2019 National Women's Half Marathon Review!

This is the second year for this race, and it was definitely on my radar because of the different tiered pricing.  Get in early enough and your race registration would be $1 (plus fees), then it went up in $5 increments all the way to $125.  I  managed to get in at the $1 tier, and after the fees I paid a total of $5.44.  I figured even though it was almost a full year ahead of time if I  end up not being able to run I would just be out $5 and that's no big deal.  The timing was right since it was the weekend after the Parkway Classic so it fit into my training pretty well, so why not?

Packet pickup was pretty easy, but being in Maryland it was still a little bit of a drive to get to Clarendon.  I  had only been there a handful of times, so I checked out the area on Google Maps and saw that there was a Trader Joe's nearby that had a garage that validated parking.  Perfect.  So I parked in their garage, went over to Pacer's to get my packet, then went to Trader Joe's to pick up some groceries.  Then I somehow forgot that Virginia grocery stores have beer and wine.  (I grew up in Virginia, but have lived in Maryland for five years so I don't see beer and wine in grocery stores anymore.)  So I picked up a couple beers (one of them was Larry's Flamingo Fruit Fight, which ended up being pretty good) along with my staples of peanut butter pretzels and some dried fruit and got my parking validated on the way out.

Occasionally I appreciate a cotton race shirt if the design is fun.  This one is kind of "meh."  I'll wear it casually, but probably won't be in regular rotation.

The weather already wasn't looking very good, but I went ahead and got a reservation for parking anyways.  The closest by that point was a mile and a half away, so I kept thinking it wasn't a big deal.  It was parking and it was close to where the Volee was meeting up for brunch afterwards.  I  could still back out and only be out $5 and could get a full refund for parking in a couple of days.  The night before I packed my hydration vest with chews and a bag of dry clothes so I could change post-race in the bathroom at the restaurant.

Fast forward to race morning.  I left the house at 5:30 for a 7am gun time.  It was so much later than I wanted to leave, but I would get there.  The whole drive down it was pouring rain and I  kept thinking "WHY am I doing this to myself?!  I can back out at any time and it's no big deal.  Why am I  stressing out over this?!"  Then I found myself in the parking garage.  And that it was closer to 2 miles away from the start, not 1.5 miles.  Big difference when it's 6:30, but at least it was completely downhill so I walked fast and at times slowly ran as a warm up to the start.  I got to the race at 6:45, ran into a friend and we walked over to the runner's village.  I somehow got through the portajohn lines and to the start in 10 minutes, AND finally ran into a fellow Balega Impi that lives in my hometown.   (Somehow kept missing each other for the almost 3 years I've been in the Balega ambassador program.)

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That one time a few @balega_international Impi's were at the same place at the same time . . #IRun4Chase #injuredrunner #TheComebackRemixedfor2019 #BlackGirlAmazing #balegaimpi2019 #impipride #impilove #queenbeeambassador

A post shared by Kristian (@runkmm) on Sep 6, 2019 at 12:17pm PDT

All of that in 15 minutes.  Then before I knew it, the gun had gone off and I  was starting the race!  The course wasn't anything different from a lot of the DC races I've done in the past.  In fact, if you've run any longer distance DC race (like the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, Marine Corps Marathon, Jingle All the Way 15k) you've basically run this course.  (See what I mean?)  We were running in the opposite direction as most of those other races, but it's pretty much the same.

Even though the course was familiar, the conditions were terrible and it rained the entire time.  At some of the out n back portions I caught glimpses of friends and cheered for them and waved.  I enjoyed seeing the few spectators out on the course (including someone in an inflatable unicorn costume holding a sign saying "I believe in you!")  I tried to find the silver lining in it all and enjoy it like I did with Cherry Blossom, but it just wasn't happening.  My shoes were sloshy.  I was totally soaked.  I walked into this knowing I wouldn't PR (and I didn't.)  I still fought to finish around my now average time of 2:25 and I did (2:25:57.)

After getting my bottles of water, banana, granola bar and bag of pretzels I went back to my car.  (There really wasn't much of anything in the runner's village that day.  I had my snacks and I was about to go to brunch so I didn't need much else.)  I dried off as best I could and at least changed my socks and sloshy shoes.  I grabbed my wallet and bag of dry clothes and headed to the restaurant to change into something dry and meet my friends.  We had a lovely brunch but I was definitely ready to get home and start drying off more thoroughly.

