Translation: "I'll be damned if I accept your surrender or surrender to you."
What a fun race and a great weekend. The reason for signing up for this race was to celebrate a good friend's 40th birthday. We all gathered from around the country (and Canada too) for a weekend of laughter, sweat and good food, drink and of course a good time.
The thing with my friends is we aren't the spa and rest and relaxation types. If we are going to celebrate a momentous occasion, we must try to kill ourselves. When we emerge from the other side, we are closer to one another and have some great stories to tell of our adventure.
It is a race weekend, not just a race day. On Saturday, there are 15K and 5K races. On Sunday, there are the 1/2 marathon and the 8K races. And yes, you can race all 4 races. We didn't though; we just did the 15K race and the 1/2 marathon. We had other things on our agenda.
We stayed at the Embassy Suites Downtown. It was the perfect location. Sure it was pricier, but we were right across the street from the Convention Center where packet pickup was located. The street car stopped right in front of our hotel and we were right on the Riverwalk. The start/finish line was a block away. Throw in 'free' breakfast buffet and happy hour at Embassy Suites and you couldn't go wrong.
Saturday was the 15K race. It was an out and back course. I hate out and back courses, except for this one. It followed the bay so you had a view of the water most of the time and nice island music (think Jimmy Buffet and reggae). There were water stations every 1.5 miles that had sprinklers (nice touch). This was important for us Northerners as the humidity was 95% with a 70 degree temperature at the start. The course was nice and flat absolutely no hills unless you count the overpass at the very beginning. There was plenty of bananas, water, Gatorade and beer at the finish. You could get your picture taken with a pirate or a wench with your medal.
No time to party afterwards. After a refueling breakfast of omelets, potatoes, coffee and watermelon, we jumped in our bathing suits to rest our legs in the pool before heading to Urban Kai for a 2-hour paddleboard lesson.
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| Look Ma- I'm paddleboarding! |
After taking a water taxi back to the hotel, we cleaned up and went to my all-time favorite Florida restaurant The Columbia to fuel up for the 1/2 marathon the next morning. Hands down, the best sangria that exists on the planet.
The course for the 1/2 marathon was almost the same as the 15K. Again, it was an out and back by the bay with the same bands. There were water stops every 1.5 mile or so with two of the stops including gels and/or blocks to refuel. The weather was the same- 95% humidity with temperatures in the 70s. There was fog in the morning, so we were spared the sun. A lovely after party with plenty of beer AND food from The Columbia Restaurant.
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| Kick A** Medals: 1/2 marathon on the left, 15K on the right. |
Do I recommend this race? Most definitely! I might do it again next year. It was a perfect respite from a nasty winter. I probably won't do all 4 races, though. There is SUP to be had!
March Challenge:
This month's challenge is to do 10,000 steps everyday, plus these little activities. Thank you to The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans for these monthly challenges!
The weather hasn't really cooperated with my running and I DISPISE the treadmill, so I am a little behind on my trek to Charleston. Right now, I have 902 miles to run. On the map, it puts me Willow Slough State Game Preserve, 20 miles north of Kentland, IN. Once the weather is above zero degree windchill, I am going to add 3 mile runs to my Mondays and Fridays to get back on track.
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