3:13:10 (7:23/mile)
95th place overall (out of 1825)
14th in age (out of 204)

     I signed up for this marathon a long time ago, long before I realized my knee injury was not slight or quick healing. I had to bail on my registered January marathon, and I only decided two weeks ago (after a 14 miler that I did not die on) that I was going forward with this one. My first marathon in over two months and I was nervous as heck, considering my knees are not 100%. I had taken the Thursday off of work beforehand (I don’t teach on Fridays) so I could take two full days to make the 15 hour drive. A week before the race, Stephanie, my love, suggested I check out airline tickets as they might be cheap, even a week out. I did, and much to my happy surprise I got a round trip flight, all taxes and seat fees included for $197. A quick calculation proves that flying was actually CHEAPER than driving, and the bonus is I do not have to suffer 30 hours on the road. It would also provide me the opportunity to engage in the post race party, something I have never done before. More on that later…
   To get maximum enjoyment out of my brief SC sojourn, I left Detroit at 6:05 am Friday morning, which meant waking up in Jackson at 3:30 am. Shower, homemade mocha and I was on my way, through security and waiting to board at 5:30 am. Our flight left on time and actually arrived 15 minutes early. Of course, our gate was being occupied by some other airplane who WAS leaving on time, so we had to sit on the tarmac far from the terminal for 15 minutes. The pilot had a great sense of humor and let people get up and go top the bathroom and such. After about 8 minutes he came on and told us about how pilots get bored in traffic just like people do, and he started to show us how the ailerons worked and describing what happened when he does what. ‘If you look out your right side windows you see those flaps come up, that makes the plane turn’. It was a good 60 seconds of laughter by the whole plane full of people.
   Getting to Myrtle Beach at 8 am meant I had some time to kill, so I did what any guy from Michigan does when travelling to South Carolina in February does. I went to the beach. Clear blue skies, 65 degrees, it was perfect for sitting on the sand and reading a book, which is exactly what I did.
   The expo did not open until 11 and I was there at 10:45 so I would be one of the first into the joint. By 11:09 I was out of there, having received my bib, t-shirt (so-so) and beach towel (that was cool!) I even passed every booth there at the expo. Yawn. No expo will ever excite me again. I have been to the expo for the Boston marathon, and nothing can compare.
  On the recommendation of my friend Pat, I headed down to Brookgreen Gardens. A huge garden/sculpture park just south of Mrytle beach that is huge and beautiful and was actually the first public sculpture park in the US. This time of year the gardens are not really blooming which is probably why there were few people there, but that made it so incredibly peaceful. I was honestly thinking I had never been to a more peaceful place in my life. Very nice sculptures, few abstract (my fav) but still very nice. Lots of naked people, I must admit, and the women were all (ahem) good looking.
  I headed back to the hotel and got checked in and needed to relax and ice my knees. I hacked into a local wireless access point and proceeded to watch the film, Transsiberrean with Woody Harrelson and Ben Kingsley. If you like Hitchcock type (you have no idea what is going to happen next) type films, this is a good one. Very well done, awesome story.
   I was the off to the oh-so-predictable pre-race tradition of Applebees for dinner to consume an order of fiesta lime chicken. Delish, as always. On the way, I stopped at the popular gift shop, the Gay Dolphin on the recommendation of my friend, Dean. My daughters’ name meaning literally ‘Goddess of Dolphins’, I had a great time picking her up some dolphin themed stuff. There was even a cool dolphin sculpture there (pic on left)
     I was in bed by 8, asleep by 8:30. Long long day. Alarm goes off at 3:50 am, and the ritual begins, with the one added twist of icing my knees (again!) White tea, peanut butter sandwich, ibuprophen, Gatorade, blah, blah, blah. I left for the start a little after 5, arriving at the start line 45 minutes before the 6:30 start. My knees were still a little iffy, so I was nervous, but itching to race, as I have not felt the joy of a ‘good’ marathon since last October in Rhode Island (the race that gave me the shin splints, I should curse that race) I pulled out my illegal mp3 player to get pumped up the last 20 minutes before race start, called Stef to wish her a happy Valentine’s day and we were off, right on time.
   The weather really was great, with the starting temp a nice 59 degrees with little wind. I would have to say the race conditions were perfect all day long, overcast and cool. It made for a non-existent sunrise, but that’s ok. The race was crowded, with 4600 runners total (1800 marathoners, 2800 half-marathoners) and I was really only by myself the last few miles. During the race I got to talk to many people, some veterans, some fellow marathon maniacs, and even some newbies running their first marathon. Good stories to make the miles pass by. The course itself was boring with long (read: several mile) stretches of dead flat dead straight running. Blah. They did the best they could, I guess. We ran close to the ocean a few times, but with teh overcast skies, it was not really anything special to look at. I figured out that this is my 6th marathon where at least some portion of the race is along the Atlantic Ocean. I am a mountain lover and never much liked the Ocean. I guess it doesn’t trip my trigger. Oh well, another southern coastal state of the list.
  My knees did hurt a little after mile 2 which made me scared, with most of the race in front of me, but I kept plowing, They were a dull ache until about mile 22, and by then, it was too late for them to convince me to walk. This was the first no-walking-at-all marathon in a few for me, and I consider that a personal victory.
   My friend, Dean, ran the 2008 Myrtle Beach Marathon and was not happy with the course. He asked that I be especially mean to miles 21-24. So, at mile 23, I stopped and took a picture for him, giving that mile marker a message from him. It had no response.
    I had a strong finish, but no negative split this time, but that is OK, all things considered, thank you very much. This was a survival marathon, knowing I was going in at about 85%. I am delighted with a 3:13 finish, truly.
  I headed back to hotel for shower and a little rest (and more ice) and enjoyed a strange phenomenon. Since I did not drive, I could actually take my time, hanging out. I am writing this entry in the Starbucks mere yards from the beach, just killing time until the official post race party at the House of Blues. I have never been to a post race party (ever) as I am always getting the heck of dodge, either to drive home or to catch an early flight. Having time to relax before my flight is different, and I have to say nice. No rush, so I can relax and just enjoy the peace of the post marathon glow.
   A memorable marathon race for a few ‘new’ reasons.