Sunday, February 22, 2015

Gasparilla Distance Classic 15k

Our girls' weekend in Tampa began Friday night with a very long drive. We left with plenty of time to arrive at the expo at 7, an hour before it closed. But due to some ridiculous traffic, we literally parked and sprinted to the expo and arrived as the doors were closing!
We slipped through the last open door and ignored the guard who called after us, "It's over, ladies!" We were able to grab our bibs and shirts as the announcement was made that the expo was closed, just in the nick of time!
A sigh of relief! We got our bibs and shirts just in time!
We took some extra time to find our names on the giant banner.
We had a nice big dinner at Outback - I haven't eaten there in forever! - and fell asleep way too late for our 5am wakeup the next morning.
Sweet potato, steak, and shrimp...Now that's a good pre-race dinner!
Back at the hotel, we got our stuff ready for the morning and took a look at the race shirts. They were really cute this year!
Flat-Ali is ready for the 15k!
The half shirt is long-sleeved and the 5k is short; it's a nice little combo there!
With all that taken care of, there was nothing left to do but get some shut-eye.
Saturday's 5am wakeup came way too quickly, and it was cold! We got to the Convention Center around 6am for our 6:45 start time.
Pre-race picture!
Don't laugh...this was cold for us!
We crowded into the corrals and started on our way. Mari took off, her usual speedy self, and Kristin and I stuck together at a nice conservative pace. The course was beautiful and flat, and the sunrise was gorgeous over the water.
The race was very well-organized and we had a blast. We were wearing our GGM shirts and had a few conversations with fellow runners about Ragnar. Kristin and I kept an eye open for Mari at the turnaround, which was a nice distraction, and even though we'd planned to run an easy race all throughout, we couldn't help but sprint into the finish together.
This was probably one of the most crowded races I've ever been to. Although I loved having a crowd around the entire time, one of the problems of big races like this is that many of the runners don't follow proper race etiquette. Walkers didn't move to the side or signal; many stopped directly past the finish line and I literally collided with people as I crossed. But overall, the entire race was fantastic!
I don't really know how many were in my division or gender etc...I wasn't really worried about rankings for this race.
I don't have a lot to say about race strategy or anything today because our goal was just to not push too hard, bearing in mind that we had a half to run the next day.

We had breakfast at Daily Eats, then went back to the hotel for showers and naps before heading back to the expo. It's funny how a 15k didn't even feel that far and I had no problem walking around afterward.
You've gotta love a menu with "gluten free" clearly labeled!
I had a goat cheese and spinach omelet with avocado and bacon added, plus cheesy grits!
While Mari and Kristin got massages, I wandered the expo and did a little shopping. Matt's brother and his boyfriend Robby are in Florida for a really short time so they were able to stop by and say hello quickly before we girls took the trolley to Channelside for dinner.
A quick "hello" with the boys.
Our lovely view of Tampa.
Dinner was more sushi than I could comfortably fit in my stomach.
Given how hectic Friday was, it was really nice to have the evening to relax and plan for Sunday's race...but that's another post to come! (I'll be out of town for work stuff so the half post will have to wait a couple days!)

ABK

18 comments:

  1. Awesome swag! Great race Ali!!! I am so super envious of the tanks once again...lol. Matt and I have said "We need to move to Florida" at least 97 times this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're getting some tank use yourself on your indoor runs! But yes, come to FL...we have sunshine here! lol

      Delete
  2. Way to go on your double race weekend!

    47 degrees is downright freezing! Did you bring a throwaway jacket or sweater? I brought a throwaway scarf to A1A that I used as a shawl. I'm sure I looked like a little old granny with it wrapped around me but it kept me warm enough!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was going to use tube socks but we didn't have time Friday to buy them. So we just huddled in the crowd and we warmed up around the second mile. I get warm REALLY fast when I run, which is weird since I'm usually freezing any other time.

      Delete
  3. Congrats, great job!! I've never run a 15K, it seems like the distance is growing in popularity. We had weather in the low 40's on Sunday and it felt like heaven haha! That omelet looks sooo good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is my second 15k...It may be my favorite distance!

      Delete
  4. Great race(s), good food, fun times with family and friends. Looks like a great weekend! I'm looking forward to hearing about the half.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saturday was definitely a packed day but very fun!

      Delete
  5. Sounds like a great race! I've heard good things about Gasparilla in general. Grits are my go-to after a long run as well :) Can't go wrong!

    Also, I've actually been meaning to comment on your blog but you beat me to it! Aren't you in the Sub-30 Group on FB? I don't participate much there right now because the volume of posts is crazy, but I could have sworn I remember a race recap you posted there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love grits! They're always better at restaurants lol.

      Yes, I'm in the Sub30 Club!! I didn't know you were! Small world!!

      Delete
  6. I love Gasparilla! I wasn't planning on doing this race because I was supposed to be at Princess, but now I regret not signing up since I didn't end up doing Princess. Their course is beautiful. And it is a HUGE race- there were 10,000+ runners at the 5k last year! That's more than my Disney race!

    I'm glad you had a good time, and good job on your pace! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 14,000 5k racers this year. Insane! I'll likely do it again in the future, although with accommodations etc it ended up being pretty expensive. I don't usually like to spend that much on a race!

      Delete
  7. Sounds like a blast! I loved your meaty pre race meal - I love steak/chicken/fish, I've found meat is great for fueling! Your goat cheese/spinach/avocado omlette looks delicious too, I have got to try me one of those!

    Anyway enough about food, great job on your race! Looks like you had a blast. How do you like the 15K compared to other distances? I've never done one

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the 15k race distance. I usually hit the wall around mile 9 in a half so doing a 15k is pretty perfect. It's challenging enough to be hard but not so far I can't really push myself if I want to!

      Delete
  8. Flat Ali- cute! I forgot your double race weekend was so soon. Can't wait to hear how the half went. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, it came up really fast! I didn't even have time to train lol.

      Delete
  9. Congratulations on this race! It's always nice to have a friend right next to you. It makes the miles fly by. And 43 degrees is REALLY cold. We are having a cold snap here which means there has been frost on my car when I wake up but it gets to about 60 by the afternoon. It's really hard to get out of bed. It's so hard living in California. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha, I love that we think the 40s are cold and everyone else is running in like 20 degrees or colder!!

      It was nice to run with a friend. We didn't push it as hard as I would've alone, which was smart considering I had another race the next day! She helped me keep my paces even.

      Delete