Boston Marathon Weekend: Saturday! (BAA 5k and Expo Fun!)

I arrived to Boston on Friday afternoon, right at rush hour. I met my roommate for the weekend in the hotel room and shortly after I got settled we went to eat at a food court next to our hotel.

So Saturday.  It was kinda nuts. (For me anyways, since I don't usually do very much.)  My day started out waking up at 7am and then left the hotel at 8am with my roommate for a Oiselle Volee meet up before the 5k.

Once we arrived in Boston Common, we went to the t-shirt tent where I got my race shirt.  (The bibs had been mailed out about 3 weeks prior so I had it ready to go.)  Since I had worn two long sleeved shirts, I opted to take off one layer and put it in a bag with my race shirt and left it at gear check. (First time EVER using gear check!) Then I met up with some other Volee members before I decided on a quick bathroom stop, take a group picture and then head to the starting area.

The 5k itself was fairly uneventful.  It was a little crowded, but nothing terrible (which is saying something for a race with almost 9,000 runners!!)  It took awhile to get to the starting line but as an added bonus I got to see Molly Huddle finish and place second.  The course itself was pretty flat and I felt pretty spoiled when we started to hit a little bit of a hill at about the halfway point.  But we got a great view of the Citgo sign by Fenway and of course we got to run through the Marathon finishing line! (And an announcer was constantly telling people to step to the side if you wanted pictures of it.)

These three lines are throughout the majority of the 26.2 miles of the marathon, so I felt the need to run on it for just a little while

The Boston Marathon Finish line!!!

During the race, I knew some Oiselle birds were there cheering on the 5k runners.  I wasn't totally sure where they would be.  Then I heard Kelly Roberts screaming when she saw my singlet.  That was seriously just what I needed to power through the last bit of the race.

(Picture borrowed from the Oiselle blog.)

And after the race I felt awesome.  I've been running so many longer distances lately that it was really weird to not have to worry about getting my chews and water, taping up my feet, choosing whatever I wear super carefully, etc.  It wasn't a PR, but it was pretty close!  

After another group picture with the Oiselle birds...

(Picture borrowed from the Oiselle blog.)

And a finish line selfie with my latest medal...

I headed out with another bird to have an early lunch and check out the Nuun meetup!  We tried Boloco (it was pretty good!) and I ate the grilled cheeseburger flavored chips in my post-race snack bag which actually weren't that bad.  And of course I had to take a picture of my medal and bib while I waited for my new friend to finish her food.

We then made our way to the Nuun meetup!  We arrived there a little bit after the start, but got a Boston water bottle with samples of the new Nuun Performance hydration product!

That's Mike Sommers in the blue Nuun shirt and Kevin the Nuun CEO in black.

After getting my freebies and chatting with some other nuunbassadors including the bloggers for Live Free and Run and the Joy Life I headed over to the expo.  On the way I went down Hereford and Boylston (the last turn of the marathon.)

It was crazy busy and some retailers were starting to run out of shirts in my size (and I couldn't justify spending $40+ on a Boston Marathon shirt from Adidas.)  But I still had fun meeting Ari, one of the Balega reps.

And I only managed to spend $25 at the expo!  I bought 3 new Bondi Bands (use the code THRIFTYBONDI10 for 10% off!) and 3 packets of Tailwind Nutrition.  

After visiting the expo I had to take some more pictures as I began to head back to the hotel.  Just as I was starting to head towards the finish line, I heard a bell and looked around and saw everybody had just stopped.  I looked at my watch and realized it was 2:49pm.  The time the bombs went off and I seriously got chills.  I just looked towards the tree on the left side of the road where one of the bombs went off and everything was completely silent except for the 3 rings from the bells at the Old South Church then bagpipers played "Amazing Grace."  Once the bagpipers finished, everybody just went about their business and I made my way to take more pictures.  I loved that there were pots of daffodils all along Boylston in remembrance of the attacks. (My roommate said they were all just buds when she arrived early on Friday--by this time just about all the flowers were in bloom and it was just gorgeous!)

After settling back in the hotel for a little while, my roommate for the weekend and I went to a Oiselle meetup for dinner at b.good (not just a clever name!) Then settled down for the night because we had another Oiselle meetup in the morning and a brunch for the Hyland's athletes afterwards.  Since I ran the race and walked around Boston, I crashed HARD when I went to sleep.

MCM10k 2016!!

