Bank of America Gasparilla Marathon - RunMarathon

The race started out just like I wanted. I had gotten near the front of the pack for the start b/c I did not want to get too tangled up with the half-marathoners. I figured all of these guys could run around me since they did not have to run as far!! Jeff had gotten in line to turn his bag in when I headed for the start line. I looked around and did not see him or Bridget anywhere!! I knew I would see them on the course!!

I decided to do the race without my heart rate monitor. The last long run I did the strap was sliding down and being ignoring. I have since tightened up the strap but I have not done a long run and just didn't want to deal with the strap being too tight or too loose so I went without it. I knew I could go on RPE with the amount I have been running.

My plan for this race was just to run how you feel and make it up as you go!! The first mile hit and I was just over 7 minute pace and everything felt great. I wanted to give it a couple of more miles to really judge how the day was going to go. The 7:00-7:10 just kept coming and I felt like I was not working at all. I made sure not to surge with anyone and if anything slow down a bit!!

At about mile 8, my left hamstring all of a sudden started to tighten up!! I immediately slowed my pace and tried to mentally figure out what was going on. I changed my gait a little and just tried mentally to run smooth and efficient. It never locked up but I fought with it about three times during the race!! I also got some knee pain a few times b/c of changing my gait a little for my hamstring!!

I crossed the halfway mark somewhere around 1:33 and still felt great!! I decided to run steady and just let my pace slow whenever it needed to make sure I kept some reserve. At mile 19, I knew I would have a shot at Boston if everything remained the same. I knew I was fading a little but knew I had enough time behind me to hopefully work out. I hit mile 20 and 21 with no issues. I was already calculating my times, then mile 22 hit and the wind was crazy!! I looked out into the Bay and there were white caps everywhere!! At this point I hear Bridget yelling going the opposite way, she seems to be having a great time and is in a lot better spirits than me at the time!! I thought I waved back but Bridget did not see me. I knew I could not use all my energy with four miles left so I decided to just run as steady as possible without walking and see what happens. Well, needless to say after two miles of fighting the wind I knew my BQ was gone with the wind!! Mentally I was a mess at that point. I had no will to push for a better time, if I could not BQ then what was the point of a 3:18:00, so I just hobbled along in my misery thinking of what could have been!!!

I still had a great race and would go back but next time I would be more mentally prepared for the last few miles and hopefully I would be a little faster!! I did PR by over 17 minutes so life is good!!

I would have had a couple of friends meet me at mile 22 and pace me to block the wind!! I saw a couple of people doing this and even one person showed up on his mountain bike and rode beside his buddy.

I picked up my metal and then headed for some food and drink. I found Jeff and Mike and we talked for a while. I then decided to head to the hotel and change. I was thinking I would get back before Bridget finished but she finished before she thought she would!!! I met them at the beer area and we all congratulated each other and then went for pizza and a well deserved nap!!


The wind!!


The was a good race!! I was wondering how I would like the half marathoners running with us but it was not as bad as I thought it would be. As this race grows, this could become a problem but at the current level I had no issues with it. It was actually pretty good to meet back up with them around mile 9 or so and run with a bigger crowd.

I would like to see a 26 mile marker in the future and also a finish line banner that actually says "Finish Line" on it!! I did not know I was at the finish line until I was about 25 yards away and saw the timing mats!!