After doing Gasparilla last week (after a completely shitty 2024 of no training, no gym, no nothing really), I honestly didn't know if I should - or could - do another 15k just six days later. I thought on it for a few days, vacillating between let's do this! and fuck it, stay in bed!, and finally decided to just follow my heart and do whatever it told me to do.
On Friday, I didn't even want to go, but I got all my stuff together anyway - my plan was to go and at least pick up my bib and swag. And if I didn't want to do it, I remembered that, last year, there was an option to turn in my bib and have my medal mailed to me a week later. Either way (doing it or not), I'd have my medal.
Waking up on Saturday, I felt, I don't know... optimistic? I wasn't feeling fuck yeah let's do this about it, but more like I can do this, yeah, I think I can do this. I made really good time to Jacksonville, until I hit the usual traffic jam at Arlington. All I wanted to do was park in Lot J (which would be close to the Expo, so I didn't get lost), and like a dumbass, I thought I was smarter than the other million people here, and tried to find a different way to access Lot J. I drove away from Arlington, over near the parking garage, past the parking garage, but as I got near Lot J, they waved us away from the lot because it was already full (at 7am, wow!). So I continued to follow traffic, in a big-ass circle, until they brought us back over near the garage, where I sat in stand-still traffic for probably 20 minutes! I was beginning to fume and get angry... If I wanted to actually do this race (and the anger seemed to point that way), I still needed to park, walk over to the Expo and get my bib, then get to the actual start line!
I accepted my fate at this point, assuming that there was some reason that I wasn't going to be able to participate. Traffic began to move, but I had no idea where they were sending us, because I gave up and slipped into a random parking lot with a $10 Parking sign. I realized that my wallet was in the truck, but thankfully, I have a card stored in my Garmin Watch, so I was able to NFC pay. We live in the future, y'all, so cool.
As I parked, I realized that I was parking in the old expo area (the Jax Fairgrounds area), which was a huge win because I knew exactly where I was, and more importantly, how to get back to my car.
I geared up, putting on my sneakers and stuffing my pockets, but not really rushing; it was already 8am at this point, and I assumed that there was no way that I'd make it to packet pickup and back to my wave before it took off. The expo was at Daily's Place this year, on the front side of the stadium. The inside was nicely organized (and probably much busier when the Expo was actually open). I was able to pick up my shirt, bib, and bag, but they ran out of pint glasses, which ticked me off; if I paid a fee for swag, I should get all the swag.
The National Anthem started while I was still inside the expo building, and it kind of deflated my balloon... I really didn't know if I'd make it back to my wave before the race started (though, in hindsight, I forgot that my wave takes off more than 20 minutes after the speedy folks, lol).
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| Let's go! |
After the anthem, the Race Announcer said that they were going to postpone the start for 10 minutes, due to a disabled vehicle on the Main Street Bridge. I think that 10 minute delay was The Universe's way of helping me out, man. The Universe held up 15,000 people so that I could make it to my wave. The Universe is awesome. So I pinned on my bib and made my way over to The Pink Wave, which was actually right outside of Daily's Place. Getting there around 8:20, there was enough time for me to pee, pack my swag into my waist pack, and still had to wait about 10 minutes before I could sneak into the back of The Purple Wave.
Okay, so now that I'm actually starting this race... can I finish this race? Who knows! Let's find out!
The course had a few changes from last year, though I feel like I say this every single year, because of the never-ending construction around the stadium. The start went straight down Gator Bowl Boulevard, instead of the "back way" from the past few years. I didn't plan on busting my ass for a good finish time... I just wanted to go as far as I could without hurting myself, and if it turned out I could go all the way, well then good for me! But if there was any reason to quit (other than I'm tired or I don't wanna), I was going to listen to my body and quit.
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| Shoofie! |
River Road was cacophonous and much more raucous than previous years. As I got on Hendricks, I saw some old geezer standing on the side of the road, waving his hand over his head, looking for someone, and I realized it was a friend of mine from parkrun! I knew that S and A were coming, but I didn't know anyone else was coming! So I walked with C and J until the corner and then they sped up and took off again (and by "took off" I mean they just walked faster than me, but I think that's because C had to pee). Knowing that I had some friends on the course with me (besides super-speedy S) gave me a little pep in my step, since I wasn't alone.
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| Feeling so much better than 2024 |
At the 6 Mile Flag on Atlantic, I was still feeling pretty good; this is where I knew I had to quit two years ago, so I was happy to keep going. C & J passed me again (C finally got to pee, and they got behind me at some point).
