Saturday, April 4, 2009. My first Cooper River Bridge Run-10k

Okay...I didn't sign up until the Monday before the race haha. I had wanted to sign up much earlier, but I couldn't find anyone that would do the race with me. But on that last weekend, some of my Atehs told me they were doing the race and wanted me to join them! So...there goes training time =P

We met up at 4am Saturday morning and headed downtown. It was cold, and EARLY, but I was pumped! We walk over to the Gaillard Auditorium to wait for the shuttle buses to take us over to Mt. Pleasant, where the run starts. There were like 100 buses!

So we make our way over to Mt. P. From the shuttle drop-off we walked a good half a mile or so to get to our area where we were supposed to start...then we realized it was STILL freezing and we had 2 hours to kill till start time! ugh. So then we sit around for a while and discover that there is a Burger King across the street. haha. I didn't eat (for fear of digestion processes lol) but I did wait in a hideously long line to use the 1-person bathroom.

Circa 7:45am, we are ready for the race. There are people EVERYWHERE. Around 40 thousand, to be exact. 8am, the race starts. Too bad our position in line took us almost 30 minutes into the race to actually get to the "START" line! haha.

For the first maybe 2 miles or so, we couldn't really run because there were so many people in the way. And I lost my running mates by the first 30 seconds =P. Going uphill to the actual bridge was pretty tough, but not so bad because you were surrounded by a sea of people. When I could see people approaching the peak of the bridge, and saw the magnitude of the race, I was amazed. I was participating in something far bigger than just me, and it felt great!

After the dredge uphill, comes the glorious downhill. I started booking it lol. By the way, this race was a total of 6.2 miles, plus the approximate 1.5 miles to get to the start, and the extra half mile after you cross the finish line.

The last 2 miles were the hardest. That's when I busted out the iPod and just went for it. After all, I was almost there! Finally reaching the streets of downtown definetly gives you a false sense of hope. You think the finish line is just around the corner, but NO. It's another 1.5 miles away =P.

After FINALLY reaching the finish line, I felt tired but great. You can't just stop as soon as you cross the line though. You have to keep going to get out of the way! So we make our way over the Marion Square, and you are provided with a supply of apples, oranges, bananas, bagels, muffins, and water. I swear I've never had an apple taste so good in my entire life! haha

Once I finally got to sit down, I felt the repercussions of my lack of training. My feet HURT. And my right calf muscle felt as if it could just snap in half at any moment. But even though I was a walking boo-boo, I felt great inside because I felt like I accomplished something big!

After resting for a bit in the park, our group went over and had a decently healthy lunch at the Charleston Tea Company. I had a chicken wrap, which I highly reccomend. And by the way, they have the BEST peach tea I've ever tasted! Then we took our decrepit-looking selves and hobbled over to Paolo's for some gelato...yum. That's all I can say. Their chocolate gelato is out of this world! Okay. I know it sounds bad that we had that right after a 10k, but hey, you would too.

To some, this accomplishment may not seem that "big" at all. But to me, it meant a lot. At this point in my life just one year ago, I could not have even made it to the starting line. I wouldn't even want to. But I've worked hard to get to where I am now, and I'm not backing down. Now that I've proven to myself that I can do it, my next goal is the run the entire thing next year. Haha, maybe that way it'll be over with faster =P.

Upwards and Onwards, to bigger and better things...