State # 10: Skidaway Island (GA) March 25, 2017

Looking back I see that I had gotten an email about the 2016 race in January of 2016, but I don't remember even considering it at all. I think that the reason was the exact reason I was interested in it for 2017--it was in Georgia! It was last spring that I decided I wanted to go for 50 states, so when I got an email about the 2017 race in July last year I decided to go for it. I think that made it the first 2017 marathon that I put on my schedule. I was originally scheduled to pace 4:45, but later got moved to 4:30. I was supposed to have a co-pacer, but things fell through with that and I was on my own again.

Just like Myrtle Beach, it was going to be a long day in the car to get to Savannah. On Friday I got up at 4 again, did 30 minutes at race pace, finished packing/loading the car and got on the road right around 6 again. I wanted to visit the Tybee Island lighthouse, so I knew I needed to get there by 4:30. I made it around 4:15, which meant I got to climb the 178 steps to the top. Next I headed to the local Dick's for the packet pick up--there was no expo. The line was long and when I looked on Facebook I saw that the Race Director had posted that two volunteers were no-shows so he was on his way down to help out. I took the time to chat with some of the other runners and get some info on the race/area. The wait ended up not being too bad and things went smoothly when I got my turn. (I also picked up for one of the other pacers.) After that I got a bit to eat and settled in for the evening. Pacer meeting was going to be at 6:00, and I would need to allow a little time to find the race venue/parking.

On race morning I woke up around 3 to use the bathroom and couldn't fall asleep again. I got an early start to head out to the venue, which was good because my phone kept loosing GPS signal and I had a little struggle finding it. We were starting from the University of Georgia Oceanographic Institute, but most of the race was in a gated housing development called The Landings. I ended up still being early enough that I had a short wait for the pacer meeting/picture. It was fun to meet pacers from a completely different region that are still part of the "Beast family".

As the time for the race got closer we lined up for the start. Even though it's a smaller race, the course is pretty narrow in some sections so we had a two wave start. 4:30 full/2:15 half was the cut off for the first wave, so I was lining up at the back. One of the other pacers claimed there was no timing mat at the start, so I was a little frustrated with having to line up all the way at the back when I would have to essentially go by the gun time rather than when I crossed the start line.

Once we got out of the parking area for the Institute we had to head down the road almost 3 miles before we got to The Landings. At the start I was a bit apprehensive about my left knee that had bothered me for an entire 10 mile race I had paced the weekend before. As we went around a very long curve that had a bit of a bank to it I searched for a flat spot in the road to try to "baby" the knee a bit. When we eventually turned off into The Landings we started out on sidewalk, which was also a bit disconcerting to me as concrete sidewalk has less give to it than asphalt and would mean more impact to my knee. The sidewalk didn't last too long (although there would be more stretches of sidewalk later on). We would encounter varying surfaces for the entire race: asphalt, concrete, a thin layer of sand on one path, and a few short wooden bridges. All in all, my knee did fine for the entire race and didn't give me any problems.

At the 3 mile mark I decided I needed to abandon my conservative strategy because I was about 20 seconds behind pace. It seemed like even from the first mile marker they were consistently .2 of a mile too long, but of course some of this was also with my watch tracking from where I had lined up at the start rather than the actual start line. Fairly early on we some got nice views of the marshes, but we also ended up just going down neighborhood streets quite a bit. There were also sections where we were crossing through a golf course. Conversation ranged from the usual running/training/races to hearing a bit about climbing Kilimanjaro. Very interesting!

 

Things were going fairly smoothly through the first half, but the heat/humidity were beginning to take a toll. The biggest climb of the race was in mile 18, where we had to cross a bridge. Most of my group had already fallen behind at this point. My lone companion from mile 20 on was a graduate student named Molly. (green shirt/black shorts in the picture above) This was her third marathon and her goal was to beat Oprah's marathon time: 4:29:15. There was an out and back section (miles 20-22.5) that seemed like it would never end. We were both getting pretty tired and my hamstrings were really starting to tighten up. When we hit the aid stop Molly wanted to walk (we were somewhere between 60 and 90 seconds ahead of pace) I agreed, but warned that the longer we walked the harder it would be to get going again. The last aid stop was around mile 24. I walked a  little, but Molly walked longer and fell behind. At this point I just had to keep myself going to come in on time.

