GHS Swamp Rabbit 13.1

 

Now, I can look myself in the mirror and say, "you were wrong." For the last couple years following my surgeries I convinced myself I just wasn't built to run long distances. The past 3 months, and especially Saturday, erased any and all doubt in my mind.  I don't know what else to say, but it's an amazing feeling...so here goes...

Fighting the women talking about the bachelor

There's been enough build up to the race so I don't see any reason to re-hash the details. Jer flew in late Thursday night, so we didn't have much time to do anything other than talk race strategy. I took Friday off work so we could go do our packet pick-up and I could show Jer the race course. He was rather interested in the hills that comprised miles 11-13. We wrapped up driving around, had lunch, came home to do a little work, then I had to coach my little leaguers that evening. We finished up Friday with a nice pasta dinner (still not sure this makes a difference, I ate extremely heavy at this meal). I'm usually not a great sleeper but I managed to nod off around 11:00, thank the Lord.

I don't understand, where is everyone?

Saturday morning came quickly - and it was cold. I mean, cold. Like Jer was complaining that Colorado was warmer. We all donned sweats to the start line as we thankfully had my wife and dad there to take our things before starting. We stretched, stood in line for a last minute pee break, and shuffled quickly to the start line. Here occurs what ended up being the funniest part of the day by far. Jer came into this raced focused on setting a 13.1 PR. All the variables were in his favor, especially the thick South Carolina air and the fast Swamp Rabbit course. As the gun sounds, Jer is caught up fiddling with his iPod and shoe laces, failing to realize the rest of the field has left the starting block. Literally, he was the last person to cross the start line. Recipe for success right?

Also - I have to highlight my friend Mike, also known as the second most photogenic guy in history right? Seriously I've never seen someone so happy to torture their body. Congrats!

Not much to talk about for during the race. It was pretty standard...I felt good the whole way through, but the ever present thought of wearing down was in my mind. I knew the end had a couple hills so I was careful to save some energy for the finish. To be honest, I probably left some time out there on the course. I wound my way through the course, hitting the aid stations at miles 8, 10, and 12. The station at 12 was really the only one I was craving something, even though I knew it wouldn't have a single physical effect on my performance. But mentally, it was nice to pound a Hammer shot. The two hills at the end definitely weren't easy, but my plan of conserving energy worked to perfection and coasted comfortably up and over both. The top of the second hill left roughly a quarter mile to the finish, which everyone tells me I looked smooth and powerful over...they were convinced I had plenty in the tank. Maybe, maybe. 

One thing that doesn't get enough attention with these races is the support behind the scenes. I can't tell you how much my wife did on race day to make it easy on me, let alone the 3 months of rarely seeing me in the evenings because I would come home and go straight into a workout. She deserves a huge shout out, so here it is. To her credit, all the photography from the race is straight from the amateur hands of Mrs. Clydesdale. And she caught some stellar shots, highlighted now:

Only one thing is going through my head when imagining the old man's thoughts....

Who is this wild banshee? And why is his shirt unzipped so far?

You have to admit, Jer looks pretty calm at the 11.5 mile mark. 

All joking aside, this was an amazing race. I can't thank my brother enough for being an integral piece in this whole process, all from 1800 miles away. I can't express just how influential he's been in my life the past few years, and this is just one small example.  I doubt I ever would've done something like this if it weren't for him and we had a hell of weekend together.

So...the results, right? My first 13.1 - 2:04:24 chip time. I was hoping to break two hours, but hey I'll take it. Jer on the other hand was quite impressive. He achieved his PR and finished 27th overall, despite the slow start clocking in at 1:29:48. So there you go...a brief, not quite detailed, roughly guided recap of what happened Saturday. Other than what's previously stated, we ate our faces off afterward. Freaking amazing.
 

Excited About New Shoes....yet not really....

One Year...
600+ miles...
Two Pairs...
Three Races...wow, just three?

