Myrtle Beach Marathon 2/16/08

Jason (L) is a 21 year old ASU student from Iron Station, NC. He ran his first marathon at MB. He stuck with Ricky for 17 miles and ended up with a 4:07:42 - quite an impressive debut

Sharon turned in a great performance in the half-marathon.

John (L) from Waxhaw, Ricky (C), and Phillip (R) from Pawley's Island, SC approach the 26 mile mark.
Ricky would go on to finish with a PR of 4:00:18. Congratulations on the PR!

Jason, Sharon, and Ricky with well-earned medals. They have every reason to smile today!

Here is Ricky's Race Report

Close but no Cigar!

Myrtle Beach Marathon
February 16th 2008

Running in the fall of 2007 was very rewarding to me. I completed two marathons, two half marathons and a 10 miler, setting race PRs at 10 miles and 13.1 miles. However, I still struggle with the marathon as I did my usual fade near the end on those. Since I’ve been seeing some improvement, I must be doing something right with my training. In December, I did some reading and research and decided that for 2008 I have to work my two most difficult areas. Nutrition and stretching!

Of course in the middle of all that, I lost one of my close running buddies. Frank Guler. Frank died in December. The day I set my PR at 10 miles, Frank almost died in the hospital and I did not even know he was there until later that day. They determined that Frank had Myeloma, which is a form of Leukemia. After Frank was put in the hospital, whenever I did race I couldn’t help but think about Frank. The week after the Victory Junction Half Marathon (12/2/07) in Randleman, Frank died. I know Frank is in a better place, but it has taken me almost two months to deal with Frank’s death. A part of me left when Frank died. On top of all that, the New Year found me with the worst cold I had in over 10 years. Then it continued to get worse. I struggled through a hot half and full at Disney on Jan 12-13.

Combined, all these things made me question which direction I was headed or which direction to go. All my runs had become an effort. I had seemingly lost control. Then thanks to a very casual conversation about how I got started running, a thought occurred to me. Acting on that thought, I did something that I had not done in quite some time, I returned to the place where I learned to run. Where I could disconnect from the stress of life and let my mind and body free. I returned to where I first ran a mile. That place was the track at Franklin County High School.

My intention was to just run 2 minute laps for 20 laps. Enough time to get to a runner's high. Something I actually had not experienced in years. I discovered that I missed this type of running. No, not the pace nor the fact that there were no hills, but I could just start running and let my mind relax. No cars, no sidewalks, no dogs. I thought about work, family, friends, and Frank. I found myself again. I ended up running 7 miles that evening and every lap was under that 2:00 pace.

All those things rushed through my head as I stood in the dark waiting for the start of my 8th Myrtle Beach Marathon. Today was going to be a test for the Shamrock Marathon on March 15th. I had told my buddy Johnny I had a simple plan. For the first 14 miles, I was going to try and average an 8:30 pace and then see if I could pick up the pace. Targeting 2:50 for 20 miles, then just hang on for the last six. After all, most of my training indicated that going 18 – 20 strong would not be a problem, but since I had only recently started acting on my 2008 goal of core exercises and nutrition, I figured that I’d fade once again towards the end.

I was surrounded by old friends and new friends. Sharon, Roger, Spank and Gail where all doing the half today. A friend of Korre's, Jason, was doing his first full today. Jason’s longest run had only been 13 miles, but since he had a goal of 4 hours and that was my goal also, I told him he was welcome to hang with me. His only question as the start grew close was “Are we going to talk any?” I just grinned at him and said, “whatever happens today, be sure and capture the moment. Enjoy it!” We crossed the chip mat and headed off into the darkness.

Here’s a recap by the miles:

Mile 1: Even though we started close to the front we encountered walkers. I don’t mind walkers, I’m glad they are out here. However, when it's dark and crowded and you’re trying to run, you don’t have much time or room to react so you end up either running into a walker or hitting another runner trying to avoid the walkers. I don’t think they know how dangerous it is. We tiptoed our way to a 9:00 1st mile.

Mile 2: I kept losing sight of Jason. Ever once in a while I’d glance back and he would be running just behind me, hanging just off my shoulder. Sometimes he’d be on my left sometimes on my right. I was just trying to establish a nice steady rhythm for us and avoid all the other runners. Just before the water stop, we completed mile 2 in 8:35.

