GASParilla Distance Classic (Pt 3 - 8k and After)

Since I was only ("only") doing the 8k today, we didn't have to get up at the ass-crack of dawn. I had the alarm set for 5:30, but that was way too early! I snoozed until around 6:15 before rolling out of bed. I hurt! My feet, my legs, my... girly bits... everything hurt!

I got up and got dressed and did some packing while drinking some chocolate milk. Woke him up and did a bunch more packing, so there is no rush when we get back (I secured a 1pm late checkout, yeah!)

We carried my run bag and purse down to the car, then popped in to get some breakfast. Some bad breakfast... the eggs were rubbery, the sausage was bland, and the biscuits were hard. The orange juice wasn't very orange-y, but the apple juice was okay. On our way out, we picked up two bottled sodas at Wawa (though I never drank it... it's still in the fridge at home!)

We set Garmin to take us back to the Whiting Street Garage, but it was blocked off by cones, so we ended up in a nicer garage on Front Street. I backed the car in so we could sit and chill for a bit. While sitting there, two different women walked by (half-marathon finisher) and couldn't find their cars. They walked up and down, pointing their little fobs, hoping to hear a honk. No luck. Then here came another random dude, doing the same thing! Three different people, walking around, pointing fobs, walking up the ramp, walking down the ramp, visibly frustrated. And then... a fourth! He was tenacious as hell. He eventually found it, but it was situated in a way that he couldn't get to it without walking all the way around - it was on the down portion of the ramp (like the ramp that takes you from 4th floor to 3rd floor). He didn't want to walk around, and he actually tried to climb the safety fences to get to his car! I'm so glad I backed into this parking spot - I was getting such a good laugh out of this show, I was breathless!

You can just see the down ramp behind the truck

I bet these would have been really helpful for these folks

Unlike them, I remembered that I was on the Green Level

Hard to see, but these guys are dressed like MarioKart characters

We made it to the start area with about 5 minutes to spare (the 8k start is like a mile away from the finish line... I always forget that part). I got a good luck kiss, and he headed past the starting line. 

Florida in February - TANK TOPS!

Already it is hotter than yesterday, ugh!
 

I kept up with the pace group for about 5 or 6 rounds of walk/run

At one point, I saw these two women in red tank tops and the one on the right kept wiping her crotchular area with one of the wet washcloths from the finish line. I watched them for a while, trying to figure out if she was having an issue, and finally went over to them to see if they needed help. Turned out she was chafing bad, so I whipped out my little tube of Ruby's Lube and offered it to her. (I checked later, and they beat me to the finish, so good for them!!)

Look at 'em go!

20% done!

I did a little more running today than I did yesterday, but I was still very slow. I'm fatter and more out of practice this year.  And it's REALLY. FUCKING. HOT.

Ugh... go away... 40% done

Blow Up Doll says turn around!

Lots of TPD or HCSO out today

Once I got past Mile 4.75 or so, I pulled out my 15k medal and put it on; I like to run in with my other medals, so that when they are there when I get my finish photos. 

60% done!

80% done! Blow Up Doll says 1 more mile!

Yep... that's the remnants of a water stop

I ran in the final 300 feet to "Look What You Made Me Do" and got a completely shitty time of 1:30:02. But, I got a cool 8k medal, and an even cooler challenge medal!

Bonus of being slow? Volunteers don't bum rush you out of the chute!

8k Medal

Challenge Medal

ALL the Bling!

Once I cooled down a bit, we made our way to the garage, found our car quite handily (thanks to the handy dandy color-coded levels), and headed back to the hotel. Sweaty clothes came off and we made good use of our late check-out time. 

However, we lost track of time and we were still in bed at 12:55! Whoops! We finished packing at the speed of light while the maid was knocking on the door at 1:05. Then we got a telephone call 5 minutes after that. 

You know how on TV they always show people with messy hair and disheveled clothes after they've just had a quickie romp? Yeah, I basically looked like that as I went downstairs to check out. Judging by the way the clerk asked me how my stay was, I'm pretty sure he knew exactly how my stay was! 

To refuel, we grabbed burgers at Red Robin and snackage at Wawa. As we thought about heading home, though, we really wanted dessert, so we drove up to Brooksville and hit Dairy Queen, then took US19 and SR121 all the way home (the drive wasn't nearly as entertaining as I remember it being when I was a kid). 

We got home by 6:30, and after Story Time with the Kiddo™, I headed off to take a shower, unpack,  and conk out.

This was, without a doubt, the best weekend we’ve had as a couple in a LONG TIME.  It isn’t even the Sexy Time™ that made it. It was the love between us, just relaxed and lazy, the cuddling in bed, not stressing out about the kiddo, or having to be somewhere, or anything. I honestly can’t remember the last time I have felt so in love with him. I understand now why lots of relationship gurus say to do stuff just like this.  We talked about insanely stupid stuff. We talked about extremely important stuff. We didn’t talk at all. I want more!

