My shade of crazy: It seemed like a good idea at the time…

Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon
April 13, 2013 7:30 am start

I opted to pick up my packet just before the race start, and pickup went off without any issues. Although there was a steady stream of people getting their packets, there was virtually no line and everyone moved along quite quickly. The race shirts are nice black New Balance tech shirts, gender fitted, and the badging on the back is a pretty discreet light blue.

This was not my race. I have been struggling with calf cramps at the beginning of my runs recently, and still haven’t determined the cause. After the first mile, I could feel the cramps threatening. With a big sigh, I settled down to a walk, hoping that I wouldn’t be walking the ENTIRE course. At the 10k turn-off (around 3 miles), I seriously contemplated if I was going to recover to be able to run any more – if not, the three hour time limit for the course would be a true concern.

Fortunately, at close to the 4 mile marker, cramps no longer seemed imminent, and I was able to start running again. It was a beautiful course, lots of pretty trees and houses to look at along the way and the weather was really nice. It was not what I would call flat – my fitbit said I went 56 floors 🙂 Since I already knew my time was not going to be great, I just took it easy and tried to enjoy the day, walking when I felt like it and making sure to run all the downhills!

I had several people come by and ask me about my lovely InkNBurn denim capris and I enjoyed telling them about the brand, how comfortable the capris are, and usually they wanted to touch the fabric for themselves. Maybe I should become an ambassador? I wouldn’t be surprised to start seeing more InkNBurn on local runners 😉

For some reason, it seems like almost every Charlotte race has an uphill right at the finish – I don’t know why this is, but it truly is annoying. The clock time was just past 2:30 as I ran under, which made me a little sad, but my chip time was just under at 2:29:38. Not my favorite race, but it’s one more toward the goal!

Next up: Flying Pig half marathon