13.1 Miami Beach: Excuses, Excuses, blah, blah, blah Race Report

Today, I ran the 13.1 Miami Beach, a race I've been doing since its inception.  It's the toughest course around here, as it has 4 overpasses, it's usually hot and humid, and it's at the end of the season, after you've run one (or 4) marathons in 3 months and you are tired at the time you toe the starting line.

As usual, this race was to be for fun.  And fun I had.

Excuses for not PR'ing:
  • Don't care
  • Treating it like my LR of the week
  • Asthma has been pretty bad all week
  • Speedwork session yesterday
  • Hot and humid weather (80F with 97% and 74 dewpoint at the start, 86F with 71% and 71 dewpoint at the end)
  • Potty break
  • Toe issues
  • Water stations
  • The changes of the moon
  • Who knows
Since it was hot as soon as I stepped out of the car, I was very glad I chose to run in what I did.




The race is pretty well organized and it has a pretty good post race party.  Also, since I've done the "Big Three" (13.1 Ft. Lauderdale, ING Miami Marathon, and 13.1 Miami Beach) I gotta special medal.  The tech shirt and medals for this race are awesome this time around.

Anyway, we start after the elite racers begin, and head to the first causeway.  My goal was to run at easy/long run pace, which is 10:23-10:47.  Most of the time I was running faster than that.  I was actually running at around 9:40 throughout the race.  I just stopped a lot, LOL.  I stopped at every water station to dunk water over my head (yes, it was that bad), I also walked most of the water stations, went to the potty, fix my shoe, etc.  I was not in a hurry as, after all, this was my LR and I was not going to PR.

I ran pretty evenly.  According to the results after I crossed the the first 10K mat, I was on route to a 2:18:59.  I finished 2:20:20, an interesting number and just around what I wanted.

It was very nice to pass a lot of people.  Every time I stopped at a water station, or at the potty, or to fix the shoe, I was surprised that when I started running I was right behind the same people I was when I stopped.  A LOT of people were walking past Mile 3.  It was hot and we had a yellow flag since then.  No idea if they ever changed the flag to worse, but 86 in Miami is, I guess, a yellow flag.

What surprised me most is that it felt like I ran this in record time.  I blinked and saw the 12 mile marker and thought what?  I am almost done?  I ran that strongly.

Overall, I met the goals I had for myself: to have fun, NOT to PR (that was the most important), run the whole way, and run the hills at the same pace as the flats.  Best of all, after 4 days of very labored breathing, no asthma issues today at all.

Mission accomplished!

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