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The Shamrock Shuffle... One of my favorite races of all time. This race is nostalgic to me for many different reasons. This was my 7th time doing this race! It is crazy to think that much time has gone by since my first Shuffle so long ago.

This year, however, my "race" strategy was quite different. I didn't plan to run the whole thing, I just planned to finish. I had changed my goals a few times and in the end I decided to run 2 miles, walk 2 miles, run the last mile. I've run 3 miles before and felt fine so I thought that would be a good strategy for the race.

The expo was held at Navy Pier as usual. Maggie and I were unexpectedly late for our blogger meeting at the Bean with Eric. He was gracious enough to wait for us so that worked out well. Why were we late? We were stuck by a drawbridge, no joke.

We finally made it to our destination and took a few quick pics (obviously).

Expos really aren't what they used to be. Perhaps it is because the sport of running has become so popular? Either way, I always have such high expectations for the freebies at this expo. And the past few years just haven't been the same. I did get some frozen keifer (yum) and I got to try a few flavors of Nuun and Clif bar... but nothing really outstanding. We did run into a few FNRC members there, go figure!

Maggie and I outside the expo

Later that day, I had been texting my friend Kate discussing my race "strategy." She was debating not doing it because she has been feeling under the weather. I asked if she wouldn't mind sticking with me at my pace (as she is usually much faster) and we can keep our streak going. (This was her 6th Shamrock Shuffle.) Kate graciously agreed so I was happy to have a buddy to share the race experience with!

Sunday morning, Maggie came to my house and we carpooled downtown together. We parked in the typical $2 lot and headed to the Hilton to meet up with the rest of the FNRC. (Can you spot fellow local bloggers Amanda and Amanda?)

Ready to shuffle in my Oiselle singlet and Sparkle Skirt!

I said goodbye to all my Wave 1 friends and wished them luck on a great race. Kate met me at the Hilton soon after and we hung around there before heading to our start in wave 2.

Kate and I, in wave 2, waiting 45+ minutes to start the race!

I have to say, I was really glad I had a buddy in the corral with me. We waited a long time for the race to start (over 45 minutes) as we were in J, the 2nd to last corral. Once we got rolling though, it was fun to be moving! I don't think I've ever started this far back in a race before and I felt like there were definitely some big differences. I did feel a few times that I might get run over by someone that was doing the "sprint and walk" method of racing. When we were walking, we moved to the side to not inconvenience the other runners, and for our own safety. We actually ran into a few other friends on the sidelines and running the race! Its crazy what a small world the running community can be! I didn't run into Anne at all, who was also in corral J. But with such a huge race, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. We kept to my strategy and I had to tell myself not to kick it into high-gear as we were heading down Michigan Avenue, near the end. Lol. Kate and I smiled for the finish photo and hopefully it is a good one!

Now that the race was over, it was time to find some of my other friends that were running the race! I met up with Maggie and ran into local fastie Nicole. They both ran PRs and had a great time. It really was beautiful weather and a great day for a race!

Photo courtesy of Maggie

And then, it was time for brunch! Thanks to all my friends that supported me and waited for me as I was out there! I had a fabulous time and will definitely be back again next year!! :)

The day of the F^3 half marathon started out like any other race. I met up with Nicole, Amanda, and Maggie to carpool to the city. We got to the city much earlier than I expected and we were able to find a nice parking spot right by the start with no problem. We stayed in the car to keep warm for as long as possible before meeting up with some bloggers and some FN Runners. Nothing felt particularly out of the ordinary.

Carpool crew (L to R): me, Maggie, Nicole, and Amanda

FNRC, plus 1 blogger

I started the race with Erin and I know we run well together from our Zooma experience. We started off at a conversations pace of about 9:30. This is usually easy for me but it just seemed like a struggle. We kept it going until about mile 4 when I had to dial it back. I knew I had some mental blocks that I had to try and break through if I wanted to finish this thing. I wished Erin good luck and I slowed to about a 10 min pace. Soon afterwards, I ran past some of the Chicago Running Bloggers and their signs made me smile! Thanks so much for coming out to cheer us on!


As I kept going, I felt more and more sluggish and the nausea started. I was moving at about an 11 min pace at this point. After getting sick, I stopped to walk and one of the course marshals asked me if I was okay. I knew what I wanted the answer to be, yet that was different than the truth. I wasn't okay and this just wasn't my race. Instead of trying to struggle through the next 7.5 miles, I decided to throw in the towel and DNF. I had to listen to my body and my body was telling me to stop. There are a bunch of different factors that could be reasons why, but I don't want to over analyze the possibilities. It just wasn't my day.

On the plus side, I got to head to the finish line early and see the elites finish. I was most excited about seeing Tera Moody finish! I also got the chance to talk to her after the race, and congratulate her on her Houston finish earlier this month. As we were chatting, some random guy came up behind Tera and gave her a big hug, lifting her up. Apparently he thought she was someone else... Awkward... But Tera just laughed it off an we kept on talking. She lives and trains in Colorado so we talked about the difference in sea level and different running terrains. She was really friendly and I'm super bummed I didn't get a pic of us together! What kind of blogger am I?

I then headed back to my car for a little bit and waited for my other friends to finish. It seems like everyone had a really great race despite the temps an conditions (some of the terrain was quite snowy).

Post-race, posing with medals (which also doubled as cowbells)

After the race, we headed to the Cubby Bear for the post-race party and some beers. With my nausea, I decided it was best to not have any beers so I enjoyed an ice cold glass of water.

The FNRC at the Cubby Bear

Overall, I thought this was a fantastic race. It was well organized and well staffed. Even when I was off on the sidelines, waiting for a ride to the finish, I overheard some of the walkie-talkie conversations and they had each other covered. I wish there would have been more warming tents at the start as they got pretty crowded before the race. All of the post-race eats were great (except, a bottle of water would have been nice versus cups) and I especially enjoyed the donuts. :)

Packet pickup was offered in the city and a few different suburbs and that was definitely helpful. The shirt we got is a nice short sleeved tech tee. I thought it was strange to have a short-sleeved shirt for a winter race, but given my long arms problem, I'm not going to complain.

I hope to run this event next year and cross that finish line smiling. :)

Resident fastie, Nicole Fritz, runs a lot of local races. There is a local series of races of various distances put on by the local park district. It is quite popular among local folks as you can sign up for all three races for 1 price.