Gasparilla Marathon Race Report - February 28, 2010
I hadn't really planned on running this race. It started out as a back-up plan in case i didn't BQ at Disney. However, once I realized that it was the last year for the full marathon, i figured I would run it anyway - even if Disney worked out.
Disney didn't and Gasparilla became my BQ target.
I never stopped training after Disney and while I didn't have any training runs over 16 miles, i was getting tired.
The week or so leading up to Gasparilla felt weird. I had trained so hard for Disney and it was such a big deal - and then it didn't work out. I kind of felt like my family didn't really understand that this race was just as important as Disney - and actually even more important since i didn't reach my goal the first time. so.. i felt a little alone and nervous. i knew that i could run the pace i needed to and i trusted my training but i was worried about things i couldn't control - like the weather.
The night before the race, Chris prettied up my pace bib and i got all my stuff together. It was supposed to be in the 40's at the start - which to me, is freezing... so i planned on wearing capri tights, a short sleeve shirt, my new skull arm warmers and also a throw away zip up and throw away gloves.
I tried to go to bed super early since i had to be up at 3:15am to get ready and hit the road. i didn't want to take any chances on being late or not getting in line with my pace group (like Disney) so i erred on the side of caution.
Chris and Sidney were going to meet me at mile 6 so they could get a little more sleep so i dressed quietly in the bathroom, ate my peanut butter and almond butter sandwich, grabbed some CD's for the drive and headed to downtown Tampa.
I got there and parked in plenty of time and headed to the convention center to use the bathroom and check my bag. The weather was quite a bit warmer than forecasted so i decided to leave my sweatshirt.
After about 3 trips to the bathroom, i headed over to the starting area and found my pace group. There were a few people running their first marathons and were trying to BQ. Actually, all of the women in my group were trying to BQ. We were all pretty excited. I introduced myself to a few people i've seen at a bunch of races but never talked to (i'm getting better at that!)... the anthem was sung, the gun was shot and off we went.
The first six miles of the course were out on to Davis Island. The first few miles are always super crowded but we managed to do okay with our pace. i was really surprised at how quickly the miles were going by. i guess having people with me really makes a difference.
I planned to see Chris and Sidney at mile 6 - when we got off the Island and there they were. Sidney was super sleepy so he wasn't that thrilled to see me. I planned on giving Chris my gloves but forgot so i just grabbed a gel from him and kept on running.
The don't really remember the next six miles... they went by quickly and there wasn't too much going on. I chatted briefly with the other people in my group but other than that i just kept running.
At mile 12-ish, we headed back on to Bayshore. I saw my cousin Paula and my friend Jenny and her kids (whose husband was also running - much faster than I was!). It was a nice boost to see them.
Once we were back on Bayshore, we merged with the half-marathoners. It caused some congestion and some weaving. The half-marathoners were getting a little testy that all of these people kind of showed up but it was only a few more miles and then the halfers had their turnaround and we kept running straight. Chris and Sidney were a few miles up and it was so nice to see them. Chris was amazed at how strong i looked and i told him that i felt great.
I had never been to that part of Tampa so it was interesting to see some quiet-ish neighborhoods. Again, nothing too memorable happened in this section. I noticed we were losing some people from our group. I saw Jenny's husband pass us on his way back up Bayshore - he was cruising right along and looked great! It's always nice to see someone you know (or even just recognize) on the course - especially if they are having a great race.
We looped around a park- which i think were miles 18-20) and i started to feel like i was dragging a little. I sucked it up, took a gel and carried on. i had my first thought of, "oh, i'm not sure i can do this." and "this is it - i'm never doing this again." around this time. I wouldn't say i was hitting the wall - but the distance felt like it was catching up to my body.. slowly. i could only hope it was slow enough!
Chris and Sidney were around mile 21, i think and i gave him a quick, "i'm fine" before continuing on. Less than a 10K to go...
i got to the water stop at around mile 23 and i just had to stop and walk for a second to get myself together. unfortunately, i lost my pace group when i stopped and just didn't have the energy to catch up to them. I started to panic slightly - i'm not going to lie - i looked at my watch and tried to quickly calculate if i could possibly walk the rest of the way and still make my time. my body was tired. my legs were hurting. my mind was wandering. i was having a hard time focusing on what i was doing - and remembering how hard i worked to get there. I had kept my gloves until then and for some reason they were driving me crazy so i took them off and instead of tossing them, i just carried them with me... like i said, i wasn't really thinking clearly.
