Capital City Challenge 2014 - Review

Stats: 64th place; 2:30:14; 5:58 per mile avg. (across all activities)

It was an overcast morning for this year's Capital City Challenge. A drizzle greeted us at Daniel Boone Park when Mike and I unloaded the kayaks. Thankfully, the rain dissipated by the time we reached the start line. Ashley met me there with her "Team Harmon" shirt; I had to inform her that Mike was not participating this year, but was on picture duty along the Boulevard.

A half hour wait ensued before it was time to toe the start line. This year we had Batman start the race before he led our first ever superhero kids' fun run. That was a great idea. Unfortunately, Batman's gun failed to go off and the runners had to take their cue from the elites at the front. I jolted into action and began my two and a half hours of continual movement. 

The run went as expected. I wish I could calculate split times, but I always fear carrying my phone onto the kayak. I seemed to be running with a group doing sub-eight minute miles for the first two miles. On the back half of the run, that group out-paced me. I'll assume I did roughly eight minute miles on average for a running split of 32 minutes. 

My kayak transition was kind of "a hot mess" to borrow an Ashley-ism. I stuffed the long sleeve bike shirt I was wearing into the kayak hull. After struggling to get the rubber hull closed, I began dragging the kayak down the ramp. At the bottom of the ramp, I noticed the rubber piece had fallen off and my paddle had tipped out of the kayak. I raced back up the ramp to retrieve those items, donned my cycling gloves, and shoved off with help from a volunteer's push. 

The kayak portion itself proved the same suffering I've grown accustomed to in this event. My neck and shoulders grew tired early even as I tried to engage the abs more and more. Longer kayaks sailed past me, per usual. But I was heartened that my pace was steady and I even picked up the pace over some stretches. Once adjacent to Haddad Park, I popped an energy gel for some, well, energy. Mike got some pictures of my row. I gave him a cut-throat signal and then tried to do a Thomas Voeckler tongue wag, but that is hard to make out from the riverbank. 

The kayak split probably took me an hour. I crested Magic Island with a lot of other participants. Becky, of our race committee, directed me to the chute we are supposed to use to run onto the Boulevard. There I met Ashley who was ready with my cycling gear. After a quick pit stop in the Magic Island restroom to change into cycling shorts, I was off on the bike portion.

I felt really good and relaxed on the bike. That was probably due to my July bike training. Even being low on energy I maintained a good pace and tried not to be distracted by the elites. The course held up well with no potholes, as we had feared, where the course narrows to one road lane. I saved my last energy gel for after the start of the second loop. Besides being trapped behind a slower cyclist for a brief spell, I had no issue with bike traffic. And we avoided any crashes this year (thank goodness).

The bike split probably took me another hour. I pulled into the finish at just over two hours and thirty minutes. It was a two minute improvement over my 2013 race. But I still finished in the exact same position, 64th overall.

I joined Mike and Ashley at the finish and helped photograph some other participants. It was another good year for the Capital City Challenge. Hopefully we can keep doing the kids' race and growing our numbers. The press was really favorable and should help grow its popularity.

Charleston Distance Run Relay - 2014 Review

Team "Triple Threat" stats
15 mi; gun time - 2:32:07; avg. pace - 10:08 per mile; place - 7/11 co-ed relay teams

It was a bright, sunny day for the 2014 Charleston Distance Run. Some might so it was too hot. Others might even say, it was really freaking muggy and uncomfortable. Nonetheless, Trip, Ashley, and myself charged onward and completed our first ever three-person relay of the famed Charleston race.
We all got to the race start about ten minutes in advance of the gun.  Trip, our honorary PTR member, settled in behind the start line and got ready for the first leg. Ashley and I trekked back past the Capitol, looking for a shuttle to take us to the South Side Bridge for our relay interchange. Apparently, the CDR provides no such service. So after a ritual port-a-john stop from yours truly, we walked alongside the race participants towards the bridge. There were many 15-mile participants getting the jitters out and finding their long-term pace. All I could think was how happy I was to not be racing the entire 15 miles that morning. The walk to the South Side Bridge served as a decent warm-up for Ashley and I. After another port-a-john stop for me, we ascended the stairs to the South Side Bridge, posed for a photo-op, and waited for the triumphant appearance of Trip.

Ten or fifteen minutes later, Trip made it up the bridge. I could tell from the sweat he had accumulated that I was in for a hard five miles of hill running. But at least he didn't look like this guy:

I offered my hand and he gave a sturdy slap to hand off the reigns. My opening pace was a little quicker than normal, but still cautious. I passed a decent amount of runners, who were probably doing the full 15 miles, on the way to "Capitol Punishment Hill". Once at the base of the hill, I tried to relax and remind myself of all the hill training I had done, both running and on the bike. My mantra was "chop up your steps, rely on your thighs". Generally, when you start exerting yourself too much it is a good idea to take shorter, more frequent strides. And I knew from cycling that I had mainly increased the strength of my thighs, at least more so than my calves. That seemed to get me to the top of 119 with energy left to burn. I enjoyed the random signs from onlookers stating "If it was easy, I would being doing it" and "I'm just a stranger, but you seem to be doing a good job".
I recalled from previous years that after the left turn onto Oakwood Road the route still features a significant amount of hills. The hill past GW High School reduced a lot of runners to a walk. I think that happened to me in the 2011 edition of the race. But knowing I could stop back down at the South Side Bridge gave me the confidence to run through that incline.

Oakwood Road Hill

After Oakwood Road, Bridge Road featured another hill that induced some people to walk. I kept running with my mantra. Then, the course turned onto Loudon Heights. I let the legs fly on the downhill, only checking that my pace could be sustained without injury. Most CDR veterans know to prevent excessive pounding of their joints on the downhill section. While I subscribe to this line of thinking, as a relay runner, I could throw caution a little to the wind in coming down towards the bridge. Loudon Heights features a couple more uphill sections, right when you think you're done with any incline. I was able to fight through the heat and hills to maintain a running pace. Giddy as a little schoolboy, I plodded down the last section of Loudon Heights with the stunning view of Charleston on the right hand side.

As I approached the South Side Bridge I remembered that Ashley had planned a special hand-off the night before. I laughed to myself and pushed toward the center of the bridge. Once there, Ashley leaned in with her fist and I handed off with a pound that we then "blew up", like ya do.

Second hand off of the race

Trip captured the hand-off at just the right moment. That set Ashley off on the last leg of the race. She had the longest and hottest section of the race, at seven miles and temperature reaching from 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I'll leave it to her to give a more detailed breakdown of her end of the race.

Trip and I walked to Laidley Field, via Virginia Street and caught each other up on how our respective runs played out. We found a spot to watch the finishing lap by Ashley and got ready to cheer. Ashley gave us a nice wave and ran out the final 400 meters of the race.

At the finish, it was all smiles. The heat and humidity had dented our bodies, but not our spirits (Awww). We caught up with friends and fellow sufferers many of whom are CDR legends. It is their strength and determination we wish to emulate in the coming years. Bravo, all you fifteen mile troopers. We salute you!