Bristol Shamrock Run

This past Saturday, March 19th, I ran the Shamrock Run in Bristol, CT with my brother-in-law.  As I am originally from Bristol, it was nice to run a course that I was very familiar with and see many people that I know.  The race course was actually the same route where I trained for my first half marathon a couple years back.  It is right down the street from my parents house.

The race features both a 2 mile and 5 mile course.  I competed in the 5 mile race and finished at 37:42.  I was aiming for closer to 35:00, but I was satisfied with my time.  My brother-in-law did a great job competing in his first race, finishing at 43:00.  It was pretty chilly and windy out on the course and I think that slowed me down a little.  My energy levels were also a bit lower than normal.  I'm not sure if this has to do with my recent change to a primal diet.  I didn't eat any grains (pasta,oatmeal, bread) leading up to the race, so I am thinking maybe my body wasn't used to the adjustment.  Hopefully I will post some pictures from the race website (although they charge $6 for each pic you download).

Here is a video from the race website:

I'll soon be planning my next race.  I'm not sure whether I'll stick to a shorter distance (5k or 10k) or do something longer (half-marathon).  I think I prefer shorter race due to the fact that I am running pretty hard the entire race.  I also prefer the training for shorter races which eliminates long runs, or what Mark Sisson might call "Chronic Cardio."