22 Miles on Bayshore... the final long run.

It was a restless night dress rehearsal eve, for whatever reason sleep eluded me and I tossed and turned, constantly checking the clock... At 3:45am B.o.B's alarm goes off and so begins our morning routine. We're out the door within the hour to pick up P-Funk & Hollster before trekking over to Bayshore for our Gasparilla Dress Rehearsal. I don't know about everyone else, but I was nervous. Running 22 miles is intimidating enough, especially after a tough final week of training, but running 22 miles on absolutely no sleep... to say there was a bit of doubt creeping in at the seams would be putting it mildly.

B.o.B may or may not have still been asleep (you know how she is) and P-Funk was missing her "magic pants" (that apparently make her feel like the "Bee-onic Woman") and I had to pee again (go figure) but otherwise we were good to go. After a quick tour of Davis Island we parked and got ready to begin the run; a little after 5:30 a.m. and it was a brisk 38 degrees with 12-18 mph wind gusts forecasted. BRRR!!! (Yes I know that is a heat wave to all you snowmaggedon victims but to us that's damn near artic!)
As we headed down Bayshore it was just us and a few other brave souls; let the hilarity begin. I had forgotten underwear so was stuck wearing my boyshorts from the day before and informed the girls they'd have to deal with me picking my wedgie the entire run. (And I did. FAIL.) Than P-Funk & B.o.B start singing show tunes. (Now Hollster & I finally knew what's going on back there... Show tunes? Really?) Hollster and I pulled away and into the darkness as we headed into the unknown... bushes, trees and sidewalk attacked. Puddle jumping was a must. Oh and right about Mile 4 we realized B.o.B had made a minor major fub when mapping out the run because we ended up right outside the Air Force base! The "welcome" sign was pretty specific about needing ID's to enter the base so we turned around and modified the run to add in some extra mileage.
Daybreak came and with it gloomy, overcast skies. It was quite reminiscent of last years Gasparilla race, I just hoped the rain didn't come with it. The miles continued to tick off as Hollster and I chatted away; catching up, swapping stories and chiming "Good Morning" to every runner we passed. I don't know if it was the weather or what but Bayshore has some cranky looking runners! I got to see the Tampa Moutains aka huge landfills and was continually confused at the disappearing act the city itself played as we wound our way down Bayshore and over to Davis Island. Once there we Gu stopped at B.o.B's sisters and got some more quality P-Funk & B.o.B entertainment. Then we were back off to add some extra mileage in around the convention center before wrapping it up. All the garmin's freaked out under the bridge so heading back in the direction of the car it seems we all had a helluva time figuring out mileage... why we continue to think it's a good idea to do math while running is beyond me. It took Hollster and I a good five minutes to figure out that to round out the 22 miles as we passed the car at 20.6 that we would need to go to 21.3. Five minutes! LOL!

We wrapped up the 22 feeling good, I wasn't as rip, roaring, excited as I was our last 22+ miler, but I could have easily continued on and ran a marathon today... and that is a beautiful thing. Gasparilla here we come! But more importantly, COMMENCE TAPER and get our hungry @sses to BRUNCH!!!

A little runtarded after 22 miles

At the car we all got to changing into our dry, clean clothes and right in the midst of being all but naked B.o.B starts chatting away with some other runner dude two cars over... P-Funk starts a running commentary of what their convo must be:

Guy: "What's going on over there?"

B.o.B: "Oh my friends are getting naked, wanna meet them? One's a redhead?"

Guy: "Oh really? Is she a natural redhead?"

The three of us were laughing our butts off when B.o.B finally returned to the car to see what all the commotion was about. Apparently they were just discussing running Gasparilla but our version was much more entertaining. Once everyone was properly clothed and settled we headed over to the Brunchery. We collectively proceeded to order the left side of the menu and I held my very own karaoke session to some rocking tunes... Conversation was beyond hilarious and the hot cocoa wasn't half bad either. It was a great morning, with great friends and I think it's safe to assume we all couldn't be happier with how the run had turned out.

So there you have it, last long run of the Gasparilla (or Gorilla) training cycle. I officially met my goal; I never walked during a single long run and I finished every single one STRONG. I am BEYOND excited for Taper, ready for some relaxed mileage because I've totally earned it. The next two weeks I just need to keep my eating in check and mentally gear up for race day. We've made plans to hold our own little foursome pasta dinner prior to the marathon and a ton of my O-town friends are making plans to head over and watch me finish. Between exceeding my goal for Operation Jack, running with my amazing BRA friends, having my O-town family there to see me finish and having your guys' unanimous support almost moves me to tears. This marathon has become so special to me for so many reasons... I have never worked so hard on so many levels and I can't wait to run my heart out in 2 weeks. 2 WEEKS!