Pre-race
We walked the few blocks away only to find a HUGE line wrapping around the entire building. We settled in at the back, then started to feel a sprinkle. Soon enough it was raining, then hailing! With no umbrella, or way to get shelter without skipping out on the line, we decided to tough it out. Luckily a ton of people in front of us bailed, and we moved up a little more. Our total wait time? 1 hour. The most ridiculous wait time ever for race packet pick up. I'm not even sure why it was such a long wait, since when we finally got to the room for our bibs, there was barely anyone inside, and no wait at the check in tables. Completely ridiculous.
The expo wasn't too bad, I picked up a couple new sweaty bands, and a free swim cap. Scoped out the gear, then headed out to see the White House, and take a few pics. For dinner we headed to Aria, which was listed as an italian resteraunt and near our hotel. The only things "italian" about this place were the 3 pasta dishes and pizzas. The rest of the menu was salads & sandwiches, and the service was horrible. I would NOT recommend eating there to anyone.
After dinner we crashed to prep for our early wake up (actually a late one for me)! I was completely undecided on what to wear until the absolute last minute. After feedback on facebook, and checking out the Runners World "what to wear" page, I finally decided!
Race Day
Alarm went off, and I got up and started to get dressed and get my breakfast together. I put on my outfit, grabbed my throwaway longsleeve shirt, my breakfast and other gear and we headed out. We had a short walk to the race start from our hotel, and it was easy to find it since there were so many other people out walking to the start. We checked our bags, and took a few pictures by the Washington Monument.
We were in the green corral, which was 2nd to last. We crossed the start around 7:50am. My brother was running this race with me, which was our first really running together since his downfall at the Disney Half in 2010. He had just started training for his first marathon, and wanted to use this as a training run at a slower pace, so he decided to stick with me. The weather was great, a little breezy to start, but I was able to ditch my throwaway around mile 3 or 4.
We cruised along, I was feeling pretty good. I felt great for miles 1-5. By mile 5 I was really starting to feel it. Maybe because I was keeping a pretty steady 10:30ish pace. I noticed that my Garmin was about .1 ahead around mile 3. The bad thing about the race course was the amount of out & backs. There were so many that you would see people running opposite you and not get to that point for quite a while later, a little discouraging! Around mile 5ish there was a water stop set up in a extremely narrow running road, which created a huge bottle neck, and slowed us down a bit. By mile 6, I was starting to slow, and I told my brother to go ahead without me.
After dinner we crashed to prep for our early wake up (actually a late one for me)! I was completely undecided on what to wear until the absolute last minute. After feedback on facebook, and checking out the Runners World "what to wear" page, I finally decided!
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| Pink shorts & socks won! |
Race Day
Alarm went off, and I got up and started to get dressed and get my breakfast together. I put on my outfit, grabbed my throwaway longsleeve shirt, my breakfast and other gear and we headed out. We had a short walk to the race start from our hotel, and it was easy to find it since there were so many other people out walking to the start. We checked our bags, and took a few pictures by the Washington Monument.
We were in the green corral, which was 2nd to last. We crossed the start around 7:50am. My brother was running this race with me, which was our first really running together since his downfall at the Disney Half in 2010. He had just started training for his first marathon, and wanted to use this as a training run at a slower pace, so he decided to stick with me. The weather was great, a little breezy to start, but I was able to ditch my throwaway around mile 3 or 4.
We cruised along, I was feeling pretty good. I felt great for miles 1-5. By mile 5 I was really starting to feel it. Maybe because I was keeping a pretty steady 10:30ish pace. I noticed that my Garmin was about .1 ahead around mile 3. The bad thing about the race course was the amount of out & backs. There were so many that you would see people running opposite you and not get to that point for quite a while later, a little discouraging! Around mile 5ish there was a water stop set up in a extremely narrow running road, which created a huge bottle neck, and slowed us down a bit. By mile 6, I was starting to slow, and I told my brother to go ahead without me.
As you can see, I faded hard. I had to take one walk break mile 6, 2 mile 7, then more throughout the rest. It must have been because I went out too fast, which sucks because I felt great, and I thought the pace was good, about 15 seconds slower than my half pace. I guess 10 miles is pretty close to a half marathon! Any advice on decreasing the fade?!
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| shots along the race |
I was so excited to see the finish line! It was an uphill finish, and then we were done! Plus, I made my goal time (barely)!
1:50:09!
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| Finished! |
After the race, I met up with my brother, who killed it in 1:44. We got our finishing medals and a muffin. Another bad thing? The set-up for post race food! I couldn't find it! Instead of being right off the finishers chute, it was off to the side, and I missed it until my brother pointed it out.
Back to the hotel for a shower, then I starting searching for a lunch place. After searching for breweries online, I found one that served brunch. AMAZING. We were sold, and headed over to the District Chop House for fabulous beer & breakfast.
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| Cherry Wheat beer, french toast & fruit! yummmmm |
Overall, the race was fun, but not sure what the big hype is. It was really cool to run by some of the monuments, and the scenery was nice, but we won't be traveling for this race again. After the crazy packet pick up, and post race crowded confusion, I'd rather do a local race.
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