Myrtle Beach half marathon: Take Two

This past weekend, the Mrs and I finally made it down to Myrtle Beach to visit friends and for me to run the new Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon. The event was a new race for me and for the city of Myrtle Beach. You may recall my failed bid to run the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon in February, a different half marathon which I missed due to illness though it was snowed out as well the morning of. My decision to run the race was prompted by several things including a reduced registration fee (for runners who signed up for the canceled event in February); a new, flat 13.1 mile course and a commitment made over a night of drinking in the summer of 2007.

A good college friend who lives with his family in Myrtle Beach and I agreed that year to run the MB Half together and planned to do so the following year but never got around to it until 2010. Our plans were dashed by my illness and the canceled event so along with signing up for the new October race, we also made a wager over tickets to a Carolina Panthers game. Essentially, the loser buys. Therefore, I had an added incentive to train for and run the event: trash talking.

Race day came this past Sunday morning and the weather forecast was perfect. Low 50's at the 7 am start with sunny skies ahead, no chance of rain and a day time high in the mid 70's. The only downside was the humidity was at 96%. We headed to the start on the outskirts of town in front of the Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament hall. The start reminded me a lot of the Virginia Beach start due to the sky still being dark and that everyone was wearing summer clothing. We had driven most of the course on Saturday so I already had a good feeling about the race if my knees didn't give me any problems - a concern I have had all season. The only hill on the course was in the first 2 miles crossing a short bridge over the river heading into south Myrtle Beach. As we got underway, my knees did feel good and overall my legs were well rested. I had not run in 5 days but had run 20 miles only 8 days before.

I won't do the mile by mile race report but I can say that overall, the course was very pleasant. We ran around a big mall, through a park, around Broadway at the Beach and down Ocean Boulevard before coming back up the boardwalk to the finish. The run down Ocean Blvd. was particularly cool as that is where most of the spectators were while we were also surrounded by the beachfront high rise condos and hotels. It again reminded me of the Virginia Beach Half Marathon's run down Atlantic Avenue. The new boardwalk it turns out is partially a twisty concrete path through sand and palm trees. As the final mile took us north along the path to the finish, I was able to break into a full sprint and passed nearly 50 runners on my way to the boardwalk finish.

As I did in the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon, I wore a Clif pace armband to calculate my required time and mileage throughout the race. At each mile, I knew what time I needed to be within in order to achieve my goal of breaking 1:50:00. By mile 5, I had a :50 second buffer and by mile 11, I was on pace nearly :90 seconds under my goal. I knew as I passed Michelle and my friend's family around mile 11.3 that I would set a new PR unless something drastic happened in the final two miles. I picked up my pace as I moved in on the final mile and felt good enough to accelerate faster onto the boardwalk and towards the finish. As I crossed the finish line with a time around 1:46:30, I realized that I had run the final mile in under 7 minutes. This was by sure my best half ever.

I ran through the finish so fast, I basically forgot to get a finisher medal on the other side. A friendly volunteer quickly hunted me down and asked me if I wanted my medal and boy did I. This baby is sweet! It's a surfboard design with a shark bite/bottle opener, removal neck strap and magnet on the back. It weighs about as much as a full can of beer.

One of the best things about finishing a race in the front besides finishing a race in the front is that the lines for beer in the post-race festival are short. I had a big breakfast before the race and ate 4 Gu packs during it so I wasn't hungry but I sure was thirsty. I headed to the beer tent and got a free cup without even a wait before making my way back to the gear check table. There I got my clean clothes and cold cans of craft beer I stashed at the start and headed over to Ocean Blvd. to join Michelle and my friend's fam awaiting his finish.

Needless to say, I won the bet; now it was just a matter of making sure he finished his first half marathon. Some time later, he did run by and we headed to the finish line awaiting his arrival. I was now working on my second can of New South Brewery White Ale - a beer from a new, local brewery in Myrtle Beach. In the end, my buddy did finish the race and he did so having run the entire 13.1 miles, just at a slower pace than me. While I offer my congrats, it's time to pay up. Luckily, he already did and we are headed to the Panthers vs. Baltimore Ravens game next month in Charlotte. Yes, I know our Panthers stink this season but ironically, they did finally win one Sunday.

