Myrtle Beach Marathon 2009

1st marathon.. I went out real hard and just tried to hold on for the finish.
MILE 1 - 6:27 - I didn't want to go out too fast but I knew that if I could get ahead of that 7:15 pace then I would need that extra time at the end. It is easy to run this mile fast because even a 6:27 feels slow when you are near the front and everyone is running 5-6 min miles. The ocean of runnner's kind of sweeps you along. MILE 2 - I got tucked in behind 3 runners, two tall guys and a scrappy shorter guy with yellow nike's. At this point I realized how cool that watch is because I could see my pace when there was no clock.
MILE 3 - 18:45 - Waved to Lorena and laughed because I know she missed the photo opp due to the late flash of the camera as we passed.
MILE 4 - H20 - no walk - I felt good heading toward the beach because of the two taller guys in front that would be sure to block any wind. Unfortunately I didn't verbally express my plan and as soon as we hit the staright-away these guys took off with scrappy. I noticed they had green bib numbers and were only running the half-marathon so I was not disappointed.
MILE 5 - 32:00 - Wind was noticeably becoming a factor. I tried to draft a guy that was running with his friend, I soon found out that they were alternating positions as he called back and asked his friend how he was doing and if he wanted to switch yet. This worked for about a mile, then I decided to take off my shirt and that seemed to help with the wind.
MILE 6 - H20 / POWERADE - no walk - Disappointed as I spilled red powerade all over my face and hand because of trying to drink while running, it was sticky, 6:35 -6:45 pace. I periodically looked at my watch to ensure that my pace was in this range, if I saw it move to 6:50 then I would kick it up a notch.
MILE 7 - 8 - I got passed by some professional looking runner's and I asked what their goal time was and they said 2:45/2:50. I knew I was ahead but this was proof positive. I said "Damn, I'm just trying to qualify" the guy said to just keep it up and I will have created a "buffer" for the end. I was thankful he didn't say what he was truly thinking, which was probably that this guy is going to bonk halfway.
MILE 9 - I have moved to about a 6:50 pace on my watch and I passed scrappy with the yellow nike's as he appeared to be slowing down considerably. Definitely had a blister forming on my left big toe.
MILE 10 - 1:05:42 - H20 - This is 13 seconds faster than I did the 10 miler in St.Louis so I felt good but a little concerned because of the unknown. Normally during my training runs I ate Gu @ 10 mi. & 16, but I remembered something Cody told me and it stuck. He said not to eat unless I had to because I should use my Glycogen (fat storage) until that is nearing empty then Gu. Once you Gu then your body burns Gu and you must keep Guing til the end. Plus, this would allow me to eat a Gu @ 12 then still have an emergency Gu on me. I knew they had race Gu offered @ 16 & 24. MILE 11 - I began to regret not eating because I was not sure of the next H20 station and you must supplement the Gu with water to prevent sickness. This went away like other doubts and fears similar to the peaks and valleys or highs and funks during the run.
MILE 12 - H20 - GU - walk and ate - The guy next to me had his own Gu and he stopped while eating it and I did the same.
MILE 13.1 - 1:27:23 - My PR for the half and I felt good other than a sore toe but I was thankful for no blisters on the bottoms of my feet. I got passed by a blonde who I later recognized as being the winner of the female's when I saw her in the paper today; had I known she was going to win then it probably wouldn't have bothered me as much it did at the time.
MILE 14 - H20 - walk and drank 2 full cups - I think in hind-sight the Gu had made me very thirsty and I was mentally struggling with the idea of only being halfway done. I did check my watch and realize that I was over a mile ahead of my Virtual Partner which made me feel a little better.
