Beachy Vibes and Fast Race Times in Jacksonville

Stephen says, 2023 is the “Year of the Marathon”. His crazy race calendar kicked off with the Dopey Challenge in Orlando and it’s looking like it might end with Honolulu in December. Last week, he shared the race report for the DONNA half. This week, I’d love to share with you the rest of the beachy vibes and fast race time in Jacksonville Beach.

The Arrival

Unlike our typical trip, our flight didn’t leave until 8pm. This led to a rather leisurely trip to the airport and a little extra time in the Delta Lounge. I took advantage of the unstructured time to have a glass of house Rose’ while working on the blog. (Nothing like writing about travel WHILE traveling!)

Woman sitting at a table in a lounge drinking rose and working on an ipad. — *Rose’ and Writing!*

Man holding a martini glass with brown liquid with cream foam on it. — *Rose’ and Writing!*

We landed after a short, smooth flight and because the airport is small-ish, we were able to snag our rental car on site. We checked in to the Element and were fast asleep by 1 am.

Thursday Morning

As a perennial early bird, Stephen headed out early to grab coffee and do a quick run with Mark Janik from Destination Marathons.

Beachy vibes and fast race times in Jacksonville. Man wearing a yellow Boston marathon shirt and a headband that reads "Believe" in front of a sign that reads "Neptune Beach". There are palm trees all around the sign. — *Neptune Beach*

Beachy vibes and fast race times in Jacksonville. Avenue leading to Atlantic Beach. Palm trees along the side of a sign that reads "Atlantic Beach". — *Neptune Beach*

I, however, need a LITTLE more time to become an alive person – like two hours. So rather than rushing out, I had a shower and was in the lobby by 7:15 for breakfast. Rather than the usual mini muffin and banana breakfast you get at most mid-priced hotels, the Element had an ACTUAL CHEF on site, who made your breakfast to order.

Small table holding a cup of coffee, a glass of water and a plate with avocado toast on it — *Avocado Toast and Medicinal Coffee*

Once the cobwebs cleared, I looked out the lobby windows and realized we were RIGHT BY the beach. I believe my feet were moving in that direction before my brain decided to go.

Beachy vibes! Beach grass in the foreground. A red life guard chair in the middle and the ocean behind.

Beachy vibes! The sun coming up over the ocean in Jacksonville Beach

By 8am, I was at my desk, enjoying my second cup of the day.

Laptop, keyboard, mouse and travel monitor setup on a work station in a hotel room — *Digital Nomad – Jacksonville Beach Edition*

Lunchtime

We were able to take a break and walk across the street to the Burrito Gallery. I was happy to see that it wasn’t just love works of art featuring Mexican food.

Bar with a kitchen behind it. Over the window is a cartoon taco with eyes and a mustache — *Senior Taco*

Tortilla chips and guacamole on a rectangular silver tray. A bowl of lemons and limes are in the background — *Senior Taco*

Evening

After work, we walked along First Avenue to V Pizza + Flask and Cannon. Stephen ordered the pie, while I got us a seat at the Flask and Cannon. I absolutely loved the Tiki Bar vibe and the food was outstanding. But…seems like EVERYONE loves that place so we made a quick exit after dinner to find somewhere a bit quieter.

Woman in a striped shirt and a man in a ball cap, toasting a beer to the camera — *Digging the old school Tiki Bar Vibe*s

Dark bar with an old school tiki vibe. Hanging lanterns and Hawaiian carved idols — *Digging the old school Tiki Bar Vibe*s

Hand tossed pizza on a silver serving tray — *Pizzaaaaah*

We landed at the Tavern on First. They had just packed up the cornhole before we came in, but it was still very fun. They had TVs all around the bar – one of which was showing my favorite station, Chive TV. If you don’t know, this station shows amusing clips of things like cute animals, great feats of athletic prowess and very, very stupid things – like falling on your butt after making a poor life choice. We were back in the hotel later than planned but asleep by midnight.

Friday Morning

Not wanting to let two late nights in a row deter me from working out, I left our hotel room by 6:15, determined to get in a run. This was a poor life choice. I didn’t end up falling on my butt but those two miles were by far the worst I’ve had in a while.

After grumbling and a shower, I made my way to the lobby for a fantastic, chef made breakfast and coffee. It stormed until about 3pm, so there was no beach walk that morning.

Spade shaped table with a blue vase holding dried palm leaves and a plate with blue berry pancakes — *Blue berry pancakes*

Rainy street lined with palm trees. The skies are cloudy and gray in the background — *Blue berry pancakes*

Evening

Lunch was a quick bite at another Mexican place, Taco Bell. So not much to share there. Stephen headed over to Destination Marathon’s Speaker Panel Lunch while I went back to counting the beans.

Four people on stools doing a talk — Fitz Koehler, Olympian Joan Benoit Samuelson, Olympian Jeff Galloway, Dr. Dawn Mussallem

After work, much fun was had. Our first stop was at Poe’s Tavern. For those who don’t know, I’m a Poe fan and Stephen indulges my fan-girl nerd pursuits.