I knew this year's Marine Corps Marathon and 10k would be interesting thanks to Metro's Safetrack program trying to repair the tracks on the Metro line.  When they made the announcement that Metro wouldn't open early the day of the races, I had already signed up for the 10k but I was feeling confident that the race director, Rick Nealis, would still make sure race day would be amazing.  (Pace the Nation, a podcast by Pacers Running, had a fantastic interview with him!  Definitely worth a listen.)

First, one of my favorite parts:  The Expo!!!

One of the first announcements they made in regards to this year's race was that the Gaylord National Harbor would be the race's headquarters.  I was totally fine with it since my parents live close to National Harbor and I run the race with my Dad and we always go to the expo together.  We ended up driving over and paying $10 to park in a lot, but race organizers offered shuttles from a few metro stations.

This always meets you when entering the expo, although I must admit this year it definitely fits the space better.  (Last year it looked tiny in the huge DC Convention Center!)

First thing you get is your bib from a couple of marines at a booth immediately inside the entrance to the expo.  Afterwards you go around the corner to get your race premium (usually a mockneck fleece sweatshirt) and you're funneled to the Brooks Race Store.  (Pro Tip:  Brooks has started posting a LOT of the race merchandise online before the expo.  Avoid the lines -which WILL get crazy- and buy everything ahead of time.)  

(Not too crazy about the color of this year's shirt.)

Next best part:  The vendors!!!

Zensah is definitely one of my favorites for compression wear.  I've been wear testing for them and all the products they've sent me are fantastic.  I can honestly say they have some great stuff coming out soon!

An an expo somebody is almost always selling socks in a buy 3 get one free deal.  Balega is always my go-to sock brand.  I got a new pair of Enduro socks and my Dad got a couple pairs for himself and my Mom.

Bondi Band is another vendor I always check out.  I love digging through the piles and finding new Bondi Bands.  These are the ones that I ended up choosing...

I thought my trainers at Boot Camp would totally get a kick out of the middle one.  (Especially since one of them is always trying to increase how many calories I burn.  I've been known to yell out she's trying to kill me as I'm running back and forth at the end of a workout to burn more calories before she ends the workout on the computer.)  

After Bondi Band, we walked around taste testing some products from Clif bar (their nut butter filled bars were quite tasty) and grabbed samples from all over the place.  We got samples from Larabar (yum!), Wegmans, a reusable shopping bag from RunDisney, a first aid bag and band aids, sports beans, Aveeno Tone Corrector, half and half drink mix and a buff from Medstar Sports!

Sorry, I ate some of it before I took a picture!  (I assure you though, the Larabars, fruit bar and fruit twist from Wegmans were all delicious.)

On the way out we had to hit the selfie wall!  The expo left me feeling super excited for the race.  The only downfall with the change of venue was that everything felt a little more cramped than usual so there were a lot of times where it was difficult to maneuver around people.

I've run past the Gaylord National Harbor a lot, but this was the first time I had ever actually been inside.  I must say, it was absolutely gorgeous!  Lots of marble and the atrium was amazing.

Now:  Race Morning!!!

My Dad and I took the Metro to the Pentagon station and followed the crowd to the starting area.  We stopped along the way to use one of the portajohns which were already trashed (banana peels and empty water bottles all over the inside.)  We then used the portajohns in the starting area too because we could!

So many portajohns and barely any line!!!  ...And no toilet paper in any of them.  I went into three different ones before giving up.  (Note to self:  Bring extra toilet paper!)

Across from the portajohns was the HUGE starting area.  Lots of trash cans all over the place, and tons of space to warm up.  I also had to get a picture of all the UPS trucks that are used for bag check.  There was barely any line to speak of!

Soon after we made our way across the North Pentagon Parking Lot, we heard the announcer say the first of the hand cyclists were about to make their way through the area.  After they passed through, we were able to get into our corral.  

And of course I had to take an obligatory pre-race selfie.

Soon after a few announcements, the National Anthem and a prayer, we were off!!

Love that archway!!

After listening to that episode of Pace the Nation, I had some idea of what to expect with the course.  Rick Nealis talked a little bit about the new 10k course and the words "What goes up must come down" rang true.  The first few miles were all uphill, at mile 5 there was another major incline and then that last mile was mostly flat but hilly again through Rosslyn.  Along Spout Run, the course was absolutely gorgeous and making it even better it was pretty much all downhill (except for that hill at mile 5.)

While we went through Rosslyn again, I looked down at my Garmin and got super excited.  I was on track to beating last year's time of 1:11:26!!

