Shamrock Half Marathon- Virginia Beach, VA

Distance:  13.1 Miles
Overall Time:  2:33:46
Pace: 11:44.mi

We started at the expo by meeting up with some friends the day before the race. We hit the expo late, but got checked in and picked up our bibs. We checked into at the Cottages at Dam Neck before carb-loading at an amazing italian restaurant, Mannino's Italian Bistro. The food was fantastic (all four of us ate like Kings and Queens and it was under $100, I believe).



Chillin' at the Convention Center for the Expo



Amazing race for me...KT Tape and wrapping my feet kept the heel pain at bay, and allowed me to set a new PR by about 8 minutes! I didn't expect it, and I didn't push hard for it, for fear that I'd mess up the feet, so I stayed between a 10-11 minute pace throughout most of my run. I did slow down at water stops and to help pace my friend (she beat her PR by 20 minutes- so it was totally worth it) and my time reflects it. Overall, couldn't be happier about this run.



Before the run

It was a brisk (to say the least), and windy to boot when we got to the Half Marathon Starting line. Cold, to me, is better than warm, so once we got about 2 miles in, I was grateful for the cool temps. It was a beautiful morning to be running, and I felt worse for the spectators who came out in mass to freeze while the cheered us on- at least we were getting warmed up!

Our first few miles I maintained a 10:30ish pace with my friend, Samyra, who I decided early was going to be my running partner for the duration. She's a bit slower-paced than I, and I wanted to take the run easy, plus she wanted to beat her previous PR...so it worked out perfectly. We stayed together through many, many miles- uphill, across Fort Story, down Atlantic Avenue- when we finally parted ways around the 11-mile mark. Sam had slowed slightly, and my legs were starting to cramp, so I picked up the pace and headed for the finish line.

Home stretch down the boardwalk

 I knew I would beat my PR by close to eight minutes, and I was psyched, since I didn't go into the race with that in mind. Once I saw the finish line though, I got excited and sprinted the last few minutes.

Far left, already complete

Crossing the finish line

Afterward, I got my medal and waited for Samyra to cross the finish. She was a short minute or so behind me, crushing her PR by about 20 minutes. We were excitedly shreeking about it when a reporter from WTKR came up and asked to interview us. Which, since we already felt like rockstars, we agreed to.

Afterwards, we waited for my husband to come across. He was the last of us running the half, and we had one more person in our group who was running the full marathon. My husband, Jeremy, came across about 15 minutes after Sam and I, just under 3 hours for his first half marathon. So far, three PRs.



Me and my husband, Jeremy, after the half

 We hung out at the finisher party for a bit and dropped by the car to dump off our stuff and get a dry bag with Wayne's clothes, for when he was done running too. When all was said and done, Wayne also PRed his run, making us four-for-four!

This was amazing for all of us. I couldn't be happier.