It’s
the most wonderful time of the year.
Glenda’s birthday, our anniversary, the holidays, and of course…the
Mount Dora Half Marathon.
I am
a big fan of this race. I’ve
participated all eight years, and I absolutely love the course. Glenda and I
left around noon on Friday, with Rachel declining our invitation to tag along this year. Friday was our anniversary (38 years), and I’m
sure “G$” would have had other plans for the weekend. The
cottage we usually stay in at the Historic Mount Dora Inn was taken, so Melanie put us in the “Tin-Roof” cottage. It’s a two-story building, which meant we
would have to schlep all of our bags up a flight of stairs. That notwithstanding, it was extremely nice,
and we kept the windows open the whole time.
The temperature was predicted to be in the high-sixties/low-seventies
for most of the weekend, with very little rain…except for race time. Based on all forecasts, there was a good
chance I could be running in a monsoon.
In fact, the race sent out emails earlier in the week preparing us for
the soggy conditions. I’ve run in the
rain before, and was not going to let this “dampen” my fun (see what I just did
there?). We stopped by The Cellar Door Tasting Room & Wine Bar for an anniversary drink, and then supper
at the Goblin Market. We haven’t eaten there in about five years, mostly
because it’s tough to get reservations, and the youngins don’t really dig the
menu. We sat outside, and took advantage
of the cooler temperatures. We then
walked around to check out the lights, which are truly second to none.
The
one real drawback to coming to Mount Dora is that there isn’t much to do
locally. This year, Glenda and I were
determined to make the most out of our Saturday afternoon. After deciding on the local flea market and
antique mall, Melanie suggested we visit Blue Spring State Park. Since I’m very much into the “great outdoors,”
this was a no-brainer for me. On the other
hand, Glenda needed a little more convincing. We
did our usual brunch at One Flight Up, where I solicited the opinions of as many
people as I could. They all have very
favorable feedback of the park, and I think I was starting to sway Glenda. We then walked across the street to Donnelly Park to pick up my race packet. I
had a long conversation with the race director Vicky (who is super-nice) about
how this race has not succumbed to big corporations trying to take over the management
of the event; this gave me even more appreciation of her hard work in keeping
this a first-class event. I told her
that I would be running in my Hanukkah shirt, and may be the only Jewish person
in the race. Vicky quickly reminded me
that she was Jewish, and there were 50 families who are members of the Traditional Congregation of Mount Dora
(she was actually missing services to work the expo). She then introduced us to legendary marathon
great Bill Rogers, who is a regular at this race. It was
now time to hit the road, and make our way to our outdoor adventure.
Blue Spring State Park is a state park located west of Orange City. Activities include
canoeing, SCUBA diving, kayaking, fishing, camping,
hiking, wildlife watching, and swimming. The spring in the Park (Volusia Blue
Spring) is the largest on the St. Johns
River. Thanks to its relatively warm temperature of 73°, the spring
attracts many Florida manatees during the winter months. Believe it or not, I have never seen a manatee
out in the wild; since it was manatee season, the park was closed to all water
activities (not that we would partake in any of them). It was about a 45-minute drive, and the park
was not crowded at all. We walked along
the boardwalk, and were able to see a good number of manatees. The weather was great, and I could tell that
Glenda was glad she let me impose my will on her. Back in Mount Dora, we did some shopping, and
then did an early supper at The Frog and Monkey. This was a first
for us, as our usual spots had too long of a wait. It had not started to rain yet, but if you
looked at the radar, you could see the impending doom. Since we slept with the windows open, I could
hear the rain starting to come down around 1am.
I didn’t sleep much that night, and the rain never stopped.
As
my alarm sounded at 5am, it was still raining.
Not hard, but enough to consider breaking out the poncho. The plan was to wear the poncho before the
start of the race, and maybe take if off once the race started (weather
permitting). The starting line is only 5
minutes from the cottage, so it would truly be a race-time decision. As I started to walk over, the rain had
totally stopped. It was truly a holiday
miracle! I had not taken my poncho out
of the package yet, so I stuffed it in my pocket, just in case. 796
took to the starting line, which was 44 less that last year. Considering the forecast, I would say that
was a win. Apparently, I was not the
only Jewish person entered in this race, as my Hanukkah shirt attracted many
others of the same religion. Once the
gun sounded, it started to rain again. Since it rained all night, the course was
wet, but there were no puddles. I was a
little winded in the beginning, but nothing too serious. I don’t particularly like wearing a hat when
I run, but it was necessary. The rain
was constant for most of the race, but only sprinkles. The inclement weather kept the sun at bay,
but I wish it were a bit cooler. I was
running very strong, and really enjoying the sights.
As I
reached the ten-mile turnaround, there were three things that were glaringly
obvious: First, there were a lot of runners behind me (which was great for my
ego). Second, I was definitely going to
finish under three hours! Third, the
rain had totally stopped. With a little
more than one mile to go, the three-hour pace group caught up to me. I looked at them and said…NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND, and pulled away from
the pack. I crossed the finish line with
time to spare, and Glenda was there to snap some photos. The finisher medal was very nice, and totally different every year (which I totally appreciate).
This
was arguably the most enjoyable Mount Dora weekend ever. Next year, the race is actually on our
anniversary. I can’t think of a better
way to celebrate...
...I’m
sure Glenda can.
