A1A Races Pics & Other Race News...

Race photos are in!!!! First let me say that my current running related financial situation necessitates a focused allocation of financial resources towards race entry fees and travel. As a result I'm not currently motivated (financially or otherwise) to purchase race photos. And I certainly won't purchase them for a race that sucked. BUT I will share them and willingly give all the photo credit to the official photographers and their employer (thank you MarathonFoto!). I happen to like the pictures from the A1A half on Sunday because I look like I'm having a great time (even though inside I felt like I was dying)...

(not the best running form (arms should not cross over body) but still a nice pic 😎)

I think I must have been in a hypoglycemia induced state of delusion during which my facial expressions were not accurately reflecting the agony I was actually feeling...

And you can tell that's what's probably happening because I seem to be waving to photographers that may not actually be there, while completely ignoring the ones who are taking my race pictures...

2017 Miami Half Marathon {Race Recap}

I'm typing this race recap of the Miami Half Marathon while I wait for my bone marrow to defrost. It was that cold this morning. Usually, I love running in the cold, but this morning it was also raining and overcast so the combination of cold and wet made my insides freeze. Apart from that the race was incredible!

Jani and I got to the parking garage around 4:20am and stayed in the car (with the heat on) and took a nap. We both got less than ideal sleep last night so we were very tired. But eventually we had to pry ourselves from the warmth and safety of the car and make our way to the corrals. We were in Corral J...

(Corral K was behind us)

(The Start)

While waiting in our corral, the rain started, turning a cold very cold morning into a very cold and very wet morning. Jani and I had ponchos and thermal blankets (and long sleeved tops) but we were still bone chilling cold. Now I know that probably sounds ridiculous to anyone reading this who lives in a cold state. It's even more ridiculous coming from me since I really want to live in Chicago. But waiting in the cold and rain just made me wish I was on a beach tanning somewhere (which, knowing South Florida's weather, I'm probably going to be able to do tomorrow 😉).

Anyway we finally started and our race strategy was pretty straight forward: I was going to do my run 1 mile: walk 1 min intervals and Jani (who tried that interval for the first time during the Tropical 5K yesterday) was going to do it for as long as she could and then cut back her intervals as needed. We both ended up maintaining the 1 mile:1 min intervals (despite the cold & wet conditions) for the entire race 😊. The course was a little different this year, but the spots that were the same felt familiar, and it was nice having a sense of familiarity with the route.

The Tropical 5K & Miami Half Expo...

This year the race expo for the Tropical 5K & Miami Half (and full) marathon was held at the Marlins Park (baseball stadium). This is a new location for the event (at least I've never been to an expo held there before) and required some adjusting and a lot of patience. But it was nice to be there for the pre-race festivities of their 15th anniversary...

The expo started outside and then runners needed to make their way through the outside vendor section, through security, and up the ramp to the bib pick up area...

(picture of outside vendors taken from the ramp)

Once we were inside chaos ensued. The entire bib pick-up process was disorganized and they didn't have enough people giving directions and providing instructions on where to go... 

The Second Half of the Chicagoland Series {Chicago Half Marathon Race Recap}

Race morning started pretty early (as usual I guess) with a 5am Uber pick up from the hotel. We drove about 30 minutes to the race site (or as close as we could get) and then walked about a block and a half to the closest corral where we could see other runners waiting. My mom, sister and I joined them...

We knew it was going to be a long morning. It was around 5:45 am and the race didn't start until 7am (for Sanya and me) and 7:45am (for my mom who was doing the 5K). But the time seemed to pass by quickly and we eventually exchanged good luck hugs with my mom, then Sanya and I went to find our corral. 

Third Time This Year...

I'm back in Chi Town!!!! This is my third trip to Chicago this year, which makes so much sense since it's my favorite city to visit! In May I was here for the Chicago Spring 1/2 marathon (in June I was here for Ragnar Chicago) and now I'm here for the Chicago Fall 1/2 marathon (as part of the Chicagoland series).

I signed up for the series because... race bling (you get an extra medal when you do both the Spring and Fall 1/2 marathons). My May trip was a "mommy daughter" trip and I was able share my favorite city with my favorite person (Chicago is now one of Kai's favorite places too). This trip is a "girls trip" and I here with my mom, my twin sister, and my baby sister...

(Yup, we are all running/walking in the event on Sunday!!!)

My mom and Jule (baby sister) signed up for the 5K at the race expo and Sanya (twin sis) had decided to do the half with me several months ago (my bib color is different because of the Chicagoland series). 

