2019 GW Parkway Classic and 2019 National Women's Half Marathon

On Sunday April 28th I ran the 35th Annual GW Parkway Classic 10 Miler put on by Pacers Running for the second time in my life. This 10 Mile run begins at south end of George Washington (GW) Memorial Parkway at George Washington's home and historic site Mount Vernon and Heads 10 miles north on the parkway ending in Old Town Alexandria.

While the race views are for the most part fantastic as the course parallels the Potomac River this is one of my least favorite races because I don't like any races that require taking a shuttle to the race start....this means I have to get up extra early, get to the shuttle, and often times wait around for an hour or more until the race starts which can suck if like me you are a nervous pooper and like me both years had bathroom issues because of the long time waiting for the race to start and then getting frustrated because of the ridiculously long bathrooms lines and having to sit around outside in the cool weather. Both times I have done this race I have had a not that great experience solely because of these things.

If you aren't a nervous pooper like me and don't mind taking a shuttle and waiting around this is a great race. I ran it again this year because my boyfriend was running it for the first time and so were several people from our run club.

If you thrive on crowd support this race really isn't for you as there really isn't much until you get to Old Town. The post race festivities are always fun especially if the weather is nice. The first year it warmed up and was sunny after the run so it was nice to lie in the grass at the finish line festival and listen to live music and have my complimentary Port City beer. The second time it was pretty cold especially if you are sweaty and didn't bring extra clothes. Pacers always puts on great local races but in my personal opinion having to do a point to point race is not worth the price which is also pretty expensive for a 10 Miler.

GW Parkway Classic Medal

The week following the GW Parkway Classic I decided to sign up last minute for the 3rd Annual National Women's Half Marathon exactly one week after the 10 miler. I have a hard time motivating myself to do long runs once summer starts to come in and things get humid in the DMV so signing up for halves and 10 milers is something I do to get my miles.

Anyway this race had a decent price...cheaper than the 10 miler but no free beer. The race started and finished at West Potomac Park in Washington DC at 7AM which sucks if you do not live nearby because Metro doesn't open until 8AM on Sundays and parking is limited. Lucky for me I live about 3 easy miles from the start so race day I jogged over since I wanted to get more miles in anyway but I could've easily biked or scootered over or taken an Uber. It was a rainy spring-like day so I wore my race swag shirt to the start on top of the shirt I planned to wear during the race to keep warm until the race began as normally I don't like the stress of gear check lines and since I didn't like the race sway shirt (fitted) I was fine with leaving it at the start line. When I arrived at the start (about 15 mins to start time) I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a small field of mostly women and that there were plenty of porta potties and very short lines. I easily made my way to the bathroom and did my business and was already warmed up from my jog over.

The race course is pretty scenic as you make your way down and around the tidal basin and back up to Rock Creek Parkway where you run past the Kennedy Center and several miles out until the turn around at about mile 8.5. While not the best of the DC race courses in terms of scenery it was still pretty nice. Perhaps it was because of the rainy conditions or because it was an mostly women's race but there were not too many spectators along the course and most of the runners were pretty quiet. I really enjoyed this as I was listening to the 3rd Game of Thrones book with Audible and the quiet and peacefulness of the race really allowed me to relax and zone into the story. For me this was prefect since I had a stressful work week but for others like one lady on the course it was not that great....this lady started yelling and whining about how the runners were too quiet and how she thought they were lacking motivation. She tried to encourage others to cheer and hoot along with her but I think that many of the runners like me were enjoying the meditation time because no one really joined in with her....so again like the GW Parkway Classic if you thrive on crowd support and energy this may not be the race for you. 

When I finished up the race it was starting to rain a bit harder so I found a bike share away from the race course a rode home. Overall I really enjoyed the race experience and would do it again. This race happens to fall on the same weekend as the Flying Pig Marathon/Half Marathon in Cincinnati,OH which is one of my favorite races and I am signed up for next year so I will not be coming back for the National Women's Half in 2020 but encourage you to do so if you are around and are looking for a nice and easy peaceful half marathon.

Medal for the National Women's Half

For my next race the boyfriend and I will be traveling to Burlington, Vermont to run the Vermont City Marathon Memorial Day Weekend. I love traveling for races and staying a bit longer to explore the city/state. We've both been to Burlington before so for the majority of our long weekend we are heading to the mountains to check out popular breweries and enjoy nature after the race.

Savin Rock Half Marathon

So after my attempt at the Bel Monte 50K March 9th I ended up with a cold and in good old Sara fashion I decided not to take it easy and pushed through several mucous filled runs...but at least the weather was warmer out...a lot warmer probably in the low 70s.

The weekend after Bel Monte I was signed up to do a local race, The St Patrick’s Day Double (5k+10k) on Sunday morning. It also turned out the my former run club picked that Friday as the day to re-launch themselves with a new partner bar so I had to go. Sadly turnout to the club was very low just a few of us who had been part of the club back when its heyday. The new bar was too warm, poor beer selection, and an ok menu and to top it off when we got back from the run our table had been taken over by folks looking to get St Paddy’s day weekend started...we squeezed into another table and I had some wings but the BF and I headed home after an hour. Fast forward to Saturday morning and I’m feeling terrible and star throwing up and end up have uncontrollable bowel movements...was it the wings from the night before?...not sure but I spent Saturday on the couch with some water rushing back and forth to and from the bathroom. So Sunday’s race also didn’t happen...I spent most of that day pretty much the same as Saturday... I tried to go out on a short run which ended up with me frantically looking for a bathroom. Monday and the rest of the following week I was no longer in desperate need of being near a bathroom but was feeling drained so I took it easy in preparation for my next race...the Savin Rock Marathon.

