My Walk into the Future is closing in on the 2023 Palm Beaches Marathon. I am heading down south on Saturday for my big race on Sunday.
The training this year went by smoother than last year. I chalk this up to having a better mental and physical understanding of the training program and what is required each week. I also view my hydration and nutrition planning as much improved from this time last year.
It is amazing how quickly you learn the things not to do to get prepared for a 26.2-mile race. Excited and terrified at the same time. Runners are a unique group of people with an adventurous mindset.
I didn’t have my friend Lauren training for a marathon with me this year, but she was always available to listen to me share about my progress. Hoping we will both get into the 2024 Chicago Marathon and enjoy this process together again next year. We both signed up for the marathon lottery system and will find out today if we get in. I will focus on the 2024 Chicago Marathon as my big race next year if I get in—fingers crossed!
The 18-week training plan has allowed me to increase my mileage safety as I built up my base miles. I added hill and speed training this year to increase my endurance towards the full marathon distance.
Here are my total weekly miles so far this year:
Week #10: 38 miles
Week #11: 23 miles
Week #12: 32 miles
Week #13: 34 miles
Week #14: 22 miles
Week #15: 39 miles
Week #16: 28 miles
Week #17: 29 miles
Week #18: 33 miles
I have logged 465 total miles during this journey to include multiple 5k and half marathon races. The process of racing brings me a level of enjoyment to my training program and is a lot more exciting (for me) than simply going out for long runs on my own. I got spoiled a bit in Oviedo by having an active running environment with all the Orlando Track Shack events to choose from. There are multiple running clubs in Orlando so finding a running club to get a few miles in with was an easy process there.
This week is dedicated to carb loading, extra stretching and getting a lot of rest. The full marathon beat me down last year so I’m adjusting my daily routine this year to conserve as much energy as possible.
Still have not decided my race strategy—will look to listen to my body and go out with a comfortable pace that I can maintain throughout the race. I started to struggle at the 18-mile marker last year so want to extend my progress beyond this point in 2023.
My goal is to beat my time from last year and set a new PR for myself. I’ve got a race goal time in my head but will not reveal it here just now. I will brag later if I hit my preset goal. 😊
The month of September was dedicated to getting in speed work by running local 5K races.
I tackled the Run to Stop Hunger 5K in 2022 to test my endurance and work on speed while training for my first full marathon. I enjoyed the race setup, course and participants so decided to leverage this race again this year.
This 5K was convenient to me since it is in Fort Pierce on Hutchingson Island. I used the race as part of my Week #6 training program so I could get some speed work in. Mentally I need a race to make me speed up and racing is a lot more fun than just logging miles by myself. I am not looking for running partners, but the extra motivation racing brings is a welcome change while training.
The race start and finish lines are in the center of the Causeway Cove Marina. I duplicated my warmup from last year by parking on the Fort Pierce mainland and using the Seaway Drive bridge as my race warmup. The bridge was a great way to get my heart rate up and helped me stretch out my legs before tackling the 3.1-mile course.
There was not a huge crowd for this race, but I recognized a lot of the runners present. The Fort Pierce running community is not huge, so I get to see the same folks at most races. I was able to get in additional stretching before we had to line up for the race start.
I didn’t have a set finish time in mind, I just wanted to get some speed work in without injuring myself or anyone else. Mission accomplished on both tasks.
Lined up in the middle of the race corral and decided to just have fun while on the course. The small race lineup did not create a traffic jam as we headed it. This allowed runners to spread out and hit their race pace from the very start.
I targeted a couple runners in front of me as my pacers and leveraged them to propel me forward during the first part of the race. This 5k is a simple out and back course that is completely flat. We run a portion of the race on the sidewalk, so it gets tight when runners turn around to head back towards the finish line.
One of my pacers slowed down around the 1-mile marker and the other decided to hit another gear and left me. I did not attempt that pace since it was not comfortable for me at this point of my training process.
Fast forward and I finished the 5K in 27:56 which is an 8:59 per mile pace. Not fast or slow for me at this point of my training schedule. I still have additional training sessions and races coming up so there’s plenty of time for me to improve my pacing, conditioning, and mental preparation.
