Garden of Life Palm Beaches Marathon and Half – December 11, 2022

Disclaimer: I received entry to Palm Beaches Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Ambassador. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Ambassador, and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!

I used to run this race every year, 2013-2017 I never missed a year but then life happened and I stopped running it every year, plus I believe a few years it was canceled. I have never attempted the marathon option of this race but 2 loops of the same thing does not interest me much. I will probably stick to the half marathon option in future years. When I signed up for this race a few months ago I had an ultra marathon schedule for 3 weeks before and was not sure how my legs would feel for this race. But when the ultra got canceled I kind of slacked off with training. I went into this race really not knowing how I was going to feel or do for time and just looking at having fun and possibly running with my Bibrave teammate, Sarah.

I drove up to West Palm Beach on Saturday afternoon after my daughter’s swim class to pick up my race packet, as well as Sarah’s race packet. The expo was at the Meyer Amphitheater, right along the waterfront in downtown West Palm, it was in a large white tent and the weather was not too hot with the ocean breeze that afternoon. There were no lines to pick up my race stuff and all of the staff was super helpful so the whole pickup process took around 5 minutes, first to pick up race bibs, then race shirts and then the huge goodie bag of Garden of Life vitamins! Definitely a stress-free packet pickup, which is usually madness for other races in the South Florida area! Also there was a 4Ocean.com booth with beaded bracelets made from plastic retrieved from the ocean/rivers and some stainless steel cups so of course my daughter grabbed a couple of bracelets and hasn’t taken them off since. Overall it was a good race expo experience.

After the expo we headed to Jaxson’s in Dania Beach to celebrate a friend’s birthday and carb load with some fries and a giant strawberry sundae. These are the kind of bad nutrition decisions I make the day before longer distance races, but it all ended up fine and I had no tummy troubles for the race the next day, haha. I also tried to get to sleep a little earlier but that did not happen exactly but sometimes it’s worth it to lose a little sleep the night before a race. I had less pre race anxiety than I usually have, maybe I wasn’t too worried about running a half marathon again or maybe it was just I was dreading that long lonely drive up at 4am lol. My last half marathon did not go well but that was due to a very stressful situation and I was looking to redeem myself a little with this race.

Race morning –

Woke up at 3:15am in order to get out of the house by 3:45am to start the drive up to WPB, that 1 hr and 15 minute drive to the start line. My pre race food was a vanilla Honey Stinger waffle and a Just Egg folded in an english muffin. Also I usually do not drink Nuun before races, usually after but it seemed to work very well for me this time so I will have to add that to my pre race routine. I messaged Sarah which parking garage I parked in and she parked right beside me. We gathered our stuff and headed to find a bathroom, the last time I did this race there was an actual bathroom open but this year all we had was porta potties so we had to use those. We headed to the start line with about 10 minutes till 6am and it wasn’t too crowded like other races, it started getting crowded around 2 minutes before 6am. The race did not start on time but was around 7-8 minutes late but the sun was still hidden so that was okay. I quickly tucked in behind the 3:55 marathon pacer because I always start too quickly and was testing myself to see how long I could hold onto to that sub 9 minute pace. The weather was still slightly cool, around 67 lol, that’s cool weather for us down here. The pacer was super entertaining with all the info about the surrounding landmarks and running stories so it was easy to be distracted from the actual running. I did not stop at water stations until around mile 3-4. Just before mile 5 I heard and then spotted one of my favorite running friends, Harolyn! She was cowbelling and yelling at everyone, I detoured quickly and gave her a huge hug before sprinting back to the pace group. She got a pic of the moment and it’s hilarious to see the looks of the other runners in the pic. She biked the course on her daughter’s bicycle and caught me a few times along the way, like a personal race photographer 🙂 Miles 6-10 were kind of uneventful except for a part where we went under a little bridge, that was different and very cool under there. Around mile 10 there was a sign for mile 23 for the marathoners and some guys in front of me turned around with panic in their faces and asked “Is this still the half marathon?” LOL I assured them it was just the half marathon unless they did another loop for the marathon and they ran on. I do admit I took a couple short walk breaks along those last few miles. As we ran through the 12 mile area, where there was a relay team exchange I gave a high five to another runner friend, Stephanie of The Cookie Runner blog. The last mile always seems like it will be the longest but always seems to go by so fast. Once I saw my friend, Harolyn cheering me on and urging me to go faster just before hitting the finishing chute I sped up and passed a couple of runners before crossing the finish line. I was impressed with my somewhat fast finish of 2:00:17, much better than March’s half marathon. I collected my medal, water and Baptist Health ice cold cooling towel and headed back to find Harolyn. Found her right away and we went to the food tent to collect some post race food, this race had pancakes, sausage, bacon freshly cooked by Harolyn’s neighbor lol. I did not partake in the not vegetarian options but did grab some pancakes and a banana and bagel before leaving the food tent. They also had mimosas if you want a little bubbly after your race! Since I parked so close to the start/finish line I made it to my car very quickly to head back home.

