Shamrock 5 Miler - March 18, 2017
The Tuesday before race day we were hit by a blizzard - white out conditions through most of the day and about 16 inches of snow. As of Wednesday before they were predicting another 5-8 inches of snow on race day
with snow showers starting early and during race time, then ramping up in the afternoon. By Thursday the forecast was looking a bit better - down to an inch during the day with snow showers starting partway through the race. By race morning the snow was thankfully gone from the forecast.
I ran this race in both 2015 and 2016 with most of my winter training having been on the treadmill. With a steady climb for two miles in the middle of the race I was hoping that this year's outdoor training throughout the winter would have a positive effect on my time. I was looking for a PR which would be under 47:48.
The weather ended up being great - no snow and about 29 degrees. I would have preferred a bit warmer, but was happy with no precipitation. Fortunately the race has use of the school where the race started/finished, so we didn't have to freeze waiting for the start. The parking situation was bad - usually there's parking along some nearby streets after the lot is full, but with Tuesday's blizzard that wasn't possible. DH dropped me and the girls off to pick up our bibs while he parked.
Getting everything ready before the race
First up was the kids' fun run. DD11 and DD6 were both participating. My younger daughter wanted someone to run along with her, but at 2 minutes to start DH still wasn't back from parking. I was trying to figure out where I was going to dump our winter coats and race goodie bag (which contained a liter of soda! among other things) so I could do it, but DH showed up just in the nick of time!
She was really working hard at the end!
Happy girls with medals
I didn't end up doing a warm-up for this race. They have a two mile race right before the five mile that uses the drive and parking area for the finish. With all the snow on the ground there really wasn't any place to warm up and not interfere with the 2 miler.
The first mile was a little congested, but then it spread out since it wasn't a big race. Not too far in I felt my right shoe loosening despite adjusting it right before the start. So annoying! I think my fingers were so cold I just didn't get it tight enough. I finally had to stop and retie it just after mile two.
The first mile was warming up - the second mile I bumped the pace a bit faster, but was remembering there was a long hill to come. Miles three and four were a steady uphill. I felt pretty good throughout them, trying to keep a steady-feeling pace without burning out before the top. Last year I really struggled on the hill and I was focused on keeping a steady pace throughout the hill (though it may have been slower than the previous miles) and not slowing down as the hill went on.
About the first 3/4 of the last mile was a significant downhill. I used that to my advantage and went with it, keeping my feet moving as quickly as possible, knowing there was just 1/4 mile flat with a little blip left after that. My split for the race - 9:46, 9:32, 9:58, 9;29, 7:52. I felt like I was flying for the last mile - mid-7 minute mile for the downhill portion and then slowed some on the flat to the finish. During that I was thinking - some people run whole marathons at a pace faster than this - wow!
I ended up finishing in 47:06 - a PR by 42 seconds!
Very happy with this race - next up, a quarter marathon in 2 weeks!