Fall Running Season

So its starting to become more fall like here in Florida.  While the rest of the country starts to hibernate, here in Florida the running season picks up steam.

I have run in a few races over the last couple of months, but starting this weekend my half marathon season starts.

In August I ran in the Fort Hamer Bridge 10k.

 










This was a pretty strong 10k for me, especially since it didn't even start until 8AM on a Saturday in August.  I was able to complete it in 1:09:39.  For me, it was the first race of my fall racing season.

Following a weekend in Baltimore over Labor Day weekend that didn't include any running, I came back and ran in the PB&J 10k in Clearwater on September 22nd.  This was the second year of this race and its a tough one over the Clearwater Memorial Causeway and back.  It was a warm morning, but I was still able to complete the 10k in 1:15:24.

The next weekend was filled with racing.  On Saturday, September 29th I ran in the Thin Mint Sprint 5k and the Tagalong Trot 1 Miler benefiting the Girl Scouts. 
For the 5k I was intending to take it slower, but I ended up running a strong 5k (for me) finishing in 32:51.  I  then ran the 1 miler in 9:45.  Because of the type of race it is I actually ended up with a decent finishing place of 10th of 27 for my age group.

The next day, September 30th I ran in the  4th Annual Fort Desoto 15k.  This was a hot day for a race on a race course with almost no shade.  I pushed through and finished in 1:51:45, which I was pretty happy with.

As I said earlier, this weekend starts the Half Marathon portion of my race schedule.  I will be running in my 59th lifetime Half Marathon at the Halloween Halfathon at Fort Desoto in Florida.  I am very undertrained, but I am going to fight through it and take one more step towards my 100th Half, which I want to finish in 2021.

InknBurn clothing

After running for several years, Jenny found a clothing brand called InknBurn and suggested I try it.  It was almost Haloween in 2016.  There was a kit that was designed to look like the Joker from Batman.  I decided to get the shorts and Tech Shirt.  I wore them for the first time during a Half Marathon in St. Petersburg, FL.

After that race, I was hooked on InknBurn.  I started looking for as many of the products as I could.

 

My collection has grown from that single "Joker" outfit to include many more Tech shirts, singlets and long sleeve shirts.

I have my favorites, but all of the InknBurn items I have are special to me.  The designs are so unique that they always catch people's attention and are a great conversation piece.  They are also great for running and other exercises because they breathe well and are cool in hot weather and warm in cold weather.

 

I have worn InknBurn for every race I have run since the first day I wore it.  Because the items are so colorful and look so great I wear them for regular everyday activities too, including trips to Disney World and even to work!

My experience with InknBurn is not unique, but their products have become something I reach for all the time and is a brand that I would highly recommend to anyone!

Tampa Independence Run 5k

On July 1, 2018 I ran in the Tampa Independence Run 5k.  It was a hot Sunday morning.  The race started at 8AM, which is a couple of hours later than I'd like in the Tampa heat. 
The race was at Al Lopez Park, which has a nice 2 lap course for the 5k and there was also a 10k for this event. 
We hit packet pickup at 7AM and browsed the vendors at the race.  There was a table for Marvel Studios so we stopped by.  We posted a photo of the Ant Man and The Wasp movie poster to Facebook and got a free t-shirt and a pass to see a preview of the movie tomorrow night.  That was a good score in my book! We also stopped into the table for the Tampa Tarpons baseball team, which is the Class A team for the Yankees.  I won a ticket for a free game ticket.
We started right at 8:05 and I was able to get a decent pace going pretty quickly.  On the course at the water stops, there were wet sponges.  I breezed through the first mile at about a 10:14 pace.  Just past the first mile the heat got to me a bit so I slowed my pace and started a run-walk interval.  At the second water stop I grabbed one of the wet sponges to combat the heat.  I completed the second mile in 10:45 so the heat got to me a bit.
The course was almost completely in the sun with minimal shade.  At mile 2 the sun was starting to be pretty powerful.  My pace slowed again and I was able to finish the 5k in 34:09. 
At the finish I grabbed my medal and looked for some water.  Remember it was already 82 degrees... 
I found that they were handing out little 5 ounce cups of warm water.  I grabbed a tiny cup of water and went to watch Jenny finish.  Once she crossed the finish line we found that they were out of water.  There were still many 10k runners out on the course.  We left, so I am not sure what happened, but I really hope they got more water very quickly.

I am not sure if I'd do this race again, mostly because of the heat and lack of water, but its nice to have a race locally in July.  It was also nice to have a race around Independence Day to wear my InknBurn flag singlet!

Covered Bridges Half Marathon June 3, 2018

Back in December Jenny and I were hovering over the registration button waiting for the Covered Bridges Half Marathon to become active.  Once it became active we registered as quickly as possible. The race sold out in about 14 minutes so we were lucky to get in.
Fast Forward to June 3rd and we were ready to run the race.  Since this is a point to point race we parked the car and took a bus to the start line.  Unfortunately, it was a school bus so I barely fit in the seat!
Once we were at the start line at the Suicide Six Ski Area we waited for the start.  It was a nice cool morning in the 50s so it was going to be great running weather.
We queued into the starting area and then we were off.  I had intended to take it slower than normal, but I felt really well so I decided to push quite a bit harder.

Feeling good at the start

 I rolled off the first couple of miles pretty solidly and felt really well.  I then made the decision to try to keep the pace I was running and see how it turned out.
Since the course was a net downhill I knew that there would be some areas where I could make up some time on the downhills.  There were a few slight inclines for the first several miles and we went through a little residential area of Woodstock.  Around mile 4 we went through the Middle Covered Bridge in Woodstock, Vermont which was actually the only covered bridge that the race actually goes through.

Going through the Covered Bridge

Once clear of the bridge we went into downtown Woodstock and then headed off by the Billings Farm and Museum.
We were then heading into some of the most rural areas of the course.  We went onto dirt roads and ran along the Ottauquechee River.  This part of the course took us by the Taftsville Covered Bridge.

We then continued on until Mile 8.  This was the biggest incline in the race.  The hill was only about an 80 foot incline, but it was extremely steep.  This was the one place I was dreading on the course.  I walked most of the hill and then once I created it we went back downhill even more and I was able to make up the extra time it took to walk up the hill.

I continued on through the small town of Quechee and ran bu the Quechee Lakes Resort.  I was calculating I should be able to finish in about 2:30 which would be my fastest time since 2014.  This part of the course was a series of rolling hills, but since I'm not used to hills I started crashing.  Around mile 10 with only a 5k left my pace started slipping.  I bombed out at my 11 and had to push hard to get the last couple miles finished.  I crossed the finish line in 2:34:03, whic was my second fastest Half of the year.

Cruising to the finish

Once I crossed the finish line and picked up my medal and shirt I went to the beer tent to enjoy some Harpoon Brewery beer.  The race also had some decent food including fruit, yogurt and cookies.
Once Jenny finished we went to find our car only to realize that the finish line wasn't actually where we parked before the race!  After about 5 minutes of looking we realized we had to take a bus to the parking area to get our car.
All in all the race was well organized and I would definitely do it again.

Lifetime Half #58 and State #10 completed!

Return to Blogging

I have neglected this blog for many years and its time to return to blogging.  I'll be posting recaps of races as well as anything else that interests me.
In the next day or so I'll be posting a recap of my latest race at the Covered Bridges Half Marathon in Vermont.