Gasparilla Half-Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Tampa Bay, Florida
United States
Bank of America
70F / 21C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 2h 41m 6s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = W45-49
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Flew in from St. Louis the day before with some girlfriends and hooked up with our friend, Karen, who has a house in Tarpon Springs. Went to dinner at a great Italina place in south Tampa, then back to the Sheraton. Went to bed at 8:30. Got up at 4:15, ate a bagel and some Triscuits, took a Saltstick tab. I am not used to the heat and knew this would be an issue today, given the beautiful forecast. Sipped at water, met Mary and Carol down in the lobby and we walked a couple of blocks to the start.
Event warmup:

Nothing really, just walked four or five blocks to the start and lined up.
Run
  • 2h 41m 6s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 12m 18s  min/mile
Comments:

This race is just something I do every year for fun, it's about a "C" rating on my race schedule, so I went into it a bit undertrained and intended to use it as a long run. I had a pseudo goal of 2:35. At the start, temps were in the 60s and it was humid, but the first hour was pretty good since the sun wasn't up. I enjoyed trotting around the island in the dark. Once we got on Bayshore (maybe mile 6?), with the sun soaring overhead and the temp climbing into the 70s, I started overheating and my HR climbed. Took GU at miles 5 and 10, saltstix at same intervals. Plenty of water stops but really, there is really no shade on this part of the course and it was hot for me. Started walking to bring it back to manageable level. Gallowalked my way to the finish, which wasn't pretty but I didnt' feel like I was going to pass out from the heat. In the summer I run in much hotter conditions, just really didn't have time to get used to the direct sun and heat.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really, hard to train in the heat in Illinois winter. Not too concerned since this was a fun run.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked through finish area, got my medal, bottle of water, found Karen and her husband and got in the food line. Food is great at this race, black beans and rice, paella, salad, bread...found everyone else and chowed down. The others in my group also found the heat to be a factor although one gal got a 2 second PR.
We went back to the hotel and hung around the pool. Felt good to dangle tired legs and feet in the cool water.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of heat acclimization.

Event comments:

There used to be a marathon with this race, but that was discontinued this year. Maybe it's just that I've done this race five years in a row but it felt a little like the race has lost some of its energy; we got to expo two hours before it closed down so maybe that explains the empty feel to it. No one passing out mardi gras beads at mile 10 as in past years. Instead of shrimp and mussels in the paella, it was chicken breast (still good food!). Probably my last year for Gasparilla.




Last updated: 2011-01-26 12:00 AM
Running
02:41:06 | 13.1 miles | 12m 18s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course: Race starts at 6:00 a.m., so it is dark. Course is pancake flat except for a bridge onto Davis island. In prior years there was a loop through the downtown area which included some gentle inclines, but this year you come off the island and are dumped on Bayshore Boulevard at about mile 6. 7 miles of flat asphalt are kind of tough. Beautiful houses along the way, couple of bands and some spirited crowd support.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4