Regardless, it was time for some new shoes (as previously discussed a couple posts back). I try to support the local running stores here in town, and since I had some store credit I went ahead and jumped for the GTS 13's. First run tonight and DAMN what a difference! I was really starting to feel the effects of adding mileage on some worn down treads lately, so tonight felt like running on pillows with springs on the bottom.

I think I mentioned a brief brush with pain a couple weeks ago when I started to feel some pulling in my right calf, but I'm starting to think that could also be attributed to the old shoes. No sign of injury recently and the runs are still just clicking along. Six and half weeks to go and I'm feeling pretty good. The long weekend runs are the ones I'm most interested in at the moment. As long as I can complete the mileage I'll be happy.

So, about the whole "not excited" part. After Brooks killed the color options on the 11th and 12th edition, the 13th comes in rather mundane if you ask me. Brooks returned back to a look similar to the X edition. You pretty much get red/white or blue/white. Blah. I actually reserved my pair on the phone, so I wasn't sure what I was getting when I picked them up today. Thank God they were the blue. I hate red. I don't think I should have to explain myself.

So here we are, the last four pairs of Adrenaline shoes...guessing I threw all other former pairs out in the trash, but I absolutely LOVE this shoe.

Mental Humpin'

Well, my ultimate nightmare for the P200 & 13.1 has been realized. I'm going to die if the weather is anything like tonight....

Cold ( ~40*)
Windy ( Gusts at 30 mph )
Rain. Real rain.

But my goal was to let as few things as possible interrupt my training schedule, so I set out in the elements. Seems pretty important to me to have the right gear for bad weather, especially the rain. Pretty easy to work around the cold, but nothing is worse than being wet. At least not to me. If I'm wet for any reason other than:

a.) working out
b.) swimming
c.) showering

...I'm not happy. My Brooks LSD jacket did the trick tonight for both the wind and the rain, fortunately. I think they should start paying me for endorsement as much as I mention their products.

So that brings me to my question. What gets you over the mental hump during a run? Whether it be pain, cold, rain, disinterest, etc...what keeps the legs churning? I think it varies based on the session, but for me I ventured off to thinking about work and some lingering issues I'm dealing with. That's sad, if you ask me, but hey it worked. So, what is it for you? Music? Running Group? Let's hear it!

And just for entertainment value, I offer you this....

Half Marathon Kick Off

This week marked the official kick off of 13.1 training as we are now 12 weeks out from the race. I'm using Hal Higdon's Novice One plan as guidance but will most likely improvise along the way a little. Best example being that my long weekend runs are already six+ miles. I think the biggest change in routine will have to do with number of runs per week. I'm used to three runs, so hopefully the additional day and mileage have ONLY a positive affect.

So...what better way to kick off training (outside of the seven miler on Sunday) than to post-surgery PR a 5k run. Bested the previous PR from earlier this month by roughly 25 seconds. Best part was feeling awesome during not quite ideal weather conditions. This evening it was roughly 45 degrees with wind gusts up to 30 mph. It did give me a chance to field test some new apparel (yay Christmas!). So I can give my best two thumbs up to the following items:

Brooks LSD Lite III - lightweight but amazing as far as wind protection. I was extremely warm despite the conditions, plus it contours well to the body. Only a typical tech t-shirt as a base layer. Well worth the money IMO.

Saucony Gloves - basically these gloves, without the weird Euro design. They're lightweight as well, but excellent wind protection. I would say they run big as a medium was plenty of room for my hands.

With all that said, I'm pretty much checked out for the week. Friday, I'm off to Colorado to visit my brother and sister-in-law for NYE. I promise a report from what is certain to be a frigid weekend run. CAN'T WAIT

More Milestones

In lieu of holiday indulgence, I actually decided to venture out on a run this evening in hopes of diverting any Christmas weight gain. Not to mention, this week "officially" started my half marathon 12-week training program. I would say that the training got off to a good start...1:05 and 7.1 miles. This marks the longest run I've completed since junior year of college prior to breaking my leg. Needless to say, this is extremely encouraging as I jump into 2013 full bore staring down the barrel at the half marathon.

