I Should Rep Honey Stinger

Time: 65:22

Distance: ~9.5 miles

I got out the door late in the morning and ran out and back along Ocean Blvd. in Myrtle Beach. I was feeling pretty good and the pace picked up the last half of the run. Somewhere around the 7 mile mark, just as I was running near a grassy field, I felt a sharp pain up under the left side of my glasses. I heard a buzz and felt a ricochet which caused me to immediately fling off the sunglasses. I stopped and looked around but couldn't see the culprit, but knew that I had been stung by a bee. I've been stung while running before, but never in the face. By the time I got back to the resort my face didn't hurt anymore and I couldn't see a stinger. Good thing I'm not allergic as it now gave an uneventful run something for me to write about.

Inside Double

Time: 33:30

Distance: ~5 miles

Given the length and speed of the run this morning, I wanted to get in a double run. It was windy and I was feeling like a wuss so I hit the treadmill. I haven't been on the treadmill in months and I really didn't have a good excuse to jump on it today. I usually don't enter all the prerequisite data that fancy devices ask for, but I did today. Sometimes you just gotta be adventurous.

I ran easy for about 3 miles at just over a 7 minute average and then I increased the tempo to 5:40 pace for a mile. It sucked. Running fast on a treadmill feels at least 30 seconds faster. My cadence wasn't terribly high (84) but it felt like I was sprinting. I cooled down for a mile at a 6:18 pace and called it a day. I couldn't handle it any longer which makes me wonder if this guy is sane.

The Next Generation

Time: 30:00

Distance: ~3 miles

My little brother who is 8 years old wanted me to take him out running. He's just started running track, but missed his first meet when the family came to Myrtle Beach. I should have held a true dual meet between me and him, but I didn't think of it at the time. When I asked how far he wanted to run he said a 5k which was fine by me. We headed out from the resort and toured the neighborhood nearby. The pace was nice and easy for me and solid for Tyler.

The biggest challenge was getting him to focus on the running part. He tried to shoot me a couple of times with a rubber band and once stopped to stare at a dead squirrel. I almost had to pry him away from the carcass as you would a leashed dog. He wanted to poke it with a stick, but I suggested that wasn't the smartest idea. As I encouraged to keep going he just kept starring saying, "oh man his tail got run over! And I can see his teeth!" One of my former teammates at Brown, Nick Neely, would definitely approve of Tyler's curiosity because he once did an art project where he took ink impressions of roadkill. There's a good blogpost out there on an incident of Nick painting a squirrel with ink in the middle of the road and some highway patrolman giving him a hard time.

We eventually got back to the resort where I tried to show Tyler some drills and did a few strides. It was fun to be out there with the little bro but I didn't tire him out enough as he wanted to hit the pool and play basketball immediately afterward.

Update: Just found Nick's post! Read it!

Myrtle Beach Running

Time: 48:00

Distance: ~7 miles

Last night after Let Me Run I finished packing the car and headed off in the direction of Myrtle Beach. Spring Break 2011!!! Woooo!!!

I have family from Ohio staying right on the beach in a Marriott resort living the American dream. I'll be staying with them as it give me a good excuse to explore the Myrtle Beach running and biking scene. To my knowledge there isn't a specialty running store and I'm interested in getting some of my brands placed here.

The run this morning was out and back along Ocean Blvd. I ran as close to the beach as possible without actually having to run on it. I felt decent but a little unmotivated to keep going knowing I was just turning back. I thought about doubling in the evening but we went to Margaritaville instead.