Sham Rock On!

I love Virginia Beach on St. Patrick's Day weekend. This was the fourth year we have gone down for the Shamrock Sportsfest races. This was the fourth year I did the 1/2 marathon but the first time I did the 8K the day before. My husband did both races, too (it was his first 1/2 marathon so that was exciting) and my mom ran the 1/2 marathon with me. They also have kids races on Saturday. Last year my son did the 1 mile kids race and my daughter did the 26.2 yard dash--which is really hilarious to watch. But all the kids get t-shirts and medals so it is exciting for them.

The weather is really hit or miss in mid-March. This year it was gorgeous on Saturday for the 8K. It was sunny and in the 60's. Then it rained overnight and got really windy and cold. We're talking 30 mph winds and temps in mid 30's on Sunday morning. Luckily it stopped raining 45 minutes before the 1/2 marathon started at 7:00. Having never run two races back-to-back I wasn't sure how I would feel on Sunday. Surprisingly I felt pretty good. I think running Saturday actually warmed me up a bit so I wasn't so tight starting on Sunday. But I took it slow considering my training was more non-training and my long runs were nonexistent. My mom and I pretty much followed my plan though, which was run to a water stop, walk to drink water, then continue walking for about 1/4 mile then run to the next water stop. It made the race go by pretty quick since I was always focused on the next water stop and not so much the mile markers. I won't tell you my time since it was pretty slow, but I will say it was within 3 minutes of my time 2 years ago when I also ran this race pregnant. So I guess I am consistent!

So if you are ever looking for a good race to start the spring running season, I highly recommend the Shamrock races in VA Beach (www.shamrockmarathon.com). Every year it gets bigger and better. Since Yuengling started sponsoring the race last year, it is obvious they have put a lot of money into it. You get great Brooks technical shirts, medals, hats, and LOTS of beer (they give you tickets for FOUR beers after the race--that's a bit much at 9 am, but it's one of the perks of getting up early on a Sunday and running your butt off for 2+ hours!!). So as they say in VA Beach...Sham Rock On!