Myrtle Beach Marathon 2011 Part 1

Never in my life have I experienced such a wide range of emotions in such a short period of time. From pain and emotional despair, to elation and an overwhelming sense of achievement, all within a few minutes of each other. This is how I would describe the last few miles of my very first marathon.

I set two alarm clocks for 4am, but neither were needed, as I awoke at 3:30 ready to get started. I walked out on the balcony of the hotel, to check out the weather. As expected it was perfect. Except for a little wind, that would be a huge factor during the race. I then prepared a bowl of instant oatmeal and drank a sport drink. I had everything laid out from the night before. I covered myself with bodyglide, taped my left foot and I was ready to go.

I made my way to the front of the hotel to catch the shuttle for the one mile ride to the starting line. To my amazement there were runners everywhere. I was really getting excited. The wait for the shuttle and the ride, took a lot longer than I expected. Therefore I arrived a little later than I expected. I was in line at the portajohns as the "National Anthem" was played. I then rushed to the starting line, found a starting spot around the 4:30 pace. In hindsight, I wished I had moved a little closer to the front.

I will break down the actual race into sections in post to follow.

All Packed Up

Everything is packed. ( I hope ) Just waiting for Cindy to get off. Then we head to Myrtle Beach.

Marathon Week

Bib #170. Yes, I received my bib number for the Myrtle Beach Marathon. I have completed the training, and made all the plans for my trip to Myrtle Beach. Physically I feel much better than I thought I would at this point. It seems the Furman plan was very effective in getting me to the starting line healthy. Only after this Saturday will I know how conditioned I am. I completed a 22 mile long run in 3 1/2 hours, and felt pretty good. So barring a major mishap, I feel confident about finishing the 26.2 .

I still have not completely committed to a pace, which I'm sure is not a good thing. I trained for a 4 hour marathon, and all the charts say I should be able to do this. However, I really cant imagine how I might feel running this pace, after I hit the 20+ mile area. Logic tells me to just go out, run easy and enjoy my first marathon. However, I think I may be to competitive to carry out this plan.

Anyway, its almost time. The weather looks great. My training went great. And I'm stoked. Hopefully, this time next week, I will be a marathoner.

Ryan Hall - Training for Speed: Ryan's Track Workouts

Run Like A Nut 10k

My Marathon training plan called for a 6 mile tempo run this week. It worked out just perfect to replace the tempo run with a 10k race. My son suggested we run the Run Like A Nut 10k. This would be his first 10k. We also meet some other family members, one who was running her first 10k. And another, running his first half marathon. So needless to say, there was lots of excitement.

My marathon plan suggested an 8:20 pace, so my goal was to run the 10k close to this pace. I had in mind running the first half a little slower, then depending on how I felt, pick it up the last mile.

I told my son the pace I intended to run. He stated that he wasn't sure he could do that, but to do my thing and he would try to keep up.

I started near the back of the pack, as I normally do. It was very slow the first mile as I made my way through the traffic. Just as we began, a young boy tripped and nearly got ran over. Im very thankful he wasnt seriously hurt. According to my Garmin, I finished the first mile in 8:44.

The next 2 miles I hit my time almost exactly. 8:19 and 8:28 respectfully. I was really thrilled that my son was able to run right with me up to this point. I also found my self running with a group of 4 people, for both miles.

I normally dont drink anything in shorter races. However, I decided to grab a cup of Gatorade at mile 4. The main reason was to get the feel of drinking out of a cup during the marathon. Mile 4 was mostly up hill. This combined with the Gatorade stop, left me running mile 4 in 8:28. Still close to my 8:20 planned pace. But the best part was that Wayne was still running right with me.

As planned, I decided to pick up the pace a little the last mile. I still felt really good, and crossed the finish line in 50:06. As soon as I finished, I looked back and Wayne was crossing the finish line. Only a few seconds behind me. We gave each other a fist bump and walked off into the crowd. Wayne mentions now, that he would like to fun a half marathon. This makes me really happy, and I hope to run that with him as well.

After running, we went to the South Carolina- Arkansas game. The game really sucked, but even that couldnt put a damper on a great day.

Recap of Week 3 Furman FIRST training

I completed all three of this weeks key workouts. Due to some discomfort in my left knee, I decided not to do any cross-training, other than some walking. I dont think it will have much affect this early in the training. I suspect a slight case of runners knee. Hopefully with some stretching, ice and ibuprofen, it wont get any worse.

Here is a recap of the key workouts.

Speedwork: 10 min warm-up. then 4x 3min@ 7:10 pace with 3 min Recovery between. 10 min cool-down, Windy again, messed with pacing. 7:09, 6:57, 7:12, 7:20.

Tempo run: 2 miles easy, then 3 miles @ 8:20 pace, one mile easy. Very windy again, splits 8:22, 8:24, 8:15. Left knee still feels a little funky. Put some ice on after running.

Long run : Due to heavy rain, I did this on the treadmill. 10 miles on the treadmill @ 9:35 pace. Felt ok, a little stiffness in left knee, Iced after.

Ryan Hall - Get Loose: Ryan's Morning Stretches