Result: 1:02:15 and first female
Splits: 6:06, 6:12, 6:10, 6:28, 7:43, 7:05, 6:57, 6:46, 6:47, 0.3 @ 6:04 pace
Results: 2016 Shamrock 15k Results
I think if you spend much time in the endurance running world you'll grow to embrace a fair amount of physical pain. Real, muscle burning, lung-searing pain that doesn't go away until the finish line because you can't stop and walk or you'll lose your place, pr or sense of pride. The Summit Athletic Running Club Shamrock 15k is set on the type of course that is notorious for offering up pain in spades to those who dare to actually race it.
I didn't race much over the winter. One indoor 5k at Kent State in January. I pulled off a 5k track pr of 18:42, so I knew I was a bit faster than last year. I stayed away from the track for weeks leading up to this race though. Concentrating on tempos and hill repeats in order to lay a strong base for half marathon training. My goal race is the Capital City half marathon in Columbus at the end of April. I'm in the USATF half championship field along with my Team Ohio teammates, so I'm feeling the pressure to run a time that warrants that spot.
I did a mini taper to get myself ready for this race. I had a cold earlier in the week and had to delay my tempo run to Wednesday. Todd and I knocked out a four mile tempo at 6:28 pace. Then I ran easy 6 milers up until Sunday, hoping to rest my legs. On race morning I arrived without much time to spare and only got in a two mile warmup. This meant I needed at least four miles after the race to get a decent long run in. I saw a few people I knew. Bryan, Alex my teammate, Teresa and Debbie. Teresa had raced the year before and ran about a 1:04, but I knew not to count her out. She's run some really fast races in the past year, including 3:04 at Akron. I did not see Kelly Green, the female winner from the previous two years.
My main goal was to not get as hyped up as I did the year before and take it easier on the downhill portion of the race. This is the first three miles. Then it levels out a bit in the fourth mile before heading into a nasty net uphill until nine miles. The fifth and sixth miles are brutal, with 254 feet of gain, 172 of that in mile 5. So you rip your quads to shreds for three miles before asking them to work way more than they want to for the next five miles. I remember driving home last year, shell shocked at just how hard this course is. The drive home this year was deja vu.
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| Nice, relaxed start. Photo credit: Summit Athletic Running Club |
I started conservatively and was immediately first female and third overall. This was not as fast a field as last year. David Ryland pulled away quickly, but the second male was not that far ahead of me through the first few miles. I tried to stay very calm and run easily. My first three miles were 6:06, 6:12, 6:10, so about 19:07 through the 5k, a number of seconds slower than last year. It felt easier than last year too. The fourth mile passed in 6:28 and even in this mile I felt the drain in my legs from the downhill start. I hit "the hill" on Northhampton Road and every muscle in my legs wanted to stop working. Two men passed me on this hill and just like last year I walked a few steps in the middle. As we went up the next hill I tried my best to stay positive. Last year I was passed by Kelly in this mile and though I didn't look behind me, I didn't think there were any women close behind. I told myself that no one in this race feels good during miles five and six. I just had to keep moving forward and no more walking! I barely made it under 7:50 for mile five and was over 7:00 for mile six, then I was able to come back down in the high 6s. I saw George, a well-known local runner, during mile six and I smiled and waved, faking a pleasant racing attitude. Rolling into mile seven I started to feel a little better. I kept trying to pick up the pace but my legs were just not responding. I stopped looking at my watch after mile five, but I knew I was not running any faster than last year. At the switch back right before mile eight, I saw that Teresa was closing in on me. She was about 30 seconds behind me and looked strong. "You have to pick it up, or she will catch you," I told myself. I dug deep for a 6:47 ninth mile but that was all I had left. There is a cruel, long uphill at the tail end of the ninth mile, just to drill home the pain. I turned onto the final stretch and did my best to kick. The last 0.3 was about 6:04 pace. Ironically, my time was almost the exact amount of time that I held back in the first 5k. Perhaps I just have to go crazy in that first 5k to run a fast time on this course? I was convinced Teresa was on my heels but I had to wait a while in the finish chute for her to come in. She ran about two minutes faster than last year!
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| I'm just not gonna look great at the end of this race. Photo credit: Summit Athletic Running Club |
We thanked each other for pushing each other and I waited around to see a few more people finish and hear that Alex had won the 5k. Team Ohio sweep! I then went and got a snack from inside the high school and without cooling down, booked it home to the kids. I did get a cooldown in after I checked in on the kids but at 2:00 in the afternoon with very little nutrition and coffee in me, I bonked hard and had to walk more than a mile home. I had some dizziness and lethargy for a few hours after this. I've noticed that my nutrition issues are worse this year than they have been in the previous two years. I run out of fuel fast and when it's gone, it's gone. My body won't function. It's just something I have to keep up on.