So onto some gear talk: I've already been given a couple REI and Academy Sports gifts cards for Christmas, and I'm ready to do some strategical shopping for the winter season. On my list is:

1. Gloves - lightweight, breathable. I lost a nice pair during the move. Since I'm a big fan of Brooks apparel, considering these:

Night Life Gloves

2. Long Sleeve Shirts - Love REI's poly/spandex tech shirts Found Here

3. Shoes - still trying to decide on new shoes and will probably try to find a cheap pair of the GTS 11's that I mentioned a few weeks ago. If no luck there, then it's on to the 12th addition. Although, I'm doing more research into the PURE line from Brooks...not sure if they offer enough control for my gait though.

Good luck to those running holiday races, and Merry Christmas! Put together a plan for 2013 that has you pounding more pavement!

5K PR!

I'm rather swamped these days; even more so than I used. I used to think I was swamped, but those days are long gone. Today, I started a new job (again). Basically, I was expecting your typical orientation type first day but what I encountered was quite the opposite. Sat down, fired up my computer and was given a project that needs a finished contract by the week's end. Oh, and I haven't done what I'm doing now in three years. So heeeerrreeeeeee weeeeeeeee gooooooooo!

Running has really taken a back seat the past week or so. Last week I was busy transitioning my old job accounts to new people, followed by an early departure to Richmond for a wedding weekend. It's hard to complain too much about the weekend as I got to play golf twice and indulge in a tremendous amount of free booze...speaking of...the groom was a friend of mine from Clemson...we warned the bride's father that he would need plenty of bourbon at the reception. They ran out of bourbon...then ran to the store for more...and ran out again...ran to the store yet again...and yes, ran out once more. Anyway, I think I'm supposed to be bragging about running accomplishments right?

December update - haven't run in a week I believe - and PR'ed tonight in the 5K. As always, I'm referring to the post surgery PR numbers. 27:04 & an 8:40 pace. Probably not a coincidence, but I also cracked 200 lbs tonight. The battle with the Clydesdale mark continues....

Muuuur Crimmus

Well, a mere seven months after purchasing our house and we finally have a relatively finished living room. My wife did a great job decorating for Christmas, and we finally bought a TV for "her" room. I say "finally" because the man room has been set up since the day we moved in. Anyway, as they say, "if momma's happy, everyone's happy".

So, here's what I'm battling right now. It's about time for new shoes and I'm doing my due diligence. I'm a huge Brooks fan, specifically the Adrenaline GTS. I've owned every pair since the 5th edition. Currently, I'm rotating two pairs of the 11th edition and it is clearly the best shoe I've ever worn. Now, here's the kicker...Runners World just announced the GTS 13th edition as their editor's shoe of the year. I mean, I have to try it right??? But why go away from a good thing especially with four critical months upcoming? Plus there's the cost issue...if I can find a pair (or two) of 11's online, I could pretty much get both pairs for the cost of one pair of the 13's. Plus the 13th edition has terrible colors, you know, because that's pretty important. What have your experiences? Thoughts in general?

Training these days is mostly maintaining. I have about three weeks to go until the official 13.1 training begins. Last couple runs have been good, although I'm starting to develop a little pain in the arch of my left foot. Going to do some research on plantar fasciitis and pray that's not what is going on here.

Nightlife!

Wow, talk about a rude introduction into the winter running season! Ol' Sandy made her presence felt even down here in the south as we were welcomed this morning by 40 degree temps and 20 mph winds. Brrr. This prompted me to head over to Run In to look for a wind resistant vest to aid in the winter training. Got the vest on sale, for $40, and I tell you it's WELL worth it. Conditions when I ran this evening: 45 degrees, sustained winds at 15mph, gusts at 21mph. Now, I didn't overreact and suit up in leggings and arm warmers...see for yourself my attire!

