I am a Marathoner!!! Myrtle Beach Marathon Recap...

This is long, so grab your coffee or take a nap in between paragraphs.  I hope you enjoy at least mildly.  I was going to make this a complete vacation, day by day recap, but I got bored reading it so instead I'll discuss the marathon, things I learned and other reflections and only throw in a few things regarding the vacation.  Well, I ran a marathon. The more I think about it, the more i realize it is an accomplishment to be proud of.

Thursday was a lot of travel and a lot of exhaustion.  Friday was the same, but in the car and with a little more sleep.  The amount of pee breaks for both days were insane trying to hydrate for the marathon.  After an expo where I got to see some cool Tiger Cubs and getting everything ready, I went to bed and knew I could do no more, tomorrow was the big day!!

It was actually a pretty good nights sleep. I woke up a few times but fell right asleep and was up and ready to go at 4:15. I hopped in the shower (yes I am weird that I shower before making myself stink and run for almost 4 hours but I like to at least start off smelling alright beforehand) and put on my garb. I fueled up and was ready to go. The temp was somewhere around 37 as we drove the two SUVs over to the start area. It was not warm but being as I had run many times in a T-shirt and long sleeve with shorts in those temps, I was plenty okay. We got there and the turn into the parking lot at Broadway at the Beach was insane. We were early enough it wasn't a concern. I did not want to start without another pit stop so I found the darkest and least crowded bush area. Oh what a relief it is!

The pace groups were poorly organized/labeled/etc. so I guessed a balloon was probably for the 3:35 pace group and got in between them and the next balloon, assuming that was 4:00. It is always amazing to me to see so many people in one area doing something most people would never try in their life at a time most people decide sleep is a better option. After a few days of reflection I feel this way even more than I used to!

The gun went off, though I could only tell by the mass moving forward slowly.  I started off comfortably and was passing more people than were passing me. It was an interesting start. I missed a 4 ton elephant at the start. I now know it was because my mom was taking a picture of my brother and I and I was so focused on the start. I started off and it was nice to see that I was in a nice groove. Not too fast and felt a good pace. The left side of the street was for the weak or should I say more intelligent the half marathoners and the right side was for the warriors orinsaneUnfortunately I knew I was slow but I didn't want to get stupid. It also felt faster than my long run pace by a bit so I knew I was no more than 9:15. I got to mile marker 1 and it said 10:30ish. Ouch. Okay I started around a minute late I realized so I was probably 9:15. Suddenly I heard a familiar voice and it was my rabbit of a brother telling me I did a 9:07. Okay, I started slow. I knew not to get stupid and just slowly increase the pace. It worked well. At Mile 4 I finally saw a yellow balloon and went oh man, no way that is 3:35 and sure enough I was with the 4:00 people. The good thing was my pace felt good and I knew I could run faster and I was passing more and more people anyway.  I hit the 10k and had run it at just over 9:10/mi.  I felt strong and kicked into gear.  After the 10k it was a slight downhill for awhile and I started passing more and more people.  I could tell by the clocks every mile or couple miles, whenever I saw one I was going strong. 

I smiled and thought about Sophie and Andi a lot throughout the marathon when I saw a mom and kid or dad and kid cheering on their parents.  I wish they would have been there physically but Sophie was every cute little girl to me holding a sign up or cheering on their parents so I knew she was there.

At Mile 11, the half marathoners and fulls broke off.  The half went back up Mr. Joe White Avenue while we crazies cruised down Oceans Blvd.  There were a fair amount of hotel guests lining the road.  I am glad I chose Ace as my bib name because that gave me a kick everytime I heard someone screaming Go Ace!  Right around the half marathon, I knew I had really made up time seeing the clock reading around 1:53:30.  I knew I was right on pace and felt great.  I continued to make ground on people and pass people.  There was only two guys that I found out to be family running together that passed me, then fell behind.  Their run-walk method was equal to my consistent pace.  I got to the only real downhill at Mile 17 after running uphill slightly for about a quarter mile and saw a woman running on her own.  She was cursing to herself or someone she was talking to on the phone.  I was glad I was not in her shoes.  Mile 17.5-19 was a crazy turnaround area.  I knew I would catch some of the people that looked spent and I was still feeling great.  Then suddenly at Mile 18, I felt a tweak in my calf. It was quick and sudden but I said to myself WTF is that?  I knew it was a sign of a cramp but had never felt that sensation in my body.  .  Just after Mile 19, I found my support group of my brother's family and my mom.  I felt good and appreciated seeing them there.  Unfortunately my calves did not care.  They began tweaking more and more, but no full cramp that stopped me or even slowed me down.  Suddenly at Mile 20.5 we headed up this loosely compacted asphalt street and if it wasn't for seeing another guy in misery, I probably would have felt bad.  I had just had my probably 20th cup of Powerade when a nice church group was offering oranges and dixie cups of water and powerade.  I decided to take a cup when I was told it was Powerade, wrong!!!  It was some of the worse tap water ever so I threw it in the trash after the first drop hit my tongue.  Little did I know, I could have used a Powerade and some anti-cramping medicine.  At Mile 21.5 you went along a dirt path for about a mile.  It was very peaceful and enjoyable to me, since I like running alone and those are my reflection times.  I felt good.  Unfortunately, I hit my first full-out cramp just as I was approaching the little quarter mile turnaround aide startion just after Mile 22.  At that aide station, I needed potassium, I needed salt and my mind was saying, I FUCKING HATE POWERADE, do not ingest one more lousy drop or I will puke.  I told it to shut up and drank up.  Bananas were offered, my body could not stomach a solid but looking back I should have tried since it's K-enrichment but puking did not sound any better so I chose just to hope the cramping would subside.  NOPE!!!

