The year that was - in running!

Earlier this year, I made it a goal to run 13 races in 2013!  I am happy to report that I accomplished my goal!  I logged almost 400 miles in two running shoes.  I ate more Gu than I care to tell.  I ran distances I thought were nowhere near my ability to finish.  I also found a few favorite running gear/products. 1) Saucony Ride, a neutral shoe!  I ran my first marathon in them and I did not feel the arch pain that has plagued Runs 1-11!  2) KT Tape helped me run knee-pain-free. It has also helped with my plantar fascitis.  3)  CWX compression capris are the best out there.  It keeps everything from moving around especially the knee joints.  However, they are a pain to pull down and up and worse when you run long distances and are tired.  4) Gu gels for long runs...just because   5)  Power Beans for short runs 6) mapmyrun for tracking my mileage 7) Thorlo Socks are the best running socks for me, and 8) ProCompression socks are what I use after a race.  It works best in recovery.   Here are all my races.  I wrote race recaps in all but two, so please check them out.

1. February 2 - Melbourne Music Marathon 5K
2. February 24 - Disney's Princess Half Marathon 
3. March 17 - Berry Patch 5K 
4. March 23 - Re-Run 5K 
5. March 30 - Downtown Melbourne 5K 
6. April 6 - Pirate Plunder 2 miler
7. April 27 - Melbourne Art Festival 5K 
8. May 11 - Run for the Gecko 5K 
9. July 4 - Firecraker 5K - 
10. September 14 - Turtle Krawl 5K - 
11. October 5 - Disney's Tower of Terror 10 miler - 
12. November 2 - Let's Get Moving 10K, Wickham Park 
13. December 1 - Space Coast Marathon 

2013 Princess Half Marathon (first half marathon)

Disney's Tower of Terror 10-miler

2013 Space Coast Marathon (first full marathon)

So what's next?  Why, run 14 in 2014, of course!  Here's my race calendar so far.

1. January 12 - WDW Marathon, Disney World
2. January 26 - 2nd Annual Scrub Jay Duathlon, Titusville
3. February 2 - Melbourne Music Half Marathon, Melbourne
4. February 16 - Daytona Beach Half marathon, Daytona Beach
5. February 23 - 26.2 with Donna Marathon Relay, Jacksonville 
6. March 1 - Best Damn Race Half Marathon, Orlando
7. April 26 - Melbourne Art Festival 5K
8. July 4 - Firecracker 5K
9. July 20 - Rock and Roll Chicago Half Marathon, Chicago, IL
10. September 13 - Turtle Krawl 5K
11. November 8 - Wine and Dine Half Marathon, Disney World
12. November 30 - Space Coast Half Marathon

#13 of 13in2013! Space Coast Marathon Race Recap

The bling for the series!

Goal:  Run 13 races in 2013, check!  What better race to run to cap my running goal for the year than my first full marathon at the Space Coast Marathon!  This was not scheduled to be my first marathon.  Back in April, we registered for the WDW Marathon in January 2014.  We started training for it in July and as it turned out our training run on November 30 was a 23-mile long run. This happens to fall on the same weekend as the Space Coast Half Marathon/Marathon which we had already registered to run the half. With a momentary lapse in better judgment, my husband and I decided to run 26.2 miles instead of our scheduled 23 miler!  We figured since we were running a long run anyway, why not earn a medal doing it. Thus, the Space Coast Marathon became the first marathon that we trained for. What makes this special is that this is the only space-themed race on the planet!  This year is also the first race in a series of 5 races in 5 years called The Big Bang Series.  Run 3 of 5 races and you earn a Milky Way medal, run all 5 and earn the Intergalactic medal.  We intend to run the series and earn all 7 seven medals in the next 4 years!

It took 22 weeks of training to get us ready for the marathon.  Or as ready as we could be with the time that we had. The longest training run we did was 17 miles. This gave us a little bit of apprehension because other runners have suggested that running 20 miles would have been better because we would really know and prepare to feel the "pain" that this distance somehow gives a runner.  So, ready of not, we reached the 22nd week of training and race day was just days away.

Race shirt with our bibs

Packets were available for pick up at 10 am on the Monday before race day. I was at the store by 11 am.  I suppose I was a tad excited. I really didn't know what I was expecting to find in the race packet but it was nothing really special.  It had a white, long sleeved race shirt, a bib with our name printed on it, a clear plastic check-in bag with label, and the official race program.  I was told to take as many moon pies and protein bars laid out on a table.  I took two of each for Ralph and me.  Before leaving the store, I scanned our D-tags to make sure that it read the tag for tracking time.

