Well, I've let this weekend simmer for several weeks now. It's definitely time to go ahead and post a dang recap and race report!
I got out of school one hour early (bargain with my assistant principal for a BIG FAVOR she needed from me! Woot!) and immediately got on the road to SC. I still got stuck in some traffic getting to I-20. Boooo. Luckily it only slowed me down 20 mins. or so. Rest of the ride was uneventful. Boring, even. However, I was really looking forward to getting to Charleston and seeing Ann again!! I knew she had some fun stuff planned for us and I was ready for my spring break to officially begin!
I arrived around 8 and Ann was still coming home from work. We stopped at Moe's for dinner and then headed to her apartment nearby. With all the chatting and catching up, we still didn't get to bed until about midnight! Oops! Looooooonnnnnng day for me!
Sat. morning, 5 am. I was awake. Didn't sleep well due to nerves and general crappy sleeping lately. It was ok. I knew I'd have the adrenaline pushing me along once we got running. We were out the door about 5:45 and headed for downtown. Got down there in plenty of time and joined the LONNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGG line for the buses to take us to the other side of the river for the start in Mount Pleasant. I was yawning, but anticipation was building.
We had to wait about 20 minutes for the race to start. We heard several different renditions of the Star Spangled Banner as we found our place in line. About 2 minutes from the start time, something like 8 people wearing race car outfits (like the size of box cars, painted with random drivers’ logos, etc- including car #69 painted with a Viagra logo!!) started to squeeze by us. Um, no. I don’t think so. We moved up ahead of them so as not to get caught in their mess. Cute idea, but bulky and annoying in the huge crowd that was already there.
Start went off. We slowly walked towards the mat and then set off. Ann likes to do a lot of weaving through the crowds. We wound our way through many many folks. Probably a 10:45 pace or so?? As we got to the bridge, there was a bit of a traffic jam since we had previously been running on a road about 6 lanes wide, to squeezing into 3 lanes or so. This is where it really started to feel humid, too. I was sweating! It was overcast and very windy. As we started up the bridge, the wind felt great (but I almost lost my hat a few times). It was the only relief from the crazy humidity. I’m sure that by this point, we had slowed down some. But I really really didn’t want to have to stop. Unfortunately, my lungs had other plans. We stopped briefly (a minute or so?) near the crest of the bridge so I could take a couple of puffs on the inhaler and catch my breath. This *was* the longest and only run I’d done in almost 2 weeks at that point, so I wasn’t too surprised. I just hate having to stop during races. It feels like cheating or something to me. Once my breathing calmed down, Ann and I got back to running. Had a couple of other brief stops farther along, but we finished strong. Final time was s-l-o-w! 1:10 or something? I haven’t received my official results card yet, so I’m not sure. We were way off the clock time due to the huge start.
Ann and I headed to the big table near the square where people were throwing out oranges and giving out bagels and muffins and grabbed a water. We headed over to a nice spot under a tree and dug in. Those oranges were so delicious! They definitely hit the spot after running! We didn’t feel like hanging around too long and went on back to her car to grab some money. We met some friends of Ann’s at a bar nearby (they had been there a while, though, and left soon after….) We had a nice lunch and a post-race beer.
The rest of the weekend was fabulous. We spent a beautiful day going out to the fort near Isle of Palms (I forget the other island’s name) and driving around the area. I wish I could buy one of those great little beach houses right on Isle of Palms!!! Still my favorite place in SC. That evening after a little nap, we met up with her other friend Beth and hit the town. Started with dinner in a brew pub, then drinks at a hip (too hip: read loud and crowded) wine bar, then a final stop at a perfect little bar. We chatted up several different folks and ended the night with a couple of Army helicopter instructors from FL. What a blast! We ended up giving them a ride back to their hotel and dropped Beth off at her place.
Sunday, Ann took me to a really yummy place known for its brunch called Marina, I think. We looked right out over the water the whole time. Delicious food! She then took me on a foot tour of the Battlement and the neighborhoods in the area (owner of Piggly Wiggly lives there, she pointed out). Beautiful. It was a perfect day.
She was called in to cover for someone at work for an hour so we headed downtown at that point.
I went to the Market and bought a cool handmade glass necklace while she worked. We then walked a little more around town as we headed slowly back to her car and back to her place. I thought about staying another night in a hotel and driving back the next day (I didn’t want to leave!) but the priceline hotels just weren’t cheap enough for me.
The drive home was rather uneventful as I replayed some of the best moments of the weekend. I had a great time with my friend. We already made plans for her to come visit this summer (Braves’ game!) and to run the Isle of Palms Connector run (10K) in October together. I can’t wait!
