Yuengling Shamrockers - Race reports

[spunkypenguin]

This was my first half and I'm SO glad I chose this race.  It was an awesome experience!  I did the Dolphin Challenge, so I ran in the 8k yesterday, too.

I didn't have any time goals for the 8k since I was saving my energy for the 1/2 today.  I just had fun checking out the scenery and everyone's costumes! This was my first really big race w/ corrals and all.  It did annoy me a little that walkers were in the earlier corrals than me (I ran ~10:45mm) - dodging them was a bit of a pain.

There was some unexplained delay in getting off today.  I don't think the first corral went out until 15 min after the scheduled start and I was a ball of nervous energy, so that kind of sucked.  They were quick getting people through once they did start going.  We were in corral 7 and started just about 7min after "gun time."  I was running with two other friends and it was a little crowded for the first couple miles and then in patches throughout, but I kind of expected that knowing we were going to be running 3 abreast the whole time.

There was awesome course support - tons of people, kids, pets out cheering us on.  There were also several "beer stops" that locals put together, which I thought was really cool.  I couldn't even drink my free Yuengling after the race, much less have beer during, but it added a fun element to the course.  Checking out all the costumes was another highlight of this race.  There was never a shortage of things to see and keep you distracted and motivated.

My friends struggled a little, but we all stuck together.  Finishing down the boardwalk was amazing - it's my favorite place in the world to run!  I live in WV, so I trained at mild elevation with ridiculous hills, so running flat felt A-mazing.  We crossed the finish at 2:24:01 for a perfect 11mm pace.  My goal for this race was to just finish under 2:30, so I succeeded!  I had a stretch goal of finishing under 2:20, but I'm happy with my time for my first.  When I initially registered in June last year, my predicted finish time was 3hrs!  I'm amazed at how much I've improved since then! I still had gas in the tank at the finish, so that's a good sign in my book

The weather was perfect for running.  It was a little windy along the ocean front stretches, but by then it felt pretty good.  Once you cooled down and got through the medals & food chute, it was downright FREEZING!  Thankfully the finisher item was a blanket this year!  Everyone bundled right up.

I am pretty sure I've lost my mind!  I'm already looking at what my next race(s) are going to be.  I have several that I want to do and might just become a Half Fanatic by summer!  I already signed up for the VA Wine Country Diva Half in September and as soon as I can waddle over to my wallet, I'm going to pull the trigger on registering for the Kent Island, MD metric marathon on April 14!

How did all the other Shamrockers do??

[MrsE]

Congratulations on a great race!

I didn't race this, but my sister, her bf, and several of my friends ran and they all PRed! I'm so proud of my sister! We ran RNR VB together in August and she had a rough race but she PRed today by about 40 minutes! I heard that although it was cold, it was much better than the heat and humidity of RNR. Congrats again and congrats to anyone else who ran Shamrock!

[spunkypenguin]

RnR goes over bridges apparently? (That's what a friend of mine said about her experience) This does not go over any bridges. It's a great PR course and the weather was perfect to me (low 40s) - not too hot and not too cold. It was just after the finish when you're walking around in the wind with sweaty clothes on

[kams]

Congratulations! The progress between your predicted time in June & your actual time is phenomenal! Great job!

[Wines Not Whines]

Congrats on a great race! Two races, actually. You totally rocked!

[jchokie79]

Wow, your time was awesome!!! Congratulations! Aren't races so addicting!?

[Deleted]

Congratulations! That's an awesome time. I was in corral 7 too! This was my first as well. My goal was 2:30, and I finished at 2:36 which I can live with (I'm blaming it on waiting in line for the bathroom around mile 2).

I thought it was a great race. I think I might be addicted too.

[sunshinejoy]

I just wanted to congratulate you! I used to follow your blog and you look amazing! Congrats on your first half! I have mine coming up in a couple months so I hope I can do as good as you did!

[humpforfree]

Dang! I didn't see this before I posted! I got a 14 min pr and finished in 2:28!! You did you awesome! I was half looking for you but figured you would be ahead of me the whole time

[humpforfree]

Oh! And if there are still spaces available you should do the Frederick half in may! It was my first last year and I loved it- tons of course support and relatively flat.

[D2M]

Congrats on an awesome first half!

[cinco]

Congrats! You have come so far this past year. You should be really, really proud.

[spunkypenguin]

Mar 17, 2013 18:36:54 GMT -5 humpforfree said:

Oh! And if there are still spaces available you should do the Frederick half in may! It was my first last year and I loved it- tons of course support and relatively flat.

awesome job! There were so many people there, I couldn't even find my other friends and lost the two running by my side a couple times!

I am pretty sure I am going to sign up for the nut job challenge @ frederick! I want that medal!!

[cinco]

Mar 17, 2013 20:55:52 GMT -5 spunkypenguin said:

Mar 17, 2013 18:36:54 GMT -5 humpforfree said:

Oh! And if there are still spaces available you should do the Frederick half in may! It was my first last year and I loved it- tons of course support and relatively flat.

awesome job! There were so many people there, I couldn't even find my other friends and lost the two running by my side a couple times!

I am pretty sure I am going to sign up for the nut job challenge @ frederick! I want that medal!!

This is one of my favorite races! Do it!

[spunkypenguin]

I'm already running a 10k that Saturday morning, so I will be super nut job who runs 6.2, drives 2hrs, hits the expo, runs 3.1 then gets up for another 13.1! I think you ladies have talked me into it! I'm originally from MoCo, so I still have friends/fam in the area

[sadlebred]

Congratulations!