Shamrock Shuffle 2015 Recap

As I mentioned in my last post, I was unsure of my fitness going into this year's Shamrock Shuffle 8k. Basically, I have cut down on my mileage and have been following the "run slower to get faster" philosophy for the first time in my life. I was definitely in better shape than I was going into last year's race, but the weather, especially the forecasted 30+ MPH winds out of the south were a wildcard that made me unsure of how things would go.

Pre Race
I woke up at around 5am put my running gear on and went for a two mile slow "shakeout run". Then I got my backpack together and walked to my neighbor Tad's house and we left for the race at about 6:40 and got to his $14 "Park Whiz" spot in about 20 minutes. The spot was only a couple of blocks from one of the entrance gates in Grant Park which was pretty sweet. Tad is a CARA member, so we walked over to the CARA hospitality room at the Hilton. Unfortunately, I was not allowed in the room (since I'm not a CARA member), so I sat in the warm lobby of the hotel in a comfy leather chair until 7:30 when I got up and walked over to the CRB group picture on Columbus Drive. I bumped into Lynton (who else?) and then found the blogger picture:

You may have seen this picture on about 10 other blogs (src)

Then it was over to bag check and a leisurely stroll to the "A" corral. Once in the corral, I bumped into Ken, Annabelle and John B. It got a bit chilly, but luckily I had on a disposable cotton hoodie which I threw towards the fence once the air horn sounded.

The Race:
Mile 1: From the start, I was right behind Annabelle (what else is new?!) and she took off ahead of me along with the masses. Usually, I have to force myself to hold back during the first mile, but for some reason my legs were not letting me run a fast pace, so I just went with whatever pace they were giving me. Although I felt like I was getting passed by quite a few runners, I knew that the Shamrock Shuffle is famous for people overdoing it in the first 3.1 miles - then flaming out. So, I wasn't worried that my pace was just a little slow. 6:40/Mile

Mile 2:  It was a little windy here and there, but since we were in the heart of the Loop, it wasn't too bad. I tried to stay tucked behind groups of runners wherever possible. I passed John and started to pick off runners here and there. 6:19/Mile

Mile 3: More of the same, windy, and tucking behind runners. 6:24/Mile

Mile 4: I stepped on the 5k timing mat at 19:59 exactly. So, I guess I definitely proved my sub-20 pacing cred. Anyone need a pacer?! I was still behind Annabelle, but I sensed that I had a lot of speed saved up in my legs. So for the first time in my racing career, I passed Annabelle (disclosure: she has been taking it easy in training, so I'm sure she will dust me next race). I then proceeded to haul up the Franklin Street hill and started really laying on the speed. 5:52/Mile.

Mile 4.97: Since this is the shortest race I've run since April of last year, it was exciting to know that after only four miles I was almost finished. I stopped tucking behind runners and just put my head down, ran into the wind and started picking off tons of runners along Michigan Ave. I easily crested the hill at Roosevelt Road. Then, as I made the turn onto Columbus Drive, perhaps the best race picture of me in quite awhile was taken while I was turning while airborne:

Turning onto Columbus Drive while airborne

I then started my descent towards the finish line and it was a mad dash down the final 200 yards:

"Shuffling" near the finish

I heard my name called by the race announcer and I was done! 5:52/Mile.

Finishing "strong" ha, ha.

Analysis: This was my 2nd fastest 8k ever and only 38 seconds off of my 8k PR. My last two miles were on a 5k PR pace. If it had been slightly warmer and slightly less windy, I may have been able to get sub-31, or maybe even flirted with my PR. The results of this race might give me the confidence to at least attempt a 5k PR at the Ravenswood Run in four weeks. I hope to be even speedier as I will have had a few more track workouts by then. It also helps boost my confidence in the "run slower to get faster" philosophy that I have been following.

Post Race: 

I walked down the finishers chute and met up John and we walked over to bag check.