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Was it worth it? (Swipe left) Yeah I guess so. Not my best time, but I can say it’s my fastest rainy half marathon. It was exactly a minute slower than my half back in March, but I’ll take it considering the craziness in the last week and the weather. It was warm and rainy the entire time so it was pretty uncomfortable. Not to mention that my shoes were sloshy by mile 3. . . #runnersofinstagram #balegaimpi2019 #balegabestsocksever #impilove #impipride #balega #balegasocks #balegalove #lovemybalegas #hshive #rungoodr #goodrflamboyance #goodr #nuunlife #teamzensah #sweatpink #sweatpinkambassador #oisellevolée #oiselleteamdmv #flystyle

A post shared by Holly (@thethriftyrunner) on May 5, 2019 at 12:17pm PDT

Overall, I don't know if I would recommend this race.  It was fairly well organized, but the course itself was really nothing special for DC if you've done a lot of the popular longer distance races.  If you can get in for a decent price and it's within your budget, go for it!  If not, I wouldn't stress out about it too much.  You're really not missing much.

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I fought hard for this medal! The weather was awful—warm and rainy the whole time so the sweat didn’t have a chance to evaporate. (I was wearing a tank top and shorts and really don’t know how some people ran in full length leggings, t-shirt and a rain jacket! I knew I’d be drenched regardless so I didn’t even bother with any rain gear.) My shoes were feeling pretty sloshy by mile 3, and I was basically trying to talk myself out of going all week. Glad I did it though! Time to relax from racing for a little bit and start looking for some more fall races. . . #medalmonday #runnersofinstagram #balegaimpi2019 #balegabestsocksever #impilove #impipride #balega #balegasocks #balegalove #lovemybalegas #hshive #rungoodr #goodrflamboyance #goodr #nuunlife #teamzensah #sweatpink #sweatpinkambassador #oisellevolée #oiselleteamdmv #nationalwomenshalfmarathon #nationalwomenshalf

A post shared by Holly (@thethriftyrunner) on May 6, 2019 at 8:22am PDT

2019 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler Race Recap

This year's race was somewhat of a milestone for me, because it was my fifth year running the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.  I first ran it in 2014 (no recap for that one since I hadn't started blogging yet), 2016, 2017 (part 1, part 2), and of course 2018.  Except for the first year I ran the race, I have volunteered to get in every year.  In 2015 and 2018 I chauffeured elite runners to the airport.  In 2016, 2017 and this year I helped with packet pick up right as it opened.  I definitely prefer helping with packet pick up because you get volunteering done before race weekend even really gets going.  I volunteer for this race because you get guaranteed entry to the following year's race, and it's also really fun.  I've enjoyed both my volunteer jobs though for sure!  (My first year I took Aliphine from NAZ Elite to the airport before she ran her first marathon and she was running for New Balance at the time.)

After volunteering you get a code to be able to sign up the following December and there are all kinds of add ons.  Generally I get the cotton race t-shirt, and a medal.  This year I got the enhanced medal, meaning after the race I would receive a little plate engraved with my time and placement.  I was feeling pretty confident that I could do well enough to PR this race again after being able to for the previous two years.

Since my volunteer shift was early enough in the day I decided to buy parking ahead of time using Spot Hero and drive into DC.  (It was SO easy and I was so glad I did it.)  After finishing my volunteer shift, my Dad and I had fun exploring the expo.  It was a lot of the same vendors.  Got a few free snacks--cheese (from Cabot), quinoa thin stacker cakes and baked grain bites (from Lundberg Family Farms) and had some 26.2 brew.  After killing some time listening to some of the speakers, we went to the volunteer dinner to eat and drove home.  (Since it was well after rush hour, I hit barely any traffic on the way home!)

For the first time since I started running this race, it looked like it would be legitimately warm.  Like, would need to wear shorts and potentially a hydration vest warm.  Going into the race, I really had no idea what to expect.  After running the Shamrock Half my IT band had a flare up and was really angry.  I was really just planning on finishing.  If I PR'd, that'd be great but I decided wouldn't beat myself up if I didn't.  (But let's face it, it would be hard not to do that.)  I talked with a Volee teammate and she was having a similar issue and it flared up at the exact same time and she ran Shamrock as well.  (My theory is that it was from the elevation being too flat, and then going back to hills pretty much right afterwards.)  She and I decided to try and meet up at the race, we would both wear our hydration vests and run the race together as much as we could.  The night before the race I looked up my picture from when I had my IT band taped up for the Marine Corps Marathon and tried to copy what my sports massage therapist had done.  (Sure there's no scientific evidence that taping an injury helps, but it also doesn't show that it can hurt either!)  I also planned on slipping on a compression sleeve for added stability.

