The concept of travel is a large part of my Walk into the Future journey.
Running tourism and Negril, Jamaica have been the focal points of my travel articles so far. I do write about local trips and my time sitting on the beach. I plan to get back to the beach more in 2025 so there will be more Florida beach explorations in your reading future. 😊
One of the great things about higher education is our winter break schedule. My current school is a member of the Florida College System (FCS) and our break schedules match our students, examples: Spring Break, Thanksgiving Break and the Winter Break. We are off when our students are not in classes.
Winter Break 2024 started the day after our last Fall Commencement ceremony. Our break ran from 12/19/2024 to 1/2/2025. This was a few days shorter than our normal Winter Break based on the academic calendar, but this was a nice break and provided us with an opportunity to enjoy some down time at the end of a long year.
I decided to get a little more adventurous this year over break and travel to a destination I have never been to. Several friends have been down to the Dominican Republic (DR) and everyone had great things to say about the island. I thought about going to my tried-and-true spot in Negril, Jamaica but wanted to get a new country’s stamp in my passport.
I did some initial travel research on Expedia to figure out a resort for me to visit in the DR. I did not have any preconceived ideas on my trip but wanted to get down and see some sights. I booked my flight, resort and ground transportation via Expedia which is how I book my Jamaica trips—no surprises with the process. 😊
I picked the Bahia Principe Grand Punta Canta resort based on reviews and proximity to the airport. I flew out of Orlando International Airport via Jet Blue and my adventure was off and running. The flight down to Punta Canta, DR was a little over two hours and I slept most of the way down. The Punta Canta airport is not a huge place so getting bags and through Customs was quick. I made my way out towards the ground transportation area to find my ride and head to the resort. Again, a very simple process and I was directed to the van waiting to take me to the resort.
The resort check-in process was simple, but I had to wait a bit since I arrived two hours prior to check-in. This allowed me to explore the property and get my bearings. The resort was as advertised with multiple bars, restaurants and places to unwind. This location was a big change from my stay at Samsara in Negril. This resort was a self-contained city and had everything that most people would want. The resort was not close to shopping or entertainment areas, so these things are provided within the resort. Not a complaint but a bit different from my time in Negril.
I decided to make the most of the resort and everything it had to offer. My room was spacious and centrally located to the beach area, restaurants and bars. It took me less than a 10-minute walk in either direction, and I could find something to entertain myself. The resort had multiple events scheduled during my trip, so I just made my way to the sound of music nightly and enjoyed the atmosphere.
The beach area was small and crowded but there was a nice little vibe there since there were multiple bars directly on the beach. One of the large pools was close by so I could hear music coming from the pool while I sat on the beach and worked on my tan. 😊
The food was plentiful and delicious! I found myself parked in the dessert portion of the buffet more than I thought I would, but everything was fantastic. The all-inclusive aspect of the resort allowed me to dabble in different types of food without feeling guilty.
The DR was a nice little get away before Christmas. I’m glad I made it down and got a new stamp in my passport. Been there and done that. 😊
I will head back to my happy spot in Negril, Jamaica in March for Spring Break 2025—back to regular travel.
Where have you always wanted to travel? Will you make it in 2025?
My Walk into the Future has led me to the Northeast multiple times in the past year.
The first adventure was a quick trip via Breeze Airways to explore Hartford, Connecticut. I was able to hit Springfield, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island over a long weekend in October 2023. The weather was great, and I got a chance to experience the wonderful colors of the fall season in the Northeast.
Providence, Rhode Island was an intriguing place, and I wanted to get back up there to explore more in-depth. I had never run a race in the northeast and saw the 2024 Rhode Island Half Marathon as an opportunity to get back up there and see the city from a ground level perspective. This trip saw me make my way up to Cambridge, Massachusetts and walked around Harvard. This was an outstanding opportunity to soak in the campus history and add content to the Walk into the Future blog.
Fast forward and I had an opportunity to explore the northeast again with my volunteer work with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). I was selected in July to serve on the NACE Sourcing and Nomination Committee. This is the group of NACE members who review all Board of Director applications and select the next generation of board members.