Me and John Post Race

We got our stuff and made our way to the Buckingham Fountain post-race party. We scored some beer and met up with Annabelle:

Meeting up with Annabelle post race

After chatting a bit, Annabelle and John took off to go to the BRC after-party, so I walked to the other side of Buckingham Fountain and found Lynton, Eric and Mo. Then after awhile Eric and I took the Green Line over to Kaiser Tiger. There we met up with Xaarlin, Erin, Maggie, Jenny and the rest of the crew for brunch. I feasted on a bacon waffle and an Irish banger and washed it all down with a Bloody Mary (with bacon and a beer chaser). Yum!  Maggie kept us laughing through brunch with her witty humor. After brunch, Erin and Jason graciously gave me and Eric a ride to the Brown Line for the trip home. Thanks guys!

The Future:
I'm looking forward to my 5k and Half Marathon race in the next two months. If I just keep doing what I'm doing and not do too much, I should be in good shape for to shoot for at least one PR!

My Goal for the 2015 Shamrock Shuffle

Since I haven't raced since the F^3 Half two months ago, and since then I've cut back my weekly mileage, it's hard to figure out where my fitness is at the present and thus what pace I should run the Shamrock Shuffle in 36 hours. So in lieu of a pace calculator, I thought I'd simply look at things that will be in my favor and those that are not so much in my favor when I race on Sunday.

In my favor (= for a fast race):

1. I have done about three track workouts this spring and have made gradual improvements in my speed
2. I haven't really been killing myself on most workouts as I try to follow the 80/20 rule, I hope to be fresher than if I had done loads of worthless yet fast junk miles
3. Despite the smaller weekly mileage, the last eight weeks compare more favorably than those leading up to the 2014 race:

2015: 45, 51, 43, 51, 51, 54, 51, 51 = 397 miles

2014: 07, 00, 05, 02, 16, 24, 34, 40 = 128 miles

Not in my favor (= for a not so fast race):

1. I've had a head cold the last week and a half, which I have tried to ignore, and hopefully won't affect my race too much
2. The wind is forecasted to be above 20 MPH and the temps could be in the 30s. I love the cold, but anything below 45 starts to impact speed. Throw in the wind and some extra layers of clothes and that could add quite a few seconds to my final total
3. I haven't put in extra high mileage which could potentially help me hold a really fast pace for miles four and five

With the BRC post Shamrock Shuffle 2014

Those track workouts were all run while wearing full winter gear, so if I'm able to shed a couple of layers for the race, this should at least make me feel a couple of pounds lighter and this could give me an additional mental boost. The days leading up to most races, I usually am pretty confident with a few percentage points of what I am capable of. But since I can't figure this one out very well, and the forecast still not ideal, I may just try and best last year's time of 32:27. This race will be a mystery until we get underway. See you all Sunday! 

I Saw Vince Vaughn and Lady Gaga on my Run Yesterday

Yesterday, I was out for my 14 miler along the Chicago Lakefront. As I ran near North Avenue beach, I spotted a crowd of people and I realized that the annual Polar Plunge was taking place there. The Polar Plunge is when they cut the ice in Lake Michigan and about 3,000 people in all manners of dress and costume jump into the frigid waters to raise money for the Special Olympics. The temperature for the event was probably somewhere around 20 degrees which was a little warmer than it had been the previous week, but still very cold for a swim!.

I slowed my run to a walk as I got close to the crowd. As luck would have it, the event was about to begin and the MC was announcing that they had a "very special guest" to kick off the festivities. The special guest turned out to be Vince Vaughn. Vince took the stage in a Jonathan Toews jersey.

Vince Vaughn about to Address the Crowd

Vince Getting Ready to Go

Then Vince jumped into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan:

Vince After taking the "Plunge"

As Vince was making his way back, I started hearing people scream "Gaga, Gaga" and I first thought that someone had dressed up like Lady Gaga and was about to jump in the waters in costume. However, it turned out to actually be the real Lady Gaga in person. She climbed on the back of her fiance Taylor Kinney (from the tv show "Chicago Fire") and they headed for the lake:

Lady Gaga and Taylor Kinney about to "Plunge"

Gaga Leaving the Water with Icicles on her Hair.