MILE 15 - My first wall.. pace is right around 7:00-7:05 on my watch, crazy guy passed me at a solid pace and claimed he was feeling great and was just riding the high. I said to him remember the good times during the bad. Somehow forgot to heed my own advice here while I remained in a funk, but doable.
MILE 16 - H20 - Gu - walk and ate - new flavor Gu that I had never tried is what they handed me, it was good and I was off.
MILE 17 - WIND - WALL, I was not in a good place mentally, no other runners around - alone, wind off the coast was standing me straight up last I checked my pace was 7:30 and climbing. I hit the wrong button and reset the watch so it was blinking in a different mode.. I should have used the LOCK feature on the watch. Pissed off I couldn't fix it and run at the same time - I decided to just suck it up and go... no watch from here on out. It crossed my mind to throw it on the beach but it is way too nice a watch to do that, shows you where I was mentally. Hind-sight is Lorena mentioned maybe the Gu they handed me had Caffeine and it dropped me off hard, not sure cause I didn't check. Caffeine can be used effectively from what I read but I only used it in the Gu near the end of my runs during training.
MILE 18 - POWERADE - I drank half of a mini powerade bottle while walking thru the station, made a left off the coast only to face a slight hill. Still hurting and mentally distraught as I focused too much on the 8 mi. left.
MILE 19 - I met a guy Jeff, from Canada, that was in a similar place, he claimed he started off way too fast and was hurting. This was his first marathon and he wanted me to pull him to the finish. I told him I started too fast, it was my first, and I was hurting just as bad. He did say something that stuck because I had read it prior, "if it were easy then everyone would do it." I asked him about training in Ontario and he said it was cold, then I realized I was slowing him so I told him to go and don't worry there are peaks and valleys, this happens to be a valley for me. MILE 20 - 2:18:37 - walk 3 cups water and Gu - I used my emergency Gu and was excited finally could see a time since my watch "broke." I remember yelling "LET"S DO THIS!!!!!" and Jeff ahead of me turned around and gave thumbs up.
MILE 21 - The high from mile 20 had worn off and the biggest and only hill was upon us.
MILE 22 - 2:34:30 -H20- Jeff states only 4 miles left, great ONLY 4 miles he said again sarcastically. I remember thinking ok, 4 more 9 min. miles and I'm there, I can really do this. Then broke from Jeff on another guys pace as he was passing us. I began a mantra in my head - "the pain will go away but the memory lasts forever" this I repeated over and over and somehow kept up with this guy side by side for 2 miles. We had to be doing 7:30 pace.
MILE 24 - 2:49:40 - H20 and Gu - walk and ate half Gu - I lost that pace guy at the H20 station and geared up for the final 2 miles. I was thinking I could do 2-10 min miles but knew I wanted to finish strong, plus, I couldn't feel what a 10 min mile felt like and I had no watch. I was confident I had it at this point.
MILE 25 – Some people walking, blew my mind because we were almost home…
MILE 26 - I reached down deep and sought for a pace that I had been saving for the last mile, ready to give it my all and sprint the last mile I searched my reserve tank and said let's go... but nothing happened, again I said c'mon let's move.. yet my legs didn't respond so I conceded to the pace I was moving. I began to think about that .2 miles on the end of 26.2 and I calculated that if I was running a 9 min mile then .33 would be 3 min so .2 probably takes me 2.5 min more or less, either way it occupied my mind for a time.Then I made the final turn and saw my time and the rest is history.
Clock Time 3:08:00 Chip Time 3:07:40 BQ!! 46th OverallRace Results