Boston was selected as our meeting location based on one of our members providing access to the meeting space within her organization. This provided us with a great location in downtown Boston with access to sights and great restaurants.
Most of our committee work was accomplished virtually from our home locations. We were able to review application packages in a blind format—there were no names associated with the applications, and we scored based on the NACE rubric provided. The work in Boston was to finalize our scores and discuss candidates as needed. This was a great experience for me to help NACE select the next wave of leaders. The experience also helps me understand the process in case I want to launch a future run for a board position.
Boston experiences:
Walking the halls and grounds of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Touring the Novartis Headquarters
Walking through the Beacon Hill neighborhood
Walking on Acorn Street
Italian dinner at the famed Toscano restaurant
Our Novartis host got us a reservation 😊
Not sure when I will get back to the Boston area but enjoyed my latest adventure.
The results from the NACE selection process will become public in early February. Excited to watch our new leaders move the organization forward.
Thanks to my Walk into the Future blog readers for a great 2024! I’m looking forward to 2025 being the best blog year yet. Stay tuned for more travel, fun and training articles. Guest bloggers will make a few appearances in 2025 as well! 😊
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! See you in 2025!
“The successful warrior is the average man with laser-like focus”.
(Bruce Lee)
Let’s give the Five-Minute Thursday writing prompt another run. I’m starting to love the simplicity of this writing concept and having fun generating content for the Walk into the Future blog.
My fitness journey primarily chronicles my running program and the tourism opportunities this brings to me throughout the year. I also write about being goals oriented but, I don’t believe I ever identified one of my 2024 goals was to get to and maintain my body weight at 198 pounds or less.
The sixth prompt for Five-Minute Thursday is: 2024 Fitness.
My normal weight over the past three years was right around 205 pounds. This was fine as I increased my running program and got a bit more serious with my marathon pursuits. I completed marathons in 2022 and 2023 with my weight at 205 pounds. I was able to get the training done but wondered what would happen if I trained AND got my weight down a bit. I set my weight goal back in January 2024 and put effort to meet and/or exceed the goal this year.
I started January 2024 at 203 pounds after taking three weeks off from running after my 2023 Garden of Life Marathon in December 2023. I reevaluated my training program and my diet to determine the adjustments I needed to get my weight down. Again, I was not looking to lose substantial weight, but I wanted to get down to see how it impacted my daily life and fitness levels.
I changed my diet and decided to stay out of the drive-through lines more in 2024. Yes, I write about my running program, but my diet has never been the greatest over the years. Also, it is so easy to hit a drive through after work instead of going home and cooking. I didn’t eliminate this process completely, but I put a huge dent in making these stops on the way home. I got more use out of my grill in 2024, and this helped me with better meals throughout the year.
I also rededicated myself to following my training programs especially with my 2024 Chicago Marathon 18-week training process. My goal for this training block was to not miss a session to ensure that I give maximum effort to get ready for the Chicago Marathon. I only used the exercise bike as a warmup for my runs—this was a bit different from previous cycles. I also adjusted my bedtime to 8:30 pm daily and woke up at 4:30 am to ensure I had time for morning runs before work. Going to bed at a consistent time helped me get prepared to get up and run in the morning.
The 18-week marathon training plan increased my mileage weekly, and I incorporated additional mileage in my training process. I’m on pace to finish 2024 with over 1,500 training miles which would be 300 miles over my previous maximum running year.
Fast forward—I got down to 192.5 pounds on 9/14/2024 and ran the 2024 Chicago Marathon at 197 on 10/13/2024. I’ve consistently met my goal to stay under 198 this year. My fitness levels are much higher within this weight range. Fun fact—I have started to order new pants since my old ones don’t fit as well now. 😊
Not trying to get down more but want to maintain this new level of fitness and keep my weight right around the 195 – 198 range. My friend Lynn calls me skinny now—not sure I agree but I have a new level of fitness and I’m happy with it. 😊
What 2024 goal are you proud of accomplishing?
