Race Reports: 2018 TowneBank Shamrock 8k and Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon

We skipped Shamrock two years since I made my first visit for the marathon in 2011:  I didn't want to go down in 2014 since I was slated for surgery and grumpily limping through races, and last year we didn't go down as my wife recovered from complications from a broken ankle.

After so many trips down, Virginia Beach feels like home.  It was great to get back to Doughboys, Il Giardino, and Maple Tree Pancake House.  It was great to see Neptune towering over the boardwalk.  It was nice to get Duck Donunts again.  It was great to find new places, too, like the Military Aircraft Museum, Green Flash, Smartmouth Pilot House, and Home Republic Brewpub.  

But mostly, it's great to run almost completely flat races and with big free beer parties afterwards. 

TowneBank Shamrock 8K

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  This race is a blast.  It's an almost completely flat through downtown and oceanfront Virginia Beach, and I've had some of my best races here.  I hate-ran it in 2012, when I was supposed to be running the marathon again, and PR'd with a 41:10 that I'll be hard-pressed to come within 10 minutes of.  I've never approached that again, but I've had relatively good races there.  In the low 50s in 2013 and 2016, while in 2015 it was the only race that Spring where I wasn't having a relapse of compartment syndrome.  And, from a beer-per-mile standpoint, the 8K is really your best value of the weekend. 

I came in this year with a 57:04, an 11:29-minute mile pace.  I couldn't make up my mind about whether to press hard for a sub-55, or take it easy because I was going to push myself for a 2:30 half marathon the next day, and I really didn't do either.  As a result, I had a time I was slightly disappointed in for the 8K and was also a little gassed for the half the next day.  But, I enjoyed every second of that 57:04, especially since I was clad in the logo of the Superbowl LII Champion Philadelphia Eagles, and that's really what counts.

My only mild criticism -- and J&A Racing knows what they're doing -- is that it just takes FOREVER for the corrals to go off.  It's a 7:45 start time, but our corral (the last, to be fair), didn't go off until 8:30.  

The post-race party was fun, as usual, and we spent the rest of the day at the Military Aircraft Museum, with a quick pre-dinner stop at Green Flash Brewery.  Both great.

Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon

My best half marathon is 1:59:10, back in 2010, when I was young and dreamed of glory.  Since then, I'd ran the Wild Half in 2015 and Shamrock in 2016, never getting back under 3 hours.  I don't particularly care to speed train enough to worry about beating my old PRs, qualifying for Boston (which is nevah going to happen), or any speed metrics.  But, I wanted to see how fast I could finish this just so I could think about whether it was feasible to take another shot at the marathon.  I was a 5-hour marathoner when I was in my mid-30s and right at the middle of the bell curve in about every distance except the marathon.  Compared to my other distances, I was a bad marathoner.  I'm not shy about that.  But, I wanted to test whether a 5:00-5:30 marathon was feasible.  I just don't want to think about being out there for 6+ hours.  

With that in mind, my goal was a 2:30.  I thought that a perfect 12-minute mile pace would bring me in around 2:36, and I've been running pretty consistently at sub-11 minute miles, that I could bank some time and finish in about that.

The short answer is I was a little slower than I hoped, at 2:38, but that I'm also pretty happy with that.  I paced myself well and consistently, and ran the whole race until mile 11, when I needed to mix some in, even though I'd run an 8K the day before and my long runs had only gotten up to 8-miles.  

With that in mind, I've never hurt so much after a half, even when I ran at the edge of death to that 1:59.  I needed considerable help from the railing to get down off the boardwalk onto the beach, and when I tried to sit down in a corner of the party tent with a bowl of Murphy's Irish Stew, my legs cramped up and I had to stand back up.  (The very kind runners near me were concerned, but I was fine once I got some food in me).  After some soup, some chips, 4 Yuenglings (The new Golden Pilsner is ok.  It's like a better version of Bud Light, honestly.) I felt much better.And after a post-race trip to Smartmouth Brewing's Pilot House and Home Republic, I was feeling very good indeed.

For the first time, I officially scored a Dolphin Challenge medal, and J&A Racing did a great job as usual with everything.  It was bittersweet to leave Virginia Beach with our customary Maple Tree breakfast, but as I've already said, we'll happily be back in 2018.

My only complaint is that Town E. Bear was not as heavily involved in the post-race festivities as he was in 2016.  I find Town E. Bear hilarious, especially when I'm in a big tent drinking, and especially when a bear mascot gets up on stage and dances.

Rise Up

Yes.  My wife and I listened to a lot of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" on the way to and from Virginia Beach, but that's  not the point. 