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Ready as I’ll ever be for this one. About to do one last round of rolling my IT band and taping it up for the heck of it. (Couldn’t hurt, right?) And keeping my fingers crossed that today’s minor twinge during the treadmill portion at OrangeTheory wasn’t a fluke 🤞 . . #runnersofinstagram #balegaimpi2019 #balegabestsocksever #impilove #impipride #balega #balegasocks #balegalove #lovemybalegas #hshive #rungoodr #goodrflamboyance #goodr #nuunlife #teamzensah #sweatpink #sweatpinkambassador #oisellevolée #oiselleteamdmv #flystyle #pickybars #aftershokz #garmin #garminfitness #koalaclip #headupwingsout #cucb

A post shared by Holly (@thethriftyrunner) on Apr 6, 2019 at 7:16pm PDT

On race morning, my Dad and I drove into DC (since Metro doesn't open early for this race anymore I bought parking ahead of time again) and walked over to the start.  We checked out the post race food since it was a table in the middle of the field.  We just walked up to a table and a volunteer reprimanded us saying the food was for AFTER the race.  Once her back was turned I grabbed a Honey Stinger waffle out of spite and because I knew if I didn't, I probably wouldn't see them again.  Since by that point it was getting close to gun time we lined up in our respective corrals and I told my Dad to text me when he was through the chute.  My friend and I were in the same corral and since I was there first I texted her where I was so she could find me.  We were both nervous and our IT bands were feeling a little angry still, and discussed our last minute strategies as we waited to start.  Generally for this race, I run for at least the first mile or two (or even the first half) until the crowds begin to break up and then start doing run/walk breaks as needed.  But again with my IT band, all bets were off.   I was just wanting to finish.

I managed to keep up with my friend for the majority of the race and it was a lot of fun to be able to point out some of the landmarks since it was her first time running.  After running past the watergate, I started seeing random friends also running.  So I thought "You know what?  This is like a giant party where I know I have friends around somewhere but just need to find them!  I want to make this a giant party for the rest of this race."  So I did just that.  I ran into friends I hadn't seen in ages and some others who I knew were running for the first time and really struggling so I ran with them for a little while and gave them a pep talk and distracted them with random DC landmarks.  And I had the best time.

By the time I crossed the finish line, I was had so much fun I didn't even care if I had PR'd.  But when I looked down at my watch, I knew it would be very close.

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Time for another Medal Monday! Definitely one of my favorites. The cherry blossoms looked beautiful yesterday. And there’s a big difference between staging a selfie to make it look great at the start of the race, vs trying to take one as fast as possible, not block anyone’s way (I hopped up on the curb) and still attempt a PR (I was walking backwards while I took it)🤣 . . #runnersofinstagram #balegaimpi2019 #balegabestsocksever #impilove #impipride #balega #balegasocks #balegalove #lovemybalegas #hshive #rungoodr #goodrflamboyance #goodr #nuunlife #teamzensah #sweatpink #sweatpinkambassador #oisellevolée #oiselleteamdmv #medalmonday #cucb #cucb2019

A post shared by Holly (@thethriftyrunner) on Apr 8, 2019 at 10:20am PDT

My Volee teammate and I finished very close together and we walked through the runner's chute super proud of ourselves (it was a PR for her!) and got our waters and actually turned down the mylar blanket.  (It was THAT warm and the sun had started to come out.)  We walked over and got our post race snacks.  At that point, there were still bananas and granola bars but they were running dangerously low on Honey Stinger waffles and it didn't help that the volunteers were hoarding them.  I grabbed another one for my Dad and ate the one I had grabbed earlier.  My friend and I saw runners taking entire boxes of canned Peet's Coffee that was offered, and we asked a couple random people with full boxes if we could have one and were ignored.  So then I took things into my own hands and walked up behind a volunteer that had the last of the cans and grabbed two coffees from behind her and handed one to my friend.  Afterwards my friend and I went our separate ways so she could find her husband and I could get my medal and meet up with my Dad again.