I didn’t know much at all about this race except that my BF picked it and signed up for it so I decided to do it as well and it was in Connecticut. My BF’s friend was also going to run it with us and we would stay at his pace in a Rhode Island and drive to the race race morning. I quickly learned my lesson to not trust my BF to plan for a great race experience and to tell me that the race was two hours from his friends house so flying in at 9PM the night before the race wouldn’t be a good idea.

The friend also turned out to be sick when we arrived so the BF and I piled into a borrowed car at 5AM to make the two hour drive to Connecticut. West Haven Connecticut is pretty much just a small town by the water. The race was two half marathon length loops around the town. Race morning I decided to drop down to the half marathon because like I’ve said before I’m a fair weather runner and it was cold and windy out and judging by our drive through the town to the race start this wasn’t going to be a very scenic race.

The race itself was very underwhelming. Most of it just wound around the neighborhoods of West Haven with about a mile or two of each loop along the water. Roads weren’t closed off for the race we had to stay to our right was best as possible as local traffic tried to get by us. Since it was a cold day on the second loop...according to BF...there were far fewer runners so the local police helping direct traffic weren’t always prepared when a runner came by so runners had to stop and wait for traffic to pass.

The course had a lot of hills which at times broke the monotony of running through neighborhoods whose residents didn’t seem to know or care that a race was happening and at other times added to the dismay of just wanting this race to be over with. There was about zero crowd support except for when the course ran by the start so family and friends of those participating could cheer you on.

When I was finally done I sat in the “convention center” waiting for my BF and sipping water as the post race festivities included bananas, pieces of plain bagels, water, and some non-alcoholic beer.

Before making the two hour drive back to RI we stopped in New Haven for some Frank Pepe’s Pizza and then New England Brewing for a few beers...the highlight and saving grace of the day.

I would not recommend this race if you aren’t a town local. At least I can cross off Connecticut for my 50 states 50 half marathons goal....for my 50 marathons goal I’ll look for another race and I won’t be letting BF plan our races again.

Bel Monte 50K

The month of March didn’t go like I had pictured it would...my boyfriend got a cold the first week of March and I thought my immune system had successfully fended off catching the illness but I guess 4 hours in the mountains in temperatures around freezing trying to not slip and fall to your death and having to traverse icy cold streams multiple times will really weaken your immune system...

So to back track a bit while my boyfriend had his cold I felt fine and was ready to head out to away Waynesboro VA to run the Bel Monte 50K. I don’t know why it never occurred to me that the beginning of March in the mountains would be cold and possibly snowy which it was. 

My friend Josh (he was running the 50 miler) headed to Waynesboro Friday early afternoon to beat rush hour traffic and have sometime to kickback before heading to bed early for our 430AM wake up so we could drive the 30 minutes to the race start and get our race packets. Friday later afternoon we headed to Basic City Beer Co. which was a surprisingly good brewery. The atmosphere was great, the beers were pretty good, and the food from the Hops Kitchen was surprisingly gourmet and they offered healthy options...so if you find yourself in Waynesboro checkout Basic City Beer Co.

If you plan on running Bel Monte I recommend signing up early and renting a cabin ASAP before they are all booked. The drive to the race from Waynesboro isn’t bad since I have an AWD vehicle and the snow wasn’t terrible...non 4WD or AWD vehicles did have some issues parking. Getting a cabin at the race start will allow you to sleep in a little, stay warm before the start, and shower after your run...all things I wish I had.

I’m not a very good trail runner...I’m a klutz and get very uneasy trying to find the right footing but I will shuffle along the trails and enjoy nature...when the weather is pleasant...race day weather stayed around the mid 30s and since it had snowed the day/night before there was about an inch of snow on the trail which quickly became packed down and very slippery as runners made their way through the race course. The first 8 miles of the race took almost 2 hours for me...not just because I was slow but because a lot of that portion was single track and lines of people quickly formed as we tried to get past particularly slippery sections that required very careful footing and for you to hold onto a tree and I can’t forget to mention that most of the race’s elevation gain was in the first 8 miles. After mile 8 things flattened out and the ice was pretty much gone but now bring the muff and multiple calf deep freezing cold stream crossings..after mile 8 for about a mile or two I was finally feeling good again like I could continue on with the race but once I hit the 4th stream crossing my feet were freezing and eventually the rest of my body tightened up. I’m a fair weather runner and if  I’m not feeling the run I will not continue especially in this instance knowing I would have to cross those 4 streams again and go back through those 8 icy hilly miles so at the mile 14 aid station I DNFd. Josh, who is a much stronger runner than I will ever be, pushed through 48 miles only to miss the last cutoff by 15 minutes and  DNF. Tough weather conditions and a tough course (curse you whoever told me this was a good beginner race) made for a tough race. The post race festivities were also lacking especially if you’ve run races put on by  EX2 and  Rainshadow Running or done trail races like Devil Dog 100 where there is tons of post race food and merriment and in the case of Rainshadow tons of post race beer. 

Would I try Bel Monte 50k again...probably not...would I recommend it...yes if you’re up for a challenge.