I’m using my exercise bike as a warmup prior to my long runs and not as a primary training device. This helps me stretch my legs and creates a solid foundation for my planned runs. I’ve got plenty of time to ensure I’m ready for the 2023 Palm Beaches Marathon in December.
Excited to see how far I can push myself this year.
The 2023 running season kicked off with the 2023 Celebration of Running 5k in Winter Park.
I have run this race three years in a row and love the experience. It’s August in Florida so the heat and humidity are high, so this adds to the challenge. I don’t run a lot of 5ks but this one remains on my list because it is flat and provides a training gauge for the year.
I never set out to run a PR here but want to test my physical and mental stamina. The race crowd is not too large, so this helps when trying to avoid other runners at the start.
Decided to line up closer to the front pack of runners to give myself room to operate without having to dodge folks. Still amazing that I know runners from when I lived in Oviedo. It’s almost like they don’t know I’ve been gone 9 years now.
My race goal was to go out and find an even pace. The secondary goal was to run faster than last year. I met both of my goals and enjoyed the race from start to finish.
I found a couple of runners with great paces and decided to hitch a ride with them to challenge myself. This was a fun activity since I train by myself. It was great having others around to inspire me to find another gear. Felt good enough at the end to leave my running companions and put in a good kick to complete the 5k. Crossed the finish line in 28:50.
Collected my medal, water, and banana before making my way to the beer garden. Yes, we drink beer at 8:30 am after races. We eat donuts too! LOL.
This was week 2 of marathon training so needed to get additional miles in after the race. Headed back over to the Seminole Cross Trail to complete my training with 6 miles there. Got a total of 10 miles completed on the day.
Made my way back to the hotel to shower and find some real food. Wanted breakfast so went by First Watch close to UCF for a huge pancake, eggs, and bacon. Favorite meal when I eat there.
Feeling good about my training so far and look forward to a fantastic running season. Heading to Virginia Beach again for the 2023 Virginia Beach 10-miler over the Labor Day weekend. Should be fun getting back up to Virgina.
Will ramp up my marathon training when I return from Virginia. Time to lock in mentally and physically to prep for my 26.2-mile challenge in December. 😊
My marathon training program begins again next week. Decided to stick with the 18-week training program I used last year. This program provides a gradual mileage build-up and allows me flexibility to train and still get normal life activities completed.
The 2023 Palm Beaches Marathon will provide another mental and physical test for me to continue to challenge myself to get better daily. I feel like a veteran this time around since I got my initial marathon under my belt last year. I’m excited for the opportunity to train and improve my race outcome this year. There were several lessons from 2022 that will help me with my journey this year.
Exercise bike
I mistakenly believed I could replace running miles with miles on my exercise bike. Numerically the miles are equal but there is a difference between hard work on an exercise bike and outside miles in Florida. There is a time and place for the exercise bike, but I will not lean on this form of training as much as I did in 2022.
Speed work
I concentrated on building up my mileage base in 2022 but not as much on speed work. I did several sessions on the local track to work on tempo and speed but know I will need to work pace runs in more this year. My training plan has several tempo runs inserted and I will do a better job of following the pace days as outlined. The tempo runs will help me convert my physical fitness into a better race day pace.
Heat and humidity
My weekday training runs were completed with 5 am training sessions. I started my runs at 5 am to beat the heat and completed them prior to my workday during the week. My weekend runs started around 7:30 am to get out and back before the south Florida heat kicked in. This was a solid plan, but I did not log many miles in the heat of the day. Sounds like a smart training plan but the second half of the Palm Beaches Marathon is run in direct sunlight with minimal shade. It was not overly hot in December, but the sun was on me from the 18-mile marker until the end of the marathon. I did not handle this part of the race well since I avoided running in/with the sun during my training phase. I will SMARTLY look for ways to incorporate more training to leverage the south Florida heat and humidity to enhance my training program.
