I decided to go pick up my race packet on Friday instead of Saturday. I met up with my friend "M" from our running club and we rode together. We had lunch at Pentagon City mall and then headed on the metro into DC where the expo was being held at the National Postal Museum. The nice thing about this location is that as soon as, you get off the Metro & ride the escalator up to the street you end up directly in front of the building. I was bit surprised to see a line about half a block long waiting to get into the building, but it moved very fast.
The expo was nice it had the typical vendors you see at most race expos. What I enjoyed the most was seeing friends from our running club there either working at the vendor tables or just there to pick up their packets. I even met someone in person for the first time who's in one of the triathlon groups that I belong to on Facebook.
I went home and couldn't decide what to wear on race day. The temperature was going to be a bit chilly but not chilly enough to wear long sleeves, I hate it when that happens. I ended up deciding to go with long running pants, a short sleeved blue shirt with pink arm warmers & a throw away jacket for when it got too hot.
On race morning I woke up at 4:15. I would have normally hit snooze button a few times & slept in a bit longer but I was picking up 6 other people & had a schedule to follow. So when my phone went off I got up the first time. Amazing how that works when other people are counting on you.
After picking everyone up we headed over to the Metro station. I was going to chance it and just drive downtown but I was too worried that we might not find parking so I ended up playing it safe & using the train. It was not very crowded which kind of surprised me because the last time we took it we were packed in there like sardines. It was because the last time we went was for the Marine Corps Marathon which is a huge race by comparison.
We got to our stop at 6:40am leaving us 5 minutes to meet up with some other ladies in our running club (Moms Run This Town) for a group picture. Luckily it was at the Smithsonian Castle which is a few steps from our stop. There were a lot of ladies from various chapters around the area there for the picture. We did one big group picture & then took another one of just our local chapter. We decided to make our group picture a little more "wild". After that we went to the corral to line up.
We got to the start area and it was already pretty full and it was hard to see where exactly to get into the corral. They fenced off the corral area which is ok but when you have hundreds of people standing around it makes it nearly impossible to see where an opening is. We eventually found an opening but people were just line up all around it so we just waited & when the crowd started moving we were able to squeeze in.
We managed to get a group selfie picture just before crossing the start line.
I ran with the group for about 1/2 a mile then I kept finding myself running ahead and slowing down to stay with the group but I just couldn't stay at their pace. I had to keep going, I can't explain it but it's hard for me to maintain a slower pace. For some reason it actually feels like I am doing more work & exerting more energy. I know that sounds completely strange & weird. We just agreed on a place to meet at the finish in case we all got separated.
I continued on and tried taking pictures along the way. I saw Woody, the mascot for the Wilson Bridge Half Marathon race, giving waves & high fives to runners on the Memorial Bridge.
I was starting to get really hot so I took my jacket off and ran with it for awhile before pitching it to the side of the road. After tossing it, I was running behind this girl who was keeping about the same pace. I just had to take a picture of her shirt. I was thinking to myself that I need to repeat this to myself as soon as I feel like walking.
I got to about mile 5 & saw my friends wonderful husband David holding up a sign & cheering as I went by. That gave me was such a boost!
Just past mile 7 I walked for a bit and drank some water & took a GU. I picked up the salted caramel flavor a couple weeks ago after hearing from everyone about how good it tasted so I tried one and it was pretty good. I tried to run again and made it about a mile before stopping at the medical tent. They had a nice supply of Tylenol & I took 2. My knee was hurting pretty bad. The last 2 miles really sucked. It primarily consisted of running & walking. About half past mile 9 is small hill you have to climb to the finish. I ran it at a very slow pace & I could hear the sounds of the finish line band getting louder & as soon as the finish line was in sight, I picked up the pace. I didn't want to look like the walking dead (even though that is how I felt) for the finish line camera man. I finished, grabbed a bottled water & went to collect my medal & my checked bag. I got a text from my friend saying that they had crossed the finish.
We all decided to go get a post race treat at the Bayou Bakery in Arlington, VA. I enjoyed drinking my cappuccino & eating some beignets with some fabulous company.
Overall a good way to end the race.
Until next time .....:D
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