Chris and Sidney caught up with me between miles 23-24 (they were on a bike) and i lamented to Chris that i had lost my group and i was running out of energy. I asked him to please stay with me and make sure i didn't give up. He did. The course wasn't crowded so he rode alongside me the rest of the way. He was awesome... he encourged me to keep going but let me stop and walk for a few second at a time (literally - like 10-15 seconds of walking - then back to my regular pace). He was telling me how proud he was of me and how proud of me that Sidney was going to be. He made jokes about "long-distance running... cross-country running..." (from Grease). He pointed out St. Jetersburg glistening in the distance (Derek Jeter's ridiculously large home build). He wasn't too harsh (and i found myself apologizing to him for not being faster!) but he continued to remind me that i could still BQ but i couldn't go any slower... of course this was a slight exaggeration but it worked.
Every time i stopped to walk, another runner would say, "c'mon Jamie - we're almost there"... i was never so happy to have my name on the back of my shirt as i was those last few miles. I always started running again. With only one mile left, this lady ran by me, smacked my butt and started coaching me through. she was actually a coach and though i never got her name - i love her dearly. She pointed out the finish line and told me to just keep running with her. i think i stopped for one more 5 second walk and then i kept running...
i saw Jenny yelling on the sidelines and i knew i had it. (she is running Boston in 2011 too and was excited that she'd have someone to line up with.)
i didn't even look at the clock. I knew it was less than 3:45:59 and that was all i cared about! i ran through the finish line and yelled, "i'm going to Boston!"
and as quickly as the energy drained from me those last few miles... it was back! my legs didn't hurt anymore. i wasn't tired. i was fine. completely and totally fine. I got my blanket and medal... took some pictures with my boys and with a pirate. got huge hugs from Jenny, her husband and my cousin. Got a few pats on the back from some of the helpful runners that finished around me - or saw me having a tough time. I called my parents to tell them i did it - and even got a few cheers from people nearby who heard me tell them i BQ'd.
it was triumphant and amazing.
we didn't stick around very long after the race. my boys and cousin were super tired and anxious to get home. I picked up my bag, changed my shirt and came home. I tried to take an ice bath but i was way too cold to get in. I iced my right hamstring (the only discernable pain those last few miles) for a little while but other than that - i felt great.
i did it. the excitement still hasn't worn off. i ran marathon #3 with fairly few problems. I managed to maintain a 3:40 pace until mile 23. I finished with a time of 3:42:16 - only a few minutes short of my group but more than three minutes faster than i needed to BQ. I didn't even have any blisters!
I learned that i have to work on my mental focus and emotions when things get tough - but that has never been my strong suit - in life - not just running.
The Gasparilla Half Marathon was my very first race exaclty one year ago. i never had any idea how addictive it would become. i didn't know what i was getting in to.
i remember hearing about qualifying times for Boston and thinking - who the hell could ever run that fast? 364 days after my first race ever - the answer is, I can.
Disney didn't and Gasparilla became my BQ target.
I never stopped training after Disney and while I didn't have any training runs over 16 miles, i was getting tired.
The week or so leading up to Gasparilla felt weird. I had trained so hard for Disney and it was such a big deal - and then it didn't work out. I kind of felt like my family didn't really understand that this race was just as important as Disney - and actually even more important since i didn't reach my goal the first time. so.. i felt a little alone and nervous. i knew that i could run the pace i needed to and i trusted my training but i was worried about things i couldn't control - like the weather.
The night before the race, Chris prettied up my pace bib and i got all my stuff together. It was supposed to be in the 40's at the start - which to me, is freezing... so i planned on wearing capri tights, a short sleeve shirt, my new skull arm warmers and also a throw away zip up and throw away gloves.
I tried to go to bed super early since i had to be up at 3:15am to get ready and hit the road. i didn't want to take any chances on being late or not getting in line with my pace group (like Disney) so i erred on the side of caution.
Chris and Sidney were going to meet me at mile 6 so they could get a little more sleep so i dressed quietly in the bathroom, ate my peanut butter and almond butter sandwich, grabbed some CD's for the drive and headed to downtown Tampa.
I got there and parked in plenty of time and headed to the convention center to use the bathroom and check my bag. The weather was quite a bit warmer than forecasted so i decided to leave my sweatshirt.
After about 3 trips to the bathroom, i headed over to the starting area and found my pace group. There were a few people running their first marathons and were trying to BQ. Actually, all of the women in my group were trying to BQ. We were all pretty excited. I introduced myself to a few people i've seen at a bunch of races but never talked to (i'm getting better at that!)... the anthem was sung, the gun was shot and off we went.
The first six miles of the course were out on to Davis Island. The first few miles are always super crowded but we managed to do okay with our pace. i was really surprised at how quickly the miles were going by. i guess having people with me really makes a difference.
I planned to see Chris and Sidney at mile 6 - when we got off the Island and there they were. Sidney was super sleepy so he wasn't that thrilled to see me. I planned on giving Chris my gloves but forgot so i just grabbed a gel from him and kept on running.
The don't really remember the next six miles... they went by quickly and there wasn't too much going on. I chatted briefly with the other people in my group but other than that i just kept running.
