Rockin' Savannah

I left Pittsburgh on Thursday after work. I drove to Rock Hill, SC and then stopped for the night. The next morning I drove the rest of the way to Georgia and found my host, Jen’s, house. She took me to lunch at Zaxby’s where I had an awesome buffalo chicken salad! I miss southern food more than anything after this weekend! Jen’s hospitality was above and beyond amazing and I feel so blessed to have gotten to spend the time with her that I did. I can’t wait to race near her again!



Friday evening the Race and Relax on the Road group was supposed to meet at the expo after gathering our bibs and packets so that we could decorate shirts and signs. The expo was located on a small island with a single bridge or a ferry as the only means on or off. It was a logistical nightmare and my Jeep came within minutes of running out of fuel before I got a parking spot about 1.5 miles from the actual expo center. I walked over and was already over a half hour late by the time I got in. I picked up my bib, packet, shirt, and swag (which were all separate tables). I stopped by the SPIbelt booth because they advertised a free SPIbelt for the first 5 people to show them the webpage at the expo. It turned out I was the first one so far to do so and I picked out an all-black belt for my husband since I already have a pink one. I advised the next couple people in line of the deal too. Good karma is always helpful on race day! I made it to the private room where we were supposed to be decorating just as a group of three women was leaving. They’d decided to just head to the restaurant and meet everyone there. I’m so glad I ran into them because we took the ferry off the island and walked to the restaurant together. I would have been lost if I was on my own!







Dinner was on the third floor of the Chart House which is right on the water in Savannah. The restaurant was gorgeous and the food was wonderful. I had salmon with rice and asparagus and for dessert they brought out a custard-type dish. To top it off John ‘The Penguin’ Bingham stopped by to give us all some encouragement! I seriously don’t know how I’m ever going to top that pre-race dinner!





The morning of the marathon I woke up at 3:30AM. I dressed (singlet, shorts, throwaways, and Hoka Bondi B’s) and headed for the Savannah Mall where shuttles were supposed to begin taking runners to the starting line at 4:45AM. I arrived early and there were only a few people waiting and the buses were just pulling in. Then the bus coordinator announced that they were moving the pick up to another location and wouldn’t be loading until 5:30AM. I thought there was about to be a riot. I rushed to my car and followed the buses to the new pick up point. I parked in the first spot I saw and ran for the line. Thankfully by this time it was almost 5:30 and they started loading runners. I got on the first bus and shivered myself warm while the remaining runners loaded. It turned out that the bus company RnR had contracted was out of Jacksonville, FL so they had NO idea where they were going. Our bus driver was on the phone with another driver and trying to read printed directions while driving. Finally a local man offered to read off the directions and let her know when the turns were coming up so she could focus on driving. I was pretty sure by this time that I would never do another Rock n Roll event.



We didn’t get to the starting line until 6:15 and then I had to rush to find the VIP room for the Race and Relax group at the (gorgeous!) Hyatt. I had half a muffin and a cup of coffee but my stomach was in knots so I decided to search for a restroom instead of hanging out. I jumped into a port-a-potty line near my corral just before 7AM. I figured I would have plenty of time before the 7:30 start considering I was in corral 15 (4:45 pace group) and the race volunteers said there would be 2-3 minutes between corral starts. I was wrong and I didn’t start until right around 8AM.



The race began while I was still in line and I watched as wave after wave started. Finally it was my turn and I was able to run out and jump in with what I believe was corral 19. I was behind the 5 hour pacer which drove me nuts but I kept telling myself it was okay and I would catch them when things thinned out. I concentrated on keeping my breathing easy and my pace under control. It was easy to go too fast with all the late starters who had just arrived from the buses and were trying to catch up to their pace groups and corrals. Runners were blowing by me at sub-8 minute miles while others were walking. It was complete mayhem and I wished they’d made an announcement that people who were walk/running should move to the side when walking. A lot of the new marathoners had no idea of common race courtesy and I had to swerve to avoid several collisions early on. I kept an eye on my splits and worried that I was going out too fast. I felt good and my breathing was easy though so I decided that being a slave to the Garmin was dumb and I would just go with what felt good.

My official splits were:
5k -32:47
10k – 1:04:58
10M – 1:44:31 (PR!)
Half – 2:17:31 (PR!)
20M – 3:34:35 (PR!)

The course went through some pretty rough neighborhoods and I felt amazed by the number of people who were obviously down on their luck that were out cheering as we went by. I decided to drop my Under Armour fleece in one of these neighborhoods in hopes that someone who needed it would pick it up.

The race spread out a little after about 6 miles so I was able to stabilize my pace just a little faster than goal and run strong through the half. I almost cried at miles 8-9 as there was mind blowing crowd support. The spectators were 10 deep for a mile just cheering and high fiving and holding funny signs. I was just blown away. This mile changed my mind on doing a Rock n Roll event again. Mile 8 alone made driving 1500 miles and dealing with all the logistical bull worth it!

I kept plugging along feeling great and slowing just enough to drink without choking or take a GU at aid stations. At mile 18 I started to cramp and I immediately wished I’d carried S!caps. I never felt like I broke a sweat and the weather was perfect so I’m not sure why I got so out of whack but all that matters is I did. Thankfully the next aid station had salt packets. I mixed two in a cup of water and chased that with a cup of plain water. I felt better within a mile but by then we were hitting the worst part of the course.

At mile 21 we took a highway off ramp onto the freeway and ran over desolate and windy overpasses for the next three miles. It was all just slightly uphill, maybe a 3-4% grade but my weary legs felt it. I still had enough left to stay at a comfortable jog but the headwinds were beating me back. This was no gentle breeze and my eyes and throat were stinging. I walked way more than I should have in this section but I was beginning to lose morale. The raised highway meant no aid stations, no music tents, and nowhere to hide from the battering winds.

We turned down the on-ramp just before mile 25 and were back on the streets of Savannah. I picked it up as best I could but it was still slightly uphill and my legs were telling me they weren’t having it. I looked at my watch and knew I could still take over an hour off my Pittsburgh time so I just focused on that. I rounded the bend into the shoot and pushed as hard as I could (10:24 pace for the last .32 according to my Garmin). I crossed the line and stopped my watch and then bawled like a baby. I’m pretty sure I frightened a few volunteers! I’d taken 1:00:15 off my previous marathon time!

My friend, Jen, was waiting for me and she just hugged me while I cried and cried. I couldn’t believe I’d done it! My absolute stretch goal was sub-4:40 (4:39:59 would have been great!) but the incline and headwinds at the end stole it away. I finished strong enough that I know I have that plus a lot more in me for the next one. I can’t believe the difference 6 months has made in my abilities and my training!
Long story short(er), I finished in 4:49:25, 3071/4722 overall, 1413/2473 women, 254/411 age group.



Of course, the first thing I did once home was submit my Marathon Maniacs application! I am now officially Maniac #4468! I am so proud to be a member of this community. I can’t tell you how many Maniacs have chatted with me and encouraged me during races. I just hope I can live up to the honor and pass along some of the knowledge that’s been given to me.

Next post, the actual race weekend! It was almost better than the race itself! It’s going to take me a little longer to process all the wonderful people I met and all the great happenings this weekend so I’ll have to work on that later. I would definitely sign up for another Race and Relax weekend and I hope that they will bring one north of the Mason-Dixon in the future but if not I will travel to them for sure!