March 13, 2016
Race morning started off with an hour less of sleep. It’s
not a fun day when Daylight Savings Time begins on the morning of a race. I got
up around 4:30 and was out the door by 5:30. It’s a local race, but parking is an
issue and I wanted to make sure I got to the lot, across the street from the
race, before it filled up. I hung out in my car for a bit, before Gina showed
up. We then headed over to the start area. We hung out at the Fit2Run tent,
before I went to use the porta-potties, then went ahead and got into the
corral. I had about a 10 minute wait, but I wanted to get in there a little
ahead of time, since it was a hassle to get into the crowded corral the year
before. Soon we were off!
The first little stretch is always very congested. Even
though I was pretty far forward, there were still people ahead of me that I had
to dodge around because they were walking or running much slower. Just before
mile one, we make a right turn, heading towards the Ringling Bridge. I see
Melissa off to the side, but I’m on the far left, so I don’t get a chance to
say high. Over the bridge and then out to St Armand’s Circle. Ran a loop
through the circle, before heading back over the bridge. This time, I was able
to catch Melissa’s attention and grab a high five from her. Made the right turn
on to 41 and headed back towards the stop. It’s always fun to run past the area
where all the relay people are waiting for their runner. Miles 1 through 6 – 8:13, 8:36, 8:27, 8:39, 9:10, 8:50
We had a mile or so on the main road before making a left
into the neighborhood west of Tamiami Trail. This is the new part of the
course. In previous years, since they moved the start from the Ringling Museum
to the Van Wezel, we have run a few miles up Tamiami Trail, before turning at
the Museum and coming back to the finish through the neighborhood boarding the
water. This new part of the course was so much better! My right calf has been
feeling tight, but just before reaching the museum, it is really hurting. I
stop and stretch and then have to stretch about every mile before reaching the
finish! I was actually kind of worried I would pull something. It was so
painful! I worked on keeping good form and not extending my stride, which
seemed to help a bit. At least it took my mind of the pain. Once we reached the
main road, I tried to speed it up again. Made the turn to the Van Wezel, then
pushed it hard for the last stretch before reaching the finish line. Miles 7 through 13.1 - 9:05, 9:12, 9:22, 9:11, 9:15, 9:40,
9:07, 1:12
Finish - 1:58:05
Super happy with a sub 2 hour finish. Wish I could have run
a faster race though. Need to work on getting my hip, hamstring and calf
better!
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