Q. What does an Irishman get after eating Italian food?
A. Gaelic breath.
UPDATE! I did it! Rode across the USA on a bicycle! Check out my journal of the adventure here at: Three Spokes and a Mirror
Hi Everybody!
Here’s the race report for the 2008 Shamrock Marathon held in Virginia Beach, VA on Sunday March 16th and sponsored by Yuengling. I signed up for this race a little late after deciding the ol’ legs needed one good long run before my solo cross-country bicycle tour in early May. Virginia Beach was an easy pick since it’s only a six hour drive from Charlotte, NC and several other friends were going to run there too. Plus, I got an invite to stay over after the race from my girlfriend’s cousin and her husband who live there. Sweet!
Motel accommodations were hard to come by but I did manage to find a room at the Quality Inn located right next to the Virginia Beach Convention Center where the Expo was held and 1.2 miles away from the Start line. I checked into the motel early on Saturday, met up with friends, Ricky and Sharon, then walked over to get my packet.
This was a well organized Expo with smiling/upbeat volunteers willing to help you along each step of the way. The real test came when I walked over to get my free race T-shirt. Now for you veteran marathoners know what usually happens- during registration months earlier you guess what size T-shirt you need and hope it fits you when you get it. It’s usually way “too big” or way “too small” and lightning strike you dead if you ask for one that actually fits! The typical answer is “sorry we don’t have enough shirts to swap out”. Well that wasn't the case here- a very nice volunteer asked me to be sure to try on my long sleeve coolmax race T-shirt to make sure it fit before I left the area- now that's a refreshing change!
Early to Bed, Early to Rise
Most of you know my routine by now. I typically get up at least 7 hours prior to the race, perform some meditation, fuel, and center my energy. It helps......
Weather Woes
Everyone was a little apprehensive about the weather. A strong front is pushing through bringing wind and rain. The temperatures ended up staying between 44-51 degrees with sustained NNW winds between 16-22 MPH. The maximum recorded wind gust was 33 MPH. I knew I should have brought that flying squirrel outfit!
The Results
Marathon
Pam Rickard- 3:49
Johnny Nolen- 4:00
Greg McDowell- 4:14
Ricky Scott- 4:28 (did 4:00 at Myrtle Beach just 4 weeks prior. Wow!)
Marc DeLuca- 4:29
My splits-
8:49 pace @ mile 6
8:58 pace @ mile 13
9:34 pace @ mile 18
10:17 Pace @ Finish
(I was very pleased with my times and learned a lot. I ran with the 3:50 pace group until mile 10 when the gradual fade began. I've never run so fast for so much distance. Yeehaw!)
Half-Marathon
Tom Rickard- 2:25 (His first half-marathon. Congratulations!)
Sharon Scott- 2:32 (Good Job!)
Gloria Nolen- 3:11
Was It a Good Marathon?
Yes, and one you should consider adding to your list! The Shamrock Marathon rated high because it had a good vibe- you could naturally tell everyone associated with the race was into it and that means a lot. While I'm not quite sure whose bright idea it was to place the start line port-a-johns so far away (and even hidden)there were plenty portable toilets along the course. Barring that minor inconvenience, the race committee deserves kudos for putting on a spectacular event.
Special thanks to all the aid station workers, police officers, and emergency medical staff for keeping the runners hydrated, safe, and healthy. The words of encouragement and music you shared along the way helped out despite the blustery conditions.
Finally, the finish line area was awesome. Runners were directed through a series of what's best described as "give-a-way" stations. It seemed like every time I turned around another volunteer was handing me something else to take- here's a hat, here's a space blanket, here's a goodie bag, here's a bottle of water, here's a banana..... you get the picture. I liked that and not once was I ever rushed by anyone to leave the area like you get at some other running venues. Besides all this there was a huge tent erected on the beach where even more festivities were occurring. I never even made it there and still had a wonderful time. Wow! Amazing!
Thanks for showing this North Carolina boy a good time. I hope to return soon.
Post Race Stay
Well that's it for this report. Thanks go out to Ricky and Greg for allowing me to use some of their pictures in this blog and Ron Horton of tricharlotte.com for his sage running advice .
Attention now turns to bicycle maintenance as I prep for the cross country tour. Stay tuned.....
Marc
