The biggest Shamrock variable: The weather

Things are looking good for Sunday. There's a chance of rain on Saturday, but it should be out of here by the time the Shamrock starts. Since the race starts at 7 a.m., it begins in the dark thanks to the daylight-saving time change. Last year it was clear and it was beautiful to see the sun rising over the ocean. Temperatures for Sunday should be in the upper 30s/low 40s at the start. Cool, but perfect for running. It shouldn't warm up too much that early in the day either. Sunday's forecast high is only 51.

Last year's race started in the mid-20s and may have hit 30 by the end of the race. It was also very windy the second half of the race. It was quite miserable actually. It had warmed up a bit in the week's leading up to the event, but race weekend was freeeeezing. It actually flurried a bit the day before. I'm looking forward to starting in some old gloves that I can discard and maybe chuck an old T-shirt as well. I figure after a mile or two, I'll be comfortable in short sleeves. The gear will be a race-time decision.

As for Saturday, if it's raining, I'll likely skip the 8k or run part of it and go back to my hotel. I don't want to risk getting hurt by slipping, exposing myself to bad weather, etc. We'll see what happens.

In the morning I'm planning a final race tuneup by waking up a little earlier and getting about a mile tempo in. Race day is a little earlier than I'm used to and I've had a hard time this week adjusting to the time change. I've also been tired from four days of covering the CAA tournament. (You know, this year's George Mason, could be George Mason ...)

As far as what happens after this race, I'm still waiting until after this race. I'm not really budging on those thoughts. Part of me wants to rest, part of me wants to do something "big" soon and part of me wants to sign up for a big race for later in the year. We'll see how 13.1 miles of all out running feels.