Going Long (again) in 2024

Easy treadmill run; 9:15 pace. 

My next run will be tomorrow afternoon in Homestead, Florida.

Okay, I'm in Fort Lauderdale.

But yesterday was in Key West.

And the day before (Monday) was in Homestead.

So, a flight that was delayed many times over.  Left Sudbury late Sunday night.  A late arrival in Toronto.  A sleepless night.  And early departure.  And I'm in Homestead, at an Airbnb, after driving down from Fort Lauderdale.

So, Monday afternoon, off for my 5 mile easy run.  First time outside in over a month.  And it's hot.  24C/75F.  After 1 mile, I'm wondering why I'm doing this.  At 2pm.  In this heat.  But I did it, and I got faster and faster as I went.  Ended up running an 8:30/mile average.  And it felt okay.

I noticed:  the drivers in Florida are no different from the drivers in Sudbury.  Good and bad.

And, although weed is legal in Ontario (and not in Florida), it doesn't seem to make much difference.  Still passed 'zones' where tokers left their scent.

Tuesday off.  Driving to Key West.

So, I arrived in Key West mid day Tuesday.  It was colder than it has EVER been in Key West.  WOW!  

The staff in the bars were dressed the way I dress when I run in -40 temperaturs.  Seriously.  Down coats (where do they GET down coats down here???), scarves, touques.  (Seriously, they wore touques!!!).  Even balaclavas.  Unbelievable.

All the boat tours were cancelled.  Snorkelling too.  I couldn't do my snorkelling in Key Largo - cancelled.  Just incredible.  It felt like home in Spring.  

I wore the same jacket and hoodie that I wore at the airport when I left Sudbury.  And it still felt cold!  Very strong wind from the north.

No run on Tuesday.  Wednesday morning, I ran 6 miles around the Key.  8:40 pace.  In the afternoon, I drove back to Fort Lauderdale.  I just arrived.  In an airbnb for the next 7 nights.  Ready for A1A!!!  Bring it on!!!  The one thing I could not control was the heat.  And now it looks as if that won't be an issue.  All is good!

This is a very nice airbnb.  I've lucked out with those on this trip.

Morning run down to the water and back; 8:56 pace.  Still on the cool side, at 14C/57F.  

Marathon morning is predicted to be a touch cooler at the start:  12C/54F.  Pretty close to ideal, which is amazing for here.

Today I'm off to Miami to do the touristy thing.

A full day in Miami yesterday.  Did 4 tours.  A Duck Boat tour out of Miami Beach, then a Jet Boat thrill ride out of Miami, followed by a Cruise on the Island Queen (Millionaire's Row), and then a night tour on a bus through both Miami and Miami Beach.

All were very good.  It was warm and sunny for the Duck Boat, cold and rainy for the Jet Boat, mixed rain and not rain for the Cruise, and a torrential downpour for the Bus Tour.  The Atlantic Ocean was shooting up through the street drains.

The guy narrating the tour on the bus was incredible.  A long day, but I managed to cover a lot of territory as a tourist.

Today, a humid run.  100% humidity.  Fortunately, just 19C/66F.  8:42 pace.  

The forecast for race morning hasn't changed:  13C/56F with 75% humidity and dropping humidity as the morning goes on.

This morning, I'm doing a snorkelling tour out of Fort Lauderdale.  Will make up for the one I missed in Key Largo.  Then will head down to the Convention Center this afternoon for the Race Expo.

Easy shake out run through the local Cemetery.  It's a quarter mile from where I'm staying, and one loop is exactly one mile.

8:42 pace.  19C/66F, but with the 93% humidity, it felt hotter than that.  Sure will be glad for tomorrow's lower temperature and humidity.

Then a trip back down to Miami Beach to do the lazy 'do nothing' thing that is perfect for the day before a marathon.  Sat in the sun and watched all the gorgeous beach bodies go by.

Am meeting Tom and a few of his family/friends at Church for 5pm, and then we'll go out for dinner afterwards.

Oh, yesterday's snorkel adventure was exactly that.  Definitely NOT the same as doing that in Maui!  The little reef was off shore and the swells were pretty intense.  And there were a LOT of jelly fish.  I was the first one in, and quickly realized I had forgotten to put my flippers on.  So, while trying desperately to dodge jelly fish and not being able to move too fast in the swells, I panicked and swallowed some sea water.  Yuck.  

I made it back to the boat to get the flippers, but now the taste of sea water and the huge swells led to me getting sea sick.  After sitting for a while waiting for it to pass, it just got worse.  And that, boys and girls, was the extent of my snorkelling.  Ah well.  The boat ride was fun.  And honestly, I didn't want to ruin 16 weeks of excellent training with one stupid jelly fish sting on my leg.  So, in hind sight, I was okay with not going back in the water.  Besides, when I up chucked over board, there must have been several dozen fish drawn to it.  I saw all I wanted to see in the fish family that day.