Two races down!
One more to go!
This morning I was pumped and ready to get this party started. ๐ I love race days and had no problem waking up at the crack of dawn to get my butt in gear.
Of course, no pre-race morning would be complete without the traditional bagel with almond butter, strawberry jelly, and apple.
This combination always keeps me full and satisfied for any race distance. ๐
We had a bit of a hiccup on the way to the race site this morning. Derek and I were caught off guard with having to pay for parking and were both cashless. There was a little – ok a lot – of panic on my part, but after a little begging and a few tears we made it into a garage with enough time to make it to the race site. ๐
Lesson learned: always be prepared with cash when parking downtown for any event!
The good news is we made! We were stuck way in the back, but we made it!
The wonderful Melissa had driven up from Miami last night to enjoy the weekend festivities. She was originally planning on running Gasparilla’s Bud Light Challenge, but had to back out due to an injury. However, this morning her legs felt great and in a last minute decision decided to run today’s races with me.
Yay for friends!
We only had time to take a few quick photos before the whistle blew.
Derek was roaring to go for his first 15k!
We started the race as a trio, but lost Derek almost immediately after crossing the start line. Melissa and I spent the first mile or so swerving in and out of the crowds of people, but managed to stay together in a pack.
I was a bit bummed my Garmin wasn’t able to find a signal for the first mile or so of the race.
I felt blind without my garmin! Luckily I had no major pace goals for this race, so being blind wasn’t too bad. ๐
All of the Gasparilla races follow the same out and back route along the river. Its a really beautiful course, but this morning all the clouds made it all seem kind of blah.
Sunshine, where are you?
Melissa and I managed to keep a pretty steady 9:30 pace along the course. We had a blast commenting on other runner’s outfits, the million dollar houses, and what our future running plans with . Having a buddy on the course made the miles fly by!
We hit the turn around point and managed to find Derek in the crowd. We cheered each other on and it was good to see him still running strong. ๐ He was on mark to smash his goal time!
After the turn around the weather started to rapidly decline. We began to run into the wind and it began to drizzle. I was cold, wet, and looking for that finish line!
Almost there!
We passed mile 9 and I told Melissa it was time to sprint. We began to haul ass and crossing the finish line at the exact same time!
Official Chip time: 1:26:35 !
Race #1: Done!
After Melissa and I grabbed our medals we quickly headed back to the finish line to catch Derek cross.
Can you spot him?
Derek did AWESOME!!!
His official chip time: 1:34:13
I’m so proud! ๐
We didn’t have too long to celebrate. The temp was continuing to drop and the rain was beginning to fall harder, so we headed to the bag drop for warmer clothes.
On the way I grabbed an apple snack pack for some between race fuel.
By the time Melissa made it back to the race start the crowd was insane!
There was no was we were going to be able to squeeze our way up front, so we stayed in the pack and tried to keep warm and dry before the start.
I was ill-prepared for the change in conditions and decided running the 5k in my Michelob Challenge hoodie was a brillant idea. ๐
The gun started the race and 8 minutes later we were finally apple to cross the start line.
It was hard to go too fast in the huge crowd of people. We weren’t even a half mile into the race when the seeded position starters began crossing the finish line! We didn’t care though, we were having fun taking it easy.
I may have had a little too much fun with the camera.
The 5k was really a walk in the park. Melissa and I crossed the finish line with big smiles on our face and then fought through the crowds of people to collect our medals and meet Derek on the other side of the corral.
Official 5k chip time: 35:27
We were more than ready for hot showers and dry clothes! I’m not sure I have ever left a race site faster. ๐
On the way back to the cake I had a White Chocolate Macadamia Luna Bar courtesy of Melissa.
We headed home and quickly showered and changed before meeting the lovely Ashley for lunch at Datz.
Ashley will be running the marathon tomorrow as well and it was nice to catch up with her before the big race. ๐
Ashley and I picked Datz for lunch because it was the same place we ate at following Gasparilla last year. We wanted to continue the tradition. ๐
I was in a breakfast mood and was originally leaning towards an egg sandwich of some sort, but when Ashley pointed out the Maui Wowie I couldn’t say no.
The Maui Wowi consisted of challah bread soaked in coconut milk the grilled and topped with fresh pineapple, coconut and macadamia nuts.
It was an incredibly rich dish and tasted fabulous!
Needless to say I cleaned my plate.
In fact the whole table cleaned their plates. Datz serves incredible food! If you are ever in the Tampa area, I highly recommend it!
Melissa, Derek, and I said our good byes to Ashley – can’t wait to see you tomorrow! – and ran a few errands around!
One those errands included a detour to Berryism for the some post-race/pre-race fro you.
Melissa had one request for this weekend: frozen yogurt!
I’m glad we were able to make her Fro-yo dreams come true. ๐
Derek was more interested in sleep than the fro-yo.
I think I have some napping of my own to do! I’m exhausted!
Before I forget!
If you would like to follow my marathon journey tomorrow morning you can do so by clicking here and searching for Meghann Anderson. I’m not promising any super speeds, but it might be nice to know if I managed to survive or not. ๐
You are a crazy machine!!!! Congrats to Derek. And you’re making me awfully jelly with your froyo consumption!
Congratulations! But keep eating! You have a lot to fuel for in this one weekend; it’s a bit crazy but that’s what makes it awesome!
Big congratulations for you and Derek!! You got great times ๐ I wish you all the best for tomorrow too, and I can’t wait to read about the re-cap ๐ Get a good night’s sleep ๐
I will be tracking you tomorrow. GREAT job today, I am so impressed. So glad Melissa came, I love her! And wow that Maui Wowie — I want it!!
Congrats on the races!! Looks like you guys had a great time!!
And that coconut soaked Challah, oh my, sounds amazing.
Dang you!! Congrats! How long did you have between the 15k and the 5k? Didn’t seem like long!
Wow! That sounds so fun!!
Congratulations to you and Derek!! Get some rest!!
Derek kicked ass! Congrats to everyone ๐
Congrats on the races today and good luck tomorrow!
Yay you! Looks like you are having a blast! Have a GREAT run tomorrow ๐
looks like youre having fun! Good luck tomorrow ๐
xo-Molly
http://www.givinganythingbutup.wordpress.com
Congrats to you, Derek and Melissa!! ๐
Get plenty of rest tonight for your marathon — I still can’t believe how many miles you are logging in just over 24 hours! What’s the runner’s version of “break a leg”? ๐
Great recap with great pictures! Can’t wait to hear about tomorrow’s race!!
Looking forward to meeting you at the Orlando meet-up next Saturday ๐
You did great! And I can’t believe you are running a marathon in the morning. Good Luck!
You truely are a legend and my hero! 3 races in 2 days (1 a marathon)!
I love your photos during the 5k, you look slightly crazy which is always fun! Lol
well done derek too – you rocked!
Can’t wait to see how you do tomorrow, I wish you lots of luck from the uk and pray you have perfect running weather, Amy x
Good luck tomorrow! You are going to do great!
Looks like you guys had fun! Good luck on your race tomorrow!
Congrats to all three of you and good luck tomorrow! You are so brave for doing three races in a weekend, ack!
SO fun! Running with friends makes it even better. Great job on the first two and good luck tomorrow! Delicious post race eats (especially the froyo!)
You look excited and energized! I hope you can keep that up for tomorrow – I’m sure you will!
Awesome – I’m so glad Day 1 went well! I ran the 5K today with a friend. I actually saw you running through the crowd back to the 15K finish line, you looked like you were in a hurry and on a mission, I guess to find Derek. ๐
I had to get back and watch Derek cross the finish line! ๐
Great job! I really love your race recaps so I was looking forward to this one! And good luck in the marathon tomorrow!
-Laura
good luck tomorrow! I hope you’re legs feel fresh and speedy in the morning.
Congrats, and good luck tomorrow!
This is making me hope even MORE that my IT Band is better in time for the Princess Half next weekend!
Aww all those shots of Bayshore Blvd make me jealous!! And Datz and Berryism… my faves!!! Can’t WAIT to be there soon ๐ Good luck tomorrow! xoxo
maui WOWI indeed! that sounds like a great combo…and the perfect eat on a race day ๐ way to go on the first two!
You are awesome! I can’t believe all those race in one weekend! Good luck tomorrow in your marathon, I know you will do great!
That is awesome, congrats and I can’t wait to see the recap of the second half!
WoW! What an amazing day for you! How exciting and fun!
Wow what an amazing day of racing! Thats great!
Does Derek work for PwC? I worked there for a year right out of college as a tax accountant. He must work for a great office to be able to come run a race during busy season!!! I dont think I left my desk for 3 solid months last year at this tie!
Great job!!
Glad you had fun!!!
Great job! I can’t believe what a running machine you are ๐ Love seeing your post-race eats – that Maui Wowi looks and sounds amazing. Hope you got in a good nap and were all refreshed and ready to go this morning.
Congrats on two great runs!! It’s not often you get 2 recaps in one post, I love it!! ๐ Good luck tomorrow, you’ll do awesome!
Great job on the first part of the race! That sucks about the rain, though. Congrats to Derek for his first 15K!
That french toast looks amazing!!
K
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