Miami you are beautiful but dang your marathon was a TOUGH one!
2 weeks ago I completed my 29th marathon in a new city to me ~ Miami. I fell in love with South Beach and everything about this beautiful place on earth. The restaurants, the city lights, the entertainment, and of course the sunshine.
However, I knew once I saw the forecast for Sunday’s marathon I knew it was going to be even harder than expected. And I was right! Just my luck, it ended up being the hottest Miami marathon in 2 decades. A high of 81° F (heat index 83) with a low of 71°F (felt like 75°F) high humidity & clear skies before 9:30 AM. A beautiful day in Miami, but not a beautiful day to run a marathon.
This race was the hardest one I have ever done, other than the Great Wall Marathon, my slowest.
Why Florida?
When my husband and I were invited to be guests in Marco we got really excited. Neither one of us have been to this part of Florida. I of course thought to myself ~ hmmm maybe I should look for a race nearby?
I called a friend who recently moved to FL for his thoughts and recommendations. There were two races that somewhat coincided with our dates but both had its pros can cons.
Disadvantages
The Miami marathon would mean we would have to leave a week earlier than planned which wasn’t ideal for my husband since he didn’t have two weeks of vacation built up. I was also struggling with being away form home for 2 weeks because of my mom.
The other marathon I was looking at was closer to Marco but this one meant I’d be running at the end of our vacation. I don’t know about you, but running a race after a week of R&R, a few more glasses of wine than I’m used too, and good food, didn’t sound fun to me.
I also wasn’t sure I wanted to train through a Minnesota winter. We were experiencing record cold temps & snow, but the worst part was all the ice. The icy sidewalks and roads made for some very difficult, and at times, dangerous running conditions. I knew training would be difficult.
So Instead of focusing on distance, my coach had me running by time and it was all about time on my feet. I never did get a 20 miler due to the icy roads. Every Friday, which is the day I run my long runs, ended up being windy, snowy, and very COLD. To be honest, almost every day the weather was dicey in December and January😳.
So Why Miami:
- My husband has an amazing boss! Once he was approved to work remotely, I registered for Miami.
- The race maxed out, so once I received my email I got in I took it as a sign to run Miami. I also kept hearing from others who have run this marathon ~ it’s a beautiful course.
- All the way up to the day before the race, I debated about running the half based on our forecast. There were several others lined up at the expo switching to the half. My husband is amazing since he encouraged me to go out and have fun! He is seriously my #1 fan!
Best part ~
My favorite part of the course was seeing the sun rise as we ran over one of the bridges.
Worst part
The hardest part was not seeing my husband along the course. He waited for 2 hours at mile 11.
Once he realized I ran by him, he did his best to find me at mile 18. There’s were so many runners he didn’t see me, nor did I see him 😭.
Once I got past mile 18 and knew I missed seeing Rob again, everything kind of took a turn for the worst. By this time I was out of my electrolytes (Shaklee Performance) and switched to water. I tried to stay cool by pouring the water over my head and also taking some sips. It just wasn’t enough.
I hung in there and tried to run as much as my body allowed. By the 40K mark I was struggling big time. I felt my right calf twitching as I tried to maintain my power at about 140 watts. I never once looked at pace. Gatorade was on the course but I didn’t dare try it since I wasn’t sure if it would make me sick and I knew better than to try something new.
I ended up walking fast and jogging for what felt like forever till I crossed the finish line
My friend has ran this race every year for 17 years and when I saw her at the finish line, I have never been so happy .
Bless her heart… she waited for me after she finished her half. (My husband wasn’t allowed in this area). I think she waited for over an hour for me to finish. I felt so loved.
I finished 2nd in my age group out of 16 other woman. This tells me others struggled too…even the veteran Florida runners who trained in the heat. It’s one of the variables on marathon day that is so unpredictable.
To be honest, I was hoping the forecast was wrong and the sun would stay under the clouds, the breeze would be cool off the water. Wishful thinking.
We wondered over to the family meeting place where I found my husband…that’s when the tears 😭 flowed. I cry after every marathon…the good, the bad, and ugly ones. So many emotions.
It took a good hour or so to get back to our room. It was a long wait for the shuttle and a long walk to get there too. I would have loved to have this chair and these recovery boots in my air-condition condo.
Thankfully after our shuttle dropped us we were close by a smoothie place so I grabbed one on our way to our room. By the time we got cleaned up and had dinner ~ I was starving.
About a week later when were in Marco, I received an email congratulating me for being 2nd in my age group. This I was all ready aware of…but what I didn’t know…I earned an award.
I’ve placed in my age group before, but never have I received a prize. I guess that’s the perks of running in a major marathon.
I’m not sure I’ll run this marathon again but it’s probably one of the most beautiful destination marathons I’ve run… beside Rome that is. Nothing can beat Rome but Miami, you are BEAUTIFUL! So who knows, maybe I will go back 🤔 ?
Have you run Miami Marathon?
Which do you prefer…cold weather for hot for raving?
When is your next race?
Do you have recovery boots?
Do you like running the same race over and over or do you like to explore new places on feet like me?
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