RACE FOR WOMEN'S WELLNESS HALF MARATHON - 03/26/2016

 

If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all…At least in a public forum.  I always try to remain positive within the confines of my blog, but I just don’t like this race.  Although the start is literally ten minutes from my house, the course goes through South Coral Springs.  Since this is my “hood,” I would obviously prefer if we ran through the north part of town.  This race is very pricey, and you would expect the shirt and the medal to be of higher quality.  With all my negativity and lofty expectations now out of the way, this run is for a great cause, and I always will continue to support hometown events.  Besides that, I am grateful that after more than one year, I’m physically able to compete two consecutive weeks.

Unlike most half marathons, the Race for Women’s Wellness takes place on Saturday.  The Church of the Glades dominates the traffic patterns on Sunday mornings, but I’m not bitter at all about that.  Additionally, this race starts at 6am, which I actually prefer.  I woke up early, and made my way to the Sportsplex at Coral Springs.  It is extremely easy to get to, and lots of parking.  I met up with Christina, who is the Manager of the Runner’s Depot in Coral Springs.  Besides being a real sweetheart, she is also a coach for FIT (Friends in Training), and would actually be running with a group slower than me!  Is that even possible?

As I made my way to the starting line, there would be 470 runners participating in this event.  Even at 6am, the temperature was over 30 degrees warmer that last week in Atlanta.  On a positive note, no hills. I felt great right from the start, and made sure I stayed hydrated the entire time.  A good portion of this race consists of roads that I run on during my training, which is why I yearn for North Coral Springs.

The highlight of the race for me takes place around the ten-mile mark.  This is where I run past my house, with Glenda and Rachel cheering me on.  Rachel got some good in-action photos, and Glenda hooked me up with a Coke Zero (I’m sure they were not that thrilled to get up so early).  I finished strong, and the knee felt great.  I don’t have anything else on the schedule until the end of the year, but I’m hoping to do some virtual runs this summer.

 

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