This has been one of my consistent pieces of feedback for this race.  The organizers have ample time to set up food within the runner's chute and I know this as someone who has worked in the running event industry.  And they already put stacks of cases of water in there, why not the tables with food?  There is absolutely no reason to have it out in the open so runners (and random people) can come up and grab whatever whenever they want.  The food should be in the chute so you only have access immediately following the race and once you leave the chute you can't come back and get more.  It was downright disgusting to see how greedy the other participants were.  I just wanted enough of each thing for myself, my friend and my Dad who had no chance at even seeing one of the waffles.  (I didn't bother getting him coffee because I knew he wouldn't like it.)  Sure, keep medals in a tent off to the side.  They have that system down because generally people aren't going to try and get multiple medals and bibs are marked showing that they've been paid for and picked up.  Food needs to be more secured so everyone gets a fair chance at getting a little bit of everything that's offered.  Once my Dad texted me he had finished, I met up with him and all that was left were bananas and granola bars so I handed him my extra waffle.

As my Dad and I walked back to the car we talked about our races.  Despite the ugliness at the post race food, I really had a good time during the volunteer shift and then during the race itself.  I would recommend the race for people who haven't done it before and for out of towners because of all the DC landmarks you get to see up close.  I'll probably do the race and volunteer to get into the 2021 race, but I'm also getting to the point where I kind of want to see what other races are out there that same weekend.

Once my Dad and I got back to my parents house, I opened my laptop and checked my spreadsheet of all my finishing times.  (I highly recommend doing this--it has all my split times and shows all the statistics that is offered by race organizers.)  I had in fact PR'd by 7 whole seconds!  I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but considering the conditions (my IT band and it was the warmest year I've run this race) I'm pretty darn happy with it.

2018 Jingle All the Way 5k Race Recap

The Jingle All the Way (insert race distance here) has been one of my favorite races for a really long time.  I've basically run it with my Dad every year since I started running.  (Check out my recaps for 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013 and 2012.)  It's such a fun race because costumes are encouraged and the premium is always awesome.  Last year they offered a red, white and blue hat with the reindeer logo (which I wore for this year's race) but this year's hat was purple, light blue, black and white with a festive pattern.  I was so excited to bust out all of my festive running gear that I had been stocking up on throughout the year.  (I keep finding all kinds of great Christmas-themed leggings and tops all year.  So much so that I did three holiday themed runs including this one, and I never wore the same outfit twice.)  I basically end up adding onto my outfit every year, tweaking it just a little bit.  There was also the one year where I had lights, but that didn't last because they just don't stand out for a morning race despite being in the shade and the battery packs were heavy and a little annoying.

I think I’m ready as I’ll ever be for tomorrow morning’s 5k! I’ve got all the layers ready to go—wazzie wool base layer, sweatshirt, lux tights, cheap Christmas tights to go over the warm tights, Christmas sweater skirt, Balega blister resist (wool) socks, Goodr sunglasses, a zensah neck gaiter and the hat from last year’s race. Plus a Christmas stocking on my belt (great pocket for my inhaler!), aftershokz, picky bar (caffeinated for before the race), Garmin and little zippered pouch for my id and wet wipe (perfect for portajohns without hand sanitizer!) Oh and all the bells. I counted 21 in total 😬 Not sneaking up on anyone tomorrow! My water bottle is in the fridge ready to go with cherry limeade Nuun since the water stop has been cancelled due to the cold 🥶 Let’s do this!!! . . #garminfitness #oisellevolée #oiselleteamdmv #balegaimpi #balegaimpi2018 #balegabestsocksever #nuunlife #teamzensah #pickybars #itsarunnerthing #leskolayers #sweatpink #sweatpinkambassador #christmasrunning #jinglealltheway5k #pacersrunning #foreveryrun #aftershokz #shokzsquad #rungoodr #goodr

A post shared by The Thrifty Runner (@thethriftyrunner) on Dec 8, 2018 at 7:59pm PST

And this is how it looked after putting on all the layers!  (I also had some bells on my shoes.)

It was a pretty gray day, but could've been worse considering how in previous years we've had all kinds of weather.

The Washington Monument was gorgeous as always!

Leading up to the race, a friend in the Oiselle Volee had messaged me on Facebook and asked if I wanted to run with her.  I was apprehensive at first since it's always a race I do with my Dad so I don't usually meet up with friends, but after the gun goes off we basically go our own speeds and meet up once we've both finished.  I spent the morning texting back and forth my friend and she managed to get there just a couple minutes before the start of the race.  And when I knew she had started heading in my direction, I realized that we had never met up just the two of us.  We had only met a couple times with a mutual friend that was there and we hadn't seen each other in awhile and we were both bundled up.  I suddenly had the realization:  Oh crap.  Will I recognize her?  My Dad and I had seeded ourselves and I let my friend know where to find me, then someone comes through the crowd and she looks up from her phone at me.  Then we kind of do a double take to our phones and realize we found each other in the crowd! Shortly thereafter, the gun went off.  I had told my friend I wanted to get my sub-30 5k and that morning I was feeling good enough that it could be the day.

