Shamrock weekend at Virginia Beach was a blast both figuratively and literary.
Let me say first and foremost that the "Spitfire" deserves her own finishers medal. Her little dog and my friend Oscar was one sick feller when we left Friday afternoon. Janet was very torn between staying and nursing Oscar and supporting me at my races. The little wiener dog was showing some signs of improvement when she decide to leave him in my parents care. It was a brave sacrifice and a loving jester to me. Thanks Janet for being there and thanks to my Mom and Dad for taking on care for Oscar and putting up with Janet's phone calls! Oh by the way Oscar seems to be doing fine!The trip down to Virginia Beach was uneventful enough....a little traffic jam and some unseasonably warm weather for March. It was nice to hangout on the strip in shorts and a tee. A huge yellow moon lit the ocean that night.
Saturday morning we awoke to warm but breezy weather. Janet gave me some news that she might want to go home if Oscar was still sick.....this sort of threw a little wrench into the works..do I do the 8k at competitive speed and go home or blow my wad and still do the half. What to do! Well I'll just go 3/4 speed just in case. ( good thing)....cause the little feller improved and we were able to stay for the half. Thanks Janet! Loveya!
The only thing Sunday's weather had in common with Saturday was the breeze...only magnified! The 43 degree temperature and 30 mph wind made my body cringe! With only shorts and a 1/4 zip top to cover the OFG the race couldn't start fast enough. With each blast of wind it felt like another layer of skin had blown off. I had stopped by to meet up with the "M&M" boys and walk with them to start... the brief rest bit from the wind was a blessing, but it did make it harder to head back out into the sudden Arctic conditions.
After reaching the corrals and wishing my pals luck it was time to hunker down for a while...meet some very kind and warm new fiends. It's always good to get to know your corral mates and exchange training/racing stories. Most of my surrounding mates were female with very positive attitudes. It was amazing how upbeat everyone was in the cold conditions.
Finally our corral was released and let the weaving begin! Now let me say I know I'm not as fast as I was, and no means do I want to offend the walkers but jeez did they make the first few miles feel like a game of red rover! I think I eventually ran 15 miles with all the side to side stop and go running. But maybe just maybe they actually helped! With all my "pickups" it put me into a faster pace than I trained. By the 4 mile mark I past the 2:30 pacer....by golly he usually passes me! Felt good to make him eat my dust. I now had a goal....do not let the pacer guy repass!
Now I don't want to sound cocky but at one point I actually thought this was the easiest half I've ever done. That was miles 1 -8. Miles 9 -12 were different. Though physically I felt good....mentally I struggled. I was afraid of completely bonking and not making it. I took too many walk breaks during these miles with each restart getting quite a bit harder. I wanted to refresh myself to be able to run the boardwalk and oh keep that pace guy behind me! And I did! The boardwalk was a breeze and I finished strong. No pace guy in sight! My 12th half was done and 20 minutes faster than last year! Not bad for an OFG!
The Spitfire and I later joined the "M&M" boys for some seafood and "war" stories A good time had by all!
Thanks to all the volunteers and staff of J and A racing and the fine people of Virginia beach..I'll be back next year! And a big thanks Janet!
So now it's a little recovery time and then the next big race. Til then...
Shuffle on friends!
The OFG
