2018 SHAMROCK RUN 15K RACE PREVIEW

New route as of last year.

Well, this Sunday the Shamrock Run is upon me once more. I've ran this race ever year since I started running, dating back to 2012. So this will be my SEVENTH year running this thing. Crazy to think about; it doesn't feel like it's been that long since I started running. It will also be my fifth time running the 15k. I will never run the half marathon, I detailed why in this blog post, so barring injury or feeling the need to mix things up, I hope to be in the 15k yearly for many years to come.

Last year I had just been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis and was only two weeks into treatment. I ran the 8k with Brandon and was actually able to finish it at 10:20/mile without stopping. It was a pretty good accomplishment at the time! This year, however, it is back to the 15k and a chance to set my PW. How bad will it get? We'll just have to wait and see! I'll be able to finish it, no problem. Obviously I did the Miami Half not too long ago and I've been keeping up the weekday and weekend runs. This last weekend I did 10 miles at 9:15/mile pace and felt pretty strong.

Some things have changed since the last time I ran the Shamrock Run 15k. They are still doing the modified courses they instituted last year due to the police staffing shortage. I really liked the previous route, not only did it mostly stick to the course of the historical Cascade Run Off, it broke the run into easy thirds. The first three miles were flat, the middle three were uphill, and the final three were downhill. With the changed course, you are basically running in the opposite direction. Instead of going up Terwillager and down Barbur, you run up Barbur and go down Terwillager. However, the course doesn't quite break down into easy thirds like before. The first three are uphill, the next three are generally downhill, and the final three are generally flat,but there is some variation in those final six.

I don't feel like I've gotten much faster since last fall. Honestly, I can't complain about it that much, I am not doing any targeted speedwork on purpose. I'm just trying to get my mileage up and see if I am able to build to a marathon again. If I can, then maybe next year I can think about getting faster. However, the meantime, I am kind of stuck where I am. So I have to set my expectations accordingly. I think the Holiday Half was my current "peak" of fitness, I don't believe I am any faster, so I can kind of set my "A" goals by extrapolating from that.

This race is shorter than the Holiday Half by four miles but is also much hillier. The first three miles uphill are going to be killer. Which is kind of why I am thinking a pace right around the Holiday Half pace is a good target to go for. I am hoping I can do the uphill around 10:00/mile for those three miles. If I can do that, then the rest of the race I need to average 8:20/mile to get my overall pace at 8:50/mile, which is around the Holiday Half pace. Hopefully I can go below 8:00 on the downhill parts and then manage 8:40 or so on the flat stuff. We'll see.

Anyways, I'm just going to try my best and whatever it ends up being, I'll be happy with that. Still just glad I am out there running pain free.

GOALS:

"A" GOAL: 1:22:48 or quicker. This is 8:53/mile, which is my Holiday Half pace. Everything seemed to go right that day, so if I am able to match that pace on this hilly course, then I will consider it a victory.

"B" GOAL: Under 1:25. This is 9:07/mile or quicker. I really think I should be able to at least get this time. I just ran 10 miles at 9:15 pace for training. I should be able to get 9:07 in a race, even if it is kind of hilly. Assuming my legs feel decent, this should be an achievable result.

"C" GOAL: Under 1:30. 9:39/mile or quicker. I can only see this coming into play if I absolutely kill myself on the hills and then bonk out. I want something starting with a 1:2X. Anything less is a failure.