 

The last two miles were hard and lonely. I was passing people who were running with traffic (on the opposite side of the road) rather than against it. I knew that I was coming in a little faster than I needed to, but I just couldn't find any other pace in my legs that felt good. I would be either a 10 min/mile or walking. (goal pace is 10:17/mile) I finished in 4:28:45. I got my medal and a bottle of water. There wasn't much of a food spread, but my stomach wasn't really ready to eat much anyway. One of the best things was an ice bucket with wash cloths in it that you could put on your head to help cool down. (they had these out on the course at Mill Race, and they felt sooo good!) I found Molly who hadn't beaten Oprah, but still came in under 4:30 for a 20 minute PR!

 

Eventually I went to the car to get out of my shoes (swollen feet) and sweaty shirt. I still didn't feel that great and waited around for nearly an hour before getting in the car to start my trip back home. I did get to see some more people from my group come in and I got to see another 50-stater finish her 50 state journey.

Overall this was a nice race with a beautiful and mostly flat course. The race director was very engaged and truly wanted everyone to have a great experience. I don't really know if this is true and didn't try to confirm with anyone closer to the start line, but it actually sounded like he was the one who sang the national anthem. He also led out in an opening prayer that sounded very Psalm-like with some fun word changes that related more directly to running. Also, you can fearlessly sign up for this race because even if you need to drop out at a later date you can get a "no questions asked" full refund until very close to race day. The volunteers and support on the course were quite good with many more gels offered than had been promised. I would have liked more options in the finish line food spread (they had Oreos, Cliff bars, bananas, oranges and grapes) but there was plenty of it there. The weather was a bit warm for my preference, but it was actually the coolest and least humid year that they have had so far. I think the reason that I struggled as much as I did with the weather was just because I hadn't gotten acclimated yet this season. No regrets for choosing this as my race for Georgia!

State # 8: Appalachian Series Day 3 (TN) October 11, 2016

This race was put on by Mainly Marathons. They are known for putting on race series all over the country where you can run a different state every day for a week. For 2016 they were offering a free race to anyone who wanted one as long as you registered at least 90 days in advance. This was just for a single race and not a whole series. I picked this particular race for a number reasons: it was close by, it was a state I needed, and it was on my 4th run-iversary. (the day I started couch to 5k in 2012) Somewhat oddly though, it was on a Tuesday.

The race was held at Steele Creek park in Bristol, TN. By holding the race in a park they don't have to block any streets and don't have to have a strict cut off time. The downside is they have short courses that you have to run multiple times to reach your distance. This was a 2.184 mile out and back course that I had to run 12 times to get to 26.2. At the start/finish line there was a big food/drink area and at the very end was a table full of rubber bands. The rubber band table was there to make sure you got the full distance and you would take a rubber band every time to help keep track of your progress. At the other end of the course was just a traffic cone in the middle of the path/trail to show you where to turn around and a camera to keep people honest. There was also a camera recording the traffic at the rubber band table. The course started near one of the park shelters and was on a paved path for a short while and then became a gravel path that went along a lake. The scenery was nice, but it did get a bit monotonous having to run it 12 times, also I'm not a big fan of running on gravel.

The night before the race I stayed with friends who lived about half an hour away from Bristol. I headed out early on race morning to pick up my race packet. I got my bib, my shirt, and the main part of the medal along with the year tag. After the race I would get the "charm" that corresponded to the state I finished. For people that were doing multiple days they would get the corresponding state each day to turn into one long monster medal.

My goal for this race was to run about 4 hours. It was the first marathon of 2016 that I wasn't pacing and I wanted to run quite a bit closer to my regular pace as I prepped to attempt a PR at Marshall in November. Due to the way the course was setup you would be constantly encountering other runners, either meeting them going in the other direction or passing them going the same direction. Since this was day 3 of the series it meant that many of the other participants were either taking it easy or even walking for most of the race. There were a few other quicker runners that I tried to keep an eye on, although some of them were doing the half rather than the full. I was passing a lot of runners, but I also got lapped a number of times. I also had to take a bathroom stop early on that meant I had to essentially leave the course to run up the hill near the shelter where the facilities were.