Here’s the 18-week training program I will launch next week:
I will document my training progress again this year with updates on how I’m doing with mileage, nutrition, and thoughts. Excited to Walk into the Future again and tackle the 2023 Palm Beaches Marathon. Looking to run substantially faster than 2022 and cross the finish line again with a smile on my face.
I ran the 2022 Palm Beaches Marathon with the intent of being one and done. The training and pain I felt during the marathon was one of the toughest things I’ve ever experienced. The joy I felt when finishing was also a joyous time—I know that sounds weird but finishing the marathon was the culmination of a massive undertaking.
The quote above speaks volumes for what I experienced during the marathon and highlights the mindset of most runners. Yes, it hurts but I need to run this again. May not make sense to most people but runners live this life daily.
The day of the marathon my body hurt—same for the day after and the next five days. I started to feel normal again the week after the race but running this distance again was not a priority for me. I began to deconstruct the race, my training and nutrition the following week to determine if I could do better. The answer came back as yes, but I did not know if I wanted to experience this level of pain again.
I forgot about the marathon and embarked on multiple half marathons (Vero Beach, Town of Celebration, Nashville) and got faster with each race. I attribute this to my marathon training and the ability to manage the pain a lot better. The marathon taught me how to continue to move forward even when the body wanted to slow down or stop. Leveraged this newfound knowledge and fitness to get better when running half marathons.
Spoke with my friend Lauren Apgar about possibly running the marathon again. Casual conversations all the way up to the 2023 Nashville Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I was able to handle the Nashville hills and warm weather much better than I did last year. Again, this was because of the amount of training I put into the marathon process.
The concept of running another marathon kept coming back up so decided to explore what it would take for me to toe the 26.2 start line again.
The course needs to be flat. I prefer the race to be close to me so I would not have a huge travel commitment. The race needed to provide a fun environment and an opportunity to become a running tourist again. The Palm Beaches Marathon checked all these parameters, and I am familiar with the race. It does not have the greatest EXPO experience, but the course support was great, and it allows me to redeem myself and improve on my 2022 race time.
I’m not trying to qualify for Boston or the New York City marathons. Just want to get back to my training program and improve my marathon time. My competitive nature drives the need for improvement, and I know areas I can improve my training. I leveraged my exercise bike a bit too much during training and know these miles are great for cardio but do not translate to the road work needed to run the best marathon time. I will use the exercise bike only when the weather is bad and running outside is not an option. I make a point to train at different times of the day—this allows me to acclimate to the South Florida heat. The heat at mile marker 20 got the best of me so will not let this happen again this year.
I plan to leverage the 18-week training plan again this year with emphasis on building my mileage base slowly and mastering the long weekend runs.
Excited to embark on this marathon journey again. I’m sure I will generate training articles again to allow my readers to follow my pain! 😊
I did not make this rate go up much but happy to join the folks who have toed the line and completed a full marathon.
I have documented my goal to complete a marathon in 2022 and provided updates on my training progress since July. I selected an 18-week training program to prepare me for the journey. The training plan was precise on when to run and how far to run to build a base to start and complete a marathon—mission accomplished.
Thanks to my friends and family for the encouragement during the training—it meant a lot to get positive shout outs while I was on this journey.
Made my way down to West Palm Beach the day prior to the marathon to get acclimated to the area and attend the Gardens of Life Palm Beaches Marathon EXPO. I was expecting this to be a large venue like the Rock N Roll events, but it was much smaller than I imagined and completely outside. The EXPO was a series of tents in front of the Meyers Amphitheater close to the water. There were only a handful of vendors at the EXPO so not much to browse or purchase. Check-in was simple considering the size of the venue. Got my race bib, t-shirt, goody bag and headed across the street to get food.
Made my way to the ER Bradley’s Saloon which had a funky vibe, great atmosphere and was still serving brunch when I arrived. The World Cup was playing on all the TVs and they had a DJ spinning tunes in the middle of the afternoon. Seems like a great place to hang out when I’m back in West Palm Beach.
