MOUNT DORA 5K & HALF MARATHON – December 17 & 18, 2022

It’s far and few between when you live in South Florida and the temperature dips below 70°.  Not bad, except when you want to go out for a run.  During the summer I often get up as early as 4am to run…and it’s already 80°!  Not as bad as folks trying to leg out some miles in the cold and snow (and do most of their winter running on the treadmill), but it would be nice to get a break.

 

One break coming up!

 

Even though it is already December, you never know when a cold front may hit.  This was to be my eleventh consecutive year running the Mount Dora Half Marathon, and only a small handful of times has the thermometer dipped below 60°.  This weekend would be different.

 

Glenda and I drove up on Friday afternoon and picked up our race packets.  Not super-thrilled with the shirts, but they would be hard-pressed to beat last year (outstanding).  We did a late supper at the Goblin Market, which served as our “unofficial” anniversary celebration.  We were married on December 20^th and eating here has become an annual tradition.  We then walked around in 56° weather and checked out the holiday lights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 5K on Saturday started at 8am, and it was 47° when we got to the starting line.  The sun was out in full force, so it didn’t really seem that cold.  This was a walking event for us, since that was the only condition I could get Glenda to sign up. The course itself is through some very quiet neighborhoods, and we hung around until the end to chat with some folks we know.  We ate breakfast in the cottage, did some shopping and took a boat tour on Lake Dora at 2pm.  We did this last year and really loved it.  One major difference was the lack of other boats in the Dora Canal because of the colder weather.  I highly recommend the Premier Boat Tours if you are ever in this area.  We ate an early supper at the Olive Branch, which has a very diverse menu for us picky eaters.  After another walk around town, it was an early lights out for the half marathon on Sunday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was 56° as I approached the starting line.  I wore my Sandhouse Running Club Hanukkah shirt, as you will see in the photos below.  As cold as it was, I knew I would warm up at some point.  I usually opt for the compression sleeves instead of a long sleeve shirt (just keeping my options open).  851 runners crossed the starting line at 7am.  This was down a little bit from last year (926).  I was a little stiff for the first few miles, but I knew that I would warm up as time went on.  I took of my compression sleeves around the four-mile mark, so my strategy paid off.  My one and only complaint about this race was the shortage of water stations on the course.  After giving Weston props for having a water station every mile, this was not the case.  It was okay because of the cold weather, but it would be a bigger concern in the heat.  I think I noticed this more because I started to run with only one small water bottle.  Maybe I should add this to the suggestion box 🤓.

 

 

 

 

 

I ran a very strong race, but a very slow time.  I never wanted to blame the knee brace in the past but let the blame rain down!  As I was ready to cross the finish line, Glenda was there snapping photos to try and make me look good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting ready to do the 12 Miles of Christmas on December 24^th (this is a training run; probably no blog post).  The temperature should be around 47°.

 

Happy holidays everyone!

WESTON RUN FOR TOMORROW HALF MARATHON – December 4, 2022

 

 

One of the more difficult things about writing this blog is trying to entertain my loyal readers; it’s not always the easiest thing to do.  Sure, I’m a witty guy (at least in my mind), but some of these races just don’t provide me with enough memorable content.  I don’t want to bore all of you with a mile-by-mile recap of the race, so I try my best to think outside the box.

 

As I’ve mentioned before, the race season in South Florida (not including 5K & 10K races) is very short.  The blistering heat is the main culprit.  Therefore, beggars can’t be choosers.  I kicked off the season on Thanksgiving with the Tamarac Turkey Trot with Lindsey, and then focused my attention to the  Weston Run For Tomorrow Half Marathon.

 

 

Celebrating their 25^th anniversary, the Weston Run For Tomorrow Half Marathon is the race I’ve run more than any other, not named Tamarac Turkey Trot.  It’s about 20 minutes from my house and is easy in-and-out.  You probably know from previous posts that this is not one of my favorites…but let’s not dwell on the negatives.  There are other activities taking place during race day, which includes a 5K, 10K and One-Mile Family Walk & Commission Cup.  All this is followed by a big festival, with many vendors and activities for the youngins.  One thing that seems apparent is that the major draw is not the half marathon, which may explain why this race never gets bigger from year to year.

 

274 runners entered this race (up 72 from last year).  By comparison, 207 ran the 10K, and 292 lined up for the 5K.  One interesting tidbit…the website said you need to finish the half marathon within three hours.  My guess is that if you are even slower than me, you may be discouraged from entering the half, and maybe drop down to the 10K.  There are races that require you to be in a certain place by a certain time, but I’ve never seen a three-hour time limit on a half marathon (I’ve even run with the balloon ladies).  They did not close the course at the three-hour mark, but my best guess is they want everyone to finish before the One-Mile Family Walk began at 9:30 (the half begins at 6:20).

 

The weather was in the low 70s most of the time, and it was a relatively easy race for me.  To their credit, there were water stations at each mile, and they stay until everyone finished.  I did not finish last, but there weren’t too many folks behind me.  As I turned the final corner, the One-Mile walk was starting.  Boy, where there a lot of people doing this event.  No wonder the half marathon is not their priority! 

 

 

The race shirt was outstanding and the medal…well, they tried.

 

 The weather for Mount Dora is supposed to be in the 50s, so I’m really looking forward to that.