ARRRGH YOU READY TO RUN 14.2 MILES: GASPARILLA 2019 RECAP
So last year I made a big deal about how this was my first year doing the actual 5K instead of the Kashi Walk however this year I stepped up my game even farther as back in May after coming off of back to back race mornings with Star Wars Dark Side I decided to kick it up a notch and sign up for one of the Challenge events…. I chose to do the Lime Cactus Challenge which is doing the 15K Saturday morning and the 8K Sunday morning…. this would be my first time doing both these distances in a timed race event and my first time running longer then 6.2 ish miles outside of the treadmill….
So, I did a quick 5-hour shift on Friday night and then it was off toward Tampa for the Expo once again. This Expo is supposed to set the tone and get you all amped up however the tone it set made me think that this weekend was going to be a hot mess. We parked at the garage and headed toward the convention center where people were going in and out saying something about hearing it was a false alarm or not a false alarm. I planned to use the restroom while my ride went upstairs to wait for me. I finished my business and was about to head onto the escalator when I was told I needed to evacuate and I would of just assumed that it was due to the expo hall being at capacity however when a guard said we needed to evacuate to the other side of the street I started having a panic attack as they were still letting people cross over back toward the center and hell my ride was still inside and didn’t text or call to say something was going on.
Within about 10-15 minutes I was rejoined by my ride and able to enter the hall in tears wanting to just defer but once I got my bib as well as my shirts and challenge jacket I was hyped to go.
After I got my swag, I noticed a short line for the name wall and so…tradition….
Once I was done taking pictures at the wall I walked the floor where my main objectives were to sign up for a race I’ve been wanting to do but was waiting for a discount (booth was closing up already at 4PM as the race was pretty much at capacity (there were 30ish spots open last the lady saw), see if there were cooling towels like the one I liked so much from home (there wasn’t and I carried mine for both races), see if I could get some pirate related headbands (I did)
And as a bonus they had some new signs at the Tampa Bay Times Booth and so I had to snag some of them once more
Saturday morning arrived and I got up at around 3:50am to grab a bagel in my hotel room (it was much more convenient to stay in Tampa for the weekend) and get dressed. My outfit for the race was a pair of my Fila active capri’s purchased at Kohls paired with my free race shirt, the Kraken Bondi band I purchased at the expo and my grey Fresh Foam Arishi’s.
We left the hotel around 5:25am ish and after making a pit stop at 711 to grab a bottle of water, I was dropped off outside the parking garage and at the convention center by 5:50am to do my pre-race business and by 6:25am I was in the staging area ready to go. For this race there were two waves for 15K only runners where if you were doing the challenges (all 4 participated in this race) could start wherever they wanted to start and so I wound up somewhere between the 12 m/m pacer and the 15 m/m pacer in the second wave. From being way back it was hard to hear what was being said by the announcer aside from that it was a yellow flag and to stop at all the hydration stops.
I wound up crossing the start line at about 6:59 am and soon spotted a group of guys dressed in full Sesame Street onesies which seemed like total insanity with how humid it was fixing to be and the fact that they had 9.3 miles ahead of them however I did catch up to them for a bit near the end and you’d be glad to know they finished…anyway the race began pretty much in the same place that the 5K did and so I was used to the first part of things as we crossed under the bridge
I was soon met with mile marker 1 and a fitbit split of 13:18
Soon after that we were me with our first water stop as well as the Rough Rider crew handing out beads…sadly no donuts like they were handing out during last years 5K not that I’d take one anyway…..it was also around this time that I saw the pace car on the opposite side of the road ushering in the first place runners toward the finish line.
