Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle

I got a PR today!  I am so happy and still cannot believe it!!

Let’s go back to yesterday to packet pick-up.  I am so glad my nephew and I went early.  There were so many people and parking was a hassle.

I registered for the The Original 5K.  How many candy bars in the jar?

Thinking of running the BTN Big 10k in July.

My nephew and I had so much fun with the magic tricks from Open Heart Magic.  Sorry it is blurry.

Today I woke up at 5am.  Why so early?  I don’t know.  I tried going back to sleep but couldn’t so I just stayed in bed and finally got up at 6:45.  I got dressed and had breakfast.  I was nervous about the weather because it was in the low 30s.  I was undecided on which long sleeve shirt to wear but finally decided on a black and thin one.

I left at 7:30 to pick up my friend, ABH, to take the train downtown.  Lots of people were on the train going to the race.  We got off on Roosevelt and walked the 8 or so blocks to drop off my bag at the Nike Running tent.  Then we walked to the start line.  I was in Corral F and ABH was in K so I just went to her corral.  It was a long wait.  By then it was a bit warmer so I was grateful for the “late” start.

A little after 9:30 it was time to run.  There were so many people.  I did not wear my headphones but instead just focused on my surroundings and how I was feeling.  Boy oh boy I was feeling really good! I ran nonstop for 3 miles.  That has never happened.  I was planning to take a break to drink the rest of my water at 2.5 miles but instead just kept on going.

Mile 1-9:40

Mile 2-9:03

Mile 3-8:59 Fastest mile!

I remember stopping at mile 4 because I had a side stitch.

Mile 4-9:48 Slowest mile.

I looked at my watch and knew that I had a good chance of a PR.  However, I did not know it was going to be by almost 5 minutes.  I just ran and ran without stopping.

Once I was back at Michigan Avenue, I knew I was almost done.  I just had to conquer a “hill”.  I’ve walked this “hill” at every race but this time I was determined to run it at a slower pace.  I succeeded! Once I made it to the top and turned left, I just ran to the finish line.

Mile 5-9:43

Done!  Finish time is 48:38.  I couldn’t believe it when I saw it on my watch.

Overall it was a great race.  I was a bit nervous about the weather but it turned out to be great.  My only complaint is that there were so many walkers in the middle of the street.  There is nothing wrong with walking.  I’ve done my share of walking during a race but I’ve always moved to the right side of the street/road.  During this race I kept moving left and right to pass the walkers.  It was a bit annoying but I did what I had to do to get to the finish line.  🙂

After the race I went with ABG and her sisters to Waffles Cafe.  The food and coffee was delicious.

Next race is the Chicago Lakefront 50K on Saturday.