This was the 8th
annual Sarasota Half Marathon by First Watch with a two person Relay option as
well. There were about 3600 runners participating on the perfect race day
conditions! Temps were in the low 50s with the sun peeking out between the
clouds. The race started right before sunrise putting us at the perfect location
for a gorgeous sunrise view (about M 1 and 4) on the Ringling Bridge. Yes, that’s
right, we tackled that bridge twice before the half way mark!
But lets back up a
little bit first…. I went into this race, with a reservation at a hotel within
walking distance to the start. A little out of my price range, I posted on the
race site if anyone wanted to share a room to split costs. Luckily for me, I
not only met a very sweet woman, but also got a chance to meet her running
buddies as well! (who were staying in the same hotel.) What a great group of
women! I hope that our lives cross paths again in a future race!!
I left home about 5am
the day before the race to put me into town early enough to pick up my race
packet (about 20 minutes from start/hotel), and have plenty of time to spend a
full day at Siesta Key (otherwise known as the #1 rated beach in the US.) I found
myself at the packet pick up (a local race store) before they even opened! Pick
up was a breeze and I found myself at the beach by 11a. Of course, I had to stay for the sunset over
the water, so I didn’t find myself back downtown at Hotel Indigo (Amazing hotel
by the way!) until close to 9p, when I finally met my roommate!
It was an early night,
as 5am was going to come quick. I was sure I was going to pass out quickly and
sleep well after the long busy day I had! After about an hour of sleep, I found
myself congested. Tossing and turning didn’t work. I was so uncomfortable and
couldn’t breathe out of my nose. I even
tried sleeping sitting up. I was completely miserable. I woke with a touch of a sore throat and
throbbing sinuses. Being sleepy was the least of my worries….my face just hurt!
I felt like I was hit by a brick wall!
Of course, I didn’t even
consider not doing the race, so I dragged myself out of bed and dressed in my
St Pattys day gear! I had a quick breakfast of granola bar and banana.
We met the other girls
in the lobby. They were such a hoot, full of energy so early! Exactly what I needed
to put me in a good mood! We walked down the street to the start.
As we lined up, the
girls placed us in the 8-9 minute pace. I said, ‘absolutely not! I need to be
back with the 11 minute pacer!’ They
said ‘no no no, trust us, you want to be ahead of those walkers.’ I decided to
give it a whirl, even though I was thinking ‘I AM one of those walkers!’
My original goal going
into this race was to stick with the 11 minute pacer and try to once again run
the half without stopping. Of course waking up, my sinuses gave me a perfect
excuse to not try so hard and take it easy instead. (Boring and pathetic, I
know.) So now being lined up with the faster runners, my new goal was to try to
keep up and at least tackle the bridge without stopping and then do my normal
run/walk for the second half.
I think that early placement was exactly what
I needed. Even though I was being passed by (it seemed like) everyone, I wasn’t
doing the normal weaving around slower runners (or run/walkers) like I usually
am. Looking back on previous times, I had the fastest first mile, and fastest
5k ever! I have my new friends to Thank for that!
I had been warned by a
few people that the Bridge was harder than it looked. After tackling the Talmadge
Bridge (in costume) every year (the “South’s Toughest Bridge Run”), I pretty
much blew it off but deep down I was a little nervous. It was pretty easy
though. The colors from the sunrise, the bagpipers on one side, the hippie drummers
on the other, and a few spectators cheering us on at the top, all made it quite
enjoyable. Its not particularly steep, but it’s a little long.
After that the course
went around St Armands circle where people were having breakfast and coffee,
and then back over the bridge.
The middle portion of
the course runs a couple miles on the main (and open to traffic) street downtown
which leads to nice smelling exhaust. The second half is run through
neighborhoods. This isn’t a big crowd drawer, being a pretty much smaller race.
A good portion of spectators stayed at start, which we ran by again in the
middle/relay exchange, and is also where we finished. They were pretty quiet
when I ran by, so of course I had to cheer THEM on!….nothing like having to
teach people, that racing is not just a just spectator sport…if you stand on
the sidelines, you must cheer for the runners!
Throughout the second
half of the race, I kept reminding myself that I could take it easy, being sick
with a lack of sleep, there was no way I was going to PR. But I kept doing the
calculations and realized I could…must have been that early fast running. But I
realized it a little too late. My new goal (again) was to finish under 2:30 (PR
is 2:24). I crossed the line at 2:29! Ill take it!
The finish line was fun,
located next to the water for a beautiful back drop. They had a beer garden (all
you can drink) where you could watch a circus act and the awards ceremony. The
food on the other hand was a disappointment. I mean, the race is sponsored by
First Watch, known for breakfast! …yet there still was only the traditional
race food….fruit, bagels, mini muffins….oh, and parfaits….ok, that’s different…but
seriously, who wants to eat a parfait (with beer mind you) on an empty race
stomach? Not this girl. Oh well.
I met back up with my
new friends and it seemed all of us had a little PR or something to celebrate!
We had lunch over at Tommy Bahamas with Key Lime green martinis to celebrate St
Pattys and then rested our toes on the sand at Lido Key.
The medals are HUGE by
the way!...dolphins frolicking near the Ringling Bridge!...claims to be the
biggest medal in the State!