I had a great time (literally) running the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon. My official time was 1:46:21 with a 8:06/mile pace. For a new event, I thought it went quite well. I really enjoyed the run down Ocean Blvd. and would love for it to be an even longer part of the course next year. The course overall was very forgiving and as good as any I have run. The medal is bad ass and stands out for sure in my collection. A few suggestions to the race organizers - offer energy gel or beans or something similar on course and have signs or flags posted on poles to alert runners of upcoming water stops. Thanks to every volunteer and band who was out on course, you make all the difference. 

Beerrunning in Seattle

Our recent vacation out west took us from San Francisco to Seattle for the second half of our trip. With some luck and planning, our stay in the Emerald City happened the same time as the Fremont Oktoberfest - a 3 day beer festival in the northern part of town. As part of the event, the final day also featured a morning beerrun called the Brew Ha-Ha 5k that finished at the entrance to the Oktoberfest beer gardens.

If you know me than you know my answer was "Hell yeah, sign me up!" I did sign up in advance before our trip however I held out on tickets to the actual beerfest until I knew more about our weekend plans for when we arrived. Luck was on my side though as I ended up winning a pair of tickets for free entry to the festival (which included 5 beer tokens apiece) via their twitter page's weekly contest.

 

Having struggled with knee pain the previous week during our stay in San Francisco, I had very low expectations of myself the morning of the 5k. My run just 48 hours earlier had gone well but it was relatively slower than normal with a few tiny breaks to sight-see. This was to be my first competitive 5k run in years as I normally run longer distance events or triathlons now. We got to bed relatively early the night before, around 10 PM after our first day in Seattle but the forecast for race day was chilly and wet. I did get in a good dinner that night at Ivar's Acres of Clams seafood on the waterfront and we grabbed a simple breakfast from a Starbuck's coffee van on our way to Fremont by bus in the rain. Being new to riding city buses, we got on the wrong bus initially headed the wrong direction but eventually ended up correcting our mistake and still making it to Fremont early with plenty of time to relax. I have to say that Michelle was particularly awesome and supportive with what could have been a very frustrating morning. She is the best race support ever!

The weather did clear before the race so the run went off in the dry. The air temperature was also up so shorts and a tee was all I needed for the race. Since it was just a 5k and I wasn't too serious about it before our trip, I didn't map the course or the terrain but it ended up being the flattest course I have ever run! The race started and headed what felt like east up about a 3/4 mile incline before turning and running along Lake Union before circling back along the bike path to town. From mile 1 or so to the finish was nearly flat and by mile 2 checkpoint, I changed my pace from a polite jog to a hard run and when I closed in on mile 3, I was sprinting. I crossed the finish line at a full sprint and my knees felt fantastic. The cool, wet air normally causes me more pain but today, I felt great and I hadn't even had a beer yet. My 5k time was 23:25 and good enough for 83rd overall out of 829 finishers, 24 of 139 in my division and 64 of 375 males. I missed beating my adult PR for the 5k of 23:06 by :19 seconds. If only I had known the course was so flat, I would have easily made up those additional :19 seconds in the first 2 miles. Considering the pain I had been through in the previous two weeks, I was more than satisfied with my run and now it was time for some beer!

After crossing the finish line, we headed into the village beer garden for me to have a pint before moving into the larger festival for ticket holders that opened at 11 AM. We had a fantastic time once we got in and I have to say I really like the way the folks do it on the west coast.The festival was run a lot like the New Belgium Brewing Clips of Faith event we had just attended back home in Raleigh. That is, you buy tokens for beers and each token is $1.50 and gets you about 4 oz of beer from whatever brewery tap you choose. The process makes you pay more attention to what you are trying and to put some thought into your selections. Since the festival is open all day, there is no time limit or need to drink fast. It was a much more laid back and responsible atmosphere than I am used to back home with the beer festivals being all you can drink for a 3-5 hour period. While North Carolina certainly has lots of craft beer and breweries that match anything we tried in Seattle, they could learn a lot from the way a beer festival is run out west.