Hello It's Been A While....2019 Race Preview

So it's been a while since I last posted....

This past year I ran a few races but not as many as I had in previous years. I completed three halves, attempted two 50Ks, and completed my 4th marathon. My I ran more miles than 2017 but overall wasn't really feeling my running. Fast forward to December 2018 and things are getting more serious with my boyfriend of a year+ who is a crazy runner and come January 2019 I have a new spark for running. It could be the colder weather or getting competitive with my BF to see who can get more miles in....he always does but I still try to catch up on our Strava annual mileage....but what I do know is that in about a week I will once again be attempting to finish my 2nd 50K race and have already signed up for 3 marathons and a road 50K for 2019 and have been combing the internet for more races so I can do 50 marathons 50 states!

Given this rekindling of my love of running I've decided to pick back up on my blogging. I plan on doing a lot of races this year most of which will be out of town (I live in the DC area) and I also plan to stop by and check out the local brewery and food scenes as part of my travel so stay tuned for race recaps as well as food and brewery reviews!

Races I'm signed up for this year:

-March 2nd: #FITDC Herstory 5K (Washington, DC)
-March 9th: Bel Monte 50K  (Lyndhurst, VA)
-March 17th: Pacers St. Patrick's Day Double (Washington, DC)
-Every Friday Evening in April: Pacers Crystal City 5K Fridays (Arlington, VA)
-May 26th: The Vermont City Marathon (Burlington, VT)
-September 29th: BMW Berlin Marathon (Berlin, Germany)
-October 19th: Baltimore Running Festival Marathon (Baltimore, MD)
-October 27th: The First Ever MCM50K (Arlington, VA)

The 41st Marine Corps Marathon!

The 41^st Marine Corps Marathon! My first and now my third marathon and still a great race! So let me tell you a little about it…and the a few major differences from the 38^th MCM.

The Marine Corps Marathon, also known as the People’s Marathon, is one of the largest and most popular marathons in the United States with participants from all over the country and the world traveling to our nation’s capital to run 26.2 miles mainly through Virginia but also around several iconic monuments in Washington, DC.

To enter this race it is now done mainly through a lottery or you can pledge to raise money for charity or if you have run it a certain number of times or are a member of the military you can register early or the best way is if you run the Marine Corps 17.75K and finish you get a guaranteed entry!

When I first ran the MCM back in 2013 there was no lottery you just had to be ready to go once registration opened and refresh your computer every time the server crashed due to the amount of internet traffic trying to register….luckily that was the first year you got a guaranteed entry by running the 17.75K which I did J

This year I did not get into through the 17.75K or the lottery but was lucky enough to get a bib transfer when I randomly decided to run the MCM 6 weeks before race day…this however meant that I did not train at all…far less than my first MCM where I kind of trained.

The MCM in 2013 had the expo at the Stadium Armory located in SE DC next to RFK stadium. This location then changed in 2015 to the Washington Convention Center in downtown DC. Stadium Armory I thought was the most convenient as it was metro accessible and had free parking.  The convention center was metro accessible but no free parking which I thought was the worst location for the MCM to put their expo but I was wrong because in the 2016 they moved it to the Gaylord Hotel Convention Center which has no free parking and is not metro or bus accessible unless you make a ton of crazy transfers and connections. One of my friends decided to get to the expo first thing Friday and ran into a ton of traffic and waited for a while to park for $6 for two hours. I was running late but had the same general plan and also ran into some traffic but did not as much as my friend…most likely several people had the same idea to arrive first thing to “avoid traffic.” I only stayed an hour and paid $3. On my way out of the expo the traffic had become even worse! This year’s location was definitely terrible and hopefully enough people will complain so that they can relocate it somewhere easier to get to.

This year’s race also did not have the benefit of an early metro opening to get runners to the starting line prior to 8AM. Metro opens at 7AM on weekends but has historically opened at 5AM for the MCM. This year metro refused to open early due to their SafeTrack program where they are trying to make as many repairs as quickly as possible by cutting metro operating hours, shutting down complete sections of track for periods of time, and inconveniencing commuters as much as possible because metro failed to do regular preventative maintenance and repairs on a regular basis and is now forced to do so after several close calls and accidents that injured commuters….any way so this meant MCM had to find other ways to get runners to the start. This included providing free shuttles from certain locations. My friend and I decided to take the shuttle from downtown DC but little did we know the lines for shuttles would be extremely long and just to get a shuttle would require 40 minutes of waiting…Uber and such had 300% surcharges…

Besides the location of the expo and the metro problem (not MCM’s fault) the race was still awesome!

Security this year was not as bad as the year before…as my friend who ran it told me…this was probably due to the trickling in of runners due to lack of transportation.

When you get to the race wait until you get further into the starting area to use the bathroom…you might see a few porto potties with long lines once you approach the security check point but if you keep going there are numerous porto potties with almost no lines at both the bag check area and by the starting corrals.

There are a good amount of aid stations but I suggest bringing your own water bottle (Nathan Quick Shot). I would fill mine up at each station so I could have it in case I needed water between aid stations and I was glad I did.

As I mentioned before I did not train for this race so around mile 13 my body started to get cramped probably from my piriformis flaring up and after that it was shear will power and my friends’ text of encouragement, and the spectators that took me the rest of the 13.2 miles to the finish. I was glad to finish but disappointed in my time. I was really hoping I would meet my goal time of 4 hours 30 minutes which I was on track for until 13 miles. Now I am very determined to stick to a training plan so I can beat my 2013 PR of 4 hours and 15 minutes.

