Marathon #2 in the books…4 weeks ago…time to think about it…ponder its lessons and celebrate my accomplishment. So here we go…
Traveling with the Shingletons is always a good time. Jon was nursing a bum ankle…so his marathon weekend was to be as a spectator…and running is not that interesting to the “crowd”…LOL. I am quite sure he got plenty of reading done while Amber, Brandie and I ran around Charleston SC on a beautiful, albeit cold and windy, Saturday morning.
So lets go through what is left in my mind 4 weeks later…you know, the important stuff sticks with you…
First…it was COLD…very cold…waiting for the bus…riding the bus…waiting for the start…after the start…DAMN COLD! To be clear, it was uncomfortably cold while waiting to start the race. There was an extreme absence of warmth…LOL.
We ran into some of the usual suspects at the start…John Crestetto and Becca Mae…Nelson Long…they were cold, too, I am quite sure. The sun started to peak over the surrounding buildings just as the race started…I ran about 25 feet and had to stop behind the mass of humanity…but once the race really “began” it was nice to start moving and quickly began to get the feeling back in my hands. Charleston is a beautiful city, for the most part (details on that later). It has a ton of really gorgeous old plantation style homes…the waterfront was pretty…the first part of the race was not at all unattractive.
I MADE myself walk at the 1 mile mark for 1 minute. I learned a lesson at OBX…walking is ok…better to save a little mojo for later…I am new to this and not quite in marathon shape yet…so I was smart and I walked. Amber ran past me as I walked asking if I was “ok”….Darn it!…see!…walking makes people think you are hurt...or weak…LOL.
I remember thinking, as she took her long sleeve shirt off and discarded it, “it is mighty early and mighty cold to go with short sleeves”. The punchline to that thought comes later, but remember this…she was wearing a beige long sleeve Tshirt…LOL. I made myself walk at least a minute after each mile (later in the race those minutes were longer than 60 seconds…and more frequent than each mile…but everyone reading this has made those “bargains” with themselves while “in the race”…”I’ll just walk for a few seconds…just to the stop sign…until the next turn…over the hill…”…LOL.
A large portion of the race was through older, urban areas, but the volunteers and the residents made sure it never felt like you were running through “the ‘hood”. There were residential stretches, commercial/industrial stretches, and a lot of running next to bridges. The Charleston residents made the runners feel welcome and “wanted”. The PA speakers announcing the hours/minutes/seconds that had elapsed were annoying as all hell…but I am sure they were useful to somebody.
The only real snags were: 1) the expo tent was on a dirt lot…and it was dusty and nasty inside the tent…and really made for unpleasant sinus issues later. 2) at miles 8-13ish…they had fluids at the water stops…but NO CUPS…they ran out….lucky for me I carry fluids…but I know it was an aggravation for a lot of runners…who had to drink out of pitchers…from discarded cups or not at all.
At the Half Marathon turn-off, I really wanted to cut my race short and call it a day…I just wasn’t feeling it. I asked a volunteer if I could finish the Half…even though I was wearing a Full bib…he said, “sure”. I explained that he was supposed to say “no” and be encouraging…it was a good laugh at a low point in the race…the wind throughout the entire day was gusty and exhausting…seems no matter which way I turned, I was in a headwind…very frustrating…and COLD…I never got into a comfortable “groove”.
I passed the turn-off for the Half and continued on….i ran, drank, gelled, question my sanity for ever listening to Michael Forrester…LOL…it was not really “fun” for a few miles…really kinda “ugh”…not quite miserable, but not fun. Until, just a few yards ahead of me I see someone I recognize, but in a BLACK FLEECE jacket…(remember the beige tshirt?)…At some point she got COLD and was forced to resort to “shopping” for a jacket on the sidewalk…LOL…Necessity is the mother of invention, afterall…Amber had been just ahead of me…she is training for the Umstead 100 and this was just another training run for her, but I was SO glad to see a familiar face…my back was buggin me enough to cause pain…my head was not in the game…and I still had at least 11 miles to go…SOOOO glad to see Amber!
So we chatted for the rest of the race…we ran…we walked…I complained a lot. I am not sure I would have finished if I had not run into her. The Shingletons are my running guardian angels for sure.
Then we hit mile 20. The last 6 miles consisted of a 3 mile out-and-back in one of the least attractive, lumpy pavement, ugly, desolate, industrial, just plain frustrating road and scenery I have ever run…after 20 miles, it felt as if the planners had just given up. I always feel like the last 6 of a marathon is the “second half” anyway…and to have the “second half” be ugly and funky (not in a good way) and boring was a real letdown.
Extreme nausea set in at mile 26…I encouraged Amber to run ahead…unless she wanted to see/hear me vomit…which somehow I avoided….and I gathered up enough energy to run in the last 2 tenths…nothing like hearing your name at the finish…ESPECIALLY when it is pronounced correctly…50/50 odds at best with a name like Ghiloni.
Good times...great friends...Fantastic meals...FRIED GREEN TOMATOES ON EGGS BENEDICT at Lost Dog Cafe....WHAT? That JUST happened!
Marathon number 2 in the books…5:23:59.
Next stop, Umstead on March 3rd!
See ya’ll on the flipside!
E