  

Besides loving craft beer, Seattle also proved during our stay to be a city that loves dogs. Everywhere we went, people had their dogs and included them in their daily activities. At parks, at shops, at outdoor restaurants and even at the Fremont Oktoberfest, our four legged friends were everywhere. The Sunday we attended was not only 5k beerrun day, it was also Dogtoberfest and there were dogs everywhere enjoying the festival.

 

Following our day at Oktoberfest, we finished our vacation with several more wonderful days in Seattle and enjoyed some fine beers, great food, beautiful scenery and met up with some awesome people. It was a fine end to a wonderful vacation.

Running the Bridge

One of my must-dos while on vacation in San Francisco was to run from the waterfront across the Golden Gate Bridge to the town of Sausalito. It was a highly recommended event to me by multiple friends during planning for our trip. San Francisco is such a beautiful, urban running city - I had plans for multiple morning or evening runs during our week there however those were spoiled most of the week by tremendous knee pain and inflammation in my left knee. While I always have problems with my knees when running down steep hills, the pain - which was brought on by a 18 mile long run the week before at home; was so severe early in the week, I could not run 3 steps up, down or sideways without agony.

After a bike ride on Monday and many days of walking and driving, I finally felt up to the challenge of running the bridge on Friday - our final full day in the Bay City before departure to Seattle on Saturday morning. Unsure of how it would go, I made a plan and prepared to head out while Michelle would rent another bike and ride the same course across to Sausalito where we would meet for brunch and a ferry ride back. Riding the bridge was also on our to-do list so it was a perfect plan for us both to make the 8-9 mile journey.

After a small breakfast, I headed out to Fisherman's Wharf to officially start the run along the waterfront to the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather was absolutely perfect; probably the best day so far during our trip. The sun was bright, there was no fog, no wind, no humidity and the temperature was in the mid to high 60's. Once I got going, my pace felt good and my knees felt fairly fresh. Michelle first passed me as I ran through the Marina District and than waited for me at the Lincoln Boulevard intersection of the path across the bridge. At this point, I had run 3.5 miles when we stopped together for a photo.

As we separated to cross the bridge, I continued on ahead. Michelle hung back to take some more photos and than eventually caught me as we crossed. Pedestrian traffic (mostly tourist groups) was very heavy, making it challenging (but not impossible) to maintain a running pace across the bridge. Unfortunately, I may have brushed a few old ladies shoulders and elbowed a few kids in the back of the head to keep from falling down or having to slow my pace (haha - sorry). I noticed a lot of road cyclists who shared the same path had whistles in their mouth that they blew like referees to clue people into moving out of their way. 

We crossed the one mile over the bridge and met up again on the opposite side at the Vista Point overlook before heading on to Sausalito. Once we separated to finish the final 3.5 miles into town, I never saw or passed another runner. The road into Sausalito did not have sidewalks or a bike path but was easily passable by foot or bike. 

 

As I ran into town, I finished up with a extra lap down and back along the water before joining Michelle at the Lighthouse Cafe for brunch. It's a simple breakfast and lunch spot that was also recommended by friends just down the street past all the tourist spots by the ferry landing. I had a fantastic chicken quesadilla and fries while Michelle enjoyed this awesome double bacon BBLT.

Following lunch and a short stroll around town, we headed back across the bay by ferry to Fisherman's Wharf to carry on with our final day about the city. Of course, I completed my morning run with a Lagunitas Pale Ale as we enjoyed the beautiful views of the bridge and the city during our ferry ride back. I had to start thinking about my next west coast run that was less than 48 hours away in Seattle.

Motoring Wine Country and More

As I mentioned in my last post, we were able to get out of the city on a couple different days of our San Francisco vacation to explore the coast, Sonoma and Napa Valley wine country of California. While in Seattle, we also spent our final day exploring both north and south of the city.

This travel was made possible via day long car rentals from Zipcar. I learned of Zipcar from a friend in Washington DC and signed up over the summer in planning our west coast vacation. Zipcar offers a convenient hassle-free way to rent a car for as little as an hour in many large cities and on larger college campuses across the country. Besides not having to interact with annoying car rental counters, argue over insurance upgrades or pray the car I reserved is available - the best thing about Zipcar is that they rent MINI Coopers.

