It's all relative

Gasparilla Half Marathon

Recent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesMike's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageWeek ViewMonth ViewYear View
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2015201620172018201920202021
15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

FL,United States

Member Since:

Feb 08, 2015

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Certified course PR's:

Mile: 4:28.0 (Florida, Jan 2020)

5K: 15:12 (FL, Jan. 2020)

10K: 31:44 (FL, Feb. 2020)

15K: 49:03 (FL, Feb. 2020)

1/2 Marathon: 1:10:34 (FL, Feb. 2020)

Marathon: 2:26:57 (WA, July 2019)

100k (63.7 miles, trail): 9:11:00 (FL, Jan. 2019)

Personal:

I started running in 2010 and have (mostly) kept it a habit ever since!  

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Gasparilla Half Marathon (13.109 Miles) 01:11:00, Place overall: 3, Place in age division: 3
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.8913.1115.00

Gasparilla Distance Classic Half Marathon Race Report

Weather/Goals

Conditions were almost perfect, so I was pumped.  Still very windy, but I'd take this any day over heat and humidity.  About 10 degrees warmer than yesterday, so it was easy to get to that start line.  Despite racing yesterday hard and long, my goals today were still pretty serious- a 1:09:50, a top 2 in prize money, and a top 5 overall.  This is NOT the race I am ever going to be fast enough to be in the top 5 for real, but with the Olympic trials literally a week away, they forego offering the real professional prize money so it was a possibility.  Also, they only offer local money- since all the pros are racing the OTQ marathon this Saturday, so I only had to worry about local talent.  Works for me!  

I was feeling VERY beat up from yesterday's 15k race.  My warmup was atrocious, and my body was hurting.  I couldn't even manage proper striders without feeling pains.  I just said, 'forget it' and walked to the starting line.  I hoped my body would survive without any large damage, but I was already a bit gimpy so I had some definite uncertainty.  I hoped the pain hopefully go away after a mile or two once my brain release some endorphins.

The race

The pre race was fun!  I knew a ton of people, so I was chatting away until the gun went off.  As soon as it did, I jumped right out there in the beginning and was in third place right behind the top two guys with another pair of runners at my side.  Usually I can just ease into running these long distances, but now that I am running these faster paces, I can't just throw away 30 seconds just to feel more comfortable so I was checking my watch pretty obsessively.  Miles 2 and 3... I don't know what I was thinking.  Those couple of seconds matter and 5:16s aren’t exactly slow, particularly the day after a 15k where I gave a hard effort.  Oh well, I felt great.  First 5k was a 16:28 or so.

Miles 4 and 5 I finally got my head under me, but it was too late.  By the midpoint, I still felt in control, but I knew I wasn't going to get it, not with a headwind on the return journey.  I was barely at pace with the wind at my back!  Halfway split was 34:57, and I was firmly in third place, 27 seconds back of 2nd and 49 seconds off the leader.  I did not pay any attention to if there was anyone behind me, but I never heard footsteps the entire race.

The second half of the race started off promising- I was under pace entering mile 10 and felt fully in control, but man, that wind must have been really aiding me.  I literally just finished the turn-around and it was like a proverbial wall.  My effort increased dramatically, yet the pace was a 30 second swing in a mere mile!  Unbelievable.  I still felt strong, I still felt fast, it just wasn't there.  Just like yesterday, I hit the ‘split’ after mile 9 and was looking down at the pace and didn’t believe what it was telling me- I thought it was wrong.  Nope.  Slogged through that mile in 5:45.  I was really upset seeing that 5:45 on my watch, and quickly refused to accept those paces.  I dipped back down to 5:30 and sped back up from there, which was nice to see.  

The finish line crept up quickly.  I was stalking the second place guy, but never really closed the gap I developed from mile 3 to mile 5.  I had rescinded my effort until about 30 seconds from the line and saw I had a shot at getting under 1:11 again- second time in two weeks!  I sped up my effort and lengthened my stride, but literally missed it by a second. 

Results-  1st- 1:09:20, 2nd- 1:10:24, Me- 1:11:00

Splits- 5:23, 5:16, 5:16, 5:29, 5:29, 5:19, 5:25, 5:24, 5:15, 5:45, 5:30, 5:28, 5:26, 0:26

Some extremely selfish afterthoughts 

I finished 3rd overall at gasparilla!  I am still in awe of my luck.  Also I was 1st local, the proud owner of another $2,000 in prize money, Meb Keflezighi signed my plaque at the awards, and over the course of 2 days of running, I was fortunate enough to take in $4,000 in prize money.  Some important points: A) the local running scene is very weak if a runner like me is winning, I realize this.  B) Top 3 is amazing, but this never would happen in a normal year- ever- the announcer multiple times even commented on how slow our times and splits were compared to last year- I mean, we tried our best- lol!  C) I did miss my goal handily of getting under 1:10.  But you know what- D) For 120 minutes of running, I averaged $33.33 per minute or $0.55 per second.  That’s crazy.  I did something I loved and someone effectively paid me to do it!  These race directors for Gasparilla are not only generous, but they may be the only ones offering such a gracious prize to local runners anywhere here in the southeast.  I don’t deserve that money, but when they mail the check, you better believe I will accept it! 

So that’s it!  That’s my race season.  I do have Boston in April, but I am just destroyed and need to take this recovery seriously.  I will reassess in a couple weeks, but I am just going to shoot to re-qualify as of now with a 2:55.

 

Comments
From Tom K on Thu, Feb 27, 2020 at 11:58:03 from 47.206.60.114

Well check out Runner Mike Moneybags! That is very cool you get paid to do what you love. I'd rather a part of my race entry fee go to you, than some doofus that I don't know, and that I'm not rooting for.

Great Races, Mike! Enjoy your recovery.

From Mike on Fri, Feb 28, 2020 at 06:50:00 from 168.213.5.162

Thanks Tom! I appreciate your support. We got lucky this year with weather, didn't we?

Add Your Comment.
  • Keep it family-safe. No vulgar or profane language. To discourage anonymous comments of cowardly nature, your IP address will be logged and posted next to your comment.
  • Do not respond to another person's comment out of context. If he made the original comment on another page/blog entry, go to that entry and respond there.
  • If all you want to do is contact the blogger and your comment is not connected with this entry and has no relevance to others, send a private message instead.
Only registered users with public blogs are allowed to post comments. Log in with your username and password or create an account and set up a blog.
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):
Recent Comments: