Shamrock 5K Recap

Well let’s get into it, shall we?

Unofficial 5K Results...):

Watch time: 27:41 (Um, can we say, PR!!! by a lot…)

Official Time: 27:40 (8:55 average pace, what!?)

75/988 Age Group (25-29)

288/4450 Overall Females

992/6400 Overall

And now, the recap:

My mom wanted to watch us run, so she parked over by our house (to avoid the crowd that would inevitably be conglomerated near the race start/finish area) and we walked to the starting area. We arrived with about 10 minutes to spare, got a “before” pic taken by my mom, then separated from her to find our pace group. We decided to line up in the 9-10 min/mi pace group, since that fits our PR pace, but there were too many people. We couldn’t even line up in the street, we were standing in the grass behind rows of people in our “corral”. Luckily, we didn’t get stuck on the grass while people in slower pace groups passed us by toward the start. It did take us at least 8 minutes to cross the starting line, which I’m sure could have been worse, but it soon became evident that either we, or those grouped around us, were not lined up in the appropriate pace group…

Mile 1:

After crossing the starting line, it was again time to dodge, duck, dive and dodge. Maybe people were starting out slow, but why were some people walking? And why were some people (ok, one guy) stopping in the middle of the stampede to tie their shoes. I mean, come on! I almost took out a photographer early on, trying to get around the shuffling runners. It started to dawn on me that maybe, just maybe, many of these people haven’t run a running race before (not that that’s a bad thing), and that maybe they don’t know what a 9-10 min/mi really is…

Anyway, I’m sure it could have been worse, but I would rather use the energy I wasted dodging people, you know, on running. The first mile was spent mostly just jockeying for position. I’m fairly certain we were passing people in earlier pace groups…oops! I had written the cross streets for the mile markers on my wrist, so I was able to keep track of our pace throughout the run, although I had to use some mad math skillz to get it done. (Happy Pi day by the way!) Mile 1: 9:20 (stupid dodging)

Mile 2:

Mile 2 was definitely the most difficult. It is almost entirely a gradual uphill climb, for 1. whole. mile. We haven’t done much hill training, but I don’t think it will hurt us to start! This is where my lungs started talking back to me. I was definitely tempted to walk, especially seeing other people struggling, but I pushed through. J was with me the entire time. He kept looking back in such great spirits. His lungs didn’t hurt. Jerk. (J/k!) We continued passing people while going up hill. Let me tell you, dodging people while you’re struggling is even harder than when the road is flat! I could see our turn coming and couldn’t wait to get there. From there on out it was either downhill or flat, a very welcome relief. Mile 2: 9:10 (take that you stupid hill!)

Mile 3:

Finally we turned off Broadway, and my spirits rose; the worst was over! And what did I see coming up? A water station! The first one I’ve ever experienced in a race. Huzzah! I just had to try it (and I was thirsty before we had finished mile 1!) I was already running on the left side (where the water station was located). I slowed down, just slightly, to meet the pace of the other runners coming through the station. I grabbed the cup, some water splashed out of the cup and hit my hand, but most made it through the ascent to my lips. I took my sip, tossed toward the trash can (there’s a reason I’m not a basketball star ladies and gentlemen) and then someone stopped dead in front of me. I had no choice but to slow to a near halt to glide around. Another women, who I assume had been following me until this point, then ran into me me. Ahh, this must be the joys of the water station. Luckily everyone made it out alive. Sorry’s were exchanged. And the race continued.

After the water station, we found our way on to the most glorious downhill in all the land. It really wasn’t long, but we had definitely earned it! We took off, allowing the hill to help us back down to Naito, the final stretch of the race. There was definite crowd dodging to be had, and some sudden stops as people abruptly started walking. (Really?! It’s downhill, you’re almost to the end!) Alas, the hill ended far too soon, but as we turned I could see the finish line ahead. And let me tell you, it looked so far away!

I was definitely suffering during the last mile. But I knew I had to keep pushing because, looking at my watch, we were definitely on track to smother my sub-29:00 goal. My lungs were burning the most. I couldn’t feel any pain in my legs. But oddly enough, my right shoulder hurt, and my right arm was numb. I hypothesize that this is due to me using my right arm as my “shield arm” as I was dodging people, just in case someone took an unexpected turn while I was passing! Finally we were under the bridge. Only 0.1 mile to go! Mile 3: 8:30 (whoa! This might not be completely accurate as my brain was swimming by this time. But if it is inaccurate, it would have to be too slow, as you will see in our final 0.1 mile split).

Last 0.1 mile:

We were almost there, it just didn’t look like it to my eyes. My lungs were burning really bad by this point, but I wanted to finish as strong as I could. I set my legs into “final kick mode”. We were dodging people all the way through the finish chute, but we did it! I looked at my watch after I stopped it. 27:41! Holy moly! Now that would put our final 0.1 miles at 40 seconds which is a 6:40 pace. Accurate? Will never know. All I know is we were really flying at the end!

We removed our chips and exited the crowd. I was spent. I know I left it all out there on the road, as it should be. J on the other hand said he could have gone faster…Maybe that’s because I beat him by 1 sec ;). As we were exiting the chute, this older guy came up to us and told us he saw me taking good care of J. LOL. I guess all men need to be taken care of sometimes! ;)

We found my mom, miraculously! Found the beer, miraculously! (The race was sponsored by Widmer and there wasn’t any Drop Top?! FAIL!) We finished refueling/rehydrating, then headed home. A fairly successful outing if I do say so myself!

In other news (as promised in yesterday’s post): We are officially signed up for the Bridge to Brews 10K! Yay! I’m so excited. After we finished today, we realized we are totally ready to expand our racing repertoire! And to top it off, it takes place April 18, which just so happens to be our 1 Year Anniversary!! We are officially running dorks! Hopefully, since this race ends at Widmer’s frickin’ brewery, there will be some Drop Top to enjoy!! :)

Additionally, after all of my awesome, most likely slightly inaccurate, pace calculating today, we have decided to take the plunge and get a Garmin. I’ve been wanting one, but what with being injured and all, it didn’t seem worth the price. But I think I have mostly recovered (as long as I continue to take care of myself!) and we have now officially completed 4 runs this week, PAIN FREE!!!! We ordered it today, so hopefully we’ll have it up and running in a weeks time!

I know there’ll be some pictures of us at the race, so I'll post them once I get them!