I WENT TO MIAMI

A picture from about mile 10 of my 12 mile run on Sunday. I meant to take more pictures, but I had to have my phone
in a Ziploc because it was so humid and wet. This was a really pretty run!

I'm back! My trip to Florida was successful... I had a TON of fun and also got my two runs in. It'll be tough to get back into my work/run routine, but I'll do so starting today because I have a race in less than two weeks. A certain little marathon I've been training for since April.

My flight for Miami left at 5:45am Thursday morning. Those flights always seem like such a good idea when you are booking them ("I get into Miami at 4pm!") but when the reality of a 3:30am alarm hits you in the face it kind of sucks. I ended up getting three hours of sleep and kind of nodded off on that first flight so I was basically good to go.

That first night we didn't do too much. Went out to dinner at a very good Chinese place, then did a night swim in the ocean. That was a ton of fun and my first official dip in the Atlantic Ocean. We then stayed up until about 2:30am drinking and catching up. After three hours of sleep that wasn't the best idea, but luckily the next day was just a "lay on the beach" day so everyone just got up at their own pace and wandered toward the beach. I woke up last (surprise) and then headed out for a run at 11:30am up toward North Beach.

View during the Venetian Islands portion of my long run.

The run was along Collins Avenue, then onto a stretch of paved boardwalk for about a mile, then through a park for maybe half a mile, then just a little bit more on Collins before turning around. There is a nice stretch of paved boardwalk down in South Beach, but I knew we'd be going there later so I decided to explore the northern part. It was a nice little run that clocked in at about 10k. The weather was pretty sunny and very humid but there was enough shade and ocean breeze I didn't get too overheated. I ended up averaging 8:40/mile without trying too hard. I was definitely hot and sweaty when done, much more so than a usual run.

My next run was on Sunday after a day at the waterpark Saturday. I ended up going to bed around 2:30am and woke up at 8:30am, so I got a decent amount of sleep. Everyone else stayed up until 5am(!) but I was determined to not screw my run up. I ended up getting out the door pretty much on schedule at 9am and commenced my long run.

The weather was hotter than my first run, but cloudier. I couldn't decide if this was better or worse. Overall, I'll take the cloudier weather because the Venetian Islands were pretty exposed and most of the run was near water which meant a decent breeze. I really like the route I planned out and had a really good time running in a new place. Crosswalks didn't pose as much as a pain as I thought... sure I had to stop at about ten along the way, but there was lots of jaywalking in Miami so unless it was a busy road I just crossed when it was safe. Had to dart across the road a couple times because Miami doesn't like to put sidewalks on both sides of the street apparently, but nothing too bad.

My 12 mi route. If I lived here I think
this would be a common long run.

Overall my run to the Venetian Islands and back was a lot of fun. Not to be too graphic, but this was day four of the trip and I hadn't had a 'movement' yet. I always get that when traveling and was worryed it would hit me during the long run where I didn't have a place to relieve myself. Luckily around mile 9.5 it hit right around a Shell station so I was able to stop and take the Cleveland Browns to the Super Bowl. I felt so much better after that. I felt really strong those last few miles. This 12 mile run in 90 degree weather with 90% humidity wasn't bad at all. Really encouraging! Ended up averaging a tick under 9:30/mile.

Later that day we went on a jetboat tour of Miami, did South Beach, and drove through different areas of the city. That night was the last night of the trip and we ended up staying up until almost 5am. The next morning we woke up and had a BBQ on the beach and swam before it was time to go home!

Overall impressions... being a runner in Florida would be hard! You'd have to really plan your runs at times when you wouldn't die. I feel very blessed to live in such a good running climate. I did see a decent amount of other runners, but apparently being friendly isn't their forte (East Coast thing?). I would say "hi" to everyone like I normally do, and got maybe an 8% response rate. Also, you are SOAKED from head to toe when done. I had trouble getting my shirts off they were so plastered to my body. At one time I almost panicked because it was trapped over my head and I could barely breathe. Anyways, it was fun to experience, but having to run in that full time would really test my love of running.

Amazingly fun trip! Loved Miami but still glad I live where I live.