We followed the marathon gurus' recommendations to start carb loading days prior to the race. This was not too difficult to accomplish since the race happens to be the Sunday after Thanksgiving!  I have never stuffed myself with so much food and not worry that I would gain weight!  I savored every bite of pie, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cakes, salad, that I pushed in my mouth.  This was followed by two more days of eating nothing but rice, spaghetti, and bread.  We were advised by race organizers that the weather on race day might be warm so we had to hydrate.  So hydrate we did.  I am not a big water fan but I had to force myself to drink as many ounces a day throughout the week.

Year 1 of the series!

The day before the race we went to the expo.  It was held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex.  We decided to check it out mainly to take pictures for my blog and maybe get some free products.  The expo was not the size of Disney races or the Melbourne Music Marathon but we thought it was just big enough.  It was packed when we got there but still managed to get a free Publix drawstring back and purchased 26.2 decals for the cars.  Of course, we expected to finish the race!  With only a handful of vendors, we were in and out of the expo within an hour.

My race gear..

The night before the race, I was very anxious.  I laid out all of my race gear.  I made sure that I had Body Glide for my recurring pinky toe blister that somehow always appears at mile 6!  I cut my toe nails and shampooed my hair to save time in the morning.  I packed my ifitness belt with Gu, some Tylenol and Beanno pills, extra plastic bag for my phone if it rains, and extra toilet paper.  I filled out one of the water bottles just for emergencies since I knew that there will be water stops throughout the course. You never know when you are parched and the next water stop may not be nearby.  I have had problems with plantar fascitis and knee pain before so I taped both feet and right knee to help protect these areas.  I should have taped both knees! I suffered for it later.  I was done by 9 pm and decided to call it a night. Since I was a bundle of restlessness, anxiety and excitement I didn't fall asleep until two hours later.

4 am came all too soon!  Our friends were picking us up at 5 am so we hurriedly got ready.  We each had one toasted cinnamon raisin bagel for breakfast.  This usually tides us over for the first 3 miles.  We got to Cocoa Village and the half marathoners were already being called to the starting line.  Their race was set to blast off at 6:00 and the marathon at 6:30.  Half marathoners head south on the course while marathoners head north for the first half and head south to the half marathon course for the second half.  After the half marathoners left, marathoners slowly headed to the starting line.

We took the requisite photo shots while we all still looked fresh and happy!  A few minutes later, someone took the mic and sang the National Anthem, then the tv roared the thunderous sound of shuttles blasting off to space and we were off. Ralph and I had decided to walk or jog slowly for the first mile.  So choosing a pacer to run with was really not useful for us so we just kept to the back of the pack.  We wanted to bank some leg power for later in the race.  We had 26.2 miles to the go after all.  We started behind a 6 hour pacer, fell behind to the 6:15 pacer, and after a potty break, fell behind the 6:30 pacer.  In the end, got passed by the 7 hour pacer after, you guessed it, another potty break!  Darn compression shorts/tights!

Ralph, Lorna and I at Mile 24!

The first half of the race came and went without much incident except for a trip to the medic tent for my pinky toe blister and two potty breaks!  The second half was a different story.  Between miles 14 and 23 I had different body parts start to hurt.  My untaped left knee started to make it's presence felt followed by my quads screaming from tightness.  A few miles later, my biceps started to cramp!  Who gets cramps in the arms? I had to run like I was hitting a boxing bag to stretch the muscles! Somewhere between this distance, we had caught up with a friend. With my knees hurting and her calves cramping we decided to do a slow walk/fast walk interval instead of a run/walk interval! We figured this would keep us moving forward.  After a while, we just dug deep and kept with our 1/1 run/walk interval. My legs were too tired at this point.  In fact, it had been tired since we passed the half way mark! Mile markers were coming by slower and slower it seemed.  The relay from the brain to the muscles to run when the beeper goes off was also slowing down.  My legs were heavy that I really had to force them to move!  When we got to   mile 23, we all knew that only we had but a 5K to go and we could hear the music from the finish line.  It seemed that we got a second wind.  We kept putting one foot in front of the other.

Rounding the bend to the finish.

