The Rock N Roll Half DC 2015

This past Saturday March 14^th I ran the Rock N Roll Half DC for the third year in a row. At last year’s race I had finished in 1:45:21 and was hoping to get there or better this year but with my ongoing priformis issues I knew it would be a stretch…and boy was a right.

Race day was cold and rainy so I wore a The North Face’s Stormy Trail Jacket that had been advertised as “waterproof” with my new brooks tank top underneath and my Lululemon running tights. I thought about wearing a long sleeve tee under my jacket or another layer but I thought it would get warmer later in the race and I would overheat. That morning I got up got dressed, walked Lola, and used the restroom. While putting my timing tag on my running shoes I noticed the runner information wasn’t mine…but a young man’s…I looked my number online and confirmed that the race volunteer who gave me my bib must have suffered an episode of dyslexia and handed me bib 4765 instead of my bib 4675. I probably should’ve double checked the bib when she handed it to me but at the time I was in a rush, had only seen my number once, and I figured since I handed her a printout of my race confirmation slip she would’ve given me the correct one…well it was now race morning and nothing I could do about it…

I still hadn’t decided if I wanted to drive to my office, which is near the race, or just take the metro. I had originally planned to walk or bike home from the finish so I decided to metro to the start so I wouldn’t have to get my car later. I left my house about 45 minutes before the race start hoping I would get to my office by 7-7:10 so I could use the restroom again and head to the start. As I jogged to the metro I could feel that my muscles were super tight especially my lower back piriformis area…with the incorrect bib, tightness, and bad weather I knew I would struggle through this race but what I didn’t know was just how much.

Once I got to the metro station it turned out the next train wouldn’t arrive for 11 minutes and that meant I would have less time to use the restroom and relax before the race. Once I got out at Metro Center and used the restroom at my office I headed to the start. It was much colder than I thought and it was super wet out puddles everywhere.

From the start I struggled to warm up and settle into my normal pace. I stepped in numerous puddles and my shoes filled with water. As the miles went on I got stomach cramps, my muscles clammed up, my waterproof jacket soaked through and I was sooo cold and unable to maintain my normal running pace. Every step was painful but I was determined to finish. As the miles disappeared behind me and we arrived at Mile 11 on H St NE near my house I longed to take a detour and go home and warm up but I had only two miles left so I trudged on. When I finally saw the finish I was sooo happy and crossed the finish in 1:54:27 according to my watch…sadly I will never know my official time since I am sure once the real 4765 discovered his bib was missing they reassigned him a new number and deactivated 4765 as when I tried to look it up in the results it did not appear. At least I got to run the race and collect my medal because after all I did run the half and it wasn’t my fault the race volunteer gave me the wrong bib.

Map of the Rock N Roll race course

I already signed up for the 2016 Half since despite this year’s unfortunate events I still love running this race. My favorite thing about the Rock N Roll Half DC is the course….unlike many other DC races this race truly takes you throughout DC not just around the mall. What I do not like about this race is that the finish line chute forces runners to have to walk about a quarter mile up the parking lot to then have to turn around and walk about half a mile to the metro station. I find this to be very cruel since running 13.1 or 26.2 miles to have to walk some more is just torture especially on days like this year’s race where it was cold and rainy. Each step I took to get to the metro was just painful. I thought about taking an Uber home since if I metroed I would have to switch trains  and walk 5 blocks home but Ubers had a 3x surcharge so I decided to just metro and called my boyfriend to meet me at Metro Center and drive me the rest of the way home. On the metro ride back the metro as always had issues and left us in the tunnel about 10 minutes with the AC on. I was shivering uncontrollably when my boyfriend got me. I was never so happy to take a hot shower. Hopefully 2016 will bring more favorable weather.

2015 Half Marathon medal...different than the last two years