Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon Race# 19

Sunday February 14, 2016
Time: 4:37:22
Overall Place: 432/752

I have taken to changing my writing up this trip a little in that I wrote on the run.  On the plane, in bed, and at the beach so the structure is a little more broken but I am trying to capture the thoughts as they happen.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Surprise, leaving at 10:40 instead of 11:20 and going to Toronto instead of Ottawa, no Irene (my cousin in Ottawa) time. Went in to work for 6:00 got lots done.  Stephanie picked me up at 9:00.

Left with a wicked cold I got on Tuesday.  Thursday afternoon and I'm feeling a little better.  Throat is a little raw though.  Hopefully will feel better by Sunday. Doesn't matter I'm running anyway.  I have six hours to finish the race.

So I had a Canadian experience today, my first. I had a lemon honey tea. It was pretty good.  I don't need my tongue for a few days anyways.  Not used to drinking hot.

First flight was good, no issues. Second flight is Air Canada Rouge.  I've never been so thankful for short legs.  No frills flight.  We're late.  Someone in first class needed a new seat cushion.  Thanks 

Well we left an hour late.  So much for getting there earlier.  It is Thursday evening and we're almost there.  The shivering has returned and my voice is gone, but other than that I'm feeling okay.  Looking forward to getting to bed.  Won't be any sightseeing tonight.

 

Learned one thing about people here in Fort Lauderdale, about cabs.  They make it very easy to remember the cab phone numbers.  I saw several different ones.
222-2222
777-7777
999-9999
Get the idea?

 Friday, February 12

Had a good sleep all the way to 8:00.  Best sleep in a while.  Got showered and dressed and went down for breakfast.  Found out how low budget this hotel was.  They had a five foot table against the wall with hot beverage, muffin and a nature valley bar.
Next plan, went to the closest mall and had a breakfast sub, hash browns and orange juice. It was fantastic.

 

From there I went to the Fort Lauderdale Beach Park and parked the car. I needed to spend until 3:00 o’clock here so I could go to the Expo which is when it opened. 

 

Went down to my shorts and a light shirt.  How nice is that?  First impression of this area is that it is magnificent.  Big beach, lots of people and lots to do.  I parked in the area of the finish line for the race.  I walked about three miles down the boardwalk along the ocean.  Freighters out in the ocean, parasailers in the sky and lots of sunbathers.  Two main languages spoken.  Lots of Spanish, and as much French as English.  This is where Quebec comes to vacation. Walked in the ocean along the beach for a couple of miles.  Heidi reminded me I'm a ginger kid. I forgot.

  I'm warm tonight.

Went to visit the Bahia Mar Yacht Club.  Saw some amazing vessels. 

What do these people do for a living? Walking was really good for me except now I have a sunburn.  Beats freezing at home on the coldest weekend of the winter.  Go ahead call me a sissy.

Stopped by an ice cream place and made my own concoction for $.59 an ounce.  My dessert was just over 12 ounces.

Made it back to the car and drove to the race start.  It's about five miles from the finish.  They want everyone to park at the start line and then they provide shuttles to and from.  Drove to the Expo at the Convention Center.  Nice facility.  Expo was nice, about 80 exhibitors.  They did not have any speakers though.  I might go back on Saturday. Good swag in the bag.  

 

 

After the expo I drove to the Sawgrass Mills Mall.  It was recommended by a coworker.  I was not disappointed.  It was huge and I got lost trying to get out.

They have two almost identical food courts at either end of the mall.  It has an odd configuration and is huge.  I had supper at Boston Market. Turkey Dinner. It was very good.

 

Talked to Heidi again this evening.  I just give her my number and she calls me at the hotel.  This stinks not having her on some of the trips, especially since we are both sick this weekend.

 Saturday, February 13

Woke up this morning feeling a little better.  Didn't even go down for breakfast knowing what was there.  I picked up a few things for myself the night before.  Went out for a three mile run in the neighborhood.  It was warm and humid.  Legs are good; just need the head and lungs to catch up.

Packed up and checked out of the first hotel.  Planned to take a drive to Everglades Holliday Park and see the alligators.  Decided to take the air boat tour, which was an hour long. 

Saw alligators, iguanas, and birds.  Very nice excursion.  Then I got to see the Gator Boys do their alligator wresting.  Lots of Québécois there as well, and they don't speak a word of English.  There was also a group of seven from Ontario, most likely from Toronto.

Drove back to expo one last time.  After that I headed to hotel number two. 

 

Same brand as the first one but in Deerfield.  It is in north Fort Lauderdale.  Didn't take long to get there, everything is close.  I have the same room only opposite layout.  
I decided to go to the ocean and found out it was only about three miles east of the hotel.  What a pleasant surprise finding out that it was Pioneer Days on the boardwalk.  They had a main stage with a tribute to the Blues Brothers.  They also had many food stands and other booths where people were selling their stuff.  All this to the setting sun.  On the way back I stopped at a  little pizza joint where I parked the car.  Great pizza.

Came back to the hotel and set up flat Ed.  I'm ready to run.  Now for some sleep.