Irie!
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be”.
“If work isn’t fun, you’re not playing on the right team.”
(Frank Sonenburg)
Work hard and play hard is an old saying but we are getting a lot of use out of it daily.
My Walk into the Future provides multiple outlets for me to live life daily. I leverage this blog to record and share these adventures with my readers.
The newest adventure was the 4th Annual Fall Fun Fest at work. We started this tradition back in October 2021 with an 80’s themed dance party. I did not think my coworkers would dress the part or even dance at work, but I was wrong. Our folks know how to have fun and are always looking for the next time to party at work.
It took a while to produce the 2024 theme for our event, but we decided to make this year Dynamic Duos with Karaoke. We never force people to join in, but it helps when Vice Presidents get into the event, dress in costume, and have fun. We also learned that a lot of our colleagues love karaoke and could not wait to sing at work again this year. FYI, participants did not have to sing karaoke as a duo, but several did. We continue to discover talented singers from around campus and this year was no exception.
We agreed to become this duo back in June and ordered matching outfits via Amazon. Yes, we take this work party seriously. Beth insisted that we match completely so she purchased matching sneakers for me to ensure we were completely in character. 😊 Our routines did not have a karaoke theme, but we wanted to entertain the audience and get them ready to have fun. We planned to perform as the opening act before the singers got started with karaoke. Most people knew we were up to something but never imagined that I would dress as a Spartan Cheerleader and perform multiple routines in my outfit. Well, Beth continues to convince me to do things out of character and it is fun. 😊
We started with a little skit to welcome everyone to the 4th Annual Fall Fun Fest. We incorporated memories from the previous 3 Fall Fun Fest activities. This was a fantastic way to break the ice for the group and gave us time to get into character. This skit led us to perform The Perfect Cheer which was made famous by Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri as the Spartan Cheerleaders on SNL (starts at 3:36 mark: https://www.tiktok.com/@matt.gizmo.yerke/video/7287395646066249002?lang=en)
The karaoke machine kicked in once the Spartan Cheerleaders were done. Again, we have some talented folks on our staff and the singing was outstanding. Several folks hit the stage multiple times to entertain the crowd. We had to adjust the song format a bit when we kept getting songs from musicals. I have nothing against these types of songs but the energy level in the building went down with slow and dramatic musical songs. I will implement a party anthem only concept in 2025 to help keep the crowd moving.
I am not sure of the theme we will have next year, but it should be another epic adventure for the team. 😊
“Come to the Florida Keys, where sweating like a tourist is a rite of passage”.
(#MeltingAway, #KeysLife)
My Walk into the Future continues to allow me to seek and find new adventures in my life. The concept is to enjoy life at a relaxed pace but to always move forward. I need to remember why I created the blog name and make sure I follow through daily.
Took the relaxed pace concept to heart when looking for my next adventure. What better place to find relaxation than the Florida Keys. 😊
I am a native Floridian but never ventured down to the Keys before. I’ve thought about it a few times but never acted. My thought process was it was too far to drive but I never put anything into Google maps to see the distance and/or drive time. Told you I didn’t put much effort into this process. 😊
Google maps identified the northern Key (Key Largo) was a three-hour drive from my house in Fort Pierce. Key West was much further but I never had a desire to get that far south. Decided to focus on Key Largo and plan a trip down around the 4th of July. I took an extra day of vacation time so I could beat the holiday traffic and be in Key Largo before the fireworks started and people crowded the area. Mission accomplished on both ideas.
Didn’t know much about the Keys but wanted to get down to explore and experience something new. I’m a huge Marriot fan so booked the Courtyard right off US 1. This location put me right next to a marina with boat tours and several nice restaurants with fresh fish on the menu. This location allowed me to walk to multiple places of interest while in the Keys.
Made my way over to Snappers Oceanfront Restaurant and Bar on my first day to people watch and get fresh fish. Walked by the African Queen boat tour area on my way over. Didn’t know they had boat tours, but this was a popular attraction in Key Largo.