Woman kissing the cheek of a large sea turtle statue — *Check out the raven eyebrows!*

We got to while away an hour before heading back to the hotel and walking to dinner at the G.O.A.T. Tapas & Bar. I was SO excited because three of my favorite work peeps now live near Jacksonville and were able to come out for dinner with their S.O.s.

Long wooden, rectangular table with 8 people around it — The Jacksonville Bean Counters (and fam)

A quote on a black chalk board that reads "Reality is an illusion that occurs due to lack of alcohol" — *True words*

The food was all small plate and absolutely fantastic. We had apps, wine and dessert along with hours of laughter and talking. This dinner was the highlight of the trip for me for sure. We had to call it a night sooner than I would have liked since I had a 5k and a 5am wake up time ahead of me.

Saturday Morning

Though I tried, I just COULD NOT locate my personality for the first two and a half hours of the day. Thankfully the folks we were with before the race were very understanding. The race expo took place at the Jaguars practice field which was setup with some fun kids games, that we got to play.

Beachy vibes and fast times in Jacksonville. Three people in racing gear standing in front of a banner for the DONNA races — The 5k Crew

Man standing on a football field holding a football in front of an inflatable quarterback game. — The 5k Crew

The 5k started and finished in the Jags stadium. As we walked around the field, I started to feel so grateful for having this opportunity to be there and to be able to run. Fitz Koehler did a great job of getting us hyped before the race and I put down a much faster time than I had expected. (It might have been the contact coffee buzz I got from running past the Maxwell House roasting facility.)

Beachy vibes and fast times at Jacksonville. Image of the Jacksonville Jaguar stadiums. It's has white beams and palm trees — *TIAA Bank Field*

Beachy vibes and fast times at Jacksonville. Inside of the Jaguars' stadium in Jacksonville. Large LED boards with a race announcer are visible above the crowd seating — *TIAA Bank Field*

Saturday Afternoon

It was very windy so we decided to skip the games Destination Marathons setup on the beach and elected instead to grab the tickets they left us to walk along the pier.

Beachy vibes. Atlantic ocean with foamy waves. — *View from the Pier*

Beachy vibes! Smooth sand on Jacksonville beach with the waves coming into shore — *View from the Pier*

Afterward, Stephen did a little photo shoot in the Puma gear he got as part of the DM package. I think this could be part of his next career! #bluesteel

Man in a bright green short sleeved shirt with matching shoes, blue shorts and a ball cap running on the beach. The ocean and sand are behind him. — Puma on the beach

Man in a bright green short sleeved shirt with matching shoes, blue shorts and a ball cap leaning on a wooden railing on the boardwalk. The ocean and sand are behind him. — Puma on the beach

We walked along First Avenue before ending up at The Brix Taphouse for an afternoon repose.

Plate of mahi, mahi tacos with tortilla chips in a blue basket. A pint of craft beer and a plate of grilled cauliflower sits behind it. — *Afternoon break at The Brix*

Dinner and Auction

We got to enjoy a beautiful buffet dinner over at the Four Points by Sheraton hotel, while Donna Deegan shared her story about fighting cancer and how the DONNA races came to be.

Woman in a polka dot dress and a man in a suit coat and Scally cap in front of a Destination Marathons Sign

We performed an Irish Goodbye and managed to be in bed by 8:30pm. (Finally!)

Sunday – Race Day

Though we were asleep much earlier than we’d been the past 4 days, that 5am wake up time was still a challenge for me. Here we are at breakfast with the DM team. As you can see, my eyes were still at half-mast by this point.

Wooden table with people sitting around it.

After some liquid personality, we headed out toward the start to enjoy the race hoopla. As usual, there was lots of uplifting music and nervous energy. After the national anthem, I sent Stephen on his way with a kiss.

Man in race gear and a bib with a woman in a fleece jacket. — *Race Ready*

White tent with a white vinyl side down with "Destination Marathons" written on it. Next to the tent, a person is getting a massage and there are palm trees in the background. — *Race Ready*

I walked back to the hotel to pack and get ready for our trip back home. As you know, Stephen finished first in his age group.

The DONNA race recap - Man in race heading to the finish line. — *Sir Speed*y

What you may not know, is that he was showered, dressed and in the rental car 20 minutes after he crossed the finish line. (Rather Clark Kent-like, wouldn’t you say?)

A man in a Scally cap and dress clothes, holding up a race medal and lifting a beer — *And he didn’t even need a phone booth!*

The Exit

The drive back to Jacksonville sunny and fast. We visited the Delta lounge before boarding for our flight back to the D, through JFK.

Curved road leading to a bridge with white spires in the background. — *The Bowtie Bridge*

Large sticker on the window at Jacksonville airport making it look like a huge purple person is walking by — *The Bowtie Bridge*

Jacksonville Beach was beautiful but we just weren’t there long enough. Thankfully, we will be going back again soon when we do some house and pet sitting for a friend. So more beachy vibes to come!

If you enjoyed the beachy vibes and fast race times in Jacksonville, consider subscribing for free today. You’ll get first peeks at our adventures before anyone else and next week we leave for TOKYO!

The Arrival

Thursday Morning

Lunchtime

Evening

Friday Morning

Evening

Saturday Morning

Saturday Afternoon

Dinner and Auction

Sunday – Race Day

The Exit

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