Spinx Carolina Marathon Recap
Saturday morning I stood at the starting line of yet another
marathon. This time, Spinx Carolina Marathon in Greenville, SC was to be my
test for the day.
My only knowledge of the course came from reading Marathon
Guide website comments and studying the course map.
Otherwise, the course would be pretty much a surprise to me.
At least the temperature was somewhat on my side. 46 degrees
was displayed on my car dashboard.
No one seemed to be pushing up to the starting line as we
got our count down.
5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, we were off. Most of the first mile was
downhill. Five guys got out in front me. My first mile went by in 6:35. I
passed one guy to move in to 5th place. The second came in 6:35 again.
When I looked at my Garmin, I just mentally shook my head. For whatever the
reason, I just wasn’t feeling it. I was well off the pace that I wanted to run.
The first 3 miles of the course are run through the downtown
area of Greenville. The course has some rolling hills. Maybe this was my issue.
Around 3 miles, we turned on to the Swamp Rabbit Trail. We
would stay on this trail for about 4 miles until we left the trail to loop
through Furman University. Between 5 and
6 miles, I passed the 5th place guy. This was also the last time
that I could see the flashing tail lights of the pacing cyclist for the
leaders.
Just after 9 miles I turned into Furman. We ran around the
lake and through the university grounds. Some of this was on the roads but a
large portion was on the sidewalks cutting through the campus. The race
organizer did a pretty good job marking the course with white pavement tape.
Running through the campus was different but I am still undecided if I liked it.
It is almost like running on a trail. I had to turn left then right. I was
going uphill and downhill. I struggled
to maintain a consistent running pace.
Then, I was back on the Swamp Rabbit Trail again. From 11
through the turnaround, the course was a steady climb. I could really feel it
in my quads.
After my frustration from seeing slow splits during the
first two miles, I choose to ignore the heads up that Garmin kept displaying
with each passing mile. Maybe to my benefit, there were no clocks along the
course.
After 13+ I finally reach the turn around. Making the loop
around a huge planter, I started my trek back to downtown Greenville.
Just before 14 miles, I split off to run the neighborhood
loop. Man, this section was tough. With the possible exception of Hatfield and
McCoy Marathon, I have never run a marathon with so many hills. They were steep,
and they were long. I felt like I struggled up every one of them.
Finally, I was back
on the trail again. May be a mile later, I was heading back through Furman
again. This time, the sidewalks were a little more crowded with runners still
heading out to the turn around.
I was so focused on not running into the outbound runners
that the entire Furman section seemed to fly by. Back on the trail again, I
passed the 19 mile point. From here I knew what the course was like. I also
knew there were no real big turns on the course so getting lost wasn’t really a
possibility.
I passed 20 miles and hit a shadeless section and realized
that the sun was starting to heat up. I just didn’t feel good. But as soon as I
hit the shade again, I felt so much better. Over the next few miles, I tried to
steer my path into the shade a much as possible. 21 miles passed.
The mental games were starting now. If I ran 7 minute pace,
I had roughly 35 minutes of running. What makes this so funning to reflect on?
I am a mileage guy. I rarely think of running in terms of minutes to run.
Anyway, I passed 22 miles. 28 minutes were left run. I
wondered if my hamstrings would start to balk now. This is usually the point
where they start to feel the strain and decide to falter.
Past the 23 miles point, I have just 5k to run.
Before race I had packed a Power Gel to take during the
race. Up to this point, I had been taking water and Gatorade along the course
so I hadn’t used it. Somewhere along this mile, the gel started to slip down in
my running shorts. Pulling it out, I
tossed it the trash at the next water stop. I wasn’t going to take it and I
didn’t want to carry it any further.
At 24 miles, I passed the train depot. No trains were
insight. Thinking about it now, I am so glad. .
After the race, I learned that some runners were caught by
the train coming out. One runner missed her BQ by 16 seconds while running
around the train. What a bummer.
