Finally! A good race!! Plus, an added bonus of meeting yet another RW forumite, Donna Carter, for the first time.

 

This was the inaugural running of a race over Tampa Bay on the old Gandy Bridge, which has been replaced by a new, parallel span and converted into a segment of the Friendship Trail. Both a 5k and a 10k races were scheduled. I opted for the longer race.

 

When I arrived at the race and registered, I learned that the 10k had been shortened to an 8k. It seems that the out-and-back course was originally planned to include a short distance onto a U.S. Marine base at the far end of the bridge before returning. Subsequently, the Marines denied access to the base and the course was adjusted to make it an 8k.

 

The entire race was run on the bridge. The start was on the bridge 1/4 mile from the St Petersburg end. It ran to the Tampa end of the bridge and returned to the finish line at the St Petersburg end.....a perfectly straight course with one 180 degree turnaround. It was also perfectly flat, except for the rise to 40 feet of the center span to allow for boat traffic under the bridge. That “hill” came in mile 2 going out and the end of mile 3 coming back. The bridge surface was concrete all the way.

 

The temperature was in the upper 60's at race time with high humidity. However, there was a solid overcast, so there was no sun to contend with. There was a steady 15-20 knot wind which provided a nice cooling effect and wasn’t a significant pace hindrance since it was from the 8 o’clock direction going out and 2 o’clock direction coming back. (For you sailors, we went out on a broad reach and came back on a close reach. J)

 

My mildly arthritic left hip ached a little during my warmup, reminding me that I had run a hard 5k the day before. Darn! I didn’t relish the idea if running, much less racing, 8k on concrete with an aching hip. L Based on that input, I decided on an especially conservative race plan....a tempo run. My 5k the day before averaged 8:42. So, I decided to try to run the first 3 miles at 9:00 pace and then see what I could do with the last 2 miles, depending on how I felt at that point.

 

Very soon after the race start, I found myself behind a great-looking pair of legs. The pace felt comfortable, so I decided to stay where I was and enjoy the view through he first mile. First mile split - 9:17....a very conservative start. Thanks, legs! But, it was time to say goodbye. I picked up the pace a little and passed through mile 2, which included the first time over the “hill,” in a split of 8:55. My split for mile 3 was 8:56. I reached the 3 mile marker, which was exactly at the top of the “hill” coming back, in a split in 27:08....almost right on race plan. Best of all, although I was working hard, my hip was OK, I felt strong, and I faced a nice 200 meter downhill right in front of me. I started pushing the pace.