Luckily after a late nite of TV (NCAA March Madness stops for no one), enjoyed my latest marathon start to date – 9am. Scored off-street parking near the Start, then waited inside Cape May’s historic Congress Hall with a thousand new friends.
Lotta sunshine, check. Lotta wind, check. Cold day (27°F), check. All the makings for a new PR 🙂
Hats off for the National Anthem; then ran seaside down Cape May’s boardwalk, UP the short bridge past the US Coast Guard Training Center, another mile to Wildwood. Lotta runner traffic ‘til the 10-miler split off, followed by 2 more miles of boardwalk.
Posted a 1:48 Half – good pace. Maybe, possibly, sub-4 today?
Happy time: Saw my friend Stephen in Stone Harbor near mile 17. Super motivating. Many thanks!
Unfortunate: Miles 23-25 were a slog – lotta headwind & no spectators as we ran thru ‘new construction’ neighborhoods…wood-framed in-process homes, hammers, drills & work crews. Odd setting; lost focus.
Last mile, GORGEOUS – ran oceanside on Sea Isle City’s boardwalk. Seemed I could see the Finish for miles.
2nd sub-4 finish of 2015. Boo-yah! 3:55:10 – 11 seconds faster than my previous PR in Indianapolis last November. Great way to kick off my ‘7 week, 7 marathon, 7 state’ challenge. FAAANNNTASTIC!
Next weekend’s adventure? Charlottesville, Virginia – home of Thomas Jefferson.
Ocean Drive Marathon
Haga, K R 3:55:10 Louisville, CO, USA
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- Congress Hall, Cape May NJ (pre-race mylar wrap)
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- 2nd sub-4 finish of 2015 — FAAANNNTASTIC!
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- cold & windy: my kinda marathon, 23rd state finish & a new PR — I heart Jersey 🙂
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- dehydrated & cold — post-marathon relief in the medic tent
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- every young girl’s dream, being crowned “Polar Bear Queen”
Marathon’d one-third of America in 2014 & never flew a red-eye. This year already have 4 scheduled thru March. Price a guy pays to reach East Coast races (& use minimal vacation days) 🙂
Left Denver at 1:20am, arriving in Miami just after 7am EST. Shared costs with fellow Maniac Stacy this trip, who met me at the airport in a rental (Stacy flew red-eye into nearby Fort Lauderdale). Super fun sharing my 48-hour tropical get-away with another marathoner – generally lotta solo travel in my 50 State Quest.
Grabbed juice & water, then headed Downtown for an early lunch at Havana 1957 – in Miami, a Cubano is the must-eat.
A Cubano is a variation of a ham and cheese originally created in cafes catering to Cuban workers in the early Cuban immigrant communities of Florida. The sandwich is made with ham, roasted pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard, and sometimes salami on Cuban bread.
Checked into a downtown apartment near tomorrow’s race Start (used Airbnb, cheaper than a traditional hotel), then trekked a mile to meet our scheduled afternoon tour. Kayaking in Biscayne Nat’l Park was Plan A (cancelled – big waves & strong ocean undertow), Airboat Tour was Plan B (unfortunately tour bus never showed – argh).
Easy to suffer a letdown when plans go awry (& operating on little sleep). This is where travelling double really ROCKS. Only 4 miles from the nearest public beach so ‘beach day’ it is. Thanks Stacy.
Caught a few winks on the sand – re-centered & re-energized, now ready to explore. Stacy spotted a market-size crab hiding in rocks near the marina shoreline. HUGE! Ventured further south thru Key Biscayne to Cape Florida State Park – more white-powder sand, pelicans AND a lighthouse. FAAANNNTASTIC! Ya’ll know I LOVE lighthouses.
Sometimes the best plans are travelling with no plans at all 🙂
Early to bed, early to rise – tomorrow is run day…but not before downing a plate of squid. I AM a fan of the ocean. YUM!
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- 2nd red-eye of 2015 — 1:20am comes mighty early, just saying
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- Cuban food, best eats in Miami
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- Cubano sandwich – highly recommended 🙂
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- afternoon nap
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- 48-hour tropical race weekend (in January)
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- market-size, grab me a pot!
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- crab eyes – kinda spooky
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- Cape Florida State Park
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- pelicans
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- sunset over Cape Florida Lighthouse
Delmarva weekend started after yesterday’s run in Rehoboth Beach, my last marathon of 20-14.
Delmarva is a large peninsula occupied by most of Delaware and portions of Maryland and Virginia.
After my post-race shower at Quality Inn, headed south on Coastal Highway (Delaware 1). Spent Saturday night in a no-frills Ocean City MD hotel located in town harbor. Like many beach towns, most store fronts & hotels were closed during winter.
Grabbed an early diner breakfast, then south 30 minutes further to Assateague Island. Windy winter day but saw sunshine – not the norm for Nov-March on the East Coast…so counted myself lucky 🙂
Assateague Island?
Wild ponies have inhabited Assateague Island for hundreds of years. While some have suggested that the wild ponies on Assateague Island trace their origin to horses released to forage on the Island by early settlers, the circumstantial evidence suggests that they are indeed the descendants of the survivors of a Spanish galleon which wrecked off the coast of Assateague. A fence along the Virginia/Maryland State line separates Assateague Island’s ponies into two herds. The Maryland herd is owned by the National Park Service. The Virginia herd is owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company. The US Fish & Wildlife Service allows the Fire Company to maintain a herd of approximately 150 adult ponies on Assateague Island.
Called ahead to secure a pony tour – closed. Kayaks – closed. Nothing open & available ‘til next April. UGH!
Oh well…still great to see the ocean – even in winter. Would start off on Assateague, then an extra hour to Chincoteague to visit the lighthouse & NASA Visitors Center. (NASA Visitors Center: closed on Sunday – bad luck, huh?)
Crossed the bridge to Assateague & near swerved off road in excitement – PONY!
Took a tens of pics of the lone pony, thinking this my one opportunity. Nope. Not only had the park to ourselves (not a lotta December beachcombers – HA!), but saw several wild ponies grazing near the tree line. WOW, what luck!
Not sure how wild the ponies are – one came to the car window. I did not feed but guessing tourists past have broken this rule. Beautiful animals. Took rural roads to Chincoteague, short hike to the Lighthouse, more ponies & a beach walk.
Whatta year – grizzly bears in Montana & the wild ponies of Assateague Island. Crazy blessed life; life is good.
Autobahn’d back to BWI in under 3 hours, crossing the [Chesapeake] Bay Bridge into Baltimore. Thought I had overcome my fear of high bridges – NOT – spanning almost 5 miles over water, felt white-knuckled near the end.
5 weeks off ‘til marathon season picks up next year in Mississippi. Fingers crossed — snow on Christmas 🙂
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- wild ponies of Assateague
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- sizing up the situation
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- getting curious
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- up close & personal
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- salt & snow
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- winter beach day
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- had the beach to myself – surprise, surprise 🙂
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- last pass at the ponies before Chincoteague
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- big fan of lighthouses
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- 10 degrees warmer on Chincoteague
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- held pose — seemingly still in the gusting wind
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- sea foam sudsing, rolling on the surf
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- love the ocean – even in December!
