Myrtle Beach Marathon Race Recap

I survived Marathon #2 and boy I did a little more than just survive it! 

After a few hours of work on Friday, I hopped in my car and headed down to the beach! I listened to my pump-up music all the way there! "It's the Eye of the Tiger" kept running playing through my head as I tried to begin preparing mentally for what was to come.

I arrived at the beach about 4:30 and met M & L and they graciously went back to the expo with me! Those lucky ducks got to head down Thursday afternoon! PS- A big shout-out to our gracious hosts for the weekend and awesome friends!

We arrived at the expo and it was getting crowded. They always are crowded on the evening before. I grabbed my bib, bought a pair of throwaway gloves (that I didnt even take with me), snapped a picture or two, and spoke to a few friends, and then we were off. It isn't the best expo I've ever been to but it isn't too bad.

We left and headed straight for FOOD. We ate at Luigi's, a local restaurant right down the road from the Convention Center. It was delicious! I ate a salad, bread, and the spinach and cheese stuffed ravioli. I don't usually eat ravioli but it is hard to resist a dish with spinach! Thank the Lord we beat most of the other runners and didn't have to wait to eat. We were in and out pretty quick and headed back to the house to set our things out and get some rest! I was in bed by 9:00...Hallelujah!

The alarm went of at 4:15. I am pretty sure I had already woken up three or four times because of the fear of my alarm not going off.

 Those armsleeves didn't last long. I wore them for the ride there and then shed them before the race started.

I ate my cliff bar, banana, and half a bagel and we were out the door and at the race by 5:40ish. We hung around, made a few porta-potty stops and headed to the start line. I knew it was going to be hard for me to find Missy and Stacey but I was on the constant lookout and finally found them two minutes before the race started! Thank. Goodness.

I would not have been able to pace the way I did without them! I kept an 8:05-8:20 pace for at least the first 15 miles or so and then kept an 8:30-8:35 pace until about mile 22 when we split up from each other. I really slowed down the last 3 miles to about a 9:00 pace.

The race overall was great. It was well organized and thought out as always. There were water and gatorade every two miles and gu and fruit at miles 16 and 22. I drank mostly water. The one time I took in gatorade my stomach started feeling funny. I took in 4 GU packs at miles 8, 12, 18.5, and 23.

As I was finishing, I saw Laren and my mom cheering me on! I was feeling tired but on a total "runner's high". My finishing time was.........

3:44:28

A whole 46 minutes faster than last year! Everyone was quite amazed and I was kind of shocked myself!
Who knew?!?! Here are a few pictures of me approaching the finish!

 

I found my parents, made a few pit stops to the little girls room, watched Michael finish, talked to a few friends, grabbed some fuel, and we headed off to California Pizza for lunch!! It. Was. Delicious.

After lunch, I spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch in my CWX compression tights! That afternoon we got dressed and headed back to Market Commons where we had dinner at P.F. Changs! The crab wontons and spicey honey shrimp were amazing! After a belly full of dinner and a trip to Yogurt Mountain, I was all set. I think I was asleep by 9:00!

 


Thanks Myrtle Beach for yet another great race!!