Miami, Key West, and Disney..Oh My! The January 2024 Girls Trip – Day 5 – Key West
A little backstory to today: Almost a year ago, my cousin, Cara, asked me if I was interested in running a half marathon with her this January here in Key West. Of course, I said yes, and my year-long training journey for this event started. There were times when I was not sure if I was going to be able to make it this far, but after running in both the 5K and 10K at the runDisney Wine and Dine Race weekend in November, I not only got my first race day jitters out but also realized just how much fun running in an actual race is, which has pushed me to keep training for this one. If you missed out or need a recap of what we have done on this epic adventure, click here.
January 14, 2024 – This morning, we were up early to get to the start line in plenty of time for the 6:30 race time. Last night, I stopped at a coffee shop to pick up coffee for this morning, so I grabbed that from the fridge, and we did a quick warm-up walk to the starting line, which was about a half mile from our rental. Right after we arrived, I stepped off a curb and felt something below my knee pop and had a sharp pain. My first thought was crap, I’ve put in all this work, and now I’m not going to be able to compete. But, after walking around a little bit, it felt better, so I decided to go for it and do my best to finish. I also knew that I had 4 hours to complete the race, so if I could finish the first half in a good time, I would be able to walk the rest at a much slower pace, if needed.
This race does not have assigned corals to line up in like the Disney races I ran a couple of months ago. For this race, there were people with signs stating your anticipated finish time, and you lined up behind them. But honestly you could have lined up with any group. Then, when the starting gun sounded, everyone slowly moved forward as the runners before you crossed the start line. This was also very different than the runDisney races, since in those races, there would be a certain number of people released at a time from coral A, until it was clear, followed by B, and so on, until everyone was across the start line, which means the last people to cross the start line often start almost an hour or more after the official start time. Of course, there were several thousand more runners at the Disney races than were in attendance here, so what works for one race doesn’t always work for another. I lined up toward the end, knowing I would be slow, and I was across the start line about 20 minutes after the first runners.
The first half of the course went down Duval Street, took us by the Southernmost Point Buoy, and continued along A1A until the halfway point (6.55 miles). The first half of the race was right before and during sunrise, which made for some beautiful views and pictures.
There was even some entertainment along the way.
I was able to do my run/walk intervals for this full first half (actually jogging more than walking) and reached the halfway point in just under an hour and a half, which was my goal.
Here are some pictures of a funny sign that was on the last bridge before the halfway point and the other side coming back,
At the halfway point, the course turned around and went back down A1A along the waterfront, up Whitehead Street, past the cruise port (where the Norwegian Pearl had docked for the day), through Mallory Square, and back to the starting point. Since I had made such a good time in the first half, I was able to walk most of the second half. My knee didn’t start aching until a little after the 10-mile mark, but it wasn’t bad, and I was able to keep going, finishing with an official time of 3 hrs and 37 minutes which was an average time of 16:38/per mile. I may have been one of the last people to finish, (there were about 60 people who finished after I did) but my main goal today was to finish the race, so I was happy with my achievement!
I MADE IT!!!
After the race, there was a table of food for the runners, including bananas, fruit, bagels, cream cheese, and peanut butter, so after I sat in the shade and ate my snack, I walked back to the rental to meet up with Cara (who had finished about 20 minutes before me), and Sara who was waiting for us. Once I got back to the house, I cleaned up and went lay by the pool for a couple of hours to decompress and enjoy a celebratory beer.
After Cara and I had a little time to relax, we set out to explore the island more. One of the places we all wanted to visit was the Hemingway House, so that is where we started. This was a great stop, and we learned a lot about Ernest Hemingway and his time in Key West.
Next, we decided it was time for a drink, so we stopped at a couple of little bars. Our first stop was at The Bearded Lady. This chill little bar decorated with movie memorabilia even had the lamp from A Christmas Story in the window!
Our last stop of the afternoon was at Mary Ellen’s Bar and Restaurant, where we got appetizers, beer, and Jameson Frozen Irish Coffees.
Then we retuned back to the rental to relax for a couple of hours. – Here are a couple of pictures I took on my way back.
Tonight was our last evening here in Key West, and since Cara didn’t get to see the sunset on our first evening, we headed back down to Mallory Square for their Sunset Celebration. Every evening the Square comes alive with performers, artists, musicians, and food vendors. To read more about it, click on the Sunset Celebration link above. It was partly cloudy, so the sunset was not as pretty as Friday evening, but it was still a nice place to spend our last night.
After watching the sunset, we walked through the Key West Historic Memorial Sculpture Garden. This Garden has 30 bronze busts of the men and women who had the most significant influence on Key West’s history. It was super interesting, and I would love to go back to revisit it again when I am not so tired and can spend more time reading the plaques on each one.
By this time, we all exhausted, so we returned to the house to relax and enjoy our last evening on the porch. Tomorrow morning we will pack up and drive to Orlando for our final destination on this journey – Disney World!
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