The first mile was a blur, but by mile 2 I was starting to feel gassed but my friend pressed us on.  Just as we approached the Jefferson Memorial, I needed a walk break.  My stomach was starting to feel a little angry and I needed a moment to let it settle a little bit.  We picked up the pace a little bit until the one hill that I'm well acquainted with from this race and Cherry Blossom.  On elevation maps, it really doesn't look like much. It's a blip.  It's going up 21 feet over 0.2 miles, so it comes to just under a 2% incline on a treadmill.  But after running such a flat course, it felt way harder than it should be.  Then there was that ever so slight downhill to the finish.  I crossed the finish and stopped my Garmin.

30:02.

So.  Freaking.  Close.

We got our mylar blankets, water bottles, and snacks.  I got my medal and after some prodding my friend did too.  (She doesn't usually pick up the medals since she has so many.  But this one was so cute!  The little snowman moves back and forth on a track so it looks like it's running through the snowy city.)  After meeting up with a few others in the Volee, I got a text from my Dad saying he had finished so I said bye to my friends and met with him.  We walked back to the car and stopped at a Panera for coffee and bagels and talked about how our races went.  My Dad was faster than the previous year so he was happy with his time.

30:02!!! (Had to take a couple walk breaks since my heart rate was so high and my tummy was not too happy.) I was paced by a friend in the Volee and totally was reminded why I like running in groups! “Can we walk this little bit right here?” “NOPE!” 😭 🤣 All sub-10 minute miles (9:48, 9:17, 9:32) and despite being *so* close to a sub-30 I’ll take it. . . #oisellevolée #oiselleteamdmv #jinglealltheway5k #runpacers #foreveryrun #teamzensah #rungoodr #goodr #balegaimpi #balegaimpi2018 #balegabestsocksever #nuunlife #hshive #sweatpink #sweatpinkambassador

A post shared by The Thrifty Runner (@thethriftyrunner) on Dec 9, 2018 at 7:50am PST

This should come as no surprise, but I highly recommend this race.  It is always so much fun because so many people dress up and there's festive music playing at the starting area.  It's a great way to end my racing year with a race that isn't serious at all, but on a course that's fast n flat despite that final hill so you have a really great chance at a PR.

2018 MCM10k Race Recap

This was my fifth year running the MCM10k.  (2013 and 2014, 2015, 2016) Last year I ran the full marathon and wrote three blog entries about it.  Part 1 covered training and the expo.  Part 2 focused on the race.  Part 3 was some of the things I learned from running my first marathon.

This year's race would be slightly different because I would be running the 10k then spectating the marathon afterwards.  A friend who captained my Pennsylvania Ragnar team from last year decided this would be her first marathon and I remembered how helpful it was to have people along the way and how that last 10k was miserable.  I reached out to her and several friends because I knew I would be later in the race, just after the 14th street bridge with my Oiselle Volee teammates.  I asked them if they needed anything at all and I went ahead and got it for them along with extra twizzlers to be ready for race day.  I told them to be on the lookout for me in a yellow yeti (a union suit made by Oiselle that is always super comfortable) just over the 14th street bridge around mile 22.

Race Weekend

As always, race weekend begun with going to the expo on Friday mid-afternoon to miss the majority of the crowds.  I got my bib pretty quick because there was only one person in front of me for my bib range.  Then of course for shirts I lucked out because not only were there no lines AND the design for this year's shirt was great despite the olive green color.  (The marathon's shirt quickly became notorious for how terrible it looks. It's a picture from a previous year of the race with little 26.2's, Iwo Jimas and Marine Corps globes all over it too.  People were so vocal about it that the race organizers even did their own version of mean tweets!)  Both shirts were a unisex long sleeved shirt made of wicking material rather than the fleece lined shirts that were given out up until 2016.  (No idea if this will be the norm.) Generally it's a mock neck with the Marine Corps globe on the collar.  The 10k had it embroidered on, the marathon had it printed.)

After I got my shirt and bib, some Wegmans employees handed out some snacks--apple sauce in a pouch, their version of a nutrigrain bar and one of their fruit twists.

