Cleveland Clinic FL 13.1 Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon Relay

Before I even get into the recap of this race, I need to rant a little. I may be spoiled, but most of the races I've run have been organized to perfection and go smoothly. While Matt and I had fun at our relay this weekend, I have a few gripes I need to get out of the way.

Bear in mind, this race is in its 13th year, so it's ridiculous for these kinds of mistakes to still be a problem. Now, I went back on the website and it appears that the organizers are using runsignup.com now and website-related issues are fixed, but I still want to mention them because they made life frustrating.

Sign Up: I began trying to sign up for the relay option back in July. The webpage is supposed to have a spot, upon choosing the "2-person relay" option, to join an existing team or create one. This part of the signup process was missing until last month. By that time, the price had increased. I wrote to the race organizer and the website tech support at least a half-dozen times before it was fixed. At that point, the organizer did give me a discount code so I could sign up with the original cost, but the fact that it was so impossible to get in touch with him and get this simple mistake fixed was irritating.

Packet Pickup: Pickup was in a small running store where there was a single table, staffed by three people. With a race this size, a larger venue, multiple days for pickup, or multiple tables should be the norm. Also, Matt and I waited in a line that literally wrapped around the store only to be told that relay runners needed to speak to a different person at the table, so we had to get into a second line and wait again. A sign indicating a separate line for relay runners would have been a simple way to avoid this frustration and confusion.

Logistics: The race website says relay runners wear a clip they can attach to a belt and hand that off at the checkpoint. I knew going in we'd be running with a baton instead, but only because Kristina warned me ahead of time. Why is this information not updated on their website?

Race Start: I'll get to this in more detail, but the starting corral was ridiculously narrow and we started 6 minutes late because the drawbridge was up. The drawbridge raises every quarter-hour and three-quarter hour; the schedule is posted. The race organizers should have changed our start time to account for that, or at the very least told us why we were delayed as we all stood in the corral. No one ever got on the mic to say, "Oh hey, the bridge is up, please be patient!" Is communication so much to ask for?

All that said, the race itself was a success and I'm so glad Matt agreed to run it with me. So, on to the recap!

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[I've included Matt's parts of the recap in italics.]

Our plan for the race was simple: I would run the first half because I don't handle sun and heat as well as Matt. I would keep a conservative pace of 10:00. I felt confident in tackling the bridge twice. Matt would take the second half of the race, making up for lost time with a goal pace of 8:10. We'd finish together. (Duh.)

On Sunday morning, Matt and I got up around 4:30am. Oden has bought a new townhouse, and we were staying with him as is our usual plan for Fort Lauderdale races. Luckily his new place is close to the old place; just as convenient, and actually on this race's route.

After getting dressed, making coffee, and using the bathroom 100 times, we drove the ten minutes to the new Las Olas parking garage.

We arrived an hour before the start and got prime parking. This race was the first I planned to run fasting. I brought a Gu with me just in case, but I didn't plan to eat ahead of time. I had some black coffee in the car and chased it with some water.

We had plenty of time to walk to the start, use the bathroom, and stretch. It was windy and cool (like...74 degrees, almost chilly!) and the sun wasn't up yet. The announcer let us know when we had 30, 20, 15, and 10 minutes before the start. I got into the corral with about 5 minutes to spare.

It was incredibly narrow and crowded; I don't think I've ever been in a corral that took up only one side of the road for nearly 700 runners.

The start was delayed; despite being reminded to get into the corral multiple times, we ended up starting at 6:21 instead of 6:15 because the drawbridge was up. I can be flexible when it comes to delays, but I didn't appreciate being herded into the corral and then not being updated with the reason for the wait.

When it was finally time to go, I felt ready!

My goal pace was 10:00; I was treating this race as a training run for Ragnar, not as a goal race in and of itself. I wasn't planning to push it too hard.

My route took me immediately over the East Las Olas Bridge, then down into Victoria Park. I was prepared to run the bridge twice, but was a little less prepared for the rolling hills along parts of the route.

Although we did go through some neighborhoods, most of the race was very pretty!

After Ali crossed the start line and disappeared from view, I walked to the car to put our things away and put on sunscreen. Then I went to the exchange point. It was completely unmarked (more disorganization) but there was a timing mat so I figured it was the halfway point. At first there weren't very many people there.

I was tracking Ali and knew I'd have at least an hour from the time she left, so when I got hungry I walked to a CVS across the street and bought a donut.

Admittedly, my legs felt pretty heavy and tired for the first couple miles. Around mile 2.8 I ran right past Oden's place, where he was waiting to cheer. I called out, "Almost at three miles!" and he called back, "Alright, looking good!"

Oden texted me when Ali ran by his house. I was also tracking her on Find Friends, so I knew when she'd be close.