Taylor Kinney after the Plunge. Gaga in brown hat to the right.

All three celebrities looked cold, but were casual about it as they walked back to the warming tent. They weren't carrying on or shivering even though they were probably pretty cold, which I thought was cool. If I ever do the plunge, I am going to act similarly! Anyway, I took off to finish my run and wanted to tell the people I ran by, who I had just seen on my run. As luck would have it, Lynton ran by and I was able to tell him and his running group!  It was quite an exciting long run. Only in Chicago!

Runners Along the Lakefront Trail Yesterday

Finding my Spring

I've decided not to run a spring marathon and it's due to the fact that I have been feeling fatigued. Back in January, I would sleep 7 hours at night and wake up in the morning feeling exhausted and not refreshed. I attribute this feeling to the 70+ weeks I was running in December and January without adding in extra sleep. Eventually all of this running on relatively little sleep caught up with me and my runs were flat, and my lungs and legs weren't responding as I would have liked. Non-stop, injury-free running has created a new nemesis: My own ability to run more and more without any painful checks and balances on my tendons/joints. Instead what checked my running was fatigue. I've found out that all of those Runner's World tips that stress getting enough sleep/rest that I've been ignoring, actually have some merit!

So, I've cut my mileage down to around 40 mpw and I've really slowed down my training runs. My weekly training pace has traditionally been around 7:45/mile. Since February 1st that pace is now 8:30/mile with the first couple of miles of most runs near 10:00/mile pace. The book "80/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster By Training Slower" which I read last month advises running 80% of your runs super slow. This new plan seems to have helped me recover a bit and I am feeling a lot better/fresher, although not faster.

So, I won't be running a spring marathon, but I have signed up for two spring races so far:
1) Shamrock Shuffle 8k
2) The Ravenswood Run 5k

I am likely going to run the Indy Mini Half Marathon in May, although I haven't registered for it yet.

Ideally, I'd like to PR one of these races, but I am getting to the point where I would be happy with a "2nd best PR", since I don't have the "spring in my step" that I would need to run super super fast. However, I still have a month for the Shamrock and two months for the Ravenswood Run, so maybe I'll find my spring soon enough!

Ice formation along the Lakefront Trail on my 13 miler Sunday

Inaugural Mikkeller Beer Run

On Saturday, I met up with Xaarlin and Eric for the inaugural Mikkeller Beer Run. The 3.3 mile fun run started from the Northdown Cafe and Taproom on Lincoln Ave went north on Ravenswood all the way to Montrose and back. We had really warm temps (near 50º) for an early February in Chicago. It was nice to catch up with Xaarlin and Eric while enjoying a free Mikkeller Beer and some sausage after the run was over.

Here is a picture of the group before the run:

MRC Runners (can you find Xaarlin, Eric and Me?) (src)

 Right after that we headed out. Eric snagged one of me and Xaarlin with his handy GoPro:

Xaarlin and Me on our beer run (src)

After the turnaround we headed back down Ravenswood to the bar:

The thirsty crew heading back to the bar...

Once at the taproom, we all got our free Mikkeller. Eric and I ordered some delicious Polish sausages and fries. Jeff H who claims he was the first runner back to the bar, sat down at our table and chatted with us for awhile. After an hour or two, I ran the two miles home with a full belly and felt fine. Anyway, did I mention that Xaarlin organized this whole thing and got a mega turnout of 37 people?! She did an awesome job. The next run is March 7th. Don't miss it!

F^3 Lake Half Marathon 2015 Race Recap

This was the second time I've signed up to run the F^3 Lake Half Marathon yet only the first time I've actually run it.  Two years ago, I had paid my money and then made a last minute decision to not run. This year I was injury free, well for the most part.

