Race Recap: Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon

This past Sunday, I competed in the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon. I am currently following my training plan for the Disney Marathon in January and this half marathon fell right in line with my scheduled long run. Many events were planned over the course of the weekend. Overall, this is a great weekend to celebrate running. Just take a look at all of the activities.

Expo
Coastal 5K
High Heel Run
Doggie Dash
Mini Marathon

On Friday we traveled down to Myrtle Beach and arrived in time to head over to the expo for packet pickup. My wife was running the 5K on Saturday and our original plan was to get the packet on race morning. Getting there in time on Friday made things easier. We both checked in and got our race bibs for the 5K and the half marathon. We then headed over to get our race shirts where the rest of the vendor booths were located. The expo is smaller than the big events, but there still are some great booths/vendors in attendance. You get to see more local vendors and races to the South Carolina area. After leaving the expo it was time to get some dinner and then rest for the evening.

Leigh with the final kick to the finish line.

Wake up time on Saturday was 6:00 am. MaKayla, Isabella and I were ready to cheer for mom/Leigh. I brought a cow bell along so they could make as much noise as possible during the race. We wished mom/Leigh good luck and she headed over to the starting corral. We were positioned about 100 yards from the start/finish line. Shortly before the start, the starter comes over the PA to let everyone know he was standing next to a 72-year old lady and this was her first race ever. How awesome is that! Everyone gave her a round of applause. As the race begins, Isabella is ringing the cow bell, MaKayla is taking video and I am taking pictures. We were like our own paparazzi. Leigh goes by and gives us all a wave and she is off. Leigh is currently in training for the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February and has been building a good base for the past few weeks. Her goal was to break 45 min and set a new PR. I see her in the distance and tell the girls to get ready as mom is almost here. She puts in a great kick to the finish and crosses the line with a new PR of 44:13! So proud of her as she did an outstanding job.

Leigh showing her 5K finisher medal.

After the 5K there were two more races that are must sees events. The first is the High Heel Run. The race is a sprint of approximately 100 m and there were about 10-15 participants. If you are wondering, yes, there was 1 man in the race. He was wearing overalls along with his 5K finisher medal. Impressive to see everyone in these 3-4” heels sprinting. As they make the turn for home, who is in the lead? You guessed it, the guy is leading the pack. He is giving it all he has and gets beaten right at the finish line. So much fun to watch. The final event was the 1.5 mile doggie dash. There were so many dogs and their owners in the race. Again lots of fun to watch. The rest of the day involved some shopping and then a good dinner in prep for the half marathon.

Set the alarm to wake up at 4:45 am on Sunday.  I wanted to make sure my system was awake.  I got dressed, had some caffeine and then it was time to head to the start at Coastal Grand Mall.  My wife dropped me off right at the starting line an hour before the start.  She and the girls then headed to get some breakfast and then to get a spot around the halfway point to see me pass by.  I headed straight to the port-a-potty before any lines formed and I am glad I did.  It was not long before the lines were 30-40 deep.  To warm-up, I walked around in the mall parking lot, sipped on a G2 and stretched a lot.  At 15 minutes prior to the start, I had a Gatorade Perform.  Next thing I hear is runners take your mark….GO!  We are off!  I crossed the starting line about a minute after the super-human speedsters left.  At first, both of my feet were sore.  I could not figure out why, but once I warmed up that soreness went away.  I guess my feet were cold.  The first mile was a loop around the mall and then we made our way down some side streets.  At about the 2 mile mark, the course was taking a right to do a small 1 mile loop.  As I got to that corner, the lead runner was coming by and he was moving.  I also noticed there were some bathrooms on the other side of the course.  I had to go and made a decision to stop then as opposed to when I came by them a mile later.  I am so glad I stopped as there was no line and then when I came by them again, people were waiting.



Approaching Leigh and the girls at mile 7.