 

I highly recommend running the MCM if you can get in. I think this will be a race I will do every year from here on as long as I am healthy and can get a bib!

Trail Running! (Ragnar Trail WVa and EX2 Adventure Racing)

I’ve always wanted to try trail running but where I live there really aren’t many good trails that are not at least an hour away…or a pain to get to (Rock Creek Park) so I didn’t hit the “real” trails for a while…I did the DC North Face Endurance Challenge 10K…wasn’t really a trail more like running on a dirt road with some mud but still fun.

Luckily this past summer my running club…The Argonaut Running Club (check us out we run every Friday at PM from Liberty Tree in DC)….decided to put together a team for the Ragnar Trail Appalachian relay. I had done Ragnar before but just the road one in vans. Ragnar Trail always seemed more appealing to me because Ragnar is fun, you get to camp at this one and hangout with your team instead of driving around, they have bonfires and music and games, and so much more!!

The finish line!

 

The trails at Ragnar where much more technical (hills, obstacles, etc…) than the North Face 10K where I was able to maintain my pace close to road pace…at Ragnar my pace definitely slowed but not my effort…these trails were tough!

me after completing my first loop (red - hard loop) each runner runs each of the 3 loops once

 

So let’s go back a second….Ragnar Trail…you can have a team of 8 or 4 (ultra crazy people)….you bring your tents, camping equipment, food, booze, water, etc…setup camp in your designated area and hangout under the stars! Ragnar also provides food and water, there are porta potties that Ragnar did a great job keeping clean, there are showers, there is beer, and so much more. You can arrive as early as 4PM Thursday and stay until Sunday. We opted to do just that half our team arrived later Thursday night and already there were tons of teams there who had taken the best camping spots. I recommend if you can show up on Thursday.

All through the night teams are up and having a good time waiting for their runner to come back to the exchange so the next runner can take off. During my night run…I was terrified the whole time leading up to it…the woods were dark all I had was my headlamp but I wasn’t scared it actually felt exhilarating to be running out in nature in the dark in the quiet…I didn’t see too many other runners just a few that passed me and that I passed. When I got to the exchange I had the best runner’s high ever! I had boundless energy and ran the half mile back to our basecamp to chatter away to my teammates about how awesome the Yellow Loop was. Overall I had a wonderful time running this race and hanging out with my team. I can’t wait to do it again next year and I’m currently trying to convince others to do Ragnar Trail Richmond with me.

Cool Ragnar Trail medals!

Our team and our two volunteers after the race!

 

After Ragnar Trail I have a new love for trail running…I still don’t go out during the week to hit the trails due to lack of time….but I did sign up for 5 trail races this fall with EX2 Adventure Racing! I completed a trail 10K this past September which was awesome! And now I am in the process of completing their 4 trail race series the Fall Backyard Burn 10 Miler series! You don’t have to camp for these ones but they are still a blast and they have the best mini breakfast burritos at the end and they also have a ton of other food. I'll post more about this race series once I'm done

I highly recommend everyone try trail running. It is a lot of fun and the scenery is beautiful! Keep in mind you won’t go as fast as you do on the road and you may take a tumble now and then but it is all worth it!

2015 Turkey Trot and Black Friday Workout at Solidcore Old Town

Every year since I started running back in 2012 I have signed up to run a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning…so that is 4 turkey trots. My first Turkey Trot was the Alexandria Turkey Trot which is a 5 miler that begins at George Washington High School near the Braddock Road metro. Turkey Trots are a great way to get out with on Thanksgiving morning and burn some calories with your family and neighbors before enjoying your Thanksgiving meal.

My family has never been big into running so in 2012 I ran my first Turkey Trot on my own and had a wonderful time so I decided to keep participating every year…in 2013 I was staying at my aunt’s house in Fairfax so I decided that instead of driving 40+ miles round trip to the Alexandria Turkey Trot I would look for a local trot…I chose the Fairfax Turkey 4 mile trot which was holding its inaugural race that Thanksgiving morning…I’m not one with a lot a patience and that Thanksgiving was particularly cold. Being in its first year I am assuming the race organizers didn’t have all their logistic together…the race seemed poorly organized they ran out of shirts when I got there and the start was delayed so I decided to just go back to my aunt’s and run on my own and do the Alexandria Turkey Trot instead next year which I did once again on my own but I still had a great time! This year however I convinced my mom to join me since she had run the Mother’s Day Four Miler with me and wanted to exercise before our Thanksgiving feast!

My mom and I waiting for the race to start

Once again I had a great time at this Turkey Trot and more so now that my mom was there with me even though we don’t run together due to our vast pace difference. After the race my mom was convinced of three things 1.) we will definitely do it again next year 2.) she needs to get back into shape since she ran almost a minute per mile slower than back in May and 3.) we need matching turkey hats!

I highly recommend you do the Alexandria Turkey Trot if you are in the area. The race starts at 9AM which allows you to sleep in a little and packet pickup on race day runs pretty smoothly but definitely get there by 830AM. There is plenty of parking and the metro is close by so getting to the race is also very easy. If you are a faster runner I would recommend you get as close to the front as possible as there are no corrals and many runners who think they are fast try to line up towards the front causing a large bottle neck around the first two miles. The course is nice and flat and winds through the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria where the local neighbors come out to cheer on the runners.

