was thrilled to find a microwave in my hotel room). My plans for a pasta dinner were soon
nudged out by my plans to get to bed early, and dinner quickly turned into a
wrap, waffle fries, and lemonade.
Soon thereafter, I set an alarm clock (or 3) and tucked myself into bed.
I had set several levels of goals for this race; the most
optimistic was to qualify for Boston (although 2 months into my training, I
knew I probably wouldn’t make that one).
My realistic goal was to break 4 hours. Going into it, I knew this was possible and decided to add
more motivation for myself by getting a late check out from the hotel (this
meant, the faster the race, the more likely I would be to make my late checkout
and take a shower before the 5-hour drive back to Raleigh. Even I didn’t want to spend 5 hours in
the car with myself as gross as I would be). If nothing else, I hoped to improve my previous time.
I woke up when the first alarm clock rang at 5, got ready
for the race, microwaved my chocolate chip pancakes, and climbed into the car
for the 30-minute drive from Charleston to Kiawah Island. I had never been to Kiawah before and
was eager to see the private island and golf course (although the shuttle ride
in the dark was not the place for this to happen). Runners staying off island parked and took shuttles to the
start. From this point forward, I
was continually impressed by how well the race was run.
After picking up my packet, I found a quiet spot in a
conference room to stretch and limber up. Yes, runners were not ushered into a cold parking lot
to wait, but welcomed into a warm conference room (with real bathrooms,
breakfast goodies, and yoga instructors leading stretches) to wait. Time passed quickly and before I knew
it we were lining up at the start.
This year was a new course for Kiawah, in the past, the
marathon and half ran the same course, with marathon runners running it twice. This year, they routed a course I like
to describe as an octopus, with a lot of “out and back” segments on one big
body. If you’re looking for a race
with the sidewalks lined with spectators, and bands every mile, this one’s not
it. Instead, it’s a tour of a
quiet island, with a chance to check out some beautiful beach houses. The out and back course plan also allowed
you to make friends with the other runners, passing the same people on each out
and back section.
The finish line traveled through groups of families and friends
together to cheer on a loved one.
Following the finish line was the best post race party I’ve ever been
too. Beyond bagels and bananas,
there was a buffet lunch, including soups, pastas, cookies, brownies, and
beer. I’d met my sub 4-hour goal,
which gave me time for a lunch before heading back and making my late check
out. My legs tightened up a little
bit on the ride back to Raleigh, and I was a little sore the next day, but it
was all worth the wonderful race weekend.
