A1A Half Marathon wrap-up (day one)

Time for a recap of my 9th half marathon! Wow…I never thought I would say those words!

There were high hopes for this run…..were being the operative word!

During the two weeks prior to this race, as race director for our cub scout packs Pinewood Derby, I was busy making preparations for the event. This entails organizing everything, designing trophies, arranging a place for the race, and a whole host of things that take up a bunch of time. The reason for that is, that it was my first time running the entire event, with little left from the people who ran the event previously.

This meant, that everything I designed, would have to be sustainable for years to come. Luckily, that turned out to be the case as all of the “backroom” work has already been done for next years race. And even if I weren’t there to do it next year, someone else could easily step in to run everything.

The downside to this is that it took a lot of time…and most of that was leading up to the race itself, which was Friday night and Saturday morning prior to the A1A race! Our Derby will be scheduled a week earlier than the A1A race next year!!!!!!

Friday night we had “Test and Tune” which is where the Scouts register and tech in their cars. They also get to make time runs down the track and can modify their cars between runs. I tried to bring my drag racing experience to the event and by all accounts, it was a big hit.

Marshalls car

Marshalls official Drivers License

Time Trial Cards

During the week prior to the A1A race, I averaged 3 hours of sleep a night. Thursday, I decided to make some hot dogs for lunch. I got them out of the freezer, but they weren’t frozen! I didn’t think anything of it and just cooked them. Later that night….my stomach felt a little off.

Friday, I woke up to a very painful stomach along with cramps. Friday was a long day. I spent the majority of the day setting up the track for the race and decorating the hall where we have the race. Then, I had to get my Scout uniform and then, back to the hall to run Test and Tune.

This went on until about 9:00 pm. I came home, printed out programs for the race and went to bed.

Saturday morning I awoke to a painful stomach again…..and cramps…..at 3:00 am! I never did get back to sleep! I went to the hall, started the race and everything went smoothly and everyone seemed to have a great time!

After cleaning up, time to go home and leave for the hotel.

As we did last year, we used our Marriott Rewards points to book a room at the Ritz Carlton Fort Lauderdale Beach! No charge! Since it was Valentines Day, I spent a few dollars to get the beach side upgraded room. And, it was well worth it!