Cooper River Bridge Run 2011

I got over it! (the bridge, that is)

What an INCREDIBLE race! Almost 35,000 registered participants finished (34,690).

See video highlights HERE.

This is a photo from another year and these were not our weather conditions, but this is a glimpse of the race:

Doing this race was probably the best race experience that I've ever had.

4:30 am - wake up
5:45 am - get to Seabrook real estate office to take bus downtown
approx. 7 am - bus drops us off 1 block away from race start
7 am - 7:45 am - walk around, warm up, listen to Ruben Studdard from American Idol sing the national anthem
8 am - first waves begin

I started in the red, D wave so I didn't start running until 8:12 or so.

Mile 1: fast and flat: 9:15
Mile 2: Starting to head uphill: 9:36
Mile 3: In the thick of the incline: 9:59
Mile 4: downhill: 8:38
Mile 5: partially downhill and flat: 8:55
Mile 6: flat: 8:56

Official time: 57:33

Usually at the end of races I can sprint for the last minute or so, but I absolutely could not move my legs any faster at the end. It is such a strange sensation to be unable to run faster when you want to, it's almost like the dreams when you are trying to run away but you cannot. The reason I couldn't move my legs any faster was because I ran so hard the entire race. As you can see, not a single mile of mine was over 10 minutes. On the mile and a half incline up the bridge, my thighs were screaming bloody hell, but I just kept moving and trying to claw the ground and pump my arms.

The last 10k I ran, the Rodes City Run, was on March 12th. With three more weeks of training under my belt, a race the weekend before (the Papa John's 10 miler), and a harder 10k course, I managed to knock off 1:25 off that 10k time of 58:58. I have to say that I am pretty darn proud of myself. The hard work that I've put in in the past month and a half is really paying off!

After the race, which ended in the heart of downtown, I walked around and ate an apple and a muffin. It was in the mid 60s and sunny by the time I finished and everyone was in good spirits! There was a massage tent so I stood in line and got my aching quads and right Piriformis worked on, and then got back on the bus to go Seabrook. Louisville could really learn a thing or two from the CRBR - they sure know how to put on a show. We had MC's, lots of bands, radio stations, and lots of water stops during the race. Post race, they had more bands, tents from local stores and sponsors, barbecue, ice cream, etc. There was a lot of good energy going on and it made the whole experience so enjoyable!

I HIGHLY recommend this race to anyone and everyone. It's well organized, fun, and Charleston is a great city to visit.

The next CRBR is March 31, 2012!