Shamrock Shuffle 8k 2017 {Race Recap}

I ran my 6th Shamrock Shuffle 8k on Sunday. Although it's an extremely large race, I love it because the course is like a mini version of the Chicago marathon. There's very few times you can run on closed streets through Chicago- otherwise it's lakefront running the rest of the time.


L and I met up with our MRC Chicago team members for a pre race photo. This year we had 5 teams running in the shamrock! We all had good runs and absolutely smashed our goal of having the most fun. Join us on May 6th for our next run. Info {HERE}


Bag check was a breeze and I waited in a seemingly endless portalet line while counting down the minutes to the corrals closing- surprisingly people finally got a sense of urgency and the line moved quickly. I got into the back of corral A (my usual spot so I don't get trampled) and took a few pics of downtown when all of a sudden, Pete B flew into my frame!


We met up with Eric and Jeff and waited for the race to start.

Since I'd run 13 miles the day before, and 5 miles pre race, my goal was simply to run even splits at a good pace- likely around 7:10-15. Boston marathon training doesn't stop for a fun run.

The gun went off and we inched closer to the start-and then we were off! I saw Kimberly and we chatted a bit while heading into the tunnel. I think we've bumped into each other during the past 3 shamrocks.


I got behind Eric and trailed him for a good 2-3 miles and felt really good. He had just ran a marathon the day before and I was amazed that he felt so good! I crossed the 5k in 22:32.

Around mile 4 I decided to pick up my pace a bit and get done with the race. On Michigan Ave, I saw 2 beautiful border collies and loads of spectators. I knew that it wouldn't be a PR day for me due to all the marathon training Ive been doing, but tried to kick it in the last quarter mile to the finish and break 36:00. Which I missed by 3 seconds. Accurate manual splits below, the buildings screw up the distance.


Final stats:

47th/2256 AG
247th/11305 Women
1191th/19995 OA

MRC Mixed red team: 6th place

I was happy with my effort and somewhat even splits considering my tired legs.


Post race, MRC Chicago met up for beer in the park before heading to brunch at Villains.


I really like the medal- another bottle opener! (Which will likely go into my medal shoebox never to be seen again)


We truly have the best run club ever. I had no idea 2+ years ago that we would have the amazing community that we've built. I'm thankful for run club.


Post post race we went home and chilled out and ordered Chinese food. The pup was tired too.


Housekeeping:

I learned from my last race not to overdress, kind of. I wore a tshirt, but should have worn a singlet because the low-mid 40's with calm conditions at the start meant I'd feel overheated early on.

The capris were also overkill.

I took a salt tab pre race.

I didn't drink any water during the race- it's only 5 miles.

Overall, I was really happy with my effort and clocked my 3rd fastest Shamrock and hit my arbitrary goal of averaging 7:16's.