The vendors at the expo were more of the same--a couple headband vendors (Bondi Band and Sparkly Soul), some hydration products (like Nuun), Garmin, Buff USA, Pacers Running and Balega was there with a local Fleet Feet.  There were also a few charities scattered about, but generally nothing new or novel.  If anything it felt like the expo was actually smaller than in previous years.  I bought a new buff with the Marine Corps Marathon course and the Iwo Jima memorial on it because it didn't have the year printed on it and it was the same course as last year.  (AND it's very similar to the buff from two years ago that I saw sell out last year just as I walked to the register.)

For the first time in a few years, I really had to put some thought into what to wear on race day.  The last few times I've run this race it has been warm enough to wear a tank top and capris and be comfortable.  This time it would actually be somewhat chilly at the start!  I ended up settling on a long sleeve Flyte Shirt from Oiselle, Be Free Knickers from Athleta, Silver Socks and a headband from Balega.

Flat Holly for the MCM10k 😀Can’t wait to run the old course again and see what these legs can do 😀 (last time I ran the 10k it was all in VA because Metro was a pain and wouldn’t open early for the race.) My A goal is a secret (if i hit it, everyone is going to know) my B goal is to beat 1:05 (my 10k PR from over 2 years ago) C is to beat 1:11 (my PR for the course.) . . #marinecorpsmarathon #runwiththemarines #mcm10k #mcm10k2018 #balegaimpi #balegabestsocksever #balegaimpi2018 #hshive #pickybars #garmin #aftershokz #spibelt #goodr #rungoodr #oisellevolee #oisellevoléedmv #oiselleteamdmv #flystyle

A post shared by The Thrifty Runner (@thethriftyrunner) on Oct 27, 2018 at 8:40pm PDT

Race Day

Since I would also be a race crew for a few friends running the marathon, my plan for getting to the race was slightly different.  Instead of taking Metro the whole way, I drove my Dad and I to Pentagon City close to where the Volee would be spectating, left my backpack of supplies in my car and walked over to the Metro stop to get to the 10k start.  (I thought about simply checking a bag but that makes the security line for the 10k a little more of an ordeal since they want to go through every bag that comes into the starting area.  Not to mention going through the line to actually check the bag!)

When we got to the race, the security lines were already halfway across the adjacent street.  (Again, super glad I didn't bring a bag!)  And they asked runners to empty their pockets and any sort of running pack they had with them.  I took everything out and held it in my hand to show to one set of police officers then another police officer passed the wand over me to be sure I was safe to pass.  From there we immediately went into the portajohn line.  I was there with my dad so we lined up in our usual corral (1:10-1:19) hoping that I would be a little faster, but also knowing that my timing chip would not start until passing over the starting line I was okay starting with a slower group.

Obligatory selfie!

This year the first mile was very crowded once again.  It's fairly typical due to the walkers and first timers walking several people across and starting further up than they should.  You can warn people all you want, there are still going to be people who think the rule doesn't apply to them or they simply realize that they're walking several people across and blocking the path.  Then there was this one guy who kept getting right up behind me, in front of me, occasionally kicking the bottom of my foot and I just couldn't shake him until the second or third mile.  Somewhere along the 14th street bridge, I had lost sight of them and I was fine with it because once we all ran down the ramp the road (usually where the hand cyclists end up passing me) generally widened out so there was more space to spread out.  Once the Pentagon begins to come into view it widens out even more and it's even better because you know you're almost done!

Every year I have the goal of running up the hill to Iwo Jima and I get closer every year I've run the 10k.  (The marathon was a different story since by then I was just ready to be done.  I basically fast walked last year.)  The hill is short, but a 4.3% grade over even just a tenth of a mile makes it difficult.  This year I made it the majority of the way, slowing just as I reached the apex to high five one of the paramedics at a tent at the final turn towards the finish.  At that point I sprinted to the finish (was shuffled to the left side to allow the hand cyclists through), stopped my Garmin and looked down.  1:04:55!  I had just barely gotten my B goal to beat 1:05!

After receiving my medal, I took a few pictures of the Iwo Jima Memorial.  The clouds were starting to thin out and it was turning into such a beautiful day!