Now currently still recovering with some hamstring/calve soreness but already for my next races, this time in Miami, so closer to home and allowing more sleep time! Definitely recommend this race if you want good weather and a fun place to stay before/after the race, there is so many more places to eat and stuff to do in WPB than I realized before. Plus that giant holiday sandcastle is nice to see too!

QUESTION: Who else has ran this race and what is your opinion of this double loop for marathon distance course?

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305 Half Marathon 2022

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

Two years ago this was my final race before the Covid pandemic hit the US. The last time things were “normal”, before we were hoarding toilet paper and covering half our faces. Who would think that 2 years later is it is still not the same but running races is getting a bit back to normal again.

Packet pick up –

Super easy, I went to the first day of packet pick up when it was by my house so very convenient and so fast. Showing the QR code as soon as I got to the head of the line (there was no line when I went) and was quickly handed my bag of goodies and 2 bottles of jelly bean vitamins with my bib. One of the fastest packet pickups ever!

Race morning –

Parking –

Parked in one of the designated parking garages that I always park in when doing races in South Beach. Unfortunately since it is also considered Spring Break in Miami the parking rate was $20! That sucked big time and now I know what my parking strategy will be next year for this race, and it will not include this parking garage.

Bathroom/Pre race stuff

Porta potties were plentiful and most of them under lighting, always a good thing. Got in and out in a second, no lines for these when I went. There was also a little kiosk for free cafecito, because that is so Miami. I went to the packet pick up area to meet up with my fellow BibRave pros: Fernando, Phil, Apryl and Sarah. Found Phil and Felipe first and then walked closer to the starting line and found Apryl! Sarah arrived a little later because she was doing the 5k and running for two 😉 so we didn’t get to see her for the pre race photo.

Entertainment on the course/Race

I do not run with music anymore so I rely on the interesting sights around me and the on course entertainment, there were a couple of djs on the course and great volunteers at the water stations. Always thank the volunteers! I knew early on this race was going to be a slow on, I had a stressful week and was not carbing up enough or training well for this one. I didn’t have any long runs at all between this race and Miami Marathon and it was apparent at mile 4. The wind was okay on the first part of the race, but around mile 7 I got the headwind and it was torturous. The bridges ate my legs up and then I pulled my left glute on the 2nd bridge, after that I knew I would be walking up those bridges and feeling the ache in my glute for the rest of the race. This is the first injury I have had during a race and it was pure grit keeping me moving to that finish line when all I wanted to do was walk the rest of the way. I finished the race at the same pace as I did it the year that was I was pregnant and made a port a potty stop along the way, yikes! Anyways a wise friend told me that I should not focus on the time since when its all said and done we all get the same race shirt and same medal but to be proud to achieve a finish. I gotta remember that more and enjoy the journey and the things I see along the way. Luckily I only seen one person down due to the heat I believe, at the 12.3 mile area but she was being helped by police. That finishing chute always feels good even when you are not feeling so well with pains lol. Got my medal and collected the post race food, and headed to get my pineapple series race medal. So grateful for the gear check bag they handed me to put all my post race foods and bonus beach mat in. Took a race pic with two of the BibRave pros, Phil and Fernando and headed to the beach to try to get a good pic of my medals. It was pretty windy so my medals were blowing all over the place while I was trying to get that good shot. Met up with some of my 1k teammates: The prez and the mayor of Miami running.

Overall always one of my favorite races, and this course was my first half marathon back in 2013. Challenging but doable if you actually train for it. Next year I will be back and hopefully trained better for it.

Check out my previous posts about this race series:

305 Half 2020

305 Half 2019

305 Half 2018

Are you a fan of hilly races or do you like flat and fast courses better? Let me know in the comments!

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Miami Marathon Weekend 2022

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

Mid March 2020 everything shutdown due to the start of the covid 19 pandemic, I had just completed my 2020 Miami Marathon and all races went on hiatus till mid 2021. Miami Marathon 2021 had to be canceled due to the pandemic with options to defer and race your chosen race virtually. I took the option of deferral and the virtual option, Running a marathon a treadmill is not all the fun like running in person in a race atmosphere. Luckily I signed up with my deferral code as soon as the race opened in April 2021 and did not have to join the 5000 participants on the waiting list. They minimized the amount of runners to keep it from getting too crowded. It did help with crowding and overall enjoyment of the experience, especially with the pandemic still a problem.

