Race Director Notes: St. Paddy's Shamrock Shuffle

Sunday, March 16th

4:15 am:  Alarm wakes me up, hit snooze.  Five minutes later 2nd alarm goes off and I remember why my alarms going off soooo damn early, I've gotta race this morning that I have to be at, so I check my weather app on my phone to see what type of mess I'll be working in this morning.  Weather app says, 60 with wind and rain.  WTF, that's not what I had in mind for race morning.  I get up to make my usual morning black coffee, no sugar and let my dogs out the back door.  I notice, there's no rain just yet, but for sure it's gonna be windy.  Grab all my gear, phone, bag, laptop, extra clothes, hat and coffee to go.  I am on a mission to be the first to arrive at the office.   I have to beat Javier, the early to rise Split Second crew member that's been "Employee of the Year"  2 years running!  So, I get over to McAllister Park at 5:25 am and I most definitely am the first to arrive, the park is extremely dark and creepy.  I realized next time, I don't want to be the first to arrive anywhere that early, I had to wait around for about 5 minutes or so for the next person to show up.  That's 5 minutes too long in my book.  Thankfully, I wasn't there too long by myself.  Javier showed up and all was well.   Soon after, Mitch finally decides to show up but without ICE, and what are we gonna do without ICE?  We have cases of Shiner Beer for our runners that deserve a nice cold beer after they race.  Not to mention, just as Mitch arrives the rain comes, that's when my mouth becomes uncontrollable and spewing out every unlady like word I know.  I'll let you take a guess at what I said.


6:00am: the rest of our crew shows up and the day begins.  My volunteer coordinator, race timers and set up crew get started before the sun rises.  We set up the water stops, arch and race day registration.  Soon after our volunteers start to trickle in, although not quite awake, they wait for their assignments....thank you to the crew from Any Body Can, awesome volunteers that are ready to help whenever and wherever.  Check out the chicken, can you guess who that might be from Any Body Can?

We had a great turnout in the morning with everyone that came out to race and last minute registration, which ended up being more than expected. Let me just say one thing about registering at the last minute.....when you don't register early, it makes it extremely difficult to plan for things like t-shirts and food, Portolets, etc.  One of the most frustrating details when planning a race is determining how many t-shirts to order. We pull our hair out every time!  Anyways, just thought I'd vent a little.  Moving on, I couldn't ask for better sponsors that participated and provided resources like bagels, bread, massages, physical therapy assistance and more, you make our events fun and unique.  With that being said, I have to give mad props to San Antonio Center for Physical Therapy, Camp Gladiator, Hill Country Spine and Sport, Bagel Factory, Great Harvest Bread Company, Shiner Beers, Saucony and Ozarka.

8:00am:  Precisely at 8:00am, the 1K takes off and I was no where in sight.  Some last minute registration issues arise and I didn't even realize what time it was.  No pictures of the 1K kiddos in their St. Paddy's green, sorry. As the morning goes on runners start lining up, our lovely Carol Healey sings the national anthem and some last minute announcements begin.  I'm so glad we hired Mark Purnell to announce at our events, if not we'd have to listen to Mitch sing and tell bad jokes.  I don't think I can handle that all morning. 


  8:30 am:  The race starts, right on time.  Runners are off, everyone looks happy, our crew looks surprisingly calm. I think this is the first time everything happened according to plan.  This makes me start to panic, what are we missing, what did we forget?   As soon as all the runners cross that start line, a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders and I can breath a little bit.  I have to say though, I do miss being on the other side, when I was just a runner. Now, I have to worry about everybody else finishing safely, getting lost, D-tags not working, etc.   So many things that could possibly go wrong.  Luckily, all went well and I remember why I love my job.  I  love seeing the nervousness at the start line, the over the top creative costumes people run in, the families that get up early and run together and the excitement of finishing a race for the first time or the 100th time.  The running community is a small and unique group of individuals of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. Some compete against themselves and others compete to win.  Regardless of the reason, runners are great supporters of one another and I love being a part of this sport.  Great job everyone that ran the Shamrock Shuffle.  Hope you all enjoyed the course and had a good time.  Thank you to our sponsors, volunteers, iRun staff, Split Second Crew and the iRun Team. 


 iRunning Mama

So Much to Do, So Little Time

First and foremost, I apologize for any spelling and grammatical errors you may find on my blog.  I write what's on my mind and forget about the minor insignificant details like grammar. I've got more important things to worry about.  Hope you still enjoy reading :)