At mile 12-ish, we headed back on to Bayshore. I saw my cousin Paula and my friend Jenny and her kids (whose husband was also running - much faster than I was!). It was a nice boost to see them.
Once we were back on Bayshore, we merged with the half-marathoners. It caused some congestion and some weaving. The half-marathoners were getting a little testy that all of these people kind of showed up but it was only a few more miles and then the halfers had their turnaround and we kept running straight. Chris and Sidney were a few miles up and it was so nice to see them. Chris was amazed at how strong i looked and i told him that i felt great.
I had never been to that part of Tampa so it was interesting to see some quiet-ish neighborhoods. Again, nothing too memorable happened in this section. I noticed we were losing some people from our group. I saw Jenny's husband pass us on his way back up Bayshore - he was cruising right along and looked great! It's always nice to see someone you know (or even just recognize) on the course - especially if they are having a great race.
We looped around a park- which i think were miles 18-20) and i started to feel like i was dragging a little. I sucked it up, took a gel and carried on. i had my first thought of, "oh, i'm not sure i can do this." and "this is it - i'm never doing this again." around this time. I wouldn't say i was hitting the wall - but the distance felt like it was catching up to my body.. slowly. i could only hope it was slow enough!
Chris and Sidney were around mile 21, i think and i gave him a quick, "i'm fine" before continuing on. Less than a 10K to go...
i got to the water stop at around mile 23 and i just had to stop and walk for a second to get myself together. unfortunately, i lost my pace group when i stopped and just didn't have the energy to catch up to them. I started to panic slightly - i'm not going to lie - i looked at my watch and tried to quickly calculate if i could possibly walk the rest of the way and still make my time. my body was tired. my legs were hurting. my mind was wandering. i was having a hard time focusing on what i was doing - and remembering how hard i worked to get there. I had kept my gloves until then and for some reason they were driving me crazy so i took them off and instead of tossing them, i just carried them with me... like i said, i wasn't really thinking clearly.
Chris and Sidney caught up with me between miles 23-24 (they were on a bike) and i lamented to Chris that i had lost my group and i was running out of energy. I asked him to please stay with me and make sure i didn't give up. He did. The course wasn't crowded so he rode alongside me the rest of the way. He was awesome... he encourged me to keep going but let me stop and walk for a few second at a time (literally - like 10-15 seconds of walking - then back to my regular pace). He was telling me how proud he was of me and how proud of me that Sidney was going to be. He made jokes about "long-distance running... cross-country running..." (from Grease). He pointed out St. Jetersburg glistening in the distance (Derek Jeter's ridiculously large home build). He wasn't too harsh (and i found myself apologizing to him for not being faster!) but he continued to remind me that i could still BQ but i couldn't go any slower... of course this was a slight exaggeration but it worked.
Every time i stopped to walk, another runner would say, "c'mon Jamie - we're almost there"... i was never so happy to have my name on the back of my shirt as i was those last few miles. I always started running again. With only one mile left, this lady ran by me, smacked my butt and started coaching me through. she was actually a coach and though i never got her name - i love her dearly. She pointed out the finish line and told me to just keep running with her. i think i stopped for one more 5 second walk and then i kept running...
i saw Jenny yelling on the sidelines and i knew i had it. (she is running Boston in 2011 too and was excited that she'd have someone to line up with.)
i didn't even look at the clock. I knew it was less than 3:45:59 and that was all i cared about! i ran through the finish line and yelled, "i'm going to Boston!"
and as quickly as the energy drained from me those last few miles... it was back! my legs didn't hurt anymore. i wasn't tired. i was fine. completely and totally fine. I got my blanket and medal... took some pictures with my boys and with a pirate. got huge hugs from Jenny, her husband and my cousin. Got a few pats on the back from some of the helpful runners that finished around me - or saw me having a tough time. I called my parents to tell them i did it - and even got a few cheers from people nearby who heard me tell them i BQ'd.
it was triumphant and amazing.
we didn't stick around very long after the race. my boys and cousin were super tired and anxious to get home. I picked up my bag, changed my shirt and came home. I tried to take an ice bath but i was way too cold to get in. I iced my right hamstring (the only discernable pain those last few miles) for a little while but other than that - i felt great.
i did it. the excitement still hasn't worn off. i ran marathon #3 with fairly few problems. I managed to maintain a 3:40 pace until mile 23. I finished with a time of 3:42:16 - only a few minutes short of my group but more than three minutes faster than i needed to BQ. I didn't even have any blisters!
I learned that i have to work on my mental focus and emotions when things get tough - but that has never been my strong suit - in life - not just running.
The Gasparilla Half Marathon was my very first race exaclty one year ago. i never had any idea how addictive it would become. i didn't know what i was getting in to.
i remember hearing about qualifying times for Boston and thinking - who the hell could ever run that fast? 364 days after my first race ever - the answer is, I can.