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As I write this, there’s snow on the ground in Carmel, IN, where just 48 hours ago I was putting on sunscreen by the pool. But, it’s supposed to be 73 here later this week. Weather in the Midwest this time of year is wild. Leaving the crazy weather is one of the reasons the Fort Myers Half Marathon seemed like a great idea. The real reason for choosing this race was because of my dad. My parents are snowbirds and live in Bonita Springs, FL six months out of the year. Usually, my dad and I run the Rock N’ Roll Las Vegas race on the third Sunday in February. However, this year there was a couples golf tournament for their club that happened to be the same weekend as RNR Vegas. So, my dad had to be a good spouse and stay in FL. Even though I was registered for RNR Vegas, I decided the reason for the weekend is to spend time with my dad, not as much the race. This led me to Googling half marathons in February and low and behold, there was a race just 30 minutes from them the very next weekend in February - the Fort Myers Half Marathon on Saturday the 28th. Sold.

Since my parents don’t get to see my girls much during the winter, I opted to take them with me. My husband was traveling the entire week afterwards, so opted to stay home. I’m not sure which is harder - running a half marathon or traveling solo with two young kids. Probably the traveling. 😂 Thank goodness for iPads. Since we’ve never pulled our 2nd grader out of school, I was leery of having her miss two days (I regret this now…it would have been fine). We left on Thursday after school and landed in FL around 7:30pm.

Saturday I did a shakeout bike/run with Sydney. Soon enough she may be running these with me (the shakeout runs, not half marathons). One of her favorite things to do while we bike/run is play “guess my person” or “guess my animal”. This is great mental training for me. 😂I’ve never done a race in FL before, so I was a little worried about baking in the sun the day before. My dad, who did train for the race but had to back out with an injury, said he didn’t think it mattered. This is the first time my dad’s had to bail on a race in all his years of running, but he is 69 after all. I was sad to do the race without him, but at least he’d get more time with the girls. My sister, Morgan, and brother-in-law, Mike, were both there too. They’d canceled not one but TWO other trips down to see my parents. Third time was finally a charm.

RACE DAY

The race started at 6:30am and since it was 30 min away, I opted to do race morning bib pickup. I wasn’t sure going in how big the race was, but everything I could find made it seem small. However, I didn’t fly all the way to Florida to show up too late to run, so I set my alarm for 4:30am and planned to leave by 5:15 to give myself plenty of time. I was so worried my 4yo was going to wake up when I did, but thankfully she didn’t (we’re in a phase where she comes in our room in the middle of the night and FL was no different).

I made peanut butter toast with bananas and honey for breakfast along with my usual coffee and some Neversecond carb drink mix (90g!).

I also applied my favorite race mantras on my arm and silver glitter freckles to my cheeks.

Without traffic, it only took me 20 minutes or so to get there. The race was around Florida Golf Coast University, and the website touted “ample parking” as a result. They weren’t lying. When I got there I easily found a place to park. The bib pickup was also really easy with a few tables set up in front of a trailer. A handful of volunteers were helping check people in, hand out bibs, and provide race t-shirts. I walked back to the car to put my t-shirt away and then went to find a bathroom. On campus, there’s an aquatics center that is used for race morning for access to indoor bathrooms. I strolled right in without having to wait. Amazing.

At the aquatics center, there were bleachers and pool chairs you could sit in and wait. So, I sat in a pool chair and did some people watching. I’m usually pretty outgoing in these situations, but it was still pretty early - 6am. Earlier than I’m usually up with the girls in the mornings (but not by much). After a few minutes, a guy sat down a couple seats away from me and said what I was thinking, “Wouldn’t it be nice if they’d let us swim after the race?” I laughed and told him it would be the best race ever if they did.

Then I said, “Especially since I'm from Indiana and not ready for this heat.” To my surprise he replied, “Me too!” Ok, now I was ready to chat.

Turns out he’s from a small town with one stoplight, Osgood. It’s in the southeastern part of the state closer to Cincinnati than Indianapolis. He’s also running the Indy Mini this year and has run the Monumental Marathon. He said his marathon days are behind him. He’s the only runner in his family except for one of his grandkids. Also turns out he was looking to run around a 1:50… the same time my coach had given me for a goal.

At about 10 minutes to go time I consider going to the bathroom again, but realize there’s now a long line that’s formed in front of where we’re sitting. “You’ll sweat it out,” my new friend says.

It’s still dark out and it’s cloudy, which was a godsend. I stand with my new friend and we chat up the 2 hour pacer - asking him if there’s someone for 1:50. There doesn’t seem to be. He explains that for small races like this it’s all dependent on who volunteers to help.

