Friday
I slept in late this morning, getting up about nine. I had already packed my bags and was ready to head to Myrtle Beach. We didn't get on the way till about noon, and after a lunch stop arrived in Myrtle Beach at three. After the long drive down Ocean Blvd. we arrived at the (race) expo about 3:30. I picked up my number, (timing) chip, t-shirt, and what ever other free goodies they had. It was a very nice expo with several different vendors and other tables. I bought a sticker for my car to flaunt my event, and then we left.
Next, we rode the course. The whole time I was thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?" After a lot of slow traffic and an hour of driving we finished the course. I planned to run the last three miles so we drove back so I could run. I got out and ran while my mom drove my car back to the finish. As I started to run, I noticed my calf was tight. I was very worried about tomorrow. Fortunately, it loosened up after a couple of miles. I finished running and we headed over to the Junior Post Race Party. Being 16 I wasn't allowed to go to the real post race party so we went and took our free tour of the aquarium. I was disappointed that my post race party was before the race.
My dad made it up at about 7 p.m. and all ate dinner together. I ate my usual pre-race meal, rice. I don't like pasta sauce and found that rice has a lot of carbohydrates and I think tastes better. We made it to the hotel, and now it is off to bed at about 10 p.m.
Saturday
Finally, it's race day. I got up at 4 a.m. I like to get to the race early, and our hotel is about 40 minutes away from the start. I ate two packets of oatmeal, my usual pre-race breakfast, and forced down a Gatorade. I put on my shorts and singlet, not tights, lots of Bodyglide, pants, long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, hat, and gloves. After a good luck from my parents, I checked my bag, and headed to the start.
After making my way to every closed street in Myrtle Beach I finally found a place to park at Broadway at the Beach. It was a beautiful 47 degrees and the meteorologist\'s 70 percent chance of rain, proved to be clear skies. I drank some water, stopped in the bathroom line, and finally decided to abandon the pants. I put my pants in the car, and lined up with the four hour group.
I heard a gun, and everyone looked around. After a minute we realized that it was the wheelchair group starting. Finally, at 6:30 a.m. we heard another gun. The group started to move slowly and we were off. The first mile was at 12-minute place, an awful slow mile. I realized it was time to shed the sweatshirt, dropping it on Broadway at the Beach. I don't remember passing the two-mile mark. I got to the first aid station, and then to the three mile. By the time I reached the three mile mark I was down to just my singlet and shorts. I hit mile four in 41 minutes, which was way to slow. I had been running with the four hour pacer this entire time and finally realized that it was not going to work.
Hitting Ocean Blvd. I had pushed the pace to about 8:45. I felt good and was meeting some really nice people. I ran by a lady and she recognized my singlet. She was a friend of a teacher at my school who I often spoke about my marathon to. I ran with her for awhile and then moved on. By mile 10 I had dropped the pace considerably, hoping to make the half in less than two hours. I was running about an 8:10 pace and passing a considerable amount of people. I passed an older fellow, who was 73. He was just running the half, but talking with him he said he almost always wins an age group award.
At the half-way point I hit a time of 1:58, right back on pace. Dave (Stratford HS) joined me now to run the last half. It was good to have a familiar running buddy to run with. I told him we needed to slow down, and we lightened it to about 8:30 pace. After I passed the half way my dad had a gel and a Gatorade for me. It was nice to have lemon lime Gatorade, because most of the aid stations only had red (Gatorade).
About mile 15, my stomach churned slightly, so I stopped at the bathroom. After about a minute and a half loss, we were on the way. Shortly we realized that we were running a little too fast and decided to slow down. We caught up to Carla (Davison) and I said to Dave, "I think this girl knows what she is doing. I think we should stay with her." After talking a while we did end up staying together. She is a sophomore at Furman, but the interesting thing was that she did the Furman marathon (F.I.R.S.T.) training from Runner's World. We trudged through the miles hitting mile 22, where the race had put up a brick wall to run through. It was just past this that I passed the juggler. I thought it must be hard to juggle balls for a marathon, because you can't move your arms and they have to get heavy. It was also at this mark that my dad had another Gatorade and gel for me.