 Sunday, February 14

Valentine’s Day, I miss my Sweetheart!
My day started at 3:00 in the morning.  I was already up because I didn't have the greatest sleep.  I took no chances though.  I set the alarm on the hotel alarm clock; I set my phone alarm, and had Heidi call me.  Over kill, maybe, but I was up.  Still not feeling totally fine but good enough to run.

Flat Ed was ready so I wasn't going to miss anything.  I wanted to get away by 4:00 so I could make it to the start line parking by 4:30 and avoid the rush.  I ate some lemon cake, had a banana, some water and PowerAde.  This is all I ever eat the morning of a race.  Sometimes I have a bagel.  

I took some extra clothes along in case it was cool.  It was not.  Morning temperature was a balmy 15C.  I did take a bag to check in though.  

Driving on the interstate at 4:00 is great, very little traffic.  During the day they drive very fast and like to use all five lanes within the span of a few feet.  They also drive very fast cars here, mostly the German and Italian imports.  I also noticed that you never see a dirty car here.  I don’t think the car washes do a thriving business.

Anyway, I arrived at the start and had no problem finding parking.  I waited a bit and then went to the Porto John for some relief and came back to the car for some games of Yahtzee against Maria.  We split.

Time to run.  I headed to the start line and dropped off my bag and went to my corral.  No big fanfare to the start, the announcer yelled, go, and off we went.

We ran through downtown Fort Lauderdale towards the ocean.  It was still dark at this time, but it was a very attractive route with their lights.  I also saw some yachts along the canal. By the time we hit the ocean it was just starting to get light.  Hard to describe the beauty of the ocean in the morning.  There were some clouds hiding the sun at times but the sunrise was still magnificent.  We headed down the A1A for a short distance and then dipped into a beautiful park for about three miles.  After that back onto the A1A for the rest of the race.  My legs were definitely feeling the effects of being sick and I had to work hard to maintain a good pace resting every mile to mile and a half.  It was quite warm and we were heading north into a nice wind.  Finally at about mile 16 we turned around and headed south toward the finish line.  It was nice to have the wind at the back running along the ocean.  I crossed the finish line at 4:37:22.  I didn’t win, but I did feel good about my time.  It was hard and now I know what it feels like running sick.  It was really a flat easy course but being sick makes it hard.

 

 

It was a good race.  The course was open to traffic, but the police did a great job of controlling the traffic.  Not many spectators on the course as I suspect they were all on their yachts drinking margaritas.  I took the shuttle back to the start line parking lot and headed back to the hotel.
After calling Heidi, I stretched and showered.  This room did not have a bathtub otherwise I might have iced down a bit.  This hotel did not have shampoo in the room.  This hotel also did not have room service to make the beds.  This was a low budget hotel and you get what you pay for which was okay by me.  Fort Lauderdale is a very expensive city so I did really well by this hotel.  I’m really easy to please though.  

 

I had a few hours to kill so I decided to head to Deerfield Beach and see what was going on there.  It was only about a ten minute drive and along the way I drove through some of the neighborhoods along the canals.  Quite spectacular.  I got to the parking lot close to beach and walked over a bridge and I was there. 

They had a long pier off the beach and of course the end of the pier was loaded with fisherman.  The pier probably goes out about a quarter mile so you get a great look at the shoreline.  After that I went to the festival they were having on the boardwalk and decided to partake in some of delectable delights.  I had a gyro from the Greek stand and was almost convinced to have lamb, but I thought that was a baaaaaad idea.  After that I went to the main stage and was fortunate enough to catch a Beetles tribute band. 

 

They played for about an hour and a half.  I think it was enjoyed mostly by everyone over fifty, but I did see some of the younger generation singing along to some of the tunes.  It started cooling off a bit now and the festival was pretty much over so I headed back to the hotel.  

After watching a bit of the NBA all-star game and talking to Heidi it was off to sleep.  It was a good day.

Monday, February 15

Well, this morning I woke up and except for a little coughing, I am feeling much better.  I will admit though that my legs are a bit more sore.  Way more lactic acid buildup than usual.  My plane was leaving at 11:05 in the morning so I was able to sleep in a bit longer.  I did my abbreviated morning stretching and packed.  It's nice to travel with a carry on suitcase because I don't have to pay for luggage check and I don't have to worry about my luggage getting lost.  

Drove my rental back to the airport and caught the shuttle to the terminal.  All went smooth.  Then I found out the plane was about 30 minutes late which was bound for Montreal.  No problem still had enough time to catch the connection to Toronto.  Interesting flight, two kids took turns screaming for over three hours.  I felt sorry for the parents.  

The flight to and from Fort Lauderdale were on Air Canada Rouge.  Very tight budget conscious part of Air Canada.  That would be hard to fly overseas.

I'm not going to lie; it was hard to leave the sunshine and warm weather of Florida.  Made it to Montreal and after a short layover hopped on a plane to Toronto, which of course was late.  At the Toronto airport I had one of my favorite meals, A & W.  After that I headed over to the gate, surprise, the plane was late coming in.  Made it home about 2 hours late.  At least they were consistent.  Still one of my favorite airlines though despite the lateness.  Believe me, it happens on all the airlines.
Back home to the snow and cold.  Good news is that I leave in two weeks for Arizona and back to sunshine.