The vest stood out...for something so lightweight, it certainly was up to the task tonight! Not to mention the nightlife color...comes in handy this time of year as it's almost guaranteed that you're running in the dark. So this is my official endorsement of the Brooks Essential Vest, available on their website @ Brooks Running

So another good run tonight that I could've kept going, but it was getting late, I was ready for dinner, and wasn't all that far from the house at the time. Also, don't want to increase mileage too much too fast...injury looms. The next few steps for me will be looking into more gear (LOVE gear), figuring out energy supplements for longer runs, and defining an actual schedule instead "run when you get a chance to run". Thanks work.  

And I just uploaded the picture...I look like I'm 5'0" tall. And hell yeah I rocked the headlamp.

Spinx Run Fest Recap & A Pleasant Surprise

Ok, maybe we should all acknowledge that there was no way in hell I was running the 13.1 this weekend. I don't know what came over me last week causing that rush of courage, but it certainly was a flash in the pan. Maybe it was my inner rationale taking over? Either way, it was a good decision, as many people told me the course was insanely difficult. Here is a link to the elevation graphs. Overall, it doesn't appear that imposing but two of the worst miles are in the last 1/3 of the race.

So I don't have any awesome pictures of the finish or anything because I had to attend the race solo. We had a lot of plans after the race Saturday, so Laura opted to sleep in and conserve her energy. So here's a picture of someone who obviously had a great time running!

I did get to run the race (sort of, we didn't exactly run the race together) with a good friend. And I'm going to go ahead and get this piece of info out of the way and behind me. My buddy, Ian, doesn't really run as much as I do...and he sort of went out the night before...and didn't look all that enthused at the start line. Nevertheless, he managed to finish a full two minutes ahead of me! Oh well, congrats, Ian.

So, my race was a little disappointing. My goal was 28:00 because I knew the course had a couple of hills. But my normal loops around the neighborhood have hills and doesn't seem to bother me. So I figure running early, after a good night's sleep, and the adrenaline rush of racing would be enough to meet that goal. I vastly overestimated the course. But Saturday was a perfect storm of problems. First off, I overslept and had to rush to the course without eating/drinking anything that morning. Sucks. Next, I almost got taken out by a double baby-stroller decorated as a pirate ship complete with cannons sticking out the side. Jack Sparrow was taking up more than his fair share of real estate and clipped me somewhere during the first mile. Move onto the final mile and I'm stuck trying to power up a 3/4 mile hill to the finish inside the stadium. It killed me, plain and simple.

My secondary goal was/is always to run negative splits. I at least managed to accomplish this:

Mile 1 - 9:23 - I probably started out too hot
Mile 2 - 9:20 - about right
Mile 3 - 9:17 - I got down under 9:10 but the final hill dashed any hopes of going lower

So there you have it...I'm still waiting on the chip times because the gun time was pretty far off. My watch clocked the run in 29:22. Meh. Better luck next time.

So here's the teaser - had a GREAT run tonight, a little over 5 miles. And I could've gone a couple more I'm pretty sure. So I'm thinking a 13.1 is going to happen. Let's call it Spring 2013 as a warm-up for the P200.

Spinx Runfest

Pretty excited about this weekend's race, my first one since the P200 in April! The Spinx Run Fest is a huge race weekend for the city of Greenville, offering up a 26.2, 13.1, 3.1, and a kids fun run. The best part, in my opinion, is the finish line is located on the warning track of the minor league baseball stadium in downtown. Now for decision time...

 

By no means have I been training for anything specific at this moment, but I'm feeling kind of crazy this week and may sign up for the 13.1. And yes, that would be my first one. And no, I haven't done any long runs. I guess there's no real logic to the choice, but for some reason I feel like I could at least finish. It would be slow....extremely slow....but I could finish. I mean, hell, Clemson plays on Thursday this week so I'd have all day to get around the course. No one said being clydesdale would be easy, right?

