GASPARILLA DISTANCE CLASSIC – February 22 & 23, 2025

 

Is it too much to ask for a race weekend under 70 degrees?

 

Apparently not.

 

For all of you folks who don’t live in South Florida, I’m sure it’s hard to imagine running in 80 to 90 degrees all year round…It’s brutal.  When the temperature drops below 70°, it’s a joyous occasion.  Mount Dora was amazing, but after years of running Miami, I know that was too much to ask.  On the other hand, Gasparilla has produced brisk weather on several occasions; when I saw the temperature would be in the high 40s/low 50s for both race days, just imagine my surprise and delight.  It was time to pack the winter gear!

 

Alan drove up with me for the second year in a row.  This year, he and I would be walking the 5K (after I ran the 15K) on Saturday.  Alan recently had back and lower leg issues but felt ready to take on the challenge…one step at a time.  Due to a scheduling conflict, the Embassy Suites Tampa Convention was not the host hotel this year.  I was able to secure a room (thank you Susan), but it wasn’t quite as chaotic as previous years (the traffic on the drive up was not bad, so that was a bonus).    We made our way over to the expo and picked up our shirts and bibs.  I purchased a quarter-zip, but nothing else caught my eye.  We made a trip to Publix for “Pub-Subs” and Gatorade, and it was lights-out pretty early.

 

 

 It was 48° when I got in my corral for the 15K on Saturday morning.  3,382 runners entered this race, and we were off and running at 7am.  I wore compression sleeves under my short sleeve shirt.  I also wore my Hoka Carbon X shoes, since I’ve been having a tough time finding an heir apparent.  I did 6.5 miles the week before in my brand new Hoka Skyward X, which is supposed to be the replacement for the Carbon X.  Unfortunately, I started having pain in the metatarsal on the outer part of my left foot.  This was the same issue I had in Miami when I wore the New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v3.  Thank goodness Nordstrom Rack still has the Carbon X in my size (for a reduced price) so I can continue to run pain free until Renee and Steve help me figure this out.  It was very overcast, and the wind was at my back for the first part of the race.  As the sun started to make an appearance on the way back, the wind was now blowing in my face; that helped keep the temperature down.  In fact, I never took my sleeves off!  One added bonus…since it was so overcast, the race photos came out amazing.

 

 

 

 

Alan met me after the race, and we made our way to the starting line of the 5K.  7,434 runners/walkers entered this bad boy, with many start times to accommodate the large turnout.  Alan and I entered a “wave” specifically for walkers, so we were the last to start.  Alan had an easy time with the walk, but he dogged me because I cost him 30 seconds when I stopped to pee 😂😂😂.  After the race, we went to the after-party, which was now back at the original location.  The park had been under renovation for the past few years, but it was now bigger and better than ever.  After a couple of well-deserved beers, we showered and changed; it was now time for lunch.  We decided to give Hattricks another shot.  If you remember from a previous blog post, we went there several years ago, and it was an epic fail.  This year, it was the complete opposite.  The service was great, and the food was even better.  Back to the room for a power nap; now it was time for supper.  As always, we would be meeting up with Erin.  This year, she was bringing her boyfriend Steve.  They have been together for a long time, but I’ve never had the chance to meet him.  We went to Jackson’s Bistro, which is just a five-minute walk from the hotel.  We had a great time catching us, and Steve is a really nice guy.

 

 

 

 

Race time for the half marathon was 6am; it was 53° when the race started.  As I waited in my corral, there was a really annoying pacer (an experienced runner who can run at a set pace for a long time and sets the speed so the other runners can focus on running.  A race pacer usually carries a sign highlighting a specific competition time for the race).  She was acting like a total elitist/diva/Karen and was complaining that many of the slower runners should have been starting more towards the back.  Little did she know who she was standing next to.  I turned on my podcast (The Jim Cornette Experience) to help drown her out.  3,811 ran this race, and it took around 12 minutes for me to cross the starting line.  I was not as sore as I expected, and the feet were holding up just fine.  I took my sleeves off around three miles into the race, and it seemed much warmer than the day before.  The sun also came out in full force, but I had the wind in my face most of the way back.  Lenny called me around the six-mile mark, and we spoke for close to an hour.  After that, I spoke briefly with Glenda.  It was a very enjoyable run, and the cooler weather really made a difference both days.  Alan and I grabbed breakfast back at the hotel, and it was on the road back to the 9-5-4.

 

 

Alan plans on going again next year and walking the 5K.  Let’s hope we can get him to run.

 

 

 

 

MIAMI HALF MARATHON – January 2, 2025

 

 

…Well, this could be the last time.  This could be the last time.  Maybe the last time.  I don't know.

