Charleston Marathon - RunMarathon


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Charleston, South Carolina
United States
Charleston Marathon
39F / 4C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 00m
Overall Rank = 654/852
Age Group = F 40-44
Age Group Rank = 43/58
Pre-race routine:

two cups of greek yogurt with an espresso-flavored hammergel around 7:15; layered on a bunch of old sweatpants and windshirts for that "Michelin-Man" look; walked ten minutes from hotel to race start. So nice not to have to get up hours before race start and sit on a bus!
Event warmup:

strip down to running clothes and some walking to stay warm
Run
  • 4h 55m 5s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 11m 16s  min/mile
Comments:

I ran the whole time except for when I was taking in calories (gels or perpetuem tablets) - I haven't quite mastered that eating-and-running thing. Probably my best mental effort in any race ever - I focused on what I was doing and not what others were doing. Got a little discouraged at the end on the out-and-back loop, but knew I would meet my goal if I kept pushing.
What would you do differently?:

Drink more fluids - I was getting thirsty at the end because I wasn't drinking enough, probably due to the cold weather.
Post race
Warm down:

Met my husband at the finish line, walked around, drank water, stretched.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Maybe more longer runs in training to build muscular endurance - maybe more 16, 18 mile runs. I was doing a "just finish" training program, so maybe I could improve. But I was very happy with my run, and met my goal of finally running a sub-5 hour marathon.

Event comments:

Great course, great volunteers, great organization. The only glitch was that they ran out of water cups at miles 6, 8, and 10 - plenty of water and gatorade, but unless you had your own bottle for them to fill, you had to improvise. It's only the second year of this race, so I know they will fix the glitches. A beautiful course in a beautiful city - I highly recommend it and look forward to running it again!




Last updated: 2012-01-03 12:00 AM
Running
04:55:05 | 26.2 miles | 11m 16s  min/mile
Age Group: 43/58
Overall: 654/852
Performance: Good
Course: Through downtown Charleston along East Bay and Battery - the most beautiful race start ever! - then up King Street to North Charleston, then around a residential neighborhood in North Charleston, then to the Navy Yard. FLAT pavement, with some concrete at Navy Yard and a rubber sidewalk in North Charleston. One small railroad overpass around mile 7-8 but otherwise FLAT. Some nice views of downtown, neighborhoods, and Navy Yard riverside park, but some industrial. Out and back between mile 22 and finish was brutal. Did I mention it was FLAT?
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5