  

While Zipcar rents lots of models of cars and trucks, knowing I could reserve a MINI hardtop or convertible during our trip was perfect considering how much I love my own MINI Cooper S that I got last year. San Francisco and Seattle are both MINI Cooper country. While in San Francisco for a week, we rarely traveled more than a block without seeing multiple MINIs either driving by or parked. Zipcar offered dozens of them throughout the city as well as in Seattle.

We took advantage of Zipcar three times in San Francisco to rent wheels for trips up the coast to Santa Rosa, to Sonoma and Napa and an afternoon around town to hit spots we missed during our bike ride or use of public transit on other days. In Seattle, we rented a Zipcar to explore in and out of the city including Discovery Park, Volunteer Park, Alki Beach and the International District.

Our rentals includes two hardtop MINI Coopers, a Honda Civic and our favorite - a MINI Cooper convertible which we had during our first driving day to Muir Woods, Muir Beach, Stinson Beach, Point Reyes, Santa Rosa. Thanks to our Zipcars, we were able to see and do a lot more during our vacation.

**It was not my intention for this blog post to read like a commercial however if you are interested in joining Zipcar, check out their site and follow the Vrooom link or contact me for a referral to save yourself money off your first rental.

racephan Sonoma exploring

While visiting the San Francisco area, we took two separate day trips north out of the city to explore the coast and wine country. Our first and longest day trip was up the Pacific Coast Highway to visit Muir Woods and than onto Santa Rosa for a beercation must-do stop at Russian River Brewing. On our way back to San Francisco through Sonoma, we passed right by Infineon Raceway. Unfortunately, it was late in the day so the track and store was closed.

On our way back to Sonoma two days later, we stopped at the raceway again so I could check out the on site motorsports store called Wine Country Motor Sports. It was really the only thing open to the public though I joked with the gate security guard about taking my rental car out on the track. Probably not the first time they have heard that!

Once inside the store, I chatted with the staff about their collection of motorsports swag and I was particularly impressed with the vastness of their merchandise and specialty products. Most speedway and race track stores I have been to are either a. all NASCAR merchandise b. a collection of amateur racer products or c. non-existant. WCMS had a massive selection of DVDs, books, clothing, race gear and raceway logo swag. To my surprise, they also had a fair amount of Formula 1 and road racing merchandise including autographed items from famous F1 drivers.

I geeked out a little bit and snapped some pics of the F1 items that the staff pointed out to me but that was all I could do given their price tag. Included in their collection of items for sale were:

-World Champions Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher autographed hard cards from the 2005 GP of Bahrain

-Ruben Barrichello's autographed race suit and gloves that he wore in his win at the 2003 GP of Japan

-Schumacher, Barrichello, Raikkonen and Felipe Massa autographed Ferrari hat, race shoes and gloves.

I also got a good laugh out of a kid's story book about Milka Duno, the female Venezuelan driver currently stinking it up in the IndyCar Series and recently voted the worst driver in IndyCar history. While she is pretty bad, I disagree that she is the worst. Regardless, I couldn't help but laugh how the book presented her as a sexy, grease under the nails, speed demon. In her defense, I can say that Milka is great with the fans and sponsors. I have met her on 4 different occasions - twice at VIR during her Grand Am Rolex Series days and twice at RIR during IndyCar Series race weekends. Sponsor and fan appeal is a big part of racing which seems to be the part Milka has down pat, much like fellow IndyCar star - Danica Patrick.

Perhaps one day we will make it back to Sonoma for another beer AND racing tour in wine country since IndyCar currently races at the raceway in August.

Bike2Beer in the Bay City

The Mrs and I recently returned from a nearly two week vacation out to the left coast to visit the San Franciso Bay area and Seattle. While we promised ourselves that this was not supposed to be strictly a beercation, we did our best to break that promise throughout our visit. While San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest is known for its craft beer scene and breweries, it also known for its beauty and places to run and bike. One of the many things we looked forward to on our visit was doing just that - running and biking.