GASParilla Distance Classic (Pt 2 - 15k and After)

So... after a very... tiring... evening yesterday, it was time to run a 15k!

I got up first and got dressed, then woke him up. I picked up some OJ at Wawa, and we headed to our special parking lot by the private school. But it was closed! Shit, now what? (We've come to totally rely on that parking lot). We were going to go back to Amalie Arena, but because of traffic and road closures, we ended up at Whiting Street Garage for $10. We had to park on the top floor (since we were arriving later than other 15k people did), and there's no elevator... That's okay for now, but in a few hours, that's gonna suuuuuuuuck.

We had only like 10 minutes to get to the start line (thanks to traffic and the change of plans), so I grabbed my bag of run stuff and stuffed my pockets while I walked. Hubby headed directly to the start line and I headed directly to the slow part of the line. I squeezed into the Blue Wave (my bib was green, should I have been in a green wave?).

Start Line Selfie

This kid in the back... lol

The Blue Wave took off about 5 minutes later, and once we cleared the little bridge over the Hillsborough river, I met up with Hubby and we walked together to Publix. He stations himself there while I run because there's food, WiFi, and seating. I gave him my bag of run stuff and finally "started" the race.

Already, at like 7am, it's hot. Like way too hot for February. But, luckily, my music is working, my headphones are working and my Garmin is on! Let's rock this. Okay, let's soft rock this.

Mile 1 - Actually racing now

Here comes the first wheelchair racer

(Note: as you can imagine, my brain is on the non-running parts of this weekend, so I may forget large chunks of this race report!)

Mile 2 - much emptier now

At about Mile 3, I got beads from the Rough Riders. And I noticed that I wasn't running very much.

Bead selfie (yes, that's supposed to be a smile)

Oh thank you Jesus, they had misting fans!

Mile 3 - 1/3 done!

Mile 4

Hittin' the inhaler

Finally, Gandy Blvd. came into view and it was time to turn around. I crossed the halfway timing pad, then headed back towards the Convention Center. There were still a lot of people behind me!

Hook a right on Gandy

Timing Mat

Look, people behind me!

Mile 5

Just before Mile 7, my wireless headphones died, so I swapped out for old school earbuds. 

Why I always (!) carry a spare

Hey, what about Mile 6?

There was a large presence this year

Sometime between Mile 7 and Mile 8, 15k runners were banished to the sidewalk to make room for 5k runners. God dammit, I hate that! Bayshore Boulevard is huge... we could all be on the same road!

I. Hate. Being. Forced. To. Be. On. The. Sidewalk.

At least I look cute

1 Mile to go!

We were allowed back on the road after Mile 8.

Back on the road, Mile 9

I ran it in, and finished with an amazingly sucky time of 2:52 (7 minutes slower than last year). They handed out wet towels at the finish line, so I slopped one of those on my head real quick. It was stupid hot!

Yeah, this is a good look

I got my first of 3 medals (my favorite out of all of them), and some water, then we trudged back to the car. Luckily, the garage is really close (gonna have to save this in the Garmin for next year!). the stairs did suck though... I had to rest on a trash can for a moment when I got to the top. 

So Pretty!

Back at the hotel, we missed breakfast by minutes, but I was able to grab a few leftover danish (it was icky) and some lemonade (it was fucking amazing!). I started a cool bath while Hubby went to go get ice, and my iPod that he left in the car. 5 minutes of an ice bath is all I can take, so I switched over to a hot bubble bath with a bath fizzie (that I'd gotten from the Publix Savannah Half Marathon) and Epsom salts.

Bath Bombs (Not what I used)

Once it was so damn hot I couldn't think straight, I put my hair up in a TurbieTwist™ (yeah, I own some of those, and they're awesome), wrapped myself in a towel and crawled into bed. Where Hubby was already, well, waiting for me. Cuddle time led to more fun!

I burned a lot of calories today, and soon, my body said it was time for FOOD!  We put our clothes on and headed to Hyde Park to check out Goody Goody, a quirky diner/burger joint that has been in Tampa for decades; it opened in 1925 and closed in 2005. It was reopened in 2016, by the Columbia Restaurant Group.

We got a great booth right by the counter, and Hubby was entranced by these old-school salt shakers. I've lived in Florida all my life, and I'm really familiar with these - the little lid keeps the salt safe from the Florida humidity!
 

Such a cute little salt shaker

Cute Historic Map Placemat of Downtown Tampa

We each got a plain cheeseburger, split a basket of fries, and even sweet-talked the waitress into getting us a bowl (a huge bowl) of melted cheese for dipping!

That must be 6 oz of melted cheese! And homemade, too!

