I have a feeling that today’s quick tip might be a bit controversial.
Please note that it’s not my intention to cause your panties to become all bunched up, but if it happens it happens.
Let’s get after it, shall we? Read more
The Walt Disney World Marathon is widely regarded as one of the most “magical” marathons by many runners.
I’ve run the race three times, and I’ll likely do it again, but let’s accept the fact that there are plenty of “less than magical” moments over the course of the 26.2 miles as well.
If you’ve run the Walt Disney World Marathon, either this year or in the past, did I miss anything? Where else could runDisney use a little more pixie dust to cover up the less than magical moments and make an enjoyable race even better?
This past weekend, I ran in the inaugural Florida 10 Series race here in Lakeland. The Florida 10 Series is a new series of 10 mile races within the state of Florida where cumulative times over the course of the entire series determines overall winners.
While I’m not running the entire series, I ran the race in Lakeland, which was my first ever 10 miler.
Nothing like a guaranteed PR, eh?
Sunrise Before the Race
This past weekend, I headed up to Roanoke, VA, to run in the mountains for the Blue Ridge Marathon.
While the trip was a blur (flight up Friday afternoon, race Saturday morning, fly home Saturday evening), I think I might have developed a little crush on the city of Roanoke and really want to head back for a longer visit soon. If you’ve never been in that part of the country, I can’t encourage you enough to go for a visit.
The race was advertised as the “Toughest Road Marathon in America”, and while I haven’t run every road race in the country (yet!) I can’t imagine finding one that is more difficult than this one.
I knew before the race started that the hills (let’s be honest, mountains) were going to be a challenge. I mean, living in Florida means we run on flat ground only. Sure, we have a couple of “hills”, and we can always run the overpasses, but we basically only run on flat surfaces.
And the only surfaces we didn’t run in Roanoke were flat.
Oy vey….
The race started out with a bit of a climb. And by a bit, I mean 7 miles. Straight up.
Not Even Half Way Up!
Getting to the top of the first 7 mile climb was nice. Coolest thing, bagpiper at the top.
There’s Nothing Better Than Bagpipes. Nothing.
Coming down the mountain provided a much needed break. I used to think that going down hills was harder than going up them, but that perspective changed long ago. I was flying down the hill, and I kept hearing people complain about the down hills.
I actually had to be reminded to slow down.
Easy, Speed Racer
That first 7 mile climb was the biggest hill we ran, but it was far from the last. We kept going up and down for the entire race, which sucked, but there were some awesome views and gorgeous neighborhoods that we got to experience.
Looking Down on Roanoke
And since the hills never stopped coming, there was no shame and stopping or walking on occasion. No matter what the signs say.
So I Stopped. Do Something.
Not a PR, But Still a Great Race
Going into the race, I knew that a new PR was out of the question. My A goal for the race was to be sub-4:30. A more realistic goal was to be sub-5:00, and I crossed the finish line at 4:52:10.
Not too shabby.
In Race Commentary
Looking back on the race, I’m really glad I took the trip north and ran the race. I got to meet some of my cool twitter friends in person, and knocked another state off of the list.
But during the race, I wasn’t quite as excited about what was going on. Check it out for yourself.
Did You Run the Blue Ridge Marathon This Year? How Did You Do?
If You Didn’t Run It, What Do You Think About Running a Marathon in the Mountains?
Three days from now, I’ll be finished running America’s Toughest Road Marathon.
How’s that for self confidence?
The Blue Ridge Marathon is happening on Saturday, and I can’t wait! I’ve been looking forward to this race for awhile now, though if I’m honest, I’ve been a little nervous about this race as well.
You see, as a naturalized Floridian, we don’t really have many hills to train on. In fact, the (only half-way joking) legitimate hills we have are actually road/highway overpasses.
No offense, but overpasses don’t quite measure up to the Blue Ridge Mountains. There is an advertised 7,500 feet of elevation change over the course of those 26.2 miles.
You could say that I’m slightly unprepared for this race, but I’m not sure that would accurately portray how this race is going to go. I know I’m capable of handling the miles, but the hills are going to kill me. If I can make it in less than 5 hours, it’ll be a win for me.
Just Having Fun
No matter how the race goes, the goal for this weekend is to just have fun. I’ll be flying up to VA on Friday morning, running the race Saturday morning, and flying home Saturday night. The travel itinerary isn’t ideal, but it is what it is.
And this way I can blame the lack of a PR on the condensed travel schedule! Hehe.
If any of y’all are running Blue Ridge this weekend, I’d love to meet you guys! Let me know, or give me a shout on twitter, and we can meet up at the expo.
And if you see me curled up along the side of the road on Saturday in the fetal positions, just keep going.
I’ll be ok.