Well, this race took place during my vacation in Flagler Beach, Florida.

All of my running before this trip had been in temperatures between 0 and 30 degrees.  So this definitely would take getting used to, especially the humidity.

Also the race took place at 4:30 pm. Again different than I was accustomed to.

The theme was Las Vegas Nights so the racers were asked to dress in costume. Not being local, I decided to forgo the costume and wear normal running clothes.

I started the day getting up to see the sunrise.  My friends live 2 blocks from the ocean so that was easy.

When I got there and it was cloudy and hazy.  I feared “no sunrise” pictures.

But yes, the sunrise was stunning as usual.

Then I walked home and had breakfast. And I went out for a walk.  I was tempted to run but decided to keep my legs fresh for the race since I ran 4 miles the day before.

I walked on the road along the beach. The weather was similar to the day before…cool (50s) and breezier as the day progressed…but so nice to be outdoors with NO WIND CHILL and NO SNOW!!

I stopped at the pier for awhile to watch the surfers and painters and then headed home.

In the wind, it felt chilly.  Unfortunately, the back of their house which is on the water was in the shade and wind. But in the sun, it was gorgeous.  So I sat outside in the front of their house knitting and  soaking up some Vitamin D.

Eventually my hubby joined me and we decided to go for a walk. This time in the neighborhood where all streets bordered on the water (Halifax River.)

Then we went out to lunch.  I had to carb load, right? We walked back to the ocean where I had spotted a French bakery/restaurant.

Everything looked delicious.  I chose a vanilla latte and marsipone strawberry grilled cheese.

with bread pudding for dessert (I shared!)

We returned home and hung out in the sun some more (This is what happens when a race is at 4:30 pm.)

Here is when it gets interesting.

My friend’s hubby & my hubby decided to go somewhere for a little while and discovered that the car had a dead battery. So they had to call AAA to get the car started. (Lucky for me that they did since we had time to spare for the race.)

With the car now running, we left for the race which was about 30 miles away. We got a great parking spot and we were there in plenty of time.

before the race

with my hubby & our friends (taken by Daybreak Studios)

We walked around near the water but it was chilly and windy.

You can see that I am wearing a jacket and so were other racers. You also should note that people were not dressed in costume either. (Glad I didn’t spend time getting one.)

I decided to leave my jacket off to run the race.  And I was glad I did!!

Elvis started the race (taken by Daybreak Studios)

I was actually warm running.  I tried to tell myself that this was fun but if you know me, I wanted a sub-30 finish as soon as I started (At least I have given up the thought of a PR for now.)

That means that I started out fast and couldn’t keep it up.

The course was flat.  And scenic.  There were water views.  I was getting tired as I ran.  I refused to stop, even for water and just willed myself to finish strong (though I felt like I was dying & nauseous.)

I’ll blame it all on the my lack of speed work, running long and slow, the wind, etc etc.

Splits:

mile 1 – 9:28
mile 2 – 9:54
mile 3 –  9:53
.14 – 8:28

So of course, when I approached the finish line and saw:  30:XX, I was disappointed. (I finished under 30 on a hilly course with a broken foot!!)  The lady pushing triplets in a stroller finished 3 minutes ahead of me as well as lots of young kids.  They even stopped taking photos after 29:37. So depressing!!

officially 30:17

Anyway, my friends were thrilled with my time.  They are not runners (and could not understand why I would even want to be there.) When we checked the finish times, it turned out that I came in FIRST in my age group.

I was happy but they were not giving out the awards until 6:30 pm. UGH! My friends were hungry and didn’t want to stick around.  I didn’t want to impose so we returned to the car. And guess what?

It didn’t start!! We called AAA again and they were going to take an hour to come.

You can guess the rest.

I went back to the lighthouse to hang out with other racers. (I even met 2 men & their wives who live near me at home.  And they were in my age group. Go figure!)

When it was time for awards, I asked if I could get mine first since I had to leave.   They were agreeable and handed me my gold medal.

 I got back to my friends just as the car was being started and off we went to get a nice dinner.

So all in all, it was an enjoyable day.

I love racing!

I love bling!

Happy Running! How have your destination races gone?