Gasparilla 15k (2/22/20)

I ran the Gasparilla 15k in Tampa, FL early Saturday morning while taking my son to college visits. The race morning was cold (41 at the start) and windy, but that was actually an advantage coming from Philadelphia – I was worried it would be too hot. I knew the second half was into the wind, so I tried to run conservatively. I ran with the same pack for the first half and kept steady intervals. The 5^th mile had the wind directly behind us, so clocked a 6:46, but then we turned into the wind and the next mile was 7:07. I then got in with a faster group and we rotated until the finish, increasing the pace with each mile. I think this was my favorite part of the race - working with a group to help each other maintain pace and trading turns. Official pace splits showed an even split of 32:09 for first half and 32:10 for second half. I did not consume any nutrition during run, but made sure to get in post race fueling and start recovery right away. The race was very well run and organized with plenty of volunteers on a cold (for Florida) day. Official finish time was 1:04:19, good enough for 7^th in the 45-49 age group.

Official comment

Purple Patch

March 05, 2020 22:36
Edited

Thomas! Thanks for taking the plunge and sharing your story. That's not the easiest thing to do being a new member. Not only are you one organized Squaddie, you also appear to be quite speedy. Great job out there. And way to integrate sport into life with the college visits. Welcome to Squad. We can't wait to read more stories from you. Perhaps a recap of Xterra Iceman?

Mel and your Purple Patch Team

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