Sarasota Half Marathon Relay 2015 Recap

I've run the Sarasota Half Marathon for the past two years.  It's a beautiful course on the water near historic Sarasota.  The dolphin medal is the largest in the area.  This year, I decided to try the half marathon relay.  I invited my sister Patti to run the relay with me on March 15.

We came up with the team name Super Sisters.  I created a quick logo to have printed on matching shirts with our team name on the back.

On race morning, we dressed in our matching running outfits and headed to the start line.  The race started at 7:00 am with temperatures near 70.  I was running the first half over the Ringling bridge twice and Patti would run the second, flatter half.

It was still dark when the race started and I felt a little tired from the half marathon I ran the day before.  For this race, I only had to run 6.2 miles and I wasn't too concerned with time as Patti was nervous about the 6.9 miles she had to run (her longest race distance).  I told her not to worry about time and just feel good about her run. Patti waited with some of my running group friends and then made her way to the transition area.

The Ringling Causeway was killer on the way up but I flew on the way down.  We ran around St. Armand's circle and back over the Ringling Causeway bridge.  There were lots of little inclines here and there and I was glad Patti didn't have to run these as a newbie runner.  I met Patti in the transition area where we exchanged the timing ankle band and my Garmin.  I was so glad to be running the relay this year!!

The transition area was about a quarter mile from the finish, situated so the relay partners ran and finished the last portion together. I started to watch for Patti about an hour later. Luckily, I had some friends to pass the time with.

I was excited when I saw Patti approach the transition area.  She was doing fantastic with a nice pace.

I asked how she was doing and got a little emotional as we rounded the last corner together with the finish line in sight.

I was proud of my little sister for following through and finishing strong.

We both had a great race and pushed ourselves until the end.  I loved all the race photos and they were free this year!



Suncoast Striders' Relay Teams

Overall Place: 105/285
Female Place: 46/159
5K: 30:45 - 9:54 min/mi
10K (relay transition): 1:03:37 - 10:15 min/mi
15K: 1:32:55 - 9:59 min/mi
Chip Finish time: 2:18:03 - 10:33 min/mi

**Disclaimer:  As a member of the Tampa Bay Bloggers, I was given a race entry.  All opinions are my own.

Pasco Challenge Half Marathon Recap 2015

The Pasco Challenge was hosted by the Alzheimer's Family Organization.  The half marathon was on Saturday, March 14 at Starkey Park.  I run Starkey Park every Saturday so I knew the course well.

I wanted to run a half marathon under 2 hours so originally I thought this race would be perfect for meeting that goal.  The course was very flat and I knew it well.  A couple of details I missed when planning my goal for this race were; this was Florida and it can be quite hot in March AND the Starkey Trail was mostly in full sun.  Both of those equal HEAT.  Heat and running fast don't really work for me.

Not thinking of the heat or sun, I set my Garmin's pace keeper to alarm if my pace was too slow to meet my goal of under 2 hours.  I needed my average pace to be 9:09.  I'd just run an average pace of 9:09 at the Gasparilla 15k so I thought it was doable.

On race morning, I talked with a couple of friends from my running group.  It was a smaller race with less than 100 people running the half.  The race started at 8:00am with temperatures in the mid/upper 70s.

During the first mile, my Garmin alarmed that I was running too slow for the pace I set.  I shook it off because the first warm up mile is usually slower.  When my Garmin continued to alarm through mile 3, I was ready to take it off and stomp it to death.  Instead, I turned off the pace keeper.

I felt decent for the first 6 miles.  Shortly after that, the course turned around and I was done.  I felt light-headed, overheated and exhausted.  I wasn't even half way finished.  At that point, I didn't care if I walked the rest of the race.  There was no way I'd finish under 2 hours.

At the 6 mile turn around, 3 members of my running group passed me.  One of them, Trish, fell back from her group.  She was ahead of me so my goal was to close the gap.  I had to have a goal to prevent me from walking too much.  After some running and walk breaks, I caught up to Trish who was practicing a run/walk method to keep her heart rate in the correct zone.  I decided to stay with her and finish the race using the run/walk method.  I was really struggling and Trish helped me through the run portions.  I got to a point were I could only run one minute with a minute walk.  That was the worst I've felt during a race in years.*

I finished in 2:15.  No PRs but thrilled to be finished.  I left the awards ceremony early because I had to shower, pack and head to Sarasota for another race the next day.  I won second place in my age group!  Looks like the heat sucked the life out of everyone else too.

