Miami Marathon Weekend!!

After months of training the Miami Marathon weekend was finally here!!! Three quarters of Team Donahue and road crew got on a flight out of Boston bound for Miami late Friday afternoon. We got in late Friday night, had dinner and went to bed excited about hitting the Marathon Expo to pick up our numbers and do a little shopping. For those of you new to marathon running, going to the expo is an exciting time! The Boston Marathon has by far the most impressive expo with exhibits taking up a large part of the Hynes Convention Center. Let’s just say the Miami Marathon Expo, while well organized and spacious it’s not as big as Boston. The best part of the Miami Expo is that it is held in the center of South Beach Miami. Where you can enjoy the warm sunshine, the beach and see lots of fellow runners carrying their orange bags from the expo around with them as they explore.

The Marathon and Half Marathon start promptly at 6:15 AM. We were all up early and headed down Biscayne Avenue with fellow racers, all pleased to be comfortable in shorts and T-shirts pre-6 am! On the way over we had our picture taken in front of the American Airlines Arena by an ING. Excitement ramped up in the corral – Heidi and Meredith were plotting strategy for the half marathon and Christine and Sharon, who were running the full distance, reviewed their plan to not go out to fast and synchronized their ipods.

The race kicked off right on time and the course did not disappoint! The first 3 miles are across as 3 mile bridge with a few of docked cruise ships all lit up in the dark, then along South Beach as the sun is coming up and the partiers are walking home from the night before. After a tour of South Beach the race turns back across the Venetian Causeway and through the “tube of cheer”, the Wii Rock Band Guys (stage and everything!) and then the course splits where the half marathoners finish (Heidi had a PR!) and the full marathoners head into the loneliest mile 14 ever! After a couple of transitional miles, the marathon route heads into a great residential area with tons of flowers, palm trees and enthusiastic volunteers and spectators.

Sharon and Christine ran together for the first 18 miles and executed the plan we had started with. But as the morning went on the temperatures rose from 63 to 75 degrees, Christine started to fade back. At mile 22 Heidi and Meredith were right underneath the mile marker cheering us on!! Between miles 22 and 24 is a 1 mile out and back where they hand out orange leis! Sharon and Christine passed each other waving wildly during this part of the run. Then it was on to the finish!! A great time was had by all.

Mid January Update

As any one who lives in the northeast knows, this winter has been really snowy and really cold! While the snow makes for a pretty landscape it makes training for a marathon tough. In the month of January we have had 9 days of snow totally 24 inches in Boston. Leaving the sidewalks icy and snow covered. As a result we have been doing a bit of indoor training. On one weekend our DFMC training run was canceled due to snow! Heidi, Mike and Christine headed out on our own the day before the snow came in 15 degree cold and ran 10 miles. Other than the cold it was a beautiful day.

Sharon and Christine’s taper for the Miami marathon was in full swing over Martin Luther King weekend. Christine was in Boston and chose to crank out her final 8 miler indoors. Sharon was fortunate to be visiting friends in San Francisco, so her 8 miler was extremely hilly!

The following day, Sharon was also treated to a hike on the Tennessee Valley trail in Marin County which included a maximum elevation of 860 ft! The hike was capped off perfectly with a visit to “Joe’s Taco Lounge” in Mill Valley (highly recommended).

January 4, 2009

Team Donahue’s training is in full swing. This Saturday morning we had a DFMC team run out of the Mt. Auburn club in Watertown. It was a beautiful morning, and we were treated to a nice view of the sunrise from the meeting room on the top floor of the club. We didn’t realize we’d be zapped with a pretty strong headwind for the first few miles as we headed up to Comm Ave and the marathon course. With so many of us running drafting was possible, at least when we could stick with the pack. Mike shot out ahead – seemed as if he was motivated to run off some of the happy hour cheer he had enjoyed on Friday night. Heidi, Christine and Sharon fell in with Julia, a first year DFMC runner and marathon veteran who is running to support lung cancer research.

The route was a bit clearer than it had been last weekend, although there were definitely still some treacherous patches. The well staffed (and stocked!) DFMC water stops were a welcome sight for all of us.

We battled some serious headwinds on the way back to the club as well (it’s not supposed to work that way!), but the team all made it back in one piece, better off for having done the run (especially Mike!).

On Sunday, Christine and Sharon hit the Minuteman Trail for their last 20-miler in preparation for the Miami marathon at the end of the month. With a starting temperature of 18ºC, we were both bundled up and grateful that conditions on race day are expected to be much better. Even the neoprene sleeve didn’t prevent Sharon’s camelbak hose from freezing! Something to keep in mind for folks running the Minuteman – it’s plowed through Somerville, Arlington and Lexington but not Bedford! Despite frozen water, some last minute route machinations, knee pain and a bit of left over fatigue from the previous day’s run, we ground through the 20 miles and are really looking forward to Miami!