My mom crossing the finish line!

For Black Friday I opted to go take a fitness class at Solidcore in Old Town Alexandria which I can best describe as a super tough resistance type training class. The class is performed on exercise machines that very closely resemble a pilates reformer machine where the instructor leads the class through an exercise routine that targets different muscle groups individually until failure for an intense full body workout while you listen to some heart pumping music. After the class I felt awesome! I was tired but I felt rejuvenated and after class I decided to reward myself with a a delicious donut from Sugar Shack located right next door! ...I also ran almost 4 miles that morning so I figured I could try a donut...  I got the Samoa donut which was delicious. Come Sunday my body was defiantly feeling the workout. I would definitely recommend you checkout Solidacore if you haven’t already. It may be a bit pricey for some but if it is your first time look for their 2 classes for $25 deal. Also, treat yourself to a donut at Sugar Shack ;)

 

Samoa and Maple Bacon donuts from Sugar Shack!

 

2015 Richmond Half Marathon Weekend

This past weekend I ran the Richmond Half Marathon. This race was a Saturday race with no race day packet pickup so I took a half day from work on Friday and made my way down to Richmond with my boyfriend in tow.

Originally I had planned on going alone and stay overnight Friday and leaving promptly after the race on Saturday but after my boyfriend expressed interest in going we extended our stay an extra day.

We stayed at the Clarion Hotel on Boulevard…it was cheap and about a quarter mile from the expo so I thought why not…in the past I had stayed at cheap hotels like this one with no problems at all…this time not so much. It wasn’t that my stay was terrible but several little things just made me not want to recommend staying here to anyone. Two big factors were the rooms keys never seemed to work! The two nights we were there we both had to change our room keys at least five times and several of those times there was no one at the front desk to assist us so we had to wait around several minutes…the longest wait was after my boyfriend went out for a run (he didn’t race) his room key didn’t work and he had to wait about 20 minutes with other guests in the lobby for someone to show up to assist. The second thing was that this hotel allows you to bring dogs…this wasn’t so much the hotel’s fault as the irresponsible pet owner’s but our second night (thankfully not the night before race day) a dog in a room near our barked nonstop from midnight to 3AM. It would quiet down for a few minutes then start again we finally called the front desk and the dog finally quieted down but then around 8AM the door slamming began as people began to get up and get going with their days…so bottom line you can hear EVERYTHING at this hotel so if you need quiet to sleep don’t stay here.

Back to the race…the packet pickup was quick and easy. The expo was pretty small but did have a good number of vendors. We didn’t stick around too long since we were both pretty hungry so we headed downtown to look for some dinner.

Long Sleeve Race Shirt. I got the unisex kind since I don't like form fitting shirts.

 We decided to check out the Roosevelt for dinner after we had done some research and found that it was consistently voted the best place to eat and we were not disappointed.  Our dinner was delicious! I got the sword fish and he got the steak. If you are in town I would recommend checking it out but make sure to make a reservation if you are going during normal dinner hours…we went right when they opened at 5PM and got seated right away but the place filled up soon after. We also stopped by briefly at Saison which is a speakeasy type bar where we had a really awesome dessert and a few craft cocktails. I really enjoyed the atmosphere at Saison and would highly recommend you check it out.

S'mores Dessert at Saison

The half marathon began downtown at 730AM. I had Spencer drop me off at the start about 20 minutes before. The lines for the porta-potties seemed long at first but they turned out to move pretty quickly. After using the restroom I made my way to my corral. At many races corral entry is not very well monitored and you see a lot of slower runners make their way to the front but not at Richmond…there was a security guard and a race organizer present checking corral assignments and sending back those who did not belong…I think this is great and should be done more often to prevent bottlenecks…it might not always work 100% since people to lie about their projected finish times which was evident in the first few miles where I saw people already starting to walk after only about 2 or 3 miles but it does help at least reduce the inconvenience.

The race course took us through downtown Richmond then into more residential areas before making its way back to downtown ….the terrain was predominantly flat with a few hills as we crossed bridges and entered/exited a park.  There was a good presence of spectators cheering us on throughout the race. The final half mile was a steep downhill which was very welcome as I was starting to fatigue and my muscles tightened up. Once you crossed the finish line volunteers handed you your medal…which I thought was very pretty…and you also received a bottle of water and a fleece blanket which was wonderful since it was pretty cold out and I had discarded my layers along the course.

The finish line/finisher village was located several blocks away from the half marathon start next to the river and had several vendors as well as food for the runners. I didn’t stay too long since my boyfriend was having trouble finding parking/getting to the finisher area. Luckily the race provided a shuttle to take us back to the starting area which was easier to get to by car.

Richmond 2015 Half Marathon Finisher Medal

My dog under the finisher fleece blanket once I got back home

Once I was able to find my boyfriend we headed back to the hotel so I could shower and warm up before heading to brunch at Lulu’s downtown. We once again had made a reservation which I recommend you do since the restaurant was packed. The food here was decent but a bit greasy for my taste.

After brunch we headed out to meet some local friends and check out the local breweries. We went to three breweries…Triple Crossing, Hardywood, and Ardent Craft Ales. All three were pretty good but Ardent was definitely our favorite. We called it an early night after getting dinner at a Mexican restaurant called En Su Boca located near Ardent. Their tacos and chips and salsa were great! My boyfriend is very picky about tacos and he really enjoyed these so check them out if you like tacos.

