On Sunday I ran my first race of the year–The Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle. It is one of my favorite races. I love the course and the camaraderie. The course begins and ends the same way as the Chicago Marathon.
I was in bed before 10pm on Saturday and woke up Sunday morning a few minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off at 6am. I got up, made coffee, and changed. I was out the door at 6:30 and drove to the train station and then made my way downtown.
I saw a friend of mine and we chatted for a few minutes while also walking over to The Congress Hotel for the CARA Shuttle VIP Experience. It was cold and windy so I was happy with having a warm area to hang around before the race. I did not stay too long because I was meeting a few of The Chicago Running Bloggers at 7:30 for a photo. Then I chatted with a few of them before heading over to gear check. I had left mine at the hotel but still tagged along.
Around 8:10 I made my way over to Corral C. For a moment I warmed up because the sun was out but then it decided to be cruel and hide again. Oh well, I knew I would start running soon and would warm up. I had compression socks, shorts (don’t ask me why I wore shorts, because I don’t even know), sparkly skirt, short sleeve shirt, two long sleeve shirts, and a mylar blanket. The plan was to toss the blanket as soon as the race started and one of the long sleeve shirts once I was warm enough. I did the former but not the latter.
Finally it was time to run. I always start off too fast but somehow did not do so this time. In fact mile 1 was my slowest one (11:48). Now I know why I was feeling really good. 🙂 It wasn’t as crowded as it has been in previous years. I was fearing for the wind but cannot remember when I first felt it. I just remember it being BRUTAL! I stopped for a few seconds to catch my breath and then moved along. My plan was to not stop at all but instead to slow down. For the most part I was able to do that but there was a slight incline with more wind around mile 3.5. I walked again and felt much better.
I stopped one more time after mile 4 but knew that I had to keep on running because I was so close to the finish line. I managed to run slowly up Mount Roosevelt, then made a left, and saw the finish line. I ran as fast as I could and was finally done.
Overall it was a GREAT race. It was windy but I am glad it did not rain. I got my medal and went back to The Congress Hotel to warm up and get my bag. There I saw Tiffany and her fiance, Harry. It was great catching up with her.
Next race: Live Grit Lakefront 10 Miler, April 18.