The final .2 mi is said to be the longest distance in a marathon!  This time, it wasn't. At mile 26, a friend met us and told us the end is just around the corner!  We could hear the announcer as a runner crosses the finish.  We took another turn and we were met by friends cheering us on to the finish!  They were taking our pictures and were making a lot of noise.  We ran the final few yards with the most fan fare of any race I've ever done!  It was so heartwarming to have a lot of friendly faces at the finish.  Ralph and I held hands as we crossed the finish line!  What an exhilarating moment it was!  Our prize, a beautiful medal with a miniature Space Shuttle Columbia on it and a beach towel!  The after race party was long done when we finished.  They were still serving pancakes and eggs to the finishers but that was about it.  They ran out of sausages and oranges but there were still bananas available.  There were also still beer and soda.

I will forever remember my first marathon.  I read that only 0.5% of the US population has run and finished a marathon.  I am proud that my husband and I are now a part of the "club".  This would have been my one and done marathon, if only I didn't already sign up for the WDW Marathon in January 2014.  At least, I have one marathon to look back on and learn from so I know that I will finish it as well.

We are marathoners!

Lessons learned along the way:

• Train, train, train!
• A 17-mile training run is enough to get you to the finish.
• Whatever you don't put KT tape on will hurt after 15 miles.
• You need upper arm strength to take your compression tights off and put them back on.  And this strength weakens after mile 8.
• If you don't hold on to anything you can hold on to inside the portalet you will fall! 
• Men have the bushes - enough said!
• Your pinky toe may start to blister at mile 6.
• You will walk funny the day after the race.
• There is no shame in finishing 7 minutes over the race limit.  The medal earned by the first place finisher came from the same cut as yours.
• Running for 7 hours is too long! 
• Because 26.2 miles is way, too long!
• "It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed" - Theodore Roosevelt
• Just run!

Beautiful early morning view at race time!

  

 Runners getting ready to start.

 Filipino Strong!  Representing the Philippines all running the marathon!

Still smiling and looking fresh at Mile 1

Rocket garden!

#12 of 13 in 2013 Race Recap: Promise 10K

I was looking forward to running this race not only because it was my first 10K but also because it was my 12th race for the year!!!  With Ralph out of town and none of my friends running it with me, I had to brave it and ran it solo.   Reluctantly, I got up when the alarm came on at 6 am this morning.  After a quick blueberry bagel and green tea breakfast, I got ready.  I arrived at the venue with only 10 minutes before the start time of 7:30.  Immediately I could tell that this was going to be a small race.  There were probably less than a hundred runners.  It also appeared that there were more people wearing the 5K bib than the 10K.  We started the run with a prayer instead of the singing of the national anthem.  This is a first for a race I've run this year.  We then lined up behind the start sign. There was no starting mat unlike all the other races I've run.  Again, a first for me.

My goal was to finish but not finish last.  The problem with these small races is that all the other runners are so much faster than I am.  I knew I'd be close to the end of the pack.  To top it all, this was my first run in two weeks!  I knew I would be pretty slow! I set my interval timer to 1/1 and decided I will have to run faster on the run portion and walk faster on the walk portion.  I noticed a younger runner with an interval timer and she had it set at a loud beep so I knew she was going for a 1/1 interval as well.  In the first two miles, I was behind her by 10 yards or so.  I decided that if I didn't pass her soon, she might finish before me and I will end up being the last runner!  I scrapped the 1/1 interval and just kept running until I passed her.  After mile 3, I never looked back.  I could hear the timer go fainter and fainter.  I cheered inside because I knew I wouldn't be last!   I was the fourth from the last!! After I crossed the finish line, I limped towards the refreshments because I had developed blisters in my left pinky toe.   Having had a slice of banana and oranges, I headed back to the car and headed home.  I didn't check my time until a few minutes after I arrived home.  Well, what do you know?  I placed second in my age group!  Oh yes, I was second of two runners with about 30 minutes difference in finish time !!!!  I told you it was a small race!  I went back to the park and claimed my medal!  I was so excited to have earned this medal.  I may never earn another place medal so I will forever treasure this one!
 

My first ever place medal!  Placed 2nd in my age group!

This race turned out to be a memorable one.  Not only because I earned a place medal but this is also my 12th race in 2013. One race away from accomplishing an incredible personal feat.  My next and final race for the year is the Space Coast Marathon on December 1st.  I pray that I continue to be healthy between now and then to run my first marathon!

