Thought I would give you all a recap of the Myrtle Beach Mini. I really like this race because it's nice and flat. I had a crazy couple of weeks before the race with lots of stress and not much time to train, so I was kind of nervous about how all that was going to impact me on race day. And I was a bit nervous about what all of that would do to my body since I went into shock a day after the last race and it took me longer to recover. So, the week before the race, I was hitting electrolytes and potassium pretty hard to see if I could prevent the horrible muscle cramping in my legs. And I was mentally preparing myself as well because losing a couple weeks of training is never a part of the recipe for success.
I didn't get much sleep the night before the race thanks to the bad positioning of our room and a wedding party that was liquored up and partying in the stairwell. It was unnerving to get so little sleep before the race, but I sucked it up and got myself together in the morning. Cathy and I made sure we had late checkouts and then went to get Tripp (my trainer) who was our chauffeur/photographer/cheerleader :) It was quite chilly out Sunday morning. We were all bundled up pretty well since we knew Tripp could take our extra jackets with him.
Of course, we did the correct protocol...hit the port-a-potties first :) After that, we did a couple pictures and I got in some light stretching. My hip was aching...not sure if it was the weather or what was going on. They did their pre-race jousting with the people from Medieval Times and then it was time to start. I was still very sore between the hip and the wrist feeling the cold, I was not sure how this race was going to do me.
I started out pretty well. The first few miles were pretty smooth and uneventful. I was keeping a very steady pace. I resisted the urge to make a friend or even talk to anyone for the first ten miles. By mile 10, I just hurt...everywhere. My hip was starting to drag and my pace was slowing. At this point, I ended up walking for a while with another woman who was having some hip issues. So, we stuck it out together for the last 3 miles. I didn't want my pace to slow but by this point the bottoms of my feet were SO sore too! When the finish line was finally in sight, I was so relieved and so happy and so ready to be done with this race. Luckily, I was able to pull the last of my strength and energy together and make a very slow run to the finish line.
When I got to the very end, I knew I didn't want to stop because it was just going to hurt but I also wanted to just lay down. I got my medal, my water and bagels and headed back to the car with Cathy, Tripp, and Jason. I was happy to get back to the hotel and get showered up because everything hurt. The ride back to Columbia was a bit uncomfortable because my legs started cramping in the car. (Which is way better than during the race!)
Recovery has gone pretty smoothly. I have not overdone it this week. I got my electrolytes and potassium balanced on Sunday afternoon. Most of the lactic acid has worked its way out of my system. Mostly, I am just tired.
And here's my update on the wrist...I saw Dr. Ekman last week and he actually asked me if dwarfism ran in my family, followed by "clearly, you are not a dwarf." LOL...no dwarfs in my family, but apparently the bones in my wrist are moving in a degenerative pattern similar to what happens in dwarfs. And he mentioned multiple times how abnormal my wrist is. Then, he sprung the bad news...if we don't go in and fix the issues he is currently seeing, then I won't be using my wrist much by the time I am 60. So, I am scheduled for an MRI tomorrow and then meeting with Ekman next Monday to review what else he finds and likely scheduling surgery.
Other than that, I am looking forward to Savannah on November 5th! My last half marathon for the year and then I am scheduling a break from races until March. I plan to do the NC Half Marathon in Charlotte in March and the Divas Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach in May. Other than that, I have not made any other plans. And Savannah is my 10th half marathon....hard to believe, but true!! And it will be 6 half marathons total for the year.