The point is that Shamrock weekend is, for me as a runner, a "Mountaintop Experience".  The phrase refers to the biblical account of when some of Jesus' inner circle of disciples, Peter, James, and John, went to pray with Him on a mountaintop at which they saw Him revealed in all His glory.  In modern context, it's often used to refer to an event of spiritual awakening or a high point, contrasted to "the valley", everyday life in which someone lives and works and struggles every day.

I mean no disrespect to the religious connotations of the phrase, but I think the concept can apply in other walks of life.  Last summer, my company's sales meeting felt like a mountaintop experience of sorts to me.  I presented in front of a group for the first time and felt like I brought the house down with wit and good humor; watched a highly respected colleague present about (among other things) the importance of my role and how I had helped him; and left the meeting feeling more excited, valued, and connected with my coworkers than I had in years.

 

A few days later, I got a rude awakening when I realized that our new CEO, who sat through both of those presentations, had no idea who I was or what I did.

 

As a runner, Shamrock Weekend is a mountaintop experience.  It's the place where in 2011, I ran my first marathon, and where the 8K has beecome my favorite race of all, a beacon of hope and fun in running years lost to injury and malaise, and finally, where I finished the half this year to be a participant on both days for the first time.  In addition to the happy memories surrounding the event, Virginia Beach is a place Chris and I have come to feel very at home.  We always have fun and leave Shamrock Weekend feeling proud of our running accomplishments and looking forward to next year.

 

Now I have left the mountaintop, excited and motivated, but also realizing that over the past 5 years my motivation has died in the summer heat. I train for Shamrock -- or at least gut it out on race day -- have a blast at the parties, and then it's over in a flash.

If a Fall half or full marathon -- or my goal of a long-delayed return to the 26.2 next year at Shamrock -- is to be a reality, I must stay more focused.  Get up earlier.  Run more.  Get stronger.  Believe that I can do this again...and turn that belief into reality in the valley of the post-Shamrock everyday non-beach world that I have struggled to train in for the last 4 years.

Race Reports: 2016 Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon and 2016 TowneBank Shamrock 8K

Another year, another successful running trip to Shamrock Weekend in Virginia Beach.  For the first time, I competed in the Dolphin Challenge consisting of both the 8K and half -- except since I didn't register for it in time, I was really just separately running both races.  But the point remains...success!

TowneBank 8K

Don't tell the half marathon, but I think this is my favorite race of them all.  Year after year, this race has been a fun, flat, fast (definitions of fast vary by year) race with a great after party.  This year, I busted my a** for a sub 55-minute finish, my familiarity with the course helping me come in well under my pre-race goal of 60 minutes.

Conditions were near perfect for me: high 40s and dry, and I attacked the course more aggressively than I intended.  This race really is the best parts of the marathon course, boardwalk and downtown Virginia Beach, without any of the long quiet sections south or north of town.   Visibly excited, I pumped my fist excitedly as I passed Neptune for the finish before meeting Chris and enjoying a few more Yuenglings than I should have had.

I often say that while I enjoy being runner, I don't really actually enjoy running.  This race always reminds me that this really can be fun.

The after party was a blast, especially when TowneBank's hilarious mascot, Town E. Bear, went up in stage with the band.  After an 8K and X number of Yuengs, this was the funniest thing I had ever seen.

Anthem Half Marathon

This one was not fun.  Everything J&A can control always goes perfectly, but they can't control the weather (Everyone knows that's Pudge the Fish).  The weather at the start of this one was MISERY.  Gale-force winds and a driving rain.  I love to inspire Chris and I (Chris hates it) with Aragorn's speech from "Return of the King" bit I really did think this was the that the courage of men (at least this one) failed.

But...running in a cold rain is actually a slight improvement over huddling helplessly against a tiny tree to get out of the wind.  The first two miles up Atlantic were tough, but the rain slacked and conditions were nice as we ran through the woods along Shore Drive.  Then...Fort Story happened.  It was amazing how little of the Fort I remembered from the marathon in 2011, but both times I have run this section, I have found it to be challenging as the winds buffeted us again.  After leaving the base, I gratefully partook of cookies and beer offered by kindly spectators. 

The long trudge back down Atlantic was challenging and at times absurd, but the finish on the boardwalk was worth it as always.  It felt great to -- after 5 years -- earn a finisher's hat again.

The after party was again a blast, with more Yuenglings and Buckshot, a fun country cover band.  I'm not dancing because I'm cool...I'm dancing because I'm freezing and to keep my legs from cramping.

Honestly, I just can't write enough about how much fun J&A makes this weekend, and I'm already looking forward to next year's festival.

(This bear is the funniest mascot ever after a race.)

(The haul for the weekend.)