-       The Rolling Stones

These were my exact thoughts as the months, weeks and days leading up to the Miami Half Marathon quickly approached.  It’s not as if I had lost my love for the race itself, it was the “process” that was making me want to part ways after 14 years.  The going to the expo down in Miami Beach the day before, the getting to the race at 4am, the waiting for our corral to start after 45 minutes, and the no food at the end were all contributing factors.  Plus, this year Lindsey was on a “sabbatical,” so she wasn’t running with Elaine and me.  Besides all if that, half marathon #100 was quickly approaching, and I could “afford” to drop this race.  I tried my best to put those voices in my head aside and focus on why I entered the race in the first place…I LOVE RUNNING!!!

 

On Thursday morning, I get a call from Lenny (one of my closest friends).  I knew right away why he was calling:

 

Lenny:             Hey dude!

Me:                  Hey dude!  You’re calling me early; it must be bad news.

Lenny:             It is.  Harriet just passed away.

 

Harriet is Lenny’s mom, and the call was somewhat not unexpected.  She lived a long life (91) but was spiraling downhill for a long time.  Traditionally, a Jewish burial takes place withing 24-48 hours.  They believe the soul inhabits the body and that when a person dies the spirit returns to God. It is for this reason that it is of utmost importance that a Jewish funeral occurs as soon as possible after death, as the body's “returning to earth” is tied to the soul's ability to return to God.  Funerals are not conducted on the Sabbath (from Friday evening to Saturday evening) or on major Jewish holidays. The funeral is scheduled immediately after these periods. Since she passed away on Thursday, the funeral looked as if it would be held on Sunday.  Was this a self-fulfilling prophecy?  Lenny was on the way up to Coral Springs to be with his sister and would let me know the details as soon as he found out.  I immediately called Elaine; she totally understood the situation.  She had come down to Florida earlier in the week and was spending time with family.  Lenny called me Friday morning and told me they had to push the funeral up one day…Monday.  I would be able to do the race but would have to miss a big event at work.  I take photos every semester for the Career Fair, which was scheduled at the exact same time as the funeral.  Sonia (my boss) could not have been more sympathetic and understating; she would have her assistants cover for me.

 

Elaine and I drove to the expo on Saturday morning; It was very nice and well organized.  The race shirts were a unique color (coral), with an equally unique design.  We walked around for about an hour, with no purchases on my part.  In years past, we would meet up with Lindsey’s friend Robert and have lunch on South Beach.  This year, we drove back home and had lunch at Spanky’s Cheesesteak Factory.  Best Chicken Philly Cheesesteak I’ve every had (and I’m not just saying that because they are a client of Glenda).

 

Sunday morning was the usual getting up around 2am and out the door by 3:30.  Lighter than normal traffic, even at that hour.  Elaine and I decided to go to our corral when it first opened, rather than sitting in the car.  We were in “G” this year, which was the earliest starting corral I’ve ever been assigned for this race.  We struck up a conversation with Eric, who was wearing the same running shoes as me.  For the first time, I would be running a race in shoes not named Hoka or Brooks.  I purchased a pair of New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v3, which is a carbon-plated shoe just like the Hoka Carbon X I have been wearing (only way more attractive).  I ran with them a couple of times before the race, so I felt confident the shoe would not do me in.

 

16,146 runners (2,946 full; 13,200 half) were pleasantly surprised that there was not as much time between the start of the corrals (probably my biggest criticism).  Add this to our earlier starting corral, we were off and running at 6:27 (we typically start at 6:45).  It was 72°, and I was excited to run.  Elaine stayed with me the entire time, since she was not doing the full marathon this year.  Sadly, she walks faster than I run.  My pace was pretty slow, with my puppies barking several times during the race.  They were hurting during the week, so I will reserve judgement about the new shoes until next time.  The course is beautiful, but boy was it hot!  Especially since it was in the 50s the previous week (it was 82° when the race ended).  The shocker of the day was that I only had to pee one time, and it was around the 10.5-mile mark.  I told Elaine I may not do this race again, but she shut me down pretty quick.  If we do it next year, we will shell out the $30 to have them mail us our bib and shirt, so we don’t have to go to the expo.  No food or Gatorade at the end (just bananas and snacks), but I think this was a conscience decision this year.  We make it home quicker than usual, and Elaine was out the door and on the road to visit her son in Sarasota.

 

 

 

The funeral on Monday was very nice.  I love Lenny’s family and friends, and Lenny’s speech had everyone in tears laughing.  Thank really lightened the mood on such a sad occasion.

I guess there’s a good chance I’m doing Miami next year.

 

 

 

 

MOUNT DORA HALF MARATHON – December 22, 2024

  

Baby, it’s cold outside…But I’m a real trooper.

