The Shamrock Half Marathon was everything I hoped it would be and more!  The weather was perfect.  The road trip with Alison to get there was scenic.  We used Matt’s GPS and it took us all of the back roads to get there which made the trip more enjoyable than driving one road the whole time… we made a quick stop at some convenience store in a place called “Bacons Castle”  both of us giggled a little bit as we got back on the road to VAB.

When we got there we picked up our packets and there were a lot of people but not enough to prepare me for the crowd we would be in on race day… thousands of people were running the half marathon which started at 7:00am on Sunday morning.

Because of all of the traffic there was no time to be all that nervous before the race started… it was dark out and we were trying to make our way to our corral… when we got there people were already starting to move ahead… the chips on our shoes triggered the computer to start the time for us as we crossed over the strip at the start line…

We started at a pretty quick pace… and had to dodge in and out of people who were running a bit slower… our goal was to finish in under 2 hours… I ran my first half marathon a couple of years ago in 1:51 and then Alison and I ran last year’s Star City in 2:04… so we were on pace to meet our goal at each mile marker…

There was music set up along the way… mostly D.J.s but there was an awesome band playing too!  It was so flat and so beautiful.  At one point I looked up and saw the ocean to my left and a giant lighthouse directly in front of me…

My legs felt so good that at around mile 10 Alison said… why don’t you just go ahead if you want… her knee had been solid for most of the race but was starting to act up just a little and she didn’t want to force it… so I did… I felt like I was taking a gamble that I might not be able to keep up the quick pace but the mind is a powerful thing…

Toward the end I was mumbling cadences to myself… one of my training songs is nothing but about 2 minutes of an army cadence… so motivating… steady pace… stay strong… over and over I just kept saying… 1….2…..1….2… faster…keep-it-up… whatever popped into my mind… anything to keep my legs moving and try to get them to move faster… I realized I might be able to set a P.R…. I might be able to finish in under 1:50…

Our names were printed on our race numbers pinned to the front of our shirts so people along the route would call you by name and cheer you on… they kept saying—“You’re almost there!”  I was thinking… what does that mean?  I lost track of the mile markers…

I knew it ended on the board walk so I really kicked in my sprint when I rounded the sharp turn for it… then I realized I still couldn’t see the finish line… how much farther?... the crowds were thicker and yelled and cheered louder… I looked at my watch… I saw the giant statue and thought I remembered the finish line being there… great I am almost there right?... I got there and looked at my watch… still good… but the finish line was about 100 yards from that… so I sprinted even harder because I was so close…. people got bunched up at the finish and were slowing down… I was thinking… “Move out of the way… coming through…”  then I stopped my watch and realized I had done it and the feeling was AWESOME!!!  I finished the 13.1 miles in 1:49:45.

We got all kinds of “SWAG” we got a great hat…reusable lunch bag… medal… and the shirt is really cool too!  Most of these items were handed out just after you crossed the finish line..then you walk right out on the beach and I immediately walked over to the ocean to touch the water… didn’t feel too cold but after 13.1 miles at an 8:15 pace I think my hands were pretty hot at the time so I wouldn’t have noticed if it was cold.

Alison fished the race in 1:53… which is more than awesome… especially since she had a bum knee and had to back off training 3 weeks before the event!

Once we caught up with each other… we watched the first Marathon runner cross the finish line - 26.2 miles in 2:26… now that is amazing!

The best part is that I feel great today!  I took several Ibuprofen yesterday but I got a good night’s sleep last night and am now looking forward to signing up for my next race… not sure yet which one.

Link to Shamrock main page.

Link to my time results (I always enter races under my married name)

Link to Alison’s time results