The Broad Running Broad

First things first before I get into today’s post – I passed the AU61. Holy crap, was getting that passed and off my chest a massive relief.

Then this afternoon, I got my materials for the AU62 so I can start studying for that next week and knock that off my checklist.

Slowly but surely, I am making my way through this designation course in 2025.

And now that I’m back home (and finishing all the laundry I would have never imagined I’d amass over six days), I can’t wait to tell you all about the first travel race of 2025 and the biggest race-cation yet.

Knights ‘n dames, Allison ran the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach.

Specifically, the Dolphin Challenge.

The Shamrock Marathon is an annual event on St. Patrick’s Day weekend in Virginia Beach. Saturday is the 8k, Leprechaun Dash and Final Mile races. The half and full are the next day. Shamrock has two challenge options: the Dolphin, which is the 8k on Saturday and half on Sunday, and the Whale, which is the 8k and then the full on Sunday. Originally I wanted to run the half since this would be Half #25, but then saw the challenge series option and decided to register for the Dolphin.

Mom signed up for the 8k. I’ve been told waiting for me is boring (which okay, it can be) and if there’s an option for a 5k or a shorter distance, why not do that while she’s there with me? It also turns out both of us having races to look forward to helped sustain us through a stressful but transformative winter.

We broke the trip down there up across Thursday and Friday, arriving in VB in the early afternoon on Friday. After a stop at the expo for our bibs and some shopping, we got checked into the hotel and decided to go walk around the boardwalk for a bit. It was overcast and windy, but still a good walking day to explore the shore. We didn’t do too much wandering though – we both had to be up for a 7:30 race the following morning.

The TowneBank Shamrock 8k

Final time – 52:49. Average pace – 10:38 min/mile

You know how the end of winter, almost-springtime weather can be unpredictable? Turns out packing all the clothing options was a good idea. I’ve always thought of South = humidity = hotter than my neck of the woods.

However, when you have coastal breeze and overcast, you might as well have a winter coat with you.

Mom and I did the cold walk shuffle towards the corrals on Pacific Avenue. I figured if I ran my conservative pace of 11:00 min/mile I could complete the 5k in 55 minutes, so I set that as my goal time. I was several corrals ahead of Mom, so with five-ish minutes to go we said our goodbyes and I squeezed into my corral.

And with the blow of an air horn, it was go time.

The course took us down Pacific Avenue with a left to pick up on the boardwalk a little after Mile 2. It was windy, but running up the boardwalk alongside the Atlantic Ocean was so majestic. I surprised myself by not feeling weary and only taking a short walk break around Mile 2.6. Then I pulled it together and ran the rest of the way to the finish, underneath the steely gaze of the King Neptune statue.

I told myself 55 minutes and finished in 52:49.

To Mom’s surprise, she finished after me in 1:12:08. Thanks to time and location constraints (my folks live out in the middle of nowhere, so road running isn’t a safe option), my mom’s training has all been done on the treadmill. Her treadmill pace is conservative, so she figured she would probably finish in closer to an hour and a half.

The Shamrock Marathon has an app with a tracker, so I was able to track Mom and see how she was doing. The first half of her race was a 14:38 pace. The second half and her finish pace was 14:27. A nice spectator handed me her extra cowbell, and as Mom came through the finisher chute I was yelling to her, “You have negative splits! You made negative splits!”

I had to explain what those meant later on.

But it was still a source of pleasant surprise to her that she was able to maintain a faster pace than she was originally expecting.

We both felt strong and proud. But for one of us the race had only begun.

I had a half marathon to run the next morning.

The Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon

Final time – 2:41:56. Average pace – 12:22 min/mile

The half didn’t quite go as I thought it would, but I’m okay with it.

It turns out packing shorts and a tank top was one of my better ideas, since temperature-wise I stayed cool while I was running. And fish ‘n chips the night before is still a solid dinner option.

I did look at the course map and elevation change before race morning, but in all honesty I didn’t pay too much attention to it. That is, until I heard a lady next to me in the corral telling her friend that the first four miles is an uphill that sneaks up on you.

Now, during the first three miles/half hour of a race, my calves are prone to flare ups that feel like running on hambones. It’s not painful but it’s not pleasant either. Thankfully after that first three miles/half hour the calf aches subside, but I still have to go through it and during those first three miles, I did.

I also had a bad dream the night before where someone from my past who betrayed me came back. In my dream I told him exactly what I thought of his actions – which included a lot of f-bombs. The anger from my dream was still present when I started my race, so I continued my monologue to the demon in my head and ran angry the first four miles up Atlantic Avenue towards First Landing State Park.

Mile 4 started a downhill that felt great through First Landing SP, and Miles 5 and 6 took us through Joint Expeditionary Base, Ft. Story. Mile 7 on the base was another uphill, and I wound up having to walk more of that mile than I wanted to due to my calves and left foot flaring up.

The northern point of the base runs alongside Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic. Visually running alongside the bay and ocean is beautiful. Physically, those winds do not play. This was the point in my half where I decided done was good enough. My original goal time was 2:20-2:30, but after those winds I decided I’d be happy enough to finish.

Miles 8 into 9 took us out of the base and back down Atlantic Avenue. I wasn’t running fast but I did get my strength back as I ran through the last few miles. Around Mile 12 I decided I was going to run that last mile through the winds and not stop, no matter what. The spectators, DJs and music pumping through Atlantic Avenue was the boost I needed, and then it was a left and a right onto the Boardwalk.

I didn’t remember King Neptune and the Finish Line being that far ahead the day before. I also didn’t really care.

The wind was strong. That was fine by me.

I heard Mom, then looked over and saw her. Part of my “F you” monologue to the demon was telling him that I was soon going to be reunited with my mother, the real parent who actually understands the assignment. That final burst of anger propelled me across the finish.

I finished about ten minutes later than I was anticipating.

But I completed the Dolphin Challenge. 18 miles across two days. And I even got the t-shirt. So I’ll take it.

Final Thoughts

Reader-Friends, I spent three years talking about Shamrock before I actually made it down there and raced. It was exhilarating, and exhausting. Running alongside the ocean was on my bucket list, and just like the mountains the previous year in West Virginia, being that close to nature makes you realize how small you are. It’s humbling, and at the same time, empowering.

Shamrock Marathon Weekend, you did not disappoint. I don’t know when I’ll be back next, but I’m definitely coming back.

I hope you all enjoyed the first race recap I’ve written in a hot minute. And wherever you are, I hope you’re all enjoying your morning, afternoon or evening.

Yours in running and life,

Allison