I offer to take a group photo of a group of women all dressed in red and orange matching outfits. They compliment my glitter freckles and my bedazzled shoes. Game recognize game. They were sweet.

To give you an idea of the crowd, there were 300 half marathoners and 320 5K runners according to the race results. So, a total of just over 600. A small race.

Before the countdown starts, my friend asks if I have Strava. I tell him I do and we finally “officially” meet by exchanging names. I tell him I’m Ally Brettnacher - a hard name to miss. He’s Scot with one “t” - also hard to miss. Scot says he’s probably going to do 8:10-15 pace for the first few miles. I tell him I’m going to start slower and see what happens.

The national anthem is played over loudspeakers and some announcements are given. The announcements reminded me of what it’s like to be given verbal driving directions. I have a hard time comprehending. Surely the course will be easy to follow.

Scot and I wish each other luck and they count down from 10 to send us off.

THE RACE

I decided to run with my headphones for this race since I knew it was small. My goal for the first few miles is to be around 8:20-8:30. There’s also a 5K taking off with the half marathoners. And since I was "racing" I didn't take a single picture or video during the race itself. Too much extra energy for me.

We head out along the road we came in on (I’d seen the 1 and 12 mile markers when I came in). I focus on not starting out too fast.

Mile 1 - 8:28

A little past the first mile marker we do a u-turn back towards where we came from. Our first water stop is close to mile 2. I’m going to need all the hydration I can get.

Mile 2 - 8:24

At this point, we see mile markers for miles 11 & 12. Mentally, I find it hard to pass future mile markers. That happens a lot in this race. We turn off of the road into a wooden boardwalk through the palm tree forest which is so pretty. Then we run alongside a body of water that is called Lake Como according to my Googling. I can’t help but think about how crazy it would be to go to college here (especially as someone who went to school in Ohio). The sky looked dark with rain. I would have gladly welcomed it. Sadly, the sky never opened.

Mile 3 - 8:12

At the end of the waterfront, we hit the mile 3 and mile 13 mile markers. “I’ll be back soon,” I tell myself. The 5K runners split off to the finish line to the right and half marathoners go left to keep going. I didn’t look at the finish line - wanting to take it all in when it was my time to cross. I take my first gel - Gu salted watermelon. We run onto another boardwalk. Before crossing the 4th mile marker, we see mile 10 on the boardwalk and mile 7. I didn’t study the course map before the race, so I didn’t realize there would be looping and going back over most of the course.

Mile 4 - 8:21

First, there’s a small loop that goes around some dorms and a dining hall. To get to the loop, we go up and over a bridge at a slight incline. Call it a 1 mile loop. We see mile 8 before seeing mile 5. According to my race plan, I’m supposed to speed up at this point, but I know I need to maintain my pace if I want to have anything left in the tank.

Mile 5 - 8:21

Back up and over the bridge on our way to the next loop. To my surprise, I see the leader of the race (although at the time I didn’t know he was the leader)… it’s someone I KNOW. It’s Mike Cole. Mike was episode 88 of my podcast, and he holds the Guinness Book of World Records World Record for the fastest marathon while carrying a pizza. You read that right. If you want the story, go listen to his episode. I yell, “Is that Mike Cole?” He smiled and raised his arm. Seeing a familiar face gave me a boost, and I focused on getting to the finish line with enough time to see him.

The next loop is longer. About 2 miles. Again, we see a future mile marker - 9 - before seeing the 6th mile marker.

Mile 6 - 8:21

If you’re keeping track, that’s three miles of perfect pacing, but sadly it only goes up from here. I’m realizing I should have packed extra fuel at this point. I have Noogs energy chews on me too that I’ve been taking every mile since my first gel. I’ve also stopped at every water stop for water and gatorade. Wish I would have brought my water bottle to carry for extra hydration. I’m feeling the heat and humidity. Thankfully it’s still cloudy.

We start lap two of both loops and I’m remembering the pre-race announcements. If you’re on lap 2, you stay to the outside (or in the center lane).

Mile 7 - 8:26

Back up and over the bridge. We head into our second lap of the smaller loop.

Mile 8 - 8:29

I remember seeing a guy on the other side of the street - where I’d seen Mike on his second lap - completely bite it. He was shirtless and I remember saying, “oh shit” and watching his friend and others make sure he was ok. He was. I think I saw him later at the finish and didn’t see any blood.

Fairly sure this is when I took my second gel - Pure Fuel maple syrup. I tried to hold out longer than normal knowing I’d need it - and using the Noogs fill in the gaps.

