Kind bars

Ready for a day of racing.

I always love races that start and/or end on South Beach. Great views and a walk on the beach afterwards is a very peaceful ending to a race. I made myself a little of a challenge by signing up for this race and a holiday 5k later in the evening. Kind of like how Disney sets up challenges, but usually on different days. Getting to the race was a bit of a headache, I knew I didn’t have to be as early as the half marathoners but also didn’t want to arrive too late and not find any parking. There was a major accident on the McArthur causeway just before the bridge so that slowed everyone down considerably to get to the beach. Luckily I got through the mess in enough time to find a metered parking space, and the meters didn’t start till 9am, which was perfect since this race started at 7:30 and I knew I would be done before 8:30am.

Miami Beach.

It was a very windy morning and so strong that it was blowing the port a potty doors open almost hitting some runners who were walking by. I ran into a friend of mine who was running the 5k while her husband ran the half marathon, we talked for awhile till it was time to line up. The 5k & quarter marathon distance runners started at the same time, while the half marathoners started an hour earlier giving them a head start. Although while running the quarter marathon we did see some half marathoners heading back the opposite way we were going. This course took us up Ocean Drive and then around the Miami Beach Convention Center and through the golf course and up the boardwalk. I had no goal in this race, as I just wanted to finish strong and not kill myself since I had a 5k later on that night. It was starting to get really hot by the time I finished the race, so I walked over to Nikki Beach where they had the food and goodies. I grabbed some stuff and headed to the beach to watch the waves while I ate and watched the half marathoner run by on the sand. This race was dedicated to my friend Erik.

Live Ultimate medal.

After doing 2 other “colorful” runs this year I was a bit tired of being thrown colored cornstarch at me but decided to do this one last one for the year. Plus I really like this official Color Run as it has great sponsors and is very well organized. I knew it would not disappoint and I was running with my friend German, who I promised to not leave behind for once. Sometimes I can be a bit too competitive so since this race was untimed I figured this would be a perfect race to help me relax with my marathon training and do a fun run.

Just did what the sign said, about 50x to get this one good shot.

The colors all blended to gray.

Color Throw!

Geared in our mostly white attire we set off in one of the first waves of the run. Before we got to the starting line they had passed out Color Run bandanas to wear or cover our faces while we ran through the colored dust. I wore mine as a headband but smartly German used his like a bandit and covered his nose and mouth when running through the color stations. It was held at the Homestead Speedway which was a nice change, sadly we did not run on the race track but rather through the surrounding area. Such a fun run and kept it at a slowish but moderate pace the entire time and even managed to do some backwards running while trying to take dusty pictures. German did this run without walking once, usually he takes small walk breaks during a 5k but not this time, so I was very proud of him. Afterwards we hung around and grabbed some Kind bars and Edy’s popsicles to cool down before the massive color throwing. Since of course we were starving when we left there, we hit the nearest Ihop which was interesting as we looked like crazy colorful aliens. Everybody in the place turned around and stared at us most of the time we were there, but some people asked us if we had done a color run. So that was a lot of fun, trying to explain why we were full of color.

At Ihop for a post race breakfast.

Organic girl's Blog

Live Ultimate South Beach Quarter Marathon – December 14, 2013.

Race Recap – The Color Run – October 12, 2013