Since I am training for marathon season and September is the most important month of the program, I could not afford to let my training slack off for two weeks. The problem I encountered once we were in San Francisco is that my left knee was causing me a lot of pain but only if I tried to run; particularly downhill. It is the same pain that has nagged me now since mid-July that I mentioned previously. San Francisco is nothing but hills so for the first 5 days we were there, I could not run. Instead, we decided on a whim to see some of the city and the many sights we had on our list by bike in one day. That included one of the craft brew pubs on my list of must do's - Magnolia Pub and Brewery.

So on the Monday of our visit, which turned out to be the coolest and foggiest morning of entire week, we set out on rental bikes from Blazing Saddles San Francisco on a 20 mile planned route around the city. We started near our Bay Street apartment where we picked up our bikes and set off on the bike trail that begins near Ghirardelli Square and the turnaround for the Powell-Hyde trolley car. Not fully realizing just what level of ride we were undertaking, we only had yogurt and energy bars for breakfast. Luckily, beer would soon help replenish our energy levels. 

 

Our ride took us by many San Francisco tourist destinations, some of which make up parts of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. In order along our ride, we passed or stopped at Fort Mason, Marina District, Crissy Field, Fort Pointe, the Presidio of SF, Baker Beach, China Beach, Sea Cliff, Palace of the Legion of Honor, Cliff House and Seal Rocks. Our intended destination before lunch was Golden Gate Park. Due to the hills along the western shoreline of San Francisco, our pace was slower than expected so when we finally made it to GGP along the beach, we happened upon Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant - a surprise stop we had not planned but found thanks to Google Maps on Michelle's BlackBerry.

Before tackling the park, we pedaled on into Beach Chalet and went upstairs to check out the taps at the bar. The view from the restaurant and bar was fantastic with the beach and ocean stretching as far as you could see. Unfortunately, I didn't get a usable photo of the view due to the sunlight shining in as the morning fog had lifted as we arrived. I inquired with the bartender about their brews and ordered up a sampler flight of every beer they offered. This was our first brewpub stop on our vacation so our excitement to try something new and our thirst from the ride were heightened. Our flight came on a Lazy Susan of sorts and included an extra pour compliments of the bartender - I think he just lost count of the pours while he was answering my questions and asking us about the North Carolina craft beer scene. While any craft beer would have been good about now, we particularly enjoyed the Altbier and the DBA (Dee's Bitter Ale).

Moving on along a ride, we visited the Dutch windmill, Bison paddock and Japanese Tea Garden within Golden Gate Park. While the hills weren't as steep, the hills continued most of our way as we headed east into the beautiful park. GGP was described to me as San Francisco's Central Park and I would say its more than worthy of the title.

 

Now past lunchtime, our next goal was Magnolia Pub and Brewery located in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of SF. I had heard of Magnolia after they were featured in the same 2009 Draft Magazine article Nine Beer Innovators to Watch as Durham, NC's Fullsteam Brewery. We arrived at Magnolia mid-afternoon after the lunch crowd yet before the happy hour crowd so seating inside and out along the sidewalk was available. We took seats inside along the window and ordered up a flight of 6 beers that we selected from the menu on the wall of 16 beers including five, yes five cask ale selections! If this brewpub was an indicator of the selection at the rest of the places I had planned for our west coast trip, I knew I was in for a good 9 more days of travel. As I would soon learn, Magnolia was like many west coast breweries and featured 4 IPA choices including an English-style IPA and a cask IPA plus variations of hoppy American-style IPAs that both Michelle and I love. Our flight included a wheat, a bitter, a mild, a brown and two IPAs all of which in their own way were outstanding and above the norm in their flavor profiles. Lunch was also fantastic - it might have been my hunger but the grilled boneless chicken thigh sandwich I had was the very best chicken sandwich I have ever had.

  

 

We finished with a pint of the Pale Ale and headed off to complete our ride which took us straight back to the Marina District with stops near Alamo Square and the successful ride up the steepest hill I have ever ridden. It was the first time I rode in granny gear all the way up a climb. Luckily, lunch at Magnolia was late enough in the afternoon that it counted as an early dinner as we had a evening tour of Alcatraz to make at 6:30 so as soon as we turned our bikes in, we were home to shower and off to the ferry. Without out a doubt, it was a fantastic and hard earned day of beercycling 19 miles in the Bay City.