My nutrition plan for the race was to take 3 vanilla flavored Powerbar Gels at miles 4, 8 and 11.  Then at the first 3 aid stations I would drink water and then switch to Gatorade for the remaining aid stations.  I was able to get into a great rhythm from the start of the race.  Around mile 3, I noticed a lady in front of me had the M-Dot tattoo on her calf.  So I asked her what Ironman she finished.  She completed Ironman Lake Placid and Ironman Canada a couple years ago.  Impressive.  She asked me if I had done an Ironman and I let her know that Louisville in 2013 will be my first.  We are both competing in the 70.3 Ironman Raleigh next June.  I wished her well and continued on my journey down the Grissom Parkway.  Approaching Broadway at the Beach at the halfway point the crowds began to pickup.  Always great to get that encouragement and motivation from the spectators.  There were also some creative signs that help take your mind off of the running.  I hit the 10K mark in 1:02:27 and I was feeling great.  Average pace was right around 9:45/mile.  As I left Broadway at the Beach I began looking for my wife and daughters as I knew they were somewhere just ahead.  I spotted my wife and began to wave so the girls would be able to see me coming.  I rounded the corner and stuck my hand out to give the girls high-5’s.  Brought a big smile to my face to see them and I was feeling really good at this point 7 miles into the race. 

Mile 12

Beginning at mile 7.5 is a ½ mile stretch of the course where you run side-by-side by the runners that are 1.5 miles ahead of you.  Always tough to run in a section of a course like that.  You can’t help but think about what point in the race they are compared to you.  No worries though, there was nothing I could do about it other than focus on my race.  One of the things I have always struggled with in races is drinking at the aid stations.  I have always had to walk the aid stations to avoid spilling everything I needed to drink.  I finally figured out how to squeeze the cups, drink the fluid through the corner of my mouth and keep running at the same time.  It took many races and practice to get it, but it paid off.  I was able to keep my pace through the aid stations by doing this.  Just after mile 10, we cross over Highway 17.  I took a look down both directions to see how many cars were waiting.  Those folks picked the wrong time to be out with 20-30 cars waiting in both directions.  After crossing Highway 17, we made a right onto Ocean Boulevard inching closer and closer to the finish line.  Many people were out along the streets give us support.  As I approached mile 12, I could see my wife and daughters and that gave me another lift.  The final aid station was next and I could hear them calling out Gatorade and then water.  That was odd as all of the other aid stations were water first then Gatorade.  Guess they realized at that point in the race everyone wanted Gatorade.  I took some Gatorade and looked to my left and I see the finish line.  I still had a mile to go. 

The final mile is where I had to battle with myself.  My brain was telling me to take a walk break.  Then I kind of snapped out of and thought, now you have run all 12 miles without walking, don’t start walking now when you have less than a mile to go.  Dig deep and push on….you can do this!  I make the final two left hand turns to run back towards the finish line.  The final ½ mile is down a winding concrete sidewalk.  You are going left, then right, then left, then right, etc.  Drives you a little crazy, but you can’t beat the view.  You look to the right and there is the beach and the ocean.  I can hear the guy on the PA getting louder and louder and the concrete turns into the wood of the boardwalk and there is the finish line just ahead.  I see the clock and see it shows 2:08:37.  Why do I remember that time exactly, because I did a double-take and realized that I was going to run a sub-2:10 half.  I pushed the final 100 yards and crossed the line with an official time of 2:08:26.  This was almost 9 minutes faster than my previous PR.  Such an amazing feeling and a great weekend!

Next up is the Color Me Rad 5K in Raleigh on October 27, then a Thanksgiving Day 5K and then the Disney Marathon!

New PR!

Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon

This past Sunday was the inaugural running of the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon.  Overall this was an outstanding event.  I would recommend adding this race to your 2011 race calendar.

It all started with 3 great events on Saturday.  The first event was the Coastal 5K.  My wife completed this race as I stayed on the sides cheering her on to the finish along with our two girls.  So proud of her for completing her second ever 5K.

There was even a guy who ran the 5K juggling the entire distance.  From what I understand, this guys also ran the half marathon juggling the entire distance too!  It is hard enough to run, let alone trying to juggle at the same time.

After the 5K there was a high heel run.  This was interesting as there were 15 participants.  I say participants instead of ladies because there was one guy running the race (no, it was not me).  He ended up finishing last, but he made it.  He was interviewed after the race and was asked why he entered this event.  He said it was because of a dare.  Pretty funny to see.