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| J & C kinda looking like Luigi & Mario |
Mile 7 was deemed The Sober Mile by the people who were volunteering there, and The Sombrero Guy was giving out hugs, so I took him up on it. As I gave him a huge, strong hug (I really needed a hug, apparently), I thanked him for the Sober, since this is a very drunk race. He truly appreciated that thanks, so I'd wager that he is sober for a specific reason. I got an ice cold bottle of water and tucked it into my bra to drink on the bridge (though the ice in my Nathan was doing well still).
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| Soon.... |
And finally, it was time. I stopped to stretch before I got on the entrance ramp. I took stock of what was hurting (though at that point, I damn sure wasn't gonna quit) - my feet hurt, of course, some vague pain in my legs, mostly along the outside, from my butt to my shins. But not major system malfunctions! I can do this! I chose to stop right before the Mile 8.3 flag for a photo op and to catch my breath before tackling the most uphill part of the entire bridge, then I just put my head down and trudged on until I got to the apex of the bridge itself. Music was pumping, everyone was woo-hooing, people driving by were honking, it was a party!
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| It was HARD this year, y'all |
And then it was all downhill.
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| Let's go, let's go, let's GO! |
All the race promos said that the finish line was right at the bottom of the bridge but they were full of shit… I kept looking for flags and balloons and shit, but there was nothing. Oh the finish line is way over there at the start line! (And by way over there, I meant maybe .2 miles, but STILL!)
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| Did they walk the entire way like this? |
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| This wasn't the photo I was aiming for, but I love it! |
I did it, I did it!!
My official time was 3:09:34.
My 5k time was 59:23, and my 10k time was 2:01:42.
I was the 7,184th out of 7,318 total Females, and 686th out of 698 in my age group.
I was the 13,600th finisher out of 13,860 total finishers (so, I only finished in front of 259 other people!)
I got a bottle of water and my medal, then veered off to the side of the chute to stretch my calves. For some reason, I put my head down on the railing and I just started crying, like crying crying! Thankfully, I was right in front of a speaker, so no one heard me! I have no idea why I was crying, either. Because I did it? Because I finished? Because I didn't hurt myself? I don't know. But I gave in to it and let myself sob for a minute or so, then got my shit back together and took a finish photo.
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| My shirt is all jacked up because of my waist pack and sweatshirt |
I looked around for any familiar faces, but didn't see any. I'd kind of hoped to see at least C & J hanging out and cheering me on at the finish line. Not finding anyone, I headed over to where I thought the after-party was. But... Where the hell was the party? All I saw were pavilions and team tents over by the bathrooms, and then a pretty waterfront area (Jax is in the process of rebuilding or improving this entire area). I sat down on a nearby bench and transferred things from my waist pack over to my swag bag, caught my breath, then walked over to the waterfront for a few selfies.
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| So, it's not quite as big as my head, but it's pretty big |
As I walked over to the water, I saw another sidewalk that led past a thick tree line, but it didn't seem like there was a party over there... I just thought that people were just making their way back to their cars. When I got home, I pulled up Google Maps and saw that I fell victim to Run Brain! The party was definitely behind the tree line! I also found out later that S, C, J, and even B (who finished 30 minutes ahead of me) were all looking for me afterward - I felt so bad!
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| This is the map from the GRR Website; I was over on the left side where it says Team Tents |
Anyway, after walking around the not-the-party area like a zombie, I gave up and headed back to my car, thankfully parked in a place that I knew exactly how to get to! I sat on Google Maps for a while, trying to decide what I wanted to eat (while watching the traffic at a stand-still as everyone else tried to leave the area). I hurt too much to stand in line at Safe Harbor, as much as I would love some fresh seafood, so I settled on Culver's and then shopping my way out of town. I made my way to a local gas station to change and get a Pepsi. I indulged in cheese curds and buffalo chicken fingers, but was far too stuffed to indulge in a caramel sundae afterward. I also ended up skipping any shopping; my legs were stiffening up, and though walking would have been smart, it was already almost 2pm and I needed to get home.
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Race Notes
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Host: 1st Place Sports
Race Fee: $81 ($55 Race, $8 extra for 3XL shirt, $10 extra for Day of Race Packet Pickup, $6.30 Refund Protection, $6.74 Processing Fee, -$5 Early Bird Promo Code)
Packet Pickup: Hectic to get to, quiet inside
Parking: Get there EARLY! Seriously, 90 minutes early or more!
Support: This is the biggest party race I’ve ever done, with tons of neighborhood support, but no on-course Gatorade or Fuel
After Party: Highly lacking options besides beer, water, and bananas (according to those who actually found the party!)
Results: https://my.raceresult.com/326628/results#1_600DC3
