Zenaida Arroyo

We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida so be sure to link up with us.  For this week’s Fit Five Friday we don’t have a topic but instead, invite you to also join in Runfessions with Marcia.  

I am behind on reading and commenting on posts.  I haven’t forgotten.  I will be catching up in the next couple of days.  For today’s post, I will write about the Shamrock Shuffle 8k.  I ran this fun race on Sunday and am very happy I ran it again.

Here are some fun things about the race:

☘️ It was my 13th year running this race.  My first time was in 2006.  I’ve run it every year since then except for 2009, 2012, 2013, 2020 (it was canceled), and 2021.  I didn’t realize I had missed it many times but remember that one year I missed it because I went to a wedding in Mexico and another time it was because it had snowed the day before and I didn’t want to run in the snow.  🤣

The photo below is from 2007.

☘️ The weather was perfect!  It was in the 30s but no wind.  I wore pants and a thicker wool shirt.  At one point I was actually too warm.  The outfit I had would have been perfect for the NYC Half Marathon.  

☘️ I didn’t train for this race.  It didn’t matter.  I still wanted to run it because it is one of my favorite races.  I had just run a half marathon the week before so what could go wrong?  Absolutely nothing.  I didn’t use the run/walk method but ran by feel.  I felt really good and ran one mile nonstop.  

My PR is 48:38 from 2014.  This year I did better than expected and bettered my time from last year.  All of my finish times have been less than one hour.

☘️ The finish line is the same as the Chicago Marathon.  I dislike the finish line.  To get there you need to run up a bridge.  Why?  Why?  I walked a bit but tried just to keep running.  I don’t think I’ve ever only run up that darn thing.  I was shocked that I ran that last mile in 11:24 and it was also my fastest mile. 

☘️ It is a great race to run in Chicago.  Seriously, this race is so much fun and I love it!  For me, it is easy to get it via public transportation and the 8k distance is just perfect.  I love that packet pickup is easier to get to (at least for me).

The topic for next week:  Ultimate Coffee Date with Coco and Deborah.  We hope you will link up. 

This week’s Fit Five Friday topic:  5 sources of mental clutter for your training.  You can write about this topic or any fitness-related post.  We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida so be sure to link up with us. 

I am going to deviate from this week’s topic to write about the NYC Half Marathon.  It was my first race of the year and my first half marathon in 3 years.  I’ve entered the lottery many times but was never selected.  This year was THE year to go!

Here are some fun things about the race:

🗽 It is a tough course and I didn’t train like I wanted to.  I had a training plan and was determined to follow it but I missed a few runs.  I paid for it.  I walked a lot but at the same time did better than expected.  I was surprised when I saw the finish time on my watch.  It isn’t my worst time.

I used a 5:1 run/walk method.  For the most part, I followed it but there were times when I walked more than run.  

🗽 It was freaking cold and windy in the morning.  I was in Wave 3 with an 8:20 am start time.  I stayed with my nephew in Brooklyn and arrived before 7 am.  I checked my bag and then went through security.  From there it was a 1.5-hour wait time.  I was miserable.  I had a mylar blanket and waited in the sun and those two things helped.  I knew I would warm up once I began running.  I wore a jacket and kept it on until past mile 12 when running in Central Park.

I also wore shorts and I know that didn’t help in the morning.  I had pants on but took them off when I checked my bag.  I should have worn another pair to throw away once the race began.

🗽 It was my first time running in Central Park.  I’ve heard so much about it and was excited to run there.  I walked a few times but don’t know why I didn’t take more photos.

I remember people telling me that I was almost at the finish.  I saw a sign letting me know I still had 800 meters to go.  Then either another sign or someone telling me I had a quarter mile to go.  I was so close to the finish line.  I ran as fast as I could and saw my nephews and one of their girlfriends with about 100 meters to go.  

🗽 There was amazing crowd support!  I am glad I didn’t listen to music like I usually do.  I soaked it all in.  My favorite part was running in Times Square.  The crowd and the lights were magnificent!

🗽 This race gave me a chance to visit my nephews and explore the city.  The last time I was in NYC was in 2008.  It was definitely time to go again.  We had bagels and coffee for breakfast.  For lunch and dinner, we ate Thai food, hot dogs, pizza (was not impressed with the NY style), Szechuan, and sushi.  We went to the 9/11 Memorial and to see “The Book of Mormon”.  Oh, and I drank a lot of beer! 

Will I do it again?  Maybe. 

The topic for next week:  Runfessions with Marcia!  We hope you will link up.