Around mile 3 I finally started to loosen up. I was getting hungry, but didn't really want to eat anything.

I got to see other hand-offs while I waited, including the Paraguay team that came in first in our division. I saw another guy who spent a lot of time looking for his partner, slowing down and even running backwards, but couldn't find them, and so he just kept the baton and kept on running!

Being off the beach, I had a bit of a breeze but nothing major or distracting. I got some welcome drizzle around mile 4.

This photographer was right at the top of the bridge. Such a mean spot for photos!

I started to struggle a bit at mile 5, but by then I knew I was almost done. As I turned back onto Las Olas, I found myself facing a headwind as I ran back up the bridge. This was the hardest part of the race. I managed to talk myself out of walking the bridge.

By the time I hit 6.25 miles, I was feeling great. I caught sight of Matt's bright pink hat as I neared mile 6.5 and put on a burst of speed. I raised the baton in the air, grinning. I handed it off to him and said, "Good luck, have fun!" and off he went.

Right on target! I couldn't be happier!

Finally, I saw Ali. I took the baton and was on my way. 

Not five minutes after seeing Matt, Oden met me. He had ridden his bike over to see us finish. We hung out for the hour or so it took Matt to get back to us. During that time, the wind picked up and it poured for awhile. Then it stopped and got sunny again. Ah, Florida.

About a mile in, I got poured on. That's when I noticed my wet shoelaces coming undone and realized I had never tightened them before we started, so I stopped to tighten both of them, but I didn't lose much time. I passed five or six other runners with batons.

The rain came and went. At times the wind felt helpful, but there were also times I had to put my head down and power through it.

At the turn-around point, I felt tightness in my hip, and I was forced to slow down a little. For a brief moment I thought I might have to walk, but I'm used to powering through discomfort in paddling and the tightness worked itself out as I kept going and I was able to pick up my speed again.

Then I started paying attention to what mile I was at. I saw the sign for "mile 12" (mile 5 for me) and mile 12 seemed to last FOREVER. Finally, I saw Ali and Oden back where I'd left her, and I waved her ahead, wanting her to jump into the race. I expected her to be a lot closer to the finish line, like near the last corner where you turn in, but she was about a quarter mile out.

Matt tracks his races in km.

I was worried she wouldn't be able to keep up the pace I was going, especially because I usually like to finish strong and empty the tank. I shouldn't have worried, because after an hour of rest, she was able to keep up! 

I hopped in next to Matt, feeling totally refreshed and ready for a final sprint.

I was grinning like a dork the entire time. As we turned the final corner, Matt held out the baton. I took hold, and we crossed the finish line together.

It felt really special and fun to finish a race together. I love sharing running with Matt and this was the first event of its kind for both of us. I really enjoyed the team aspect and the relay itself; I liked only having to run 6.5 miles and sharing the victory.

After we finished, we checked our results; we'd placed third in our division! We waited around for an hour because we thought we'd win a plaque, but it turns out only the first place relay teams in each division get anything. Oh, well.

Once we checked the official results, we saw that actually we'd placed 2nd! This half was clearly the fastest of my life.

4th relay of 18, 2nd in our division!

After heading back to Oden's to clean up, we went to brunch at the usual place after a Fort Lauderdale race, then hung out until it was time to head home.

Over all, I enjoyed this race. The lack of communication was frustrating, but maybe that's a moot point for future years considering the new signup website.

We may not repeat this once, but if I can find another half marathon relay to do together, I think I'll try to talk Matt into it!

ABK

ALSO Youth Turkey Trot 5k

It's been awhile since I've run a Turkey Trot, but I'm a sucker for family events, so when my sister floated the idea of running the ALSO Youth 5k on Thanksgiving morning, I had to say yes. The race fit in nicely with my training plan, too; I planned to go easy so my legs would still be fresh for my long run on Saturday.

Gordon drove Steph, Matt, and me to the race start around 6:15 in the morning. He wasn't running, but kindly volunteered to watch our stuff and get photos for us.

Race morning, I opted to wear the Wonder Wool shortsleeved top rather than the Watch Me Go because it was a little warmer than anticipated.

We picked up our packets and wasted 40 minutes waiting for the start by using the bathroom multiple times. This race benefits a great cause; all proceeds go to ALSO Youth, which is an organization for LGBTQIA kids ages 13-21 who are in need of a community and support. It was really nice to see 1500 participants supporting the cause in this red county in Florida.

Steph borrowed my Redemption Shorties so she'd have a pocket for her phone.

Matt opted to wear his HRC equality flag, since he was just running for fun and didn't foresee himself placing.

The downside of this race is that it's very popular and runs a pretty narrow route. It was a full 2 1/2 minutes between the starting gun and when Steph and I crossed the start line. (Matt had gone ahead of us.)

