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Manasota Track Club 50K (and 25K)<br>
Sarasota, FL<br>
All trails<br>
2 Feb. 2008<br><br>
The GF and I woke up at 3:30 so we could make the 2+ hr drive down to Sarasota so as to avoid the overpriced winter rates at the Gulf beach hotels.<br><br>
When we arrived the Oscar Shearer State Park the weather was a near perfect 47-degrees...of cours the race didn't start for another hour (I'm paranoid about being late to ANYTHING). The race started and the temps were in the low 50's with almost no humidity and no wind...basically it was near perfect running weather. The course consisted of 5 6-mile figure 8's through the trais and dirt roads in the park. After the first 6-miles, the sun shone hard and the temps started to soar. I lost my shirt by mile 9 and was already soaked in sweat.<br><br>
The entire race was pretty uneventful, which I guess is a pretty good thing. As with most Florida races this season, the heat and the sand proved to be tough adversaries. The temps never climbed above 80, but the heat was still a factor becasue there were NO clouds and the course is completely unshaded. There was also no breeze and the heat radiating off the sand creates a nice (OK...not so nice) oven-like feel to the run.<br><br>
I used this race as a training run for Umstead and I got exactly what I wanted, my legs feel good enough to do a nice 6-miler the day after the race. My only physical ailments are a touch of dehydration and some NASTY sunburn on my shoulders, chest, and back (no, I'm not expecting pity from those of you in the colder northern climates :blush<img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"><br><br>
The entire race was VERY well organized...all of the volunteers were amazing AND we got really cool windbreakers instead of the standard tshirts.
Sarasota, FL<br>
All trails<br>
2 Feb. 2008<br><br>
The GF and I woke up at 3:30 so we could make the 2+ hr drive down to Sarasota so as to avoid the overpriced winter rates at the Gulf beach hotels.<br><br>
When we arrived the Oscar Shearer State Park the weather was a near perfect 47-degrees...of cours the race didn't start for another hour (I'm paranoid about being late to ANYTHING). The race started and the temps were in the low 50's with almost no humidity and no wind...basically it was near perfect running weather. The course consisted of 5 6-mile figure 8's through the trais and dirt roads in the park. After the first 6-miles, the sun shone hard and the temps started to soar. I lost my shirt by mile 9 and was already soaked in sweat.<br><br>
The entire race was pretty uneventful, which I guess is a pretty good thing. As with most Florida races this season, the heat and the sand proved to be tough adversaries. The temps never climbed above 80, but the heat was still a factor becasue there were NO clouds and the course is completely unshaded. There was also no breeze and the heat radiating off the sand creates a nice (OK...not so nice) oven-like feel to the run.<br><br>
I used this race as a training run for Umstead and I got exactly what I wanted, my legs feel good enough to do a nice 6-miler the day after the race. My only physical ailments are a touch of dehydration and some NASTY sunburn on my shoulders, chest, and back (no, I'm not expecting pity from those of you in the colder northern climates :blush<img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"><br><br>
The entire race was VERY well organized...all of the volunteers were amazing AND we got really cool windbreakers instead of the standard tshirts.