After getting my banana, food box and water I waited for my Dad a little ways from the Runner's exit.  By the time I finished my water and banana I got a text from him saying he was done and walking through the line of Marines handing out food and water.  We then walked over the bridge to my favorite part--the watermelon!!!  We scarfed down the fruit and then visited a food truck hired by Brooks Running to cook bacon for runners that was parked just by the finisher's gear store.  My Dad and I got some bacon, checked out the finisher's store (don't worry, we wiped off our hands before buying our 10k finisher's shirts) then got a second round of bacon before getting Sports Beans samples and trail mix from Wegmans as we walked to the Metro.  I got off at Pentagon City to get back to my car and my Dad kept going to the end of the line.

Spectating/Race Crewing

Once I got back to my car I grabbed my backpack with race supplies, a clean shirt, my yellow yeti (basically a big, comfy union suit made out of sweatshirt material by Oiselle), and changed my shoes.  As I walked over to the cowbell corner I stopped at a Starbucks for coffee and space to change.  I ordered my usual and after it was done I changed my shirt and threw on my yeti over everything.  I walked the rest of the way to the cowbell corner and found out I had just missed the founders of Oiselle (Sally Bergesen and Sarah Lesko) running past by about five minutes.  (Sorry to have missed them, but I needed coffee.  It was Lesko's first marathon and she even BQ'd for 2020!)  Then the waiting for my friends to pass began.  I had only received two texts despite asking for notifications on about 10 people, so I kept refreshing the app and even that was also not so reliable.  For a little while I held out a pan of Swedish Fish to the runners but as some of my friends started to get closer I kept my bag close by and just rang my cowbell.

Finally some familiar faces started to run past and I offered them Twizzlers.  After a little while longer, my friend came through with her pacers (two other friends who have run the race several times.)  I handed one of her pacers a ginger ale and snickers, and her own water bottle with coconut water and handed her a couple fun size payday candy bars.  They chugged their drinks and took some bites of their candy bars.  After a few moments it felt like they were lingering.  After last year knowing if I hung out too long it'd be hard to start up again I told them "Get outta here you have a race to finish!"  And while they were lingering they took a picture of me, always happy to crew for a friend.  (Seriously, I was kinda hard to miss but I was SO comfortable.)

Picture by JGivens75

And off they went!  After handing out twizzlers to a few more friends, the crowd of spectators began to clear.  It felt like the line of runners was never ending even though the familiar faces had all passed.  Around 1:30 or so, a police car went onto the course and redirected runners to turn left under the bridge instead of going straight.  From there on out, the runners would not be official finishers because they did not complete the whole 26.2 (really more like 21 miles.)  Once the runners began to thin out even more and race vehicles began picking up equipment we called it quits for the day.

Overall Thoughts

Again, this is another race I love from start to finish.  My description of the 10k is generally all the fun of a big race, but none of the pressure of the training for the distance.  It really is fitting for the race.  It's always super crowded, but so much fun.  The course is fairly challenging and the crowd support is amazing.  You end up running past so many landmarks even with the 10k it's worth running if you're local or from out of town.  This year I feel like the experience was elevated by parking downtown and going back out onto the course to spectate with friends and help friends who were running.  I'm not sure if or when I'll be back to run the marathon, but you can always count me in for the 10k as long as I'm able!

Have you run this race before?  Want to run this race?  Any questions about it?  Leave a comment below!

2018 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler Race Recap

I've run the Cherry Blossom a few times.  In fact this was the fourth time I ran it but only my third since I started blogging.  Here are my recaps for 2016 (the infamous windy year) and 2017 expo (where I volunteered), race.

Fortunately, this year was mostly uneventful except if you were watching the weather.  The majority of the week meteorologists were calling 5-8 inches of snow the day before the race, which was truly bizarre for April.  They kept talking about how if it does snow, it won't amount to much, blah blah blah...Still wasn't enough to NOT make me nervous.  (DC is basically crippled if there's more than an inch.)  Thankfully, by the time the expo rolled around the snow threat went away and it was just going to be cold and windy.

This year the expo was a little more leisurely.  Most years I've volunteered at packet pickup handing out bibs.  Oddly this year the slots were already filled by the time I tried to sign up just after the lottery period ended.  So I signed up to take some of the elite athletes back to the airport after the race.  It was convenient since the airport was basically on the way home.  My first year volunteering after the 2015 race I got to take Aliphine Tuliamuk to BWI, and it was right before her first marathon.