Mile 3: Broadway at the Beach is a big place. It seemed more crowded than the past races. Maybe because it was the first time they’ve ever filled up the marathon. We finally made it out of Broadway and you could see the sun coming up. Let’s go to the beach! We hit mile 3 in 8:46.

Mile 4: The day was a little warmer than I wanted. Upper 40’s at the start, warming to 60 by lunch. It was supposed to be windy, but so far I had not felt any. I was comfortable in shorts and a short sleeve top. I had gloves on but I discarded them near where the mile 14 marker is. (I thought to myself, “man I’ll be glad to see that again!”) We hit the mile four marker in 8:29 and took a quick sip of water.

Mile 5: As we approached mile 5, I told Jason to watch out for the relay people, it’ll get crowded and expect to see some stupid people dart across in front of you. Luckily we did not experience any of that and completed mile 5 in 8:33.

Miles 6 & 7: Jason was running really well. Must be youth! While I had established a nice comfortable pace for us, I felt a tad out of sync. Maybe it was that Powerbar I ate before the start. If so, I should get better soon, if not, its going to be a long day. About mile 6, I noticed a nice headwind, so I tucked in behind the biggest guy I could find. Jason was still running just off my shoulder. We stayed like that for a mile and then the wind stopped, I don’t remember feeling it the rest of the race. I suggested to Jason he might want to take a gel as it had been an hour since the start. We were running an average 8:40 pace

Miles 8 & 9: Korre and Jason’s mom were supposed to be at the turn on Ocean Blvd to cheer us on. I turned my orange hat to the front, to help them find us, but we never saw them. Jason and I got worried that they may be lost, or in Korre’s case, still asleep. I made a quick bathroom break just past the turn. A couple of quick turns and we were back on 17 and headed back to Broadway on the Beach. At mile nine we were still averaging an 8:40 pace which would have us finishing in 3:47.

Miles 10 – 12: The relay exchange at mile 10 has always been a tight squeeze, not today. We did not have to elbow anyone and getting water was easy. I’d been taking a quick sip or two at each water stop, Jason was doing so about every other one. This year was different than in the past, I did not smell the doughnuts as we ran past Krispy Kreme. As a matter of fact, I noticed that mile 11 came and went quickly. That’s a good sign. I also noticed that the half marathoners were picking up the pace, they were eager to finish. Jason and I would soon have to fight the temptation to stop with them. At mile 12, I finally started to feel like running. We were square on an 8:40 pace.

Mile 13.1: Somehow we found the courage to keep going past the finish of the half. A few people tried to run over us trying to get across to the turn. Were they asleep or something? Did they not see the signs, or where they full marathoners who at the last second changed their minds? We crossed the half in 1:53. Jason said, that’s 7 minutes faster than I did Raleigh! I thought to myself you’re running with the big dog now! Just then we heard someone screaming at us. It was Korre and Jason’s mom. They were not lost after all. As a matter of fact they had been at the 4 mile mark and not the 8. They saw us at mile 4 but we did not see them. They took a few pictures of us as we ran by.

Mile 14: We took our first walking water break. I had to. I could not take my jelly beans and energy pills and not choke. It was a short one. I told Jason, we’d go to mile 16 and do it again and see where we were time wise and how we felt. It was here that the sun had gotten my attention. Probably due the fact it was shining straight into my eyes. It was quite intense and getting rather warm. I wish I had a tank top!

Miles 15 & 16: Jason is doing quite well. He could still talk. We started talking about this one lady that would pass us once every mile. We’d pass her when she walked and talked on her phone. We thought it funny, that she was fast enough to run and walk and stay with us. At the water stop at mile 16, I told Jason, as we walked our first full minute that all we needed was to run 10 minute miles and we’d finish in 4 hours. We were averaging an 8:43 pace, which currently would be a 3:48 marathon.

Miles 17 & 18: As luck would have it, that girl who we’d been playing tag with started running just as we caught back up to her. After doing this for 12 miles, I finally spoke to her and said that she was quite strong to run and walk at this pace. Turns out her plan was to break 4 hours and she was walking a minute every mile. (She did, she finished just over 3:59!) Shortly after this, I noticed Jason had fallen back. Since I needed another bathroom break, I figured I’d stop and he’d catch back up. However, there was no bathroom at mile 18. So I continued on, there had to be one up ahead.

