Shamrock Shuffle

Running since the Gasparilla Races in February has been a challenge. I have not been able to run my 3 X’s a week in the am recently due to my morning mom partner being out indefinitely for medical reasons. I have tried to make a few new running changes that have not worked including: gym sitters (kids both got very sick & they have closed it unexpectedly two times on me in the past 2 weeks), paid sitters (none available), family sitters (not available), stroller run (screaming, kicking child that learned how to get out of the Bob). I would run on my own in the early am however crime has been an issue and my spouse is not comfortable with it. My gym does not open early enough to go before my traveling spouse needs to leave for work. So I am still working on a fix….details in upcoming posts.

So how did I think my Shamrock Shuffle run would go only having run 1-2 at max per week during March? I thought I could get through it fine just nothing major, go and enjoy the race. I signed up for this race for the fun factor; it is a similar route to the Chicago Marathon with a crowd similar to help me mimic race day conditions. This race to me also signals the start of spring and race season in Chicago. Since I could not go for a goal I went for fun and hopefully one cute picture.

Race day plan was to run by heart rate since I knew my GPS would not be accurate for a majority of the route. I planned for miles 1-2 HR 140 cap, miles 2-3 cap of 150-160, all out to what I could tolerate last 3-4.97 miles. I was able to stick to my plan, enjoy the race and can you believe it….a PR of 4 minutes and 18 seconds! I did over heat a bit since the race day called for low 40’s at the start (I am cold almost always) but ended up more in the low 50’s. I think I would have done even better if I was not wearing as many layers but I think I got my other goal of a cute picture.