Ok, so onto some product talk. I've had more success with the Brooks Adrenaline 11 than any other model since I started running (I think I've had every version of the Adrenaline since the 5th edition). I'm looking forward to grabbing a couple pairs on clearance as the 12 and 13 are at the forefront of sales just for the sake of grabbing deal. Check out THIS for a good deal, although I don't like the bland color.

Also - looking to get a pair of sleeves for the winter after running with a buddy's pair at the P200. I'm thinking Brooks Nitelife....thoughts? Anyone own a pair?

Back At It

I got an unexpected surprise the other day when I checked my email. The Palmetto 200 unleashed registration for the 2013 edition! Immediately, my inbox was full with a group chat between the team members from last year. WE ARE PUMPED.

So hopefully this will reignite the blog, as I realize I've become rather stagnant here. All apologies. Look forward to greater things coming up. I promise!

Clydesdale No More

Yes, I know, there's been some separation anxiety. I understand, I really do. I almost forgot the website address for composing a new blog. But there's been a lot going on here at the Sharp household. Obviously the kitchen has been a large part of our life, but we've been out of town basically every weekend. We also were thrilled to have my brother, sister in law, and nephew Grayson in town for a couple weekends. It seems that exercising has been an after thought with some many other things going on ( being out of town on the weekends makes it tough to fit in a run ). But despite the situations, I'm happy to announce that...


I'm officially no longer considered a clydesdale. That is, if you go by the weight measurement of 200 lbs. I weighed in this evening following a long wedding weekend that included lots of golf, a run, and sweating in a suit Saturday evening. The number? 199. Official weight loss now at 39 lbs. Would've been nice to register at 198 to get the even loss of 40 but I'm not complaining. Lots of love to the summer heat and sweating profusely! Happy trails to everyone, embrace the heat on your runs. 

I'm Still Alive...

Sorry, this is what I've been doing since our last update. My wife appreciates my cooperation with the projects we have going on. My runs have suffered along the way, only getting out of the house a couple times a week. But I'm not getting fatter! That's encouraging. Yay, enjoy the picture. I'll be back soon!

Oh, Hey. Hello.

Well folks, if you're wondering in your head if you should ever do a renovation yourself? The answer is no. Sure you save money, but the stress and time commitment can become unbearable. I am almost finished with the demo...seriously, this kitchen was built to withstand most natural disasters. On Tuesday, I have an electrician coming in to rewire a couple things for the new appliances. Then things can really move along.

So I have a really good blog in the queue to write. It will go over an article my brother sent me regarding larger (see Clydesdale) athletes and leg injuries. It says that we aren't more likely to have an injury because of our weight. I'll leave it there until I have time to go deeper into the matter.

I've gotten three runs in this week, all good ones. I've even broken into the 8's as far as pace. That's pretty exciting for someone who was worried he wouldn't break 10:00 miles during the P200.

Oh! I went to the US Pro Cycling Championships on Monday, and it never disappoints! Here's my best shot from the weekend of eventual winner, Timmy Duggan. Check out his remarkable story here.

Oh yeah, down to 205....33 lbs lost. SEND IT

Vegas Baby, Vegas

Sorry I've been absent the past few days. Since that's out of the ordinary and all. But this weekend I had a legit excuse. I ventured out to Vegas with some buddies to celebrate the end of the single life of two of my good friends. And celebrate we did. Vegas is interesting though...and we definitely didn't fit in, but who cares? Seven fresh faced, polo rocking, Costa wearing twenty something's walking around Sin City. A stark contrast to all the Ed Hardy, Gucci, Affliction, Dolce...whatever else people from the Jersey Shore wear. We got strange looks that's for sure. No worries though...

Nothing big to report - some money won, some money lost, solid memories. Or lack there of. Pictures would've been key, but you can't take pictures in Vegas. Just my opinion. They do a great job of keeping you distracted in case you're worried about time, I'll tell you that.

