Sometimes, you just have to be spontaneous. This race was an impromptu hail mary decision. I drove down the night before, straight to the Health & Fitness expo packet pickup location and signed up for the race. Somehow I felt good about it.
Packet Pickup
I wasn’t armed with cameras for this one. Just my phone, and it didn’t get much use. I paid the $100 for last-minute registration, and came across a booth advertising another race. The Big Ass Medal race. I took a photo of the medals and got a few flyers to hand out back in Raleigh.
Race Day
6:00am on race day. The crowd is slowly gathering.
Parking was super convenient right on the mall parking lot. It was quite chilly in the morning, temperatures in the low 40s.
At the start line, I was positioned somewhere in the middle.
One thing I can definitely say: It was beautifully flat. No inclines, no bridges, no uphill roads. Just completely flat roads with a gorgeous view. After the less than stellar performance in Virginia Beach I was a little worried how I’d do. As visible in the pace graph, I took off slowly and eased into a comfortable pace, which I was able to hold until the very end. In fact, 2/3rds into the race, I had a mentally euphoric moment. I realized that given the pace I was holding, I was headed for a PR. And indeed, the spike in my pace at the very end was me going into full sprint. As if it really made a difference. But I do feel that my mental outlook throughout the race is very well reflected by the purple on the cadence graph.
In the end, I was almost upset that I wasn’t able to shave off the last 3 minutes, but this race went better than any others before, so there’s not much room to complain.
The Finish
The race ended at the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk & Promenade. Shuttles took participants back to the Mall parking lot.
I realized I haven’t run a 5K in a while, and the Rock’n’Roll remix bling was incentive enough, since I’m already running the half marathon tomorrow. Packet Pickup As always, packet pickup was at the Rock’n’Roll Health & Fitness Expo held at the Raleigh Convention Center. I’ve participated in enough Rock’n’Roll events that I’m familiar with …
Despite trail running being one of my favorite things to do, I’ve never actually participated in an official race that consisted of a trail run — without stables, anyway. Packet Pickup Although packet pickup was available the day before at Fleet Feet in Carrboro, it was out of my way and I decided to show up …
Arrival Generally I make it a habit to pick up the race packet first, but DC is one of the cities where it makes sense to first get situated and the car stowed. So the first stop after arriving in the city was to check in at The Donovan. Centrally located right by 14th and …
Packet Pickup at the Fitness Expo This was the farthest I’ve driven for an event, arriving at the Savannah International Trade Convention Center around 4pm. Just finding a parking spot took 30 minutes of slowly being directed to the parking lot, waiting in line, and ultimately, getting lucky. An officer, who was directing traffic, mentioned that over …
Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon Race Report
Sometimes, you just have to be spontaneous. This race was an impromptu hail mary decision. I drove down the night before, straight to the Health & Fitness expo packet pickup location and signed up for the race. Somehow I felt good about it.
Packet Pickup
I wasn’t armed with cameras for this one. Just my phone, and it didn’t get much use. I paid the $100 for last-minute registration, and came across a booth advertising another race. The Big Ass Medal race. I took a photo of the medals and got a few flyers to hand out back in Raleigh.
Race Day
6:00am on race day. The crowd is slowly gathering.
Parking was super convenient right on the mall parking lot. It was quite chilly in the morning, temperatures in the low 40s.
At the start line, I was positioned somewhere in the middle.
One thing I can definitely say: It was beautifully flat. No inclines, no bridges, no uphill roads. Just completely flat roads with a gorgeous view. After the less than stellar performance in Virginia Beach I was a little worried how I’d do. As visible in the pace graph, I took off slowly and eased into a comfortable pace, which I was able to hold until the very end. In fact, 2/3rds into the race, I had a mentally euphoric moment. I realized that given the pace I was holding, I was headed for a PR. And indeed, the spike in my pace at the very end was me going into full sprint. As if it really made a difference. But I do feel that my mental outlook throughout the race is very well reflected by the purple on the cadence graph.
In the end, I was almost upset that I wasn’t able to shave off the last 3 minutes, but this race went better than any others before, so there’s not much room to complain.
The Finish
The race ended at the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk & Promenade. Shuttles took participants back to the Mall parking lot.
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