What a difference a week (and a little distance) makes

The deep south is currently in the middle of one heckuva cold snap, including huge snowfalls. While my two destinations don't have snow, the expected difference in weather is rather impressive.

Celebration, FL will start out in the low 40s. It's going to be really chilly just standing around in advance of the race, but once we get under way, it will be wonderful. Given I'll be finishing just after 11am (since I've been shifted to a slightly later pacer group), the temps at the finish will be great -- probably about 60.

However, looking at Miami the following week, while starting at 6:30am (given the wave start and my late corral), the temps will be starting a fair bit warmer than I finish in Celebration. Standing around in the corrals will be wonderfully comfortable, but once we get under way...

I'm glad that I will be running at a slower pace than normal for my pacing, given how crazy warm and humid it is expected to be. Hopefully we can convince runners to move to a slower pace (regardless of group) than they otherwise were hoping to run. The wind may help a little bit, but not necessarily enough to cool people off.

Upcoming pacing gigs

Definitely looking forward to the races in Celebration (next Sunday) and Miami (the following Sunday). I've never run either of them, and they appear to be vastly different from each other.

Celebration is billed as a relatively small field (and, based on last year's results, there are about 400 people who run it), and looks like it should be a pretty course with the various parks/golf courses and some of the boardwalks that we run on, amid the various neighborhoods. While there will likely bit a bit of crowd support on this 2-loop course, I don't expect too many people to come out. We'll see.

By contrast, Miami has about 15,000 who will be running in the marathon or half marathon -- a little over 2,500 in the marathon, again, based on last year's results. We start by the Kaseya Center, run to/through Miami Beach, and then come back to "mainland" Miami. While there will be plenty of waterfront views, this is definitely a big-city race. My understanding is that there is definitely a large number of people who come out along the course to cheer on the runners. While I usually feed off the energy to push through on my pace, given I'll be running a fair bit slower than normal for me (leading the 4:50 pace group), I'll need to make sure all of that energy doesn't push me closer to my more comfortable, faster zone.

I've been wanting to run each of these races for a few years now, but always declined doing so because of the Dopey Challenge. Now that I have stopped running Disney, I have greater opportunities to do other races - and consider adding them into my regular rotations, even.

Wrapping up marathon pacing season?

My marathon schedule is kinda bizarre. I've got a few "self-interested" races in the spring race season (Little Rock and Boston, and *possibly* Flying Pig, depending on the result of Little Rock), but before I get to those, I still have two pacing gigs to be prepped for. And *such* different paces, both from each other, never mind what my "self-interested" paces are.

When I'm running "for time" for myself, it's to have a sufficient BQ, meaning 3:15:00 or better.

When I'm running as a pacer, the faster end of my range is approximately 3:50:00 or 3:55:00, and typically goes to about 4:30:00. However, for my upcoming races at the end of this month, I will be running the first one at 3:50:00, and then the following week for 4:50:00. This is going to be an interesting and fun challenge. The broader my range, the more opportunities I have for pacing and getting people across the line in their respective goal times.

I don't know if it will be possible to join the pacer team for Flying Pig in early March, only after I know if my Little Rock performance suffices for BQ, but for now I'm considering it a "self-interested" race. And in the next several weeks, I'll find out if I've been added to the team for the Historic Half that takes place a couple of weeks after Flying Pig. 

Might there be other pacing opportunities that crop up before summer? Sure; we'll see. Seems like most of my pacing gigs are more in the fall season, though. Just the way it all falls out.

Nice mileage!

As we all look forward to this new year that has just begun, and some people take up a "2025 challenge", it's time to take stock of the year that was:

January: 184 mi

February: 135 mi (including Mesa Marathon)

March: 202 mi

April: 155 mi (including Coast Guard and Boston Marathons)

May: 191 mi

June: 186 mi (including Jack & Jill Poconos Marathon)

July: 219 mi

August: 209 mi (including Marathon Pour Tous @ Paris Olympics)

September: 210 mi (including Erie & Air Force Marathons)

October: 227 mi (including Army 10-Miler, and Atlantic City and Marine Corps Marathons)

November: 209 mi (including Harrisburg Marathon)

December: 200 mi (including Space Force T-Minus 10-Miler and Palm Beaches Marathon)

Not too shabby: 2327 miles on the year, and seven pacing gigs (those in bold) within the various races run.

Off to a good start, having put in two different 6-mile sessions today. The first in the morning (amid some nasty wind) practicing a very-slow-for-me pace so that I can be successful at pacing the 4:50 group at the Miami Marathon in a month. The second simply doing the pre-set workout as part of my training plan for the Little Rock Marathon, where I'm shooting for a 3:15 or better, so I can improve my usable BQ for 2026.

And I am currently set to run approximately 11-12 marathons this year - most of them as a pacer. Looking forward to the challenges!