Disclaimer: I’m promoting Miami Marathon & half and I received an entry to the Tropical 5k as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews!

The expo was a lot of fun and the lines were long but moved quickly to get race bib and race shirt. I had to pick up my race stuff for Tropical 5k and Miami Marathon at the same time, and this year it seems like everyone went as soon as the expo opened up on Friday. In past years it has been quieter and less busy on opening day of the expo but that was different this year. Also the choice of donating your race shirt to a charity instead of picking it up to never wear it, a great and eco friendly choice! Lots of foods to try and I was able to get a pack of Honey Stingers for the race, although not my typical flavor. I got a bunch of crepes to go and found out later at home that Phoebe is a big fan of them now. Was able to get a Normatec leg massage and out of the expo by 2:30pm. I spent 2 & a half hours there and could’ve spent a couple more if I didn’t mind sitting in traffic on the way home.

Saturday morning – Arrived at Jungle Island and parked early, so early that the ticket machine wasn’t even dispensing parking tickets yet. I started walking over to the starting line about 45 min before the race started and luckily one of the buses saw me and stopped so I could get on for the rest of the walk. The air was cool and breezy but the rain had finally stopped from the night before. I said hello to a couple of friends in the corral before the race started. I reached the finish line and headed to the timing tent, my time was not showing up on the screen so I had to get it fixed by the timing guys before I left to check out the finishers party. I couldn’t stay and hang out because I had to get Phoebe to swim class and had to catch the bus back to Jungle Island so grabbed a couple snacks on the way out.

I love this race, it is my hometown race where I get to run through so many different neighborhoods/areas filled with memories for me. Going into this race I was feeling prepared but realized by the weather that I would need to slow down and not go for my A goal. Waking up early lately has been a struggle but wasn’t so difficult when I knew I had to run a marathon that morning, got up early and dressed and headed to AAA to park before the race. Went to the charity village and met up with one of my local run clubs for a pre race photo and then headed back to AAA to use a real bathroom before the race. The corral on race morning is abuzz with energy, you can feel all the excitement and anxiety. As usual I started the race a little fast but slowly eased back a bit and fell into a good pace for myself. Something that helped a long the way out of Miami Beach  was the athletes pushing the wheelchairs, one in particular kept playing Bon Jovi on a handheld speaker and would sing along with the song. Everyone who knows me, knows I am not a fan of Bon Jovi at all but the change in mood/music option helped me through that part of the race and almost brought tears to my eyes. Super inspiring and makes me think that maybe one day I could help and be pushing one of those wheelchairs to help someone achieve their goal of running a race even if they cannot walk.

Just before the half marathon split I was questioning myself as to if I could really finish the full marathon. I got in my head and finally talked myself out of it with the idea that the 2nd half would be fun and less crowded, I think I was just getting annoyed by all the elbows I was taking to the arm with the crowds. I was looking for the people that usually give out popscicles in Brickell but they didn’t seem to be there this year, that was a bummer. I drank from most of the water stops on the final 13.1 of the course and made sure to get all the free pineapple slices along the way, that really seems to help me, even more than the fuel I bring for myself.

Along the path to the Grove I thought about my grandma who recently died and how when I was running my first Miami marathon in 2014 she called me when I was 16 miles in and mentioned that it was going to rain. Sure enough right after I got off the phone with her it had started to ran and continued for the next 6 miles at least, a very soggy few miles. I thought about her while running by Mercy hospital, where she had gone a couple of times for dr appointments and mentioned them to me. It has been an emotional few months for my family with the loss of my grandma as well as her dog so those were a few things on my mind during those last few miles.

Once I saw that final bridge I knew the end was near and there was not much more time left of the race, which helped me that final energy to stop with the ultra marathon walk and run strategy that I was started to use and get across that finish line. Something I haven’t noticed in the past was this rug/soft mat just before the line, it really felt good to run on at the end!

Another great Miami Marathon weekend in the books, already registered for 2021 Miami Marathon and hope you register when it opens again in May!

Disclaimer: I’m promoting 305 Half as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews!

In less than 6 days I will be completing my 3 year race series to earn my “5” medal. This year it is sure to be a challenge for me as I am still recovering from having the flu last week. I usually go with the 2 hr pacer in this race but this year I think I am going to forego any pacers in hopes that I can find my own pace easily and not burn myself out on the first major bridge/causeway of the race. I do not want to end up in the med tent or riding in the back of an ambulance away from the race finish line. Right now I will have to start thinking what exactly I need to make my race the least painful this year.

I have been running this course since 2013, it is probably the reason that I keep signing up for this race, despite my dislike for the course lol. It was my first half marathon ever, the start of my long distance running. Back then it was part of an Allstate insurance sponsored race series.

I have wrote race reviews nearly every single year, minus the year I ran it pregnant and the year after I believe. My fastest time on this course was 1:54 back in 2016, right after I had Phoebe.

It really is a nice course and often during the race people will stop on the bridge and take pictures of the bay and sunrise. The race starts right beside the beach on Ocean Drive and ends on the beach with a short tour of the downtown area. I advise you to bring along some sunglasses for the route back to the beach as the sun will be out in full force by that time.

There is still time to register for this race with a huge beach party at the end – Use code “BIBRAVE305” for $5 off half only

Have you heard of any of the above? Maybe you have heard of Bibrave, it’s a site where you can go and find races and look up reviews on them. Its like TripAdvisor for the running world, pretty cool, right? Now what about Strava? It’s basically a social media platform for atheltes, it tracks your runs/swims/cycles and you can add friends and give kudos to friends after their runs/activities post. Plus lots of challenges are available on there, some where you can win discounts for athletic clothing or other fun things. And run streak, basically a streak is a set of days that you run everyday a minimum of a mile for as long as possible. For this streak I will be running the whole month of May. I will unofficially refer to this streak as my birthday month run streak and hope that you will join me.

Running obviously counts as does walking, just make sure to get out or on a treadmill at least one mile a day for the month of May to complete this challenge and get a strava account. The free account will work for this account but if you want to see more stats on your runs/walks you can get a free trial of summit for Strava.

Step 1: Make a Strava account and join the Bibrave Run Club : https://www.strava.com/clubs/bibrave

You can link your smart/gps watch or enter your miles manually.

Step 2: Make a plan and get other friends to join you for the challenge. Getting outside or meeting a friend at the gym for a run/walk on the treadmill is a great way to get those endorphins pumping and make you feel a lot better.

Step 3: Upload your run/or walk stats on Bibrave Strava page and prepare to be motivated by looking at other members stats.

My reason for doing this challenge:  I need some accountability lately as I have been slacking on my running, first from my treadmill breaking and having to wait on a new one to be delivered. That really set me back with my early morning runs and then falling on my hip after tripping on an uneven sidewalk, that made me a bit unsteady about running. I slowed my 50 mile weeks to 40 and then 30 miles instead but I am ready to get back to those higher mileage weeks as well as deal with some lingering heel issue. Last time I did a long run streak was April 2016-December 2016. I actually felt awesome and didn’t get sick at all during that time. I think the only reason I stopped was because life got in the way and it was too hard to sustain further but I definitely look forward to a one month run streak this year. Who knows I may even keep it going for longer than a month, depending on how it goes. Also look for my running updates on Instagram : http://www.instagram.com/organicgirl22

It’s only one month and you can definitely get 31 miles for the month of May without hardly trying, plus you might create a new healthy habit without even knowing it. Hope you will join me and add me as a friend on Strava too! Who’s in?! Comment below and let me know!