I battled a cramp every half mile until Mile 24.  I got to the clock there expecting to see over 3:30 and no chance at a 3:45 with all my stops.  Instead I was still on pace.  I checked my mind, it was good, I checked my body, it felt great, I checked my breathing, just as good, I checked my legs, numb to any pain but felt strong.  I took off and was at a good pace after a quarter miles and, Boom!  Cramp.  Longest stop to that point and it was both calves.  I massaged and stretched and was back at it.  It did not matter, the cramping was not going to subside.  I spent the last 2.2 miles catching people and then them getting right back to me.  The great thing is we all had slowed greatly.  Theirs were because their body was spent, mine was solely calves.  I felt great.  I can't tell you how much it sucked stopping 5-6 times in the last mile.  I stopped right before the turn into the parking lot of Pelican Park.  I stopped down the home stretch.  I saw the clock at Mile 26, just before the home stretch and saw I had lost my goal and I was now just needing to finish.  I tried to not stop, but it kept hitting.  I decided as I cramped in both calves, I was going to do whatever it took to finish strong at the finish line and I ran on my toes the last 100 meters keeping the cramps from grabbing even though they wanted to.  The clock said, 3:48:33 but I knew I was about a minute and a half faster and chip time was a 3:47:08.  I had become a marathoner.

I was proud but my first thoughts were dissappointment.  I felt strong and like I could have kept running mentally and physically and was frustrtated.  The more the last few days have gone by, the more I realized I need to be proud of myself.  I will get to that later.  I stood just past the finish line talking with my coach/mentor/friend/Uncle/Big Brother, my mom and my brother's son Ashton and talked about my run.  I then realized my legs were pretty shot.  Moving was painful but bearbale.  We stood there waiting for my brother.  I did not feel like I could eat anything and I wanted to see him finish.  The waiting lasted a while longer than I had hoped after seeing his half and 18.5 splits but I knew he had to have been feeling pain similar to mine, but I knew he'd make it, but not sure whether it would be 4:15 or 4:45.  He was somewhere in between and I was excited to see him done.  He looked as spent as I am sure I did with all the pain of the cramps.

Our post race meal was Bojangles followed by Landrys for dinner.  What a meal.  I spent the next 48 hours in some of the worse pain of my life I believe, the soreness from groin to foot was crazy.  I couldn't run, my balance was weak and it was tough to go from sitting to standing.  I still am a little sore, but I sit here a few days later and think, when can I run again?!

The Course and Organization:
The course was pretty cool, I wish you could see more of the ocean because it was a great site for the eyes when you did see it for more than in between buildings.  It really was a flat course but I did not mind that.  I would run this race again if I was ever in Myrtle Beach or around that area in February.  Not likely, but if I ever am I would do it.  I would change the short and crowded turnaround at Mile 22 into just a single aide station area.  I would also add an aid station at Mile 21 just past the church group or as part of it because that stretch from Mile 20 to Mile 22 is not easy.  The crowded areas that need fixed are when you turn onto Farrow Parkway with the 7000+ participants funnelling into a single turn lane and a couple other turns the last few miles.  The turns are brutal when you are cramping and that's where I had my main issues occur.

The organization was great.  The aide stations were plentiful.  My biggest thing is I saw volunteers dumping water into cups from plastic bottles.  Why not hand those out and allow people to run with them, especially for the marathoners where we are used to carrying something on our long runs and maybe need something to wet our tongue for mental fortitude in between aide stations? The funny thing was seeing one cup with 2 drinks of powerade and another that was no chance. 