As previously mentioned our second night at the hotel was disturbed by a barking dog and then slamming doors. We got up around 8AM since we couldn’t fall back asleep so we decided to just head home early. After packing and checking out we stopped at Lamplighter Roasting for some coffee and breakfast. I got a cappuccino and a ham and swiss croissant both which were excellent!

I just love cappuccinos and the ham and swiss croissant was great!

To sum up I think I would do the Richmond Half again and I would recommend it to others but I would recommend not staying at the Clarion Hotel.

Shake Shack Track & Field + SoulCycle Duathlon

Yesterday I took my first SoulCycle class at their Mount Vernon Square location in Washington DC. I had been wanting to check them out for a while but the heft price tag per class had always kept me from doing so…$20 one ride for new students then $30 per ride after that.  I got my chance to check them out for free as part of the Shake Shack Track & Field Duathlon where we would first meet up at SoulCycle for a free 7:30PM class then run 2 miles to Shake Shack.

Shake Shack in conjunction with Pacers Running Stores has a monthly run club that meets the second Tuesday of every month at the Pacer Logan Circle location and runs 1, 3, or 5 mile routes to the Shake Shack in DuPont Circle where the first beer is free for those who ran. Prior to this run I’d only run with this club once when I went with a friend. I thought the run was great but the club kind of reminded me of high school where everyone was in their own clique my friend and I ran with the group then we had beer and burgers at our own table. Being an introvert I never went back since my friend was now longer in the area and my other friends and my boyfriend can never make it. If you are a social butterfly and make friends easily then check it out or if you aren’t find a group of friends and check it out. I would definitely try to go more but the location is also a deterrent for me…no metros near the start and DuPont isn’t that close to where I live.

Anyway back to SoulCycle…so once I arrived they gave me cycling shoes which is great because I didn’t bring mine and at many gyms and other cycling studios I’ve been to they don’t give you cycling shoes so you simply ride in your athletic shoes that are strapped into the pedal which don’t give you as a great a workout as cycling shoes. SoulCycle’s bikes are not equipped for non-cycling shoes so if you don’t bring your own then ask for a pair…also their pedals have one side for normal cycling shoes with clips like most bikes do and the other side with a clip distinct to their shoes…it took me a while to figure that one out.

SoulCycle Mt Vernon Square

The class was pretty awesome and very motivating with heart pumping music and dimmed lights. The instructor was very upbeat but at times he reminded me of Ben Stiller in Dodgeball because he would come around to the bikes and get all crazy in your face to motivate you. After the workout I was drenched in sweat and felt very energized and happy like I do after a good workout.

I did not do the running portion of the duathlon as it was raining and the class got out at 8:30PM and of course I did not want to have to transfer metro trains late at night but several people did do the two mile run from SoulCycle to the DuPont Shake Shack.

If you have the money, find a free class, or just want to check it out once I would recommend that you do. If I had the money I would definitely try and go to SoulCycle for my cross training days.

The Argonaut Running Club

So back in March I saw that the Argonaut, a bar in my neighborhood that I like to patron, was starting a running club so naturally I did as the posts suggested and followed the Facebook page for this club. When I finally made it to the club it was almost April and the club had been going on almost half a year now. The club organizer Ariel and his wife Marissa were very friendly when I arrived as were the other members that were there.

The club has three routes you can take…a two mile loop, a four mile loop, and a six mile loop. My first day at the club I opted for the six mile loop with two other club members and Ariel…Ariel is super-fast but he stuck to our pace and it was a pleasant run and we all chatted our way to the end where the Argonaut has an extended happy hour for the running club…all beers $6 and under are half off.

Group pic before the run. Photo taken from Argonaut Running Club Facebook page

Once we got back I got to talk to all the runners and the organizers and had a wonderful time. I came back several more times sporadically as the club meets at 6PM on Fridays and sometimes I will have plans with the boyfriend and can’t go and in July I got injured again and couldn’t run almost three months but when I did return Ariel and Marissa remembered me and asked about my races and my injury and were very nice as always making me feel very welcome which is awesome because I am naturally a very shy person and get social anxiety.

Before getting injured in July the club ran the Capital Hill Classic 10K as a team and the club provided us with club shirts which were awesome New Balance singlets!

The club before starting the Capital Hill Classic. Photo taken from Argonaut Running Club Facebook page

 

Now that the weather has been getting colder and it’s getting dark out before the run most of the club members have opted to do the two mile loop so we can get back to the Argonaut sooner to enjoy beer and conversation. The club is for all level of runners and you can even show up just for the happy hour like I have been doing since Fridays are one of the days I normally run…I like to do a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and one weekend day type thing.

On November 20th the club is having a special event…Runner Appreciation Night….they will have several sponsors present and giveaways in addition to the run and awesome time we normally have just hanging out. The club is open to everyone so if you live in the H St area or just want to come out and run with us please do! You can check out an article about the club in the latest edition of Run Washington.