The final event on Saturday was a Doggie Dash.  There were many participants who ran with "man's best friend" for the 1.5 mile course. 

On to Sunday and the Mini Marathon.  The course was to take you by many landmarks at Myrtle Beach by starting at Medieval Times at Fantasy Harbor.  After crossing the Intracoastal Waterway we would make our way past Coastal Grand Mall and on to Broadway at the Beach.  After leaving Broadway we would make our way to Ocean Boulevard and finish on the brand new boardwalk on the beach.

Prior to starting the race there was an important challenge that had to be decided....what knight would get the honor of starting the race.  The only way to settle this was a duel.  There were 6 knights who battled it out with sparks flying from their swords and shields.  We eventually had a victor and it was time to pound the pavement. 

Working up the biggest hill on the course just before mile 2 on the bridge crossing the Intracoastal Waterway, you had to look up to make sure the Spirit Airlines jet was not landing on top of you in the final approach to the airport.  That took your attention away from the hill, which made the climb to the top easier.

As the miles progressed I was looking forward to seeing the family at Broadway around mile 8.  As I approached, I started looking for them and spotted them at the 8.5 mile mark.  It was great to see them and get that extra encouragement.  As I passed, my youngest daughter who is just shy of turning 2 wanted to run with me.  My wife had to stop her and as she did, she drops to her knees and starts crying saying, "daddy, wait".....too cute!

The final stretch in the race is just spectacular as you make your way down the new boardwalk.  Awesome view of the ocean on your right. 

As I came to the finish line there were a couple of great moments for me.  I was coming to the line by myself so on the loud speaker they called out my name as well as recognizing Team 413.   That was a first to actually hear my name being called out.

The second was giving Bart Yasso from Runner's World a high five as I crossed the finish line.  Bart was there all weekend and was supporting everyone.  That was so great to see that support.  In the photo below, you can see this.   

As you can see in the last photo, the finisher's medal is huge!  This is a surfboard with a shark bite.  The shark bite can actually be used as a bottle opener.  They added a large magnet to the back of the medal for anyone who wants to stick it on their refrigerator.

What a great event! 

Rock N Roll Chicago

On Sunday, I completed my 7th half marathon at RnR Chicago.  This was my first Rock n Roll series race and this was a great event.  I also set a new PR by finishing in 2:21.

Over 25,000 runners took part in this race.  Great race, great course, great city!

This first picture was prior to entering corral 18 at 6:00 am.  The race started at 6:30 am and I did not cross the starting line until 7:00am.  What was really neat about this wave start was each and every corral started separately.  When it was time for my corral to start, I was at the front and it felt like you were an elite runner being at the front with no one in front of you.

As I passed the Willis Tower (formerly know as the Sears Tower), the crowds began to increase.  As I arrived at the Art Institute at mile 5, the crowds were really thick as we made our way on to Michigan Avenue.  It was at this point as my wife was able to catch a few pictures as I passed by.

 

Once I reached Columbus Street and the finish line was in sight, I kicked it in a bit.  I look at the following picture and the word "determined" comes to mind.  My goal was a 2:20 finish but with .4 of a mile remaining as we rounded the Shedd Acquirium, the pace slowed and I knew 2:20 was not going to happen.

After finishing there are photo stops to have your picture taken with your finishers medal.  While getting this taken by ASI, my wife was able to get a good photo.

After finishing the race, I took the time to get one last picture with the Chicago skyline. 

 

I'm Offically Goofy Now!

Last week I posted pictures of my Disney Marathon Weekend shadow box. A friend of mine contacted me with a tremendous offer. She and her husband also ran both the half and full marathons at Disney as part of the Goofy challenge and received Goofy Medals. I had ran both the half and full marathons, but was not officially part of the Goofy challenge. Therefore, I did not receive a Goofy Medal.

She was contacting me to offer me one of their Goofy medals. I was absolutely blown away by her generosity! She let me know that her husband actually surprised her by purchasing a frame while they were at the expo during the Disney Marathon Weekend. This frame included medals from all 3 races. Since they now had 3 Goofy medals, she offered the extra one to me.

