On December 10th, the Gasparilla Distance Classic Association put on what I believe to be one of the best first time running events. Having experienced a few of their past attempts it was only obvious that their 15k effort could be multiplied 3 times into a Great Marathon.
This marathon trip was a sole one for me as my support team, my wife Lisa, had a meeting to attend. By the way, the meeting was cancelled.
I had traveled past the Tampa Convention Center, central location for the marathon, numerous times, but for some reason it was decided that on this trip I would use the Internet for directions. That was a mistake. I got lost BIG TIME! My navigator, Lisa, wasn't with me! I couldn't find the Cross-town Expressway for the life of me. But I did luckily find the Convention Center.
The Expo looked like it was OK. But I wasn't sure. The size of the room that the expo was in sort of dwarfed the Expo's size. I walked through to get my chip and race packet and almost stopped to shop. Lisa doesn't let me have money at Running Expo's because I'll buy, buy, buy.
My sister-in-law took me to a good Mama and Papa's Italian Restaurant for pasta. For that reason I didn't attend the race's pasta dinner.
I worried all night about parking for the race. I was afraid of getting lost and/or missing the start of the race. Arriving at the Race site I was lucky to go with the flow of traffic straight to a parking garage. Who else would be up driving around on a Sunday morning except runners? Looking back on the parking garage makes me wonder. There were three people collecting money when we entered using a 55-gallon drum as a work area. After the race, there was no longer anyone collecting, even though there were still a few cars coming in to park. Was this part of a scam or what?!
The starting line was only a few blocks away from the parking lot. Did I luck out! I only had to be conscious enough after the marathon to find my way back.
A little lady in front of me in line at the Port-a-let almost had to teach some people proper port-a-let etiquette. This group of 3 or 4 people gathered next to where we were in line. As we moved ahead in line the group moved, just as if the group had practiced this maneuver. At the exact moment the little lady and I sneaked in front of the group and took the next two open potties.
I lined up for the start of the race about half a block back in the pack and started watching people. Some runners greet other runners like long lost friends. This was such a loss of energy that they would need for the latter stages of the marathon.
After the start of the race, the elapsed time was announced to runners so that the nearly 3000 participants knew how far behind the front runners they were. I did not cross the starting line until 1 minute and 30 seconds into the race. I hit the 1st mile at 11 plus minutes. The size of the field was a positive feature to keep me slow from the start.
About mile 6, as we crossed the starting line again but going in the opposite direction, Mother Nature called upon me to take a 3 or 4 minute break. This pit stop put me behind many Space Coast Runners and allowed me to be the passer instead of the one being passed towards the end of the race.
The first miles of the race went by very slowly. I took a minute walk at every water stop but the transition did not go smoothly. I talked to Mary Ramba about all the water stops, one per mile. She said we'd need them and we'd be glad we had them when we would reach at about mile 23. She was correct.
Then there was Denise Canina! I was told by Mary Ramba that Denise was just up ahead. DENISE! I called to her that I was behind her and going to catch her. DENISE! HERE I COME! I did run with her for a short time. Then I moved on.
Then there was "the Face in the Crowd". At the halfway point I noticed my nemesis, part of the Famous Smith Racing Team. Nicholas! I thought for a few moments how he would probably be passing me or pushing me the last few miles. He would have fresh legs to run on. As it turned out, Nick had me in his sights as I crossed the line.
I must have really gotten into the Zone or in the Groove for the last half of the race. The miles seemed to click by effortlessly. From mile 15 or 16, I could calculate in my weary head that I could still finish under my desired time. Each consecutive mile went by and I was still ok. I could have walked the last mile and still have been under my desired time. The miles under my belt were going faster than the minutes and seconds on the clock .
Before I realized it, I had gone across the finish line with a clock time of 3:55.08 and a 3:53.47 chip time. This was 3 minutes and 20 seconds under my St. Antonio time a month earlier. Not bad!
Getting back to my truck was another story. I asked an officer of the law for directions. A few blocks later, I asked another cop and was given different directions. Does anyone know where they are or how to get anywhere, I wondered?
The Hops Marathon is one that I will aim to do again. Since my support/navigator was not with me, I need to enter next year's race so that she will have a chance to attend the great event. We'll see you on the roads!!