In my Pirate Era (Gasparilla 2024)
Cheers to 10 years of participating in the Gasparilla distance classic (and doing running events in general) Of my 10 years this will be my 5th time running the 15k/8k challenge which is now onto its fourth name since participating… the Michelob Ultra Infusions Challenge
This year we were staying downtown at the official HOST hotel the Embassy Suites instead of the further away by the airport making race weekend activities a breeze.
Just look at this picture I took that looks like a vintage postcard
We wandered around the booths but there were lots of empty tables and the tables that did have giveaways you had to sign up for a mailing list (the one list I did sign up for I’ve already gotten a dozen unnecessary emails as all I want to know about is the running series they advertised)
I did end up getting two bondi bands (because girl math 2 for $15 is better then 1 for $10)
At the wall I think it was the fastest I found my name
Also this dress made of upcycled publix bags was stunning
My OOTD for the 15K was my black mystique skort, pirates of the Caribbean reel legends shirt and black/white/red tie dye bondi I was wearing a pair of newer sneakers again but unlike last year I’d ran a 9 mile training run and a few shorter runs in beforehand
I left my room at 5:38 and after an elevator ride from the 5th to 2nd floor and a quick walk across the bridge I was in the lobby of the convention center at 5:42.
I vibed a bit in the lobby using the restroom, pinning my bib, and doing a few stretches before walking out to the start at 6:14
The weather was 59 feels like 58 when I left the room and 57 feels like 56 when I approached staging
Stopping to fill my bottle and snap a few pictures I waited in the shoot at 6:22
I crossed the start at 6:51
I “cheated” a tad early on by moving onto the sidewalk when I reached the bridge so I wouldn’t have to crawl at a snail pace across the grates out of anxiety and veered off ever so slightly again to ditch my water bottle.
I also caught this guy just hanging out before reaching mile marker 1 in 0:16:50
There were THREE! hydration stops and even though I’d chugged my coral water I partook in two of those
Running past the 5K halfway marker at the ready on the side of the road as well as their turn around, the first place finisher coming down the home stretch as well as the rough riders I hit mile marker 2 0:34:47
I noticed another pace car ushering in the lead woman as well as a guitarist. There were other musicians and DJs throughout on both days but honestly I had my own music so I really wasn’t tracking them.
There were two hydration stops and I grabbed a water and Gatorade respectively. The white cherry was a pleasant surprise from Lemon Lime.
I also passed the Satisfaction before I reached mile 3 in 0:52:38
My unofficial 5K split was 0:54:06 (12 mins over PR)
When I reached THAT installation I readjusted my right shoelace and hit up another water stop before reaching mile 4 in 1:10:55
With another water stop I was
HALFWAY THERE
With an official split of 1:22:05
As I embarked on the brief Gandy out and back I then reached mile 5 in 1:28:21
At this point last year I dinged my ankle but this year while I was three minutes behind that time I was feeling good about myself
This leg brought me two water stops and catching the end of the line begin to creep up from behind reaching mile 6 in 1:46:52
My unofficial 10k split was 1:50:27 (8 mins over PR)
The stretch between marker 6 and 7 is historically a long crawl of nothing… idk if maybe faster runners got some entertainment as looking back on last years recap there was nada aside from the repassing of the installation noted which was the same
Mile 7 was reached in 2:04:59
For as draggy as the last mile was with this one I passed the satisfaction again as well as rough riders and the 5k turn around as well as grabbed a water and Gatorade at two respective stops.
I reached mile 8 at 2:24:32 at this point 5 mins ish above my PR with 1.3 miles left to go and was soon instructed to keep in the bike lane as the 5k was about to step off
There was another hydration stop before I passed their marker 2 and watched as the 5k winner went up the opposite side.
There was another water stop before the dreaded mix in happened.
I reached my last marker marker 9 at 2:43:49
I made that last push and realized why last year I didn’t get an official time… they had a narrow coned off shoot for 15k stragglers and I bet last year I didn’t notice and crossed the 5k finish map
My official time was 2:49:46 roughly 2 mins over last year and a half hour over PR
For this race I decided to do a little pregame for Springtime Surprise and wear my Captain Hook inspired look sans accessories…top is from old navy with embellishments …the shorts under my home sewn circle skirt were also from old navy. This was paired with my solid red bondi
At 646 I left my room but spent about an hour in the hotel lobby’s breakfast area before heading to the convention center
I hung out there using the restroom and stretching for about 20 mins before my long walk to the staging
At 822 I was in the shoot
It was 61 feels like 61 at this point as I began to wait the long hour in the sun before stepping off… I wondered if maybe I should of lingered a bit longer in the convention center ac however soon Tony the Tiger showed up in the corals followed by the cheese it mascot ched-z
I crossed the start at 921 and in the first mile I grabbed some water and watched the winner on the other side. I reached marker 1 at 0:17:09
I grabbed a Gatorade at a stop this next mile before hitting marker 2 in 0:35:12
I grabbed a second Gatorade and a selfie with Pepperjack before I hit the halfway point with an official split of 0:42:28
HALFWAY THERE
official split 0:42:28
I hit the backside of the satisfaction from where pepperjack had been meeting and grabbed another water before eyeballing what I assume was the end of the line on the other end of the road.
I reached marker 3 in 0:52:49
And an unofficial 5k in 0:54:33 (seconds over yesterday)
Another Water spot before hitting marker 4 in 1:11:16
There was one final water spot and a random mime that I didn’t get a good picture of before finishing in 1:29:05 seconds faster than last year and 16 mins over a PR
Run The Year progress 274.48/2024
1.18 miles below my daily average to meet my year end goal...
Here are my badges earned in my 200 mile journey...
Upcoming races
Promise Run 5K 3/2
Bonnet Springs 5K 3/23
Springtime Surprise 5K 4/19
Springtime Surprise 10K 4/20
Mayfair 5/11
PRs
1M {15:26} 3K {30:59} 5K {42:46} 8K {1:13:59} 10K {1:42:52} 15K {2:19:09} 10M {3:01:51} HALF {3:54:55} FULL {7:08:15*} *virtual full run in increments
Comments
Post a Comment