Bank of America Gasparilla Marathon - Run


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Tampa Bay, Florida
United States
Bank of America
60'sF / 0C
Precipitation
 		Total Time = 5h 14m 13s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

not very good sleep that night, woke up at 4:30, oatmeal and coffee, tried to figure out my wardrobe for the rain
Event warmup:

walking to the start, up and down the stairs a few times inside the convention center, stretching; none of which really mattered since the start was delayed 1/2 hour, stood at the start chatting with BT people
Run
  • 5h 14m 13s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 11m 59s  min/mile
Comments:

I started off not feeling great, hoping I would find my groove, at mile 5 I was on pace (hoping for a 5hour finish), but I was working too hard. At mile 8 I really had to fight the urge not to turn left to the half marathon course. I decided to suck it up, but I knew it was going to be a very long morning.

At the halfway point I was only I minute behind my pace, but I was strating to struggle. The turn around point on Bayshore Blvd was at 20 miles, I thought I was never going to get there. The last 4 miles on Bayshore were straight into a horrible wind and that was the end of me. I just didn't have anymore to give and I finished the best I could. It was great to have the BT'rs at the finish line handing me a beer!!!
What would you do differently?:

not sure, have better weather maybe?? The rain didn't really bother me, but the wind sure did, it just wasn't my day out there; despite everything, it was still a PR for me by over 6 minutes
Post race
Warm down:

hang out at the finish line and cheer in Max and Renee

What limited your ability to perform faster:

just an off day for me, my training has been going well, I know I can run a marathon better than this, but I gave it everything I had today; this was the first marathon I've done that I really just wanted to give up, I'm proud that I stuck it out even though I felt terrible

Event comments:

I had a lot of fun at this race. I especailly had a great time at dinner Friday night and having to meet other BT'rs. It was also nice to see friendly faces on the course. Kudo's to Aaron and Hayley for hanging out in the crappy weather to keep the beer cold for all the half and marathon finishers, and to all the hlaf marathon finishers who waited for all the marathoners to finish. You all rock!!!




Last updated: 2005-12-05 12:00 AM
Running
05:14:13 | 26.2 miles | 11m 59s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Below average
Course: winding course around Tampa area
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4