Goal: Since three out of the four half marathons I ran last year were sub 1:30s, and since I have put in some major miles the last five weeks - I thought that a sub 1:29 was well within reach. However, on Monday night I pinched a nerve between my ribs and then the next morning, I went to the track (for the first time in over a year) for some fast intervals. By Tuesday night, I was finding inhaling deeply to be difficult, but I thought it was due to pinched "rib nerve". Then on Wednesday, I went swimming to loosen the legs, but in the process that exacerbated things with my lungs. Little did I know that I probably was dealing with a little exercise induced asthma. According to the Mayo Clinic exercise induced asthma triggers include:

• Cold air
• Dry air
• Air pollution
• Chlorine in swimming pools
• Activities with extended periods of deep breathing, such as long-distance running, swimming 

My lungs were exposed to all of those things in the last few days leading up to the race. But I still thought that my issue was the nerve and that it would feel better by Saturday. So, my lungs were about a 4 out of 10 heading into the race on Saturday. If I had realized this, a couple of puffs off my inhaler would have made them a 6 or better. The inhaler, however, stayed unused. My gut told me that the race would either end up being a disaster or it would be awesome. I did not even consider that there was perhaps a "happy medium" result as well.

Getting To the Race: On Saturday morning, my neighbor Stacey (who later PR'd) and I drove to Soldier Field garage and sat in a long line of cars to get in the garage. Some drivers were driving around the line and then cutting in near the front. Nice. I guess they were more important than us.

Pre-Race:  After getting out of the car, we walked up the stairs and found ourselves in the United Club at Soldier Field. I used the indoor facilities with indoor plumbing. Then I stood around for awhile and spotted Emily and said "hi". As we were being called down to the start line, I had to decide what to wear (the temps were in the mid 30s and creeping upwards) and decided to leave my running pants and jacket in my backpack, but take my big warm mittens and not my running gloves (this turned out to be a mistake).

Pre Race in the United Club at Soldier Field

Then I checked my bag and headed to the starting line. On my way down the stairs I bumped into Lynton (who else?) . I have seen him at every race I've run in Chicago since at least April!

Miles 1 through 3: Temps were much warmer than expected for this time of year, I was wearing shorts, but I had three layers of shirts on plus a hat and warm mittens. I soon realized that I had over-dressed. After a one mile loop around Soldier Field, we headed by McCormick Place. I passed Xaarlin who took some pics of me getting ready to high-five. 

About to hi-five Xaarlin at mile 2 (notice big mittens)

My breathing was okay, but I was pushing the pace too much as I usually try to cover the first 3 miles of most half marathons in 7:00/mile pace. I was, unfortunately running much faster.  6:46/mile.

Miles 4 through 6: The course heads straight down along the relatively desolate portion of Lakefront Trail. I was starting to overheat, so I removed my mittens and from that point forward, I had to carry them with my bare hands the rest of the race. There seemed to be a slight headwind, which made me hopeful that at the turnaround at mile seven we would have a slight tailwind. My breathing was getting a bit harder at this point and I probably should have backed off my pace, but I rolled the dice in order to see if I couldn't hold a sub 6:50 for the rest of the race. 6:46/mile.

Miles 7 through 9:  At the hairpin turn at mile seven I was greeted with a stronger headwind as we headed north and I knew right then it was going to be a positive split for me.  I chatted with a guy from Switzerland and told him I wasn't feeling it. He soon dropped behind me, which made me think that I wasn't the only one having issues. However, he must have just had to take a slight break because a few minutes later he zoomed past me. By mile nine, my lungs were prematurely starting to beg for mercy and I got passed by about a dozen runners. I can't tell you how much I'd rather be the one doing the passing at this stage. I realized that it wasn't my day lung-wise and I would try and slow even further until my breathing would get more comfortable. I saw Kelly, Emily, Erica, Lauren and Lynton coming the other direction. 7:00/mile.

Miles 10 through 12: The course was quiet and I only got passed by a handful of runners as I slowed down to help my lungs "reset". I even stopped to walk at an aid station while I got some Gatorade. I was still clutching my mittens which I wanted to ditch somewhere in the lake. Anyway, the walk did me some good and helped me breathe a little easier. 7:28/mile.