Ragnar DC 2015

Last weekend I ran Ragnar DC with 10 other awesome ladies in support of Girls on the Run DC (we couldn’t find a 12^th runner). If you haven’t heard of Ragnar it is a 200ish mile relay race where you can have a team of 12 (regular) or 6 (ultra) runners who are assigned specific legs of the race (3 or 6 each depending on your type of team) for a total of 36 legs that vary in length and difficulty. For a regular team runners 1-6 are in Van 1 and runners 7-12 are in Van 2. Van 1 starts out with runner one who then runs to the first exchange where there van will meet them for runner 2 to hop out and start running while runner 1 gets back in the van. This process continues until exchange 6 which is the first major exchange where runner 6 will handoff to runner 7 and the process continues again until runner 12 then hands off to runner 1 for the process to continue until everyone has run a total of 3 legs. Ragnar DC begins in Rocky Gap in Cumberland, MD and this year ended at The Yards Park in Washington DC. In previous years it had ended at National Harbor.

Girls on the Run DC announced on the Facebook event page that they would have a team and to join you had to sign up to be a Girls on the Run Sole Mate and Raise $300 dollars. I’ve always wanted to run for charity but was afraid because of some of the very large requirements some have but $300 seemed doable so I was in. Once I raised $300 girls on the run paid for my entry, the van rental, and gas and even provided volunteers which each team is required to provide three of if they want to participate. Girls on the Run also provided us with a goody bag full of awesome things!

I was in Van 2 and volunteered to be team captain and take on the runner 12 spot which had the most mileage at 28.9 miles total…the last run was 11.9 miles. When I first volunteered for this spot the runs were much shorter with a total of about 24 miles and not until later did I realize they upped the mileage.

Getting ready for my first leg

Each team is assigned a start time based on pace/start time requests. Our team had a 7:15AM start time so our Van 1 members opted to spend Thursday night at a hotel near the start. For Van 2 I picked up my teammates at 9AM Friday morning and we made our way to our starting line 2 hours away.

The weather that weekend was brutal! It rained all Friday and Saturday with strong winds. Van 2 started off running at almost 1PM. I started leg 12 was 7.4 miles with a huge hill around mile 3 that ran up to a little past mile 5 and then had rolling hills until the end. I started at 6:30PM I was done it was about 7:30PM which means I got to run most of it in the dark….you are required to wear a headlamp, LED tail light, and reflective vest if you are running during the night time hours and if you aren’t running you have to wear the vest only. After my first leg which I ran through rain and huge wind gusts I was shivering like crazy so I took a shower at the major exchange #12 which was a high school. Our team stopped at Uno for a late dinner after which we drove to the next major exchange to try and nap while we waited for Van 1 to pass us the baton…or slap bracelet in this case. When I did Ragnar 2 years ago the weather was hot and dry so we could sleep on a grassy field in sleeping bags…this year not possible…being the driver I had to try and sleep in the driver’s seat which was very uncomfortable and being a light sleeper I got no sleep at all. When Runner 6 came along around 1AM Van 2 was once again on the road. For leg 24 I started around 5AM to run 9.7 miles…seemed like the hardest miles I’ve ever ran…I was cold it was cold outside and raining and windy. The course was deemed “Very Hard” by Ragnar and it was! A lot of rolling hills with mostly uphills it seemed like. I saw on team actually exchange runners half way through…this isn’t technically legal but I don’t blame them.  Once I got to the finish I was very relieved and immediately changed into dry clothes. At this point Van 1 would take over again but they had several injuries and were down to three runners so since runner 11 had their second leg cancelled due to poor road conditions on the course she took on the third legs for runners 1 and 2 a total of 7 miles as her cancelled leg had been 9.2. Once runner 11 was done we headed to the next major exchange to try and take a nap and wait for it to be our turn to start our final legs. At this point I was had about an hour of sleep and was dehydrated so I felt exhausted! I wasn’t sure I could run 12 miles…so we decided to split up leg 12 into two 6 mile segments which I shared with Runner 11 since runner 10 who had a total of only about 10 miles wanted a few more miles and took on her 1.8 mile final leg along with the 6.1 mile leg for runner 11. I ate a pro bar a few hours before I was supposed to start running but it did not seem to settle well as I immediately got a side stich that would not go away. Once I started my final 6 miles my side stich was extremely painful and I had to stop and walk or slow down my pace several times. Luckily the weather was not as cold or rainy as before but it was starting to take a turn for worse with winds picking up and drizzle starting to fall. About halfway through I ran into a group of runners also making their way to the finish. They were running at a slower pace than me…probably because they had done the whole 12….but since I was still in pain I decided to run with them and as we chatted our way to the end the company really helped to keep my mind off my side stich. I finally made my way across the finish a little before 5PM to where my team awaited me. It was such a relief to finally be done! I was exhausted and freezing and quite sore. My boyfriend came to pick me up and drove a few of my teammates home along the way. We did not stay for the finish line festival since it was very cold out and we were all tired and I was cold and wet. Van 1 was not at the finish since they were done about 4 hours before we were and just wanted to go home. 

Making my way to the finish line

Overall I had a great time and would definitely do it again and hopefully the weather won’t be so bad next time which I am sure will make the experience much more enjoyable. If you’ve never done a Ragnar I suggest you check it out and also check out their trail series where you camp instead of drive and run 3 trail loops around the campsite….I’m planning to do their Richmond one this coming April.

Van 2 at the Finish and the MEDAL!

 

Navy Air Force Half Marathon 2015

This past Sunday I ran the Navy-Airforce Half Marathon in DC. This was my first completed race (I did not finish the Maryland Half due to dehydration) since the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler and my first run greater than 7 miles since re-injury in early July.

