Coming off what can only be called a disappointing race last week, it was now time for my favorite race weekend…Gasparilla. This is a top-notch event, and just an overall party weekend. We would have a smaller crowd than usual, as Doug was globetrotting on vacation, and many of the Turtles were going to Southern California in a few weeks. The great news was that Lindsey would be flying in from NYC to run with her old man. Mary had signed up for the weekend as well, but she was still suffering the effects of her cold from last week. She was still coming up, but only as a cheerleader.
I got to the hotel around 2:30pm, and to my surprise and delight, the room was actually ready. The
Westin Tampa Waterside is a great place to stay, and our usual “go to.” Lindsey’s flight was coming in around 3pm, so I walked over to the expo to pick up our race packets. The race shirts were outstanding (as usual) and the challenge jacket was black with gold trim (which is great if you are a Steelers fan). There was a brand new challenge this year: “The Michelob Ultra Pure Gold Challenge.” This consisted of the 15K on Saturday, and the half marathon on Sunday. This was the challenge we had been waiting for, but I guess Michelob needed to come out with a new beer first. We always walk the 5K on Saturday, and I’m not a big fan of an 8K right after a half marathon; this was perfect. Lindsey arrived around the same time as Mary and Cynthia, so I met them back at the hotel. It was back to the expo for more intense shopping. It was a pleasure to actually have room to walk, since the venue was pretty large. I bought a couple of shirts, because the 200 or so that I already own is not enough. Lindsey and I then took a walk over to Publix for food, drinks, and cookies. We met up with Mary and Cynthia for an early supper at
Jackson’s, and then back to the room for an early lights out.
We met Cynthia in the lobby around 6:15, as we made our way to the start of the 15K. Here is the breakdown of all of the races:
15K – 6,483
5K – 13,511
Half – 6,194
8K – 5,157
31,345 participants in all, which was a little less than last year (199).
It was pretty warm, but Lindsey was very excited to be out of the cold. We were off and running, and I felt great right from the start. The temperature was now around 73°, but it felt hotter than that. We were running under “Code Yellow,” which meant that extra precautions would be taken for the heat. There were water stations every mile, and sprinklers throughout the course for a quick shower. I have to say, the volunteers at the water stations were really on point. We played a game throughout the race, not unlike what you would play during a long car ride. Instead of looking for license plates from other states, we tried to come up with the top five songs you would expect to hear during a race. This was the final poll (in no particular order): Living on a Prayer, YMCA, Eye of the Tiger, Don’t Stop Believing, and Uptown Funk. Celebration received honorable mention. Not the most scientific of polls, but it certainly kept us preoccupied. As we crossed the finish line, it felt as if the temperature could be 90°. That notwithstanding, we ran a strong race.
It was now time for some food and beer, all before 9:30am. The after party for this race is always excellent, with live music to groove to while you re-hydrate. We hung out for pretty long time before going back to the room for a shower. It was now around noon, and we headed over to
Columbia Café for lunch. We typically eat here for supper, but there wasn’t much of a wait. Lindsey and I split a pitcher of sangria, which really hit the spot. With a good amount of adult beverages in our system, we revisited the race expo. I was able to persuade an unsuspecting volunteer into giving us a shirt for the 5K, even though we didn’t run the race. We really liked the color, and I was pretty persistent. We napped for a couple of hours, and then headed out for supper. Mary and Cynthia had picked up Pub-subs earlier, so they were staying in. Haidee was now in town, and invited us to join her. We politely declined, as the restaurant she selected was a few miles away. We decided to eat a Fergs Live, but they were closed due to construction on the road. That would have been nice to know before we walked over there. We went to our “Plan B,” but they were closed for renovation. At that point, we just went to Publix, and shoveled down our food back at the hotel. The half marathon was starting at 6am, so it was another early bed time.
We met Haidee in the lobby at 5:30am. Cynthia was entered in the “Lime Cactus Challenge,” and would be running the 8K later in the morning. Since the half marathon starts at 6am, we would get to run in the dark for about an hour. It was just as hot as Saturday, but it seemed more humid. Once the race started, I was just not feeling it. I wasn’t hurting or tired, but I felt very lethargic. I asked Lindsey if she would be okay if we did intervals (3 x1), and we agreed to wait until we got off the island (around mile 5) before making that final decision. The sun started to rise, but it was very cloudy…thank goodness! I could see that Lindsey was really making an effort to slow down and keep pace with me, so I told her to just run her own pace. The heat felt trapped inside my body, struggling to get out. Once off the island, I did make the switch to intervals, but I was feeling better at that point anyway.
The cloud cover continued throughout the race, which made it a little more enjoyable. I made an extra effort to stay more hydrated than usual, which really paid off. The 8K participants were all lined up for the start of their race, and they cheered me on as I crossed the finish line. I wasn’t very pleased with my finishing time, but was grateful that I got stronger as the race went on.
Elaine called me later in the week to see how the races went. Believe it or not, she had never run Gasparilla. I told her that if I could only participate in one event per year, this would be it. I might have convinced her for next year.