I wish they had some water closer to the finish and handed out a water with the medal.  I was fine, but I saw a lot of people needing it right at the end and walking another 1/4 mile is not fun after 26.2.
The food was decent, but I was surprised there weren't some local businesses handing out some delicious fattening food.  A bagel or fruit was not something I had any interest in for at least a day or a few days!  I had been eating plenty of that food before the marathon.

The 18.6 checkpoint makes sense where it is at, but they should give one closer to that 20-21 range.  It would give you at least 10k since your half checkpoint and work out a little better to see where someone truly is later in the race.  I could have seen how much I dipped off.

Reflections and other thoughts:
First, it started snowing that night and the next days highs were in the high 20s with 40-mph wind gusts.  How fortunate Myrtle Beach, the organizers, the volunteers and us runners were!!!  I would have been happy to finish with any time in those conditions.  I was glad I didn't have to test my cold weather running prowess either way.

My next thing looking back is I respect Sir Marathon more now than I ever did.  I believe I was a little cocky.  I felt like 3:45 was more than doable, I felt unstoppable.  The cramping was something I had never experienced in my life.  The marathon told me I needed to respect it more by putting me through that pain I believe. 

I trained well, I ate well, I hydrated well during the race and I was prepared, but nothing could prepare me for the pain my calves were going through.  I fought them valiantly and to only finish a couple minutes past my goal  is a great first marathon.  Most people's stories I read are of hitting a huge wall and being satisfied finishing.  The fact is, I immediately wanted another go at the marathon.  I know I can run a 3:45 with a little more effort, doing some things the day before and of the marathon and trying some things out.

Obviously circulation was an issue in my calves and I believe compression socks, more potassium and some cramp medication at the halfway point will help.  I hydrated as well as I could.  I hated powerade the last 5 miles.  I was thinking to myself you are going to puke if you keep drinking it.  I could stomach a Powerade now, but for 24 hours after, Sports Drinks were not going to be part of my arsenal.

I ran a slow 10k and over the next 12.5 miles I ran at an 8:05/mi pace.  I am floored by this since that is fast, but I know I wasn't pushing too hard and that the extra gas I reserved probably kept me from stopping at the end of the race when I was cramping.  I didn't feel spent and that's a good sign.  There was more in the tank.  My tank was just not cooperating with the dang breaks of my calves.

I now realize I can run a 3:45 marathon.  My goal is to do this before I turn 32 in June.  My goal before my following birthday is a 3:30 marathon.  I love running.  I love what it has done to me.  I have never felt better physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually.  I know I have a lot to improve on as a person, but am at least a lot better off than I was a year ago by miles, 1250 approximately!

First, I have to thank my daughter and wife.  They spent many weekends finding something to do while daddy ran for 3+ hours.  There are more to come I am sure, but I am going to enjoy the next few weeks with them before any really long run is thought about or discussed.  I am thinking about the next marathon but that is after talking with them.  I am a PITA (pain in the ...) and I appreciate Andi even when I do a poor job of showing it.

I have to thank my brother for starting this LIFE changing challenge.  He had a lot on his plate this year with a marriage, bringing two kids to make his family, crazy work schedule.   I am sorry for my ribbings about your weight and not realizing it was a big accomplishment to get to that finish line with the year you've had.  I am glad you want another crack at the beast!  I will be more supportive and less critical and competitive about it.

My mom being part of the trip was a great experience I will always hold dear to my heart.  It would not have been the same without her sharing in this experience.  She put the whip cream and cherry on this trip with her support, love and most of all excitement for what my brother and I had accomplished.  I hope I can help her accomplish her half marathon goal.

As far as this challenge, I could not have even thought of accomplishing it without my Uncle Tim.  He helped me improve my running and as a person more in the past year than ever.  He is a great man.  I love and respect him dearly.  He helped me off my cliff and we instead ran down that mountain together.  I hope to run many marathons with him and/or share our stories until we can no longer run.  I will talk greater about his impact on my life another day when I have 24 hours! :)

As for myself, I think the marathon was a big cure for many of my cravings.  I have had chocolate, I have had taco bell and cinnabon.  The thing is unlike the past, I didn't overindulge when I had these things and biggest of all, I either don't want more of it for a while or in a very limited and rare occassion.  Eating healthy, living healthy and feeling great are more important than a fast food meal.  Sandwiches, fruits and healthy meals sound more appealing than any Golden Arch and a year ago that was far from the case.  I am proud of where I have come physically and mentally.  I am at a great life weight.  I need to improve many things still, but those will come sooner than later.

My goals and how I will attain them are next to discuss.  Give me a few more days so I can decide what they are and how to attain them most efficiently.