Charleston Marathon Race Report: A Surprise Marathon and PR!

January 17, 2015

So, a few days ago I got a text from my friend Andy Baldwin. Here’s what the text said:

Andy: Hey, want to run the Charleston Marathon with me?

And here’s what happened next:

Me: When is it?

Andy: Saturday.

Me: Hmmm. Okay, sure.

After that we had to work out details, but basically I registered on Monday for a marathon that upcoming Saturday.

I haven’t been posting about races lately because I haven’t been racing. I’ve been enjoying the off-season by taking trips to Michigan, and running barefoot along the beach in the Dominican Republic.

(5 miles barefoot on the beach = 15 miles on the road, right?)

I didn’t have a race on my calendar until the Rock ‘n Roll USA half marathon in March. I’ve been running some but for fun and to keep my base up. I haven’t run more than 12 miles since the Philly half marathon in November (read that race report here) and I haven’t run beyond 14 miles since Ironman Mont-Tremblant in August (that race report/novel can be found here).

Andy needed to use the Charleston Marathon as a training run for his 38 for 38 (a 38 mile charity run for Got Your Back Network on his 38^th birthday – find out more or donate here) which is coming up in a couple weeks. So sure, let’s go have fun, see Charleston, and get in a nice long 26.2 mile training run while we’re there.

We flew to Charleston Friday evening, and got an upgrade on the flight down. Gotta love the extra leg room the day before a race!

(Goodbye, DC!)

That night we went to downtown Charleston and had an amazing dinner at a place called Prohibition. The food was excellent and the live band (we’re talking old school southern boys!) was something out of a movie. People in Charleston LOVE Charleston! Sadly, we couldn’t stay out too late because the race was the next morning.

(Look at this band at Prohibition. They were legit.)

I slept pretty terribly, as I often do before a race, but I got maybe three hours, which was enough. After a French press coffee at the hotel (yes, I brought my French press and my own coffee – Costa Rican Finca Salaca from Verve Coffee Roasters) we headed to Bruegger’s Bagels for some carbs before the race. We then parked at the high school where the expo was taking place, and picked up our packets. The race was small (only 4,000 total runners for the full and half) so we were in and out in no time.

(I got an odd-numbered race number, Yes!!! Let’s do this.)

On the way to the start line Andy asked what pace I was planning to run. I said 8:30s and he said he’d run with me. He’s way faster than that but he was using this as a training run so he needed to save his legs. I mentioned that my PR was only a 3:53 and he said, “Deborah, I’m going to help get you a PR today.” Okay, Doc, let’s do this!

It was 43 and sunny with just a little breeze. A tank top and arm warmers would do it. The race started right at 8:00 a.m. and we were off! The first few miles were beautiful. We ran along the water, by gorgeous plantation-style homes and past Battery Park before we turned up King Street to run through the heart of town. Somehow the distance between miles 1-2 was a quarter mile longer than it should have been (we later learned that the lead car had taken a wrong turn and added four blocks to the course). No problem, we just settled in at about 8:20-8:25 pace and cruised for miles. It wasn’t crowded but there were always people around so it didn’t feel lonely. One thing I love about running marathons is that it’s easy to make friends and talk to people, because you’re never really out of breath. So I had some lovely conversations with people along the way.

After mile 5 the scenery got a little less charming. I felt like I was running in New Jersey through business parks. Haha! Anyway, we ran with the 3:45 pace group for quite a while. I took a Clif Block about every 3-4 miles, and had a bit of banana around mile 12. A sip or two of water and Gatorade at every aid station. That was it. At one point around mile 13 we passed a tent that was set up with live mics, but there was no band to be found. So two seconds later I’m running along with the pace group and I hear a familiar voice on the mic, singing Foreigner’s “Feels Like the First Time.” The pace group cracked up as we realized it was Andy. We got a good laugh as he rejoined us.

We passed mile marker 14 and I realized this was the furthest I had ever run in my Mizuno Wave Evo Levitas flats. I’d asked my waitlist-only Aston-Patterner extraordinaire and good friend Chris Hendricks, who changes lives by keeping bodies in the D-M-V in proper alignment, if I should run in the zero drops or if a marathon was too far to risk it, and he said to go for it. So, my feet legs, knees and hips were feeling just fine. I felt amazing, actually. Usually at some point in a marathon I think, “Why am I doing this?” but I had no such moment this day. Around mile 16 I had to make a pit stop since I’d been holding it since before the race started, so I told Andy to go on ahead and I’d catch up to him. It was a quick stop and I rejoined him within a couple minutes. Our pace was still right around 8:20-8:25. Sweet!

Of course, around mile 20 is when a marathon starts to get tough. That’s true when you’ve trained – and it’s also true when you haven’t. I could feel fatigue setting in and I told Andy to keep running at his pace and that I wouldn’t be too far behind. But my body was tired and so my pace slowed some. After the aid station at mile 20 there wasn’t another one until after mile 24. I was so thirsty by then because the temperature had reached almost 60 degrees! Finally, the aid came and I hydrated for the final two miles. My left IT band had tightened up a little bit around mile 18 but I ran through it and it was just a little nag in the background those last few miles.

I love the last half mile of a marathon because it goes by so quickly. I turned a corner onto a street in North Charleston full of cheering fans. The momentum of the crowd carried me those few blocks and across the finish, and I was happy to see that despite the lack of training and the fatigue in the last 10k, I’d still set an 8+ minute PR. It makes me wonder what I could do if I actually trained for a marathon!

Finish time: 3:45:12.

(Look at this medal. But not at the camera.)

I felt surprisingly good – the best I have ever felt after a marathon. That’s weird because I didn’t train, and it was the fastest marathon I’ve ever run. Go figure.

We collected our free beer and shrimp & grits, made some friends at the finish line celebration, then took the shuttle bus from the finish line back to the race start, which was about 10 miles away.

After we got cleaned up we explored Charleston. Good food, drinks, ice cream, sightseeing, and walking (which really helps the legs after a marathon) were on the agenda that afternoon. What a cool town!

(Cool sights and big houses in Charleston.)

So, there you have it. A surprise marathon that turned out quite well. Thanks to Andy for pacing me to a PR. And, had he not exploited the fact that I’m a sucker for a race, I would never have gone to Charleston that day. 🙂 Thanks to Chris Hendricks for keeping me healthy and strong. And, special thanks to my wonderful family and friends for tracking me during the race, and above that for for caring about this stuff to begin with. I had so many texts when I got back to my phone, from people checking to see how it went or congratulating me on the finish. Because it’s important to me, it’s important to you, and I am so grateful for your support. ❤