Shamrock Shuffle 3k

I ran the Shamrock Shuffle 3k on Saturday morning with 4 friends. I hoped that the weather would be good for the 10:00am start, but alas it was 38 degrees and raining when we pulled into downtown Lexington. After walking a few blocks in the wrong direction trying to find the starting area, a lady selling Irish trinkets set us in the right direction. We doubled back and entered Victorian Square, a warm and large space that comfortably held all of the runners before the race began.

Of course, the majority of the crowd was decked out in obligatory Irish garb. Perhaps the scariest person in the crowd was this lady:
I suppose all three of us could be considered a scary sight, but I'm mainly referencing the ladies to my right. The leprechaun lady was very creepy, but was kind enough to take a picture with me. She also played a lovely little flute throughout the morning. The lady next to her with the green afro was her handler.

At about 9:55am we headed out into the cold, rainy morning, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There were people standing around in shorts and t-shirts...now I know they had to be cold! We stood at the starting area for about 10 minutes, and then the race began.

The plan for the morning was for my friend Kelly and I to run basically as fast as we could. Kelly and I are both training for half-marathons this spring, and we were looking forward to deviating from our training schedule for to run a fast, flat, quick race. Our friends Kat, Sarah, and Amberly planned to jog the course. Kat and Sarah are both pregnant, and Amberly has 2 kids and averages a few hours of sleep per night. I was so proud to see all three of them out running this race!

At about 10:05am, the bullhorn sounded and we were off. Kelly and I started off at a pretty good clip, bobbing and weaving a little to get around the walkers. After a few blocks we settled into a nice pace. I really had no idea what our time for the 3k would be, but I hoped to finish in under 18:00 minutes. The race was pretty uneventful - it almost felt like it was over before it began. A girl in front of us took a huge shortcut through a parking lot. Is 3k not short enough for you? That was ridiculous. When we made our final turn onto Main St., and I knew we had to be getting close the finish line. I checked my watch and it said 14:05...I was like wow, we are going pretty fast! We could see the finish line ahead, and could feel a Asbury co-worker closing in on us, so we hit the gas and sprinted to the finish. We crossed the line in 15:31, which was an 8:18 average pace. I was elated!

One terrible thing about the race is that there was no water at the finish line. Luckily, we had parked pretty close to the finish, so Kelly and I just walked to the car to get our water. But it would have been nice to have water provided at the end. Overall, I really enjoyed the race and will try to do it again next year.

Breakfast at Alfalfas afterward was amazing. I had pancakes, bacon and a scrambled egg. The buttermilk pancakes were so good - I think they are the best pancakes I have ever had (sorry, mom!). After warming up and filling up, we ventured back outside briefly to check out the irish goods before heading home.

Here are some pictures from the day!

On the way to race: Kelly, Sarah, me

Waiting to start: (clockwise) Sarah, Amberly, me, Kelly, Kat

Running buddies for life! Me and Kelly

(This is the 3rd race Kelly & I have started & finished together - 2 half marathons & now a 3k!)

Amberly, Sarah and Kat

Self-proclaimed "Team Let's Just Get to Alfalfas!"

Warming up with some post-race coffee and tea

Kat looks happy to be done with the race!

Me and Sarah - looking forward to breakfast!