RR: Gasparilla Distance Classic 15K

Saturday, February 28, 2009. Downtown Tampa, Florida. Warm and slightly muggy at the start. I finished in 1:34:51, which is about 14 minutes faster than my previous PR, and 16 minutes faster than last year. And, of course, there were pirates :)

Linae and me at the start. Linae did almost all of the camera work here.

Sea of humanity at the start. 4200 in the 15K, even more in the 5K. I heard around 8700 in that race. Wall-to-wall people, no chance of ever spreading out. Noooo thank you....

Bayshore Blvd, which runs along Hillsborough Bay

That's me on the far left. If you're wondering why my legs are so pale considering I wear shorts 10 months out of the year, all I can say is: SPF 45 ;)

Again, there's my big ol' butt in the middle of the frame. Upon seeing this picture, a co-worker said, "Wow. You've got, like, good form and shit." Thanks. I think.

Cotton tshirts for the 5K/15K runners, but cool tech shirts for the marathon/half runners. Only fair, I suppose. But orange?? Really??

Of course the medal ho is going to post a picture of the bling. (Orange?? Really??) Although, I suppose it's better than last year's tacky Publix-green ribbon and the goofy parrot-dressed-as-a-pirate medallion.

Post-race, Linae, her hubby Joe and I went to their favorite local pub, The Angry Pepper, in St. Pete:

The location doesn't suck, especially on a sunny, 75-degree day

Me with a tasty Orange Blossom Pilsner

Linae with her chick beer

Joe with...some beer. I can't remember what he was drinking here :)

Nice atmosphere, wonderful food. An excellent time was had by all