- TSA at Charleston International defies everything we know about CHS TSA at 5am. Arriving at 445am, is in fact, too late for a 6am flight. The plane will leave even me!
- White Dog Cafe is FANTASTIC. Pear Pressure was the perfect choice for a dinner drink. The decor was super cool - down to the paw prints in the tiles 😍
- Shakeout miles on Forbidden Drive were amazing. Folks thought I was crazy as I keep saying, “Good morning!” to everyone I passed. You’re not in the South anymore, Erica! When in Philly, do as the Philadelphians do!
- Having your own private tour guide who is a retired history teacher was amazing! Loved seeing the Betsy Ross House and Liberty Bell!
- Heading to Chinatown for dinner sounds like a great pre-race plan - until it’s not. Red flag #1 - no reservations needed for a Saturday night. Red flag #2 - restaurant is empty at 7pm on a Saturday night. Bamboo fungus was not bad, but I’d highly recommend avoiding the “West Lake Style Beef and Crispy Rice Noodle.” Spoiler - it looked like purple-tinted mush on Wonderbread triangles!
- When the weather calls for low 20’s and you wake up race morning and it’s 31°, you’re grateful for the heat wave.
- When something tells you to make your earbuds are working before you leave, you wonder what hell the universe has in store for you when they won’t work. Thankfully, the BRF offers up her AirPods with the nuance of, “Don’t lose them!” Although I promised her I wouldn’t, my ears were so cold I’m not sure if I would’ve known if they had fallen out, and, if I did, I’m not sure my fingers would’ve cooperated to let me pick them up!
- Open your hand warmers before you leave the house - otherwise your hands may be too cold to open them!
- If you need a porta-potty, and the lines are long, if you act like a VIP, the VIP security guy barely questions when you waltz into the VIP area to the line-less potty!
- Running a marathon in 30° weather during a Gale Warning - what could possibly go wrong? This is fine, everything is fine….
- When it’s that cold out, you really can’t feel your feet or your hands. The first 5 miles are a blur of numbness and a mental plea of, “Just let me finish and survive!”
- Running math is hard. Running math when your brain is frozen is harder. When the mile 5 aid station sneaks up on you, you lose 3 minutes trying to fuel, Gatorade, water and pee.
- One foot in front of the other - how do you run a marathon? 4 miles at a time. Just make it to the mile 8/9 aid station!
- WTF? I thought this course was flat! Who put all of these hills in here?!
- Oh, hell. This is a steep hill. Why are people running? It’s mile 8 - I can’t expend all of my energy trying to run up this hill with a 20 mph headwind.
- Oh! There’s Mount Pleasant Street! Man I miss home! I bet it’s warm in Mount Pleasant, SC.
- Holy hell, shouldn’t we get a tailwind at some point?
- Keep smiling. This is fun. You paid to do this! Smiling makes it suck much less.
- Oh hell, more up hill. Hey! There’s Rachael’s mom!
- Oh, they’re giving out beer. Real VIPs right there. “To the professor!”
- Alright done, almost there! Alright, I’ve held on to these $1 gloves for the last 23 miles. Sun’s out. Surely I won’t need them. I’m just gonna toss them.
- Mile 24 - why did I throw those gloves out? My hands are frozen!
- One mile to go! Why is that girl walking? “Come on momma! Less than a mile! Let’s go! I know the pain train sucks, but you’re almost there!”
- There’s the finish! Much slower than I wanted, but there is no rhyme or reason to marathon performance. You can fuel, train do everything the same but you never know what the stars have in store for you in marathon day!
- Walking from warming tent to warming tent on the way to gear check makes sense - although it’s not “warm” they do block the gale-force winds.
- Spending 20+ minutes in a porta-potty - is it because you’re too frozen to change out of your drenched clothes or lolly-gagging because it’s so cold? Jury’s still out!
26.2 - Any time my body carries me 26.2 miles is a miracle. Not my best, not my worst, but I persevered, and, that, my friend, is something to be proud of!
Resting up for what’s next…. Likely Wilmington! Stay tuned!
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