Close to the end at the last flat portion, this sign popped up and I started to get excited.  Every year I swear I'll run up the hill and end up walking.

This year, I actually ran it--The whole thing!!!  I suppose that hill leading to the halfway point totally made it look reasonable.  

After finishing and getting my medal I wandered around a little bit while I waited for my Dad to finish.  I got a glimpse of all the boxes of medals left for the marathoners!

It was SO weird seeing marathon finishers this year.  Usually the 10k starts at the same time as the marathon so we don't see those finishers.  This year though, the 10k started about an hour into marathon.  (Thanks to Metro, they opened the starting line for the marathon at 7:55 and allowed people to start until 8:55.  They also offered shuttles for marathoners as well.)  By the time I finished the 10k at around 10:30, the elite marathoners had started finishing!  

I was so happy when I saw my finisher's time.  Despite the HUGE hill for the majority of the race, I still had a PR for the race itself of 1:10:05!  I'm still curious to find out how I would've done compared to the original course of past years, but considering how my last finishing time on the flatter course was 1:11:26, it's probably a safe bet I would've done really well on it.

It was a gorgeous morning even though it was a little warmer than normal.  

Obligatory squinty selfie with my medal in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial!

As we walked through getting our snacks, I was impressed to see that the race organizers were mindful of the environmental impacts of the race. This year they offered to compost the banana peels and had recycling bins for water and gatorade bottles!

Then it was onto my favorite part:  The WATERMELON!!!  

Every year the Watermelon Board brings out the Watermelon queens to hand out containers of cut up watermelon.  They're on the other side of the bridge every year and it always tastes awesome after the race.

My Dad and I also stopped by the finisher's race store.  This year for Father's Day I got my Dad a MCM10k finisher's shirt and we were both curious about what they looked like this year.  

I was not disappointed and got one!

This year among all the vendors, there was a Facebook trailer!  Needless to say my Dad and I were intrigued so we got in line, filled out a survey while waiting and then headed into the trailer to try out a VR experience.

It was pretty cool.  My one complaint was I couldn't quite get the headset focused, but it was really neat to get to experience.  (And we got thumbs up magnets for giving them feedback.)

We then walked through the vendors and got more freebies.  This year we got a drawstring bag from Leidos, a water bottle from Booz Allen, more sports beans, and a cowbell from the National Park Service!  (The fig bar and curate bar are from the snack box.  This year we also got kettle corn popcorn chips, a little cup of cheese dip and breadsticks and a cup of peaches.)

While my Dad and I waited for the Metro I took the time to sync up my Garmin to my phone because we were both curious about the elevations.  Once it popped up, I started laughing because it proved that the course was just as bad as it felt while we were running it.

(Obligatory back of the shirt picture with the medal!)

As usual I really enjoyed the race and highly recommend it.  I found it to be really scenic and I enjoyed the new course despite it being more difficult than in previous years.  (Usually the course is pretty flat except for the hill at the very end.)  It sells out almost every year (this year actually it was earlier than usual!)  The race director puts so much work into the race to make the entire experience flawless and it shows.  

Baltimore Half Marathon 2016 Race Review!

Since the first time I ran the Baltimore Half Marathon in 2013, I've been curious to find out how I could do if I weren't injured.  (I had IT Band Syndrome that first time, and it was my first half marathon too!)  This year I signed up for the King Crab Challenge, which is a total of three races:  The Frederick Half Marathon (my review), the Baltimore 10 Miler (or B10, my review), and the Baltimore Half Marathon (or Full Marathon) in the same calendar year.  In addition to entry into the three races, you get an extra medal (for doing the Maryland Double) and an extra premium after you finish the Baltimore race.  This year they started giving out medals at all of the races (the medal being new for the B10) so when you finish the series you end up with 2 shirts, a jacket (the usual premium for the B10), 4 medals and the King Crab premium.

Anyways.  The Baltimore half.

So naturally it started with the expo which is at the Baltimore Convention Center.  Parking for it is free in the F, G, and H lots and they even had a free shuttle to the expo.  I thought the bus took too long and it was a gorgeous day so I opted to take the short 3/4 of a mile walk to the convention center. You start out by showing your e-card to volunteers at the bib tables in the lobby of the building.  Then after grabbing a clear plastic bag to be used for bag check you get your race shirt.