At mile 22 we passed a lady who was stumbling. Just to her luck I had a mostly full Gatorade bottle in my hand. Dave turned back and gave her my Gatorade and tried to help her. It was just passed her that Carla hit the infamous wall. She went from talking and running at ease instantly to having very little left. Tami Dennis, a running partner/coach friend of mine, who was running the (marathon) relay, passed me.
At mile 23, Carla dropped back. We kept the 8:45 pace, but I started to tire. It wasn't as instantaneously as I expected it to be, but by legs began to drain. We pushed to mile 24 at a 9:15 pace. We then made the turn on to Twenty Ninth Street and I realized I could make it no matter what. We hit the last aid station and mile 25 in 9:45 pace.
It is true. The last mile was the longest mile of my life. As we rain past Broadway at the Beach I knew I was there. I could see the last turn, and mile 26.
Well if the last mile is the longest in my life the last .2 is the shortest. Dave gave me some encouragement, told me to let the crowd pull me in and then I was on my own. The energy of the crowd, the excitement of fellow runners, but most of all the beautiful finish line pulled me in to a time of 3:55:02, off the gun.
I started to walk, stumbling around a bit until I made to the bench where the girl untied my shoe to take my timing chip. I collected my finisher medal and left the finish area, half delirious and half ecstatic. I ate some food, spoke with Dave and Tami, and most of all laid in the grass. I saw Carla and spoke with her about the race. She finished in 3:59 breaking her goal of four hours.
Sunday
Just to give you an idea of the after effect I want to tell you how I feel. I woke up this morning feeling pretty good. I laid in bed until I finally decided to get up. We all know the feeling we get the next day after a hard workout, when our abs, back, legs are tired. Well, my whole body felt this way. It was real bad but every muscle was sore. I couldn't move my finger without being slightly sore. I feel pretty good though. I don't know when I will run again.
Well, there you have it. I made it through the marathon at age 16. This one race was the best experience I have ever had. The ultimate test of will is also a test of character. The marathon has shown me that running is not a sport, but a way of life. It is not just a hobby but an obsession. I am not just a man but a runner.
I slept in late this morning, getting up about nine. I had already packed my bags and was ready to head to Myrtle Beach. We didn't get on the way till about noon, and after a lunch stop arrived in Myrtle Beach at three. After the long drive down Ocean Blvd. we arrived at the (race) expo about 3:30. I picked up my number, (timing) chip, t-shirt, and what ever other free goodies they had. It was a very nice expo with several different vendors and other tables. I bought a sticker for my car to flaunt my event, and then we left.
Next, we rode the course. The whole time I was thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?" After a lot of slow traffic and an hour of driving we finished the course. I planned to run the last three miles so we drove back so I could run. I got out and ran while my mom drove my car back to the finish. As I started to run, I noticed my calf was tight. I was very worried about tomorrow. Fortunately, it loosened up after a couple of miles. I finished running and we headed over to the Junior Post Race Party. Being 16 I wasn't allowed to go to the real post race party so we went and took our free tour of the aquarium. I was disappointed that my post race party was before the race.
My dad made it up at about 7 p.m. and all ate dinner together. I ate my usual pre-race meal, rice. I don't like pasta sauce and found that rice has a lot of carbohydrates and I think tastes better. We made it to the hotel, and now it is off to bed at about 10 p.m.
Saturday
Finally, it's race day. I got up at 4 a.m. I like to get to the race early, and our hotel is about 40 minutes away from the start. I ate two packets of oatmeal, my usual pre-race breakfast, and forced down a Gatorade. I put on my shorts and singlet, not tights, lots of Bodyglide, pants, long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, hat, and gloves. After a good luck from my parents, I checked my bag, and headed to the start.
After making my way to every closed street in Myrtle Beach I finally found a place to park at Broadway at the Beach. It was a beautiful 47 degrees and the meteorologist\'s 70 percent chance of rain, proved to be clear skies. I drank some water, stopped in the bathroom line, and finally decided to abandon the pants. I put my pants in the car, and lined up with the four hour group.