Mile 9 - 8:31

Not sure if it was the second lap or first, but I passed a woman who looked so strong. I told her so. There was also a family positioned somewhere on one of the loops that was cheering for everyone. They called me best dressed. (Shoutout Relay Active) I loved them.

Aside from the boardwalks and water, the campus itself we were looping around wasn’t very scenic. I was starting to really struggle with the heat. I was ready to head back on the boardwalk and see that double digit sign.

Finally it came. I wanted to walk. I wanted to stop. “This is what you train for,” I tell myself. “If you ever want to get to Boston, you have to learn to fight through this feeling.”

Mile 10 - 8:41

Then we turned left away from where we’d started. We made our way down the same stretch of road passing the 2 and 12 mile markers.

Mile 11 - 9:02

Runners a minute or two ahead of us were on our right making their way back to the finish. I cheered them on as much as my energy would allow. Then, around 11.5 miles, we made a u-turn. I thought of the videos I’d seen on the internet of the “Japanese u-turn” or whatever it’s called. I would have loved to avoid the pain of slowing down and awkwardly turning around.

Not sure when exactly it happened, but the woman I’d passed earlier now passes me and gives some words of encouragement. I see the 1:55 pacer a little ways later, then the 2:00 pacer I’d met earlier. I started keeping my eyes peeled for my new friend Scot. He was wearing a yellow neon hat which made it easy to spot him. I screamed for him and we gave each other air high-fives.

Mile 12 - 9:02

One more to go. Everything we’re doing we’ve already done today. I know what to expect out of the last mile. We cross the boardwalk and turn out onto the lakefront path again. I focus on moving forward as fast as my body will let me. It feels like running inside a sauna. After what feels like an eternity, I can see the 13 mile marker up ahead.

Mile 13 - 8:51

Making the turn you see the finish line and people lining the finishing chute. The race itself was very quiet, so having a boost of energy and cheering made the finish feel like a finish line should. 

Finish time - 1:51:22

AFTER THE RACE

After finishing I knew my body wasn’t going to feel great. As the volunteers hand me a medal they ask if I’m ok. I tell them to watch me for a minute as I work to catch my breath and control my breathing. I put my medal around my neck and drink some water.

The strong woman I’d seen a couple times came up to me to congratulate me. I thanked her for her inspiration and kind words. She was from Boston and preparing for the marathon in April. Looking at the results she’s 53. Amazing.

Usually I can’t eat right after a race. So, I bypass snacks and decide to cheer in runners and wait for Scot. Vibes are high. I love cheering for strangers. So many emotions on people’s faces.

I wander over to the snack table and get some Cheez-its and soft serve. The soft serve seemed brilliant until they didn’t have chocolate and it was what I’ll call a “healthy” version of ice cream.

After the 1:55 and 2 hour pacers come in I start looking for Scot. While he’d hoped for a 1:50 he said he’d be happy with anything under 2 hours. The heat wasn’t kind. He ended up coming in around 2:12 and I screamed at the top of my lungs and gave him a real high five this time.

I find Scot and he thanks me for waiting. We chat about the race and head to the age group awards table. We’d each managed to place in our age group - Scot 5th (he’s 64) and me 3rd. They gave frosted pint glasses to the top 5 in each category.

We bid our goodbyes and promise to connect with each other on Strava. I’m happy to report that we’re now officially internet friends. Scot will be running the 50th Indy Mini in Indianapolis on 5/2 and he’ll be wearing his same neon yellow hat.

I DM Mike Cole on Instagram to see if he's still around. Mike won with a time of 1:21:14. Mike is 50 years old. Let that sink in. Since I finished 30 minutes after him, Mike had long since left and was driving home to Indiana with their two dogs. When I find out he won I asked what they gave him. A bag. Along with the pint glass he also got a bag. We had a good laugh over this and debated about whether traveling with dogs or small children was more difficult.

Time for some post race photos. I filled my pint glass with gatorade and got in line. A girl behind me had the same glitter freckles on and she kindly took some photos for me.

First race experience in Florida complete. If Vegas is the same weekend as the couples tournament again next year I’d do it again. I asked my dad who I needed to call to ask that they change the date for next year (it does change every year so fingers crossed).

I stopped at Starbucks on the way home for a mocha Frappuccino and breakfast sandwich. Then, I spent the rest of the day at the pool with my family. Certainly a perk of the race location.

Next up: half marathon #68 on 3/21 at the Rock N' Roll D.C. half for St. Jude…. stay tuned.