My husband and I left Friday around 2pm, got to Richmond around 5:00. (It should have taken us a little more than 2 hours.) I think a lot of the backup was due to it being Veteran's Day weekend along with the usual Friday afternoon traffic. (And because it's I-95. I hate 95 almost as much as I hate I-81.)
While we were stuck in traffic I started texting with my Dad as he headed to the expo with my Mom so he could get my race bib and shirt. It made sitting in traffic even worse knowing that I was missing one of my favorite parts for a race, especially since I knew it was a big one and there were vendors I really wanted to visit. (Like Ragnar and of course Bondi Band.)
Anyways, once we arrived to the Crowne Plaza hotel my Dad brought us my packet and hotel room keys.
We then spent some time relaxing and hydrating until dinner at Belle & James. (It was pretty good--I had the duck confit crepes and a Moscow Mule.) After dinner I made final cuts to the various outfit options and laid out what I would wear and bring with me the next morning.
I ended up wearing a Oiselle Runwear Pullover, Oiselle Flyte Long Sleeve Shirt, a Buff folded up so I could wear it like a hat, my usual Brooks Adrenaline GTS 15's (discontinued, but the 16's are on sale!), Athleta Be Free Tights and my Spibelt. I also stashed my usual Honey Stinger chews in Limeade (with caffeine!) and a Picky Bar (for my pre-race breakfast) in one of the pockets of my tights for easy access.
That night I slept rather fitfully, which is fairly normal in a hotel. (I hate them. The Crowne Plaza was lovely, but just getting used to new noises, sheets, etc. makes it so hard for me to sleep!)
The next morning I got ready quickly and took a picture of the finisher's area while waiting for the elevator in the hotel. Seeing it for some reason gave me a little boost of confidence that the race would be fine despite a lack of confidence in my training.
After a short walk from the hotel (and losing yet another silicone earpiece to my Yurbuds) we were at the starting area just in time to arrive for the National Anthem and for the first wave to start. My Dad and I were in one of the waves in the middle and managed to get in just in time.
Trash bags: Totally underrated pre-race couture. I ended up tossing it as we were walking to the actual starting line. By that point it had served its purpose--it kept me nice and warm during the walk and short wait for the race to start. (The race was supposed to be around freezing at start time and I was completely paranoid about being cold throughout the whole race because I get cold so easily.)
I usually like to use the bathroom at least twice before starting a race. I went before we left the hotel (30 minutes before gun time) and then once we came upon the portajohns on the walk over the lines were crazy. I chalked it up to pre-race jitters, brushed it off and decided to wait. Until that first mile, when I saw a huge line of them without a line I went for it. I know it sounds weird, but it was actually kind of awesome to see how runners were running along the line until they came upon one that was just opening up and jumping into the stall. It was awesome to see something like that going so smoothly, and without any line to speak of! So I took advantage of the situation and followed everyone else's lead--I ran down the line and when somebody came out, I hopped in. No wait!
The rest of the race is kind of a blur to be quite honest. A lot of it was through neighborhoods and downtown Richmond (which reminded me a LOT of the Hampden neighborhood in Baltimore), and through Bryant Park. It was still beautiful and a lot of fun running through the neighborhoods. The crowds were VERY similar to those at the Baltimore Running Festival, although a lot fewer people were offering booze. (I only really remember one person offering shots of Jim Beam along the course. There was somebody else offering up Coca Cola, but I didn't take them up on that either.) The course in general was fantastic--some hills but nothing terrible, and the last mile of it is pretty flat and then becomes a lovely downhill slope that you can just fly down.
The view from the hotel of part of the hill headed towards the finish!
At the end I looked down at my watch and thought I didn't PR so I started thinking back to what could've done it (was it my bathroom stop? Maybe from trying to avoid a collision with a girl who just stopped in front of me?) Either way I went through the lines and got my medal, fleece blanket, and finisher's hat then crossed the bridge and took a selfie with my new bling.
I was totally impressed with the post race snacks which included bagels, granola bars, bananas, and best of all: PIZZA!!! I was so thankful for all of it since I was SO hungry by that point.
After meeting up with my Mom, husband and waiting on my Dad to finish, we all headed back to the hotel for showers and to pack up everything for the 12:00 checkout time. (My parents were staying an extra day, but my husband and I really wanted to get back home.) We took our bags to my parents room and headed to Perly's deli for lunch. It. Was. Awesome. (And not just because I was still ravenous despite the pizza and bagel.) The restaurant was right along the race route so we had fun watching the marathoners run past and the training coaches running back and forth encouraging them the whole way. (The coaches wore some pretty awesome costumes! And flamingo headbands!) I had a huge turkey sandwich with beef bacon on challah bread and a size of house made everything potato chips. (Think the spices used on everything bagels but on chips.)
After lunch I was totally ready for a nap so we walked back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and headed home.
The blanket, hat and medal given to finishers!
Once my husband and I got home and I took a nap to help clear my head, I sat down and looked at my list of PRs. Before this race my half marathon PR was at the Frederick Running Festival with a time of 2:26:17. My official time for this one? 2:25:41!!! I had PR'd my half marathon time by a full 36 seconds!!! Seriously some of the best news I have had for awhile now.
Overall I would highly recommend this race and would run it again in a heartbeat. The course was great, the on-course support was perfect (lots of water stops with portajohns, one stop that offered gels and another that had junk food), and the crowds cheering were awesome. (There's a reason why it's called America's Friendliest Marathon!) I really had no gripes about this race other than the traffic coming in the day before, but that just comes with the territory since it was a perfect storm of a 3 day weekend and a major race. That being said, leave yourself plenty of time to get there for the expo.
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