Shamrock Shuffle

We did it!! Johnny and I completed our first road race!!!! We joined 25,000 people at Grant Park in downtown Chicago at 9:30 a.m. to run an 8K (4.97 miles).

I cannot tell you how much fun this was! I highly anticipated this event, but I didn't really know what to expect. It was better than I ever imagined. These are the top things I enjoyed, and not in any particular order:

1) Cheering fans that yelled, "go runners!", making me happily realize that they were yelling for me! I was a runner!!

2) Thousands of runners covering the entire road and as far ahead as I could see. We were all out there for the same reason--run an 8K!

3) Running through downtown Chicago. What an amazing sight to weave through the huge buildings, cross the Chicago River (twice) and come around the corner near the finish line right by Lake Michigan. Simply incredible.

4) The weather. (Yes Jeff, my favorite topic!) I was very upset because the last few years the Shamrock Shuffle has enjoyed great spring weather. I knew that it was time for a cold one. Plus, after the winter we've had, I didn't see the sun making an appearance on March 30. I was right. The internet projected rain showers, high of 38 but (at the time of our run) but that it would feel more like 31. Brrrr. I guess the cute Nike sport top and dry fit shorts I got for the occasion would be better left in my dresser drawer. So, I wore my Nike pants, lined with Hot Chillys (from my high school skiing days--yippee, they still fit!), a sports top, a long sleeved dry fit top, a dry fit jacket, gloves, and a head band to cover my ears. I was a little chilly, but not too bad. Johnny on the other hand was not quite as excited about the event as I was and didn't think a whole lot about what he would wear. He ended up in shorts, two layers of long sleeved dry fit shirts, a baseball cap, and well, not much else. If he had owned a pair of pants he would have gladly worn them, trouble is, he is still operating off of a scanty Dallas wardrobe (for running clothes anyway!) I think he was half frozen when I caught up to him after the race, but he did survive with no frost-bite. ANYWAY, I was slightly chilly before the running actually began, but once I started running, it was perfect! No sun beaming down and making me hot, no wind to run against, just a crisp day for an 8K! I loved it!

5) The volunteers that stood out in the cold to hand out water and gatorade to "the runners." Not only did they hydrate us but they were very encouraging as well!

6) FINISHING my first race! I was tired and happy to see the finish line!

7) My training paid off! Before I got semi-serious about running, the best I could do was run 2 miles in about 22 minutes. I am pleased to report that I ran the entire 5 miles, without stopping once, and my official chip time was 48 minutes, 21 seconds. Folks, that is a sub-10 minute mile, a feat I had never before accomplished! Johnny had a great time as well, 43 minutes and 45 seconds (a sub-9 minute mile.) We won't talk about the fact that he trained a handful of times for this event vs. my run 6 days a week regimen and still beat me by nearly 5 minutes. Seriously, over the past 5 weeks I ran over 100 miles!!!

8) The post-race party! I had a great time hanging out with friends from Johnny's work. And I thoroughly enjoyed the very large burger and french fries! Here is a pic from the after-party. All of these people ran the race! Yay us!
I did go see a sports doc for the pain I keep having in my hip. (It caused a nagging pain all throughout the race and was very sore afterwards.) Luckily I don't have a stress fracture so I can continue running, but I will have to go to Physical Therapy for a few weeks to strengthen my hip an quad muscles. Evidently the tear I have in my right quad muscle that I earned playing soccer a few years ago is unable to absorb the shock of my running and has made my hip work over-time. But, not to worry, if I work to strengthen them both, I should be back in business soon. I plan to run a 10K in early June.

As for the marathon, I'm still working up to it....