Headed back to the hotel to get off my feet, rest and mentally prepare for what was coming in the morning. Got to bed early since I needed to be up around 4:30 am to prepare and make it to the start line for the 6 am race time.
Leveraged my hotel proximity to the start line and used the 1-mile distance as part of my warmup before the race. Yes, I used this distance to run/walk my way to the race start—wanted my legs to be warm for the race.
This race did not have corrals so found a nice spot in the middle of the other runners and waited for the race to start. We got delayed for 10 minutes which had a few folks upset since they were ready to challenge themselves and the course. We never heard why we got delayed but the horn went off and runners surged towards the start/finish line.
I decided the day before to keep my pace as even as possible and focused on mile splits within the 10:30 – 10:50 range. This would allow me to gauge my fitness and mental capacity over the first half of the race to determine what I had left in the tank.
The first few miles went by, and I realized I had a big smile on my face. This was because the months of training, early mornings and sacrifice was being played out in a real marathon. Looking back, I was smiling at this point because we started around 6 am and the sun was still not out—didn’t realize it at the time but the coolness of the morning was going to go away very soon.
Fast forward and I kept the 10:30 – 10:50 pace range through the first 16 miles of the race. I crossed the half marathon (13.1 mile) point at 2:26:32 which may have been too fast, but I felt good. This is where my lack of marathon experience showed. I was able to maintain my run form and kept moving forward with this pace.
The sun came out in full force at the 16-mile mark, and I noticed my pace start to slow. At first it was a gradual slow down then the pace slowed more. I felt great mentally, took water/Gatorade and gels at every station. A lot of folks talk about hitting a wall in the marathon, but I won’t completely say that’s what I did. I never thought about quitting just was upset with myself because my legs did not respond when I wanted them to.
Decided at this point that I didn’t care what the clock said I was finishing this race.
Amazing thing that happens during marathons is you get to see other folks experiencing the same mental struggle, pain, and doubts. We even talked to each other as an impromptu support group to keep moving forward. Even funnier is when you see another runner talking to their legs to keep them going, I didn’t do this because I didn’t think it would work. LOL.
The last 10 miles of the race was just me putting one foot in front of the other and showing the most grit I’ve ever displayed in my life. I set a goal to complete a full marathon and I got it done. Can’t say it was slower than I imagined because it’s the fastest marathon of my life (yes, the first one too) so I’m proud of the effort to make it from start to finish.
Official clock time was 5:48:28 (five hours, forty-eight minutes, and twenty-eight seconds).
I’m going to bask in this accomplishment, take some time off from running and sleep in for a few weeks. My Walk into the Future has a busy 2023 race calendar so will enjoy some downtime before cranking up the training.
“There will be days you don’t think you can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime of knowing you have”.
(Unknown)
My Walk into the Future continues to move forward towards the Palm Beaches Garden of Life Marathon in December.
The 18-week training plan I’m using allows me some flexibility, but the one constant is a progressive long run on the weekends. I am leveraging local races to energize my long runs and tackled the Game On Half Marathon in Fort Pierce in October. This seemed like a nice local race, and I signed up for this half prior to committing to run a marathon. Luckily, this race and distance fit right into what I needed to keep moving towards the marathon start line.
The Game On Half Marathon is fairly new on the circuit—last year’s race was the first running. I did not know about this race prior to this year but may keep it on my regular rotation since there are not travel costs associated with a race in the town I live.
This was a smaller race with the projected number of runners less than 300. I normally avoid smaller races since they do not have the crowd support like the Rock N Roll running series. It may seem simple but having a crowd of stranger cheering for you helps when the miles start to get tough. Also, the larger races have a ton of volunteers to man the water/Gatorade stations. I was pleasantly surprised this race had fuel stops at 1.5-mile intervals and this really helps with the process of completing a half marathon.
Again, smaller race so there was not an EXPO experience. Race bib pickup was scheduled the day before the race at Causeway Cove Marina. The process was simple, give them your name and they hand you a bib, t-shirt and four safety pins to attach the bib. That’s it—no vendors to visit or anything to buy. I got a quick picture in front of the Game On promotional truck with my bib and went about the rest of my day.