Miles 13 and 13.22: I was actually staging a mini-comeback! I passed a couple of the runners that had passed me over the last few miles. It wasn't much, but I was able to at least salvage what could have been a disaster into something somewhat respectable. 6:57/mile.

I crossed the finish line and got my medal about 2 feet later!

Analysis:

Total Finishing Time: 1:32:08 

Pace: 7:02/mile

Overall: 76/1,866

Age Group: 7/132

Well, I can either dwell on what could have been if I had had decent lungs for the race, but I'd rather dwell on the fact that I was able to retake control of the race over the final two miles. Some races all the pieces don't fall into place, so you have to look at the few positive things that happened. Pacing was an issue, and I probably could have broken 1:30, but it would have only happened with perfect pacing. The final outcome was neither a complete disaster nor completely awesome. I'm calling it a "happy medium"!

Post Race:
I picked up my gear, had the free Goose Island can and chatted briefly with Lynton, Kelly, Erica and Emily.

Conclusion:
Hopefully I can take care of lung-related issues prior to my next race. Since this is an isolated race in the middle of the winter, I can use it as a learning experience for my next race, whichever one that is!

Next Up: Not sure. TBD.

2015 S-No-W Fun 5 Miler Race Recap and Video

Race Highlights:

* Ran a course PR of 34:06
* Coldest race (0º windchill) I've ever run
* Finished 3rd in my age group (however, these are ONE year age groups)
* Best race after-party ever

Pre-Race:

I stayed at the Grand Geneva resort and spa in Wisconsin (where the race was held) and the patio off of my room was approximately 5 feet from the course. I had planned on just "training through" this race (i.e. no taper), so my legs would not be fresh going into it. The day before the race (Friday), I ran twice for 10 miles total (three miles outside, seven miles on the treadmill in the spa). Then the morning of the race (Saturday), I ran a 3 mile shakeout run on the course. My legs were pretty tired by early Saturday afternoon, so I decided that right before the race I would go back to the spa and swim some laps for about 45 minutes to loosen them up a bit. At about 2:00 pm I got out of the pool, took a shower, got dressed, pinned my bib on and ran over to the start line for the 2:30 pm start.

Race morning shakeout run on the 5 Mile "Snow Fun" course

The Race:

The race temp was 14º  with a windchill of zero. Considering that the day before the race the windchill was -20º, it actually didn't feel too cold. My legs were tight from all of the running I had done over the previous two days, so I was just targeting about 7:00/miles, when normally I would try for something like 6:20/mile. I knew the footing would also be a problem, since the course was 90% unsalted, snowy roads.

Runners chilled beer on their patios

The course was out-and-back and the wind was to our backs on the way out, so I knew I needed to save a little in the tank for the return trip. It was hard to pass other runners as the only non-slippery (i.e. icy) part of the course were the two narrow "tire tracks" in the middle of the road which is where most runners hung out. Maybe if I were to do it again, I would start further up in the start corral, so I would not have had to spend so much time slipping and sliding in order to pass.

Anyway, the return trip was much harsher than the outbound trip as the wind was gusting in our faces. I heard one guy curse out loud at how he disliked the course, but his breathing was pretty heavy at mile three, so it was probably more appropriate for him to curse his too fast of a start. During the last mile there is a hill with (according to my Garmin) a 90 foot incline. I was able to pass a few people on the hill and then sprint down the other side of the hill to the finish area.

The downhill portion near the finish line

I turned the corner at the bottom of the hill, passed a couple more runners just before the finish line and I was done! 

Finish Time: 34:06

Course PR (out of 2 races)

Splits: 6:54, 6:56, 6:55, 6:50, 6:35. Average Pace: 6:49

One year AG: 3rd out of 12 (top 25%)

Overall: 42nd out of 657 (top 6%)

Yes, my one year age group was competitive!

Post Race:

I walked the 100 yards from the finish line back over to my hotel patio to watch the finish of the race. The guy who was standing on the balcony above me was throwing cans beers down to runners wearing Bears jerseys. I also saw a bachelorette party run by and they were taking turns drinking out of a flask!