The next stop was Jimmy Johnson’s Big Chill which was a lively spot with music and great western views. They had outstanding drink specials and the largest shrimp I have ever seen in my life. Highly recommend this spot if you love shrimp, great sunset views and cold drinks with a kick.
The Caribbean Club was identified as a spot for great live music. I was the most Caribbean person there and the band was an old school classic rock outfit. It was still a great little spot because they had outside chairs sitting right next to the water. The sunset views were better here because of the pawn trees—used them to frame a few of my pictures. Visited both places two days in a row so they had a very authentic vibe. Watched 4th of July fireworks from the Caribbean Club and enjoyed every second of the show.
The Key Largo Princess glass bottom boat was my next adventure in Key Largo. Saw the boat go out when I first arrived and was curious where it was headed. It’s a simple tour where the boat heads out to a coral reef and circles so passengers can get a great view of the sea life. The ship’s crew warned that some folks get motion sickness below deck while they circle. I didn’t believe them but had to head back upstairs because I started to feel weird. I was fine once I got back on the top deck and enjoyed the rest of the boat tour in the open air. We saw tons of fish, sea turtles and nurse sharks on the excursion. Great way to end my first venture in the Florida Keys.
“How do you know if someone ran a marathon? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you”.
(Jimmy Fallon)
Sweet home, Chicago!
This is how I felt when I finally arrived at my hotel in Chicago. Why the excitement? Well, I’ve chronicled my training for the past 18 weeks but didn’t know if I would make it to race day.
Hurricane Milton caused havoc on Wednesday of race week, and I didn’t know if my flight on Friday from Orlando was still going to happen. My original Friday morning flight was cancelled by Southwest Airlines, but they rebooked me on a later flight to Chicago. I decided to just enjoy the process and was extremely happy to be on my way to running the 2024 Chicago Marathon.
My flight was uneventful, but it got me closer to the end of this 18-week journey. I grabbed my bag after landing and made my way out into the Chicago night to head to my hotel. I am a Marriott brand fan, and my hotel was picked based on proximity to the marathon start and finish lines. I wanted to be able to walk around Chicago during my adventure without having to worry about traffic or waiting around for a ride. I checked into my hotel room late Friday night due to the airline delays. Made a quick trip to a corner store to stock up on water, bananas and bagels before heading to bed.
My original plan was to hit the 2024 Chicago Marathon EXPO on Friday since my arrival time was supposed to be 8:35 am. Again, Hurricane Milton changed this, and my true arrival time was 9:30 pm. No worries, I got up Saturday morning and walked over to McCormick Place for the Abbott Health & Fitness EXPO. This walk was an outstanding way to see Chicago neighborhoods and take in the excitement of race weekend. I have been a running tourist for a few years and experienced EXPOs in multiple states. Nothing prepared me for the sights from the Abbott Health & Fitness EXPO. This was by far the largest EXPO event I have ever seen. There were over 180 vendors with products from around the world. There were close to 20,000 people in the EXPO (runners, family, friends) and I felt the crush of people in the venue. Runners are a friendly group so that made it easier to navigate while in the venue.
Packets pickup was a breeze since the Chicago Marathon organizers sent each participant an event ticket. The ticket helped EXPO volunteers direct runners to the correct lines for bib pickup and corral assignments. This is the first EXPO that utilized a photo to ensure the correct person got the correct bib number. Technology is amazing!
I made my way around the EXPO to check out vendors, sample nutrition and get my photos while there. 😊 I wanted to enjoy the experience as much as possible but didn’t want to spend too much time on my feet the day before the marathon.
I headed back towards my hotel and wanted to check out the race start line area. This was my way to ensure I knew where to report on Sunday morning. The Chicago Marathon has a detailed process to place runners in corrals to ensure the start of the race is organized and gets runners out without overcrowding the roads. I was slotted for Wave 3 and Corral K. This means my time was projected to be closer to the middle of the pack which was exciting for me. I made a few more stops to take in the city and then headed to Pizano’s Pizza & Pasta for a pasta lunch. I still needed to add more carbs into my system to get ready for race day.