I went to the expo a couple of hours after it opened on the first day.  It was a beautiful day--sunny and warmer than it had been for awhile.  The expo was the same as its always been with similar vendors and nothing overly exciting was being sold by the vendors so I was fine to just get my bib, shirt and various snacks.  Bark thins was offering samples and they were really tasty!  Even my Dad (who hates coconut) really liked the bark with coconut in it.  Ragnar was there offering lip balm, blinking lights (Ragnar approved!), and the chance to win a really nice blanket.  (Spoiler alert:  I didn't win.)

The next day I started to pack my bag to stay overnight with my parents.  I knew I would have to dress warmly so I packed several options.  I ended up settling on this.

Oiselle Flyte long sleeve in violet and gaiter in big blue, flyout tights in curfew, and their runwear pullover.  Balega hat and quarter length blister resist socks in pink/wineberry.  As always, my garmin, aftershokz headphones, Blue Q coin purse (for an id and cash), picky bar, spibelt, honey stinger chews and a random lip balm I grabbed at an expo.

The next morning my Dad and I were out the door at 6am and headed to a parking garage close to the race, but far enough away the road closures wouldn't effect it.  (I had also reserved parking in advance using Spot Hero and full disclosure, if you use the link you get $7 and I get $7 for your first reservation over $8.)  We arrived at the staging area around the Washington Monument at 6:45ish for the 7:30 gun time, which worked out well.  We had just enough time to visit the portajohns and head over to the start.  Because the National Park Service was working on turf restoration, everything was a little further away than usual.  Other than having a little further to walk, it really wasn't bad.  The lines for the portajohns were unusually short because the race organizers were encouraging runners to start lining up 45 minutes before gun time.  We got in line with plenty of time to spare and we got to see the sunrise.

One side of the Washington Monument, over by the World War II Memorial and the Reflecting Pool

The Washington Monument on the other side after the sunrise, from the green corral.

And of course a pre-race selfie.

The race was about as it has been in previous years--pretty crowded the whole way but not totally unbearable.  But with every beep of my garmin signifying every mile I looked down in disbelief.  The first five miles were all under 11 minutes.  Then I allowed myself to start taking walk breaks, especially as we got closer to Hains Point.  The cherry blossoms were at peak bloom so I wanted to savor every moment around the famous trees.  (This was the second time that I've run the race with the trees in peak bloom.)  And they were stunning!

Once we passed the cherry blossoms I was about ready to be done.  Around miles 8 and 9 I get a little extra antsy to be done because you can see the Washington Monument but you still have a ways to go.  Then there's the only real uphill on the course that feels like torture because you can SEE the finisher's area.  You can hear the music.  But that dang hill stands between you and the finish.

Then once I crossed the finish line, I got my post race snacks (including cottage cheese which I ended up leaving by some volunteers because that's not really the kind of thing I want to eat right after running 10 miles) and my heatsheet because I was starting to actually get cold.  Then got my medal at the tent and waited for my Dad to finish.  Soon after we headed back to the car and I took a shower and had a real lunch while I waited to head back out to pick up some of the elite athletes from the host hotel.

When I showed up to pickup my athlete at the host hotel, it quickly turned into 4 because they could all fit in my car.  The volunteer coordinator scanned my QR code to check me in (since I get guaranteed entry into next year's race for volunteering), handed me my volunteer shirt and we were on our way!  All four of the athletes were from Kenya, but only one of them could speak English fluently.  We had an interesting conversation as I drove up 295 (usually scenic, but since winter lasted too long the trees were still bare) and I learned a lot about Kenya like how it's an 18 hour flight to DC from there (and a lot of the runners were coming just for the weekend!) The weather is the same year round AND it's at a high elevation so there are pretty awesome running conditions year round.  (Which is also part of the reason why Kenyans are such notoriously amazing runners--they get to practice year round while those of us in more temperate climates have to adapt to the other conditions!)

Before I knew it, I was dropping them off at the airport.  I was nearly home but their journey had just begun and it blew my mind that they would do so much to get here for the race.  After saying our goodbyes I drove the 20 minutes home, unloaded the car and took a nap with my cats.

Overall, the race is a great one to do at least once especially if you're from out of town.  It's always a gamble as far as the weather goes but the course is generally the same every year.  (There were slight modifications this year because of construction on the bridge we normally run out and back on.)  It's really hit or miss in terms of seeing the trees in peak bloom.  This year the trees were really stunning and that made it worth it in my mind.  The expo is pretty easy as long as you don't come right when it opens because the line is always long.  It's also really easy to get to since it's right across the street from a metro stop.  The only truly difficult part (besides training) is figuring out how to get there on race morning and even that wasn't terrible since we got there fairly early.