But now back to the real world...I had partially forgotten that my kitchen was in pieces while I was moonlighting as a baller. Tough realization when I returned home late last night. It's moving along well - the appliances and gas lines will be capped this week, allowing me to finish out the demo. New cabinets will go in next week if all goes as planned.

Good run tonight considering I was running around lawless in Vegas all weekend. Yippee.

Getting Hammered

By my kitchen renovation that is. I know you've been wondering where I've been lately. What's he doing? Why are there no blogs...dang, not even any new runs charted??? Well, I've been feeling guilty if I'm not working on my kitchen. I promised the wife a month tops...one week down. So, tonight I will pick my hammer back up and continue on. My goal is to have the countertops completely out tonight. I have a guy coming in later this week to take out the appliances and cap the gas lines, etc. I'm not quite comfortable enough to do that myself. Our new cabinets should be in by the end of next week, then we can sort of get settled. We can at least install the new appliances and be able to cook again.

So there you go. Pretty isn't it?

Post Race Depression....aka Work.

As I return to life after the P200, I find it to be rather boring. Merely coming home and running seems less important now without the giant goal at the end of the tunnel. I was out of town this weekend, so nothing much happened there. So I ran tonight, a 5k, at a decent pace for me. It felt good...and considering my Saturday...I'm quite surprised. Speaking of Saturday, I got to spend it with my good buddy from home following our boy Rickie as he balled out at the Wells Fargo. We go every year, one of those go to weekends that you can count on at the beginning of the year. Since Tiger missed the cut, and the Clemson guys were struggling (outside of Byrd), it's a no brainer to cheer for the guy in orange. I actually follow Fowler on Twitter, and from all accounts, he's a pretty good guy. You have to respect a guy who has other golfers waiting to congratulate him on 18. All this at the tender age of 23. I really think he will hook up with Rory as the young future of the game. Golf is really exciting right now, that's for sure.

So yeah, back to running. Trying to figure out what to do next. I'm still mulling over the triathlon in June, or maybe a 5k/10k here in town. I definitely need something to keep the competitive juices flowing. I want to do the tri, I really do...but I'm scared? The P200 was frightening, but there 11 other guys out there providing encouragement. This time, it's all on me. So I'm battling with that right now...not much time to decide Brian...oh well, procrastination is fun.

Anywho, sounds like my blogging elite athlete bud, Victoria, will be in town towards the end of the month. She's coming off of an injury and looking to get a nice upstate run in. Looking forward to it! See ya soon VTB!

I Feel Ya Boston

Sweet mother it was hot today...and it seemed to come out of nowhere too. I now know how the runners in Boston felt. Minus about 23 miles. Errr, I suppose I was just hot and tired....not knocking on the gates death. But dang, it's been a while since my shirt has been this soaked in sweat....

This is attractive right?

Alright, so things are really going well. I've running a good bit, mostly short runs, but I'm hoping to keep upping my mileage over the upcoming weeks. Also looking out for a 5k to run sometime soon. Personally, following the P200, it's hard to get pumped for a 5 or 10k. Seems so elementary. But I'm sure the competitive juices will get going come race morning as they always do. Plus, Greenville puts on a TON of awesome races.

Totally legit

But onto the bigger topic tonight...about a month and a half out from today is an event I'm considering. Something I've been telling myself that I would do before having kids (NO WE'RE NOT THERE YET). Moving on...the Caine Halter Sprint Tri is on 6/16. It takes place at the local YMCA where the wife and I are members. It's SO simple...300m swim, 9m bike, 5k run. Come on! I did the Palmetto 200! But, there's always that fear of drowning. Like seriously, I can't swim. I don't think. I haven't really tried I guess? Do they allow swimmies during a triathlon? I have no shame. So yeah, I'm trying to make a decision on that. I guess I should figure that out pretty soon.

