The 2017 Miami Beach 1/2 Marathon {Race Recap}

Normally I would be able to share all the prelim stuff leading up to a race (the expo, packet pick up etc), but I was in Pittsburgh for all of that. Thankfully my friend Suzanne was gracious enough to pick up my race bib for me while I was away. And since I was car pooling with her and her hubby, Jeff, I got my stuff on race morning.

Once we got there the big challenge was parking. All the garages were full and it took a while to navigate to a spot that would be safe. After that though the rest of the "pre-race" stuff went smoothly and we met up with fellow running buddies for some pics...

(Andy, me & Suzanne)

(Andy, Debbie & me)

The race is less... "formal" than some of the other (bigger) Miami races, so we didn't have a structured corral system. It was a rolling start which means runners lined up according to their estimated pace. I didn't actually see anyone with pacing signs but I was told there were a few pacers out there...

It was windy from before the start so I already knew we were up for a challenge with this race. Suzanne and I were going to run together so we decided on an interval (run 2 mins: walk 45 seconds) and headed off together. And everything was going relatively ok... then I got to the first bridge...

I just don't train for bridges enough. There is no rhyme or reason (except maybe I'm too lazy to drive to the bridges worth training on) but the end result is that any race that has bridges tends to suck. The Miami Beach Half had four.

The first bridge was after mile 4, and after I realized that the course did not have all the water stations they said they would have. For someone who doesn't run with water during races, the water stations are my lifeline. I plan my fueling around them because I take electrolyte capsules (GU and gels etc upset my stomach). Since I can't take the capsule without water I didn't get to fuel as regularly or as often as I would've liked. It was also annoying because it throws me off mentally (my running personality requires a lot of structure during training and even more so during races).

Anyway, I didn't get to fuel properly this time and that ended up affecting my energy level as I got farther along in the race. Eventually we came to Bridge #2...

Suzanne and I were keeping up with the intervals as closely as possible. Our only real deviation was to walk through water stops. And believe me, I took advantage of every single water station and took at least two cups of water cause I had no confidence that I would see another station when I needed it. I carefully navigated between hydrating for the next few-several miles and not exceeding my stomach's max fill line. I mean, I was thirsty but there is a point where the consequences aren't worth it...

(Edited; original from theawkwardyeti.com)

The wind never subsided and by the time we came to Bridge #3 we had to push against it even more...

We ended up walking up Bridge #3 and stopped for pictures at the top, and then picked up our intervals after. We did the same thing for Bridge #4 (minus the picture taking)...

The last segment of the route takes you by a Marina and a residential area where a lot of people were walking their dogs, or walking with their little kids, or running (but not in the race), so it became a bit of an obstacle course at that point. One of the runners, who was not in the race but certainly running as though he was vying for first place, ended up running into me. I probably got a lot more upset about it than was warranted considering I was not hurt, but in my defense I was tired and hungry and I didn't have a Snickers bar with me; and even if I did I wouldn't have been able to eat it cause I'm allergic to dairy. Nevertheless it's a Sunday, and I probably should have been more forgiving and not thinking that I hope he stepped in the dog poop that we were carefully navigating around on the course... but like I said I was tired (and hungry) 😔.

Anyway there were aspects of that last segment that were nice so I stopped for a pic...

Once we came through the Marina we started to hear the finish line festivities. And then we were finally done...

The medal is pretty nice :)... the lanyard is purple and the sun moves up and down...

This race was part of the Florida Storm Series so I was able to pick up my Category 3 medal today as well...

And of course they have their post race sand castle...

I'm not that happy with my time. Granted between yesterday and today I ran over 20 miles, and I'm coming off of a busy week with work and travel, and I'm fighting a cold, and yes the bridges and the wind held me back... but still. I had a sub-2:30:00 finish time the first time I ran this race in 2015. So I'm disappointed that I'm not closer to that time...

The race itself is a great one to do. If you train for the bridges they should be easy(-ish). And the weather... well... no one has control over that at the end of the day. It made the race harder to enjoy today, but that's not the norm. Although... it rained a lot in 2015 so I've never run it in great weather. So maybe it is the norm... 🤔😕.

Would I do this race again? Yup! Maybe not to get a PR, but definitely if I wanted to do a half and needed a local race with a decent race entry fee. It's definitely a fun race to do with friends...

#Run131 #RunMIA #131MIB