Tybee Island Marathon

Of course I am smiling since I am finished! 3:21 was my time...more to come

Tybee Island is a little island off the coast of Georgia close to Savannah. It is charming and at this time of the year quiet. Ironically during the marathon you never venture very far from the finish line - at most a few miles at either end of the island which you tour 2x. For the first half I was entertained by the quaint homes and the pretty marshes and my own escort. Yes, for the first 12.5 miles of the marathon I was leading and had the honor of running next to a cyclist wearing a yellow shirt that said "Lead Female 26.2". It made me smile every time I saw him. The last time I had an escort in a race it was because I was dead last! I admit that the first half of the race I had to hold myself back to make myself stay on pace 6:50 miles were clicking off easily but then that became 7:00 and then 7:15 and then 7:30 and then my wonderful Garmin died. Somewhere at about mile 15-16 the flat pounding got to my quads and I started to get very tight and very sore. I had taken my ibuprofen at mile 11, I had already had 4-5 gels and drank water every 2 miles. The pounding on the flat pavement was affecting me because I ran all my training runs on trails. It is the only thing I can attribute it to. Either way it did not matter I was going to finish and despite the world of hurt I was running in I tried to embrace it. After all it was a marathon, it is supposed to hurt! I enjoyed the run anyway, the beautiful weather, good tunes on my I-pod (a first for me) and all my fellow friends from Anderson, SC who were raising money for the Cancer Association as well as friends from Landrum (Scarlette completed her first Half and Dr. Walters who zoomed past me at mile 22) Yes, there was a crowd of people out there who I knew and that always seems to make it more fun. But the most memorable moment in the race has to be what Chasse did. I have coached Chasse for years and have often gone back out on the course to cheer her on as she finished. Well, as I was coming around the corner towards the finish line there was Chasse who had already finished the Half Marathon and she still had some spunk left because she started sprinting. Maybe she wasn't but it sure felt like it. She was full of encouragement and still running fast while dishing it out. This is when I realized I was getting a good dose of my own medicine! I crossed the finish line and could not help but be anything but happy to have completed another marathon.

In the afternoon I walked around on the island and even had the hair-brained idea to walk up to the top of the lighthouse. 174 stairs would normally not faze me but after the marathon going up was hard...coming down was worse! The view was worth it and the experience was priceless. I love to explore and going up in the lighthouse and walking around the museum satisfied that need.

Later in the evening the group from Anderson - the Daring Divas and their Dashing Dudes went for a nice dinner together where I was able to catch up with more friends. Some who have run in the past and were just there to support and others who were happy to have completed their first marathon. (Congrats to Fred!)

On Sunday on the way home I made a quick stop in Savannah to check out the sights. I had been there once before about 15 years ago and remembered that it was beautiful. I would have liked to have walked around more but my legs were not cooperating. Before I knew it I was back in the car and heading home. Relaxing weekend and fun race all complete.