ING Miami Half Marathon

If you have been putting on a brave face during training walks over icy roads, through frost-biting winds weighed down by 7 layers of clothing, may I recommend signing up for the ING Miami Marathon next January? To be specific, how about the ING Miami Half Marathon?

Both the half and full marathons start at the same place and the same time, continuing together until ¾ of a mile from the half finish line. The half marathon (and the first half of the marathon) definitely represent the best of Miami. The start is beside some of Miami’s most stunning architecture including the Bacardi Building and the American Airlines Center. (Special note to walkers: because of a unique U-formation to the starting corrals, we wait in corral K adjacent to Corral A during the pre-race ceremonies. Yes, we’re right beside the elites for the singing of the national anthem, the fireworks, and the music!)

After the start we head over the causeway, passing monolithic cruise ships along Biscayne Bay, to South Beach and the iconic Art Deco buildings of Ocean Avenue. Walking through Miami Beach and over the Venetian Causeway, we end up at the start/finish area at Bayside Park. Both marathons have a pace limit of 13-minute miles, so walkers need to be confident about their pacing.

Sunday we gloried in ideal Florida weather with temperatures starting at 16 and increasing to about 22 for the finish. Think shorts, 1 short, and sunblock!


If you do put it on your agenda for next year, flights and room rates in January are good. I recommend booking a room on the Miami Beach/South Beach to be near the Miami Beach Convention Center. That’s where race kit pick-up is and that’s the area for the best beach and shopping – for that all-important post-race celebration part of your marathon vacation! Travel around Miami is challenging. I’d rather book shuttles to the start and from the finish to be near the beach on marathon afternoon!

If you have any recommendations on warm-weather marathons for those of us who are sun and warmth deprived, post here!

To treadmill or not to treadmill

Away on holidays over the Christmas season, I woke up one morning to a winter gloom of San Francisco fog and rain. Morning walks in San Francisco can be a treat. The reward for powering up Russian Hill is a view of Coit Tower, Alcatraz, or the Bay Bridge. With fog and rain I knew there would be no such view, so I decided to test the treadmill in the hotel fitness center.
It is rare for me to walk on a treadmill since I like to be outside. Still, many of you tell me you prefer the treadmill workout when inclement weather occurs - particularly when the risk of falling is high.

When I entered the fitness center both treadmills were taken. I warmed up sitting on the stationary bicycle. I managed to entertain myself through 20 minutes of imaginary hills on an imaginary ride. When a treadmill became available I moved over and started my walk at 3 mph. As I walked I increased the speed in .2 mph increments. When I reached my race pace from my personal best marathon of 11.22 minutes per miles I held a steady course for about 10 minutes. It was a long 10 minutes. Interesting. I regularly walk for more than 2 hours outside.

Then I aimed for 6mph, or walking one mile in 10 minutes. I was very nearly ejected off the back of the treadmill but managed 6 intervals of 30 seconds at that speed. Another 6 minutes of workout accomplished. Finally I played around with the grade for 5 minutes and ended with a few minutes of cool-down watching a television with no sound and subtitles. The screen was slightly to my right so it’s good that I had not been interested in watching a show for the duration of my workout or I would have walked away with a persistent tendency to look right.

After the workout I felt better than when I had walked into the fitness center. That’s just the way it works. An invigorating walk always improves my mood. Yet, I couldn’t help feeling that treadmill walk was just a bit silly. A little fog and rain in one of the world’s most interesting cities had me making like a gerbil, walking on a moving belt in a room that looks like countless others on the planet. It was interesting to know the exact pace I could muster, but I wish I had spent that hour walking Russian Hill – even without the view.