FIVE POINTS OF LIFE HALF MARATHON - February 17, 2019

I don’t think I have ever been this conflicted about writing a post for my blog.

It’s that feeling that no matter how lightly you try to tread, no matter how much you try to sugarcoat, no matter how much of the benefit of the doubt you try to give…it’s still not going to come out well.

Let’s begin by beating this dead horse one more time:

• This is my favorite race.
• It’s Gainesville.
• It’s running through the University of Florida campus and downtown Gainesville.
• I set a PR for a full marathon during this race.
• I’ve participated in this race more than any other.

It’s not the most attractive course, but it’s MY COURSE.  The only thing that could sour me on this race would be if they were to totally changed the course, and move it out west.

That’s exactly what they did.

Mary had signed up for the race, and was excited in participating for the first time.  She even convinced Pam to run with us, so I was really stoked.  In mid-January, Mary texted me to say “The one time I decided to run Five Points, they no longer run thru the stadium.”  I called her immediately, and said that you just run through the concourse, and not through the actual stadium.  What she said next shocked me to the core. The entire course had changed, and they were moving everything out to Celebration Point (a new destination experience, off Archer Road & west of I-75).  Celebration Point?  This was nowhere near UF or downtown.  I sent an email to the race director Ricky, but really…what could he say?  I’ve heard that the university wanted them to change the weekend of the race, and that the sponsorship to move the race out west was too good to pass up, but I don’t want to speculate on any of that.  The race would now be totally flat, which was a total disappointment to this South Florida boy. As much as I dreaded some of those colossal hills, it was still part of the charm of this race.  The course map did not look particularly exciting, but I would run the race before I passed judgement.  On the bright side, I would still get to hang with Jen, Mary, and Pam for the weekend.

I left the “954” around 6am, and drove straight to the UF Bookstore.  Jen had some errands to run, so I would meet up with her later.  Mary called me, and she sounded awful.  She totally lost her voice, and was really sick.  She was not going to be able to run with us, but would drive up with Pam for moral support.  This was a total bummer.   After a few purchases for Glenda and Lindsey (nothing for me), I met Jen at the Hotel Indigo Gainesville-Celebration Pointe, which was where I was now staying.  This hotel opened in October, and I must say…it is beautiful (and very reasonably priced).  The expo was located inside the hotel, but it was very small.  The race shirt was very nice, as it always is for this race.  My only criticism was the shirt was a 60/40 (cotton/polyester) blend, which means I won’t be able to wear it while running.  In my opinion, any race shirt for a marathon or half marathon should always be 100% polyester.  Save the cotton for a 5K.  We grabbed lunch at Miller’s Ale House (also located in Celebration Pointe), and then off to VegFest.   Gainesville VegFest is presented by North Florida Veg Events, Inc., and is a celebration of a healthy, sustainable and compassionate way of life.  VegFest is dedicated to informing and inspiring the community to make healthy food choices.  The event took place in Depot Park, which is very close to where Lindsey used to live.  The park was very pretty, with lots of vendors, music, and people with dogs.  Still feeling full from lunch, we passed on all of the healthy choices.  Jen dropped me back at my hotel, as I got ready for round two…Dinner with Paula and Bill.  I hadn’t seen them in quite some time, and it was good to catch up.  I was really tired when I got back to the room, and went to sleep around 9:30pm.  The race started at 6:15am, and the ladies would be meeting me around 5:30am.

 

I slept well, but of course I woke up before the alarm.  Pam and Mary were right on time, but Mary really looked like death warmed over.  I told her to stay in the room and try to sleep while the race took place.  She could then meet us at the finish line later on.  I didn’t need to tell her twice, as she grabbed her box of tissues and hit the sack.  It was 64° as we made our way to the starting line, which was not at the same location as the full marathon.  It was obvious where the race started, but not if you were staying in the hotel.  In my opinion, a few signs (or volunteers) pointing the way would have helped.  600 runners were entered in this year’s race, which was 82 less than last year. So much for the excitement of this new course and branding campaign.  We decided to do intervals (3 x 1), since Pam had not run in quite some time.  After exchanging pleasantries with Ruth and Bill G., it was now time to start the race.  It was still dark outside, and we had the “pleasure” of running west on Archer Road for the first four miles.  With nothing to see anyway, I guess it was better to get this part of the race over with first.  Archer Road is only one lane each way, so cars heading west were literally driving in the middle of the road.  Although there were cones for the cars, it was still a bit of a concern for the runners.  We then turned into Halle Plantation for the next 5.5 miles.  Halle Plantation is a very pretty and upscale neighborhood, and my ultimate port of call when I retire.  At this point, Pam and I had not seen any other runners for a few miles (a volunteer did shout out "you have nice skin." but we didn't know which one of us she was referring to)..  It was very quiet, with literally no crowd support at all.  In addition, there was a glaring lack of signage in terms as to were you were supposed to run.  It was pretty obvious, but with no life in sight, a first-timer to this area might have been nervous.  In addition, the lack of police presence on many of the side streets had a few rogue cars enter the course.

Once out of the community, it was onto Tower Road.  We then ran down some weird streets, which was okay with me.  Our pace was very slow, but I felt really good as we crossed the finish line.  Mary was there to greet us, but she wasn't feeling any better.  The after-party was nice, with music and pizza.  Mary and Pam went to breakfast, and I got ready for the long drive home.

 

 

My final thoughts...Since the medals and shirts are “Gator” themed, I think the course should have taken on the same personality.  Where were the student volunteers and cheerleaders?  Where was Albert?  In fact, if we did not see a building that had the Shands Hospital logo on it, you may not have known you were in Gainesville.  I won’t be too harsh on the water stations, but improvement is needed there as well.