I started my carb loading process earlier in the week and went to get some more pasta to continue to ingest carbs. Also wanted to get off my feet to ensure I was ready to toe the line in the morning—I find it harder to just kick back when I’m competing in a hometown race. Feels like I should do normal, daily activities but this can lead to tired legs on race day.
Made a point to get to bed early so I could get up and make it to the start line with plenty of time to warmup. This race started at 6:15 am to get and stay ahead of the South Florida heat—yes, it’s still hot and humid down here in October.
Got to Causeway Cove Marina in plenty time to park, stretch and warmup prior to the race start. Made my way through the darkness towards the start line and got in the corral with the other half marathon runners. The race organizers did not have runners line up based on projected pace time—no big deal for this race since it was only about 150 runners for the half marathon. There was also a 10k being run with those runners starting 10 minutes after the half marathoners got started.
I did not have a projected pace or finish time in mind since this was part of my long run. I just wanted/needed to get miles in and the pace for this day was not as important as it normally is when I run a half marathon. My goal was to start, finish and enjoy the race as much as possible.
This was an out and back race so wanted to enjoy the course and have fun. We started in complete darkness so decided to leverage other runners as pacers and to ensure we did not go off course. The half marathon organizers mapped out the course to be completed on Seaway and Ocean Drives on Hutchinson Island, which is completely flat, no bridges to cross which was a welcomed addition.
I started with a comfortable pace and did not push myself hard in the beginning. Paced with a couple runners for the first three miles and then decided to pick up the pace a bit. We turned onto Ocean Drive and headed south towards Jensen Beach. Interesting thing happened at the 4-mile marker. Another runner pulled up next to me and began a full conversation on life, hobbies, and the type of work we both do. I have talked with other runners during races, but it is normally just small talk before we get down to the real racing. Found out this was her 5th half marathon and she had friends running but she wanted to go faster so decided to tag along with me.
We had a nice conversation going for the next 4 miles before she decided to pull back since my pace was pretty good at this point. The great thing about running and talking with her is it created a nice distraction from the race. I focused more on the conversation than my pace so can’t tell you how fast I was running at this point, I was just putting one foot in front of the other.
Leveraged Miles 8 – 13.1 to test my endurance levels to determine adjustments I need to make to my training and nutrition program. I felt good physically but need to ensure my carb loading process is improved. I also need to map out my fueling process (time, distance) to keep moving forward with pace during races. My lactic acid threshold is getting better but need to work on my glycogen levels consistently.
Finished in 2:23:41 (10:58 per minute pace) which is not fast for me, but I still took third place in my age group. I’ll take it considering this was part of my weekend training run. Got an additional 5 miles in after the half marathon for a total of 18 for the day.
Still have work to do as I prep for December but happy with my progress so far.
What challenges are you facing right now?
Irie!
“A marathon is like life with its ups and downs, but once you have done it, you feel that you can do anything”.
The theme lately is training and racing! Don’t think that is going to stop anytime soon since I have a marathon to get ready for.
Happy to leverage local races to supplement my training program since running in races is a lot more fun than just training miles. Discovered 5k’s can be fun again and a great way to warm up my legs prior to my long training runs. Fun fact, either I am getting faster, or the competition is just letting me run by them—still trying to figure out which. LOL.
The latest Walk into the Future race was the Race for Recovery 5k hosted in Port St. Lucie on the Indian River State College Pruitt campus. I consider this to still be a hometown race since the campus is only about a 20-minute drive from where I live in Fort Pierce.
It rained the night before and I considered bypassing the 5k but knew I still needed to log weekend miles so took a chance and headed to Port St. Lucie to toe the line again.
I did not get a chance to pick up my race bib during the week so needed to arrive a bit early so I could get my race swag and prep for the race. Check-in was painless, and I made my way back to my vehicle to get organize, stretch, and get a quick jog in to loosen my legs.
There was not a huge turnout for this race but the folks there were friendly and ready to run. It started to sprinkle a bit, but I was committed to run since I made it to the start line. Made my way to the start line to ensure I did not get caught up in traffic to start the race.
