In the spirit of Tommy Fitz's ongoing "Dear Diary" epic I present,
Fuji's Eleven Key Learnings From Running the 2002 Shamrock Shuffle 8K (my first race ever!)
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1) Do pre-register for the Shuffle by the deadline. The ten-dollar last-minute "idiot tax" is much better spent on beer. Duh.
2) Do not run a hard 12 miles along the lakefront, mostly into the wind, the day before race day. Any tips, though, from all you real athletes out there?
3) Do not stay out and drink until 1:00am at the Union with Barnum the night before race day (that place is like his "Cheers"... he knows everybody there, except the good-looking 25-year-old Lincoln Park chicks that were behind us). Of course my famous last words earlier that evening were "I'm running a race tomorrow so I'm only going to have a few drinks and get to bed early." Yeah, right.
4) Do avail yourself of the free "gear check". Lugging around another four pounds of stuff in a race is idiotic. Although there were lines afterwards as I had expected, there was still a ton of time before they started serving at the post-race party.
5) Do not use the Mahu as a "Pace Car" in your first race ever (we did the first mile in 6:05). Or, for that matter, any other former college-level athlete. And definitely do not try and pace Havsy either as that maniac did it in 32:40 at a 6:34/mile pace. I could not run that pace if I were being chased by something extraordinarily unpleasant.
6) Do not use a regular poly/cotton T-shirt for a cold weather race unless you want to get soaked, and then freeze.
7) Do not leave an Underwater People show halfway through, as their second set might be much better than the first. (I did not do this, but the guilty parties know who they are). There may be an opportunity to "make amends" at Lakeview Links the next Sat.
8) Do watch Tommy Fitz get "digits" - remember the blonde in the white top? Fitzie - make sure we add Amy's email to the PPC database.
9) Do not go run another six miles (with some other friends) after throwing down at least nine Goose Islands at the Hilton Post-Race party. Hardly noticed that the temperature dropped 20 degrees, the wind picked up to 15 knots and it started snowing.
10) Do not drink a boatload more beer after the second run, with said friends, "to keep the buzz going", at the Shamrock Club by the Merchandise Mart. At least, not on a school night.
11) Lastly, do not allow aforementioned friends to talk you into going to the Brew & View to watch the Academy Awards, continue the festivities, and drink even more beer, after having done all of the above (except #7).
#11 was the only good call I made yesterday. My last remaining shred of good judgment prevailed and I hit the hay early instead of the B&V (which is what I should have done Sat. night, instead).
That's my story and stickin' to it. - Fuji