Shamrock Half Marathon 2008

Shamrock 2008

This year we stayed at a hotel just five minutes from the start…so on such a windy and drizzly morning, it was nice to leave last minute to get to our corral. We met up with some of our friends that I run with weekly and were able to hang out for the 5-10 minutes before the race. Adelle was doing her first ½ and I was excited for her! Woooo.

My goal this year was just to beat my 2:12 of last years Shamrock, and not repeat the awful race we had in Disney! Thankfully, it was much cooler.

The rain stopped almost exactly as the race began at 7am sharp. We were in the last corral, but it moved quickly. Hubby and I had a plan to go out slow for the first 2 miles and then try to keep it under 10 minute miles after this. The people around us were so dressed up – it was really fun to see what people wear. Green wigs, shamrock tights, funny things on their heads – like big hats! One lady had a plastic bear bottle strapped to her back that was huge and had to be driving her crazy! Somewhere around mile 3 a man had a booth which served beer! Gotta love it, only at Shamrock. No, I didn’t have any.

Mile 4.5 I had my GU (chocolate outrage) in preparation for the water stop. Worked out well. Then we turned into the Army barracks. I noticed that not at many of the men and women were out this year cheering us on OR in the crowds on the street compared to last year. Perhaps the weather scared them off. The ocean on our left was really choppy and pretty to see!

Mile 6, the side of my right knee started to really hurt. By mile 7, I was really in pain and could think of nothing else….BUT we just ran up to the 2:15 pacers and I had to get ahead of them to make my goal. Hubby asked if I wanted to stop or walk…the answer is NO! Mile 8 I was truly hurting and slowed down a bit but still ahead of the pacers. . I was afraid to look back and see how close they were! Had another GU. Chocolate was yummy!

Back on the streets again, we had more of a crowd cheering. I think I zoned out for a bit, tried to listen to my iPod, but felt guilty for wearing it and found it more distracting today than good. Hubby asked at mile 10 or so what my intentions were – meaning keep this pace or kick it up a notch. I had no other notch, unfortunately…but I wanted to keep this pace (around 9:30’s) and try to kick it for the last ½ mile. Passed by the beer person again, contemplated a glass to maybe help my pain level in my leg…but was afraid it may make me nauseated. Energy wise, I was doing good (thanks to the GU I believe) but the darn leg was not happy!

We turned onto the boardwalk, and we picked up the pace The crowds were cheering and I even heard “look how fast they are still going!” from one person. Found that funny…and looked up to see NEPTUNE calling us in. Sooo happy to finish and stop running! Finish time was 2:09, 3 minutes and 19 seconds faster than last year! Woooo.

Today, I’m walking like a penguin and the side of my knee is a bit poofed out. Icing and going into the hottub is helping!

I know I’m not cut out to do full Marathons, and that’s okay. ½ Marathons make me happy and I feel a great sense of accomplishment. I don’t need more than this!