Myrtle Beach - Smelly running town

Whoa - Myrtle Beach is certainly a smelly town for runners. It was a zillion degrees, 5 zillion percent humidity, and not many running routes. I checked a couple of those "map your favorite run" websites, and it looked like everyone must be geechy tourists and just run up & down Ocean Blvd. OK - I'll go run up & down Ocean Blvd. 4.5 out, 4.5 back.

WOW. I can only surmise that the cool locals keep the real running routes to themselves, and don't post them on the running websites. That was the nastiest, smelliest run I've ever endured. All the dumpsters are lined up along the edge of the street, house after house, condo after condo, and when the temps are in the mid 90's, the stench is just indescribable.

I got smart, and on the way back, I slipped over a block off of the main drag and ran through the tony areas. Past the zillion dollar houses, past the gated communities, and through the shady streets. There were the people walking their dogs. There's the seniors on their golf carts. And NO dumpsters! (A lot less traffic, too)

After slogging out my 9 miles exactly, of course there was some new nose-hair-melting raw sewage smell outside of our condo. A fitting way to end a hot, stinky, the sweatiest I've EVER been in my life run.

Team Lime Green

Doesn't have a really jazzy sound to it. "Team Lime Green". "Team Carnation Pink" "Team Maize"

BUT

it's a great excuse to hit the NikeTown outlet in Myrtle Beach this weekend and pick up some new running clothes! Any reason to shop is a good reason, right? And when it's outlet pricing, it's like a double word score.

Running 9 miles by yourself in a strange town in the summer isn't particularly appealing, but it is what it is. Looks like the routes in Myrtle Beach appear to just be up & down Ocean Blvd. So 4.5 out, turn around, and 4.5 back it is. Hope there's a Starbucks or something worthwhile within a block of our condo for me to look forward to!

Random Thoughts

Another month of running, and more new experiences. It wasn't a high mileage month -- going on vacation and strep throat took care of that, but it doesn't really matter. Let's get to the good stuff!



I'm signed up for a training team! I get a group! I gots peeps! Every summer, well, last summer, the girls go off and support other people by coaching the Sportsbackers Pink Nation marathon training team. And leave me. It's so unfair! So with some gentle prodding/tazer gun, I signed up for the Patrick Henry Half Marathon training team put on by RRRC.org. This was on Friday at 2:30 pm when I clicked the "submit" button. They had started the week before, and I had no idea if I was going to be able to hook up with them for their Saturday a.m. run at that point. To make a long (and only interesting to me) story short, I did, and now I have a team!

So far, it's been good. I'm learning how to get around Ashland, and I was only last in the first week, when I didn't take my fuel belt. This means I'm signed up for two halves "in a row" -- Patrick Henry and Rock n Roll are two weekends in a row. I'll think about that tomorrow, for tomorrow is another day!