Gasparilla 5+3k

I woke up this morning at 5:30 because of the wind and rain pounding outside.  Then I remembered that the half-marathoners for the Gasparilla race had to start at 6:00am.  I was glad I didn't sign up for it.  Not that I was in shape for it either way.  I have ran when it was raining.  I have ran when it was windy.  But never both.  Wind gusts were up to 50 mph.  I was hoping by 9 am, the weather would improve.

I closed my eyes and woke up again at 7am.  The sun was shining, but it was still very windy (20 - 30 mph winds).  "I'd rather run in the rain", I thought.  Running in the wind is like jogging in place, in quick sand.  It feels super slow mo.

We got to start line and the wind was blocked by some tall buildings heading west on Bayshore Blvd, so half of the race, it was smooth sailing.  As soon as turned around, we felt the wind.  "I knew it was too easy," I said to the lady beside me.  But I pushed on. 

Oh, I forgot to add that I saw a few folks from work at the start line.  One asked what I thought I'd finish in.  I said in about an hour and 20 mins.  He looked a little puzzled, but I hadn't really thought about time.  Well, as I was running, I thought an hour and 10 mins was more realistic. 

As I neared the end, the race clock said 1:05.  Official chip time was 1:02:17!  Much better than I thought.  Maybe I'll get back to 10 min miles, but I'm not going to stress so much about time at this point.  I'm really happy just going the distance.  I finished, felt great, and finished strong.  I really can't ask for more.