Disney's Tower of Terror 10 miler race recap

"Oh no, I forgot to eat a bagel!"  This was the refrain that kept going over and over in my head as we stepped off the bus at Hollywood Studios. We always eat a bagel before we go on our long training runs!  As soon as that realization set in, I started to feel hungry and weak!  I told Ralph I don't know if I can run if I'm hungry.  Of course Ralph wouldn't hear about it so we just moved on along to where the bag check area was.  After dropping off our bags, we headed towards the corrals.  The pre-race party was in full swing but I couldn't even get myself to enjoy the music because all I could think of was the bag of 6 fresh plain bagels that we left in the hotel room!

This was our first night race and our second long race since the Princess half marathon in February.  Aside from the thoughts of bagels hanging in my head, I was excited to run in it.  The weather wasn't too bad; it was definitely humid but not too unbearable.  It was actually a bit cooler, dare I say. We were in corral I, the second to the last corral, but it didn't faze us.  It was one corral up from the last corral in February.  We had about two hours to wait before we run so we just sat down on the ground and took in the sight. We saw runners sitting on the ground, some were taking pictures, others were sleeping, and quite a few were at the pre-race party nearby.

By 10 pm, we started moving out and headed toward the starting line.  Along the way, we sang the national anthem and cheered as every corral ahead of us was called out.  The best part about running at Disney is that every corral that goes out gets a nice fireworks display.  However, for some reason, our corral didn't get one. We felt like the middle child!

By the time the gun went off for our corral to start, I had forgotten about the bagels and I had a surge of energy after eating an entire pack of Power Beans.  Adrenaline kicked in. As soon as we got out of the gate, we run up the ramp to Osceola Parkway.  This was our first time to run up a "hill" in a long time since most of our training runs are on flat roads.  It was definitely a challenge.  Ralph told me after the race that he started having hip pain at this time.  Thank goodness it went away after a mile. They had some fire display in the pond next to the exit and boy was that hot.  We then

Showing off our medals!

entered Animal Kingdom, made a loop  and was out again in no time. When we hit mile marker 4, Ralph and I exclaimed excitedly at how we made it that far quickly.  We were making good time but Ralph signaled that he needed to hit the port-a-potty.  This was the first time we've ever stopped to go potty in any race.  There is more to be said about using these port-a-lets in the dark but that's for another day to tell!  I found out later that he used compression shorts and it was pressing on his bladder.  After the potty break, on we went towards mile marker 5.  A friend of mine who ran this race last year had warned me that this part of the course would be dark and the course turns into gravel.  Run Disney must have gotten a lot of complaints about it last year that this year, the gravel road leading into Wild World of  Sports was adequately lit.  The only problem was the road was narrow so running was not possible without running over other runners.  It reminded me of running through Cinderella's castle in the half marathon.  It was tight and slow moving!  Ralph and I had to slow down our pace at this time.  I thought it was going to hurt my legs when we got to this portion of the course but it actually felt fine for me.  It was a welcome relief from the hardness of the asphalt!  We were in the WWOS area for about two miles.  We ran the track and the Atlanta Braves field. Throughout the run, my knees didn't hurt but my right posterior tibialis tendon was making it's discomfort known.  I stopped at the medic station around mile 8 and popped a couple pills of Tylenol .

When we got back to Hollywood Studios' New York sound lot, we felt very excited.  We knew that we were close to the finish line.  We stopped for a photo op at this time.  They say that when you run a half marathon, the final .1 is the longest distance.  Well, when you run a 10-miler, the last mile is the longest!  It seemed as though we made so many turns before we actually saw the finish line.  The volunteers were screaming, "the finish is right around the corner".  This was just mean when they knew that around the corner was about 6 more turns!!!  Unlike at the Princess Half Marathon, this time Ralph and I crossed the finish line hand in hand!  We posed for every cameraman man along the way to the finish.  We had so much fun in these last few yards because we knew we were close to the end!  We did it again - another fun run and another accomplishment for both of us!

At the expo earlier in the day!

We walked towards the volunteers who were handing out the medals and beelined towards the food and drinks tables.   The walk to the bag check area felt like a "death" march!  My feet were hurting and I could hardly walk anymore.  We finally got our bags and I decided to remove my shoes, take off my compression socks and wear my flat slippers.  Big mistake! I could hardly walk towards the bus and couldn't walk towards our hotel room. It felt better when I put my shoes back on!