 

When you live in South Florida, anything under 70° is considered cold.  Getting an opportunity to run in these “subarctic” conditions are far and few between.  As I kept checking the temperatures for the Mount Dora Half Marathon & 5K, it was trending towards the low 40s…Perfect running conditions.

 

We arrived on Friday afternoon, just in time to watch the Gators pound Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl.  We picked up our race packets during halftime; the shirts were very nice.  This was our anniversary (#43), and we dined at the Goblin Market to celebrate.  It was in the 50s as we walked back to the room, but the temperature was most definitely going to drop during the night.

 

The 5K started at 7:45; true to form, it was 42°.  1,040 runners/walkers braved their way through these frigid conditions.  With the sun shining bright, we were treated to a little bit of a change in the course.  The major highlight was walking past Mount Dora High School.  Glenda’s back had been giving her problems recently, so she struggled a little bit.  After crossing the finish line, we made a “bee line” to One Flight Up Cafe for some hot breakfast and some even hotter coffee.  The afternoon was filled up with shopping and watching college football.  Supper later than usual at the Olive Branch Grille and Bar, so we had a little bit of a wait.

 

 

Walking out of the cottage Sunday morning, it was 42°.  For some reason, it didn’t seem as cold as it was on Saturday (maybe the adrenaline flowing through my body).  977 runners took their mark, which was 142 more than last year.  I had some fun conversations right before the race started, including one with a guy who was running without a shirt (there's a joke here somewhere, but this is a family-friendly blog).  I decided to wear a throwaway sweatshirt, but that was a mistake; I was already thinking about taking it off before the race even started.  I peeled it off 1.3 miles into the race and handed it to a police officer.  I told her it was brand new, and she should find a nice home for the shirt.  I was wearing a long sleeve shirt under a short sleeve shirt, but the high was only going to be 51° when the race ended.

 

 

Maybe it was the cold weather, or maybe the new Theragun Pro I just purchased (or maybe both), but this was now the second race in a row that seemed very easy.  I also used the Theragun the night before; I think it made a difference.  The weather was outstanding, and I was really enjoying the race.  Four-bathroom breaks, but I chalk that up to the cold temps.  I spent part of the run talking to Lenny and Glenda; that made the time fly by a little quicker.  Speaking of quicker…not this race!  It’s not as flat as South Florida, which is as good as any excuse I could make at this time.  I crossed the finish line with lots of energy and a big smile.  I saw Aaron afterwards, and we took a photo together.  Lots of pizza at the end, and just a great weekend in general.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve run this race every year (13) and already signed up for next year.  I can’t recommend this race enough.  If you follow them on social media, Kelly does an outstanding job of promoting the weekend.

 

Two days later, it was the 12 Miles of Christmas at Runner’s Depot, and off to New Orleans on vacation.

 

 

 

 

Happy holidays and Happy New Year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WESTON ROTARY RUN FOR TOMORROW HALF MARATHON – December 8, 2024

 

What is the best way not to crap all over a race?  Give the race its flowers.

 

It seems as if every review of this race sounds like a broken record.  So much so that I won’t rehash my complaints; just read some of my previous reviews.  My “fan base” is always surprised when I keep running in this event.  The quick answer is the following:  It’s super-close to my house.  There are not that many half marathons in this area.  It’s also very easy in-and-out, with lots of parking.  I decided to sit down and ponder what I really don’t like about this event.  I’ve concluded that all the other things going on (5K, 10K and the one-mile fun run for the youngins) are taking more of a center stage; the half marathon is an afterthought.  In my opinion, advertising that the cutoff is three hours has stunted any potential growth of this race.  With 293 participants, do the ends justify the means?  This is without a doubt one of the smallest half marathons I’ve ever participated in, and the numbers have remained consistent over the past years.  Being the slowpoke that I am, only two people finished after me.  This is not the case in any other race I’ve entered.  Once again…in my opinion…if they don’t advertise a three-hour cutoff, I think more people would enter the race.  With all of that out of the way, I was very excited to run my first half marathon of the race season.

 

I picked up my race packet on Saturday; the shirt was just okay.  I’m not a big fan of highlight yellow running shirts.  It was Glenda’s birthday, so we went out to dinner that night at Incontro Italian Cuisine Steakhouse.  The food was good (huge portions), but I can’t say that it “knocked my socks off.”  That notwithstanding, I would eat there again.  We went home and I watched some college football until I couldn’t keep my peepers open anymore.