After them we reached mile 2 with a 14:11 split and after a second water stop I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the finish line without a pit stop though I was really hoping to of held out until I reached at least my first 5K none the less when you got to go you got to go and while my pace on my fitbit spiked a bit from my 3 minute detour it was at this point I decided I was going to aim more toward walks and sprints unless my fitbit said I had climbed to a 15’30 m/m before the 10k mark cause I didn’t want the heat and humidity to burn me out especially when I had to run again the following day. After water stop number 3, I finally reached mile number 3 with a 16:23 split. A third of the way done with my first 15K I saw a fun art installation
Water stop number 4 happened and soon after this came mile marker number 4 where I made up for lost time with a split of 14:27. A 5th water stop occurred as we reached the Halfway There Celebration which in reality was just an archway with a timing mat how anti-climactic
Not too much after this we briefly turned off Bayshore onto Gandy for a loop before returning down Bayshore in the opposite direction. I didn’t notice if there had been a 5 mile marker during this duration or if my finger just didn’t click the shudder button hard enough but my split was 15:10. Now that we were going back down Bayshore I could taste the finish in site as I was met with water stop 6 & 7 and noticed the end of the line from the other side of the road before I ‘Tripped A Little Light Fantastic’ past mile marker 6 and a 14:39 split. Shortly after this I saw a lady in just socks…I wonder how long she was carrying her shoes, did she stay that way for the final 5K if she even finished at all and more important how wet were her socks from those mister stations by the water tables…anyway I saw the art piece again that I passed between markers 3-4 as I finally approached mile 7 with a 14:47 split and the validation I’ve ran the furthest I ever had in a timed race.
Water Stop #8 & 9 happened where I took two cups and wet my cooling towel as the humidity had started getting to me, but I was so close as I passed the 5K turn around being set up and approached marker 8 with a 15:32 split.
Water Stop 10 happened and soon after this a car came down the side of the road saying the 5K was about to start and to please keep to the right just as the pace car started up the opposite side with the first runners… I wondered as I approached mile marker 9 with a 16:31 mile split if they’d be crossing the finish line right alongside me.
I ended up finishing with my Fitbit unofficially saying I ran 9.75 miles, 2:26:33 time with a 15:01 m/m OFFICIALLY however I logged a time of 2:26:19 with a 15:42 m/m so my time was accurate, but my pace counts not so much….
One race down one to go as I woke up on Sunday Morning and with the later race start time was able to eat my bagel during the hotels breakfast where surprisingly I didn’t get many comments or second glances of my race outfit. I figured since this was my shorter race, I’d embrace the pirate spirit and wore the black running skirt made for my Kylo Ren running outfit paired with the white Champion top and Black Vest upcycled from a Kohls active tank which I wore for my newsie! Han Solo running outfit with my Grey Fresh Foam Arishi’s and the bandana Bondi Band I purchased at the expo.
I got to the convention center around 8:20 am and there were plenty of 8K runners still mulling about. As I left the convention it was a decent walk to the start which was at a different spot then the 15K/5K where you have to walk parallel to the finish shoot where there was someone who must have run the Half in a full on Jawa costume and was at the end of the shoot
I finally got into the shoot at 8:42am (there is only one shoot no waves) and about 10 minutes later the pacers began to arrive. I was right smack behind the 9:30 m/m pacer and while things were already packed like sardines, I managed to inch enough of the way back to be behind the 11 m/m pacer.
I crossed the start at 9:17 am and shortly after I began I wondered if with this wind a skort would be easy to run in…oh well too late for that as I was passed by the 12 m/m pacer, encountered water stop #1, passed a group of people stumping for a mayoral candidate and had my music glitch out all before mile marker 1 with a 13:38 split. I saw the pace car following the 8K winners up the other side of the road had water stop #2 and my second and thankfully final phone glitch before reaching mile 2 with a 14:46 split. At this point I really wanted to run more however whenever I tried, I was either getting bumped into or I’d pick up my pace and then be blocked by a group of people moving 3 or 4 abreast. I reached water stops #3 & 4 and hit the turn around and halfway there marks before getting to mile marker 3 and a 15:19 split. At this point I spotted the pace car coming up the other side of the road and soon after was water stop #5 before beginning a game of cat/mouse with the 15/mm pacer as I approached marker 4 with a 15:42 split. The 6th and final water stop occurred as I continued playing tag with the 15 m/m pacer only to finally concede just as we approached the underpass
Finishing the race my unofficial Fitbit time was 5.16 miles 1:16:42 time and a 14:52 pace with an official time of 1:16:42 and a 15:26 pace so this time an exact net time but pace being way off
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