Bermuda Baseline

The Bermuda Mile took me 6:17?  Really?  Did I get lost in the triangle somewhere?  Slow.  Granted, I wasn't pushing hard-  I was probably at 85% effort.  And sure, I was sick... But still, that result disappoints me.  I was hoping to clear 6:00 with that effort level.  I was well off pace.

Though my mile was slower than I wanted, this first race of the Bermuda Triangle Challenge was a fun event.  I love the distance and I loved that the team loved it, too.  Hamilton shut down their main street and came out to cheer. The band played and the kids raced. It was a fun venue.

The Warriors take Bermuda.

I am fired up for the mile.

My 10k finish time was 49:50.  I was aiming to get under 50 minutes and run at 85-90%, which I accomplished- barely.  It was a damn hilly course and my under-conditioned legs felt it.  But it was fun and quite beautiful.  And I was still able to get back out and cheer for and support my team.

Very enthusiastic high-five with Ava!

BK TNT ready for the 10K.

Finished up the race and came back to cheer, of course!

My original plan was to race all three events, but I wasn't very diligent on my training.  I wanted to at least race the half marathon, but I scrapped those plans Saturday night.  I had been fighting a cold all weekend and it was winning.  Luckily, Amanda found me on the course and we paced each other to a decent finish.  I clocked in at 1:56:34, again doing about 85-90%.  If I had raced it, I would have targeted a 1:45:00 finish.

Amanda and I finish the half with smiles.

The weather on Sunday was wet.  Very wet.  Amanda and I finished, changed into our coach shirts, and headed back out.  The only way to stay warm was to run.  Our legs were pretty tired, but the team is a huge motivator.  It took me too long to get my act together and I missed a few half finishers and didn't get to see some full marathoners finish their first loop.

But as soon as we got back on the course, we saw TNTers coming. I was trying to make my way out further in the course, but it felt a bit like swimming against a current in a river- in more ways than one.  I'd see a TNTer and run with them a bit.  Then I'd let them do their thing and head out to find the next.  The back and forth pattern didn't lend to be getting very far out.  I only made it out to mile 23 or so.  I was hoping to get closer to 20.

And then there was the rain and the street-rivers it created.  The water was ankle deep in many places along the stretch I was running.  I was probably carrying an extra five pounds of water in my clothes, maybe more.  Teammates almost had to swim to the finish at that point.  It was challenging.  And it was lonely out there.  Everyone did finish though, and our last runner came in at about 5:30 which was great.  I was proud.

Cold and wet and still out cheering for TNT and everyone else.

Seriously. Look at that rain and that energy (and that hat on Katie's head).

Josh has an entourage as he approaches the finish.

 After, I ate an overpriced not so good burger then headed to the hotel where I crashed hard.  I developed a fever.  My body fought so hard to stay healthy for these events and finally gave out.   I was happy.  I popped some drugs and napped. I went to bed early that night, chilled the next day, went back to 18 degree New York City for a couple days and was pretty sick for the week.  When I got to Miami on Friday (I know- hard life) I was still sick, but on the mend.

Bienvenido a Miami!  Race morning.

So where do these Bermuda times put me? Way way off my PRs.  I have a lot of work to do and it starts now.  I've signed up for the Suffolk County Half Marathon in March.  I plan to race the hell out of it and really test myself.  It's hard to say what I'll be able to do and with just 6 weeks of solid training to between today and race day, I think getting a PR may be a stretch.  But let's see.  Let's see how well training goes and how disciplined I can be.

Bonus Bermuda Pic.

Bonus Miami Pic.