2011 Myrtle Beach Marathon: The Recap

Sole Sisters the day before the raceAnother marathon on the books.

Here's the short version: Hot. Flat. New PR!

Here's the long version: 

This was my first marathon without Blair. Instead, I traveled with my Sole Sisters--six "hot fast women" (painted on our car)---to Myrtle Beach. I was worried about not having Blair waiting for me at the finish line. I'm typically in intense pain for the first 40 minutes after a race and Blair all but carries me around. Surprisingly, I finished in good form. I kept moving after I crossed the finish line and while I was stiff, I was walking around after the race with little difficulty. 

The big surprise was the weather. I spent 16 weeks planning on being freezing cold at the 6:30 AM start. I've trained in ice and snow. I packed gloves. The temp at the start line? 57 degrees. It was above 70 by the time I finished and I came home with a whopper of a sunburn on my shoulders. 

I liked the Myrtle Beach course much more than I thought I would. That long 10 mile stretch that I was worried about? Not so bad. It was on the strip so there were hotels and stores and restaurants and things to look at. I could have done without the smell of bacon and doughnuts wafting through the street, but the crowds were decent and a few waitresses stood outside in their uniforms and cheered and clapped for us, which was kind. 

There was much more shade than I was expecting--thank God. Miles 17-20 and 23-26.2 were full on sun and they just sucked the life from me. When I ran in shade I was still tired, but I found myself much more "up" mentally than when I was in full sun. 

Sole Sisters (minus 1) heading outAs in every race, a couple of moments stand out above all others: 

• A woman who gave me an appraising look at mile 16 then nodded and said, "You look comfortable with that pace. Keep going."
• The runner behind me at mile 24 who, when I started running after leaving the water station then started to walk yelled, "Keep running girl! We've come too far to quit now!" I didn't even look back, just threw a thumbs up as I started running. He shouted, "Don't let me catch you!" and I didn't. He found me after the race and I thanked him for giving me the motivation when I needed it. 
• Coming down the final .2 of the race, a male runner was maybe 5 or 10 steps ahead of me. I was so tired. Hurting. But a male spectator leaned over the barrier, looked me in the eye and motioned with his head toward the male runner in front of me. "Go get him."  I thought, no, I can't immediately followed by HELL, YES. Passed him with about .1 to go. 

Bottom line: I made my goal of coming in under 3:40 and set a new PR of 3:38:38. No false modesty--I am really proud of that time, especially given that we didn't train in warm weather. I felt decent for most of the race. Not great, but nothing fell apart for which I am grateful. 

I'm also grateful for the fabulousness of my training and running partners. Every single one of these women ran a great race and I'm walking away from this marathon with something much more important than just a new PR. 

I've got a whole new group of wonderful friends. 

Cheers,

Dena

Comments

[Jennifer]

Okay, so first I wait HOURS for the results when I thought they were going to be "live".

Then, Cute Little Rockstar Runner takes a-l-l d-a-y l--o--n--g to post a recap. :-)

It sounded awesome! I know exactly what you mean about not expecting the weather to be as warm as it ends up being. I've been surprised by cool temps but high humidity before. Gordon mentioned some wind for you guys, too.

You will see my congratulations and accolades beneath your pre-marathon report. I was just getting you pumped and ready for that "no false modesty".

Excellent race! Again, I am so proud of you!

Take Care,

Jennifer

[Dena]

Thanks, Jennifer! Sorry so long to post... I'm still working on regaining feeling in my legs. The second day after a race is always the worst for me. I appreciate all your cheering! Thanks!!!

[Neel Mehta]

Wow, nice activity. It is true. The worst part when you run, is the day after. Your legs need to regain the strength. Specially if you haven't run for quite sometime.

Neel Mehta
Sudoku Solving Techniques

[Christopher Laney]

Hmmmm. Can I go with you all for the next race to be the group's chauffeur/bodyguard/towel boy? :)

Congrats!

[Dad]

Wow, Dena! Congratulations on another PR; You just keep getting faster each time out. Plus it looks like all of you "Hot FAST Women" had a blast. You are blessed and I am proud of my daughter for knowing to be thankful for people you sometimes don't even know like the waitress cheering all of you on, the runner giving you more motivation and the man in the street telling you to go catch that man in front. Congratulations for more than just a PR!

[Dena]

Thanks, Dad. I'm fortunate to be surrounded by great people.

Chris - Sure. You don't mind if I ask Susan about that, do you?

[kim e williams]

you ran for 3 and 1/2 hours???? oh my...

Seriously, congrats. looking forward to catching up.

[Christopher Laney]

Go ahead and ask. I keep volunteering to do the same for her and her group of college roommates whenever they get together.

[Melinda Neely]

Wow. That is an amazing time. Congratulations. I absolutely loved your stories along the route - this goes to show that others recognized how good you must have looked. And they must have known you have a lot of go-get-it in you, too.

You are a machine!!

[Dena]

Thanks Melinda. My training partner Christie and I are going to start biking this spring so we can graduate to big-girl races like you, tri-woman!