This is a race that I don’t always have the pleasure of participating in on a regular basis. It is typically scheduled right after the Florida/Georgia game (Halloween weekend) or Homecoming weekend. Since the Gators game was a noon kickoff, we drove home after the game with plenty of time to get some good quality sleep before the 6:30 am start time on Sunday.
This race takes place in Spanish River Park, which has been discussed in previous blog posts. It was the end of Daylight Savings Time, so I was able to cop an extra hour of sleep. Of course I had to screw up my alarm clock, but lucky for me, I set the alarm on my cell phone as a backup. I parked in my usual spot, only to find out that they moved the check-in table to a new location. In addition, I totally forgot to bring my water bottle. Fortunately, I brought a bottle of Gatorade with me, which fit into my running belt. As I made my way back to the car to put in my contact lenses, it started to pour big-time! Then, I had major issues putting in one of my contacts. Can you tell the morning was shaping up just peachy keen?
With all of the pre-race festivities now out of the way, it was finally time to run. Since this race takes place right on the beach in Boca Raton, you can always count on some extra wind. Today was no exception, especially with the rain coming down intermittently. I got off to a very fast start, and it only rained for the first two miles or so. It had been a while since I’ve entered a race of this length, and it felt great to be back on the circuit.
I could tell I was going to PR this race, but then the bottom dropped out a little bit at the end. I started to get winded during the last three miles of the race, which caused me to lose some time; the wind gusting in my face didn’t help matters either. They had changed the course a bit, so you actually run through the park itself more than in the past. I don’t know if this race was a PR or not, but it was still one of my better times in a half marathon. I was happy to see that all of the extra training I’ve been doing this year is paying off.
The real test will be December 4th…The Palm Beach Marathon.
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