1999 LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle 8k

LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle 8k
Chicago, IL
March 28, 1999

This is a little delayed, I've been pretty busy these days. I ran the Shamrock Shuffle 8k in Chicago last Sunday. Others have reported on it--sorry I missed all of you! Well, my goal for this race was to have fun and take it easy. I felt a little guilty doing this run because I was scheduled to do a long run of about 15 miles--which I didn't make up--but oh well, hopefully I'll survive this Sunday's long run. 8-)

I drove downtown and after driving around for 5-10 min I found a (free) parking spot. I headed over to a meeting place that I established for my coworkers who were also participating (corporate team). At around 9:10 we took a group picture and a few minutes later headed over to the start. A few of my team members and I fit ourselves into the crowd a little bit behind the middle of the pack. I crossed the start line a minute after the gun went off and was on my way.

Of course, as others have noted, the start of the race is a bit slow, but I think I lined up at the right place as I had no problem with having to pass huge amount of people, and not too many people passed me. I planned to run the first 3 miles very easy, and then try to speed up a little for the last ~2. As we ran towards and among the buildings in the Loop, everyone howled and the sounds reverberated, which is a pretty neat highlight of this race--it happens every year, like a ritual.

The first three miles flew by (not that I was going fast ;-)) - 11:14, 10:41, 10:48. After the mile three marker I decided to pick up speed a little bit, saving the last mile for the harder effort. Straight down Jackson, listening to what I thought was a military squad of some sort because they were doing military chants, which was fun to hear. Mile 4 was 10:23, still slow, but faster.

The last mile is where I started to speed up and sprinted to the finish line with a final ~mile in 9:57, actually a few seconds faster since I forgot to hit the stop button on my watch. My watch time read 53:03 and an official time of 54:14. Not fast at all for me, but I wasn't trying anyway. It's ironic (or pitiful!) that I ran Chicago 'thon 98 at a faster pace. :-) Maybe next year I'll actually make an effort to train for this one, since lately I've been doing too few tempo runs and my short and long run paces are almost the same.

Congrats to all other Shammy Shuffle runners!

Happy running,

Kelly

1999 March Madness Half Marathon

March Madness Half Marathon
Cary, IL
March 7, 1999

I ran the March Madness 1/2 Marathon in Cary, IL today. I found that I know why it is called what it is called. Infamous for usually having bad weather during the race, I was blessed this year (being a rookie with this race, I had to have the least handicap as possible!) with the temp right around freezing, lots of sun, and only a light breeze. My primary goal was to survive, as this is dubbed the most challenging course in the CARA (Chicago Area Runners Assn) Circuit--hills throughout. It would make me happy just to finish in under 2:30, which is a bit slower than my pace during Chicago *Marathon* last year, but I've been stricken with indolence this past winter, so I had to be realistic.

Anyway, I watched the 10k'ers start (15 min before us), and started to look around for any Dead who were planning on being there. I was unsuccessful in my search, so I lined up, towards the back, waiting for the gun to go off for the start. Bang! The gun sounded at 9:50am and we were off. About a 1/4 mile into the race I noticed the bulk of the runners pull away from me, and, trying not to be discouraged that I might be either last or close, I made sure my pace was modest, because I still had 13 miles to go.

The miles went by, hilly (by midwestern standards), but surprisingly doable. I ended up running most of the race near this man who was wearing a Joe Camel windbreaker--kind of made me laugh that he was wearing something like that. I would pass him on the uphills, and he would take advantage of the downhills and pass me, and sometimes I just wish that he would pull away or fall back because I just wanted to focus on myself, but that didn't happen until much later.

Lots of country--woods and prairie conservations--were nice to look at during the race, with the trees wearing snow that had fallen yesterday and the day before--really pretty. We also ran through pleasant subdivisions containing nice, big houses (not mansions), but that was fun. The miles, though I was running them slowly, went by fast, and I was still doing well with the hills until about mile 10.

Mile 10 was the point where I really started to hate the hills, because they kept on coming! I resorted to walking the uphills, and then try to take as much advantage with the downhills (who care about my quads?). By then, I had finally been able to pull away from Joe Camel guy; I guess he started having problems with the hills as I was.

I passed Mile 12, and trying the ignore how stiff and sluggish my quads felt, kept up the pace, this time running the uphills, making sure that I used what little was left I had saved for this time of the race. I turned onto the final road, the home stretch, hit mile 13, and hammered it in to the finish chute, happy that I had made both goals--surviving and getting in before 2:30. My final time, on my watch, was 2:25:51, and official clock time is probably 30-40 seconds more.

I went to get my food and some warmth in the gym (it was held at a local high school), where I picked up my banana and pretzel. I walked out of the gym and into right outside the cafeteria, and stood there for a little bit when I saw Dead Penny McCreight. I went up to her and introduced myself, referring to when I met her at a race last Labor Day, and she didn't recognize me at first. After a few minutes, though, it clicked and Penny burst, "Oh, Kelly! Nice to see you!" Penny, Tom Semesky who also was there, camera around his neck, and I chatted a little bit, and we tried to find Dead Dan Brown, as Penny had been able to meet him. We walked into the cafeteria and as Dan walked past, Penny flagged him down so that we could meet. Nice to have met you, Dan!

After that I headed back to my car, parked about 1/2 mile away. I was starting to really freeze so I ended up running there. I changed my shirt and turned up the heat to "melt mode" and headed on my way home.

This was a good race, next year I'll try not to be so lazy in my winter training and conquer all of the hills that will still be there next year.

Well, I probably should stop now, as this post has already gone too long, and I've got a Chemistry paper to write, and a final exam to study for! Eek!

Happy running,

Kelly