Finally after a year of waiting, it was finally race weekend!!! I went to the first day of the expo, and got there as soon as I could since I had to work that afternoon. So beforehand I printed off a map and marked out the booths I wanted to visit. I had to stop by the Blue Ridge Marathon (registration is still open and you can use the code BRMFRIENDS for 15% off registration!), Marine Corps Marathon, Balega, Ragnar, Lularoe, and talk to the pacers for the half marathon. (The person manning the pacer booth suggested sticking with the 2:30 group then speeding up to the 2:15 group after the big hill halfway through the course. I grabbed a few wristbands with pace times on it and called it a day.)
First stop was the Balega booth to say hi to their rep, Dan!
And get another pair of their blister resist socks since the weather was looking like it would be cold, and the socks are kinda thick and made of wool. (So yes, they are SUPER warm!)
Despite running through I still got some awesome freebies from a lot of the booths!
Got a couple of lip balms (from the MCM and Blue Ridge Marathon booths), a recovery jacket from last year's MCM (apparently they arrive in time for the race since they were caught up in customs), smarty pants vitamins, sports beans (they seem to be at all the expos these days!), and from Ragnar I got a coozie, temporary tattoos, a silicone bracelet and hairband.
I also got an awesome reusable bag from the Marine Corps Marathon booth!
And of course I got my bib and a drawstring bag for the race! The timing chip for this one was interesting since it was a disposable shoe tag. Usually the timing chip is attached to the back of the bib. This one might have been a shoe tag since there are a TON of people in this race and it makes sure that the timing mats read everybody's chip. (I saw there were at least 23 corrals!)
After the expo I sped off to work and started to get nervous. I was excited for the race, but not so confident in my training and the weather was shaping up to be really cold. (Hence why I picked up the wool socks! I had trained in a pair that Balega gave me for being an ambassador so I was confident they wouldn't cause any issues on race morning.)
Before I knew it (literally, because I worked all day Friday as well) it was race morning. And it was cold. I ended up wearing fleece leggings, a long sleeved shirt, wool hoodie, a light jacket, wool neck gaiter, gloves a hat and a bondi band underneath. I also brought along a space blanket from a previous race for added warmth while waiting for the race to start. Fortunately getting to the race was the least of my worries since organizers bumped back the start time to allow half marathoners to be able to take the metro to the race.
Once I got to the starting area (I got off at the Navy Archives stop since I was coming from Maryland) I found two bunches of portajohns without any lines!! So I did my usual pre-race ritual of visiting the bathroom twice and eating a picky bar 30 minutes before gun time. (On race mornings I like smooth caffeinator since it has some caffeine for another kick. In addition to a tab of cherry limeade nuun that I tossed in a water bottle the night before and drank on the drive to the metro, I was feeling very awake by the time the race started!)
It was pretty cold at the start, and I was really glad I had so many layers on. Once gun time began to creep closer I took off my space blanket, folded it up and stuffed it under the strap of my spibelt. (I've been to some races where they've run out of space blankets post-race so I figured better safe than sorry!)
Eeek! The start line! No turning back now!!
The race overall was pretty well run. Just the right amount of water stops, although with it being so cold I got quite a few cups with a thin layer of ice on top. The course itself was scenic and fairly easy until the hill at the halfway point where you hit the biggest hill of the entire course on Rock Creek Parkway. (Or any other DC race or training run I've ever done!) Afterward the hills were fairly rolling, but the big hill really took it out of me even though I walked the whole thing. (Maybe it's a new hill to conquer since I finally ran up the hill to the Iwo Jima Memorial last year at the MCM 10k?)
Either way I was happy with my finishing time of 2:33:01 (2:30:34 according to my Garmin, since passing other runners along the course added 0.23 to the distance.) Considering the hills and the weather, I'm still impressed that I was able to finish in about my usual time.
Once I finished I got my medal, new space blanket and post race snacks which were fairly typical--chocolate milk, water, gatorade, bananas, granola bars and popcorn chips. I drank my chocolate milk and made my way to the metro to head home. By the time I got my space blanket the wind had begun to pick up and being sweaty made me feel even colder. I was so ready for a hot shower and long nap with my cats.
Did you run this race? What did you think of it? What's your favorite Rock and Roll location?
