“I’m not running half of something; I am crushing the whole 13.1”.
(Pinterest)
I started my half marathon journey back in December 2013 as an agreement with an Orlando friend who was an avid runner. Our agreement was to run the 2013 OUC Half Marathon together and she was going to help me train and guide me through the process. Sounded great but that never materialized.
My friend and her family moved to Dallas, Texas after we both signed up for the OUC Half Marathon. I thought about backing out but decided to press forward and run the race. I had no idea how to prepare or even complete a half marathon but toed the line and grimaced my way around the course. I wanted to quit multiple times but didn’t know the area well enough to walk off the course, so I kept moving forward and completed the half marathon. Everything on my body hurt because I had no idea what I was doing.
Fast forward and 2024 is my 11th year competing in long distance races. I had no idea signing up for a random half marathon with a friend would become an anticipated part of my daily life. I sign up for half marathons now as part of my training program. I know how to train, hydrate, and recover, which makes my life a lot better once the race is over.
One of my favorite half marathons is the Vero Beach Half Marathon. I have participated in this race three years in a row and envision I will compete every year I’m on the Treasure Coast.
This race has two bridge crossings within the first five miles, but it is completely flat once you get over the bridge the second time. I joke you must survive the first 5 miles of the race and then the course comes back to the runners.
The 2024 Vero Beach Half Marathon started with cooler weather this year which makes completing 13.1 miles a lot easier. This is a smaller race with less than 300 runners in the half marathon. There is not much spectator interactions during this race either. It almost feels like most folks in Vero have no idea why the streets are closed, or why people are running around in shorts. People wave and blow their car horns but no music or cheering spectators to get runners energized—but I still love this race. 😊
I entered this year without a finish time in mind. I wanted to keep progressing towards the 2024 Town of Celebration Half marathon which was my goal race. I took a full 10 days away from running after completing the 2023 Garden of Life Marathon back in December, so this was my first double digit run since the marathon. My physical fitness was still good so wanted to push hard in the first part of the race and then pull back a bit. Didn’t know if the weather would heat up or not but didn’t want to struggle in the heat if it got warmer. Luckily, the weather remained cool throughout the race, and I was able to enjoy the miles on a very nice morning.
Race recap: I run sub 10-minute miles over the first 4 miles and 10:15 per mile after that. My fastest mile was during Mile #6 which was 9:40. I still had a lot left in the tank as I finished in 2:15:04 which was faster than my 2023 time.
Hit the race after-party and had a good local craft beer and snacks. One of my favorite parts of the day is meeting my friend Beth at Mulligan Beach House for brunch. This has become a tradition for us and enjoy spending time catching up and drinking beers at 9 am in the morning.
Already looking forward to next January so I can tackle this race again and then sit at Mulligan’s Beach House with beers on the famed Vero Beach.
What are you looking forward to?
Irie!
Walk Into the Future 