I think I am finally awake enough to write this.
We made it to the expo for the Sarasota Half/Full Marathon about 1:00 on Saturday and found it was a little bigger than I expected. We were checked in easily enough and started looking at the vendors. There were some people there I was wondering what they had to do with running (home builders and kids furnature) but I guess they were looking for people to notice them.
For the race, it was nice to be able to get up a little closer to the start time. The hotel was about .5 mile from the start so I just walked over. There were a few other people who had the same idea. I have a feeling the hotels in the area love the marathon.
I made it to the starting area around 5:10-5:15 and walked around trying to wake up. I didn't see anyone and finally got in the starting area and lined up at the 11:00 min/mile line. One observation, Disney lines for the port-a-potties were good compared to some of these. From what I could calculate, there was almost a 30 minute wait for the one group I was close to about 30 minutes from the start time. I don't know what the people who waiting did when the race actually started.
I didn't hear any of the announcements, national anthem, or start gun but saw people start bobbing up and down in the front. It took about a minute and a half for me to get to the start line. The first 3.5 miles or so were in a neighborhood and it was a little dark but the houses seemed huge. It took about 3 miles for the mob to thin out enough for me to get into a nice pace but after that it stayed fairly consistent. There were a few narrow spots but due to the area, that probably couldn't be avoided.
I saw Chester a little before the 4 mile point cheering everyone on. The half marathon leader lapped me around 4.5 miles and it seemed he had a big lead at the time. Mile 5 marked the start of the causeway/bridge and it wasn't that bad going over the first time. On the other side of the causeway, the half and full runners went different directions. There was a nice turnaround area for the half at what they say is the midway point. I saw Mel on the way back around Mile 7.25 and we exchanged hellos.
The causeway was a little more difficult the second time but it passed quickly. On the way back over, the sun was trying to break through the clouds so you could see the split sunbeams hitting the water with the boats in the background. That would be really nice to wake up to in the mornings.
The way back was repeating what had been seen on the first part of the run. The marathon leader passed me around mile 8 but he had to go a separate direction so I actually beat him to the finish line.
My goal was to beat 2:24 (11:00 min/mile) and the second goal was to beat 2:15. My finishing time was 2:20:45 so I got my first goal with time to spare. Although my Garmin said I went 13.43 miles probably due to all the congestion at the start of the race. Garmin wise, I hit 13.1 at about 2:17 so I was close that goal in one respect.
After the race, they had a nice finish area. It was shady which was a definate plus at this point. They also had lots of food; bananas, oranges, peanut butter sandwhiches, bagels, pretzles, chips, muffins, and I think cheese triangles. They also had lots of water for people at the end.
Overall I felt it was a good race and I didn't see any problems or issues that they might have had. I would recommend this one to people and the bling looks cute with colorful fishes running on the top of it.
Bill
Good job!!
Great job on your half marathons! I love the bling. Get some rest. You deserve it. Thanks for the update on Anne's mom. Sending major 
her way.
I am really proud of you! 
And what an awesome post by Jeff -- it just reeks of the pride and love he has for you. I am so happy that you have that for the finish! 
I think this was my best effort...I felt good through most of the race, I did tire out at mile 12, but I found enough in me when I saw the fam at the end to surge to the finish. I truly have no complaints with my performance. This isn't easy for me to say, but I'm proud of what I accomplished yesterday. Special thanks to my family and the WISH team...I never would have done this without all of your support.