So that's all for tonight folks. I think I've hit that point where losing more weight will call for a change in my diet, which I'm not all that excited about. Probably should cut out the week nights at the Ale House with a couple "baller" friends who always pick up the tab. I've heard good things about the primal and paleo diets, so maybe I'll start trending that direction.

Finally, I love controversial or intriguing documentaries. Any suggestions?

Thirty Pounds!

Huge milestone this week...I hit 30 lbs lost! Personally, I don't think it looks like it but my wife insists she can tell a huge difference. Dad said the same.

So this week has been slammin' busy as we begin the kitchen renovation in our new house. I've been building cabinets every night and plan on starting demo next week. Got three runs in this week though and today was great! Only 2 miles, but under a 9:00 pace is always accepted.

Here we go...

Don't you wish your living room looked like this?

THISTLE WHISTLE

 

Wow, where to start tonight? This past weekend surpassed any expectations I could've dreamed during the final weeks leading up to the race. It is simply amazing the highs and lows, ups and downs, and the emotional roller coaster you encounter during 30 hours of continuous running (28.5 actually). There are so many feelings to try and convey in this post, that I'm sure I will leave some out. I'm hoping I can recall every quirky moment from a blur of a weekend.

Post race brotherly beers

The weekend kicked off with a nice lasagna dinner at our teammate John's parents' house just outside of Columbia. I arrived around 7:30 to a gaggle of cars already parked in the driveway...some I recognized, some I didn't. I didn't think anything of it, as we had a guy named Mark running with us that I had never met before. So I walk in the front door greeted by about five of the guys, daps and hugs all around. I make my way around the room, grateful to see everyone, when something catches my eye and causes a double take. My brother, Jeremy, speaks up, "what's up brother?" At this point, I'm speechless. Literally. There's a video out there of me saying "wow" about 18 times. Not only was I in shock that he was there, but it took me about five minutes to figure out he was running with us and was not just a spectator. "Mark". Right. Mark was a fictitious character all along, and everyone was in on it. It kind of makes sense though...Mark was an "ultramarathoner". Now Jer is no ultra runner but he's no slouch. A Boston Marathon highlights his resume.  This was by far the best part of the weekend. Jeremy and I never get to run together because of living 2,000 miles apart, so it meant to the world to me to know that I would be sharing this experience with him. I was truly blessed with not only a great brother, but a best friend and role model.

If you're not first, you're last

So we start out from the house around 7:30 am for our 9:00 start. I was rather nervous and had to make a couple pit stops to get my stomach to stop turning. I guess in the back of my mind, I was worried that I wouldn't perform...I would let the team down...I don't know, but my emotions were all over the place at this point. But we all settled in to watch Stew take off on leg 1 of 36...a 5.5 mile run through rolling hills that would end at a boat landing where I would start my journey. Stew killed his first run, besting his predicted time by about six minutes. With that, I took off on my first of three legs...a "scenic" route of six miles, winding along a dirt road, through an industrial park, and finishing at a BP gas station. I started out strong, feeling pretty good about three and a half miles in...then it hit, the inevitable "what am I doing?" feeling. I stopped for a minute to stretch, popped a GU energy chewable and went on my way. At this point, a girl from a trailing team passed me...precisely what I needed. I chased her the remainder of the leg, finishing out at a solid 9:41 pace...under my goal of 9:45 for the entire race. It's at this point that our stars take over the race and begin to set a tone that would last us for the next 26 hours. Coker tackled leg 3, the first of the legs labeled as "hard". It was 10 miles, with a couple violent hills. As we passed him in the van, we quickly realized that this would be one of many legs where we could make up time on the other teams that started with us. Coker was a little disappointed by not cracking a 7:00 pace, but he turned in a stellar run to kick start the rest of the team.

Now, I realized I can't talk about every leg. So I'm going to start skipping around, highlighting the important parts of the race.

