Shamrock Half Marathon Race Recap

Alrighty, time for the main event! The Shamrock Half Marathon! I ran this race for the first time in 2011 and PRed by 25 minutes. Insane, I know! Who does that??? I was really looking forward to running it again and had a goal of running it in 2:50:00. Sadly, my training was not what it should be and my goal was to be sub-3:00:00.

Sunday morning I got up and immediately went to the window of our hotel room to see if it was raining. The forecast said it might and I was not prepared for a race that was cold and wet! Hubby said the race organizers posted the rain had stopped, so I relaxed a little. I knew I wasn't as prepared for a cold race as I would have liked to be, but no rain did make it less stressful!

I got ready and we were out the door by 6:30 a.m. to head to the start. There were 10 corrals this year! 10! That's a lot of people! And it was neat walking out of our room and seeing all the people walking to the start. We arrived near the start line and decided to walk a bit further up as last year I had to fight my way from the back to my corral. Well, this year when we walked down the side street to where I thought I should line up, I had to walk backwards...several blocks! Ugh. So many people...

I got in my corral and hubby headed to the start to cheer me on as I passed. I put myself right up front. I didn't want to be any further back than I had to be. And I waited. I didn't have a watch on, so I didn't know what time it was, but people around me started getting antsy. Apparently, it was past 7:00 a.m. and there had been no starter gun. Being so far back we really couldn't hear any of the announcements. We did her the National Anthem signer, but that was all. So, we waited. Freezing. The temperatures were in the low 40s, but the wind chill was insane! So cold!

We finally get started about 10 minutes later than we should have, which means our corral went off about 7:20 a.m. We hit the road, I saw hubby on my right, waved, and got going. The course I knew. Which turned out to be a good thing. I liked the familiarity of the course, knowing what to expect. I had my music and there were lots of people around. I found a rhythm and I went with it.

I have no photos from the race. I had actually meant to take my camera with me, but the memory card filled up on Saturday afternoon at the aquarium. Sorry!

The race went along fine. I knew I wasn't running as fast as last year, which is ok. The road out to the military base was fine. Fun little jokes on the side of the road, pretty scenery, and a nice, flat course. What I remember most about those miles is just being content running. Sounds odd, but those miles were good miles. I was somewhat warm and felt good.

I mention feeling warm because as we turned onto the base at about mile 6 that feeling of warmth went out the window. The trees on the road leading to the base blocked the wind. The base? No trees or blocking. We were just about a block from the ocean/beach and the wind was nasty! The entire time I was running on the base, my hands were so cold they hurt. That is the only thing I really regret not having with me on the run was a pair of gloves. I wore a long-sleeve pull-over that I packed last minute (thank heavens!), but gloves would have been a God send! These miles were miserable only in the sense that my hands hurt. I felt fine other than that. There were lots of people out cheering for us, which for some reason I think was more than last year. There were some lovely military personnel who came out to give high fives and I felt bad because I knew if I high fived, my hands would break. I waved and said thank you.

Once off the base, my hands started to feel a bit normal again. Not much, but they didn't hurt as badly. Just off the base my back started hurting. Ugh. That's the first time in three races that happened. I've managed to get myself in good enough condition since Philly that my back has held up fine. This race, nope. Soreness. From about mile8 on out, I had to stop several times to stretch out my back. Frustrating.

The rest of the miles were good. I knew I wasn't going to PR. I could tell from the times Garmin had that this race was going to be one of my better ones, but it wouldn't touch last year's Shamrock Half Marathon time. I turned onto the boardwalk and wow. The wind nailed me! I felt like I was pushing against a locked door. Two of the Livestrong volunteers ran along side me to the boardwalk. I'm sure in their minds that was helpful as they yelled encouraging things. To me, not so much. I run solo and to be singled out like that? Didn't like it. I'm a jerk, I know.

I hit the boardwalk and ran. I had hoped to pick up speed and nail the end, but nope. I didn't have it in me. That's ok. As I passed hubby just past Neptune, he said I looked good. I think he lied.

I felt like I just wanted the race to be over. LOL! And from this spot on the course to the finish line it wasn't far. I crossed the line at 3:01:09. 11 minutes slower than last year. Blargh. I came up to the medal volunteers and the lovely lady actually placed my medal around my neck. Thank you! I went through the corral picking up my water, Gatoraid, hat, pretzel, granola bar, banana, Shamrock cookie, FLEECE BLANKET, and finally a bag to put it all in! I stopped for the photo in front of the backdrop and the nice photographer helped me get all my stuff into the bag. I got my photo taken and it was off to find hubby to celebrate!

Here are some photos of us enjoying the after-party:

So, while I didn't get the PR I was hoping for, overall it went alright. A bit cold, but in the end I ran those 13.1 miles. I made it back to the beach. I had a good time with the hubby. I am a Dolphin Challenger again!

