I think I’ve explained why I decided to do a race in Charlotte, but if not, this is the reason: Back in the beginning of summer, my good friend from high school, Sean, and I decided that we wanted to run a half-marathon together. He lives in the DC area so we thought that North Carolina would be a good in-between place to do a race and signed up for the Rocktoberfest Half-Marathon (which I also saw referred to as the Dowd YMCA Half-Marathon.) Really, Sean got the short end of the stick when it came to travel distance. Charlotte is about four hours from Atlanta and close to seven from DC. Raleigh would be more in the middle but there were no races in October, which is when we wanted to run.
Jason and I left Atlanta around 2pm yesterday, stopping in Seneca where his parents graciously agreed to watch their Grand-dog Murphy for the weekend. We stayed and hung out for about an hour before hitting the road to Charlotte. We got in around 8, checked into our hotel and met up with Sean for some Thai food at Basil Thai, which was recommended to Jason by a co-worker.
Our hotel overlooked the Charlotte Epicentre which I guess is some sort of outdoor mall with bars and restaurants. The problem with this was that last night, there was a rooftop fashion show going on which we could see and hear very loudly from our hotel. It normally wouldn’t have bothered me that much, but considering I had to be up at 5:30 and the loud music played until midnight, it was annoying.
I mis-read the race information and thought it said that packet pickup was until 6:30am. Turns out it started at 6:30, so we were very early. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing because the YMCA was open and warm and we got chairs to sit in. The race itself started at 7:40.
It was cold in the beginning but I knew that after we started running, the weather would be perfect.
After about a mile or so, I heard someone calling my name and it was Kelly. She and Nicole were also running the race. The four of us ran together until about Mile 5, when we lost Sean to a port-o-potty. I ran with Kelly and Nicole until about Mile 9 or 10. They were running about my pace and had a lively conversation going which made the miles pass by quickly. We walked up some hills, but mostly ran. Right before the tenth mile marker, I happened to look behind me and saw Sean. Kelly and Nicole went ahead and I ran with Sean for a while. At this point, I was getting pretty tired and my hips hurt. I stopped to walk and Sean went ahead.
There was a clock at Mile 10 and it read 1:47 when I went by. I thought that maybe I could run the race in less than 2:20. The last few miles were difficult though. The course wasn’t as hilly as the elevation chart made it seem, but there were some definite hills and my body just wasn’t having it anymore, so I walked up some of them. Nicole had mentioned that there was a big hill at the end, so when we headed uphill again around Mile 12, I asked another runner if this was the big hill. Because if it wasn’t, I might have cried. Fortunately, it was and finally the finish line was in site. (Up another hill, how mean!)
I ended up finishing in 2:24. It’s a pretty average time for me on a hilly course, similar to my times for the Publix GA halves that I’ve run. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good at the end of the race.
We went back to our hotel, where I took a nice bath and we headed out explore and get some food.
We walked around for a while and settled on Blackfinn (which I later found out is a chain that they also have in my hometown) where I had a celebratory post-race Blue Moon and a veggie burger.
Ninth half-marathon completed!
Great job on the half, Lee! Congrats! It was so great to meet you yesterday.
Nice to meet you too!
So proud of you! Great job, and I’m glad you had a good time there!!
Congrats Lee! It looks like you both had a great time!
Way to go! Looks like you had fun — the most important thing. (And yes, Blackfinn is where all the barely-21-year-olds go to drink all night in Bethesda. You’re not missing much.)
Congrats. Glad it went well for you and that it wasn’t as hilly as that elevation chart made it look (which would have totally intimidated me.) Running with friends and chatting is the best was to run a race.
Congrats on a great race!
There is really nothing better than a post race beer
Congrats!!! Looks like a great race… though I always think its cruel when they finish uphill. Mean race course designers.
Congrats!!! You did fantastic. Perfect celebration meal!!! Glad you enjoyed
Nice job!! That is a great time and it sounds like you recovered pretty well after too, which is always a plus. I always feel like a zombie for an hour or so after a long run or a half marathon, but after a few hours, feel much better!
Yeah, I was actually pretty surprised at how good I felt afterward. I’m going to do a post on that today or tomorrow.
Nine half marathons = you are awesome. Great job!!!
Congrats! Sounds like a fun race!
that’s a lot of halfs!! great job on this one
Nine?!? Congrats!! How fun that you ran with a friend and then saw a few more on the course.
congrats!!
Sounds like you had a good race!! I knew you could handle those hills.
and Blue Moon = best post-run beer. Or at least one of them.
9 half marathons!! That is really amazing! Way to go Lee!
NICE job on your ninth (holy crap!) half marathon!! You did great and had a great finish despite all those hills! GO YOU!!!
Congrats on number nine! Wow
Nothing like a drink following a big fitness event
Great job Lee! I want to be able to say I’ve done 9 halfs one day…that’s quite an accomplishment. You’re just one away from double digits.
Good for you, Lee! I really, really, really am trying to motivate myself to run one. We joked when my family was in town that we would all sign up so we could motivate each other. So far all we’ve done is talked about it
Congrats on a great race!
Wow congrats girl!!!! 9???? I’m still recovering from #1! ha
congrats on the half!
Congrats on the half!!
9 half marathons?! That is incredible! Congratulations
Congrats, Lee! Looks like a great race!
Hope to see you this Sunday!
Great job! It’s so cool that you met up with people you knew. Here you are with 9 down, and I haven’t even attempted one! Maybe one day… maybe.
Congrats on another 1/2 marathon completion!
Awesome awesome job on the half! I can’t believe you’ve run nine- that’s incredible. I’m looking forward to training for my second. Since I’ll be in SC, maybe a race in Georgia at some point? I need to look into it!