On Cinco de Mayo we loaded up the SUVs and headed to Cocoa Beach for a girls night 10k race. We spent the afternoon getting settled in the hotel, picking up our race packets, and shopping at Ron Jon Surf Shop before heading to the port for dinner.
We listened to live music, enjoyed some margaritas, and had dinner before heading back to the hotel. Once we arrived back, Vanessa and Juliana were ready to join in on the fun! We stayed up way too late laughing and enjoying our time without having to worry about bedtime routines, considering we had a race the next morning.
5:45am came very early and we all reluctantly rolled out of bed to make our way to the beach for the 10k. The race had a half marathon option and a 10k option, both entirely on the beach. We all were running the 10k, so we waited for the half marathoners to be on their way fore it was time for our race to start.
While others have run this race in previous years, it was my first time (spoiler alert, also my last time). Heather and I started off playing catch up with group because it was pretty packed at the start of the race. We ran pretty quick for the first mile and caught up with Cristina and Tracy. That was the end of the quick running. Once we caught up with them, we decided to switch to intervals, which eventually turned into more walking than running.
It was a beautiful day at the beach. The ocean and the waves were gorgeous, but the part of the beach where the sand was nice and packed was covered by the tide. As we were running, we would creep down to the packed sand only to be dodging the incoming tide in order to keep our shoes dry. The dry sand was loose and slanted. From what I’ve heard, the hurricane really impacted the beach and the race conditions in previous years weren’t as bad.
The race was 3.1 miles out and 3.1 miles back. As usual, the way out felt longer than the way back. By the time we were at mile 5, I was just ready to be done. The finish line was pretty far up the beach away from the water so the sand was very loose making it that much harder to get the seahorse medal. But alas, we finished, snapped a quick picture, and headed straight for the food.
We headed back to the hotel for a quick shower before our families arrived to enjoy the rest of the morning at the beach. Overall, the beach race was a great experience. I am so glad that I did it. We had such a great time the entire time we were there. But, with that being said, I’ll be okay not running it again! I think I’m going to stick to road races.
The Gilbertson Family 