I just barely missed finishing half way in two hours and my energy started to sag. I grabbed something to eat and drink on pretty much every trip to the rubber band table, but I just couldn't keep up the pace I started with. There wasn't a lot of drama, just a lot of running back and forth as the miles went by. When I went out for my last lap I picked up the pace knowing that I didn't have to keep anything in reserve. (although I would be running Bourbon Chase just a few days later) I picked things up enough that people could tell this was my last lap and they cheered me on as I ran by. I was ready to be done in just a few more minutes.

As I finished my lap I went to the timing table to let them know that I was done. I got the TN charm for my medal and that was pretty much it. My finish time was 4:12:10. I hung out for a bit to recover and change clothes before getting the car to head home. Since the races don't have a cutoff, the final finisher gets recognized with a special "caboose" award and the "winners" don't get any special recognition. When I later found the results on line I discovered that I was the third overall finisher for the marathon, but also humbled that the two people who finished ahead of me had also run marathons the previous two days of the series.

I can see the attraction of these races for someone who wants to cross several states off of their list in a short time while saving some money on travel, but since I was only doing one day I didn't really have that much fun. I ran by myself for pretty much the entire race and the monotony of the course just wasn't very motivating. It was also hard to run fast because you had to slow down to make a 180 degree turn at either end of each lap. The food, drink and rubber band tables were pretty much self serve so that slowed things down as well. I probably wouldn't do another "one off" race with them, but might consider doing several days of a series. On the other hand, I do have another race on my current schedule (Oh, Boy! in Waterbury, CT) that will be similar in format with a few key differences. 1. It will be my first "double" (I'm pacing the Buffalo marathon the day before) so I won't be going for speed and will probably hang out and chat with other runners on the course. 2. The course has a little loop at either end so there is no 180 degree turn. 3. The race is chip timed, so no rubber band table!

State # 9: Myrtle Beach Marathon (SC) March 4, 2017

Back on December 13 I found out that I would be on the pace team for the Myrtle Beach Marathon. I really wanted to get a South Carolina race for 2017 since it was one of the closer states that I needed for my 50 state goal. I had sent emails to a couple of other races looking for a pacer spot without even getting a response, so I was thrilled to get on for this popular race. This was my first race of 2017 and I was the 5 hour pacer so I'd been practicing the required 11:27/mile pace for many of my easy runs for a couple of months. It's getting a feel for the effort level and running form (shorter stride than usual) that will get me going at the proper pace.

Myrtle Beach is about 600 miles from Lexington, so I knew I would be in the car for a good while getting there. I took the day off on Friday so I would be able to get there in time for the expo and the race kickoff party/dinner. I got up around 4 AM did a 3 mile run at race pace, finished gathering everything up, packed the car and got on the road by 6. They had warned us that there would be a $5 parking charge at the expo, which seemed ridiculous to me so I had scoped out a free place to park beforehand. It was a little bit of a walk, but what's that to a marathoner? I also knew that stretching my legs a little bit after all that time in the car would do me good. Once I got parked and walked over to the expo it was around 5 o'clock. I liked the layout of the expo because all of the necessary things were along the outside of the room and you weren't forced to walk through all of the vendors in the middle of the room if you didn't want to. I picked up my pacer shirt and sign as well as my bib and regular swag and was ready to find my way to the kickoff party.

The party was being held at the Grande Dunes Marina which was in another part of town. I put the address in my phone and headed over. The problem was the GPS wanted to take me on streets that were blocked for the Family Fun Run that started at 5:30 and the 5k which was at 7:00. I finally found my way there but discovered that the food wasn't ready yet. It was also a bit too cold to really enjoy sitting outside to eat. I chatted with another pacer about races we had done or were looking forward to while we waited for the food to be ready.