My training over the summer/fall did not go always as planned, in August 2021 I got the covid-19 delta strain and was slow to come back to my running. My lungs were just not the same and I lost a lot of endurance during the weeks I was recovering. I knew I had a marathon to train for but I was not going to overextend myself to do it, I always remember my former coach saying “Its better to be undertrained than overtrained.” I got up to about 14 mile long runs in my fall training block but relied a bit on a 6 hr hilly ultra to help with some hill training in early January 2022.

Race Expo

This year the race expo was at the Miami Beach Convention Center again, it hadn’t been there since 2015! I felt like in the past years the expo was bigger but I heard through the grapevine that a lot of vendors dropped out last minute due to covid restrictions and such. Perhaps next year it will be bigger and better as we covid things get a little better. Anyways traffic into Miami beach was a bit more than typical beach traffic but once I got by the convention center, parking at the nearby parking garage was easy and quick. I got to the expo about 10 minutes after it opened, and it was packed! I guess everyone had the same idea as I did to get there early lol. Oh well, there were some long lines for specific bib numbers and the tropical 5k but overall the lines move pretty quickly for bib retrieval and there were no lines for shirt pick up. Thanks to Bibrave I got entry to the VIP Experience and compared to past years it was not quite the same, smaller area and not as much gym equipment as in the past and no massage boots :'(. That really was something I was looking forward to, but moving on, the swag for the VIPs was pretty good, We got a small messenger bag with Miami Marathon labeling and a soft bomber style jacket embroidered with Miami Marathon. I walked around the expo once and then returned to the VIP area where I ran into a friend of mine, one of the 20 year streakers, Tony Jones. I was interested in the new thing in the VIP lounge, last time there was nail art and this year it was fast braids. I chose the two french braids style and had a nice conversation with the stylist/salon owner about hair stuff and how she was not a runner but a yogi. After I got my fast braids I walked around the expo more and checked out the vendors. One that really stood out to me was the Sneaker Impact booth where I talked to the owner about his company and how they are saving our sneakers from landfills to send to other countries to provide shoes for adults and children to be able to attend work and school. I will be packing and shipping him some shoes this weekend! I tried some food samples from the eat street area of the expo and walked over to the Miami Marathon museum area where they had all the previous year medals on display and old flyers/articles of past years winners and original course. Also a wall to display the 20 year streakers, very cool, wish I would’ve been part of that but 20 years ago I was not a runner. The official merchandise area was bigger than in the past and it was very busy, I bought my daughter a Future Finisher shirt, as I have been doing since before she was born (It was actually the way I announced my pregnancy to my family, Miami Marathon onesie). Ran into a lot of runner friends who I had not seen in the 2 years or more since the pandemic began. I spent about 3 hours walking around and checking out the stuff before heading home to rest my legs a little before Saturday’s 5k.

Tropical 5k

This year I did not park at Jungle Island, which I had been doing for the past few years due to the closeness of the start line, I parked in Miami Beach. They had shuttles from 2 nearby parking garages to the start line so I got to the parking garage early and met up with my friend, Caroline. Fun fact: We have been IG friends for a few years I’d say but I hadn’t met her till race morning. We walked to the buses and chatted till the race started. Plenty of port a potties at the starting line and remarkably no long lines when I went. Ran into JetSetSarah (local runner/travel writer/fashionista) as we walked around and a couple of others before we headed towards the front of the corral. We got there 45 minutes before start time and it was a good decision because it started getting crowded early, I did see a lot of masks before we started which was a good sign that everyone was keeping safe. I had mine on when it started getting crowded and put it in my pocket when we started. I tried to hold back but my first mile was obviously too quick and I had to force myself to slow down the next 2 miles, why is it that 5ks feel so much harder than longer distances? Is it because we have to run that much faster? Probably. I had an ok finish line for running the day before a marathon and collected my medal and bottle of water. Can I just say I love that the bottled water was in a recyclable bottle this year BUT those bottles were impossible to open with sweaty post run hands! I had to ask a very quick runner who was just spectating to open my bottle before I continued on towards the beach. I took a couple pics of my medal on the beach when I walked to the Nikki Beach area where the finish line party usually is and found it deserted. Found Carolina again and we found the tiny area where they were giving some post race snacks at and I collected some cookies/pretzels and a banana before we walked back to our cars in the parking garage. Fun race but I had to rush on home to take my daughter to swim class, #momlife. Later I took her to a nearby carnival and she rode some rides with a friend while I carb loaded with an elephant ear and took way too many steps.

