Bridge Run Recap

Let's just start of by saying this was not the best race I have ever run, but a lot of good came out of it.

I ended up finishing in just over 56 minutes.  6 minutes off of my goal time, but that is okay.  I was not pleased by the time, but the race itself was fantastic.  The weather was great- not too hot and not too cold, and most importantly it was not windy.  (I have run the bridge some years where the wind made it impossible).  

My warm-up was great, but I noticed that my legs were a little sore (whoops- that is what I get for trying to race a race in the middle of half-marathon training).

I am terrible at taking race pics (I typically don't carry my phone in races) so here is one from The Chart Group.  As you can see, there are a lot of people who run the bridge run (a little under 40,000 finishers).

I did the first two miles at my race pace goal, and everything was fine and dandy until I started up the bridge.  This is where I knew that I was in trouble.  I have been doing a little bit of hill work (aka once a week I run the bridge), but all of my other training is on flat land (there is not another hill in Charleston besides the bridge).  The third mile up the bridge was hard and slow, but I made it up running and I was happy about that.  It was also difficult because in a race with 40,000 other people, and only two lanes going up the bridge, it was a bit congested which made the mile even slower.  I was so excited to reach the top of the bridge because it meant downhill running, however my quads were not as excited as my lungs were.  Miles 5 and 6 were so-so.  I was tired, but I pushed through them (thank you long runs during half-marathon training).

A lot of good did come out of this race.  First of all, it was a good workout with the hills and the speed (but not speed going up the hills :).  Secondly, it got me really motivated.  My half training was becoming really tiring and boring, but the race got me excited about running again- I had gone too long without a race :).  Those two things are more important than my finishing time because my ultimate goal is the half-marathon!

One more thing, only 20 days until my half-marathon!!! This is crazy