I started out a couple days before putting out what I thought I would wear--a white loose turtleneck with little snowflakes, a red sweatshirt with a glitter, snowflakes and a pixelated snowman, running tights and a couple options for Christmasy leggings over them. I also grabbed my Christmasy Bondi Band and a pair of socks. Then the day we left I grabbed a post-race outfit, some pajamas, bathroom necessities and some of my usual race items. (My Garmin, Spibelt, earphones and Road ID.) I was so glad to be ready and confident that I had everything I needed, including the most important part (the packet) since my Dad picked it up at the Pacers store in Alexandria.
Love the logo for this year's shirt, but not the color. (I HATE white running shirts since they're completely see through so you need to wear a shirt underneath.)
Then it all started going downhill once we were actually at my parents. I realized I totally forgot my usual breakfast of a picky bar or luna bar. I forgot chews (not necessary, but nice to have on hand.) Thankfully since I've given my Dad packs of various chews that was an easy fix, and since he eats Clif bars all the time I grabbed one of his and threw it with my running gear. Crisis number 1 averted!
After that my family went out to dinner for a belated birthday dinner for my Dad along with some carb loading for the next morning. (I had a big bowl of bucatini with pancetta and chicken and for dessert some nutella pizza!) Sufficiently stuffed I put out my clothing and gear for the morning and slept fairly well that night.
The next morning after my usual morning routine I started to put my tights on then I started to look for my sports bra. I flipped through all my clothes, shook them out to be sure I didn't stuff it in anything and checked my bag and it hit me: I forgot to pack a sports bra. At first I thought that I would just run in the support tank that I slept in. With a couple layers over it, it would be no big deal. Then it hit me: Both of my parents have had knee surgeries. Therefore they probably have ace bandages. I checked their supply and hit the jackpot! They had one that was 6 inches wide that I went ahead and grabbed. I then wrapped it around my chest until everything felt secure and put the tank top on over the top. It didn't feel like enough so I took a 4 inch one and wrapped it as much as I could around the support portion on the tank top. I flipped the rest of the top down and ran a couple strides in place and it felt good! I continued getting ready to go (realized I had also forgotten my heart rate strap) and soon my Dad and I were out the door and on the first Metro train out of the station for the day. Throughout the train ride I questioned my sanity to be running a 15k wearing an ace bandage and nerves were definitely settling in.
Once we arrived everything was setup very similar to the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. The start and finish were right by the Washington Monument and all the tents and portajohns were set in the same open area next to the monument (although on a much smaller scale.) We ended up getting our space blankets pre-race because we were so cold waiting for the race to start. The organizers ended up actually pushing back the start time for both races by 10 minutes because the lines for packet pickup were so long. They even left the starting line open a little extra longer to allow everybody in the 5k a chance to get started. But that gave me a little extra time to get some pre-race pictures!
I couldn't believe it! Blooms on the cherry blossom trees!
And of course an obligatory picture of the Washington Monument.
Soon we were lined up for our race and we got to watch the elites finish the 5k and we got a quick peek at the medals!!
After my Dad and I settled into our corral we saw some of the elite athletes finish and they seemed to be running both races! We saw a couple of them switch their bibs out from the 5k to the 15k while we were standing around. Just before the second race started they worked their way to the front pretty easily since the starting and finishing areas were side by side and just separated by a partition held up by traffic cones. Watching them helped me forget about being nervous for the race. (My mini crises definitely did not help my usual pre-race anxiety.) As we walked towards the starting line I folded up my space blanket and shoved it underneath the strap of my spibelt.
The race itself was great. The course was VERY similar to the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, minus crossing the Arlington Memorial Bridge. It was also a lot less crowded sooner in the race which was REALLY nice. This race had 3 water stops (it would have been nice to have had one more) and one official bathroom stop (there were a couple of places along Hains Point that were available.) I thought it was really fun to get to run the course again with all the leaves off the trees since in my mind it made Hains Point a LOT more interesting! (For example, I had no idea you could see Old Town Alexandria and the Wilson Bridge from there!)
Part of the course went around the Tidal Basin so we got great looks at the Jefferson Memorial.
Towards the end as I was about to hit the 9 mile mark, I started to see a familiar figure in a white cap and red jacket about to cross under a small bridge (there was one point where you had to out and back, then over a bridge so you don't cross paths with other runners.) Once I confirmed it was my Dad, I ran to the opposite side of the bridge and onto the sidewalk out of everybody's way and started looking for my Dad. Once I saw him I started jumping up and down and yelling "YAY DAD! YOU'RE DOING GREAT!!!" At this point he had about two miles to go, so I kept going that last little bit and the slight downhill towards the finish was lovely. After getting my super cute medal and water, I went over to the food tent and I was absolutely shocked by what I saw--people were walking away with entire boxes of Curate bars and trays of big blueberry muffins. I acted quickly and grabbed a mostly empty box of Curate bars, a couple of bananas and a couple of muffins and situated them in the box and headed back to the finishing area to eat my snacks and watch for my Dad. Once I had finished my muffin while stretching I saw him cross the finish line and get his medal I brought him water and offered him the extra snacks. (By that time everything was gone! He had finished a little later than a lot of people, but it's kind of irritating that they weren't going to have anything for anybody who finished with more than 15 minutes left on the clock.)
Anyways, as my Dad and I were leaving he suggested we walk over to the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station to avoid having to change trains. Since the sun was starting to peek through (and I was still feeling good) I agreed. But before leaving the area we walked over to a small hill and took a few last pictures of the Washington Monument and the new Museum of African American History.
And of course one last selfie with my medal in front of the Washington Monument.
The old course would go right in front of the Capitol building so you could get a great look at the Christmas tree in front. This is the closest we got to it this time around. (We were definitely starting to feel cold so I was ready for the warmth of the train.)
Overall I really enjoyed the race. It was very competitive but not crowded and a lot of fun to run a familiar course during a different time of year. However, I would recommend taking on the 5k if you run slower than a 13:00 pace if post-race snacks are important to you. (Or do like my Dad and I did and have the faster person grab snacks for the group after the race.)
And don't worry. I've written that pre-race packing list.
Have you run your last race for the year? I'm already starting to look forward to next spring! My first race will be the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in DC.
