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.