"Running Out Of Tim"

Mother’s Day started out just as any other morning when suddenly, Tim Smith, 37 years young, awoke and could not feel his left side. He checked his blood sugar, thinking it could be his diabetes. It was not. An ambulance was called and Tim was sent to Conway Hospital. After 3 days, the doctor’s suspected that Tim had had a stroke but did not confirm this. Tim thought it was a minor setback and he would be able to resume his life. Fate did not play him that hand. A second stroke had hit him. Now he was paralyzed in his left hand and on the left side of his face. This rendered Tim unable to work at his job installing home security systems. The hits just kept coming, he lost his job, was evicted from his home and had his vehicle repossessed. The waves of disaster just kept coming since Tim had no medical insurance. Moya Moya Syndrome, was the diagnosis. Basically unheard of in US men, the prognosis was grim. Tim could either undergo evasive brain surgery or live his life wondering when the fatal stroke would strike. Explaining this to his 12 year old son, Devin, was painful. Being that this was a God sized problem, we all placed this in God’s hands. Medical bills began piling up rapidly. Medication bills adding up every day, yet there was no way to pay for this desperately needed care. Due to the paralysis, Tim is supposed to be in physical therapy to help regain use of the left hand. That cannot happen. With no insurance and no income to pay the doctor’s, he is left on his own for therapy.By the grace of God, Tim was admitted to a non-profit hospital. They could not turn him away. A team of doctor’s was put in place and a plan developed. The surgery is similar to heart by-pass. The frontal portion of Tim’s skull will be removed, a stint will be put in place to by-pass the clogged Coradit Artery and he will be sewn back up. While the surgeons are hopeful and optimistic, there are no guarantees. The surgeons said the surgery could take as little as 1 hour or up to 6 hours. No one will know until the brain is open and the extent of the damage determined. Everyone of us knows someone that has hit hard times. When they hit someone so young and the condition so rare, it becomes very real and very scary. It just as easily could have been one of us. That is why I, Michael Kahn am running in the Myrtle Beach Marathon. My cause is Tim Smith. The vibrant, young, father that has been struck down in a very life threatening way. Not only will I be raising funds for Tim’s medical care, I will be raising awareness of Moya-moya Syndrome. Had Tim been diagnosed with this disease when he was hit with the first stroke, the other 2 may have been avoided. I invite you to visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moyamoya_disease. This site can give you more information on this life threatening and life altering disease. My goal is to get the message to everyone out there that life is short and can throw us out of our comfort zones in just a brief second.I am looking for sponsors and you can do so at this website. http://www.active.com/donate/tsmithstrokefund
If you cannot make a financial contribution, you can do the next best thing. Invite everyone you know. Let’s get information on Tim Smith and Moya-Moya Syndrome to the world.

Why Do I Run?

Those who don’t can’t understand the pain is real every day
Is it easier now? Not really.
The same pain I felt the first day I began.
Only easier now to cover greater distances in shorter periods of time.
The pain is the same, and I understand it always will be. I dread it, and in a sense I crave it.

Why do I run? To stay in shape, to keep my health, to feel better — all partial reasons, I suppose. The reason is confirmation. Confirmation that I am in control.
Every day I must make a choice — a choice to experience pain and discomfort in order to achieve a higher goal or to give into the body’s urging to do something else more comforting and pleasurable.

Who is in control? My body or me? Every time I run, I verify to myself that I am in control and that I can be the master of my own destiny.
That is ultimately why I run. I feel guilty when I don’t run — When the body wins.
Running is a test of my strenth — not just my physical — but my mental.
Running is a challenge of my “will” — of mind over matter, of me against myself.
Running is mental conditioning as well as physical.
It’s therapy of the “will” for me.

Each run is success — the richest and most deeply satisfying.
Strangely but unmistakably tied to self-discipline, self-denial and self-control. In a world whre I often feel helpless, victimized and controlled, running helps revive feelings of hope, strength, and conviction that I can make a difference and I can be responsible for me. An addiction or choice, you may say. And you’re right — there’s a danger.

So long as I “choose”, the value remains true and real; so long as I control running and not let running control me. Positive addiction or not, the value is choosing. When the choice is gone, I become controlled and victimized again — one more thing in my life that tells me I am not in control, that I am simply a pawn of fate and circumstance. I must run as a choice, not out of necessity — or its real value again is gone for me.

Why Do I Run?
I run for success — success in the ultimate contest; the contest of me against myself.

–unknown