The Myrtle Beach 1/2 Marathon

I did it! My training was lack-luster at best, but I still pulled off a 1/2 marathon with my average time of 2:35

Before driving down to Myrtle Beach, Nathan and I only ran six miles at one time. Usually we work up to ten before the race, but we were slackers. I'm sort of ashamed by that fact, but it is what it is. We did what we could and then decided to just go and enjoy the run.

I didn't set any time goals or goals for how long I would run before walking. My mental game was simple.

It's a beautiful sunny day at the beach and I'm just out for a fun run with my hubby and a few thousand friends.

And it was beautiful! The sun came up a few minutes after the start, clear blue skies, the full moon slowly sinking out of sight, and a light sea breeze to keep things comfortable. You really couldn't ask for better running conditions.

I highly recommend this race! 

The crowds were not as great as the Country Music. In fact they were non-existant, but there were enough people running that you never ran alone. The course was flat. And I mean flat. There was a stretch of road that was really annoying though. Down the main strip of shops and miniature golf places was wavy. The road was slightly slanted for run off, and then the cars had worn ruts (sort of) in the road. So for about 4 miles it was really hard on the ankles. Once that smoothed out it was a perfect run.

With hubby beside me I managed to run eight miles before stopping to walk. I didn't walk long though because it was more painful than running. My body actually felt pretty good until mile 8. That's when my hips started to tighten up and the blister started on my right foot. My breathing was good too. I stopped twice after mile 8 to stretch out my hips, but kept running (slowly) the rest of the way with a few walk stops of around a minute.

The last half mile is ALWAYS the worst for me, because I know I'm so close. It's all mental by then. I KNOW I can run half a mile. By that time I had already run 12.6 of them, so what's another half? It's half a mile of "there's nothing left" or "I'm gonna throw up" or "I think I can, I think I can". Or usually all three.


I hit the last tenth and thought "MOVE" and nothing happened. My feet were still on automatic pilot which was all I could hope for. And then another runner stepped up beside me. It was the girl in the long purple striped socks that I had stayed close to for at least half the race. (I was wearing my awesome long heart socks.)

"Come on, let's do this! We've stayed together the whole time so don't quit on me now."

And we sprinted!

We crossed the finish line together, thanked each other and hugged before going our separate ways. That's why I love running. What other competitive sport is also so encouraging, with complete strangers?

 The afternoon before.

 Sleepy eyed start.

 Starting right at sunrise. The moon is that bright circle in the tree.

 The hotels hid the ocean most of the time, but we did get glimpses.

 Yay! The finish line!

And the medals were awesome!