Moseying along to the start line.

For the first mile or so, Steph and I stayed together. We had to dodge in and out of a lot of walkers the entire race. That's another downside of...well, of turkey trots in general: they tend to attract race newbies and tons of young kids. In other words, there's a major lack of race etiquette on the course.

I had planned to walk the ascents of the bridge, but felt pretty good on the first one. After cresting the top, Steph overtook me and we ran the rest of the race alone.

I took my one and only walk break on the second ascent. I was just tired. Plus, the wind was now against me and my music station was boring me to death. I changed music and was running again after one minute of walking. It was all I needed to power up the rest of the bridge and through the end of the race.

With half a mile to go, I began to regret my effort. I knew the dodging-and-weaving from early in the race was going to add mileage, and I knew I had a long run on Saturday. I realized I should have set a more conservative goal, something like 33 minutes, and just taken it easy. But now I was in it and I just couldn't let up this close to the end. I kept on pushing right through the finish line.

The others found me and we rested a bit and then found our finishing times. I wasn't sure what to make of mine; considering the total distance according to my watch, the chip pace/time seemed off, but since I wasn't really hoping for a strong performance, I didn't mind much. None of us placed, so we decided to head home.

Steph's and my finishing times according to the chip.

My Garmin data. The distance tracked long, so I think my actual 5k was probably sub-30; that being said, I should have run this much easier than I did.

I'm glad we ran the turkey trot, but I do hope the organizers fix the congestion issue next year. Even just having walkers start five or ten minutes ahead of racers would be helpful! That said, it's been 9 years on this same course, so I doubt a solution is forthcoming.

The course is definitely a tough one, so it's not always easy to fit into my schedule, but I do hope to be back in future years to do this one again so I can continue supporting the cause.

*Edit: My legs held up fine and felt good on Saturday. A little tired, but not painful; I kept my pace a little easier than it has been on previous long runs and was fine!

ABK

Rampage 5k 2018

Back in June, or maybe even May, my friend, colleague, and fellow Skirt ambassador Michelle floated the idea of running a race together with our other friend, colleague, and Skirt ambassador Ashley. We thought it would be fun to all run together, because even though we work together, I've only gotten to run one race with them before. (Ashley and Michelle train together frequently and are currently training to run the Chicago marathon together.)

The last time we raced together.

Anyway, I had this race in my head all summer, but I never signed up. Then, last week, I decided to bite the bullet and sign up before I chickened out. Both Michelle and Ashley signed up, too, so we were all set to meet before the race, run it, and have breakfast together after.

I had a banana, a tbsp of peanut butter, and a cup of strong black coffee about 90 minutes before the race, then made the half hour drive to the park. The race started at 7am; the weather was cool (mid-70s at the start) but the humidity was no joke (94%). Before the sun was up, though, it didn't feel too bad.

At the starting line!

I had no goals for this race. I didn't even have a "I don't want to walk" or "I want to sub-30" goal. This race was literally just to help push me mentally further into the headspace I've recently been in, where real training and weekend runs are appealing to me again.

Based on my paces lately, I was surprised to find myself running in the 8:50s early on. I was sure I wouldn't be able to hold it long, but it felt really comfortable, so I just let my legs do their thing. 

My legs continued to do their thing to mile 2, but my hair threw the first wrench in my wheel. It's at a weird length right now where I can get it into a bun and keep it there with the help of a lot of bobby pins, but it started to come down and was really distracting. I took a walk break to shove the pins back into place, but as you know...once you walk, it's hard to convince yourself to get going again. I started to realize how hot it was. By this point, the sun was fully up and I was running directly into it.

I took this photo after fixing my hair. The last mile of the race was quite pretty!

I managed to run another half mile before I decided to take another walk break. I kept it brief. I think my need for it was more mental than physical. I made the decision to run the rest of the race at a much easier and more sustainable pace, which ended up being around 9:30. I was able to finish the last sprint at a 7:52 pace.

Here's a blurry screenshot from the finish video.

I know some of you (ahem, Megan) like finishing videos, so here's the one from this race. I come into view around 10:04.

I finished in 28:57 (or 29:00 according to my chip), 8th in my age group. 

I caught some photos of Michelle and Ashley finishing, and then after waiting to check our times, we went to breakfast at Skillets. 

I haven't eaten there in years, but it used to be my go-to post-race breakfast place, and it was a great way to end the morning.

Considering I had no goals for the race, I am very happy with my performance. And I'm happy with the mental outcome: I definitely feel invigorated and excited to sign up for some more races. I told Elizabeth last week that I don't really care about collecting medals anymore, but the elation of crossing a finish line continues to be one of the best feelings in the world.

ABK