THREE 1 - 3 (34.7) MBM

Friday 1

Columbia to Myrtle Beach

The Projects / My First AirBnB: Kate said she and Mark drove around the facility 10 times then had to do a walk about to find the apartment. After seeing the facility in the daylight I'm thankful they found the room without incident. When we arrived it was daylight so we didn't experience that drama. Next time I get an AirBnB I will do more research into the facility and surrounding area.

Runner's Expo: This year's expo was a major let down. The two previous time I was here the expo was in the convention center, this time it was held at a hotel. Too small, very few vendors, the 26.2 beer was the only positive.

Eating our way south coastal Liberty Tap Room and Grill with the triplets. It was fun getting to know Erin, Rita, and Rebecca.

Pre-race dinner: Kate always has Panera before marathons. Since we had chicken penne for a late lunch I went with a Bear Claw and decaf coffee.

Saturday 2

Sleep: I didn't sleep great or even good. I don't know if it was due to the crappy bed, crappy apartment, or pre-race jitters. Up early and excited to go. 

Breakfast: GF bagel with cream cheese, banana, and SIS. 20 ozs of water with Nuun hydration tablet and coffee. Couple strides after breakfast.

Weather: 61 degrees. Almost perfect.

Myrtle Beach Marathon

My first BQ! AG 18. Overall 202. Fairly even splits. Time 3:42:21. Pace 8:28. HR 165. 19 miles under 8:30. Z3 80%. Z4 16%. My goal was to try to hang on to the pace group in 5 mile increments. I was about 20 to 30 meters behind for miles 5-10 and they were a struggle. For miles 10-15 I decided to catch and hang on. That worked. Somewhere between and 15 and 18 the group had dwindled to 4 or 5 and Ryan said those of us left were going sub 3:45. This was all I needed. Challenge accepted.
The only negative was Justin didn't hit his goal. 

Eating our way south coastal Strong Water at the Breakers

After party: The Oz Experience. Here, you can tell who ran the marathon and who didn't.

Sunday 3

Eating our way south coastal Boardwalk Billy’s

Steps 7181