Our entire family came down to Myrtle Beach, SC for Marathon Weekend. As part of their Final Mile Training, my big boys decided that they wanted to run the Neon Night 5K. My mom saw the flip flop medal and decided that she was coming down with us.
After a 5 1/2 hour drive (make sure you stop at Fuller's BBQ in Lumberton, NC), we pulled into the expo. Word on the street was that there were monkeys at the Expo! We walked right up to the windows and picked up our bibs. In typical expo fashion, there is a separate line for each race, so I went and got my half bib and then went over and picked up the 5K bibs for myself and the boys. Then we went to get our shirts.
Here is one major complaint that I had with the Myrtle Beach Marathon shirts - the women's shirts for the 5K and the half are exactly the same. (One says 5K an one says 13.1, but it's the same shirt.) I asked the shirt lady for a gray men's shirt for the 5K, but she wouldn't give it to me....so now I have 2 pink shirts. I got some pretty cool pink zebra print socks as part of the swag, so that was pretty cool.
Back to the expo - after we picked up t-shirt, my hubby took the boys over to see the cute monkeys while my mom and I walked through the Expo. It wasn't much to write home about...same vendors, same races, but there were monkeys. :)
From the Expo, we ran to the hotel to check in before our 4:00 dinner reservations. We ate a Capriz at Broadway at the Beach. It's like a Brazilian steakhouse, but with pasta. You sit at your table and they bring you pasta...as much as you want....whatever kind they are serving that day. I had some penne alla vodka, spaghetti and meatballs, and some marinated pork tenderloin. There was also DELICIOUS bread and a salad and antipasta bar. We ended dinner with a cannoli.
At about 6:15, we made our way over to the starting area to get ready for the 7:00 race. It was getting a little chilly, so we found a Myrtle Beach Tourism office that was kind enough to let us hang out inside until it was a little closer to the start. We headed outside at 6:45 and lined up at the back of the pack. (But not the very back because Jacob wanted to start with people behind him.) I should probably mention that we, along with all of the other runners were decked out in neon and glow sticks.
It was dark at the start and I was worried about losing a child, so my mom had one by the hand and I had the other and we moved together once the gun went off. Our training runs have been close to 20 minute miles, so I was hoping that we would finish in the hour time limit.
They came to race. :) With very little whining, they ran when I told them to run (even Gaga). We made a friend at about mile 2. He was 9 and running the race with his twin, who had left him. The parents were waiting at the finish. I would have wanted a family to adopt mine if they were out there alone, so we invited him to run with us. Jeffrey does better with a friend. He was laughing and running and playing and walking and just having a great time. Jacob didn't talk to the kid very much, but he turned on the gas for his running times. He would take off and go to the stop marker and the just wait. It was a game for him to get there first. He was having so much fun.
We crossed the finish line in 52:41. It was an 8 minute PR for the boys! We averaged 17 minute miles. I was SO proud of them for going out there and doing their best.
After the race, we rushed home to get everyone in bed. My 4:30 wake up call for the half would be coming way too soon!
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