Headed back to the hotel to prep my running outfit for the big day, get off my feet and hydrate. I was able to get in a quick nap too. 😊 I left the hotel after my nap to get in another carb loading meal to finish off the process at Portillo’s. I did some light stretching and meditation to help me get ready for the big day ahead. I was a few hours away from running the 2024 Chicago Marathon!!!
I woke up on race day a bit anxious because this was the largest race I have toed the line for (55,000+ registered runners). I also had no real idea how the start line corrals would work—we were told to arrive two hours early, but this meant having to stand around in the corrals and wait patiently to start the race. My hotel was a mile away from the start line, so I leveraged this distance to stretch my legs with the walk toward Grant Park. I purchased a long sleeve shirt at Goodwill for $6.99 and used it to stay warm while waiting for my race to start. Race organizers provide ‘drop off’ areas where runners discard their warm clothing items prior to starting the race. These items are donated to homeless shelter by the race organizers.
I made my way to the Wave 3, Corral K start area around 7 am. My group was scheduled to start running at 8:35 am. What do runners do for an hour and thirty-five minutes? Great question! We sat on the pavement like grade school kids to conserve energy and get off our feet. Thousands of adults just sitting on the ground quietly and listening to music to pass the time. Our group was called to start moving towards the start line around 8:30 am and running the 2024 Chicago Marathon got real at that moment. I tossed my long sleeve shirt into the clothing donation area and started to get myself mentally ready to rock the Chicago Marathon. A sense of pride came over me at this point because I knew I had trained better during this cycle and wanted to see how this translated for this marathon. Said a quick prayer and it was showtime!
My goals for the marathon were to enjoy the process, run a controlled race and improve my time from my last marathon. Well, two out of three is not that bad! 😊 I enjoyed the process and set a marathon Personal Record (PR) at the 2024 Chicago Marathon. The one goal I missed was running a controlled race. I’m not complaining considering I ran a PR time here. I fault the crowds, and the energy generated for my lack of control during the race.
So, what was the problem with my pace? The crowds were so hyped that they energized me beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. My first mile was run in 9:45 (nine minutes and forty-five seconds. My second mile was run in 9:45. My third mile was run in 9:31. See a pattern here? 😊 The funny thing is I knew I was moving too fast, but it felt great! The fourth mile was run in 9:42. At this point I decided to just run the damn race and see what would happen regardless of my intended pace. The cooler weather, the crowds and the flat racecourse felt right so I just ran. I had a huge smile on my face for the first 23 miles. Lactic acid kicked in after that and I lost my smile for a bit. I looked at my watch and knew I was well ahead of my previous marathon times—I just needed to hang on. I mentioned to several friends that I wanted to run 4:44 this time out. I realized I would not hit this pace, but a PR was well within my reach. I gave myself a pep talk at mile 24 and then got my mind right. Finished the marathon in 5:23:35 (five hours, twenty-three minutes and thirty-five seconds). This is a 25-minute PR for me. My 4:30 am training sessions paid off nicely! 😊
Race results below:
Participant
Name (CTZ)
Williams, Calvin (USA)
Bib Number
59296
City, State
Fort Pierce
Division
55-59
Gender
Man
Short
CW
Race Info
Start Time
08:37:57
Totals
Place Gender
25103
Place Age Group
1478
Place Overall
43983
Finish Time
05:23:35
My Runner
Add/Remove
Race Status
Race Status
Finished
Last Split
Finish
Pred. Finish
–
Pred. Finish (Time of Day)
–
Splits
Miles Kilometers
Split
Time Of Day
Time
Diff
min/mile
miles/h
05K
09:09:07AM
00:31:10
31:10
10:02
5.98
10K
09:42:31AM
01:04:35
33:25
10:46
5.58
15K
10:15:07AM
01:37:10
32:35
10:30
5.72
20K
10:49:30AM
02:11:34
34:24
11:05
5.42
HALF
10:59:06AM
02:21:10
09:36
14:05
4.26
25K
11:27:12AM
02:49:16
28:06
11:36
5.18
30K
12:08:21PM
03:30:25
41:09
13:15
4.53
35K
12:53:06PM
04:15:09
44:44
14:24
4.17
40K
01:41:38PM
05:03:42
48:33
15:38
3.84
Thanks to everyone who reached out to me during my training cycle to send encouragement. Also, thank you to my friends who I couldn’t hit Friday night events with because I needed to go to bed so I could get up and run on Saturday mornings. Thank you to Walk into the Future blog readers for following my training updates and sticking with me on this forum. Appreciate all ya’ll!!! 😊
I will shift gears towards my half marathon schedule for the next few months. I have the 2024 OUC Half Marathon in Orlando the first weekend in December. I follow that up with the 2024 Palm Beaches Half Marathon the following weekend. I will not run the full marathon down there because of humidity—I learned a valuable lesson last year.
