It took an enormous effort just to
get in this race. The 7 Mile Bridge is sometimes lovingly referred to as the 8th wonder of the world. It's a pretty cool thing, even without the race over it. I was excited I was going to be a part of this. Finally, the day to fly to the Keys arrived.
I got down late Thursday night, went for a short run and spent some time with my family/nephews on Friday, and then headed to packet pick-up Friday evening. There were so many people in line already and pick-up hadn't even started yet! Eventually I got my stuff and already noticed how nice the volunteers were and how excited everyone was to be a part of this.
There was much debate about where my parents should plant themselves for this race -- there isn't any spectator info to be found anywhere! -- but we finally made a plan. We live on the starting line side of the bridge, so they would drop me off early, drive across the bridge to the finish side, see if they could park over there and stay at the finish, but if not it would be early enough for them to get back to the start before the bridge closed. (Turns out they found a great parking spot right by the finish!)
I packed some dried Kashi cereal, a banana, water, and a throw-away beach towel. We left the house and just a handful of minutes later, I was camped out at the start. It was 6:00am. Race time was 7:30. It was dark for almost an hour while I waited, but I chatted with other runners and felt excited but peaceful in that time.
As the sun started to rise around 7am, I made my way into the porta potty line. I'm so used to standing in those lines forever before a race, and yet here I was, 5 minutes later, and it was my turn. So I let the person behind me go. And then the next. And the next, and so on. Soon it became a joke.
"You're just trying to get people to let you in the front of the line for the post-race beers, aren't you?!" they joked. Um, yea-uh!
I met a bunch of people in that line. One lady started crying on my shoulder she was so nervous about her time. (*NOTE: you have to cross the finish in 1:30:00 or they'll pick you up and put you on the bus. They are on a strict schedule to get the bridge re-opened at 9am!). One guy had run it many times before and told me a couple cool things to be aware of. Another was a teacher, like me. Everyone was just friendly.
7:25am I headed up to the start.
I considered warming up a bit before that, but decided since this was my first race back I'd just take mile 1 easy. The 1500ish other runners and I lined ourselves up, took in the scene around us, and within a few minutes the gun sounded and we were off.
It was already warm, but the sun was still low and it was off our left shoulder. So was the slight breeze. I settled into a pace right around 8 mpm -- right where I'd planned to try to run today -- and I slid alongside the left bridge barrier. I'd stay there through the entire race, and continually wonder why so many people didn't realize that's the wind side, and a slight shadow was cast on your legs by the bridge wall...
As I glided along (those early miles really did feel like I was gliding!) I took in all the sights of this once-in-a-lifetime race experience: The news helicopters circling overhead. The miles and miles of blue water on all sides, as far as the eye could see.
The boats coming close and waving. The volunteers -- the only spectators along the course -- cheering and smiling every mile or so. The smells. The sunshine. The knowledge that this is the ONLY day, each year, that this bridge that connects the middle and upper keys with the lower keys is actually shut down, CLOSED, to traffic, and I'm one of the very few who gets to run across it. Every other day of the year, pedestrians are not allowed across.
About 2.5 miles in comes the big bridge. It really wasn't that bad -- it reminded me of running over the bridges on LBI. But cruising down the backside, by about 3.5 miles into the race, I started to feel the heat. It was probably in the low 80's and humid, and no shade from the sun. They had wet sponges at the water stops and I took full advantage. I was still holding my pace, but by mile 6 I was feeling worked. I slowed way down for a few seconds through the next stop, let my head settle (it was starting to feel like it would explode if I kept going! D*mn heat!), and then got back to it for the last mile or so. Doing that was a smart move.
As I hit the 10k mark, I knew I had about a half mile to go. The course officially measures 6.8 miles, and as much as I was enjoying the race, I was ready to stop running fast in those conditions. My body doesn't like the heat/humidity even when it's accustomed to it!
With the exception of the bridge, this is a completely flat race. The road isn't even crowned. As you approach the finish, however, there is a slight decline. Slight. But welcome. I could see the finish line flags, I could see the crowds, and I was even able to spot my parents right there next to the finish.
I threw my hand up in the air to wave to them, pushed through the finish, stopped my watch, and was thrilled to know that even with my slowing through that later water stop I still finished faster than I'd expected.
54:55 on my watch, which I'd see later matched my chip time. Right around the 8mpm pace which I'd hoped I'd hold in this first real race effort since the marathon last May. In this first race since my months of calf injury. While I was running, I was grinning. I was giddy that I was able to run somewhat fast, and that I wasn't having any calf twinges at all. When I crossed that finish line, I was happy I would run at all.
I collected my medal, met up with my parents, walked a bit and eventually my parents told me to get on the bus back to the start, get my beer, and they'd find me when they were allowed to cross back over the bridge (we expected that to be well after all the runer busses crossed, but really they were just a couple minutes behind me).
As I rode back over the bridge, on this bus filled with runners experiencing their own sense of accomplishment, we shared the stories of how we each got into this race and what we loved about the day. At the after party, I got my beer, found my parents, and saw the results posted.
Days later, the 5th place AG (out of about 100) still stands. I'm listed now as 133 out of 1405 overall, and I have to check the place in females overall. Pretty good!
We wrapped up our post-race celebrating and headed back to the house, and it was perfect. A quick weekend trip, a fun, special race, a solid run. After months of not knowing if I'd ever run solidly again, it was a super way to get back in the game.
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I'm not sponsored or anything, but there are a few thank you's to be made here. First, I have to thank my parents -- they allow me to stay at their house, they drive me to these races, they are my biggest cheerleaders and they support me at every turn. (My sister's a big supporter, too!). Also, my friend T -- he's the one who made it possible for me to even run this race. He got my app, filled it out, and hand delivered it to ensure mine was one of the first 1500 received. Jen was more than willing to help first, so big thanks to you, too! And lastly, the hundreds of volunteers and police and firemen of Marathon, FL. Every single person involved in this race was super nice and supportive and seemed genuinely excited to be a part of this. You even see them all wearing their volunteer shirts around town the next day!
Anyone who can should try to run this race one time. It's a special one! (and rumor has it the registration may be online instead of through the PO Box next year, although I think that's what made it even more of an accomplishment -- you have to win the race to get in the race!)