Age Place: 2/9
Female Place: 17/43
Overall Place: 39/83
Ave Pace: 10:21 min/mi
Chip time: 2:15:37

*Come to find out...my thyroid was overactive again so that's why this race sucked so much.

Gasparilla 15k Recap 2015

The Gasparilla 5K was my first race back in 2009, so even though this race is very crowded each year, I still run it.  The bling is pretty awesome too!

This was my second 15K race with Gasparilla 2014 being my first.  Last year I took my time because it was so hot and an automatic PR.  This year I planned to secure a faster time.

On race morning I met up with my running group for pictures and well wishes.

Me, my sister, my cousin

The morning was cool with temperatures in the mid 40s. The race started at 6:45 am and the sun wasn't quite up yet.  We ran along Bayshore Blvd near downtown Tampa.  I felt great and warmed up quickly as the sun rose.



I remembered that every year after the halfway turn around point, volunteers handed out Krispy Kreme donuts.  I never stopped in the past but this year I planned to stop for a donut snack.  As I approached the donut tables, I shuttered.  All thoughts went to... donuts and running in the Florida heat, don't mix well.  I passed on the melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness of Krispy Kreme donuts.

I still felt strong and was having a nice race.  At about mile 7, the 1:30 pace group caught up and passed me.  I was ok with that because I started before them and this was the first time they passed me.  My plan was to finish under 1:30 so I tagged along at the back of the pace group.  I didn't realize how much I needed that pace group until I had to keep up with them.  It was a good push to the finish and kept me on pace.

Another successful race finished with a 7+ minute PR!  And then I got to hang out with some pirates!  ARG

Div Place:  110/490
Gender Place:  626/3017
Overall Place: 1641/5257
Halfway Split time:  43:08
Average Pace:  9:09/mi
Chip time:  1:25:19

Lands' End Getaway Tour Review

Summer is right around the corner for us Floridians.  It actually already feels like summer here in Tampa with temperatures getting into the mid 80s.

With summer, comes the beach and swimsuit season!  I visited the Lands' End Getaway Tour when it stopped at Wiregrass Mall this month.  Lands' End brought their beautiful swimsuit lines and professional fitters to help everyone find the perfect swimsuit for their body types.  I stepped into a dressing room with a fit expert, who took my measurements to help find me the perfect fitting swimsuit.  Then she came back with swimsuits for me to try on.  After a couple of no-goes, I did find a swimsuit that I loved.

The Beach Club collection offerd bright colors and great fits with modern styles.

Slender Suits help you look a whole size smaller with tummy tightening one piece swimsuits.

The Aqua Sport collection had cute, sporty swimsuits for the active beachgoer (or mom running after kids).

Swim mates had bright mix and match separates so you can create the style that's right for you.



This purple, 2-piece Beach Club swimsuit was my favorite!  I loved the look and fit.  Sorry, no pictures of me in this swimsuit.  This beach body is still a work in progress.

Don't forget your sunscreen this summer or check out one of Lands' End UPF 50 swim tees!

Disclaimer: As part of the Tampa Bay Bloggers, I was invited to this free event.  All opinions are my own.

Sarasota Half Marathon and Relay Preview

The First Watch Sarasota Half Marathon & Relay is celebrating it's 10th anniversary this year.

This year's race is on Sunday, March 14, 2015, starting at 7:00am at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center in Sarasota, Florida.

The First Watch Sarasota Half Marathon's scenic course takes runners over the John Ringling Causeway and around St. Armand's Circle, then down the Tamiami Trail and by the Ringling Museum of Art before they make their way back to the finish line at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center.  The finish area is right on the gorgeous Florida water.

This race is know for it's giant finisher medal!  I have two from previous years.

My sister, Patti, and I are participating in the relay this year.