In the words of Avril Lavigne…‘Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?”

MIAMI HALF MARATHON - January 27, 2019

There was a cloud looming over our heads this entire race weekend…and I mean that literally.

If you are a loyal follower of this blog, you know that the Miami Marathon and Half Marathon is kind of a big deal.  It’s a big race, with a big race feel.  I sign up way in advance, and friends travel near and far to stay with me.  In recent years, Elaine has become a regular.  Now participating in her third straight year (and four in total), she would be making the trip from her home in North Carolina.  Lindsey signed up before she moved to New York, but she was coming down as well.  Who wouldn’t want to leave sub-arctic weather to run the streets of Miami?  Even if the temperatures should “drop” into the fifties, it’s still a win-win situation.  With a long-time proven track record for success, what could go wrong?  How about nonstop rain the entire weekend.

Lindsey noticed over a week out that it was going to rain the entire weekend.  As the race got closer, the forecast wasn’t budging.  There was some genuine concern, but we all know how it goes in South Florida.  It could be raining on one side of the street, and dry as a bone on the other.  That having been said, the forecast looked pretty bleak when Elaine and Lindsey landed in the 954 on Friday.

It was off to the expo on Saturday morning.  Renee from Runner’s Depot once again provided bus transportation.  I love the fact that they offer this service to their customers, and we were on the road at noon.  This also gave us an opportunity to sleep in a little, since we would be getting up so early on Sunday.  The weather was nasty, but it wasn’t raining when we got to Mana Wynwood.  This was the third consecutive year the expo was held in this convention center, and I think it is time to go back to the Miami Beach Convention Center.  The venue is too small, and it’s hard to move around.  I was able to find a jacket in the official merchandise section, but checking out the vendors was more like a cattle call.  After about an hour of fighting the crowd, we took a trip over to the Wynwood Walls, and then grabbed some lunch at BND Burger.  We went back to the expo, since we still had some time to kill before the bus arrived at 4:30pm.  The crowd had thinned out a bit, but it was still packed like sardines.  That being said, the absolute highlight of the day was the 120 pills of Florastor we scored. This is our probiotic of choice, and the pills cost about one dollar each (they were one of the sponsors of the race).  Elaine also grabbed several samples of dog food.  An octopus would have been proud of us.  It rained the entire way home, so we ordered in supper.  I was pretty tired, and went to bed around 8pm.

 

I set my alarm for 2am, but of course I woke up early.  It was raining, but not very hard.  We were out the door at 3pm, and hit rain the entire drive down to Miami.  Not a monsoon, but nonstop nonetheless.  As we pulled into the parking garage inside the American Airlines Arena, it was sprinkling lightly.  The temperature was around 67 degrees, and we decided to stay undercover as long as we could.  We met a couple who had traveled from Trinidad to participate in their first marathon.  I hooked them up with ponchos, and they were forever grateful (they took a selfie with us.  I can’t imagine where that photo may turn up).

We moseyed our way over to our corral around 5:30am, and the rain had completely stopped.  I have run in pouring rain many times before, but never to start a race.  Once you get going, it’s all good; the prospect of standing in a downpour for over 30 minutes or more before the race actually begins seems like a nightmare.  It’s has never happened on over 22 years of racing, but all streaks are made to be broken. The streets seemed rather empty, as I’m sure many of the runners were waiting until the last minute to jump into their corrals.  I personally would never drop out of a race because of the hostile weather conditions, but I know a lot of folks who do (Mary and some of the Turtles were running the Celebration Marathon and Half Marathon the same time as us, and she said it poured the entire race).  Elaine was in the same corral as Lindsey and me, and we met a few students who were going to school at FIU.  They were running their first marathon, so I had to instruct them on “the ways.”

 

 

It was now time to start the race, and still no rain.  If it would just hold out until we started going, I would be thankful.  For some reason, the race started about ten minutes late.  16,907 runners (2,850 for the full; 14,057 for the half) waited patiently as the gun finally sounded.  It took us close to 30 minutes for us to get to the starting line, but still no rain.  Lindsey decided to run without me in an effort to try and PR the race.  Elaine was running the full, so I didn’t want to hold her back.

As we ran over the bridge, it was very windy.  Not coming right at you windy, but enough to make you struggle a little bit.  The streets were not as wet as I thought they would be, and the temperature was now in the low seventies.  There had been construction on the course the past few years, but not this time.  I don’t like it when you have to run south for a few miles as a temporary detour.  It almost seems as if it’s an out-and-back when you see the other runners ahead of you running in the opposite direction.  This year, I got to experience all of the scenery this course has to offer.  I felt really good, but my pace did not reflect that.  I was moving very slowly, but the lack of rain (and sunshine) made it a complete joy.  The sun did make a couple of guest appearances, but just for a few minutes at a time.

 

 

 

 

The course ran a bit long (according to my Garmin), as I crossed the finish line at 13.41 miles.  It was very congested, so it took a few minutes until I was able to get my medal.  Lindsey was waiting for me, and she did in fact PR the race.  The post-race party was very good, with a nice selection of food and drinks.  After stuffing our faces, we walked back to the car to change into dry clothes.  Still no rain, so we went back to the finish line to cheer on Elaine.  Not much rain on the drive home, but who cared at that point?

 

It’s hard to imagine that the biggest takeaway from an exciting race weekend like this would be the rain (or lack of), but it was definitely the talk of the town.




KEEP TRACK OF MY RUNNING ON