Did you race this weekend? How did it go?

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Shamrock 8k

Saturday morning hubby and I ran the Shamrock 8k. For him, it was a down grade from the marathon/half marathon he was going to run. He's been fighting injury and had to defer. Instead of doing nothing, he decided to at least run the 8k and I ran the 8k to complete the Dolphin Challenge again.

We arrived at the start line about 7:30 a.m. for an 8:00 a.m. start. The temps weren't too bad, around 52 degrees. We hung out, then headed to our corrals - hubby to corral 2, me to corral 5. I was pleased to once again not be in the last corral. LOL!

The race got underway on time, which is always good. Being so far back meant I didn't get started really until about 10 minutes after the start. That's o.k. I had a nice conversation with two ladies who were running their first race. They were sweet to chat with and I hope they had a great race!

As my corral got to the start area, the announcer said he saw his favorite sight - runners on both sides of him! We started off through the large Start arc

and I laughed as the live band just beyond starting playing Blink-182's What's My Age Again? Blink-182 is one of hubby's favorite bands and I had to laugh that they were playing that song. The start was chaotic honestly. So many people and many of them not understanding the whole corral system. I was stuck behind lots of people who started off walking, which made it hard to get a good start. As I ran I thought races should switch from what time do you think you'll finish to "runner," "run/walk," or "walker." Then the runners and run/walkers know where to line up and walkers were in the back. This may sound mean, but as a slow runner I deal with this all the time. I don't want to screw the fast runners who are running for prize money/medals, but it seems as if no one considers that slow runners still want to have a good race too.

Anyway...we ran down Atlantic Avenue for about 2 miles. The race takes you past much of the restaurants/hotels/activities that make up Virginia Beach. It's so flat. It's so nice. LOL!

And don't forget all the fun costumes!

Once you get past the first part of the course on Atlantic Avenue, you turn onto the boardwalk. It's such a fun part of the race honestly. I enjoy seeing all the runners ahead of me and the ocean on the side. To me, it's a pretty unique experience. Maybe not to everyone, but to me it is.

We headed down the boardwalk and enjoyed the view. This is my favorite part of the race and I took it all in. We then turned off the boardwalk and back onto Atlantic Avenue. For some reason the distance on Atlantic Avenue this time seemed long. Not sure why. But, we came up to the turn to the boardwalk

At this point I checked my Garmin and had about 6 minutes til the hour. I really wanted this race under 60 minutes. I decided at this point not to check it again until I crossed the finish line. I just ran, not knowing what would happen.

Along the way I saw hubby standing on the side of the boardwalk. Phew! He finished! I hit the finish line and was happy to finish and be standing up. I looked down at Garmin hoping beyond hope that I might have PRed, even if I didn't manage a sub-60 8k. I was disappointed. I finished in 1:02:50, 59 seconds slower than last year and 2 minutes and 51 seconds slower than I had hoped. Crap.

I went down the boardwalk, picking up my medal as I went about to cry. Honestly. I know it sounds sad, but I was really upset. As I waited in line for my medal, I heard music coming from the party tent. And I laughed. How could I not? As I stood there fighting back tears, Bob Marley's Everything Is Gonna Be Alright was playing. Alright Bob. I'll take your advice. It is going to be alright.

After grabbing my medal, food, water, and koozie, I found the hubby and we went to party in the tent.

And thank heavens we did! While I felt a drop or two of rain hit me as I walked through the finisher's line, it sure let loose after we managed to get in the tent. It poured! Oh my goodness! I felt so bad for those still out on the course. We hung in the tent until the rain calmed down and enjoyed our adult beverages. The band was great, the people were fun, and we just celebrated running the race.

And now it was time to get ready for the Shamrock Half Marathon...

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What a weekend!

This past weekend was the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon, Anthem Half Marathon, and Townbank 8k in Virginia Beach, VA.  Hubby and I went down to compete.  Hubby was going to run the Marathon, but he unfortunately suffered two injuries in December/January which kept him off the roads until mid-February.  He ended up having to defer until 2013, but decided to run in the 8k with me.

We both had an amazing weekend of running!  You can see a quick post from him about Saturday's race here.  He's much more technologically advanced than I and blogged from his phone!  I'll be putting up a series of posts sharing all the details of the weekend. 

But, I am going to say right now this race is incredible!  The organization, the course, the swag, and the party is unmatched!  I would not hesitate to recommend this race (and I think I did text a few friends telling them to sign up next year...), especially if you want to BQ.  J&A Racing did a downright fantastic job of organizing this whole weekend and I tip my hat to them!  Stay tuned!  Posts about the 8k, half marathon, and the swag coming up!