Shamrock Shuffle 8k

36:59 avg 7:26/ mile

A 3 minute PR whoo hoo!

I went into this race with one goal in mind- to have fun. A smaller secondary goal was to break 37 minutes. Mission accomplished on all accounts!


I've gotten a little too doughy for my Lulu shorts.

L and I walked over to Grant Park and met up with my friend and fello Fleet Feet Cheer ambassador Vicky- since we were planning on starting together. Getting into the corral was a bit of a cluster because it was the entrance for 3 corrals and there were people checking bibs to ensure people started in the correct herd.


I soon spotted Maggie and we took a quick photo together. (Photo stolen from her)


looking back at 40,000 runners.

While in the back of corral A, I ran in place for 10 minutes to "warmup" as best I could. The plan once I crossed the start was to begin conservatively and then gain momentum and negative split the race.


Looking forward to the start.

Soon we were off on our journey through the streets of Chicago. I purposely started at the back of the A corral so I wouldn't get trampled by the faster people or get caught up and go out too fast. Since the garmin is practically useless due to the tunnel at the start, I had to run by effort- which is difficult since I'm so freaking addicted to my garmin's stats.


Obligatory pre race shoe shot.

Around mile 2 I saw Jenny and Hillary cheering complete with cowbells an vuvuzelas! Somewhere before mile 4 I saw Pete who took some awesome videos of the runners flying by.

As I turned onto Michigan ave around mile 4, the crowds were going crazy with excitement. They gave me even more motivation to keep pushing the pace harder. I flew up the "hill" on Roosevelt ave and passed more runners, and just locked onto the finish. After doing some quick math, I decided to try to run hard to break 37:00.


At the finish I met back up with Vicky who also had wonderful day of Shamrocking through Chicago. PR city baby!


Garmin Splits vs Official Shamrock Splits

I manually lapped each mile because I knew the garmin would not be too accurate due to the tunnel and buildings. At each mile and also the 5k mark, there were timing mats to record our splits. I'm not sure why the 2 are so different. But either way, I negative splitted the race! I was happy to cross the 5k mark in 23:21, which would be one of the fastest 5ks I've clocked in a while.


After I finished I went to mile 4 to cheer for L. He was having a banner day also and got 5 minute PR! On our way to brunch I stopped to spectate and hopefully catch my coworker running by (for her longest race yet) but didnt see her.


Post Shamrock Shuffle Brunch

Final Thoughts

While PR's are a fantastic ego boost and a nice way to chart progress, I was more jazzed to be around friends and enjoy the race atmosphere. Hanging with Vicky and Maggie in the corral, then seeing Jenny, Hillary and Pete spectating, and then cheering for L at mile 4 definitely added to the joy i felt taking 3 minutes off last years Shamrock time.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm happy to achieve a new milestone but I'm even more excited that for once I am healthy and have no injuries to speak of. And instead of solely celebrating a PR, I am basking in the fact I can run pain free and enjoy every step, and that I'm much stronger this year than a year ago.



Next up for me is The Soldier Field 10 miler!




- xaar

ShamrockOn, a Shamrock Shuffle Recap

Time: 39:57 a PR by over 2 minutes!!!



Jumping for joy over a 2 minute PR despite being sidelined for 2.5 months. Folks, cross training will help keep most of your fitness!

Pre Race


This was my first "race" post hip flexor strain that I sustained over 2.5 months ago. On average I have been running 5-15 miles a week (and cycling 50-60 miles a week) because the last thing I want is to be injured again.

Wonderful wonderful and I walked over to grand park from our place an hour before the race. It was absolutely stunning out- low to mid 50's, overcast perfect racing conditions! The port o let lines were non existent which was amazing considering the size of the race. After the pit stop we headed over to corral B to wait for the start.


I have to admit I was nervous about this race. Although I did a "Shamrock Shuffle" test run last week and ran a 40:09, I really wasn't sure how running would feel since I haven't been doing much of it lately.


But the goal I had was to beat my BFF Tribu and her time from an 8k a few weeks ago. The plan was to run around 8:00 miles and push at the end. Or self destruct.



The race

Within 2 minutes of hearing the starting air horn, we were off!

It was a smooth start considering the number of participants- over 34,000! I was running by feel (garmin set to manual lap) because the tunnel at the beginning would cause us all to lose our satellite connection.


Mile 1 clocked in at 7:55. I might have gone out a little fast, but was quick to reign myself in and try to stay at a comfortably hard pace.

The rest of the miles flew by at 8:00-8:05 pace. I was pretty consistent!

Mile 4 became a mental game. I started feeling sick, hot and out of breath- I even took some Gatorade! But kept pushing on. "Come on. It's only a mile to go! You can do this!"

I knew by this point that beating my Tribu wasn't going to happen so I pulled everything I had inside of me to push towards the finish to break 40.


With the famous green guys! And they are fast!

Post Race

I can safely say that I left everything out on the course Sunday. I dug deep to finish with a PR despite all the setbacks from the hip flexor injury. I needed to run hard to get those demons out, the frustrations of not being able to participate in a sport I love. It felt damn good And disappointing all at the same time. All those "what if's" came floating into my head- like "what if I never over stretched to cause the hip flexor injury? What would I have been capable of?

I will stop dwelling on the what ifs. I know I'm stronger now and am laying a great foundation for my future running endeavors.


I'm super proud of my WW who broke 50 minutes in his first 8k!! He had just returned from a 10 hour flight the day before and tweaked his ankle running on the lakefront on our way to the expo. He averaged faster during the almost 5 miles than his last few 5ks. :)



What's next?

- hitting 300 cycle/run miles for march.

- base building over the next 7 weeks before official marathon training begins.

- strengthening my weak hips and core.

Shamrock is a fun race that I'm looking forward to doing again next year!

- xaar

Shamrock shuffle 8k

Ran the shamrock shuffle yesterday. It was a huge race!

Time: 42:08
My goal was to beat 44:00. Yay!



There were ample portalets for the 40000 participants.



The location of the corrals was a little confusing.






My new Nike lunaracer +
It was the second time I wore them. I think I prefer the lunaracer +2 better. These seemed a bit stiff.












Walking to the start.
I crossed about 5 minutes after the gun went off.






My garmin lost satellite in the tunnels and I didn't start it on time either. It lost satellite right before I started. So I just ran and started it when I could.

It was hot and there were loads of people.




Awesome pic of me thanks to my wonderful wonderful. (I'm in green)




Celebrated with a delicious bloody Mary post race at custom house tavern.



Mmm crunchy lady sandwich with greens.



I prefer half marathons. I like getting a medal for finishing. I am also not fast and this race was over so quick! I like the longer distances better.

Good race. Well organized. Not sure I'll do it again. But I felt I needed to do it this year because I live in Chicago now.

-Xaar