Why Walk the Plank when you can run down Bayshore? Gasparilla 2025 recap

Before I begin I just wanted to give my final mile count for 2024… 1,714.97 a long ways to go from my 2024 goal but lets see if I can beat that if not make it to 2025 in 2025…

Anyway, onto my first race of the year… the OG… Gasparilla for my 11th year running….

Once more I did the Michelob Ultra Infusions Challenge which is the 15K Saturday and 8K Sunday. Unfortunately the hotel downtown that was a gamechanger in 2024 had other events going on and wasn’t being used as a host hotel and so we stayed a bit away as will be noted in my individual race recaps

In the meantime Friday was the Expo. I didn’t timestamp the exact time we got there but we mainly mulled around poking around after getting my bib and swag. 

Bondi wasn’t there this year HOWEVER I was able to get the Pepperjack plush that was sold out last year and I hopefully will bring him out to all or most of my races in 2025!

My OOTD for the 15K was my purple mystique skort, Crowned solstice sister tank and hair accessories as well as the race jacket because it was COLD that morning when I woke up like 45 feels like 41 degrees cold.

We left the hotel at 5:12 and I hopped out of my car downtown at about 5:26 and walked out towards the convention center at 5:33

Since this weekend is also Princess Weekend at Disney I was getting Balloon Lady Tracker alerts so at 6:07 I got an alert that they had started the 10K.

At 6:19 I left the convention center, grabbed a pre coral water and was officially queued up by 6:26. At this time I decided to zip my jacket and adjust my bib.

Around 6:57 I was off and two minutes later I got a buzz that the Balloons at Princess hit the 5K marker

I reached marker 1 in roughly 17 mins

It was fairly similar to last year… three hydration stops, rough riders, 5K halfway point, pace car coming up the other side of the road and a few random Star Wars cosplayers…

Also during this stretch I was already slowing down to remove my jacket and adjust my bib.

I hit marker 2 in 35 ish minutes

Again pretty much the same as last year with two hydration stops one I took water one I took the sport drink as well as the Satisfaction and random DJs/Music that I wasn’t tracking as I listen to my own curated soundtrack which I will get into later because reasons

Also at 7:49 the Balloon Ladies had finished the 10K just as I was getting ready to pass marker 3 in 53 mins

My Unofficial 5K was roughly 55 mins so a minute slower than last year, still 13 mins over my PR from 2019 but at least I’m consistent.

There wasn’t much this mile as the installation was still being either refurbished or deconstructed like it was back in December

I reached mile 4 in about 1:11:00

Another water stop before reaching the Halfway Mark with an official Halfway split of 1:21:59 which was about six seconds FASTER than last year

There was the Gandy out and back which consisted of mile marker 5 which I hit at roughly 1:29:00

The end of the line was just turning onto Gandy as I was getting onto Bayshore again making me want to put some spring in my step all the while trying to see if I could put my jacket back on unzipped because it was very windy going down the bayside causing it to be pretty chilly. It was hard to run with the wind blowing the jacket around so I just embraced the chill as I continued to go.

There was another water stop and soon I hit mile 6 in 1:46:00 with my unofficial 10K being 1:50:00 ish

I passed the (un) installation and Satisfaction again before hitting mile 7 in 2:04:00

There were two more hydration stops where once again I did water at one and sport drink at the other before passing the rough riders again as well as a Star Wars character by mile 8

I reached that marker in 2:24:00

A final two Hydration stops before I hit mile 9 in 2:43:00

I never tracked where the 5K mix in started though I assume it was somewhere in between markers 8 and 9. I also at some point around mile 7 or 8 grabbed a fruit leather from my wristlet to nibble on for fuel.

I didn’t get an official time registered again however my unofficial Garmin time was 2:47:35 which was about two minutes less than last year and on par closer to what I did in 2023

Now back to the whole Soundtrack comment…yea… sometimes crossing the finish of a race it will be something very inspiring like finishing the half to Eliza telling Alexander ‘Look at Where You Are Look At Where You Started’ as I crossed the finish line of my sole Half Marathon in 2022 other times it’s Lex Foster saying ‘Get Yourself A New Trailer Cause This One Is Broke As Shit’

For Todays OOTD I re-wore my Hook Costume Top paired with a black mystique skort and my Crimson Witch Crowned Hair Accessories which sparked some fun conversations with a fellow runner who had been doing a Princess to Pirate challenge while waiting to stage up. Weather was 52 feels like 51.

Before I even checked out and left the hotel however the Half Marathon Princess Balloon Ladies had started at 6:07 and crossed the 5K mat at 6:57 respectively

I left the hotel at 7:15 parked at 7:31 and reached the convention center at 7:41

Using the Bathroom at the convention center I was met with a surprise visitor who was early and who I wish made her presence known before I left the hotel. I will leave it at that…

At 7:45 the Balloons hit the 10K mat and at 8:05 I left the convention center. Since the staging area was changed a bit for the 8K this year it was a bit confusing and even when we were directed to where we needed to be everyone was just hanging off to the side and not ushered into the shoot. 

At 8:37 the Balloons hit the 15K mark and finally at 8:42 we were able to get into our shoot.

I crossed the start at 920 and in the first mile I grabbed some water and took a picture of a sign that was soooo bad it was good

I reached marker 1 (or well just a clock for marker 1) in 17 mins

At 9:39 ish the pace car was coming up the other side and the balloons finished the princess half

I took a sport drink at the next hydration stop and reached marker 2 in 35 mins

There was another water stop and the satisfaction before turning around and hitting the halfway marker in 47:01 which was about 5 mins slower than last year

There was some Star Wars Cosplayers

As well as the back side of the satisfaction and another water stop.

My Garmin Buzzed I reached mile 3 however I never saw a marker meaning I didn’t know what my unofficial 5K split was

I eventually saw the end of the line on the other side of the street and reached marker 4 in 1:13:00

There was one final water stop before finishing with an official time of 1:31:14 which was just about two minutes slower than last year and 18 ish mins over a PR

Finish Line Lyric was “Maybe It’s The Party Talking Or The Chocolate Fondue” Also as I was crossing Fitz (or as I mentally refer to her ‘off brand Carissa) held out her hand and I thought she wanted a high five but she took my hand and we skipped across the finish together so it was a fun magic moment… I’m not paying for photos though so here is a pic of her from the 15K start instead

2025 Run The Year Progress

235.13/2025

I’m not going to post my 100 mile incremental badges this season… just going to report on mileage at the end of each recap

  

 Upcoming races

• Promise Run 5K 3/1

• Bonnet Springs 5K 3/29

• Springtime Surprise 5K 4/4

• Springtime Surprise 10K 4/5

• Seven Seas Food Fest 5K 4/12

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