January:
I started the year by running the Disney World Marathon.
Two weeks later I completed the marathon at the Clearwater Distance Classic. By completing these races I qualified for the Marathon Maniacs, which is something I attempted in 2017 but due to a race being canceled due to weather I had to start it over again and this time I accomplished it. The finish times for these races were not nearly as good as I had hoped, but as long as I cross the line it counts!
Two weeks later I completed the marathon at the Clearwater Distance Classic. By completing these races I qualified for the Marathon Maniacs, which is something I attempted in 2017 but due to a race being canceled due to weather I had to start it over again and this time I accomplished it. The finish times for these races were not nearly as good as I had hoped, but as long as I cross the line it counts!
February:
In early February I ran in the Best Damn Race in Safety Harbor, FL. It was my fourth time running this race and I have always done well at this race and this year I had my best finish time in 3 years. It felt good and was a great start to the year.
Later in the month, we went down to Naples, FL and ran in the Paradise Coast Half Marathon. It was a warm day, but it was a strong run.
March:
In March we went to New Orleans to run in the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. We did the 5k and the Half Marathon to complete the Remix Challenge. After running this race for each of the last 2 years I have really come to love New Orleans as a city and cannot wait to go back again.
We got back home in time to run the Florida Shamrock Halfathon at Ft. Desoto in St. Petersburg, FL, which is one of the races we run each year. I had a really slow finish time, but I finished and added another half to my total.
April:
We started April by traveling to Raleigh, NC for the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. This was the final year for the Rock 'n' Roll Raleigh Half Marathon. We did the 5k and Half Marathon this weekend. This was possibly the coldest half marathon I have ever run. It was 32 degrees and wet. I also underestimated the hills at this race and these conditions really kicked my butt! I finished but struggled and was happy to be able to enjoy some time in the Raleigh/Durham area including taking in a Durham Bulls game.
April also included the Star Wars - The Dark Side Half Marathon weekend at Walt Disney World. Jenny and I ran the 10k and Half Marathon. This was the third year we have run in this event and Disney had made it better each year. I treat this race as a fun run and try to take as many pictures as possible.
May:
This month was a light month. We completed 2 local 5k races but continued to train and allowed myself to recover a bit.
June:
June started with a trip to Vermont to run in the Covered Bridges Half Marathon. It was great to be back where we used to live in the Upper Valley. The race was in the Woodstock, VT area and was a very scenic course. It was surprisingly flat for the area and I enjoyed the race and would definitely rn it again. We also got to travel to a few areas in Vermont that we had never gotten to visit before.
July:
This was a very light month for running. I ran in one 5k for the month, and then took most of the month off to recover.
In July I also became an ambassador for InknBurn, which is my go-to choice for running wear. You will see it in most of my pictures!
August:
I wanted to run in at least one race each month so I ran in a 10k and actually did well considering the race didn't start until 8AM on a hot August day.
September:
September is the kick-off for my running season and over the last 2 weekends I ran in a 10k in Clearwater, a 5k and 1 miler in Safety Harbor and a 15k in St. Petersburg. It was a good start to the season and it felt great to get back out on the course.
October:
October had one Half Marathon, the Halloween Halfathon in St. Petersburg. It was a hot day but I finished and enjoyed the day.
November:
November was pretty much a crazy month! We started the month by traveling to England and Iceland. We actually experienced snow during our layover in Iceland on our way to England.
We main purpose of the trip was to go to our friend's wedding in Towcester, England. There were several other friends there and we got to visit Bletchley Park as well as in London.
We then went to Iceland for a couple of days where we got to experience a real Iceland hot spring and we tried to see the Northern Lights.
Following our trip we returned home to run in the St. Pete Run Fest where we ran the 5k and Half Marathon. It's only the second year of this race and the organizers have created a great event.
Then on Thanksgiving, we ran in the Tampa Bay Times Turkey Trot, which we have run for seven years now.
The month ended with my seventh year running in the Space Coast Half Marathon. This was my first half marathon back in 2012 and its been great to run it each year. This year I felt strong and finished with my best finish time in four years!
December:
We tried running a race we hadn't run before called the Florida West Coast Half Marathon in Sarasota. The weather was pretty bad for this race. We had strong winds and rain during the race which did affect my time, but I was able to complete my final Half Marathon of the year.
My final race of 2018 was the Hot Chocolate 15k. It was a beautiful day and perfect conditions. I was able to PR the race by more than 6 minutes!
Here's my race tally for 2018:
Marathons: 2
Half Marathons: 11
15k: 2
10K: 4
5k: 11
I ended the year with a total of 62 lifetime Half Marathons and added 2 new states for a total of 10 states where I have completed a half Marathon.
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