I did not have a preset race time or pace in mind but wanted to enjoy the course and get some miles in before heading off for my long run.
This course starts within the Pruitt campus and then heads out for a 3-mile loop before coming back on-campus for the finish. It is completely flat, and we never had to cross traffic which is always a good thing.
I went out with a controlled pace to allow other runners to spread out a bit to avoid bumping into anyone. I located a runner I knew who normally runs a great pace so decided to use her as my pacer. That only lasted for about a quarter mile since she was not pushing the pace and I felt like I wanted to go faster.
Mile-1 was completed in 8:58. Mile-2 went down in 9:17. Mile-3 clipped by at 9:22. We got hit with a heavy rain down pour right after the Mile-1 marker so I’m happy with my mile splits. This is because there is nothing worse than running with water drenched shoes and socks. My feet felt like I was running with weights around my ankles but wanted to keep pressing forward to see what I could do in these conditions.
Turned the corner to head towards the finish line and coasted a bit. The funny part here is the runner I mentioned above who was not running fast enough for me was using me as her pacer. We crossed the finish line in a dead heat, and she thanked ME for getting her across the finish line. 😊
Both of us clocked 28:04 and finished first in our respective age groups. Had a good laugh as we collected our awards and headed our different ways. I still needed to get in additional miles so headed home to dry off, change my clothes and put on a dry pair of running shoes.
Got my remaining 11 miles done before relaxing and enjoying the rest of the day.
The 5k races were done to get me mentally ready for the 2022 Clearwater Rock N Roll Half Marathon. Found out yesterday this race was cancelled due to Hurricane Ian lurking in the Gulf of Mexico. Looks like this race is reschedule for October 2023—hope to run this race one of these days.
May look for another 5k to keep me running fast—we will see.
“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you”.
(Fred Devito)
The Walk into the Future blog continues to move towards my first full marathon in December. I provided a Week #5 training update and promised a follow-up in Week #10. Well, I’m still training, and the 2022 Palm Beaches Garden of Life Marathon is fast approaching. I don’t say that with an ominous tone, but a matter-of-fact opportunity is coming up. It’s exciting and a bit scary at the same time.
The 18-week training journey I’m on has passed the halfway point. There are days when my legs feel the full impact of the training journey and others when my legs are completely fresh and ready to run. I am still learning how to balance the training and recovery phases to improve this process.
My training plan is designed to build up the mileage base to keep my mind and body adjusting to the opportunity to run and complete a 26.2-mile race. The body remains willing but there are days when I struggle to mentally prepare for my runs. I’m balancing full-time work, consulting, writing and an active Walk into the Future. Not complaining but there are days when I want to hit the snooze button and not get up on a Tuesday for a 5 am run. Tough life, I know. LOL.
Here’s an update of my actual training miles for this portion of the training plan:
Week #6: 30.95 miles
Week #7: 36.16 miles
Week #8: 33.47 miles
Week #9: 33.16 miles
Week #10: 33.19 miles
I’m logging the miles and look forward to seeing how this process helps me toe the line and complete the 26.2-mile journey. I run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and tackle my long run on Saturdays. I started incorporating 5k races on Saturdays to jump-start my long runs with some speed work on the front end. I seem to do better when I have a race or other folks around me so will continue to leverage races within my long runs.
My next race is the 2022 Game-On! Run Hutchinson Island Half Marathon in Fort Pierce. Happy to have a hometown race but this limits my ability to be a running tourist. A fun fact for this race is the course is run on Seaway and Ocean drives in Fort Pierce—most of my training runs occur on Seaway and Ocean drives in Fort Pierce. Interested to see how the course is supported by locals on the island—hoping to have a few folks out cheering us on like the larger races I write about—we will see.