I want to take the opportunity to say thank you Steve and Melissa.

Here is the updated marathon shadow box which now includes the Goofy Medal.



Here is a close-up of the Goofy medal.

Marathon Shadow Box

I was finally able to get around to putting my medals from the Disney Marathon Weekend in to a shadow box. I decided to go with a simple approach to what is displayed.

As you can see, both the half marathon and full marathon medals are the main focus. In the center is a copy of my finisher's certificate from the marathon. After downloading the certificate, instead of printing it as 8 1/2" x 11", I printed it at 5" x 7".

Surrounding the medals are the smaller version pins I purchased from the expo.

2010 Disney Marathon Scrapbook Pages

I am able to relive the excitment from the 2010 Disney Marathon Weekend back in January all over again. My wonderful wife made these two scrapbook pages. It is funny to look at the photos and see how bundled up we were because of the weather. There were actually snow flurries falling as we made our way to the starting line for the Half Marathon. The snow flurries turned in to rain which did not help.

Then on Sunday, the wind chill was in the teens as we work up. The temp did not get much better throughout the day, but no need to complain. As one of the pages is titled, I was "Getting Goofy"!

This first page is the overall 2-page spread called "Getting Goofy". The page contains the course map for both the half and full marathon. At the expo, there was a both that had some 12x12 paper with the Goofy logo which added to the page. I am also an ambassador with Team 413. This is a running ministry dedicating to spreading the Gospel to all. I heard comments all throughout the weekend as I was running the races showing encouragement for spreading God's word. Several fellow runners took the time to tell me what an inspiration the shirt gave them as they read the verse on the back....I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me...Phillippians 4:13.



Here is the left side of the Gettin' Goofy page.



Here is the right side of the Gettin' Goofy page.



The second page is a great layout showing my accomplishment of completing my first full marathon. Hard to believe that I actually did it, but as the Disney finisher certificate states, "Congratulations on completing the most magical 26.2 miles!" I really like how this one shows my bib from the race and incorporates all of the character stops along the way where I had pictures taken. My wife added a few silhouettes of running that she slightly altered using her Gypsy. Notice anything special on top of the runner's head? The runner has his very own set of Mickey ears! That is a really cool touch.



Here is the left side of the Marathon page.



Here is the right side of the Marathon page.

2009 Disney Half Marathon Start

As the 2010 Disney Marathon weekend is quickly approaching, here is video I took at the start of the 2009 Disney Half Marathon. Looking forward to my first marathon!

Shadow Box

I wanted a way to capture the memories from the 2009 Disney Half Marathon in a way where I did not have my medal and other items stuffed away in a closet. I went to my local Michael's and purchased a 12" x 16" shadow box. Inside the shadow box I put my finisher's medal, bib and several photos I took during the event. Overall I feel it turned out really well and will be a great addition to the wall at home. This was an inexpensive alternative to buying a frame from one of the vendors at the half marathon expo.

Disney Half Marathon Scrapbook Layout

My wife created a 2-page spread for me with several of the pictures I took during the 2009 Disney Half Marathon. She is a big time scrapbooker and I love how she created this cool memory for me. As you will see from a prior post, she has created another 2-page layout for me on the City of Oaks half marathon I completed in 2008. Great way to display my Disney Half Marathon memories.

Scrapbook Page

My wife is a huge scrapbooker and she took the time to scrapbook on of my half marathons. She did an outstanding job with the layout and utilizing the colors on the pages to match what I was wearing for the race. The event she scrapbooked was the City of Oaks Half Marathon from November 2, 2008. She even created a sleeve on one of the pages that holds the race program and my bib. You can see my wife's blog located at http://www.myscrappyjourney.blogspot.com/ to read her post regarding the half marathon scrapbook page and many more. Here is a picture of the 2-page layout she created.

Post Half Marathon Recovery

A week ago today I competed my 3rd half marathon at Disney World. As the race was concluding I was feeling the normal pains you would expect after running 13.1 miles. I could feel my legs getting tight and the bottom of my left foot was hurting. The first few days after the race I still had the pains, but as each day passed, I felt better. I am now ready to begin an 11-week training plan leading up to the Raleigh Rocks half marathon on March 28.

