Tag Archives: Disney

February 2nd: Miami Half Marathon

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The alarm went off at 3am and we were out the door by 3:50am as planned.  We had an hour drive, a crazy search for parking and quite a wait to start (25,000 participants meant it took Georgette and I 28 minutes to just cross the STARTING line).

This is my third time participating in the Miami Marathon and Half Marathon Event.  It was the first half marathon I ever ran in 2008 and the first (and only) full marathon I ever ran in 2010.  Now that I’ve run a few races, (this one was my 12th half marathon) I have concluded that I don’t like big events.  Unless you are an elite runner and have qualified to start from one of the front corrals, its just no fun… You spend more time running sideways to get around people than you do forward to pass people.  Even if you just want to participate in the race for fun and not for time, like Georgette and I did at the Disney Princess Half Marathon last year, you’ll get really frustrated with the insane amount of people that will keep you from even hitting your stride.  (Side note:  Disney races are really, really fun but only for those who plan on walking part of it and don’t care about their time.  All of them are very crowded and many of the participants are not actually runners but people who just want to check something off their bucket list while wearing a ridiculous tutu.  I freely admit to having done the Princess Half in a tutu so…. check)

The race today was not as crowded as the Princess Half but, it certainly was nothing like the under 2,000 participant races I’ve been getting used to doing.  Its no excuse for not having made my time goal, though.  I clocked in at 2:10:20 (fooey) but thats ok.  I had fun, spent some quality time with some quality people and got to run through some of my old stomping grounds.

Our Goals

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Walkers' Feet

Its back to school time… which also means that I’ll be going back to work now after having had a wonderfully relaxing summer vacation. Luckily, it also means that South Florida’s running season will soon begin! Whereas the rest of the country is trying to enjoy the last days of warm weather before fall and winter bring on unbearable cold, us Floridians are in hibernation during the opposite time of the year. May through August (and even September) can have some pretty unbearably hot days. Summer time’s temperatures can go high up into the 90’s. Its really a time of year best reserved for short, early-morning runs and cross training.

November through March are really the best months to get out there and get some mileage in. This is also when most of our local races are scheduled!

Last year’s running season was epic for me. I improved my 1/2 marathon PR (Personal Record) from 2:31 to 2:16 (I told you that I wasn’t very fast but I’m proud of it). Improving a full 15 minutes in one year’s time is pretty amazing, if I don’t say so myself. This season, I’m up for the challenge of pushing myself even harder. My mind is changing, my running style is changing and my body is changing. I am inspired to set another goal. One that will truly make me push my mind and body a little further than before. I will try to PR by 1 minute: each race I run this season.

My first challenge wont even be in my home state: Allstate 13.1 Half Marathon in Boston on September 15th! Can I clock in at 2:15? I’m sure as hell gonna try! http://www.131marathon.com/boston/

I will, of course, be posting my progress as the running season progress. I have 5 Half Marathons scheduled for this season so far and I’m excited.

Here is my race schedule:

13.1 Boston 15-Sep-13

Disney Wine & Dine Half 9-Nov-13

Palm Beach Half 8-Dec-13

ING Half/Full 2-Feb-14

13.1 Miami Beach 2-Mar-14

What are your goals this season? What do you hope to achieve? How do you plan on achieving this? Who will be supporting you/ accompanying you? Please share with me! either as a comment to this page or via email. I’d love to hear your stories and feature them on the blog!