I really wanted to start each post with a song lyric, but I swear every song I think of is some kind of love song… do I not listen to anything else?

Regardless, the ING Miami Marathon was a tough race, but an overall great trip. We made it in the nick of time to the expo on Saturday where I was super excited to see my name on the wall! I was also super excited to see how great my bib looked! From there we met up with some of my teammates for our pasta dinner and early night back to the hotel.

The Metromover in Miami is amazing! We stayed about a mile from the start line and with the Metromover running every five minutes starting at 4:30am, I was able to leave around 4:45 from the hotel and make it over to the start to meet up with my team by 5:15. With most of us together, we got some quick photos in and all hurried into our corrals. The temperatures at this point before the sun was already in the mid-70s. I felt the humidity in the air and for the first half, I felt like my head was burning up. Here are some thoughts that went through my mind that day…

• Mile 1 – “Why are people walking already? Seriously, if you’re going to walk, get to the side. I shouldn’t have to dodge people in mile 1. And stop standing in the middle of the road taking pictures.”
• Mile 2 – “Geez, this causeway is really long. When are we getting over to South Beach?”
• Mile 5 – “South Beach is really not as pretty running through it as it is when I walk around in my bathing suit.”
• Mile 8 – “Why are all these mini bridges unpaved? I’m going to get my foot stuck on these rungs and then I’m going to sue!”
• Downhills – “Why is there is a sign that says, ‘This downhill is brought to you by ING?’ Didn’t ING bring me the uphill before this as well?”
• Water stations – “Why is the water warm? Why won’t you hand me the water instead of making me fight my way towards the table? These are precious seconds.” (Yes, this was me thinking I’m an “elite” runner where I may actually lose a race over seconds.)
• Mile 13 – “The split off is not clearly labeled. I almost ran through the half marathon finish, but I guess that wouldn’t have been that bad, huh? I hate you, half-marathoners, I wish I could be done now too.”
• Mile 14 – “Peace and quiet. No more runners, no more crowds, and no more music. How am I going to make it another 12 miles?”
• Mile 14.5 – “If I don’t see Josh here, I’m going to kill him (like that time he missed me at the halfway mark in Philadelphia). Phew, I see him, but I don’t want to acknowledge him. It’s too hot and I’m too tired.”
• Mile 17 – “Coconut Grove is really quiet. Man, this sucks. Where are the people?”
• Mile 18 – “Everyone around me is walking. Coach Brian said to me before the race to relax for this because I have nothing to prove since I already ran my first marathon. Well, I’m going to walk. I don’t think walking is what he meant, but I’m too hot and I don’t care.”
• Mile 18.2 – “Walking is dumb. I’m running again. I can do it, right? Only another eight miles.”
• Mile 19 – “Nah, let’s walk a little more. Glad I did because I met a Chinese woman who is here from Baltimore. It’s too bad I didn’t get her name or bib number, but this is my first conversation with another human in over three hours!”
• Mile 20 – “Okay, this view of Biscayne Bay is much better than Coconut Grove homes.”
• Mile 20.5 – “A little push. This volunteer at the water station was like yeah, ‘@cindyruns, I’m going to follow you on Twitter. You better follow me back!’ Okay, buddy, I don’t even know who you are!”
• Mile 22 – “Really? Why are we running part of the way towards a bridge and then turning around? Did the course creators realize that they were two miles short so they needed to add this? This is such an after thought”
• Mile 22.5 – “How do I figure out how to look at elapsed time on my watch? This is why Josh wanted me to practice swapping between views on my runs. Ugh, okay, got it. Haha, can’t PR on this race anymore. Might as well walk a little more.”
• Mile 23 – “This causeway is really hot. I need water and oh apparently, I get a side of cheerleaders in your face too! They are really too close to me. But there’s only a 5K left, that’s easy.”
• Mile 24 – “No, a 5K is not easy after running for over four hours already. Finally, land, okay, Brickell Avenue, I can handle this. Two more miles.”
• Mile 25 – “Our hotel. I should just go into the air conditioning. And oh, the pool, that would be nice. Oh wait, that’s Josh! Why is he here? He said he would be waiting for me at the finish. Man, now, I really need to look like I’m trying for the camera.”
• Mile 25.1 – “I need to remember to tell Josh later that I never want him to run a marathon. No one should ever put their body through this. This is the worst. Why do I do this to myself? <looking up at the sky> Right, thank you Nin-nin (grandma), you helped me realize how much I loved running… but this is the reason Chinese people don’t like their children to do physical activities.”
• Mile 25.8 – “Uphill, really? Okay, not a real uphill like Queensboro Bridge, but any elevation change at this point is not welcome.”
• Mile 26 – “But for every uphill is a downhill brought to you by ING. I hate you ING.”
• Mile 26.2 – “I finish. Man, I really I hope I finished in under 4:40… crap, I cut it really close.”
• FINISH – “Where’s my double spinning medal? Crap, my watch thinks I ran it in 4:40:07. Ugh. What’s the official time? How do I figure that out? Oh, I have a QR code on my bib. Crap, how do I scan that thing again? <Fumbles for phone> Okay, I need Google. Got it, scan, man, they’re better at this than Philadelphia was. Crap, 4:40:08. Shoot, I easily wasted a lot of nine seconds throughout the course.”