Something Old & New, Something Borrowed & Blue: The 2016 Publix A1A Half Marathon {Race Recap}

My race recap will be a little different this time because I decided to skip the traditional "dawn 'til dusk" chronological reporting I've been doing. Instead I'm going to do a "category" breakdown and try to capture the entire experience as best as I can that way. It will still have a start-to-finish feel though {that's the "something old"} so hopefully the breakdown won't be too confusing or disjointed. I also decided to rate each of the categories using a five star system (*****) because I'm not 100% sure how I feel about my overall experience yet {"something new"}. I figure the breakdown and review will help with that... hopefully. Anyway here goes:

Parking:

I heard a lot of complaints about the parking situation but it wasn't a problem for me. The race organizers made it very clear (in their multiple emails) that parking gets congested and recommended that runners try and get to the designated parking areas by 4:30am on race morning. This was from one of their emails...

(In my opinion they could not have been any clearer about the parking situation)

I'm an early riser on race day (I was up at 2:45am this time) so I don't typically have an issue with parking. I would rather get to a race early and wait in my car in a nice and comfy parking spot, than have to worry about making it to the start corrals in time because I'm battling for spots with half the city.
(Parking rating: *****).

Corrals:

This race isn't as big as some of the other races so they had the benefit of doing a rolling start. They had "pace/mile" placeholders and runners were asked to line up in the start corral based on their estimated pace. I was between the 12min/mile and 13min/mile placeholders...

Miami Half Marathon Weekend {Race Recap Part 1}

When I woke up on Friday morning I wondered if the 2016 Miami Half Marathon weekend was going to be able to compete with last year's event. I mean, how many times can you "redefine amazing" right? It's probably not even fair to compare events from one year to another because so much can happen over the course of 12 months. But (fair or not) I did the comparison anyway and I can safely say that history repeated itself in amazing and incredible ways.

As promised, I tried to post regular updates to my Instagram account but I know I didn't capture all the great things that happened during the race weekend. So I decided to do a two-part race recap: one dedicated to all the pre-race activities and another post dedicated to race day. 

After spending Friday morning contemplating what the weekend was going to be like, I took care of some stuff around the house and later did some cardio. I hadn't worked out all of last week so the cardio on Friday felt great and my legs (especially my quads) felt really strong. I didn't want to overdo it though so I resisted the temptation for a lot more cross training and spent the rest of the day carb loading and resting. 

On Saturday morning, in my attempt to avoid issues with parking, I decided to go to the expo early. I actually got there before the expo opened so I enjoyed the wall art while I waited...

I'm such a hopeless romantic cause I really love this painting

In The Meantime...

I promise promise promise to have the Reggae Half Marathon Race recap posted soon :)  I have a lot of thoughts about the event (and the entire weekend) so I didn't want to rush through a post just to "get it done". Plus it's been kinda hectic (work stuff) and I've been kinda distracted (life stuff) so I haven't been able to dedicate the amount of time I need to write a proper recap. But I will by this weekend, I promise.

In the meantime I have a bunch of other stuff to talk about...

I'm supposed to do an 18 mile run this weekend if I'm going to stay on track with training. So I decided to sign up for a half marathon in order to take advantage of: (1) the closed course; (2) scheduled water stops; & (3) on-site medical help (you know, just in case). The half marathon of choice is the Run For Tomorrow Weston half...

It's About Progress, Not Perfection

Tomorrow I have to report for Jury Duty!!!!! I think I might be the only person that gets this excited about Jury Duty. I could give an explanation about feeling honored to do my civic duty for this great nation yadda yadda yadda. But really I'm hoping it's like a real life version of a great John Grisham novel... except I'm in the jury and not a part of the legal team.... and it's probably not a major court case... and it's even less likely that there will be any jury sequestering or tampering... so in reality maybe nothing like a John Grisham book :( Oh well! I'm still excited about it ;)

Just in case I get picked and the Jury gets sequestered I figured it would be wise to run tonight. 

So I did a short 4 mile run with my Disney Wine and Dine training partner...

Redefining Impossible... {The Miami Beach Half Marathon Race Recap}

The great thing about waking up early and heading to a race is that 9 times out of 10 you're able to get there with enough time to get into "race mode". You can get close to the start, visualize yourself passing it in a few minutes, and focus on your finish. You get the opportunity to reflect on why you are doing this. To think about what or who is motivating you to wake up at 2am and get ready to drive to a different city, that's 45 minutes away, because you paid someone to run 13.1 miles...

Redefining AMAZING: the #MiamiFamous Half Marathon race recap

I used to think that running my fastest time was the only thing that could make a run/race amazing. I used to think that (despite the title of my blog page) real runners run fast, and anything less than a pre-defined speed would fall short of an "acceptable" pace. I used to think that getting a PR (and a medal) were the only goals that mattered in a race. But that's not how this works (that's not how any of this works).