Miami Marathon

I woke up very early, 3:05am (haha) and gathered all my stuff that I laid out the night before. I had my waffle and water before I left. I know they say to never do anything new on race day but I will admit I wore some Oiselle pocket joggers that I had just got a few days before, so they were brand new, unwashed and unworn yet. I mean I have worn the style for a couple races now and knew they were going to work out well for me for this race as they do not ride up, the best! The only chaffing I got was from the line logo tag on the bottom of the shorts. I did use KT tape Chafe Safe on my body before I left the house also and that stuff really works! Got to the FTX arena (formerly AAA/Home of Miami Heat) by 4:15am and parked for $5. I am so glad that they give this as a parking option as all the other parking options around that area are $10-$20 on race morning, the only thing is that you have be parked before 5am since the starting corrals are right in front. Relaxed in the car for 15 minutes and then started over to the charity village/team tent area. Hit the port a potties and met up with my BibravePro teammate, Sarah, who is also part of 1k run club. We headed over to the 1k tent by the water, later when the sun was up, it was a great view of the bay. I dropped off my bag of extra clothes and car keys at the team tent and chatted with a couple of runner friends. Then Sarah and I walked over to the FTX arena to use a real toilet before the race started, the first bathroom we walked into had a bit of a line so we went to the next one where we had the whole bathroom to ourselves, we hurried to our B corral (another perk of the VIP experience) and found Phil, our BibRave teammate.

The excited energy in the corral was palpable and everyone started hopping up and down to warm up, and we were off soon after 6:10 or so. An earlier start is a great, because once that sun comes out, it really gets you. Luckily I was already at mile 5 or so before the sun really started coming out. That first mile and running over the McArthur is quite an experience, especially after many years of running this race I know to expect the bagpipe playing at the top of the bridge. Couple of friends said hi as they passed on the first few miles of the race. There were a couple of runners who took some spills, one right at the start, about 15 feet after crossing the starting line and another one on those armadillo bumps on the Venetian. I hope they were okay, I kept well away from those armadillo bumps while I was running. I started taking in water around mile 6 of the race, and hit every other water stop till the halfway point of the race. Around mile 12 when all the spectators are screaming “almost there” Umm nope, there were a couple of runners sprawled out on the sidewalks, I’m guessing heat related since the humidity was at 90% at the start. I really tried not to get that into my head as I rounded the corner at the course split and headed for the big bridge on Brickell. There used to be spectators who would bring ice pops in a cooler around the Fortune building, where Brickell Run Club meets but I haven’t seen them in a couple of years, if you are reading this, please come back and give us ice pops at that corner again!! Thankfully two years ago the course was changed up a little bit so we are not running into direct sunlight at mile 23 and under the Rickenbacker bridge but instead running under it at mile 16. At mile 17 I knew one of my 1k teammates and overall running angel, Betty would be out there supporting the FDC team and runners so I stopped by for a quick hug and some kind of sugar, she gave me a cup of coca cola (I never drink soda!) and a mini bag of skittles. Seems like the cola helped me, must’ve been that caffeine!

By the time I reached Coconut Grove I was incorporating my ultra race technique (run/walk) and stopping at all the water stops. At mile 22-23 one of the police officers must’ve been pretty bored by the time we passed through because he was joking that if we walked he would give us a ticket and said “I’m watching you [bib number]”. That kept me moving a little but I walked right after we got passed him, Ha! Once we got out of the neighborhoods and closer to the finish line, the buildings started blocking out the sun and it got cooler and shady. Just before my final mile I heard my name and looked over to see my friend Carolina waving at me. I waved and determinedly kept running through the looooooong finish chute. Saw Phil waving from the VIP stands before I finished too. It really is an experience at the end of the race when you are running around that final curve and all those strangers are cheering you on, you really get a little feeling of how it feels to be a rockstar at that moment. So much fun! Got my medal and continued walking to get a water from a friendly volunteer who kindly opened it for me when I mentioned how the bottled were hard to open. Afterwards I collected my vegetarian DeliverLean meal and headed to the 1k tent to celebrate. Dropped my Nuun tablet in the water bottle and kept walking around. Took some pics with my new medal and then walked over to the VIP tent area to check if I could get a leg massage. The line was long for the massages and talked to some others in the line who came up with a good suggestion, there should be a line for half marathoners and full marathoners. Definitely both groups need a good massage after, but marathoners more so because of that extra distance. Picked up a vegan meal from the tent and started walking to the FTX arena to my car, about 2 hrs after I finished the race. There were lots of people dancing along to the entertainers on the stage and the beer tent was looking full when I left around noon.

I’m already signed up for the 2023 Miami Marathon! Hurry and sign up soon before the 2500 early access spots are taken! The race is going to be capped at 18,000 and you definitely want to be Miami Famous!

It’s Not Miami Without YOU! Who’s in for Miami Marathon 2023? Drop me a comment below or just tell me I’m crazy for running 26.2 miles in this heat. LOL.