I have leveraged my exercise bike when needed to get some training miles in when it rains or I’m short on time. I will eliminate this from my training program moving forward since I’m not sure these miles are helping my body prepare for what is coming in December. It feels good knowing I’m putting in miles but not seeing a direct translation when I’m out doing road work. Today was a 17-mile training run and I got in 14 which is not bad but not the targeted mileage. Will have to add another run tomorrow to get the remaining 3 miles in to complete the week. Yes, runners are a different breed but it’s easier to put miles in now than get to December and not be able to perform or finish.
I am building up to my Week #15 20-mile-long run which will be the longest of this training program. The mileage starts to trend down after Week #15 to reset the legs and ensure they are fresh for race day.
I’m still enjoying the process and look forward to seeing how the rest of the training program transforms my mind and body.
The opportunity is real and I’m ready to Walk into the Future with a huge running finish! 😊
What are you training for?
“There are no shortcuts in marathoning, so anyone who is a marathoner has worked hard”.
“Running is real and relatively simple…but it ain’t easy”.
(Mark Will-Weber)
My Walk into the Future allows me to mix and match my adventures depending on what I am trying to get accomplished.
I always love the running tourist part of my journey since I get to explore and stay in shape by training. My big running goal for 2022 is to run and complete my first full marathon in December. My training program is going well as I am averaging 30+ weekly miles to prepare for the task of running 26.2 miles in Palm Beach. The 18-week training program allows me some flexibility but a standard in the program is the long run concept each weekend. The miles increase incrementally each week and I have been dedicated to ensuring I get up on Saturdays to do my part to ensure I am ready for the full marathon.
Decided to sign-up for local 5ks to improve my speed and warm up prior to going out for my long runs. The 5k (3.1 miles) distance provides a great opportunity to get out and test my fitness levels, gauge my speed, and have fun.
Signed up for the Run to Stop Hunger 5k in Fort Pierce in September. This was a hometown race, so the running tourist did not get a chance to explore new locales, but I did get to see Fort Pierce in a different context.
The race start and finish line was located within Causeway Cove which sits directly on the Indian River in Fort Pierce. I run by this location weekly but never ventured onto the site to explore everything that is located there. I see the signs for jet ski rentals when running and always think about going in to rent a jet ski but have not made that happen to date. Interesting spot with a lot of different activities hosted there: RV park, drive-in movies on Saturday nights, concerts, food festivals, etc.
Needed to complete 14 total miles so decided to park closer to downtown Fort Pierce and run across the Seaway Drive bridge as a warmup before the 5k. My goal was to get a 1-mile prerace run in to loosen my legs and give me a springboard to get up to speed during the 5k. Made my way across the Seaway Drive bridge at a comfortable pace and arrived in Causeway Cove warmed up and ready to go.
I did not set a time goal for this 5k but wanted to go out faster than I did for the Celebration of Running 5k back in August. We did not have as many runners for this race so there was not as much traffic to navigate on the course. The course was completely flat, and we did not have to cross traffic at all.
It was an out and back race format with the turnaround at the 1.5-mile marker. It was cool getting a chance to see the leaders heading back towards the finish line—got a chance to gauge how close or far I was from the race leader. 😊
My first mile was run in 8:40 and I felt comfortable with this pace. Smiled when I looked at my watch and saw my first mile was well under a 9-minute pace. The Florida humidity was thick as always, but this did not keep me from maintaining this pace throughout the race—my goal was to get some speed work in so no need to back off at this point.
I locked in on a couple runners to help pace me the rest of the way after crossing the race midpoint. I felt the humidity a bit more in the second part of the race but had my music cranking (TI’s Motivation, again) and kept running hard.
Crossed the finish line at 26:43 for a pace of 8:35. This was my fastest 5k since March 2020 so extremely happy with the results. This time allowed me to finish second in my age group and collect a medal and age group award. Got a chance to talk with some local runners while waiting for the awards ceremony—we are a friendly bunch of people.
Still needed to get in additional miles so left Causeway Cove and ran back over the Seaway Drive bridge to my vehicle. Got my additional 9 miles completed on Ocean Drive for a total of 14 for the day.
Happy with my results and how my legs feel during this preparation phase of training. Will leverage speed work more as I get closer to my marathon date.
Walk Into the Future 