The Victory Run - Last Sunday's 8K Shamrock Shuffle

Last Sunday, April 10 was the annual Shamrock Shuffle 8 kilometer (4.97 miles) run through the heart of Chicago's downtown.  Doug and I run this race almost every year and we had signed up to do it again this year several weeks ago. 

When we got our happy news that my cancer had subsided on the Thursday before this race, the Shuffle took on a whole new dimenstion - this was to be a celebration of triumph, health and happiness.  A Victory Run.

It was much warmer than usual - I think it reached 80 degrees during the run - and I was overdressed so I  tired out more than I normally would, and even had to walk a bit on the last uphill leg of the race.  But I didn't want to take my jacket off because it not only had my race number, but the sign you see in the picture was pinned on my jacket just above my butt. 

For the first time in any race, Doug ran by my side the whole time.  We didn't care about how fast we were, so he skipped his special start corral for the faster runners.  We just drank in the beautiful day in the beautiful city.  Several runners congratulated me as they saw my little sign.  When we crossed the finish line of our Victory Run, Doug and I were all smiles as we held hands and raised them up in triumph.  Here is a link to view some pictures from our run: 

http://www.marathonfoto.com/index.cfm?RaceOID=12852011W1&LastName=PAWLOWSKI&BibNumber=6901