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Grandma’s Marathon Virtual 26.2 : Why I am running

Disclaimer: I received an entry to Grandma’s Marathon virtual marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

GMA6

This year I started the year hopeful and thinking maybe I could run a marathon a month, whether the race distance or during a race and I started at the beginning of January by running a 6 hr ultra marathon, completing the marathon distance and then almost hitting 30 miles as well. Things changed soon afterwards, my grandmother took a turn for the worst, she had been in the hospital since right before Thanksgiving. There would be good days and then bad days with her recovery/health and on January 10th, she lost the battle and passed away. Most may not know but this was the closest grandparent I had and my last living one. Sure we would argue sometimes but we did get along as well. I remember during my first marathon back in 2014 she called me when I was around mile 16 to tell me that she saw on the news that it would start raining soon. I said “Uh grandma, I’m still running, but I don’t have too much more to go, 10 miles” and got off the phone with her. I did put my phone away in my plastic baggie and just in time too, the rain started pouring down for the next 6 miles or so of that race. She only attended one of my races but that was due to her own transportation issues, it was a good race too, an inaugural race and I ended up winning 1st in my age group. She would always like to see the different medals I earned after races. She is the reason I am doing this race.

I ran a 5k the week after the ultra (not a great idea) I had dead legs. A few weeks later I ran Tropical 5k and Miami Marathon without any issues. February was uneventful till mid/late month and that’s when my daughter got Influenza B (the flu!) and a few days later I got it as well. Not a lot of running happened that month, 10 days later I ran the 305 half marathon and did fairly well for still recovering. Mid March brought my city into lock down due to Covid-19 and my only outing was restricted to grocery shopping. When the gyms closed the sidewalks became crowded and running outside became somewhat of an obstacle course. More treadmill running happened for me also because my daughter’s preschool closed and I started teaching her from home while also working a full time job. Running takes away a little of the stress I am experiencing now with extra work and more jobs than usual.

Training for this race has been mainly done on the treadmill and even though I haven’t ran any distances over 14 miles so far in this training block I am fairly certain I will survive the race. I used to train for marathons with multiple 20 milers but in the last few years I haven’t had as much time for such long distances and I have done okay during my marathons. I am planning on running this virtual marathon on the treadmill so that will be a new challenge for me. I have only ever ran a 22 miler on the treadmill once back in 2013 when I was training for my first marathon!

Should be fun to earn this medal not only because of who I am running this race for but also because this is a very well known race in the running community. I personally have never been to Minnesota but I plan on making a trip there one day when it is safe to travel again and hope to run this race in real life. Some friends of mine have ran this race before and have given me tips on the course and how to adjust the treadmill incline for more accurate running conditions.

gma5

I plan on filling a couple of reusable water bottles with water and Nuun and putting my Honey Stinger chews within reach in case I need a boost of sugar during the race. I am not sure if I am going to watch movies/tv shows or read a book while running this race as that is how I have recently been training while running on the treadmill. With lots of miles with no scenery change I am going to need some sort of brain distraction, also I heard there is an app that will allow you to see the course as you run it, I might try that one too!

Do you have any tips on long long runs while on the treadmill? Please send them my way in the comments below.

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Miami Marathon 2020

Disclaimer: I’m promoting Miami Marathon and received free entry to 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!

We are now a little less than a month away from race weekend. I will be starting the race weekend like I have the past few years with the Tropical 5k race. It’s a great way to involve the whole family in race weekend, I usually am joined by my boyfriend and daughter gets pushed in her stroller for a nice little warm up for race weekend. Last year the temps were cool but it did rain the entire night before and stopped just before to then again start up right as the race began. Hoping for some cool weather with no rain or wind this year!

I am going into Miami Marathon with no real time goals, training has been up and down in the past few months due to a lot of things. I ran Space Coast Marathon in December and used it as a training run as well as Vista View 360 ultramarathon. It definitely has been a strange training cycle, who else runs an ultramarathon (and further than I have ever ran ever, 29 miles!) to train for a marathon? Overall I am going to have fun and love running through my hometown.

Medal3_600x281

This will be my 8th year taking part in Miami Marathon weekend, It all started when I ran Tropical 5k back in 2013, about 6 months after I began running. It was quite an experience and to end by the beach was a pretty cool finish line.

tropical5k2013

I’m looking forward to the expo for race weekend as well and hope to plan a meet up with my Oiselle volee teammates for the race as well! The expo is always fun, lots to see, lots of friends to run into and the VIP experience is pretty amazing too. I will take more advantage of it this year and spend more time in the Normatec boots 😉 I will be taking off the day from work to attend and urge you to also, even if you aren’t running any of the races that weekend.