Who's joining us this year at the Sarasota Half?

Best Damn Race 10k Recap 2015

I was back at the Best Damn Race, Safety Harbor, for the 10k this year.  Last year's half marathon was torture on this hilly course so I opted for the 10k instead.  This was only my second 10k ever with my first being in Oct 2012.  I planned to PR.

I was running consistently and training with interval and tempo runs weekly.  I was ready to ROCK the 10k!

Feb 7 was a crisp, cool morning with perfect running weather temps in the low 50s.  Once I got to Safety Harbor, I met up with my running buddy, Melanie.  With all things considered, like cool weather, previous interval and tempo run times, I thought we could finish the 10k in about 55 minutes.  My 10k PR was 59:39 so anything under that was good.  Melanie and I planned to try to stay together and pace each other throughout the 10k course.

We started out in the middle to back of the pack of runners so had to dodge to get around people.  The beginning of the course was beautiful, running along the water.  We navigated the ups and downs of the Safety Harbor streets, hearing the cheers from fellow Striders as we passed.

The 6.2 miles of the 10k seemed like nothing after my marathon and half marathons of the fall.  But, I was extremely happy that I wasn't running the Best Damn Race Half Marathon every time we passed a half course sign pointing us in the opposite direction with more hills!

Here we were heading into the final .2 mile stretch where we sprinted to the finish line almost causing a pass out or puke incident.


Photo by David

But we made it and finished!!

Free photo from Best Damn Race

 Melanie and I with new PRs and sparkly medals!

Post race picture with fellow Suncoast Striders

You got to ring the PR bell when you PRed at the Best Damn Race but I felt like the sign was made for me!  Instead of Chrissy Bell, call me PR Bell now.  Haha!

I loved the Best Damn Race's post-race food this year.  They had Dunkin Donuts' coffee, hot chocolate and heart donuts (filled with cookie dough or brownie batter); Jimmy John's sandwiches; and Pollo Tropical's black beans, rice and chicken.  Yummy!!!

This year, I had the BEST Damn Race with a 10k time of 55:15 and a PR of over 4 minutes!

Age Group Place:  16/119
Overall Place:  222/1047
Gun time:  56:24.0
Chip time:  55:15.9
Pace:  8:54/M

Annie The Musical

Oh, my gosh!  Oh, my gosh!  Oh, my gosh!  I've always loved the movie Annie and the sing-along songs (that I know by heart).  My boys and I watched the original 1982 movie over Christmas vacation.  I was beyond thrilled that Annie The Musical was coming to the Straz Center in Tampa.

Dylan, my 10 year old son, was very excited to see Annie The Musical.  Jared, my 13 year old, wasn't necessarily excited about the show, but agreed to go which is a win in my book.

Once at the show, Jared posted this picture to his Instagram account with the caption that he was seeing Annie at the Straz.  Double WIN!

The show started out with one of my favorite Annie songs "Maybe", followed by "It's the Hard Knock Life" and "Tomorrow". 

Annie and the orphans singing “It’s The Hard Knock Life”. Photo by Joan Marcus

Annie and Sandy singing "Tomorrow". Photo by Joan Marcus

Of course, the musical included a couple of new songs like "We'd Like to Thank You" and left out some from the original movie like "Sandy".  Although I didn't love Issie Swickle's singing voice, she did a great job portraying little orphan Annie.  Lynn Andrews was fierce and hilarious as Miss Hannigan!

This is a fantastic story and show for the whole family.  My boys thoroughly enjoyed Annie The Musical!  Dylan saw the signs for Potted Potter and Beauty and the Beast coming soon to the Straz.  Now he wants to see those shows too!  I've created a broadway monster!

What's your favorite Annie song?

Annie The Musical is preforming at the Straz Center Feb 17-22, 2015.

Clothing Drive - At performances of Annie, Tuesday, Feb. 17 through Sunday, Feb. 22, donations of primary school uniforms and other children’s clothing will be accepted at the Straz Center. The drive benefits Metropolitan Ministries who serve families in need in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties.

Disclaimer: As part of the Tampa Bay Bloggers, I received four tickets to see Annie The Musical.  All opinions are my own.