Standing on my patio, watchin' the race

I also saw Darth Vader run by, although sadly, he was not offered a beer:

Sad Darth Vader without beer running the "Snow Fun Run"

I also shot a video:

I started to get the chills, so I went inside and took a hot shower before I made my way to the post-race festivities. In the festival hall, there was the traditional table of schnapps which had several delicious varieties. Then it was on to the buffet table to stuff my face with Wisconsin brats, burgers and serve-yourself craft beer. I saw a few of Mo's friends from last year's race and I said "hi". Then I went over to the awards table in order claim what I thought would be my age group medal since the age groups were one year as opposed to the traditional five year. However, I had actually come in third place and the woman behind the table informed me that there was no medal for third place. I hung my head in shame and slowly, sulked away. My spirits were soon brightened, however, when I was able to view the legendary "Sausage Dance" relatively close to the stage. The dance was quite interesting, but it was sorely missing Sausage Queen Erin and her dance moves. I also witnessed the "Hunk of Cheese" dance and drank a couple of beers. There was lots of revelry and the festivities went late into the evening until everyone moved the party to the pool and/or the nightclub at the resort.

This is one of those events that keeps people coming back year after year. It's basically a 40 minute race in the snow followed by and eight hour post-race party indoors. In any case, it's a great way to spend a wintry afternoon and evening!

Next Up: F^3 Half Marathon

A New Year, A New Weekly PDR (in just six days)

I had this week off of work. So, what better thing was there to do than to attempt a weekly PDR?

Weekly PDRs are difficult to attain during work weeks when putting in lots of miles means early wake-ups, running a bunch of miles, working all day, then squeezing in a few more in the evening. However, being able to sleep in, then wake up and run relaxed paces without any deadlines makes loading up on miles easier and more enjoyable.

Anyway, my previous weekly PDR was just over 83 miles which I attained over seven days of marathon training last September. This is how this week's PDR broke down:

Sunday 12/28 Morning: 16 miles along the Lakefront Trail
Sunday 12/28 Afternoon: 4 mile recovery

On Sunday I ran 20 miles total

Monday 12/29 Morning: 10 miles along the Northshore Channel Trail

10 miles on Monday through Sculpture Park

Tuesday 12/30 Morning: 12.4 miles along the Lakefront Trail

12.4 on Tuesday

Wednesday 12/31 Early Morning: 8.0 miles to Wrigley Field
Wednesday 12/31 Late Morning: 5.0 mile recovery run to McDonald's
Wednesday 12/31 Evening: 2.3 mile recovery run (breaking in new shoes)

Wrigley as backdrop to 13 on New Year's Eve

Thursday 1/1 Morning: 16 miles along the Lakefront Trail to Navy Pier

Happy New Year! 16 miles

Friday 1/2 Morning: 10 miles along the Lakefront Trail
Friday 1/2 Afternoon: 2.6 mile recovery (breaking in another pair of shoes)

The geese and me on Friday for 12.6

Saturday 1/3: Rest

Weekly Total: 86.5 miles (previous PDR 83.2)

I could have actually squeezed in a few more miles today, but not wanting to be greedy (and not wanting to overdo it), I took the day off completely.

So how did I feel during the last few miles? Fantastic. In fact the last mile of my 10 miler Friday morning was run at 6:33/mile. I think if I am reasonable by not punishing my legs too much, and at the same time I build endurance, the whole running package comes together quite nicely.

I have a "bucket list" goal to run a 100 mile week, and I hope to get there someday - maybe even this year. However, it won't be anytime too soon. It's back to work next week, then I head up for the S-No-W Fun 5 mile race in Wisconsin. If there is enough snow, I'll do some cross country skiing there in addition to running. I also signed up for the F^3 Half Marathon in late January, and I will need to work a little on speed before that one. I'm not sure when I'll set another weekly PDR, but I'm looking forward to it, whenever it happens!