So I'll just start with this being crazy week #1.  Have I mentioned my job includes promotions,

events, and race directing.  On top of all this I still tried to fit in a few workouts this week if not for anything else but at least for my sanity.  The beginning of the week included a trip to Luckenbach to finalize a few things for the Lone Star Half, then packet pickup and some last minute details for the Shamrock Shuffle and our annual St. Paddy's Social Run. On top of all this going on, the shoe fairy stopped by and dropped off a pair of the new Adidas Adistar Energy Boost to try.  So of course I had to take these out a few times around the block.  Actually, I ended up on a different route with my daughter and her lovely stroller, which took me through a ridiculously hilly neighborhood.  I decided it was time to stop being afraid of this course, since I'm getting a little bored with our usual route.  Anyways back to my shoes, again as with the SuperNova Glide, these are a little more feel the road then I prefer especially for a long run but this shoe does feel amazing on my feet. I know this is considered a high mileage shoe, but again not my cup

of tea for a long run.  The seamless upper is super soft and fits like a glove thanks to their techfit technology.  I think for someone that likes a more form fitting snug fit throughout the entire shoe, you will love it as much as I do.  The Energy Boost has that springy Boost cushioning, so it extremely responsive and of course lightweight.  Next, I do have to mention, I love the all blue colorway on this shoe, not that color should matter, but it just so happens blue is my favorite color.  Now, one thing I've not had a chance to test in the Adidas and by know means does it really bother me, but the outsole is supposed to offer superior traction in most terrains and wet conditions with it's Continental rubber outsole. I don't usually like to get caught in the rain, but I've found myself hoping that's the case just so I can see how good this Continental rubber really is.... Overall, I really do like this shoe and plan on rotating it for shorter workouts, tempo runs, speed work and probably track workouts.  Well....okay, I'm lying, I can't say I've done a track workout in quite a while, they scare me.  I should probably take our License for Speed Class with Coach Lauren to help me get over my fear.   

Last, but not least  I  wanted to include a  quick recap of our St. Paddy's Social Run with Saucony and

Polar.  Thanks again to our awesome reps Peter from Saucony and Sarah with Polar.  We love being able to demo products at our events, it really gives our runners a chance to see what's available and if it's a good fit for their training.  If you came out to this run, your selfie was probably posted on Facebook.  We had a little fun with our Saucony photo frame and a few St. Paddy's

accessories.  On top of all that fun, I added in a little workout of my own.  I had to check out the Saucony Triumphs again, since it's been like, four years since I've run in a pair.  Not the same shoe it used be, so I think its hard for me to fall back in love with this shoe.  I did like the wider toe box, and mesh on the upper, as it provides plenty of room for my toes to splay, and I don't remember it feeling like that previously.  The PowerGrid cushioning, seemed a little firm to me, but a good lightweight neutral option.  I believe the women's shoe weighs in at 9.3oz for a size 8, although I am no size 8, more like a size 10.5, so you do the math........it still feels fairly lightweight though.  Overall, not a bad shoe if you need the width and like a firmer ride, I think you'd feel fine doing a lot of mileage in this shoe. 

Next, look for my Race Director Notes on the St. Paddy's Shamrock Shuffle, later this week. 

iRunning Mama

Bra's and Breakfast Recap

(Thank you to our Models, you are all Beautiful!)

 

        If you didn't get a chance to experience our 2nd Bra's and Breakfast (also known as Breakfast and Boobs) you really missed out on something special. Our Moving Comfort line can do wonders for your health.  No, really....wonders.  From a health and wellness perspective, when you look good, you feel good.  That's not just related to your weight but the confidence you feel when you put on a piece of clothing that makes you feel empowered. For women, that can be as simple as a sports bra or a pair of capri pants.  One of things I've experienced in my life as many of us have, is the fluctuation of my weight including my boobs. It can be extremely uncomfortable and discouraging when your trying to improve yourself but feel inadequate in something that you wear.  What I love is how Moving Comfort caters to all women of varying heights, weights, shapes and sizes, depending on the type of support and fit you are looking for.  That's why we designed our Fashion Show to model some of those different shapes and sizes.

      So, if your curious about my experience in Moving Comfort, I do own three of our best selling sports bra's the Fiona, Juno and the Rebound Racer. I do find myself washing and rewashing two of my favorites over and over and over.  I prefer wearing the Fiona on a daily basis as part of my everyday work attire.  Thankfully, iRun's business casual means iRun T's every day of the week and some comfy capri pants or shorts. The Rebound Racer is my all time favorite workout bra.  Supper comfortable, soft adjustable straps and never chaffes......love, love, love.  It can be a bit tricky to get in and out of, especially when your soaked in sweat but very supportive "No Bounce".  Now, while I was pregnant and breastfeeding, the Juno did extremely well for me.  This bra was made with larger boobs in mind.  With the molded cups it still gives a nice shape, and the adjustable straps allows for moms to wear it comfortably to workout or casually while still breastfeeding.  I would highly recommend this to new mommies. 

    Before I go, I just want to say thank you again to our models and to all of our vendors that participated and joined us for this event.  Promotion Physical Therapy, Origami Owl, Girls on the Run, Team in Training, Palser Chiropractic, Golds Gym and Nothing Bundt Cakes. Thank you to Deb Mock with Moving Comfort for announcing and fitting each and every one of our ladies on Saturday. 

iRunning Mama
www.iruntexas.net