Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon Race Re-cap

Last Sunday I ran the second annual Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon! I participated in the inaugural race last year and loved it. It was such a great race and so well organized, especially being in its first running! Nothing changed this year! It was another outstanding, well organized race! 

Saturday I got off work around 4:30pm and the husband picked me up at work and we were off to the beach! We headed to Market Commons to exchange a wedding gift and then had dinner at Gordon Biersch! 

 

Then we headed to the beach house and hung out with M & L until it was time for bed!

My alarm went off at 5:00am and we were out the door at 5:50! The race started at 7:00 but I can't stand the thought of being late to a race so we were  there in plenty of time. The only gripe I had about the race this year was the porta-potty situation! Yall know us runners need to use the restroom at least 1534960 times before we race. The lines were redic!!! I got in a line and then got back out because I figured there was no way I would make it through in time! 

So, I started the race already feeling like I needed to use the restroom and I just prayed that it would go away! (It kinda did, thank goodness)

I was feeling pretty good at the start of the race. I was anxious because I hadn't raced since April and I wasn't sure what to expect of myself!

My pace for mile 1 was 8:20 which I was fine with. Mile 2 was 7:47 and I freaked out. I knew I needed to slow down a bit. Mile 3 was 7:58. Miles 4-8 I hovered around 8:10-8:20 pace which was perfect! The last few miles I started feeling it and stayed between 8:20-8:30. I used GU at mile 5.5 and 10.5; both of which contained caffeine! :) 

Oh yeah, my ipod got turned on accidentally in my bag on the trip down so i was without music for this race, which I was okay with. There were a few bands along the way which helped!

The race ended on the Myrtle Beach boardwalk which is pretty narrow and curvy. I was prepared for it this year! I turned it up pretty hard the last .2 and finished strong!!

1:48:57!!!!!

A new half marathon PR for me!!! An 8:19 average pace!! I was totally suprised and very excited about this!

I finished 20th in the 25-29 age category and I was the 86th female to cross the finish line! I was #346 out of over 3,000 runners. Needless today, I was thrilled with how I ran and how I felt!!

After the race we hung around for a while then headed back to the beach house! We showered and were off to Hamburger Joe's for lunch! Suprise, Suprise!! :) 

This race will definitely be on my schedule again next year!!!