FYI—Lauren and I signed up for the 2025 Chicago Marathon and are waiting to see if we get in next year. There may be another marathon training program in 2025—get ready because I’m starting to figure this marathon training out. Who knew I could get faster as I got older. 😊
“Running isn’t about being the best; it’s about pursuing your personal best”.
(Runkeeper)
My Walk into the Future allows me to pursue adventures in multiple ways.
Running is one of the ways I found 12 years ago, and I have not looked back.
I started running Orlando Track Shack and Front Running Sports races when I moved to Oviedo, Florida from Warner Robins, Georgia back in October 2010. I never thought the local 5ks in Orlando would lead me to become a running tourist and multi-time marathoner. Big things start with small steps.
I have focused on the half marathon as my preferred distance over the past 4 years but still lace up my running shoes for 5ks. The Treasure Coast running community is not as large and visible as the Orlando running community. We have races but they are not as large as the Track Shack productions and most don’t have beer at the finish line. It seems like a small thing, but true runners are looking for beer and donuts once we cross the finish line. I still run a few local races but find ways to travel to the Orlando area for Track Shack events.
The Treasure Coast Food Bank hosts a September 5k and I have run this one for the past three years. It’s a small race but it is a great way to help stock the local food bank to help our residents with food insecurity needs. I also leverage this 5k as a speed session to help me prepare for longer races. This year the 5k fit nicely into the Chicago Marathon training program and allowed me to test my fitness and work to get faster leg turnover.
The race starts and ends at Causeway Cove on Hutchingson Island in Fort Pierce. This location makes it easy to get in and out without a ton of traffic or waiting around when the race is over. I also park on the mainland side of the Seaway Drive bridge and use the bridge as a warmup before the race. I get a slow jog in crossing the bridge and then stretch once I make it to Causeway Cove.
Again, it’s a small race crowd so I normally post up in the middle of the starting pack to avoid undue stress moving through runners. I didn’t enter with a specific finish time in mind but wanted to go faster than my last 5k back in August (Celebration of Running 5k). Always surprised I don’t know many people in these races even though I live in Fort Pierce—this is not a tight running community.
My goal was to run a controlled race without much deviation between each mile split. I’m happy with my finish time of 28:29 which equals 9:10 per mile. This was a faster time and splits than my Celebration of Running 5k outing. I ran the entire 5k with a smile on my face because the pace felt good, and I knew I could maintain this for additional miles. I didn’t feel the need to push much faster considering this was a 12-mile training day as part of my Chicago Marathon training program. I was surprised to see that I won my age group for this race. I have placed in the Top 3 of this race in the past but this was the first time I was the ‘Top Old Dude’. 😊 I decided to stick around the race village to collect my additional award and get some extra pictures taken on the top step of the podium.
I took my prizes and headed back over the bridge. I still needed to get in an additional 9 miles to complete my long run training for the day.
Feeling good about my mental and physical fitness as the 2024 Chicago Marathon draws closer.
Walk Into the Future 