I iced my knees and legs after we arrived in our hotel room and wore my full compression socks to sleep.  We didn't get to bed till 3:00 am!  Phew, what a long and tiring day!  Although I was in pain after the race, this was still a fun race to have run.  The on-course entertainment was great and the volunteers were awesome!  This being a night race definitely posed some challenges and was a learning experience. Lessons for the next time?  Make sure to take a long nap during the day, have plenty of time to eat a decent dinner and do not forget to eat a bagel on the way out the door!  Oh and don't run on a new pair of shoes and insoles!

This was my 11th race in 2013!  I have two more races to go and I will have accomplished my goal of running 13 races in 2013!  I never imagined myself to have the will to stay on course to achieve this goal, but I have, and for that I am very happy!  Thank you all for cheering me on!

Next race, Let's Get Moving 10K.  This will be my first 10k race!

Our first time to visit Wide World of Sports

Inside the expo for packet pick up.  

Our hotel building at Pop Century Resort!

Marathon training update

On July 2nd Ralph and I started training for what would have been our first marathon at the WDW Marathon weekend in January.  About two months ago, Ralph and I decided to change courses and run the 26.2 miles in the Space Coast marathon on December 1st.  After the initial fear and the what-was-I-thinking mode, we have gone into full swing in training.  Here's a quick recap of training thus far, including training for WDW:

Training method used:  Galloway
Interval used:  1:1 run:walk
Weeks in training: 13
Weeks to go: 9
Total miles run: 112
Longest run:  15 miles
Fastest pace: 12:21 mm
Slowest pace:  15:13 mm
Roadkill seen: 1 squirrel
Rained on:  once
Used the bushes to do number 1: 1 (Ralph, by the way)
Longest time without going to the bathroom:  3:48:26 (me)
Injuries: None
Aches and pains: plenty
Blisters: pinky toe (me)
Bleeding nipples:  none (thank you, Bandaid)
Favorite fuel during runs:  Power Beans and Gu gels
Weird experiences:  loss of appetite after a long run
Post run refueling: Silk chocolate milk or protein shake with bananas
Pre run energy favorite:  slice of plain bagel
What not to do before a long run:  put cheese on your bagel
Worst part of training: 5 am wake ups on Saturdays!
Best part of training:  end of any run!
Newly found favorites:  full compression socks after a long run!
Amusing event #1:  Ralph busting into a dance move during our walk intervals
Amusing event #2:  Ralph breaking into a song during long runs!
Best cross training workout:  Strong!
Days wasted after long runs: 1
Next run:  10 miles
Biggest fear to date: getting hurt when we run 20 miles in November
Best lesson:  Put one foot in front of the other and just do it.
What's next: Why, keep running, of course!

#10 in 2013 - Turtle Krawl 5K

The Turtle Krawl 5K at Nance Park was my 10th race in 2013.  This is touted as running for the turtles and how fitting since I still run almost at a turtle's pace!  Although I did not PR this year, I shaved off almost 9 minutes from last year's time! That was all I really wanted to achieve on this race and I did.  What made this race even more special was that two of my best friends and a fellow teacher ran the race as their first ever 5K!   It makes me so happy that I have encouraged my friends to try running.  They may not continue on with any more but at least I got them to go out and try!

There was nothing new about the race; same course, same heat, same awesome t-shirt, and the same overall well organized event.  What was different was that there was a record close to 2200 participants this year! The organizers did an excellent job at getting these many runners to the start by providing shuttles so that there was no jockeying for limited parking spaces closer to the venue.  The after race food and refreshments was a aplenty that from the looks of it, no came out hungry or thirsty after.  They even had coconut water!  As for my running what was different was that I didn't feel like I was dying from exhaustion this time around.  I also did more running than walking, thus, the faster finish.  I can attribute this easily to having run at least 9 races since last year and putting more miles on my running shoes in preparation for my first full marathon in December.  This will definitely be an annual race to run for my husband and I in support of the Sea Turtle Preservation Society.

I look forward to running more races with my friends and maybe you may want to run along with us.  I also look forward to completing 3 more races to achieve my 13in2013 goal!

Next race, Disney's Tower of Terror 10 miler on October 5! 

With two of my friends, Nahid and Monica.  This was their first 5K ever!

