Running, Music and Sunshine – another moving party in the books

The first Sunday in February is the Sarasota Music Half Marathon. This is fast becoming a go to race in the Sarasota running calendar. Now in its 4th year, the race features a scenic course, over 20 different musical entertainers from local bands, high schools and individual musicians,

great medals along with an after party on the lawn of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall overlooking Sarasota Bay.

This year there were over 2,500 participants which did lead to some bunching up at some points – but more on that later. The temperature was great – low 60s. There was a bit of a wind to cool us down, so pretty good running conditions.

5K Family Affair – Fun and Medals to Boot

My running goal for 2018 was to skip marathons and focus on shorter races.  Saturday saw my first 5K of the season – the Achieva Run For Good 5K in downtown Sarasota.  It was a family affair with my son William and grandson Liam also participating.   The race was two laps around the park with a mix on cinder track, grass and concrete.  The race went well, finishing in 25:04 and taking 2nd place in the 60-64 age group.  Also William got his first running medal – placing 3rd place in his age group.

Next week we have the season’s first half marathon – the Sarasota Music Half Marathon.  Looking for a time between 2:00:00 and 2:15:00.  Let’s see what happens.

 

Another Painful Marathon – why do we do it?

This weekend was the Disney Marathon weekend which is the high point of the RunDisney calendar with 4 days of races from kids runs to the full marathon.  It is a big affair with over 50,000 participating across the weekend.  This was also the 25th anniversary of the marathon.  In usual Disney fashion, it was an over the top affair – multiple fireworks displays at the start, a Disney hit being played from each of the 25 years being played as each wave took off.  Then of course there were the characters photo ops throughout the run – a Disney staple.  The only thing Disney couldn’t control was the weather which was another cold one by Florida standards.

This was my second marathon, last year being my first, and I was psyched going in.  I thought I had trained well, worked on my nutrition and had set a game plan for pace throughout the race.   Marathons have a great way of humbling you!