Gee, I'm getting tired of the, "He gave it his best" post, but here I go again.
The last Gasparilla Marathon was held held yesterday under ideal conditions. It would be a shame to see this race go, but the race committee was never sold on it, hence they never really sold it. I am sure a better race will take its place. Shoot, Jim Hartnet already holds a better marathon at Alafia Park. Still, it's a shame to think of a city as big as Tampa without an urban marathon. Shame on you Tampa, Shame on you GDCA!
Ok, had to get what Tampa's running community was thinking off my chest.
Now for my experience. I wanted to run a 3:50 with Davo and his pace group. I thought I could do it, but the 40 mile Sat/Sun overnight run 7 days prior to goal race left me with no realistic chance. Fortunately I found this out 11 miles into the race and not 20. So, after a bathroom stop split me from the group, I was able to slow down and enjoy the beautiful day.
I was very happy with my race, finishing between the 4 hour pace group and 4:10 pace group. I ran pretty much the entire race (these roadies don't ever stop and chat, and they rarely walk! I think I'll stay with the ultra crew!), finishing in under 10 minute miles. I definitely could have shaved 10 minutes or so had I been able to find my Advil, but it was lost and my feet were in lots of pain. Happily it wasn't my Plantar, rather it was my toes and balls of my feet that were on fire. That was the bad news, massive foot pain. The worse news was: it hurt more when I walked than when I ran, so I pretty much had to run! Bum-mer!
When the race was over I limped back to the car thinking, "I'll never be able to run tomorrow. Better call Andrea and tell her she's going solo." But then I found my Advil, took 800 mgs and that combined with 4 of Ireland's finest brews at 4 Greenfield's and I was feeling much better.
When I woke up this am, this AM thought once again about making the call to Andrea and bagging out. But, I figured, I'd give it go.
I'm really glad I did! After a rough start on tired legs, I quickly loosened up and started feeling better. The weather was perfect and Andrea and I did 20 miles in 3:45, not much slower than my marathon pace of the day before. It was effortless, and confidence building.
I've said it before, I may be slow, but I can be slow for a very long time, and even a very long way. 46.2 miles in two days over 7:45. I'll darn sure take that, darn sure!
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5 comments:
You da man!
1. It's all relative. Docs, Patrick and A2 would be devastated with a 4-hour marathon. I'd be thrilled with a miracle like that! CONGRATS!
2. You know I'd kick your @$$ if you bailed on me.
3. I believe it is "Four Green Fields," thus 4GF. Either way, I'm glad it eased your pain.
Star, I didn't see the sign when I limped in, and I couldn't see it when I stumbled out!
Thanks SuperD. I'm getting back there. It's a fun journey, I am actually appreciating it much more this time!
Wow, 46.2 miles in... two days!
Gimme a break. I ran 46.3 miles just to get to my two day race where I averaged 8 miles an hour, so that's 192 miles.... THE FIRST DAY!
Glad you had fun, you should do things that are fun (leave the real racing to us!)
-Dean Karnazes
(buy my chips!)
Dean,
Thanks for saying howdy. I know you could have crawled that marathon in 3:50, but look at it this way, I get a much better view from the middle of the pack than you get from the front :)
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