Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon

This was my first half Marathon & my first point to point race. The race started at Mount Vernon and ran on the GW Parkway, over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, and finished at National Harbor in Maryland. After training all summer & battling the nasty heat, I actually felt like I was ready. My longest run was the weekend prior and it was 10 miles.

On Saturday my Dad and I went to the expo to pick up my race packet. It contained my bib, a nice tech shirt & some other paperwork (coupons etc..). The only reason my Dad went with me was because I told him how great the expo's were. Well that wasn't the case with this one. Note: the last expo I went to was the Rock n Roll in Virginia Beach & it was huge with lots of vendors so I naturally assumed they were all about the same - oops. Needless to say this expo was very, very small in comparison & had just a handful of vendors. We were in and out of there in 15 minutes.

 

Race morning I got up at ass crack of dawn (4:30am) & got ready. I had my usual pre run meal toasted bagel, peanut butter & sliced banana. I met up with my running buddy J in Springfield & we rode together to the race. The plan was to park at National Harbor & then take a shuttle bus to the start at Mount Vernon. We arrived shortly before 6am & had to park a few floors up in the parking garage. Getting on the shuttle bus & arriving at Mount Vernon was a smooth process. Kudos to the organizers great planning. At Mount Vernon, we had plenty of time. We saw one of Jamie's friends and decided to take a picture before waiting in line for the potty.

Mount Vernon pre race picture

You can't tell by the picture but it was drizzly & lightly raining. We were hoping it would stay that way but it didn't. After we took care of business at the port-a-potties we lined up in the corral & waited for the start. At 7:20 they sang the National Anthem, that was my cue to get my watch ready in time for it to find a satellite.

The gun goes off at 7:30 and we are running.
The first few miles I did not even notice anything, I was too busy trying to stay in the "zone". Once we passed mile 5 we saw a lot people standing on top of a bridge holding signs & cheering for us. The rain also started to pick up & I was burning up so I had to take off my vest. I wasn't sure if I should keep it or toss it. I tried tying it around my waist but it wouldn't stay tied so I ended up carrying it for the rest of the race.    

The lovely bridge is at mile 9 and my pace slowed down a bit, I had to put my vest back on because it got real cold & I remember getting hit in the face with semi frozen rain & battling the crazy wind. I also remember hearing lots of cars honking at us as we were running across the bridge. That was somewhat motivating ~ no crowd support but vehicle support (I'll take it) ~ yay for honking cars !



a shot of me carrying my vest, wont be doing that again

 

Coming off of the bridge was nice & downhill but not for long because at mile 11 there was this evil hill & it SUCKED!! My calves were hating me. Once you get to the top of the hill you end up running a short distance over some gravel. For me, running on that was harder than the evil hill. The was a mix of gravel & large rocks and it was uneven. Thank goodness it wasn't far because once your done then you round the corner and it's pretty much a straight line to the finish area.

 

 I crossed the finish line and felt like crying. I was so proud of myself, how far I had come and to be able to accomplish my goal was pure awesome!

Best.Feeling.Ever.

until next time .....:D