Bank of America Gasparilla Marathon - Run


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Tampa Bay, Florida
United States
Gasparilla Distance Classic Assoc.
60F / 16C
Precipitation
 		Total Time = 4h 06m 59s
Overall Rank = 437/1093
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 42/78
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 0430. It was an absolute DOWNPOUR. Brian came to pick us up. Renee was a bit nervous, but she got in the zone quickly as we got to the site and walked around a bit. It was then that we found out that the race had been delayed by 15 minutes. Renee looked for (and found) Max, Christine, Rich, and Ken. I found Kim (who I'd promised I'd give a good luck hug to before we ran) and then we all settled into a spot and waited for the race to begin. We didn't wind up starting til almost 6:40.
Event warmup:

Renee and I walked a good 15 minutes before we settled into our spot, so that was our warmup.
Run
  • 4h 06m 59s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 09m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

I was extremely thrilled with my performance in this marathon. With an easier course and not so much wind I'd have gone sub 4-hours, I'm sure of it!!

No results on the Gasparilla website yet, I'll post specific results when I get them.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure right now as it's all sinking in. I don't think I made any bad decisions. My pace was good, I slowed down when I needed to, and I didn't talk myself into walking until mile 23. I don't think I'd do anything differently.
Post race
Warm down:

Got a leg massage from Haley, and then walked around a bit. Had lots of gatorade and A BEER!! Ate a little bit of food, but I was still too unstable to eat anything substantial at that point.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The wind on Bayshore. Otherwise, I think I was just about as fast as I could be!

Event comments:

Can't be happier with the way this race was handled. Weather delays suck, but that's ok, I'd rather have a delay than stress because of the weather.

Last year at Disney, I ran 4:30:55. My per mile pace was about 10:24. I went out way too fast, at about 8:20 per mile for my first half, and because of this I hit the wall HARD at mile 16. Not here. I went out faster (7:xx per mile) and only stopped twice to walk, while I believe I stopped for at least 40 minutes during Disney. I knocked 24 minutes off my last marathon time. My goal was to finish at 4:15 or better...well I'm super thrilled with the 4:07 that I did. I am so blessed to have such great people surrounding me at these events. Every single BTer there was a joy to meet and get crazy with! Can't wait for next year!




Last updated: 2006-02-13 12:00 AM
Running
04:06:59 | 26.2 miles | 09m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 42/78
Overall: 437/1093
Performance: Good
I was clicking off 7:xx miles for the first 5. I had to slow down. So I brought the speed down to about a 8:15 pace. I kept up with that pace for a while. Around mile 12 I could see that I needed to slow down a bit more, so I took it really easy for about 2 miles...ran about 9:00 per mile til about mile 16, and then I picked up again. I was good at 8:3x per mile til about mile 22. I started to get tired. So far to that point I hadn't stopped to walk at all. I kept going but between 22 and 23 we got out onto Bayshore and the wind was insane. By mile 23 I needed to walk a bit. So I walked thru an aid station and realized it hurt more to walk, so I ran again. I ran thru mile 24 and then walked a little bit again at the aid station between 24 and 25. Probably walked about 30 seconds here at this one...needed to regroup. But after that, I kept going. No more stopping. My last three miles were at about 13 minutes per mile, but I already knew I was ahead of my goal so I didn't push myself because I didn't want to collapse at the finish.
Course: All over the city of Tampa. Lots of turns, lots of bridges. Inclines, declines, 90-degree changes of direction...it's quite challenging.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %n/a
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5