Monday, March 14, 2016

Running Sarasota: 1/2 the Distance ~ 2x the Fun {Sarasota Half Marathon Relay Race Recap}

On race morning I woke up to a MilePost quote (by Joe Henderson) that said "A course never quite looks the same way twice. The combinations of weather, season, light, feelings and thoughts that you find there are ever-changing". Truer words have never been spoken. That's exactly how I felt about being in Sarasota again for the half-marathon. Granted, a lot of things were different this year: I was doing the relay (not the "full" half marathon); I car-pooled up Niqui (relay partner) and we both brought our kids; and some crazy people from years ago (who were obviously not runners) implemented Daylight Savings and I lost an hour of sleep.

The day before race day was a great one. Kai and I met up with Niqui and her son and we all drove up to Sarasota. We left South Florida pretty early, stopped for Starbucks, and then headed out...

Our first stop was the packet-pickup because we wanted to get that out of the way early...

After a lot of pictures and a little shopping we headed out to find food, then our hotel (thank heavens for early check-in!), and then took advantage of some uninterrupted "rest" time before our pre-race dinner plans with Anthony and Dafney (pictured below) later that day.
Of course, since we knew we were going to lose an hour of sleep, in addition to it being the night before a race, the plan was to try and go to bed earlier than normal. I didn't end up falling asleep until after 8pm (which isn't that early for me to be honest), and true to my usual pre-race sleep pattern I: woke up every few hours -- realized I hadn't over slept -- tried to go back to sleep -- woke up again -- glared at the stupid hotel alarm clock and it's ridiculously bright red digital clock face -- tried to get comfortable in bed -- fell asleep again -- repeated all the previous steps... until around 4:10am Sunday morning when I figured I might as well start getting ready (well, first I checked to make sure it actually was 4:10am and then I got up)

The hotel was about 15 minutes from the race start and parking was pretty well organized so Niqui and I got there, parked and got settled before heading to the start corral. While the parking was well organized, trying to find the porta potties was not. We walked in circles for a bit (following other clueless runners) until we finally ran into Andy (my running partner for the A1A half) who helped us figure out where to go. Luckily the lines weren't long so there was no fear of me accidentally skipping people like I did in Miami (I still feel really bad about that).

Then it was time for the important stuff: Pre-Race Pics!!!

Niqui and I (aka team "Trauma Turtles" appropriately posing in front of the ambulance)...

Dafney (our friend from work) and Anthony (her hubby)... 

All four of us...

I also saw a few of my other S. FL running peeps: Henri...

Jonas (who decided to run (against doctor's orders) with a dislocated shoulder)...

and Marsha...

Before we knew it the race was ready to start and Niqui was off...

Once all the half marathoners and first-leg relay runners left the start shoot the race organizers directed the second-leg relay runners to the relay exchange area. That's where Debi found me...

And while I waited for Niqui I took a picture of the "you are almost there so look out for your relay team member" mile marker...

Niqui did the first leg of the race so she got the shorter more scenic route, but she also got the bridge. My route wasn't that scenic at all (it goes through a lot of neighborhoods so no beautiful beach views) and was a little longer, but it was pretty flat. I had my watch set to intervals but decided to ignore them and just ran to the water stops/mile markers. It took about three miles for my legs to stop feeling like lead, but by that time the sun was out so instead I felt hot and exhausted. I was beyond excited and relived when I finally saw Niqui...

And we ran the final stretch together...
{photo cred: Debi}
Our official team time...

In addition to the amazing medal, this race also provides free race pics!!!! That (by-the-way) is how I fall in love with a race...the medal and free race pics...and the post-race food... and the on-course support... but mainly the medal and pics (and food) ;)

Official Race Pics:
Heading towards the finish line...

Almost there...

Finally!!!!

The line for the official finisher pics was really long but moved relatively fast...

Then Niqui and I took our "unofficial" finisher pics...


I don't really have a true analysis/rating for every aspect of this event because it's hard to do that with a relay. But overall I had a great time and I would definitely run Sarasota again. I'm probably going to wait a few years though because even though the race blitz is now open (and so it's the perfect time to save money on race registration) I really want to complete my other Bucket List races :)

But I won't stay away from Sarasota for long because, after all... who can turn down races that give medals like this???
#ShinyRaceBling #LoveThisMedal #ItEvenHasGlitter

6 comments:

  1. Beautiful meadal!!

    Yup....you had me at free pics and pretty medal ;)

    Way to go on the relay. Looks like a fun time had by all.

    -Tamieka@fitballingrunningmom

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    1. Thanks! Sarasota is definitely a "must-do" race for those who love race bling :)

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  2. Nice job on the relay!! I really enjoyed the Sarasota Half last year, but it was just so hot and the stretch up 41 was brutal, so I didn't run it this year. I love the medal, though!!

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    1. Thanks! Luckily I did the second half of the course so I "missed" out on the bridge ;)

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    2. Absolutely amazing. This blog post definitely gave me flashbacks and dejavu. The race was definitely one of my better ones especially during the 1st 6 miles. I wasn't too crazy about "Mr Rogers" neighborhood, as I felt the same way you did. I was there against many odds, but getting to spend time with my fitfam is something special. I even met a bunch of what I call "sympathizers" along the route and after the finish. Trust me, I didn't want all the attention from most but I have to say, I made a name for myself that weekend: "slingrunner" LOL. The weather wasn't bad, the atmosphere was pure, the people there were very pleasant. Sarasota definitely deserves another encore. My next race is 2 months away (Chi-town) pending recovery... Fingers crossed... Nonetheless I am excited about sharing my experiences and I wanted to thank you for creating that opportunity. And in my grade-book, you ARE a good blogger. 👌.... Ok, now I'm going to grab a few of those shirts 😉👕👚

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    3. Thank you!!! Good luck with recovery!!! And thanks for supporting the running shirt campaign :)

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