After working your way through all of the race merch sold by race organizers you are then let loose in the rest of the expo to visit the different exhibitors.  Quite a few of them have some great swag, but this year it seemed like a lot of the space was taken up by some very random companies--like one wanted to draw blood (I walked away when they said they wanted to do that), a leaf gutter company, Geico, and BGE (the main Maryland gas and electric company.)  I would've rather seen the space taken up by other running related companies that were definitely missing--Sweaty Bands and Nuun came to mind almost immediately on my way out.  (I really enjoyed seeing Sweaty Bands at the Cherry Blossom expo in the spring, and Nuun is at just about ALL the big expos.)  I didn't end up buying much, but I definitely had to get some new Bondi Bands (they've started using sublimation techniques to print some of their headbands rather than screen printing and the results are amazing!) and a new shirt from Charm City Run.

(If you don't know about the Baltimore Hon, here's a great explanation on Wikipedia!)
As far as swag goes, I came home with a little bit.

(In less than a month I'll be running the Richmond Half marathon, so when they were giving away 13.1 stickers for the race I had to grab a couple for my Dad and I!)  I ended up with the stickers for the Richmond half marathon, sunglasses from Medstar Health, a cup with race brochures from J&A Racing, a sample of Sweat-X detergent, a personalized shoe tag, a scratch and win card for the Corrigan tent sale in December and a headband from Pandora.  The first freebie I got was from the Mazda booth since they were making personalized shoe tags.  When I got to the expo the line wasn't very long at all so I took advantage of it.

Since the line was so short, I was a little under the gun to figure out how to personalize the tag.  They had some suggestions, but I looked down at my Momentum wrap bracelet that I had custom made and thought it would make a good shoe tag too.

So fast forward to Saturday morning.  A bunch of the ladies in one of my running groups decided to take the light rail into Baltimore for the race.  (After having to deal with Baltimore traffic more often than I'd like to admit, I was totally fine with paying $3.40 to avoid it.)  I got on a train a little after 8am and arrived in PLENTY of time.  In fact, I saw some of the 5k runners finish.  And I had a chance to go to a hotel bathroom that I used the last time I ran the Baltimore half marathon.  And something magical happened.  I had to get photographic evidence.

A huge empty bathroom.  All to myself.  Had to get an obligatory bathroom selfie as well.

After getting to use that bathroom all by myself I was feeling pretty psyched.   (Seriously, I almost started spinning in there because of how awesome it was and knowing that soon I would have to keep close tabs on my elbows.)

Then I trekked over to a meeting area a couple of my running groups had agreed on for pre-race pictures and so we could walk to the starting area together.  Okay, and get in one last bathroom stop.  (The hotel bathroom was just far enough away that we wouldn't be able to get to the starting line in time even if we ran.)

At this point I was feeling pretty psyched.  I couldn't believe I was doing this race again!  I was still a little nervous since this is also the race where I was injured 3 years ago.  Thankfully a pep talk from some of the ladies in my running group helped with any final pre-race jitters.

The race was a bit of a blur, but it was fun doing the race again now that I'm more familiar with Baltimore.  There were definitely more people offering beer than I remember, but I still didn't grab any.  (I did notice that some people grabbed it thinking it was water--what an unpleasant surprise!)  I also enjoyed seeing the eye of the tiger people, and all the different creative signs.  (There were lots of political ones this year.)

After finishing, I got my awesome 13.1 medal, visited the snack tables and loaded up a space blanket with various chips, granola bars two bottles of water, and my beer tickets. After leaving the runner's village, I got my King Crab premium (a wonderful, plush blanket with the race series logo), my Maryland double medal and a free beer.  The line for the beer went surprisingly fast since they had pre-filled the cups and another person was taking the tickets and handing out the beer.

After finishing most of my beer I ran into a couple friends and then we began the journey back on the light rail.  After I got back to my car and started taking off my spibelt and putting away everything for the journey home I heard a low rumble coming from above so I looked up.  It was the Sky Typers from World War II writing "Salute Our Military" in the air!!!  Definitely cool to see and it reminded me of the old dot matrix printers that I grew up using.

Since my arms were now empty (the blanket was so big, and along with the space blanket filled with snacks it was tough to be able to get many pictures.)  I could FINALLY take a selfie in my car with my medals.

I couldn't wait to get home and get a good look at the plush blanket King Crabbers got for participating in all three races.  When I finally unfolded it and got a good look at it, I was not disappointed!  After taking a shower, I wrapped myself up in it and took a nice long nap.

My cats also approve.  Lots of biscuits have been made on this blanket already!

Did anybody else run a race in the Baltimore Running Festival?? What did you think of it?