I heard a gun, and everyone looked around. After a minute we realized that it was the wheelchair group starting. Finally, at 6:30 a.m. we heard another gun. The group started to move slowly and we were off. The first mile was at 12-minute place, an awful slow mile. I realized it was time to shed the sweatshirt, dropping it on Broadway at the Beach. I don't remember passing the two-mile mark. I got to the first aid station, and then to the three mile. By the time I reached the three mile mark I was down to just my singlet and shorts. I hit mile four in 41 minutes, which was way to slow. I had been running with the four hour pacer this entire time and finally realized that it was not going to work.
Hitting Ocean Blvd. I had pushed the pace to about 8:45. I felt good and was meeting some really nice people. I ran by a lady and she recognized my singlet. She was a friend of a teacher at my school who I often spoke about my marathon to. I ran with her for awhile and then moved on. By mile 10 I had dropped the pace considerably, hoping to make the half in less than two hours. I was running about an 8:10 pace and passing a considerable amount of people. I passed an older fellow, who was 73. He was just running the half, but talking with him he said he almost always wins an age group award.
At the half-way point I hit a time of 1:58, right back on pace. Dave (Stratford HS) joined me now to run the last half. It was good to have a familiar running buddy to run with. I told him we needed to slow down, and we lightened it to about 8:30 pace. After I passed the half way my dad had a gel and a Gatorade for me. It was nice to have lemon lime Gatorade, because most of the aid stations only had red (Gatorade).
About mile 15, my stomach churned slightly, so I stopped at the bathroom. After about a minute and a half loss, we were on the way. Shortly we realized that we were running a little too fast and decided to slow down. We caught up to Carla (Davison) and I said to Dave, "I think this girl knows what she is doing. I think we should stay with her." After talking a while we did end up staying together. She is a sophomore at Furman, but the interesting thing was that she did the Furman marathon (F.I.R.S.T.) training from Runner's World. We trudged through the miles hitting mile 22, where the race had put up a brick wall to run through. It was just past this that I passed the juggler. I thought it must be hard to juggle balls for a marathon, because you can't move your arms and they have to get heavy. It was also at this mark that my dad had another Gatorade and gel for me.
At mile 22 we passed a lady who was stumbling. Just to her luck I had a mostly full Gatorade bottle in my hand. Dave turned back and gave her my Gatorade and tried to help her. It was just passed her that Carla hit the infamous wall. She went from talking and running at ease instantly to having very little left. Tami Dennis, a running partner/coach friend of mine, who was running the (marathon) relay, passed me.
At mile 23, Carla dropped back. We kept the 8:45 pace, but I started to tire. It wasn't as instantaneously as I expected it to be, but by legs began to drain. We pushed to mile 24 at a 9:15 pace. We then made the turn on to Twenty Ninth Street and I realized I could make it no matter what. We hit the last aid station and mile 25 in 9:45 pace.
It is true. The last mile was the longest mile of my life. As we rain past Broadway at the Beach I knew I was there. I could see the last turn, and mile 26.
Well if the last mile is the longest in my life the last .2 is the shortest. Dave gave me some encouragement, told me to let the crowd pull me in and then I was on my own. The energy of the crowd, the excitement of fellow runners, but most of all the beautiful finish line pulled me in to a time of 3:55:02, off the gun.
I started to walk, stumbling around a bit until I made to the bench where the girl untied my shoe to take my timing chip. I collected my finisher medal and left the finish area, half delirious and half ecstatic. I ate some food, spoke with Dave and Tami, and most of all laid in the grass. I saw Carla and spoke with her about the race. She finished in 3:59 breaking her goal of four hours.
Sunday
Just to give you an idea of the after effect I want to tell you how I feel. I woke up this morning feeling pretty good. I laid in bed until I finally decided to get up. We all know the feeling we get the next day after a hard workout, when our abs, back, legs are tired. Well, my whole body felt this way. It was real bad but every muscle was sore. I couldn't move my finger without being slightly sore. I feel pretty good though. I don't know when I will run again.
Well, there you have it. I made it through the marathon at age 16. This one race was the best experience I have ever had. The ultimate test of will is also a test of character. The marathon has shown me that running is not a sport, but a way of life. It is not just a hobby but an obsession. I am not just a man but a runner.