Rock 'n' Roll USA Half Marathon recap



 A few friends and I ran the Rock 'n Roll USA half marathon on Sunday. This was my 4th half marathon & I really had no desire to run this particular race. I really wanted to run the Shamrock Half Marathon race in Virginia Beach since I've heard such great reviews about it. Both races were on the same weekend. It all came down to a little peer pressure & logistics. I didn't feel like making a trip all the way down to Virginia Beach to run Shamrock on Sunday only to turn around and have to drive 3+ hours back home later that night. So I ended up staying local & registering up for the Rock 'n Roll.

The race was on Saturday so packet pick up was held at the DC Armory on Thursday evening and Friday. I went on Thursday to avoid the heavy crowds on Friday, plus driving south on Fridays after work is a nightmare in itself.  Anyone living in this area is all to familiar with how nasty Friday rush hour is going south. 

Packet pick up was well organized. Runners received a drawstring bag, race shirt & bib along with some coupons & flyers. The expo was nice and had a good selection of vendors. I got a few freebies. I spent an hour at most looking around before heading back.

Friday night I did my usual routine and filled my Camelbak with water, packed some fuel, laid out my running clothes & made sure my watch was fully charged.

Race morning I got up at 4am. I had to pick up my friend M & we planned to meet up with J so we could ride in together. We were lucky enough to get a free special finish area parking pass from a girl in our running club. That made it nice knowing that we could easily get to the car after the race instead of taking the train. The course starts near the Smithsonian & ends at the RFK stadium which meant that we had to park the car at RFK & take a short metro rail ride to Smithsonian stop.



pre race pose taken on the way to our corral

We got to the start with about 45 minutes to spare. It was a cold morning but that didn't bother me. Hearing the loud upbeat music and watching people in the corral kept me pre occupied. We took some pre race selfies & figured out a plan to run this race. J and I had little to no training due to injuries. She was dealing with an IT Band problem and I was dealing with my endless behind the right knee pain. We decided to run 1/4 mile & walk 1/4 mile. Luckily "M" was there & happen to have the same watch as "J's" so she was able to set it up for J.



waiting in our corral



pre race group selfie

The first couple miles were ok, I started to really notice my knee pain after mile 3 on the Memorial Bridge. Just before leaving the bridge a woman in front of us tripped and smacked her face on the concrete, she was bleeding from her lip. No teeth were missing, just a scratched up chin and cut lip. I stopped and gave her a packet of Motrin that I had. That was when I decided I better take some Tylenol. We continued on & then we approached the mile 6 hill. Holy crap that hill was no joke. We both looked at each other and said no way we are running up that beast. By the time we got to the top my calves were on fire. Luckily the rest of the course was very easy and more of it was downhill.



Memorial Bridge



Ladies from another chapter of our running club cheering for us

The next several miles took us through the neighborhoods of Adams Morgan & Columbia Heights where we were greeted and cheered for by streets filled with lively college kids. They were a riot! Some were dressed in costumes giving high fives & some had tables set up offering free beer, free shots & even BBQ beef brisket. They were so full of energy & actually gave me a nice boost.



funny sign in the Adams Morgan neighborhood



not the best pic but some fun college kids dressed up
in costume cheering for us runners

The last couple miles took us through some "rough" looking neighborhoods. Thankfully it wasn't that far until the finish. I lost J on one of our walk portions around mile 10. I wanted to walk a little longer so she ran slowly & when I started running again I couldn't find her. I crossed the finish looking around & then spotted her. 




we finished & got our medals



another friend we spotted in our running club

It certainly was no record setter for me but I was aiming to finish in under 3 hours which I did. Overall it was a decent race and I "might" do it again but not next year. I have Shamrock to run next year.

Until Next time.........:D