Gasparilla 15K

Today we were crazy enough to participate in the Gasparilla 15K. That's 9.3 miles for those non-metric folk. The race started at 7:30 in downtown Tampa. We got up at 4:45 and were out the door by 5:30. Our trusty new GPS took us a dirrerent route than we normally travel but managed to get us there on time. After paying $10 freakin bucks for parking we got our running gear on and got situated and headed out for the starting line. We were all wearing shirts from our favorite running store. The store is called "On a Shoe String" and is located here in Bradenton. It's a ma and pop kind of place and that's why we like it. We've been doing business with them since they opened their doors.  (If you live nearby, you should definitely check them out!)  

Anyways, the weather at the start of the race was perfect "race" weather. It was a little coudy and a little chilly with a temperature in the range of 65 to 70 degrees. The course was really nice taking us along the water for the entire run. We'll spare you most of the details but I will tell you this...Ryan had only done 3 training runs before attempting this one and struggled through the entire thing. Theresa, on the other hand, was a good runner girl and had done a few more training runs than Ryan. Needless to say, Ryan had to stop a few more times than Theresa. We both finished the race in about 2 hours. Not a bad time considering it took us 54 minutes longer to run 3 miles farther in the Sarasota Half Maraton last year.

The Gasparilla festivities afterwards were grand. The main sposors of the race were all present with free gifts for all runners. Just to name a few...Publix, Coca Cola, Flat Out, & Star Bucks were all there. Michelob Light was also there with a free cup of beer for all runners over 21. We opted out of that looonnng line though.

After seeing the discouragingly long beer line we decided to head back to Bradenton and hit up Cracker Barrel. What damn fine choice it was too! Mmmm - pancakes & french toast - what great after-race fare!