So, this weekend was my 5th year doing Gasparilla. After last year's... um... personally
explosive weekend, this was a little tamer.
On Friday, we headed down before lunch, hit up the Expo (I remembered my bib number this time!), and then grabbed lunch at Long John Silvers. After about an hour, I totally regretted grabbing lunch at Long John Silvers, and I spent most of the afternoon telling my stomach to shut up...
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| Fish & Chicken Combo... The Bubble Gut maker |
I got all my stuff set out for tomorrow morning, then had a lovely evening with Hubby (slightly tamer than last year, but still quite lovely!)
On Saturday, I was up by 5am, and Lord, it was already HOT. Like above 70ยบ hot... I love Florida, but damn... hot mornings suck.
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| Ugh, this weather sucks... |
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| Better than snow and blizzards, though! |
Four weeks ago, it was cold and wet at Celebration, and now I'm in a tank top and wishing I could run shirtless like a dude... WTF, Florida?
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| I look so thrilled |
This race was pretty uneventful, so I'm not gonna bore you with a lot of photos. We took off, and I did my 1/1 intervals as much as possible.
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| Here we go! |
The first runner came back before I even made it to Mile 2!
They had mister fans out for everyone again this year, for which we were all very thankful.
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| The finish line is sooooooooooooooooooo far away... |
I got to the turn-around and headed back to the finish line. My halfway time was terrible! 1:24 for 4.65 miles? Yuck.
At around Mile 7, they had begun transitioning the course to accommodate all of the 5k runners. The Rough Riders move their bus to block portions of Bayshore Blvd and man the turn-around spot. This year, they were handing out Krispy Kreme donuts to the runners (though, they may do that every year, I don't know...)
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| Donuts! |
From here on out, the 15k folks were asked to stay in the bike lanes (rather than the sidewalks this year), to give the speedy 5k folks room to move. I'm totally okay with that!
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| Stay in your lane! |
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| Obligatory Blow Up Doll photo |
I finished as strong as I could in this heat, with a somewhat respectable time of 2:51:09 (pace 18+mm). I was 514 out of 522 in my age group F4044, and I was 5540th out of 5578 total runners.
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| I love his tee |
This year, they said that they would be having cool microfiber sweat rags that were race specific, but by the time I got there, they were out of 15k towels, and gave me a 5k towel instead. I was bummed, but I took it, because it was hot as hell outside!
I skipped my finish line photo, and we headed back to the hotel so I could take a cool bath. On the way to the car, I saw a 15k sweat rag flung over a trash can, so I totally swiped it. A little bleach will get rid of any funk, right?
After a well-deserved bubble bath, and... other things... we went over to PDQ for lunch. I got nuggets, he got tenders, and we split a small order of Totchos (Tater Tots, Electric Cheese, Ranch, Fritos, bacon and chives - even though I asked for no chives). Meh, they were okay. We didn't finish off the basket.
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| Totchos |
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| 3pc Chicken Tenders |
Full of deep-fried protein, we drove to IKEA to pick up some random pieces to make a monitor stand for my work office. We'd recently moved into a new building, and my desk faces into an open space, rather than facing a wall. By lifting my dual monitors, I can use them to create a "wall" so people won't be walking by and staring at me... Making the best of a shitty situation! With a shelf and 4 legs, I spent $26 to make a 47" wide riser (
ETA: As of February 2020, the shelf is very bowed, and it should have had extra support in the middle... lesson learned!)
As we exited IKEA, we simultaneously looked at each other and said, "Ice cream?" We went on adventure to Temple Terrace about 30 minutes away. I can't remember now why I went that far away, but I think I just wanted to avoid having to deal with the interstates and downtown any more than I had to.
Well, it was certainly an adventure! It was old, it was dirty and sticky, and it took a half-hour for us to get our very simple Mini Blizzard and Caramel Sundae. I actually had to go back up to the front and say,
yo, where's my food??! Uncool, DQ.
On the way back, we hit up Wawa for snacks, and then chilled out in bed for the evening.
On Sunday, we parked in the Ft. Brooke Garage (same as last year, with the color-coded parking) and made our way to the starting line.
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| Reserved for ME, 123 |
It was hot again today, but not as bad as yesterday (or I was used to it), but definitely another tank top day. (And yes, that is my phone in my bra... my earbuds were being stupid and not picking up my Bluetooth in my pocket).
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| 2nd race (oh, and peace, too) |
I got a good luck hug and kiss from
The Man and he went forward to the start line to see me cross.
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| I love that he Selfies with me now |
Again, not a very eventful race, so there's just a few comments here and there.
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| So. Many. Runners! |
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| "You Did It! Tomorrow's Gonna Suuuuuuuck!" |
The course is the same as the 15k yesterday, so there's not a lot to comment on.
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| "Golden Retriever Cheering Station" |
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| ...same... |
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| STARTING at $2.2 MILLION DOLLARS |
We hit the turn around at about mile 2.5 and made our way home. It was the last race of the weekend, and we all just want to be done!
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| No donuts for the 8k folks |
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| Half Way There banner over the timing strip |
Just before the bridge, I pulled out my 15k medal from yesterday and put it on - I love having it on for when I cross the finish line... makes me feel badass.
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| 2nd race (oh, and peace) |
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| Apparently not quick enough to have it on for this photo! |
I crossed the finish line with the official time of 1:30:26 (gah! So close to under 90 minutes!). I was 4452nd out of 4696 total finishers, and 430th out of 452 in my age group.
I didn't get a Finish Line photo, but I got a Wall Photo, which I love more. You can see all the craziness behind me, but I don't have to deal with all the bodies.
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| Finished, look at that trifecta of bling! |
We headed back to the hotel, changed clothes and checked out, then popped over to Red Robin to devour some Tavern Burgers. Before we left town, we hit up Wawa and Dunkin' Donuts. Sadly, I have to go back to work tomorrow!
