Charles Street 12 Miler 2015 Recap

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It's been a while since I've written a race recap, and I'm still a little behind on a few.

This past Saturday was the Charles Street 12 Miler or as it's affectionately dubbed now, Chuck 12.  I have run it the past two years since it was created (2014 and 2013 recaps) and it's always a fun race to kick off the fall race season. 

Yes, I rocked this awesome shirt from Charm City Run during the race!

Despite it being advertised as downhill (the keyword is net), it has a bunch of rolling hills through the course which mostly follows historic Charles Street from Baltimore County to downtown in Baltimore City. It's a really nice route that is unique for races in the city.  

I picked up my race packet the Thursday before and grabbed my super nice Under Armour pullover premium which is a blueish green lightweight sweatshirt.  The B3 Challenge premium for women ended up being a maroon Under Armour bag. It's not as nice as the backpack from last year but it's better than another race shirt.  

Due to being a crazy runner lady who is training for a marathon, I had to get in 3 miles before the race. I took a slow jog down Charles Street to the Inner Harbor which is actually part of the race route. When I got back I quickly ate some peanut butter and banana toast and drank some Nuun Energy.  Sarah's boyfriend drove us up to Kenilworth in Towson for the start with about 30 minutes to spare until go time which meant port-a-potty and chatting time. My goal was to use this race as a race-pace training run like I did last year and attempt to keep my pace around 8:00 minutes/mile. 

The start seemed less crazy crowded than last year but maybe I had just found a good spot near the 1:35 pacer. My legs were feeling a little tight & stiff, but I didn't really stretch out before the race which is bad. I also was taking a self-timer selfie and experienced an attempted photobomb by my fellow Gundalow ambassador lady Jami (who had an awesome race!). This photo is all that was left. 

The weather on race morning was cooler than it had been, around 70 degrees but with ~80% humidity. Ugh the humidity is my running nemesis.  As the race went on I was really grateful for all the cloud cover and intermittent breezes of course. 

The first 5 miles in Towson were a bit of a blur. My legs were feeling a little heavy and the rolling hills didn't help that.  After running it the past two years I am well aware that it is a (keyword) net downhill race. There were plenty of manned water stops in the first half of the race which is always nice. 

That elevation profile though. (source)

I also was having a really hard time with my Nathan waistpack. It was so freaking annoying especially because I know I didn't really need to carry water but wanted to simulate the marathon in this pace race. After trying a few different hydrations options other than the fuelbelt this trianing cycle, I settled on the waistpack. Today however, I could not get it into a comfortable position and had to keep fidgeting with it and pushing it down to a tight spot above my hips. It was really distracting and frustrating.  

I also was getting really antsy because lots of my friends and November Project people were running a fast race. I ran a few miles a bit faster than I wanted but was proud of myself for reigning it in and sticking to my marathon training race pace. Holding yourself back and allowing yourself to be passed is a humble quality to have as a runner! 

Once we got into the city I was a lot more comfortable, mostly because I run in the city all the time.  Once you hit Mt. Vernon around miles 9-10, my stomping grounds ,there is a few more hills and a big downhill which I saw some people struggling. After the fast downhill you head into Federal Hill for a little roundabout before coming along the Inner Harbor towards PowerPlant for the last couple of miles.   

At this point I smiled for the camera a bunch and was happy to be almost done the race. I had a lot harder of a time keeping a steady pace, unlike last year, so I was feeling discouraged about the possibility of trying to run around 8:00 minute miles for a whole marathon.  I picked up the pace a bunch that last mile and felt great finishing. I even managed to say hi to Lauren at the finish, who had a great race as well.  

At the finish line I grabbed my boxed lunch and said hi to lots of people. I got a surprisngly cold can of beer as well of course! At first I only ate the chocolate chip cookie (#sweettoothforlife) from the boxed lunch, but I ended up hanging out with friends for a while and finishing off the turkey wrap and apple as well. Not bad, but I wish they would maybe do bagels & bananas instead of sandwiches since I was really in the mood for breakfast #2 after the race. Breakfast always > lunch. 

As always Charm City Run keeps trying to make this race better and better.  I do wish they would move the race back to late August because Labor Day weekend was too late and too busy for many people in my opinion. 

The only race hiccup I had this year was my results didn't track with my bib. I couldn't find my results posted after the race and then didn't see them on the website when I got home. At first I thought maybe my bib just got really messed up from my waistpack rubbing against it and causing it to look crappy, but apparently some others had problems as well. My Garmin said I finished around 1:33, but apparently they had a backup system and gave me my official time, even though I still didn't see it online. 

My official time was 1:32:55, around a 7:45 pace which is about a minute faster than last year.

You can check out the course preview here and should definitely be on the look out to run this great Baltimore race.  

Have you ever had a timing chip malfunction? Do you like breakfast or lunch foods after a race?

This post was linked up with Wild Workout Wednesdays, The Fit Dish, and Tuesdays on the Run.