I am the 2453rd Fastest Person in Chicago

by Jimsey

So this is a bit of a “dear diary” post. I know we don’t have many on TRR so bear with me. Sunday I was feeling saucy so I decided to run the Shamrock Shuffle 8k in Chicago (Well technically I felt saucy back in February when I registered). It gets billed as the largest 8k event in the world with 36,000 entrants. So that’s neat I suppose.

This was my first real race ever. Sorry Grosse Ile, your little 5k, which I ran hungover, registered while smoking and placed 2nd in my age group, doesn’t count.

Few thoughts:

First, I was not at all prepared for the pace of the race. More specifically the start. I’m a jogger, and I consider myself to keep a fairly decent pace. As soon as the air horn went, I wanted to tell everyone to slow down. For some odd reason I was placed in Coral A (the second group to start, behind the “elites”), so that probably didn’t help either. I still have no idea how I ended up there.

Second, while the race was through the streets of the loop, I don’t think I enjoyed it that much. Its not like I didn’t have time to enjoy myself, it just didn’t do anything for me. We ended up on all the boring streets, sorry Kinzie and Franklin. Though I did wave “hi” to work.

Third, I hate you weather. Friday was 61 (16c). Sunday was 33 (1c) and damp. At least it wasn’t raining or snowing like it did on Saturday, or like last year’s shuffle which I pussed out on.

Fourth, I feel like I left something out there. My typical distance in my leisurely jogs is around 12km. That combined with the pace of this event made me have no idea how to pace myself. The final km was hilarious. Seeing the finish line, I broke into a full stride sprint passing about 100+ people in the process. Maybe I’m an ass for doing it (I didn’t see anyone else doing it) or maybe I’m an ass for not pacing myself correctly. Oh well, life goes on.

Yes, that's me. Go Stretchypants Go.

Fifth, I’m used to jogging in the evening. 9am running is not cool. On my running days here, I have a very planned routine including meal times. When you aren’t used to scheduling your meals for a 9am run, you end up doing a second full sprint home to clean that mess out (if you know what I mean).

Finally, It was pretty freakin’ neat hearing the footsteps of thousands of people crunching along together. For quite a few sections it was just us in a giant posse.

Regardless, I can cross this off my Chicago to-do list. Oh, and I absolutely loved the hundreds of dirty looks for lighting up a cigarette after I got my bag out of gear check. Oh, and 38:01 was my time.

Small update to add this image ripped from the Shuffle’s Website:

Such a mass of people

Ran, Fatty, Ran

So…gasp…I…huff, puff…actually managed…wheeze…cough…to complete the 5 km Rat Race I shamelessly begged for donations for a while back.

This was the first real “race” I’ve been in (I can’t call it a real “real” race since it was for charity and whatnot, but it was as real as I’ve done), and I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

I set myself 4 goals for this race: 1) Don’t die, 2) Finish the race, 3) Finish in under 30 minutes, and 4) Finish in under 25 minutes. I’m pleased to say that I totally nailed the first 3. I managed to finish the run with a time of 27:53 and came in 416 place. That’s better than 799 other people there (in your face, Lale Kustu). Anyway, for the full results go here, or see below

So, did I learn anything? I found out that you tend to run a lot faster in a race than when you’re running on your own. I learned that my knees still hurt. I learned that having the woman who finished after you vomit near you isn’t all that fun at the end of the race. And I learned that I kind of enjoyed it and might do it again, motivation permitting.

Thanks to everyone who pledged me…you’ll be happy to know the money went directly the to the Southwestern Ontario Association of Bartenders and Beer makers. Couldn’t have done it without you!

Run, Fatty, Run

One of the best parts of my time in Edmonton was the fact that my friend organized a bootcamp over the summer and convinced my lazy butt to go at least twice a week after work. We would do a little running in the river valley, along with some strength training. It was nice for a number of reasons: the river valley in Edmonton is gorgeous in the summer, I got less doughy, my friend got to verbally abuse more often, and, most of all, I found out that I could run a little.

All of this is going somewhere, trust me. See, the problem is, I’m getting doughy again, and the summer is coming. The ladies are always less impressed with my banana hammock if my gut hangs over the top. So, time to get exercising again.