I haven’t written about running in a while, even though I am a runner, and I am really running….the season started here in sunny Florida in October……for me anyway……
The first thing I must report is the big news: I am honored and privileged to announce that I have been selected to be an Official Ambassador for the 2019 Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon Race Series!! I was a guest blogger for the race in 2014, and I’ve been an Official Ambassador since 2015, but I never take it for granted and feel very blessed to have been chosen!!
I live in Florida now, but I was born and raised in a suburb of Akron, Ohio. I moved to a suburb of Cleveland and worked downtown Cleveland for many years until I finally moved to Florida in 2000. My heart will always be in Ohio, and I’ll always consider myself a hometown gal from the #CLE.
The perk to Florida, though, is that our race season runs a little differently than it does in Ohio. While all my fellow Ohioans are shoveling snow, we are finally doing our outdoor running. The humidity is still crazy, but the temperature has dropped enough that we can actually breathe outside and run! I’ll start posting my training on Tuesdays starting in January, but for right now, I’ll bring you up to speed on what’s been up since October.
My first race of this season was on October 20 – the Law Enforcement Torch Run at the Punta Gorda Airport. The race was timed, but the whole event was weird. When we arrived, it was clear that it was going to be a small race — my race number was 42, and I’m pretty sure that’s how many runners were registered. We walked about a little over half a mile to get to the start “line” which was a small orange cone. They had a photographer take pictures of all of us, and then we were off. It was kind of cool to see the planes up close and everything, and I was looking forward to running on the tarmac at some point, only to learn that we would be running in the wet grass next to the tarmac because the city hadn’t approved the run with tarmac privileges.
The race was an “out and back” of sorts, down a blacktopped area, through the wet grass, briefly down a street with a turnaround, and then back through the wet grass and then the finish line. When I went to turn off my watch, I saw that we had run a whopping 2.6 miles for the 5K. The law firm I work for was one of the sponsors for the race which is why I was registered, so I felt bad for them. I especially felt bad for the guy at our office who was running his first 5K ever.
Next was the Ohio State University 4 Miler (virtual obviously!). When I saw that this event had a virtual option, I jumped on board. Brodie (my running pup) and I cranked that one out on the day of the actual race in Ohio – October 28, 2018 – just running around my neighborhood.
On November 10, 2018, I ran the Myakka River Half Marathon/5K. This year, my friend and awesome Race Director Tracy Hussey added a 10K with a PINK medal, so I signed up for the 10K. I was almost going to change my registration to a 5K until I saw that PINK medal LOL. Later I learned that the 10K is going to be eliminated, so I’m glad I was able to be included on a “one and done” race.
On November 17, 2018, I joined my gym in a private Turkey Trot 5K. Of course, there wasn’t any timing and it wasn’t anything official, but I was able to run with Brodie so that was the added plus. The distance turned out to be 3.42 miles by my watch, but hey, it was just for fun anyway. The race was scheduled on Florida’s official day of winter too – the temperature went all the way down to about 50 that morning! BRRRRR!!!
It was great to get Brodie a little more socialized and this race helped introduce him to running with other folks. The next race on my calendar might be the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving depending on what is planned. If you want to see the full list of my upcoming running events, click ~
UPCOMING RACES HERE
A little warning right now – my race season will be a little spotty this year – we are going through my partner’s struggle with cancer right now. That means doctor appointment, surgeries, chemo, etc., will all take priority to any running and races that I participate in.
I’ll write again soon! Happy Running!
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