Shamrock 8K - Race Report

And a great time was had by all...

OK, maybe that should have been the ending to this post, but it also felt like the right way to begin. With the Shamrock 8k as the first race of the season for 11 TRIgirls (and tomorrow's half marathon for a few others) this weekend's races have set the stage for a promising season.

Thank goodness the weather improved from yesterday's pouring rain. Thank goodness eight TRIgirls were able crash at TRIgirl MW's wonderful beach home. Thank goodness we had a great pre-race meal of yummy pizza and a healthy salad - and a relaxed, fun evening of fabulous conversation.

And a big happy birthday to TRIgirl TD!

Now on to the actual race report...

Pre-Race Registration and Expo - Smooth as silk - and great deals on sneakers and training gear (and yay - finally found my Mizuno sneakers - in pink - at a terrific price).

Weather - Chilly, windy, but clear. I'm guessing the temperatures were in the 30s with wind gusts up to 15-20 miles per hour. But the rain was gone - and for most of the morning, the sun shined down to warm us up just enough for good race conditions. A few times, the wind would whip between the buildings to surprise a bit, but overall, it wasn't too bad.

Course - Virginia Beach has a very flat course that runs through a "strip" of restaurants and shops, as well as a nice concrete boardwalk for the last mile or so. It was great to run with TRIgirl MW for the first half the race - until she picked up the pace a bit more than I thought I could handle. For the last few miles, had the weather been warmer or less windy, I would have positioned myself along the closest perimeter to the ocean. But since the wind was in my face at this point - I tried to plop myself in the middle of the boardwalk.

Times - I think every TRIgirl had a good race. Some ran the distance without walking for the first time - some took off signifcant times or had PRs. For me, the race was a PR - 48:27, including one mile close to my "new" tempo pace at 9:25 and two miles within reason to my old tempo pace of 9:40. My first mile was not very good - a 10:05 - but mostly because a group of us started so far back, that the first mile became a zig zag game to find an opening to get into the groove. My last .9ish mile, though I felt like I was pushing it, was also at a slower pace - probably around 10+/mile.

I went into the race just wanting to finish at a sub 10 minute/mile pace - which I did - possibly for the first time ever for an official race (there may be one 5K from my younger days, but I am not sure). But after hearing about the major gains by a few TRIgirls, I started to feel like my 3-5 minute improvement from previous 8Ks really wasn't a big deal. My progress in this whole exercise thing is so painstakenly slow at times.

And then I wondered if I just set the "bar" too low. I was a special education teacher for nine years - and became an expert at setting reasonable, reachable goals for my students, breaking down their learning tasks into realistic chunks that they could attain.

Am I breaking down my own training too far? Should I be setting goals a bit further ourside my comfort zone?

Then I decided to just stop over analyzing the situation.

Could I have ran faster? Maybe.

Did I have a better time than ever? Yes.

And, most importantly, did I have fun? Yes.

It was a beautiful day and I participated in an event with some of my favorite people. From piling into MW's SUV to find parking - to celebrating in the race tent with beers (just a sip or two for this wine loving TRIgirl) and at a local bagel shop for breakfast - I reminded myself of all the things I should be grateful for this race weekend.

...and a great time was had by all.