Get Over It--The Bridge That Is

Growing up in Charleston, there's one thing that has always been the iconic image of this city in my mind and that's the Cooper River Bridge. While most of my childhood there were two bridges, one of which still gives me nightmares about driving over it, the Charleston skyline is nothing without it/them. Somehow I have never done the popular Cooper River Bridge Run, so it seemed fitting that now that I'm back in my beloved city I would celebrate by crossing the CRBR off my bucket list. And to make it more fun, I got 7 of my closest friends to come run it with me.

Everyone got in late Friday evening, and we spent the night loading up on carbs, carbs, and more carbs (I may have had wayyyyy too much food) and catching up. Before we knew it, we had only 5 hours before we had to be up and getting out the door to get to the race. Don't get me wrong, I love races, but I really hate how early they require you to function.

Fast forward a few hours and a trip on a bus, and we were in our corral and ready to go. The weather was perfect. We did have to sit for about 2 hours waiting for the race to start so I'm glad I had the crew with me. 

Finally at 8:45 it was our turn to cross the start line and off we went.

I'm not sure this was my race. (Here is where I start to whine just a bit.) The 10k distance is not my favorite because I've 1. not run enough of them and 2. I can't seem to figure out my pacing for them. This one also includes one large hass bridge in the middle of it. 

 

After having to wait for so long before starting, I was STARVING by the time the race began. Within half a mile, I was already cramping. Boo Hiss Blah. Thankfully, my never fail breathing technique to get rid of cramps worked and I carried on, but still... not a good way to go out the gate. 

Then there were the woggers. Now I have nothing against run-walkers at all. I often am one. However, they were everywhere. EVERYWHERERERREEE. I spent the whole race weaving in and out and around and through walkers 5+ wide. (I told you I was going to whine...) It's one thing if you want to walk some or all of the race, but I've never been around so many people who clearly have never heard of race etiquette. #endrant 

I love my city. I love that bridge. And the race course was really cool. All and all, it was what it was. Still have mixed feelings about it. Maybe if I do it again, I'll do it without any goal in mind other than just to finish it and enjoy the view. 

The rest of the weekend was spent eating, hanging out, eating, hanging out, and eating. Can't complain about that!