 

 

 Now on to some positives about the race.  I do love the fact that this race starts at 6:20am.  They want everyone off the course before the fun run starts.  I was excited to run and was determined to finish as close to three hours as possible.  The temperature was 61° when the race started, and it did not get much warmer than that.  With so few participants, I ran most of this race with the road to myself.  One of the best complements I could give this event is that there is a water station every single mile; not just water…Gatorade as well.  You don’t even see that in bigger races like Miami or Gasparilla.  One negative is only one bathroom along the way, and it was at the turnaround.  I had to pee two times, so I’ll leave it up to your imagination where I went the second time.  I spoke to Lenny the last hour of the race, so it made the time go by quicker.  It was going to be close to finishing under three hours, but I missed it by only four minutes.  The best part of all was I crossed the finish line before all the rugrats got there.  Of course, I still had to go and hunt down my medal.

 

 

 No more complaining about this race.  Just gratitude I’m still running strong.

 

 

CHICAGO SPRING HALF MARATHON – May 19, 2024

 

 

Great food…great shopping…and oh yeah…a half marathon.

 

Since Rachel moved to Chicago a couple of years ago, it has become one of my favorite places to visit (not that I’m a world traveler by any stretch of the imagination).  The opportunity to run a half marathon in May (where the temperature is less than 90°) makes for the perfect family vacation.  Lindsey would be running the Brooklyn Half Marathon the same weekend, so only 75% of the Sandhouse Running Club (excluding members without the last name of Sandhouse) would be together.

 

We took a 7am flight on Friday morning and met Rachel for lunch.  She was working that day, so Glenda and I went to pick up my race packet at the Chicago Athletic Association.  I was excited that they moved this from the running store they had it in last year, plus it was walking distance from our hotel.  Sadly, it was not much of an expo, with only a couple of vendors.  On a positive note, the race shirt was one of the nicest I’ve ever received.  Quite a contrast from last year.  They were handing out cans of a new sparkling water…YUCK!!!  Once Rachel finished her workday, we had supper at Summer House Santa Monica.  The food was great, and it was our first time going to Lincoln Park.  It was also the first time Glenda and I had taken the train in Chicago, which was way more fun than taking the train in New York.

 

 

Saturday consisted of brunch at Crosby’s Kitchen, located in Lake View.  This was also the first time we had been in this “neck of the woods,” and the day was filled with shopping.  I even got a pair of joggers from the Vouri store, but most of the day consisted of me sitting and watching Glenda and Rachel shop around the clock.  Once back at the hotel, we rested for a bit and topped the night off with supper at RPM Italian.  This is a super-fancy restaurant, and the food lived up to the hype.

 

Now that the food review portion of the blog is over, it was time to focus on the race Sunday morning.

 

The starting line was a little less than a mile from the hotel, so I left around 5:45am.  Since Chicago is on Central time, the sun was up around 5am.  I met a guy along the way who was participating in his first half marathon, so I tried to give him as much advice as I could (he asked).  I was in a better corral this year than last year (“E” vs. “H”), mainly because of my delusional expectations for finishing the race.  As my new bud and I got ready to enter the corral, he had to go to the bathroom for a second time.  WOW…someone who has to pee more than me!  As 5,306 waited for the gun to sound at 7am, I asked a guy next to me to take a photo.  The girl he was with asked me “Are you Rachel’s father?”  It was Rachel’s friend Lauren, and she identified me by the Sandhouse Running Club headband.  We met last year, but I’m sure neither of us remembered the encounter.  We took a picture together and sent it to Rachel, who I’m sure was still sleeping.

 

 

It only took about 12 minutes from the start of the race for my corral to officially begin.  The weather was around 72° and did not go up at all during the race.  Two notable things about this race this year verses last year:  First, more people to pass me, since I started earlier.  Second, way more people behind me during the turnaround.  This made me feel as if I were running faster, but we all know the real deal.  I have to say it was way more enjoyable than last year, with more people around me at all times.  The only thing missing was Elaine 😢.  There were virtually no bicycle riders on the course this year, which was annoying last year.  I ran a very strong race, and only had to stop and pee two times (I would say both were gratuitous).  There also seemed as if there were less pedestrians on the course this year, but that was also because there were more runners around me.  As I was crossing the finish line, I had a big smile on my face when I saw Glenda and Rachel cheering me on.  The medal was amazing, and I was happy to not be one of the last stragglers (even though I am still the ultimate slowpoke).  No race photos this year to show, as they decided to charge a shocking amount of money to purchase (last year they were free).  Even us narcissists have a price limit.

 

We walked back to the hotel, but Glenda and Rachel made a detour along the way to do more shopping.  Later that day, we took the train once again to Lincoln Park and met Rachel’s friend Anoushka for brunch at Gemini.  This place wasn’t bad, but nowhere as good as the rest of the venues we dined in.  We were all pretty beat down at this point but decided to walk back to Rachel’s apartment.  I probably did an additional five miles of walking on top of the half marathon.  We were too tired to go out for supper, so we ordered in from Happy Camper, which truly made me a "happy camper".

 

Very enjoyable and scenic race.  I hope both Lindsey and Elaine will be there next year.