I was impressed with the location, the staff, the price, and the food. For all the food (including 2 sodas), it was $21 before tip. I'd definitely go again!

On the way back, we wondered if it was still Debra's birthday at The Doll House, so we decided to go find that strip club! After a few wrong turns, we found our way back to the club, but there wasn't anything on the sign this time, so the Debra Mystery shall stay that... we still don't know if she's a stripper, an employee, a customer... I should email them.

Back at the hotel, it was time for... dessert. Yeah, we'll go with that.

We eventually put on some pants, grabbed some Wawa and came back. Unfortunately his sandwich was way too dressed with honey mustard, so it wasn't' the best for him, but my ham club was amazing (or I could have been really hungry...)

One more race tomorrow and then this awesome weekend is over.

GASParilla Distance Classic (Pt 1 - Expo and Hotel)

Okay, so for those of you who read my Celebration Half Marathon race report, you know that I kind of had an epiphany about my marriage: 

I have taken Hubby for granted. For far too long. Married people get in a rut, I think, and it's really hard to see the rut, much less dig yourself out from it. I saw the rut this weekend. NakedTime helped me see it. I need more NakedTime with him, to just talk, and share, and feel him next to me. The change I see in myself, and how I feel towards him, is amazing. When two people love each other - but don't express it - it can be devastating to physical feelings, and you become complacent.  

I am resolute in making sure that the feelings I'm feeling right now don't end. How do I keep this alive? How to I avoid that rut? I don't know yet... but I sure am looking forward to finding out!

Once we got home, and I reflected again on how happy I was to have seen the rut, I tried to think of a great way to show it. The Kiddo wasn't going to go to Gasparilla with us - she'd much prefer to stay home without her annoying parents - so I knew I had free reign to really do anything. I devised a plan to hit the gym at least 3 days a week, so that I was really high on that Body Positivity Meter. When I feel good about myself, I feel better about... well... you know! Don't worry - I'm not going to go all porny on you, but this will be a more R-rated version than any other report I've ever done (all 3 days).

I'm not there yet, but I'm on the right track

I was up around 8 and hopped in the shower, then Twittered on the couch with some juice until it was time to pack and leave, around 10:45. We grabbed Arby's for lunch and ate it on the road. 

We parked again at the Amalie arena (total cost $3.20 for 2 hours). We headed into the expo, got all the way to the bib pickup then realized I didn't know my number! (This right here told me where my brain was...). We went back out to the Info Booth, got my number, then went back to packet pickup and got my bib. Then, over to shirts. Ironically - the 5k shirt this year was purple... the color I really wanted! The teal and orange are very pretty though, and the challenge jacket is cool, too. 

15k, 8k Shirts, and Challenge Jacket

I made sure the shirts fit this time, although I usually have good luck with Leslie Jordan shirts (I go 3x with these so they are roomy, and good for the gym).

There wasn't a whole lot to look at at the Expo. I got some Cabot cheese samples, a cool sweat rag from the Publix booth and a few cute spectator signs from Tampa Bay Times.

Random "swag"

On the way out, I hit the ladies' room to put the GASParilla Plan in motion. I was getting really psyched for this weekend's festivities. Oh, and the race, too.

Super-clean hair, light makeup, I'm ready to go!

We made it back to the car without being hit by the trolley, and grabbed some snackage at WaWa (right across the street from the hotel!). We'll probably be pretty hungry and thirsty later.  (Spoiler Alert: We were)

We checked in at Country Inn & Suites and got a really good room, right by the elevator, and the stairs down to the first floor. King size bed with a separate sitting area and sleeping area. I took care of my Logical Side first, unpacking, getting my race gear together and whatnot.

Once that was done, I got the weekend started.  On many occasions in our lives together, he's asked for nudes. I've never been really into it; always ashamed at my body, or feeling prudish, like doing that is somehow slutty or "not what good girls do." We've done a few over the years, but probably only once since the kiddo was born (last century!). I would always tell him, "when I lose 10 pounds," or "when I weigh less than 175." So, I really wanted to do this for him. And for me, too; hence, kicking ass at the gym, looking pretty, wearing makeup. And because I'm always in my own head, I'd researched ways to pose, how to hide fat, fun angles, stuff like that...

Dammit, Bobby

He wasn't expecting me to offer photos, so he was surprised when I presented him with an SD card. I gave him a sexy little speech about my giving him this if he gives me mine, and gives it to me good.

We had fun, and the process reminded me just how bad he is at taking photos! Eventually, it was my turn, and well, he did, in fact, make it good.

Get you a nice guy

Reluctantly, hours later, we put on some pants and wandered back over to Wawa for some dinner. As you can imagine, we were starving. After dinner, there was a little more fun, but I had to wake up early, so we fell asleep around 11.