MIAMI HALF MARATHON RACE PREVIEW

This is going to be so awesome. I hope I am awake enough to enjoy it! Shot from the first few miles over the causeway.

This is a really hard one to figure out. The main issue with this race is going to be the lack of sleep. The gun goes off at 6:15am EST, which means it will be 3:15am to my body. We have to be in the corral by 5:55am (2:55). Which means I am looking at a 1:30am PST wake up call. My body is used to going to bed around midnight. Not good!

My flight on Friday doesn't leave until 1:20pm. That was the only flight I could afford that was coupled with a reasonable departure time on Monday, so I took it. I get into Miami around 11:30pm Friday night. I should hopefully go straight to bed to try and prepare for the race. Maybe I'll wake up at 3am Friday morning and force myself to stay awake before my flight so I'm truly tired that night. Sleeping in doesn't seem like the best idea!

Course map. Should be very scenic and fun!

Saturday, I don't know what to do. On one hand, the night before the final night before the race is apparently the most important night of sleep, but at the same time, I don't want to be sleeping in when I need to wake up the next morning so early. I think I'll shoot for about 5 hours of sleep, so maybe a 6am wake up call. It's only a half marathon, I'd be fucked if it was the full, but since it's only a half I think I can do that on less that full sleep.

On Saturday we'll need to go to packet pickup and then keep things low key. My friend ended up not really training and is basically going to have to walk the thing. Had I known that, I would have never done this trip, but I guess that is besides the point now. I'll try to enjoy this short vacation as a small reprieve from the Oregon winter!

Sunday morning we'll wake up and do the race! He should be done by 9:30am or so, at which point I figure we'll grab a bite to eat and then back to his place to crash. Take a nice nap and then charge up for the Super Bowl that night. Probably drink a lot and celebrate the half marathon and the fact we have the day off Monday. On Monday, my flight isn't until 4:45pm, so I'll get some beach time before having to head home. Arrive in Portland at 10pm and go to work the next day.

OMG, yes, yes, yes.

The half marathon course looks really interesting! They definitely picked the best "half" of the course to have the halfers do. Should be really scenic, crossing Biscayne Bay over the causeway, then run along Ocean Drive, then back over the Venetian Islands to downtown Miami for the final two miles. Miles 8-10 I actually already ran during my long run on my trip to Miami last September. Hopefully the course will help propel me despite my time zone issues.

Overall, not sure if I want to set goals for this race because it is really going to depend on how I feel. Should the situation be different and I was able to adjust time wise and be 100% ready for the race I definitely think I could PR. The course is very flat and the weather at 6:15-7:50am is still fairly cool. However, that will not be the case. So we'll play it by ear. I'd like to finish with a sub eight average. Otherwise, I am not doing to put undue pressure on myself so I can just enjoy the experience.

Anyways, I'll have a report when I get back!