Shamrock Shuffle
Yesterday, [March 15] for the Shamrock Shuffle, I was up by 5am for the race. I set the alarm, but my body knew it was race day a few minutes before it was set to go off. I did my usual pre-race rituals. By 6:45 I made it downtown to the Rupp Arena parking lot and entered the Mall area where registration was taking place. I was already registered and had my packet, but wanted to meet my teammates and generally stay warm. This was the first race of the Central Kentucky Grand Prix racing series, and I am on a co-ed team of fellow Striders. The Rup Arena center area was pretty busy. First there was the Shamrock Shuffle, secondly there was a comic book convention (both events produced some interesting costumes), and thirdly there was some sort of Christian function (sadly fewer costumes from that crowd).
I located fellow Strider Cyndi fairly quickly, sat and relaxed at a table with her for a while before more folks joined us. Eventually I was ready for my warm-ups. I had tapered pretty good, so I did a lot of jogging a striding to get warmed up. It felt pretty good. The weather was about 40 degrees, so I wore running shorts, calf compressions, a fitted Nike training shirt and basketball arm sleeves. I figured the combination worked best for warmth and mobility. Soon I lined up at the start, and we were off.
The course its self is relatively flat and simple, but that’s deceptive. The first mile of the 1.875 mile course was all on a very slight incline. I knew I didn’t want to wear myself out too hard on this section, but I didn’t want to lose a lot of time either. I chose to focus on running a 5K start effort (which usually ends up being a little fast for a 5k). A crowd surged ahead of me, including a 12 year old girl. Some have given me gas about trailing an 11 year old girl in a race; I assure you she was 12 and she was fast. The Garmin hardly gives accurate information in the first half-mile, which indicated I was going at about a 5:57 pace. Not bad for a slight incline I thought. Soon it began to show slowing down to 6:11 about ¾ into the mile. I decided to increase my effort just a bit since this race wasn’t going to last long. I got to the first mile (and turnaround at the same place) in 6:11. With the turnaround I was now on the decline, and with less than a mile to go I ratcheted up the pace. To my relief, I was able to pass the 12 year old. I was going at about a 5:30 pace in the last mile and was doing a lot of passing.
Finally it was down Main Street with the finish line vaguely in sight. There were two runners right ahead of me. I wasn’t quickly making progress on them, but I wasn’t worried. There are some races where I feel drained at the end, and feel no hope of catching anyone, other races where the outcome is in doubt. This time, I felt supreme confidence in catching anyone within striking distance. Not a hint of doubt. I could feel my extra gears ready to be used. Behind me I could hear someone bearing down hard. I didn’t look, but I wondered if he could catch me. Almost everyone around me could have been 30-35, and I wanted to score for my team. I quickly focused back on my effort. I was breathing harder, pushing harder and making a lot of noise. One of the runners ahead of me turned to look at me shortly before I passed him. The finish line was closer in sight, I knew I was about 10-15 seconds off my PR from two years ago. Without time for much more thought I crossed the finish line. I was a little fatigued, but not quite as far in the red as I would have thought considering the race distance. Am I in better cardiovascular shape? Could I have pushed harder?
Afterwards I jogged back to my car for my warm-ups, and then headed back to the pavilion area, met up with some of my teammates for the awards. Afterwards some of us went to brunch at Doodles.
I located fellow Strider Cyndi fairly quickly, sat and relaxed at a table with her for a while before more folks joined us. Eventually I was ready for my warm-ups. I had tapered pretty good, so I did a lot of jogging a striding to get warmed up. It felt pretty good. The weather was about 40 degrees, so I wore running shorts, calf compressions, a fitted Nike training shirt and basketball arm sleeves. I figured the combination worked best for warmth and mobility. Soon I lined up at the start, and we were off.
The course its self is relatively flat and simple, but that’s deceptive. The first mile of the 1.875 mile course was all on a very slight incline. I knew I didn’t want to wear myself out too hard on this section, but I didn’t want to lose a lot of time either. I chose to focus on running a 5K start effort (which usually ends up being a little fast for a 5k). A crowd surged ahead of me, including a 12 year old girl. Some have given me gas about trailing an 11 year old girl in a race; I assure you she was 12 and she was fast. The Garmin hardly gives accurate information in the first half-mile, which indicated I was going at about a 5:57 pace. Not bad for a slight incline I thought. Soon it began to show slowing down to 6:11 about ¾ into the mile. I decided to increase my effort just a bit since this race wasn’t going to last long. I got to the first mile (and turnaround at the same place) in 6:11. With the turnaround I was now on the decline, and with less than a mile to go I ratcheted up the pace. To my relief, I was able to pass the 12 year old. I was going at about a 5:30 pace in the last mile and was doing a lot of passing.
Finally it was down Main Street with the finish line vaguely in sight. There were two runners right ahead of me. I wasn’t quickly making progress on them, but I wasn’t worried. There are some races where I feel drained at the end, and feel no hope of catching anyone, other races where the outcome is in doubt. This time, I felt supreme confidence in catching anyone within striking distance. Not a hint of doubt. I could feel my extra gears ready to be used. Behind me I could hear someone bearing down hard. I didn’t look, but I wondered if he could catch me. Almost everyone around me could have been 30-35, and I wanted to score for my team. I quickly focused back on my effort. I was breathing harder, pushing harder and making a lot of noise. One of the runners ahead of me turned to look at me shortly before I passed him. The finish line was closer in sight, I knew I was about 10-15 seconds off my PR from two years ago. Without time for much more thought I crossed the finish line. I was a little fatigued, but not quite as far in the red as I would have thought considering the race distance. Am I in better cardiovascular shape? Could I have pushed harder?
Afterwards I jogged back to my car for my warm-ups, and then headed back to the pavilion area, met up with some of my teammates for the awards. Afterwards some of us went to brunch at Doodles.