Walt Disney World Half Marathon

On Saturday, January 9, 2009 I completed my first Disney half marathon. This was an absolutely amazing experience!

The day started very early with a wake-up call at 2:00am. By 3:00am I was waiting for the bus at Pop Century to take me to the start located in the parking lot at Epcot. It was definitely a cool morning for Florida with temps in the 40's. I was amazed at how many people, the lights and the music playing for 3:30am.

As I arrived I proceeded to the R reunion tent to meet up with fellow http://www.disneyrunning.com/ members. Wait....let me get that right. I met up with them at the "Arrrrrr" tent! It was great getting to meet and talk with the members. The excitement was starting to build for the race. At 4:30am they made an announcement to make our way to the staging area. Once in the staging area you quickly realized it was porta potty heaven. I took everyone's advice and got in line. Soon after, we started to head to the starting line. I was walking over there with a fellow Disney Running member and it seemed as though we walked at least a mile to get to the starting corrals.

I was in Corral B and I was able to get right to the front. The 80's music was blarring and it was amazing to see all of the costumes people were wearing. Plenty of fairy costumes and one guy I saw dressed as Peter Pan. The anticpation for the start was definitely there. I could not wait for the countdown. The last song I remember them play was Dancing Queen from Abba. Talk about a song to have in your head for a race.

As Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy counted down from 10 to 1, I started to get goose bumps knowing the time had finally arrived. As the start arrived fireworks were shot into the air and a roar went up for the crowd.

The first few miles seemed to just fly by. Everyone was just getting themselves into a grove and looking to finally warm up. As we made our way down World Drive the monorail zoomed by taking spectators from Epcot to the Magic Kingdom.

The crowds at the Transportation and Ticket Center were amazing. There were people 4-5 deep on both sides. That was definitely an adrenaline boost!

As we made our way to the Contemporary results we came upon the steepest hill on the course, which was just before mile 5. Supprising there were no backups on the hill as everyone was running. At this point I was running with the 2:15 pace group.

No we are approaching the highlight of the entire course. Even though it was still dark out, Space Mountain and Cinderella's Castle never looked better. We entered the Magic Kingdom via the cast member entrance which is on the backside of Main Street. At this point I was now able to see the lights on the buildings as we entered Main Street. Making the right-hand turn on Main Street was simple awesome. Hearing the crowd and then seeing the castle was awesome. My mother was going to try and find a place on Main Street so I began to scan the crowd to find her. Just before making the right-hand turn towards Tommorow Land I spotted her. She was able to get a quick photo of me as I passed.

Once in Tomorrow Land we made a left-hand turn towards Fantasy Land. Here I was able to stop and take a picture with the Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland.

It was now time to head towards the highlight of race - running through the castle. Approaching the castle the trumpets were playing and everyone was cheering loudly. The photographers were all over the place. It seemed to go by so quickly as I was in Frontier Land before I knew it.

Prior to the water stop near mile 7, I stopped and took a picture with Captain Jack Sparrow and his mates. Amazing how much Jack looked and sounded like Johnny Depp.

As we made our towards the Grand Floridian, the crowds were sparse. Right around the entrance to the Floridian, there were plenty of spectators. Did not matter who you were or what pace you were running, they were cheering you on.

Things were calm from this point until making the final turn to head towards the parking lots at Epcot. Just over a mile to go when I entered the Epcot lots. Plenty of crowd support just past the 12 mile marker sign.

As we entered Epcot I remembered taking a video and saying I was 12.4 miles into the race. I was passing Spaceship Earth at the time heading towards the Seven Seas Lagoon for the turnaround point. After making the turn and heading away from Spaceship Earth you arrive at Disney's last surpirse with a gospel choir singing.

You are now in the last tenth of a mile and you see the grandstand and the finish line. The final kick of adrenaline sets in and pushes you to the finish.

I had a PR of 2:23:35 and I could not have been happier. What a great experience. Here is to the 2010 event.