The Connection Runners

Shamrock & Roll 5k Recap

Happy Post-Saint-Patrick's-Day Sunday!

Even though it's gorgeous outside, I'm snuggled up on the couch indoors nursing a hardcore Irish car bomb road race hangover.

That's right... I made my official return to racing this morning at the Shamrock & Roll 5k!

(thanks for the photos, MEGAN! [I twouted that])

Although I made grand plans to run three 5k's in the last two weekends, I quickly realized that early morning races mean extra early mornings when you have to get yourself and an 8 week old up and out the door. (read: ponytail, teeth brushed, sports bra on, diaper changes, baby jeggings on, bottles prepared, yes - I did say baby jeggings and they are effing adorable, pump assembled, Garmin charged, hot tea ready... whew!)

Somehow, Kevin, Charlotte and I were on the road at 7:20 so that we could drop C off at my mom's while we raced.

After leaving C and dictating a list of what-to-do's to my mom (who raised 3 kids, pretty sure she could've figured it out), we high-tailed it to the race to pick up packets and tech tees, and somewhere in there, it dawned on us that it was our first car ride without a baby squeaking in the back since January.

Weird, but cool.

Because we'd arrived a bit early, we stopped for a chat with Megan's parents (Megan and the rest of her fam were already running the 10k) before giddying up to the start corral. We exchanged a quick goodbye, and then Kevin was off with the rest of the folks who run fast, and I trotted into a nice mid-9's pace.

Some Clif's Notes on the Rest of the Race:

  • Mile .6: Feeling good. Smile at the cute kids in green on the sideline and think about what beer I want at the finish.
  • Mile 1.3: Whoa - is that a 7:30? I'm killing it!
  • Mile 1.47: That 7:30 was gift from the pace fairy, but that weasly bitch took it away.
  • Mile 2: I can run one more mile. Let's just settle in at an 8:40.
  • Mile 2.6: Half mile to go! Can I hold on?
  • Mile 2.87: Hope the race photographer doesn't pick up the fact that I've most likely peed on myself and gets waist-and-up shots only. Contemplate wearing a sign to my next race that says, "Hey, I just pushed out a kid. Give me a break, people."
  • Mile 3: Just around the corner lies the finish. Kick it out.
  • Mile 3.1: DONE! Stop Garmin and go find a corner to hurl my guts out on.
Official finish: 28:25
9:10 overall pace
19/96 AG finish
312/1000+ finishers overall

Obviously, it was no PR race, but I'll take it! My goal was to go sub-30, and I did that without dying. Ok, so I had a brief woozy spell while waiting in line for post-race bagels, but some water and carbs quickly curbed it. Perhaps I pushed it a little too hard at the end. Dumb.

So what does one do after a water and bagel snack? Indulge in a lovely draft beer with her husband, Megan, and Megan's RunnerBoyfriend/Family at a local Irish pub. (Head over to her blog for a full recap of their races, too!)

A good Sunday race indeed. It didn't hurt that we got to come home to this little peanut:

(courtesy of my mom, who spent part of the morning playing hat fashion show with C)

Anyone else race this weekend? How did it go?

Long runs, other running successes? Tell me about them in the comments!