This year I will be running my 8th marathon, my 6th Miami Marathon! One day I may get that BQ there but this won’t be that year, eventually my goals and the stars will align to get me there!

Still haven’t signed up? Use the code BIBRAVEMIAMI to get a discount when you register for the half or marathon distance! Hope to see you there! And check back here for a post race review also! Bet you didn’t know Miami Marathon is on the Bibrave 100 list of best races in America!

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Writers Block not Runners Block

The past few months have been a whirlwind of things happening in my life.

Let’s start with end of March, I managed to fall on a sidewalk in a park, tearing off a big chunk of skin from my elbow and causing some hip pains for the next week.

MARCH

Then in April I managed to kill two treadmills in a week, well one was on its last leg after the thousand miles I had spent on it for the past 6 years or so. It was not such a shock but the replacement treadmill bought months before used also had major problems. From the first run on it till the whole belt folded and almost threw me off the thing! Trashed that one as well. I rely heavily on the treadmill certain times of year and during major training due to childcare things, I get in my early morning runs on the treadmill or late night runs while watching my kid sleep in her bed by baby monitor. I had to get a new treadmill ASAP so I got one from amazon, a Proform which is not the best as its had some rust issues after only a short time and not being exposed to the elements but it works and I can get my miles in! Then mid April my grandmother had a heart attack and almost died from it, major stress for the entire family. She ended up pulling through and is back to herself again.

May ended up being my 2nd highest mileage month for the year, which was surprising since I had to work early for half of the month. Also I turned the big 3-8! Ran the ALS 10k in Coconut Grove, it had been a few years since I had ran the race and ended up happy with my slower than usual time. Felt strong but steady in the race despite the high humidity and heat.

June and July were slow running months for me, probably in part due to the heat of the summer months and then planning Phoebe’s 4th birthday party and traveling to Seattle and Alaska. I hit 1000 miles for the year in June. I enjoyed running in Seattle, where the morning temps were 58 but I was not really feeling those huge hills! We stayed in the downtown area and I walked up more than one of the hills in the middle of the run. Luckily I was able to borrow a bob stroller so we could take Phoebe out for some runs as well while we were there, thanks to one of my Oiselle Volee teammates! It was a little more difficult to square away an hour while cruising through Alaska on a boat but I managed to run 4 of the 7 days we were onboard. July was my lowest mileage month for the year – just got in a little less than 100 miles.

August brought on a new challenge of getting back into a schedule again after being on vacation for 10 days! The first part of the month started off slowly as I tried to get back out of the running rut, then Phoebe got a cold and more things piled in front of miles. Also this was the month that I started my Space Coast Marathon training, slowly. Phoebe started VPK and I went to see Bush in concert, it had been awhile since I went to a concert and many years since I had seen them live.

September was the month that I started getting serious about my mileage goals again. I started extending my long runs past that 13 mile mark and hit 50 miles for 2 weeks in a row at the end of the month. Still trying to get back into being a morning runner but my evening road runs are getting faster and feeling easier and the weather hasn’t yet started to cool down yet. I look forward to cooler temps, but I don’t expect to see that happening for another few months. I took a hands only CPR class and learned some new things, feeling confident I can help someone out in an emergency situation.

October has just started but going to work hard this month with waking up early again to run. I don’t yet know what I can promise myself for accomplishing this goal but no doubt I can figure something out. Now I am in the middle of marathon training for Space Coast Marathon and at the beginning of training for Miami Marathon. Not so smart but what are you gonna do when you want to do both marathons and they just happen to be only 8 weeks apart? Simultaneously marathon training, fun times!

SEPT6

At the beginning of the year I made a goal to read at least 12 books this year, I figured it would be extremely hard because ever since Phoebe was born I feel like there’s no time to read. I am happy to announce that I am currently only book #35 for the year so maybe I will adjust my reading goal to 52 instead?

Haven’t signed up for Miami Marathon yet and want a discount on your registration? Use this code for $5 off – BIBRAVEMIAMI

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Road ID – wrist ID pin-tuck style

Disclaimer: I received an Road ID wrist ID to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

I have been wearing a Road ID since 2013, less than a year after I started running I made sure to purchase one. At the time I did not see too many runners wearing them but I wanted to be safe since I was running a lot on my own at dark o clock before work. I remember the first event I wore my Road ID ironically enough I did not even run it, I walked a Mercedes Benz Corporate Run 5k.

