Shamrock Run 2011

Could that kid really be running faster than me? We were a mile or two into the 8k at the 2011 Shamrock run and a kid, all of maybe 12, was running just in front of me. Is this really happening? Yates, you want to be an elite level Ironman competitor and some 12 year old is going to kick your butt in the Shamrock run? That got me going a bit. With endurance sports you have so much time to yourself and your thoughts. This event was short, just over 30 minutes, but typically in a large volume training week prepping for Ironman I'm logging over 20 hours of training. And in the Ironman race itself, you are constantly talking to yourself. Helps pass the time, and hell, who is going to listen to you besides yourself anyway! So I talked and joked myself through another Shamrock Run. I must say this one was pretty uneventful. This will be the last year I do the 8k. It's just too short of a race for me. Although I really don't yearn to do the 15k, I'm training for marathons and so I don't have any speed. Which can make it hard to out kick a 12 year old in a race as short as the 8k :)

The morning started poorly. I had no desire to get out from under the sheets and venture out into the rain. My coach had me scheduled to run 30 minutes prior to the race, do the race, and then do another hour on the treadmill later in the day. Barf. I did the warm up at our place on the treadmill to help stay warm. Put on some sweats and 30 minutes later I was lining up to start my first race of 2011. Overall I'm neither pleased or displeased with the race today. I haven't seen official times yet, but my watch had me within 10 seconds of last years time. I was displeased that I wasn't faster and struggled to run to my full potential, but I haven't done any speed work yet this year so I struggled to find those extra gears today. I'm pleased with how I was able to attack the hills and really mow some people down. That was a great feeling. I'm also pleased with my fitness level. I felt like I could have run right through that finish line and continued on for another 8 miles and set a pr for my half marathon. I hope to do that next month at the Corvallis Half Marathon. In the meantime, I grabbed a table at the bar for the wife and friends and waited for everyone to get finished. We had a nice lunch and then headed back home so I could get the hour on the treadmill finished.

According to my watch, my overall pace was 6:43. To be able to mix it up with the big boys in Coeur d'Alene in 3 months our plan is to have me running right about 7:35 - 7:40 pace for the marathon, or about a minute per mile slower than today. This, of course, will be after swimming 2.4 miles and cycling 112 miles. So, I'd say although I'm by no means a fast runner at the shorter distances, I'm feeling good about our progress this year. The fact that I was able to do 15 miles today with 5 at a hard effort shows me I'm fit. And it's March. As Muddy would say, right now is not about making withdrawals, it's about making deposits. We will make a large withdrawal on June 26th. So, another year of the wet and soggy Shamrock Run is in the books! Despite the rain, I'm about to hit the bbq as I have some Salmon that wants to be grilled! Thanks for all the support,

-T