Tomorrow my family and I are running in the Shamrock 8k. This will be my 5th one, but the first for my wife and daughter. Well, my wife has done a couple Half Marathons before, including the Shamrock, and a bunch of 5k’s, and my daughter has also done a few 5k’s, but his will be her longest race. Actually, the whole reason we decided to run this race this year is because of our daughter wanting to do it. She was up for challenge, so my wife decided to go for it. I couldn’t let them have all the fun, so I threw my hat in too.
The Shamrock is cool because it’s gives you something to train for in the winter when it is easy to get lazy. It’s also fun because lots of people dress up in green St Patrick’s Day garb. There are green tutus and large hats – shamrock antennas and green striped high socks – full body faceless shamrock men and green leprechaun women – all kinds of crazy green things. There is also a big after race party in a heated tent with live bands, hot stew, and lots of beer. It’s always weird downing beer at 9:30 in the morning, but after a long morning and a 5 mile run – it feels good.
What isn’t cool about the Shamrock race sometimes is the weather. It can be very unpredictable in Virginia Beach in March. It can be warm, cold, raining, windy, and/or snowing! See my last blog post… Tomorrow morning is supposed to be cold. Around 33 at race start. It shouldn’t be too bad because the winds are supposed to be calm and no change of rain or snow, but you never know since the race is right by the beach. To prepare I had to breakdown and get a pair of running pants. We also got some hand warmers to go with our gloves and hats. All we have to do now is get up really early, find a place to park at the beach before sunrise, walk the five or six blocks to the pen area, and then wait in the cold until the start. No sweat…
