Tag Archives: myrtle beach

Update!

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Hi everyone! Did you miss me? I managed to get way behind on blog posts over the last few months, so I’ll start with a little update since my last post.

In January, we once again ran the Walt Disney World Marathon.
In February, we ran the UNCC 5k and I ran the Disney’s Princess Enchanted 10k.
In April, we ran the Star Wars Dark Side Challenge and 5k.
Posts about these races will be coming soon!

It’s been a busy year for races, and I took some much-needed time off from running to strengthen and heal before the fall running season starts.

On the schedule for the fall are:

The Disneyland Paris Half Marathon – this was a recent decision, based on Get Travel still having open registrations and my friend Jen and her husband still looking for a roommate. Throw in affordable airfare, an extra day in the City of Lights, and how could I say no? I couldn’t. I’ve been dreaming of returning to Europe and now I’m going!

Next up will be the Myrtle Beach Coastal 5k and Mini Marathon (half marathon distance, long story over the name). This one is exciting because J and I designed medals for their contest and we both won! J’s medal will be given out after the 5k and mine will be the finisher’s medal for the half!

In November, I’ll be traveling to Disney again for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon weekend. I love this race weekend because it was my first half back in 2012, but I’ll only be running the 5k and 10k this year. The 10k is new, so I’m really excited for this one. After the 10k, I’ll drive to Savannah and meet J there to run the Rock ’n Roll Savannah 5k on Sunday together. It will be a busy weekend but a ton of fun because I’ll be spending it with friends and J.

The next weekend, the sibs and I head to Disneyland for the Superheroes Half Marathon weekend. We’ll be running the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge which consists of the Dr. Strange 10k (super-psyched for this movie, too) and the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon.

Marathon weekend in 2017 is going to feel a bit strange for me – J and the sibs signed up for the Goofy Challenge (1/2 marathon on Saturday, Full Marathon on Sunday), but I am only signed up the half marathon. It’s probably best for my health, and with aspirations to run Dopey again in 2018, I will give my body a break and take a year off from the full distance. On that Sunday, I will be the best cheerleader possible and look forward to supporting my family and friends running the full.

As much as I’ll miss the full next year, I came up with a consolation prize of sorts. I will be running the Star Wars Light Side Challenge in Disneyland the weekend after Disney World’s Marathon weekend. Kessel Run, here I come, as we plan to run the Dark Side Challenge again next year!

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Race Report – Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon

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It was truly a game time decision for me to run this race this morning. As the corrals started shifting forward, waiting for the starting gun, I asked J for the car key, because I was not sure I would make it a tenth of a mile out of the mall parking lot. I started off running, no interval timer, just going until I needed to walk. Amy and J started off walking and when they caught up to me, J pointed out another place I could turn around and come back if needed.

Once I started moving, and I didn’t feel sick, and my foot pain was not excruciating, I decided I would pace with Amy and J for a mile or two to get ahead of the time and then I could run my own pace after that. Soon after the first water stop, I decided to let them go on – I knew Amy wanted to try to set a Personal Record (PR) today and J was going to pace her. I went ahead and set my interval timer to :20/:50 and tried to find my own rhythm. I put in an earbud, found some tunes, and ran my race.

It was a great morning! I had a smile on my face for most of the miles and really just enjoyed running and the scenery around me. I may have even jumped for joy a bit when the ocean came into view around mile 7.5…ok, I did jump for joy when I saw the ocean. No one around me seemed to share my enthusiasm, but that was ok, I was having a great time! The entire race was a great experience with great support and lots of water stops, and I hope to do this one again next year.

Amy did get her PR by four minutes, and Mel and Jamie also PR’d! As to my goal to just go as far as I could, whether I finished or not – not only did I finish, but I also got a 16 minute PR! Made all the sweeter by having my friends and family waiting for me at the finish line (thank you!!)

Bad news/good news – my feet do hurt, but I’ve been icing them and they don’t seem to be any worse than after a short 2 mile run, and definitely not as bad as 2 months ago. I will see how recovery goes this week and I’ll have a better idea of what I’m in for with next month’s races.