Miles 19 and 20: Somehow I was still able to run without agonizing over it. Just before mile 20, I stopped and took water and jelly beans and was going to use the bathroom but the line was too long. Walking backwards, I could not see Jason. I ran through the mile 20 marker at 2:57:18. Okay, not quite what I had told Johnny I was gonna do, but I could still run.

Miles 21 – 22: The last 10K is where the marathon begins, everything else is a warm up! I’ve heard and said that so many times, I have actually started believing it. Of course a marathon is mostly mental. You have to be mental to do these things and put your body through all this pain and agony. Hey, another mile just went by. How did I do that? Right in front of me was the only hill in Myrtle Beach, or at least it has always been a hill to me. I decided to try something I had just read the week before, which was to count 100 strides and then see how you are doing. By the time I got to 100, I could see the 22 mile marker. I ran to it. Mile 22 was a 9:37 mile, for a total of 3:16:23 which was a 8:56 pace, still on target for a 3:53 marathon. Also the fastest 22 miles I’ve ever done!

Miles 23 – 25: I pressed on, stopping only to take water and a jelly bean or two. I kept on using my count to 100 mental tool. It was working. As a matter of fact, it worked so good, the only two things I really remember was almost getting two cramps and making the turn at 24.5 miles. I remember nothing else, except, 1, 2, 3…. The next water stop was just before mile 25 so I grabbed a cup of water and ran with it to the marker before one last break. 3:47:40. I had 12:19 seconds to go 1.2 miles.

Mile 26: I only took 45 seconds at mile 25. It took that long to get two jelly beans out of my pocket and drink my water. I threw the cup down and said come on Frank let’s finish this thing. I was amazed I could actually run. I made the turn at Broadway at the Beach, and decided I had better stop and put my shirt back on before the finish, I wanted to look good! Just then I ran upon this little girl running in the road. She could not have been more than 4 or 5. I watched and listened to her as she ran along. Her little legs working so hard, her dad, who was doing the marathon was enjoying the moment. Well I can’t stop now and have that little girl ahead of me! So while I was running along, I somehow managed to get it on and not kill myself or anyone else. As I approached the intersection where the start had been almost 4 hours earlier, I heard someone call my name. It was Frank Sherrill aka The Professor! He gave me a boost. I could see the 26 mile marker up ahead! As I got closer, I could see Sharon, Korre, Spanky and Gail. I ran by mile 26 and had 1:23 seconds to go .2 miles. I knew it would be tough to break 4, but I picked it up anyway. The last turn, I looked at my watch 3:59:30. I had 30 seconds to get to the finish. I had no idea how far away it was. I ran as hard as I could, finishing strong! I knew I had not broken 4 hours but I also knew it was a PR! 4:00:18

As I was headed to get my chip removed, my stomach cramped. I’d had this happen before, but never at the end of a marathon. This meant I had given it my all. For once, I could actually make it to the end. My stomach cramped because I had stopped running. As a matter of fact, I was having to stand and wait for someone to remove my chip. I tried to walk some, but there were too many people. One of the volunteers came over to check on me, I told them I was okay. However, since I still could not move, I decided to just let it go. So, I bent over and puked out what was in my stomach, which was nothing more than water. Another volunteer came and took me by the arm and walked me to the chip people. They really wanted to get that chip off of me didn’t they? But now I was fine. I got my medal, rather cheap this year I thought. Once I got out of the finishing area, I headed over to where Sharon and Korre were at mile 26. Just then I noticed the little girl and her dad headed for the finish. That was a long way for such a little girl to run, but dad was right there. He’ll remember it forever I’m sure.

I had only got about half way back when I saw Jason making the last turn to the finish line. He finished in 4:07:42. A great first marathon especially considering he had only ran 13 miles as his long run.

Reflecting back, I had a very good day, I ran a 4:00:18 marathon. A PR by almost 4 minutes! What if I had not of stopped to take a bathroom break just past mile 8. I could do a lot of what if’s. Okay so I missed a sub 4 by 19 seconds, I still had a great day. I enjoyed Jason’s company for 17 miles as he did his 1st marathon. The bigger story here for me was that I was able to run most of the last few miles and between mile 24 and the end I only took one 45 second break. To top it all off I felt great afterwards! Nothing like I did at after Disney 6 weeks ago. Humm, maybe there is something to this core training and stretching and nutrition!

Frank was with me that last mile. I could see him laughing at me at the finish and shaking his head side to side at the same time. I’ll miss you Frank, but I won’t forget you!

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