After a night of not really sleeping much (not nerves...just couldn't turn my thoughts off) I got up on Sunday feeling tired but still excited to get the day started. The morning was chilly.... ok, let's be real... it was cold (low 50s) and windy. The race sponsors kept referencing the fact that "weather conditions would be perfect" for running, but as we were standing in the corrals with numb fingers and toes I'm pretty sure many people (like myself) were ready to challenge the use of the word "perfect".

I was in Corral H...

Official Race Pictures are here!!!!!! (...and other Monday Madness)

The official race pictures from the EAU Palm Beach Half Marathon are here along with my updated finish time...***Spoiler Alert*** I shaved off 3 seconds!!!! (every second counts)

Pictures of random strangers my fellow runners at the start...

The photographers got the memo that I didn't take any pictures along the course so they graciously assigned a few random scenic shots to my bib number...

Welcome to "Sandi Land"...

The ever so glamorous "medal selfie"...

And last, but not least, a few on-the-course and at-the-finish pictures of me...

(see how focused I am?...really trying hard not to trip over my feet)

(I didn't see the photographer...)

(Still didn't see him... {Running with my eyes closed....that's what you call "talent"})

(Finally saw the photographer and managed to muster up enough energy to smile!)

(Trying to pause my Runtastic app)

(Still trying...)

(Making sure Runtastic is paused...it wasn't)

(The "I'm-so-glad-it's-over-but-I-still-can't-feel-my-toes" Finisher Pic!)

Official time: 02:37:51

and other Monday Madness...

I spent the entire day applying ice to various aching body parts. Currently being featured on the "Aches & Pains" list are: both feet; left knee; left hip; & right shoulder. Sigh...it never ends. At some point this week I need to start buying shares in whatever company manufactures ICYHOT since I single-handedly increased their profit margin this year. 

I'm on the hunt for 1-2 (more) half marathons to do next year. I'm registered for 3 already (January 25th; March 1st; & June 20th). My goal for 2015 is to do 4-5 half marathons plus my full marathon (which is in October). I'm trying to decide if I should do the Disney Wine & Dine 1/2 (in November), or try and make it to the Reggae 1/2 Marathon (in December)...or both??? A lot will depend on if I finally win the FL Power Ball lottery (which will depend on me buying a ticket).

I don't run again until Thursday (with a potential "30 minute walk session" on Wednesday depending on how my legs are feeling). Tomorrow I need to rejuvenate my core workout in preparation for January (I really need to have better form before I do my next half marathon). 

What's on your 2015 Race Calendar?

13 pictures & 1 video from my half marathon (and other festivities @ Shenanigans)...

If a picture is worth a thousand words then a blog post filled with pictures should pretty much tell the complete story of the amazing half marathon I ran today. In spite of all my illogical self-doubt, I did really well. Better than I was hoping for (which is remarkable considering my knee and hip pain...and the pain in my left foot that started at mile 6). But I'll try and let the pictures do most of the talking...

Before the start...

There was an amazing turnout at the event...

I ran with my 4:1 Memorial Milers group for the beginning of the race (about the first 3 miles or so) and then my "pace sister" Senovia and I started to pick up our speed a bit (we both were really hoping to PR today). 

The route changed a bit between the time Diane and I drove it yesterday and the start of the event this morning, so by the time I got to where Diane was waiting for me along the course I had already done about 9 miles...

The rest of the event was a bit of a blur to be honest. My left foot pain was getting worse so I spent most of the time focusing on landing on the outside of my foot (but being extra careful so I didn't twist my ankle). When I got to the turnaround point for the half marathoners all I could think was "Thank God I'm not running a full marathon today!"

I made it across the finish line in one piece...

My time and mileage according to Runtastic...

Pace per mile breakdown...

The official course time and tracking...

A NEW PR!!!!!!!!

A close up of the medal...

In other great news...Senovia got her PR as well!

I hung out with the Milers for a bit and then we saw Santa Claus...

{I told Santa I wanted the purple & white Garmin Forerunner 220 for Christmas...he didn't answer} 

[I'm not sure what to do with that response]

Diane and I left to head back to the hotel before check out (and to get something to eat). I'm so grateful that she came with me (Thanks Diane!). And once I regained sensation in my lower extremities I drove to pick up Kai from Giselle's house (Thanks Giselle!).

My evening was spent with Kai at the Memorial Milers Holiday party...

A great start and end to my day! 

Congrats to all the finishers at the EAU Palm Beach half and full marathon today!!!!