I Did It…

I completed my first 8K!!!  The Shamrock Shuffle 2007 was a blast. Sure, it took at least 12 minutes to get to the starting line but it was awesome just to see all these people just running. The course was fantastic. I never ran around the loop before. Crossed the Chicago River four different times. Ran right in the middle of State St. Also, ran right by work. =)

Play by play:
1st mile: This mile was the fastest I’ve ever ran. I did it in 10:10 minutes. Just amazed as to how many people were running. I had to zigged and zagged around some runners. Hit the first bridge and it was a little hard because I hadn’t done any inclines but I knew to run it slow uphill and take advantage of the down hill.

2nd mile: The bridge under Michigan Ave. was tricky. My foot hit a small pothole but it landed squarely in the middle so I didn’t even stumble. Just realized that I need to be careful and I did not need to wear my sunglasses. I was just hoping to see Eric and Diego soon so I can pass them off to them. My hat would be good enough. Hit the second mile marker at about 22 minutes.

3rd mile: I was looking for Eric and Diego. Needed to pass the glasses since I had put them on top of my hat. Finally I saw them. Ran, said hi and passed my glasses. The water station was past them. I got a cup of Gatorade but I had to stop to drink it. I just don’t know how people can run and drink at the same time. When I hit the third mile marker, it read about 33 minutes.

4rd mile: I saw the 5K marker. I ran it in 34 minutes!! Made my race at that point. Plus I still had to run 2 more miles which is more than I have ran before. Crossed the river for the last time. I was getting a little tired by this time so I was really concentrating on my breathing. Saw my cheering section by State and Jackson. That made me even more determined to continue running. Finally arrived at Michigan Ave. The time was about 44 minutes.

5 mile: This was the hardest mile ever. Running towards Roosevelt Rd. wasn’t too bad because it was flat but after making the left turn towards Columbus Dr. it was uphill from there. That was the hardest three blocks ever. When I finally got to make that left turn again and saw the finish line, it was heaven but I still had a bit more running to do.

Finished at last!! The official chip time was 55:45 minutes. I am so glad it was over. =)

Found my family about 20-30 minutes later. It was just mad chaos everywhere. Would I do another 10K? I am already thinking about doing another one. =)