Since purchasing my first Road Id back in 2013, I purchased another one in 2014 to update the emergency call numbers and get an updated color. My original band was the silicone stretch band and I got it in black, when I updated I got it in a teal color and continued wearing that one (nonstop) till I received this new style. Another way to add a little flare to your wrist ID is to add a badge, they have a bunch of kinds and metal colors. You can see my previous band had a saturn badge, that is not currently available but maybe in the future they will bring it back and in a rose gold. Crossing my fingers, for that one 🙂

I wanted to branch out with my new Road ID and try out a different style so I selected a 13mm rose gold pin tuck wrist ID band. Usually I am not a gold wearing lady but I have lately been intrigued by the rose gold color so I went with it instead of my usual silver colored metals (or slate according to road ID). Right out of the box I could tell this band was more grown up and professional than the regular silicone band I had been previously using. It looks classy and is functional, I like my running gear to have both of those qualities! I was also looking at the leather buckle band but for ethical reasons (vegetarian/vegan) I passed but it did look nice, if there would be a faux leather band I may have selected that one.

I’m sure most users of Road ID just put it on when they are going for a run/ride but I wear mine all the time. I don’t want to forget to put it on plus something could happen anywhere, not just while I am running and I want the emergency personnel to know my info in case there is no one around that knows my name or info. I can imagine going to a grocery store and something bizarre happening and passing out and at least the workers/emts can contact someone from the two numbers listed while I am in an ambulance.

This is one piece of running gear that is a necessity in my opinion, especially while running on the road in crazy distracted driver territory, which is all of Miami! I know that some people may carry there license while running but I do not find it necessary as long as I am wearing my road ID. I haven’t ever had any issues of weakening silicone or turning of colors on the information plate of these either so they are super durable. I wear mine in pools and showers and is still looks new. After all this time of wearing it nonstop it has only came off once while I was sleeping since it is a pin tuck latch.

ROAD ID

Also while checking out at RoadID.com you have the option of making a donation to the 4 Paws for Ability charity which provides service dogs to children in need. How awesome is that? Donating to a great cause while getting a wrist ID to keep yourself safe while out.

Comment below with other ways you stay safe on the run and I will randomly select a comment and provide a $10 off code for one lucky reader to get their own Road ID!

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Win Detergent FTW

Disclaimer: I received a bottle of Win sports detergent to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I have been on the lookout for a new sports detergent as the one I was using prior to Win was just not cutting it and my running clothes still had a sweat funk smell to them. Plus the other detergent was good but it was also not free and clear, it had a hint of fragrance that I was just not digging. There is also a fresh clean smelling one as well but I prefer fragrance free. The blue bottle is the fresh clean scented one and the green bottle is the free and clear, scent free, which is preferred by me as I have a daughter with extremely sensitive skin and prefer the one better for the environment.

Right now I am at the beginning of a run streak and I am going to have even more sweaty running clothes than usual since I won’t be taking my one rest day each week anymore till the end of this month or perhaps even longer if I want to continue for the runner’s world streak also. Plus my boyfriend runs with me 3-4x a week and I have his sweaty running clothes to deal with also. One thing I have noticed in the past year or so with running laundry is that it is best to hang the clothes so that the sweat dries before putting them together in a laundry basket. But even with hanging the sweaty clothes I would not get all the sweat smell with the previous detergent. I was lost on where to look to find another sports detergent, till I got the notification that I could test this one out. Something else that I enjoy about this stuff is that I can order it on amazon.com and get it shipped along with my other amazon goodies! Very convenient! Even more convenient is that in my area with Prime I can get it in one day, I can have my detergent tomorrow for no extra fee! Right now there is a promo going on that you can get 20% off your order when you use the code: WIN4RAVE – I am actually buying some more right now while I can get the discount and if you are an athlete, workout a lot or sweat a lot this is the detergent for you!

For more technical reasons your running clothes smell from the sweat is because the oils from your sweat attract the wicking technical clothing and get trapped in the fibers causing the smell, unlike other fabrics like cotton. But who can run in cotton? So how Win works is that the active ingredients separate the oils from the synthetic fabric to get back to that clean smell. Other sports detergents that I have used in the past have possibly taken out some of the oils but not all which means my running clothes retain some smell. Which is basically not good enough so check out Win for truly clean clothing. Definitely living in Miami I sweat for every run because we only have 2 days of cold weather where we sweat a little less.

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305 Half Marathon 2019

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!

Let me start by saying I have ran this race/course for the past 7 years and every year it still feels as challenging. Some years I have sub two hour finishes, some years I’m a few minutes behind, some years I just want to finish alive. This was my first half marathon back in 2013 and even though those bridges are challenging, I continue to sign up year after year.