  

With my fellow teachers, Natalie and Michelle.  This is Michelle's first ever 5K and I am so proud that she came and conquered the race! (Photo courtesy of Natalie Marshall)

A sea of runners, getting ready to run for the turtles! (Photo courtesy of Natalie Marshall)

Changing course

As many of you know, Ralph and I have been training for the Walt Disney World Marathon on January 11, 2014.  This would have been our first ever marathon.  Well, this race will no longer be our first, but our second marathon.  We have decided to change our registration to the Space Coast races on December 1st from the half to the full marathon. Have we gone bonkers???  Well, yes we have, it seems.  Okay, here's the rationale behind it and it does make sense.  Our Jeff Galloway training schedule for the WDW marathon puts us to run 23 miles that weekend.  Initially we were going to run the half on December 1st and run the 23 mile training run the following weekend.  After careful reconsideration, we decided why not just run the 26.2 miles and be done with the 23 mile training run with a 5K mixed in!  No big deal adding 3.2 miles to our training run, ha!  Honestly, I have had some major doubts about our being able to run the full this soon.  However, I believe that with proper training, we can do it.  I am now mentally prepared and looking forward to running and finishing the race.

2013 Space Coast Marathon Medal

#9 of 13 in 2013 - Firecracker 5K Race Recap

Runners singing the National Anthem before the race!

I couldn't have asked for a better morning to run on the 4th of July at the Firecracker 5k. Well, it was all we could ask for for a July morning in Central Florida, that is.  The race was scheduled to start at 7 am to avoid the blazing heat of the sun.  Even so, the sun was already up but the humidity wasn't so bad yet (at least for me) at race time.  It surely got hotter and more humid as soon as the gun went off.

This was my first 5K for the year with my running buddy, my husband, Ralph.  The last time we raced together was at the Disney Princess Half Marathon back in February.  Princess was also his last race until today.  For me, I had been running at least one race a month since the beginning of the year but the last race I ran was the Run for the Gecko 5K on May 11.  Just like him, it felt like this was  my first race all over again.  With my excitement, I beat the alarm clock set at 5:30 by an hour!  I waited until Ralph woke up before getting out of bed.  For breakfast, I had one fried egg, two hot pandesal (Filipino bread), and a cup of piping hot green tea.  Ralph made a bowl of oatmeal with sliced banana.  We quickly took a shower, got dressed, spread on some sunscreen, grabbed our water bottles and iphones and we were out the door.

And we're off!  Photo courtesy Gloria Abad Suan

Since it was a 4th of July run, the race was held at the Liberty Bell Museum in Melbourne.  Parking was at the nearby Melbourne Auditorium which is a good half a mile from the venue.  It was a good distance to walk and warm up before the race.  After finding our friends and the mandatory photo ops, the race was on.  I hit start on the mapmyrun app  and Lady Gaga's Telephone on my iphone and I was off.  With over 1000 runners, it was a little slow at the start but we spread out in no time.  Ralph had gone ahead of me (he always does) because he wanted to beat his last race record.  I was in the middle of the pack and was maneuvering my way around the other runners.  I hit a good stride in the first mile according to the "lady" on the app.  According to "her", I was at a 10:24 min/mi pace at mile 1.  However, the official race split put it at 11:32 min/mi!  Mmmm, who's more accurate?  I guess in the end it doesn't really matter.  I still fell behind this pace after mile 1 and continued on to officially finish at 38:59 (12:44 min/mi).  Since I can never catch that elusive under 35 PR, I will just shoot for the attainable under 40 every time!  Hubby PR'd at 31:45, woohoo!!!  Not bad for a 50-year old novice runner!

Crossing the finish line!  I look like I'm swimming in my sweat!
Photo courtesy of runningzone.smugbug.com 

Ralph crossing the finishing line with a PR!!
Photo courtesy of runningzone.smugbug.com

It was a great run all around.  We got American flags, necklaces, and an array of fresh fruits after the race.  And as always, a nice cup of fruit smoothie that hits just the right spot especially on a hot race day as today.  

I can't wait to run the 10th of 13 races in 2013 race next month at the I Run for Pizza Football Kickoff 5K!  I hope to see you there.

So happy to wave the American flag marking another great race together.

With our friends, Lorna and Tony Mazza. 

Me at mid-race. Photo courtesy of runningzone.smugbug.com

Ralph at mid race .. Photo courtesy of runningzone.smugbug.com

Team Eau Gallie High School!  Photo courtesy of Natalie Marshall