Florida: The Last Week in February and the Skyway 10K

In the midst of the pandemic this all seems a lifetime ago, but its only been a month. Here's what the end of February and the beginning of March were like in Florida, the last bit of normality before everything turned upside down.

Tuesday February 25.

I ran 4 slow and easy miles this morning and then did laundry. Lee left on a business trip early in the morning. I take the dogs to the local dog park late in the morning. This is a good solution for the morning walk when Lee is out of town. The dogs get plenty of exercise and I can just sit and relax.

I eat leftovers for dinner. I finish the book I’m reading, When breath Becomes Air. Its a memoir by a neurosurgeon that got lung cancer and died. Its pretty depressing. I know it should be inspiring and it’s interesting in a clinical way. I don’t think I would have made the same choices he did, but who knows? Everyone wants to live but the suffering involved in trying to beat cancer just gives me pause. I would have done the first treatment he had, the targeted immunotherapy because it didn’t have bad side effects, and then I think would have said, let’s just get a lot of morphine and go to sleep, ok? But I’m not 37 years old watching my life just slip away....

Wednesday February 26

I did speed work this morning. It was warm, but it was a short workout so it didn't bother me. Afterwards the dogs get a very late jaunt to the dog park. It’s after noon when we get back. I feed them. They are full of stickers so I brush them too and then put them in the crate with chews and go get a sandwich from Sandwich on Main for lunch. 

I laze around a little and get very sleepy. Lay down and next thing I know it’s 3:30 and the rain has blown in. No walk for the dogs tonight, and I’m having carry out sushi for dinner.

Thursday February  27

Lee got back last night. It’s COLD today! We’ve become Florida wimps. We go out to dinner at Water Oak Grille, a new restaurant in town. I’ve read mixed reviews but we have a good experience. When we first walk in it’s super noisy, but soon the very drunk table next to us leaves and then it’s fine. I get an Old Fashioned, it’s good. We share some small plates, oysters from Virginia and Connecticut, and a salad. The steamed buns are good, although hardly authentic. The short rib fries are amazing, but a little salty. 

Friday February  28

4 chilly miles this morning. I wear gloves, it’s only 40F. I've finished pinning together my quilt tops, now it’s time to start quilting!



Sunday March 1st, Skyway 10K.

I had to get up at 2:45 AM (again!) for this race across the gorgeous skyway bridge in St. Pete. This is the third year they ran this race and it’s become so popular that they went to a lottery this year. I was lucky to get in. 8000 people are bused from Tropicana Field in St Pete south over the bridge and then you run back north. The race is run in 4 waves so the runners are spread out and it’s never crowded. I signed up for the second wave because I was worried that it would be warm but it was actually chilly and I changed my outfit to tights and a long sleeved shirt the night before.

It was such a well organized race. They told you exactly how to get to your assigned parking lot, and then I just followed the other runners to the staging area. I used the portapotties and then left my sweatshirt at bag check for after the race. I had kept my heat blanket from Princess so I wrapped that around me and got in line to get on my bus.

Everyone was cheerful and talkative on the bus, and it was warm! It took around 30 minutes to drive to the other side and park. It was still dark when we got off the bus but as we walked to the start we could see the beginnings of a beautiful sunrise. It wasn’t too long before the national anthem played and we were off.

The first 3 miles of this race were pretty flat, but you could see the bridge looming in the distance. The bridge meant that you climbed a huge 1 mile incline to get to the top, about 600 ft in elevation. The views were just spectacular! I wasn’t feeling very speedy, even before the hill, so I just tried to keep steady and do my best. I walked a little more to get to the top but really it wasn’t that bad, and then I ran all the way down.

It’s a funny thing about running down a long hill like that. You’d think you could really zoom down but it’s actually a little painful and hurts your quads so you can’t go as fast as you might like.

A neat thing about this race is that it was a no cup race. Instead of volunteers handing out paper cups there were portable water fountains where you could either fill a handheld bottle or drink like you would from a water fountain. I used them several times and it was quick and easy and no litter.

After the down hill you only have 3/4th of a mile to go. Right at the 6 mile mark however, there’s one more hill! It’s not as big as the bridge hill of course but still. I’m glad I was warned about it cause otherwise it would have been pretty discouraging.

As usual I tried to run the last 1/4 mile as hard as I could. I like to find someone to catch or pace with if I can. This time I saw a chubby guy ahead of me slow to a walk. I said, “come on, we’ve got this!” And he responded, “ok I’m coming!” And we’re off! I actually poured it on a little more and he was right behind me and finished only a few seconds after I did. I told him he did great and he actually thanked me! He said “ I was going to walk it in if you hadn’t challenged me!”

At the end they pretty much hustle you on to the buses. They hand you a water bottle as you get on the bus and everyone is happy and celebratory. They drive you back to Tropicana Field where you get your cool medal, a bag of chips and a banana. I gave away my free beer tickets and got a mini margarita instead. Once I got my sweatshirt I walked slowly back to the truck and drove home.

Lee and I went to brunch at Daydreamers. I got the waffle special, 4 mini waffles, 2 eggs, fruit and bacon. Oh and a mimosa. It was a lot of food but I ate every last bite and it was delicious!

When I got my results I was a little disappointed, 23rd out of 236 women 65-74 (strange Age Group). But then someone said, “hey you’re in the top 10%, that’s great! Lol, I guess that’s true.

I’m done racing now, for awhile anyway. I’m going to take it slow and easy for the next month and then start training for the San Francisco Marathon.