Last year the race was more Miami than usual with a pots and pans PR station because everyone in Miami goes out in the streets with their pots and pans for the home team victories. This year was much like last years with the 305 feel with cafecito by the starting line and lots of great food vendors afterwards. There was a major hiccup that happened a few days before the race, the race medals were on a train for California and not Florida so the race management hustled and put together a temp medal till we can get the official 0 medal to complete our 3 year challenge. Also due to the UPS mistake they gave out $5 Starbucks gift cards as well as a code for free UPS my choice premium membership for a year. I look forward to getting my 0 medal in the mail in the next couple weeks.

Now back to the changes and things that were really helpful. Usually the port a potties are lined up at the end of the starting corral but this time they were actually put into the hard packed sand across from where the finish line was and there were huge lights to illuminate them. That is perfect, well almost lol, some sand got into my sock which was kind of annoying BUT I did like the fact that it was out of the starting corral area which really clogs up the area for runners.

The iRun pacers were great as usual, I tucked in behind the 2:00 finish time pacers and managed to stick with them for 8 miles, the pace was a little faster than I expected. But after the brief rain shower at mile 7 the humidity was getting very thick. The sun burning the rain off the pavement was just a bit much for me when I had to trek up one of the final bridges back to Miami Beach, the MacArthur and so I decided to take a little walk break up it or risk fainting from the humidity. After that the flat running was working well for me and I stopped slacking a little. I got to see my favorite running buddy, Harolyn at the mile 10.5 water stop, she ran over to cheer on her friends and ended up helping out at the water stop.

I got caught by a few photographers this year which doesn’t always happen when I am running with a pace group. One caught me when I was ascending the 2nd bridge of the course, caught the grit on my face haha. I really do not like hills/bridges because I am used to training in my very flat Miami neighborhood and don’t get to make it out to Key Biscayne for tackling the large bridge anymore with a toddler. Training is a lot different now than it used to be.

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I hope that next year I will be getting a course PR during this race, that is the plan at least! Possibly a new half PR that is if I can get in some bridge training this year.

Onward to the finish line, where cold water, cold towels and temporary medals were handed out. After that you head into the post race party zone after getting some fruit/protein bars from the athlete food tent. At the back of the food tent was a chicken and rice food area, but I did not stop and try out that. I actually did not want to smell any food after finishing the rest. In that tent I prepared my Nuun so that I could hydrate back to human. Tucked a banana securely into the pocket of my Oiselle pocket jogger shorts and my water bottle in the other pocket. That is where we picked up our Starbucks card and letter from UPS about the medal mishap. I went immediately to the Florida Storm Series tent and picked up my category 4 medal, that didn’t take long at all and then walked around to see the different vendors. I ran into my Oiselle teammate Daniela’s parents who ran the 5k/half marathon at the Air Relax booth. I walked around and got some shaved ice from the Kona Ice truck and then went to the Yasso truck and had a greek froyo bar in my favorite Yasso bar flavor, chocolate chip cookie dough. After saying hi to a few more friends in the finisher area I walked back to my car and headed up. Everywhere in Miami seems to be under construction lately and Miami Beach was no different but luckily the traffic was not too terrible when I left at 9am.

I will be signing up for the 2020 race to complete my 3 year challenge, but I know that I will continue signing up for this race as long as I am able to run it. Claimed my results on athlinks right after the race and then by that evening the FREE race photos were available on the app! Sign up now for the best rates for next year’s 305 Half Marathon!

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305 Half Marathon, Are you in? (discount code too!)

Disclaimer: I’m promoting 305 Half Marathon 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!

305 half marathon

Have you ever wanted to run a race that was mostly along the beach boardwalk/walkway and also over some challenging bridges? Well then the 305 Half Marathon is your race!

This was actually my first half marathon EVER, but it was called a different name back then in 2013. I trained for 3 months to get to this starting line and had no idea about these bridges but still somehow managed to pull off a 2:03 finish without even hydrating during the race. I did some things wrong during that race but did learn about taking in fuel at the right times, I started burning out at mile 9 that day, it was a great learning experience. Now I run with the pace groups (iRun) for this race to keep me on pace for an under 2 hr finish.

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This year we will be earning our “0” medal to be almost done with the “305” medals! After the 2020 race we will have a complete 305 medal for this 3 year challenge of sorts. But don’t worry if you missed last year’s race for some reason you can purchase the 3 and run a half marathon on your own time to “earn” it so you can have a complete series when you run this year and next year’s race 🙂

Haven’t signed up yet? You are in luck, I have a discount code to save $10 on the half marathon and/or $5 on the 5k race that morning. Both races are taking place at the same time so unfortunately you cannot run both to get double medals 😉 Use this code : BIBRAVE305

You’re welcome and I hope to see you out there in a little over a month!

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Have you ever ran this race before? Or one of the other names this name has gone by in the past, Michelob Ultra Miami Beach Half Marathon? Allstate Miami Beach Half marathon? What do you find challenging in running a half marathon?

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