Between 24 miles and 25 miles, the trail splits into two
different surfaces. Half is asphalt. The other is a track surface rubber. I had
avoided running on it going out but coming back I moved over to run on it. My
feet really thanked me. They felt so much better. I wished this surface ran all
the way to the finish.
25 miles came to pass. I grabbed a cup of Gatorade as I run
under the overpass.
Leaving the trail, I hit Reedy View Drive and then over to
River Street. Here I mix in with the ½ marathoners. River Street and South Main Street are both
uphill. The grade isn’t steep but after 25 miles, a mole hill can seem like
Everest.
½ marathoners seem to float by as I meander through them. I
focus on the road ahead of my training to gauge were they are turning to go
around the stadium. My legs are grinding their way to the top.
The stadium appears to my left. I turn at the corner. I can
hear them calling out the ½ marathoners coming to the finish.
I only need to run two more corners before entering the
stadium.
Left at the next corner is followed by a downhill. My legs
love it. My feet hurt and my legs are tight as I try to push on this last
downhill.
Making the right into the stadium I give this woman a “heads
up” yell so she doesn’t try to cross my path.
Running around the warning track of the baseball field feels
good to my feet.
For the first time since mile 2 I look at my Garmin. I am momentarily
stunned that it says 2 hours and 44 minutes. Looking across to the finish, I
try to gauge the distance. With 2 tenths to run, I might be able to break 2
hours and 46 minutes.
I pump my arms. Pumping them helps me run faster but it also
makes them start to tingle. I split some runners. I pass others either on the
left or the right. My eyes are glued to the finish line clock.
The time is counting up to 2 hours and 46 minutes but I
realize that I am going to make it.
I cross the finish line and come to a halt almost
immediately. My hands are still tingling. I walk over to the wall and stand
there for a second. My entire body is shaking. One of the medics came over to
check on me. Yeah, I say. I am okay. I just need a bit to recover.
My legs are still shaking during my climb up the steps to
the upper level.
My walk is slow back to car, but the smile on my face is
huge.
My expectations going into this race, I thought I could run
maybe 2:49. Then, after the 2 miles at 6:35 pace, I figured it just wasn’t
going to be my day.
Now, I finished in 2 hours 45 minutes and 51 seconds. I finished
4 overall and won the Male Masters’ category. The day couldn’t have been any
better for me.
After changing shirts and pulling on some pants, I headed
back to the finish area. The marathon awards were to take place at the noon.
I looked at my phone. The display said 11:05 and then I
heard them calling out the marathon awards. My name was being called and I
headed up to pick up my glass.
They were calling out the awards out so quickly that some of
the categories hadn’t been filled. The runners had yet to finish.
Myself, I walked very slowly back to my car and headed home.
This had been a good day.
Spinx Carolina Marathon is a small race. Don’t expect to
have a lot of crowd support or to have lots of runners around you. Aside from
passing two runners in the first 5 miles, the rest of the race was a solo time
trial for me. Overall, I would give them a pretty good grade for their efforts.
The course was well marked. I would like to have seen a water stop in the first
3 miles but otherwise; there was plenty of water stops on the marathon course. The
sidewalks through Furman were a little tight for runners to pass. Fortunately,
most outbound runners gave way and let me through. The stadium finish is nice for friends and
family to hang out while you are running. By no means is this course flat. The
first 3 miles have plenty of rolling hills. The Furman section has its own
little hills. Then, there is a neighborhood section which is absolutely nasty
with hills. However, if you survive to the 19 mile point, you are pretty much
home free. From 19 through 25+ miles there are no major hills. Plenty of long
uphill and downhill pulls but nothing too hard. River Street and South Main are
an uphill grind, but I probably made them out to be harder than they were. At 25+
miles I am pretty much running at my limit. Nothing is going to be easy.
So to the Spinx Carolina Racefest organizers, I say good
job.
I would like to wrap up by giving a shout out to Caleb and
Steve. They have been so awesome in our Tuesday track workouts. They have
pushed me to improve. I owe them a huge debt of gratitude. I could not have run
so well without their supporting efforts. Thanks Guys!
Sharing one thought at time,
The Cool Down Runner
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