Shamrock 8k

To say I didn't want to do the Shamrock 8k last weekend would be an understatement. All week I was bitching and moaning about the race and trying to figure out ways to get out of doing it. Stomach ache? Leg strain? Paper cut? I would try anything. But with my sister running the marathon the day after my race... it was kinda hard to back out. So with a kick in the butt from the family, I did it.

After a long day of work on Friday I came home and the last thing I wanted to do was drive to the beach to get my packet. But the Momsters convinced me to go and went with me. The expo looked cool, but I was ravenous, so hanging around the expo did not interest me. So we went home, ate dinner, and all headed to bed for an early morning wake up call.
The morning of the race I was feeling better and getting in the mode of racing. I figured it was too late to back out now since the Mom, Jen and Scottie were all going with me. Traffic was horrendous and my oatmeal started to taste more and more like Elmer's glue with every bite, but we eventually made it. The start line was crowded and the spitting rain was not fun. Since we got there at the crack of dawn, there was lots of waiting around, which did not help my nerves.

I finally made it to my corral and waited to scoot to the start line. I ended up basically walking the whole way up to the start next to the family. Which provided great photo opportunities...
Finally at the start and we were off. I had a nice steady pace in the beginning since my past couple of races I found myself start off with too much umf.
I was almost at the 1st mile marker when I saw a friend from high school, so I slowed down to say hey. After a quick chat I took off because they were already walking and I was not trying to walk the whole thing. I did get a fun crown out of the chat because my friend did not like running with something on her head. I said I'm used to running with things on my head... think Wicked 10k.
The rest of the race was just a normal race, nothing odd or bad went wrong. No cramps, pain, nothing. I was super pleased. I ran with no ipod, so I had the chance to take in the scenery and interact with the people around me. There was a little girl who was running about the same pace as me, so jokingly I asked her Dad if she could be my pacer. He laughed and said sure and the rest of the race the little girl would look around to make sure I was near. She was super cute, but as I saw the finished I picked up the pace and had to leave them. I did thank her for pacing me and she smiled... what a cool kid. I always find the kids in any situation to hang out with.
As I was approaching the finish, I saw the family and kicked it into finish mode. It is amazing the juice your legs get when the finish line is near. Crossing the finish line felt great and I was super happy I ended up doing the race. My final time was 1:04:40. I was hoping to get a little closer to an hour, but I am still very happy with it. Especially since I didn't really train for it... like at all.
After the race we started to wait in line for the beer tent, but it was sooooo long and I was not ready to wait. So we ended up heading over to Pelon's for some breakfast burrito. Yes, now I remember why I run.
As usual, the race made me feel really good and now I want to sign up for another one. But I think I will stick to the 5k for now until I can get into a regular training routine. For now though, I will look forward to my first sprint triathlon in June. I promise I am really training for that one!