The following legs included Clark pounding out 2.6 miles with a stiff hill at the end, Brad toughing out 6+ miles with a rolled ankle, and John absolutely smoking one of the toughest legs on the course. We were in good shape at this point as we grew a 20 minute buffer from our target time. Joe banged out a short run FAST, then passed to Chris for a very telling 5.5 mile run. At the exchange point, other vans were asking what team the "huge, fast guy" was on. He was ours, and he set up Jer for another opportunity to best our target pace. Fast forward as Jer gets his first leg in, Wofford owns a long, hot 10 mile run through the country, and Nate outlasts a beast female runner who was charging. At this point, we're roughly 70 miles in with everyone completing at least one leg...so we're starting to understand where we're at both mentally and physically. FEELING GOOD.

Here's where my second leg occurs...a 5.5 mile trek through a couple towns on a relatively flat road. Started out strong, but quickly faded. I found myself  digging awfully deep around mile four, reaching for a GU to give me a kick of energy to finish out the leg. The sun was setting fast, and I was suddenly running under the light of my headlamp. A unique experience for sure. Thankfully there were lots of streetlights and cars passing by, not so much the case later on leg three. I finished just barely under my target, at 9:44/mile and gladly handed off to Coker as we started to prepare for the night legs.

We broke up into two vans for the night running, allowing one van to drive ahead and try and get some sleep. TRY being the operative word. Outside of Chris (I don't know how he did it), I don't think anyone got more than maybe an hour total of sleep. We tried sleeping in the van, outside on the ground, in church pews...it didn't really matter. I guess our bodies were so jacked on GU energy shots and 5 hour energies that our minds couldn't shut down for a few.

As the night legs passed, the rah-rah attitude started to dwindle and we found ourselves just trying to get by. Around 2:00 am, I slowly gathered my things and tried to wake up for my final run. It was a shorter, 3.75 mile, run through the Francis Marion National Park at 5:00 am. It was cold, dark, and lonely as I started out. Thankfully, I knew the route and where to expect hills and turns. But there is something eerie about running in the middle of a forest....in the dark...by yourself. I think there was a slight bit of motivation there...pushing you to finish before a jungle cat attacks from the trees. I made it a point to not turn my head to the treeline, in fear of seeing a pair of eyes staring back at me. Surprisingly, I felt good during this run...banging out my 15th mile was almost easy as I noticed the light of the fire station parking lot in the distance. I charged up the final hill, passing the baton to Joe, realizing that I completed my goal of finishing every leg under a 9:45 pace. 9:35 for the last leg in fact. I quickly found my brother, who was sleeping...celebration would have to wait at this point. Especially since we still had 12 legs to go.

Well, alas, we've reached the home stretch. The sun was coming up and the dullness of night was in our rear view. Clark pounded out a beautiful long run to the Seewee Outpost, followed by Coker's mind numbing 4.5 miler down Hwy 17. He dropped below a  7:00 pace though, impressive after ~20 miles already run. The final runs began to dwindle, with Wofford braving out two of the final six legs, including basically running the Cooper River Bridge Run course plus the Battery to finish out his P200 journey. Nate stepped up and delivered a fantastic final leg to the James Island County Park, where we as a team waited for his arrival....beers in hand. We joined Nate in the final stretch, cleansing our bodies with fresh Yuengling, and crossing the finish line together knowing that we just destroyed our target pace for the race. It was almost surreal. Did we really just do this? Did we really just do it better than we thought we would? Did we actually finish in less than 30 hours? Yes to all the aforementioned.

I really couldn't be more proud to be a part of this team. The whole experience was amazing and we're all committed to do it again next year. We finished 21st out of 58 teams that completed the 200, not bad for a bunch of rag tag friends from college. Thanks to my brother and everyone who made his involvement possible. Feel free to visit www.palmetto200.com for more info on the race and be sure to check out www.lovemyballs.com for more information on our sponsor.

I'm sure some more will come out over the next few weeks, some different thoughts and all.