Adjusting the Sails

I know I said in my previous post,"We will keep on training, mix in some speed-work, keep up the long runs, and focus on the next goal, which is the Flying Pirate Half Marathon on April 14."  But Martha and I both slept on that and thought about some other options.  After six weeks of training, we have both reached that hard-won place in a runner's life, being Race Ready.  After Sunday's long run, a two-week taper would have led us perfectly to the starting line on March 2.

One option would be to run a shorter race before we leave here, such as a 5-K or a 10-K.  But we are ready for more than that, especially Martha, and last night a short search on Google found that the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon will be held on the same date, and it is only a three-and-a-half hour drive from here.  I actually ran this race a long time ago, in 2008, and as with most races I remember the course vividly.  It starts out on the north side near Broadway at the Beach and then comes straight down Ocean Boulevard, the "Main Drag," with motels lining both sides of the street, before circling back toward the start.  I remember that it was flat and fast, and at 7:00 a.m. it was just barely daylight.  My time back in 2008, at the age of 59, was 2:01:11, a half-marathon time I do not expect to ever see again.

So we mulled it over this morning during our runs - three miles under overcast skies in the 40s, and a bitter wind out of the north; it even rained on us for a few minutes, cold scattered drops. What a change from yesterday!  Temperatures had been in the upper 60s, and the evidence of those warm temperatures was a snake Martha spotted on Fort Macon Road (I turned in at the Bath House before that point), flattened on the road and bright green in color.  I took a grisly photo of it after our run but this photo from the internet is much more flattering!

I identified it as a rough green snake - "rough" because its scales are not smooth and silky as they are on most snakes.  This little fellow lives near marshes and likes to climb trees.  It is the first snake we have seen out here other than a lazy black snake sunning on a log on a warm day near the Cape Lookout Lighthouse last year.

It took this morning's run for me to make a decision, although I think Martha had already decided (she even checked on hotel availability); I felt strong and fast (motivated by a warm condo at the end of the run), and nothing hurt.  I am Race Ready.  The Flying Pirate is still on the calendar for April, but we're setting our sails for Myrtle Beach eleven days from now.