After finishing my meal and chatting with some folks I had enough of being cold and ended up heading back to the expo to pick things up for a person from the 50 States Facebook group who was going to be too late because of flight delays. After dropping stuff off it was time to get some sleep; our pre-race pacer meeting was going to be at 5:50 in the morning. The meeting was mostly to get a group picture, we really didn't get much in the way of instruction or expectations.

 

Then it was off to the start line to get lined up so that pace groups could form around us. It was a chilly 36 at the 6:30 start as the sun was just really coming up. As usual, when I pace 5 hours, I got a group of people start to form around me that included a number of first time marathoners. Unfortunately, it seems like most of the time they don't make it with me all the way to the end. 😢

There were two starting arches because we were on a very wide street with a large grass median in the center. It seems that in the past they had the half line up on one side the and the full on the other, but they said that this year in didn't matter--anyone could go on either side. I lined up on the right hand side, which turned out to be the wrong side since our first turn was to the left so I added on a little bit of unnecessary distance. Around this same time I felt like something was stuck to the bottom of my left shoe. I was scuffing my foot while a ran to try to get whatever it was loose and this awkward gait caused the sunglasses which I was wearing on top of my head (thought I'd want them later) to fall in the street and be destroyed. Oh well, we'd gotten a pair of sunglasses in our swag bags at the expo but that wasn't going to help me now.

There wasn't a lot to see in the early miles, but the company was good. I ended up with two very nice ladies (Sandy and Suzy) that ran WITH me rather than behind me and we chatted for most of the race. Once we got onto Ocean Blvd we could catch glimpses of the beach/ocean between hotels on our right side. I tried to focus on that rather than all the tourist traps. 😃 Somewhere around mile 5 or 6 I was just starting to develop a need for a "pit stop", but decided I would wait until after mile 11 when I wouldn't have to wait in line behind all of the half marathoners. When we got there Sandy took my pace sign while Suzy and I stopped to use the facilities. We had been a bit ahead of pace before I stopped and it turned out that I could have just kept my sign and rejoined the race because I hadn't used up all of my extra time in the porta-pot. Now I had to run faster to get my sign back and then try to slow the group down a little. A little after getting off of Ocean Blvd we had a short portion of paved trail that got us off of the main roads. It was a nice break to be in a little bit quieter surroundings and away from traffic. Sandy's husband got the super-fan award for meeting us several times out on the course and for getting some pictures of us.

Somewhere shortly before mile 25 Sandy starting pulling out ahead of us and Suzy followed shortly after her. I was left fussing about the placement of the mile markers and having some interactions with some of the other runners left around me. It turned out that a guy who had been behind me pretty much the whole time was headed for a 40+ minute PR! The 23 mile marker had been placed a bit long (according to my Garmin) but 24 matched up again, so when 25 was a bit long I expected 26 to correct again. 26 was also long, which caused me to panic a bit needlessly since I was still ahead of pace. Once I could see the finish line (there were of a couple of 90 turns) I started trying to slow down a bit. I was also yelling at all the people around me to hurry and finish in front of me. I didn't really have enough "runway" left to slow down as much as I wanted and finished almost a minute and a half fast at 4:58:23. After posing for a few pictures, I headed for the awesome finish line celebration. A lot of times the party is nearly over at 5+ hours, but not here! The live band was still going strong and interacting with the crowd and there was still plenty of beer and pizza. Even this wasn't the end, as there was another after party (free to participants) at the House of Blues that night. I didn't have the time to stick around, but I did make a quick trip down to the beach before I headed back home.

This was a very nice race: good weather, flat course (only 115 feet of elevation gain), great finish line celebration/after party, nice/big medal (4.5" diameter), helpful pacers, good traffic control (I always felt safe), convenient and free race day parking. They advertise their cut off time as 7 hours, but looking at the results the last person listed with a time took almost 8 hours. The biggest marathon in South Carolina--1239 finishers. There weren't huge crowds, but that's not that important to me and I tend to run smaller races. In addition to the race shirt, we also received a pair of running socks and a pair of sunglasses in our race bags. I also received a nice pair of Balega socks as a pacer gift. Biggest disappointments: $5 parking fee for the expo (which I avoided), and the pre-race party/dinner (which I got for free as a pacer).