Shamrock Shuffle 8K Race Recap

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On Sunday I ran my first race of the year – The Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K.  It was my 10th time running that race with the first time being in 2006.  This race is always a fun one and is the start of the official running season in Chicago.

Saturday morning I went to the expo to pick up my packet.  There were hardly any vendors there.  It was a very small place for an expo.  In previous years it’s been held in a much bigger room.  A friend had mentioned that it was a small expo but I had to see it with my own eyes.  I was there for about 20 minutes.  I was supposed to be in Wave 2, Corral F or G but went to Participant Services and asked to be moved to Wave 1. 

I tried kombucha and did not like it.  

The shirt and socks are cute!

I bought two Sparkly Soul headbands.  

Sunday morning it was another cold morning.  I am over this cold weather.  I know I’ve run on so many cold days but mentally I am done with it.  I want some warm weather!

My cat woke me up at 4:30 am.  She didn’t care that I wanted to sleep in till 6 because I had a race.  She just wanted to eat.  I got up, got ready, had a protein bar with coffee, and drove to the train station.  I was supposed to meet the Oiselle gals at the Hilton Chicago for a group photo.

After the photo I left to use the bathroom again  Then I walked to the race to drop off my gear and do a 20 minute warm up.  I was also supposed to meet Wendy since we were both in the same corral.  Unfortunately I didn’t meet up with her.  I did my warm up but had to cut it short by 1 minute because I was supposed to be at the corral entrance by 8:20 and I was afraid that I would be too late.  I wasn’t.  There were so many people still trying to get in after 8:20.

Even though it was sunny, it was still VERY COLD.

I waited in my corral for 15 minutes before I began running.  I removed the auto lap function on my watch because the buildings always seem to mess up the satellite signal. 

I felt good for 3 miles (10:19, 9:31, 9:44).  I ran nonstop.  I didn’t stop for any water or Gatorade.  I had 3 layers on and was not cold.  I remember last year it was windy but this time it wasn’t too bad.  Mile 4 (10:23) is when I began to get tired and walked a bit.  I told myself to slow down instead of walking but that didn’t happen.  I was surprised at how well I did for mile 5 (10:06) because I walked the small hill that is right before the finish line, and once I made it to the top, I ran as fast as I could.

Finish time is 50:03.  

My PR is 48:38 from 2014.  You bet that over the years I’ve been wanting to better that time.  Last year my finish time was 56:26.  I am pleased that I bettered my time by more than 6 minutes.  To me that is a HUGE accomplishment!  

After my run I did a 20 minute cool down.  Then I went to get my bag and some pizza because I was hungry.  I checked out the beer tent but had no desire to drink beer.  Everyone there was having a good time.

I was about to leave when a friend saw me.  I ended up talking to her while she waited for the rest of her family.  They were going out for breakfast and I decided to go with them.  

We walked to the train station and I got VERY COLD again.  Once on the train I was still cold and decided to just go home.  I needed to get out of my wet clothes and take a hot shower.  

Thanks to Athlinks I have a summary of all of my finish times for the Shamrock Shuffle 8K.  Have you checked out Athlinks?  If you haven’t, do so soon and you’ll have access to dates and times for ALL for all of your races.

I am happy I did this race.  It is one of my favorite races.  I will admit that I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t PR because I’ve been doing so well in my training for the Illinois Marathon.  However, I will not dwell on it anymore but instead be happy with how well I did on Sunday.

Linking up with Marcia, Patti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.