Coral Springs Half Marathon-March 29, 2014

This was the Coral Springs Half Marathon and 5k benefiting LisaBoccard Breast Cancer Fund. There were about 411 half marathon participants and 657 5kers.

I drove down from Jacksonville Beach to stay with friends who live in Homestead, which was about a 5 hour drive. I broke up the monotony of the drive on the way down and back with a beach pitstop! I love checking out new beach towns!

PACKET PICK UP

On the way down I stopped at the Packet Pick up which was held at a small local race store called Runners Depot in Coral Springs. This was a small race, so packet pick up was available the morning of the race as well.

We were provided a white tech shirt (which I am still unsure if the logo was supposed to be crooked. Which may be, because the medal ended up that way too....driving this type A personality a bit bonkers! lol) and the usual plastic drawstring bag with a couple goodies of some sort of energy chocolate, biofreeze, sunscreen, etc. I tried to purchase some GU, but instead was forced to take it for free because the machine wouldn’t scan. Thanks Runners Depot! :)

 

After making it to Homestead, we had a quick tour of the Everglades and the biggest and most unique fruit stand I have ever been to!-Robert is Here! It was so awesome, I went 3 times in my 2 night stay! And got to experience Gunanbana, a cancer fighting fruit from S America, as well as an awesome key lime shake!

 

A couple other Running Buddies came over and my host made us lobster mac n cheese for dinner….a Perfect SFL pre race meal! We tried to call it an early night, as the race started at 6am, and we had to be up at 330a with the hour drive!

START

Our group made it to the starting area about 530a, which was perfect time to use the Pink Ribbon porta potties (with personal bathroom attendants that cleaned after every use!....Welcome to SFL!!), snap a couple pictures and head to the starting line!

All of us were running the half, except one doing the 5k, which started an hour and half after us!

This is a small town race, and the speaker system used at the start was horrible so we couldn’t hear a thing. I think they were giving a warning about staying hydrated with the humidity. We woke up to about 100% humidity and I found myself at the starting line already sweating and thirsty. Temps were predicted to rise into the 80s.

GOAL

My plan was to just do a 'run a minute, walk a minute', as I had not run much since the 26.2 with Donna marathon last month. However, 3 of us had a nice slow and steady pace for the first 3 miles, so I held on before giving into walking.

From there I did a 1x1, but still ended up catching back up to the other 2 girls who were running a few miles at a time before walk breaks. Around M10ish one of my friends was having a rough time with the humidity and slowed down considerably, so I decided to just stay with her, as I hadn’t seen anything regarding medics or first aid at any of the stations. I was having a hard enough time hanging onto my 1x1, with me not doing any distance running in the past month, so I was happy to have a buddy to take it slow with. No need for injuries! No matter how bad you want to perform well at every race, you have to listen to your body first and foremost! There are a lot of things that can happen during a race that is out of your control, and weather is definitely one of them. The best thing to do at that point is to focus on the positive things happening around you. And be happy that you even have the opportunity to be out there running!....or walking!!

COURSE

The course was not necessarily a scenic one, mainly running by some neighborhoods and down a few major streets, but they definitely had it very organized with probably the most police officers I have ever seen in a race!...and Cute ones at that!...talk about motivation to keep running!...at least to the next intersection!

HYDRATION STATIONS

The hydration stations were properly stocked with volunteers, however I would have liked to have seen the tables every mile, not every 1 ½-2 miles, being so hot and humid SFL. And also Gatorade at each one, instead of every other station. But again, this is a small local race, so the majority of runners are probably used to running in this heat. Also a few tables were set further away from the runners, on the grass or sidewalk, and volunteers would run back and forth from the table and bring it to us on the street. Not sure why they didn’t just put the tables on the street. (?) GU was also provided at least twice on course, which I was pleasantly surprised with so I stocked up for the next race, as I already had plenty for this one. (always say Yes to the free GU!)

SPECTATORS

There weren’t many spectators for this race. Most of the cheering came from the cops or volunteers, which was nice. Except 1 bike patrol and 1 officer that told us we shouldn’t be walking! Unbelievable. Don’t worry, I asked right back if they ever ran a half marathon before! And you know the answer to that one! ;)

FINISH LINE

The finish line was not much to speak of. There were bagels, bananas, oranges, water and Muscle Milk. No beer, which is not uncommon for it being a ‘health’ event, but we came prepared with our tail gate supplies! They did have a couple local food trucks, if you wanted to purchase some food, which was unique.

 

MEDAL

The 5kers got a pink lanyard and large medal, which my friends liked better than the half marathons. Our was literally the size of my thumb! I do like the design myself, but I wish it was a bit larger and had the pink lanyard as well for the cause. The 5kers also got a colored shirt and race bib which made it all seem like the 5k was more involved with the charity. I questioned this later and found out these used to be separate events and just recently joined forces, so that could have something to do with it.




Overall, I had a fun time with my Running Buddies. If you are in the area and looking for a small local race dedicated to a cause, check this one out.

HM#36

13.1-2:37