Saturday, December 6, 2014

Florida A1A Half Marathon


I'm in Florida for 48 hours for the very happy wedding occasion of my company's Chief Connector!   This morning I headed out on the scenic A1A for a run, knowing I'd do 8, or maybe 10 miles toward the Runabout Sports 100 mile December Challenge. Impulsively I thought wouldn't it be FUN to do my own half marathon? (Well, to quote something I read somewhere, it was fun...until it wasn't.)

(Umm...Garmin...you might want to recalculate that supposed1630 foot elevation gain.)

Now that I'm done, of course in hindsight I will say it was fun. I saw at least 100 cyclists out in small groups, a lot of walkers, and a few runners.  I waved or said good morning to everyone I could.

I saw a lot of mansions, yachts, and expensive sports cars and thought about how no mansion, yacht, or expensive sports car could ever satisfy me more than a good swim, bike, or run!

At the half way point I stopped to take a selfie on this bridge and met Thor, a triathlete who lives in NJ and has a marketing firm in NYC. We had a nice race chat about races, warm temps, and work, then parted to finish our respective runs.


The drawbridge was up over the intercoastal waterway, and frankly I was glad for the excuse to take a little break! The bridge itself is a metal mesh and as I ran over it I imagined what if one of the little grates was loose and I feel through into the water?! The things I think of when I run....crazy.


To the nice man who told me I looked "energetic" at mile 10. THANK YOU. I needed that because I was feeling anything but.

At 13.1 miles, like a pot of gold at the end of my run rainbow, I found myself at a tiny hole-in-the-wall market where I stocked up on snacks and drinks at reasonable non-hotel prices. SCORE!

I hope your day is bringing adventure and proverbial pots of gold too!