This was my first time running this race but I had heard good things about it so I signed up hoping I would be ready and PR with all the marathon training I would have done…sadly one month into marathon training I got injured during one of those free personal training sessions and ended up not running for almost two months. Those two months I went to spin class 6 days a week and eventually saw a physical therapist who did ART (Active Release Therapy) and dry needling to help my piriformis issue go away faster once again. Luckily I got better after two appointments and doing my home exercises. I would have loved to keep going for some tune ups but sadly my insurance won’t cover the costs.

Back to the race…so packet pickup was pretty simple for me…I live near the Stadium Armory where the expo was located so I opted to go on Saturday since I could just bike from my house. I road over around 11AM (the expo opened at 10AM) and there were a good amount of people but not overwhelmingly so. The Expo itself was pretty small compared to Rock n Roll and Marine Corps. I only had to wait a few minutes in line to get my bib. The bib was pretty cute with my name on it which lead to spectators who saw it cheering for me and fellow runners by name as we passed by.

That Saturday was also H St Festival. I had planned on going since it is a lot of fun and in my neighborhood and had also planned to hydrate and only have a beer or two but sadly my will power lost and I joined my friends in an afternoon and evening of drinking and merriment.

That night I only got about 5 hours of sleep and decided to sleep in a bit more. When I woke up I did not feel too terrible but also not great. I drank some water walked my dog and drove to the race. I was originally planning on biking over but I was running late and wanted to stop at my office building (a few blocks from the race start) to use the restroom. The race began on 15^th between Constitution and Madison to the left of the Washington Monument. Despite it being a cool morning it was still very humid. I left my building at 10 til 7AM and jogged over to the starting line only to discover the Half Marathon did not start until about 715AM. At this point my stomach was starting to feel upset and my hangover starting to manifest itself.

The race began and I took off and maintained a pace of about 8 min/mile. I noticed that my GPS watch and the mile markers were off by about .20 miles (mile markers were longer…I will continue to refer to miles by my watch standards) around mile 2 I now had to use the restroom and when I got to the porta-potty a bit after mile 3 I took a restroom break for about a minute and half + which got me a 9 min/mile pace for the next mile. I was thinking if I kept having an upset stomach I would stop every few miles for a minute at different stops since my goal now was just to finish. I ran on and around mile 6 my muscles started to stiffen…probably from dehydration from my hangover…and my pace began to gradually slow. I was able to maintain around an 8:30 min/mile pace for the remainder of the race.

The race day was cool but humid and overcast. The course took you first around the Tidal Basin then up Rock Creek Parkway to Connecticut Avenue NW where then we looped back down Rock Creek Parkway making our way halfway across memorial bridge then back to get onto Independence before making our way to the finish. There did not seem to be as many spectators out as in past events such as Cherry Blossom and Rock N Roll but I am guessing this is due to this race having a much smaller participant field. The portion along Rock Creek Parkway after you pass Foggy Bottom was very peaceful. It was quiet on the way up since I was towards the front of the middle of the back and most runners ahead of me had not gotten to the turn around and there was a slight breeze that caused the leaves to fall from trees as we ran by. Once I got to the turnaround which was a slight hill the way back was a bit noisier since you now had runners both coming and going.

Once I crossed the finish line I felt pretty weak and definitely dehydrated. I drank a water bottle and made my way back to my car without checking out the post-race festivities since I was shaky and had to get home to get ready for the Redskins game. My official finishing time was 1:51:46 and my watch got a distance of 13.32 total miles.

Overall I really enjoyed this race and think I could have PR’d if I hadn’t gotten injured in July and had done a better job at exercising my self-control at the festival. I will definitely do this race again next year.

Bib and Finisher Medal

Training vs Not Training for a Marathon...My experince with my first marathon

In October 2013 I ran my first Marathon (26.2 miles for all those who are not familiar with the distance or aren’t runners…kind of like my uncle who asks me so how far is a marathon? even after I already told him 10 times haha…anyway the marathon I ran was the Marine Corps Marathon. I chose this marathon because it is one of the largest and most popular marathons in the US and happens to take place in my own backyard…Washington, DC/Arlington, VA.

My 2013 Bib

To run a marathon one should really train because 26.2 miles is no joke. Most training plans that I saw had you training for about 16 weeks and some had their longest runs at a greater distance than 26.2 miles while a few had you come close to the distance but not surpass it…me personally I would prefer to at least run my goal distance just to make sure I can.

Now for my half marathons and 10 milers I didn’t really ever train to distances greater than or even really close to the goal distance…I think the closest I got was like 7 miles but I get bored easily and/or end up having to go to the bathroom but I ran enough and was in good enough shape that I was able to finish these races and eventually had about one a weekend so they became kind of a training run for the subsequent race…my first half time was about 2:07:00 and my best time before I got injured was about 1:42:00…now after my injury the last and only half I have run since then was about a 1:54:00…this was with very little distance running so it looks like all my in-between races prior to injury really helped.

Anyway for the MCM I was hoping to finish under 4 hours as the race predictor calculators available online told me that based off my half times I definitely could. I downloaded the Hal Higdon Novice marathon training app with the plan that I would follow this training program…well I did maybe two long runs, the longest being 14 miles, and then decided running distance solo was just too boring so I continued running my usual runs (about 6-7 miles 3x a week) and a weekend half or 10 miler. Come race day I started out too fast and around mile 8 had to stop to “pee” and once my muscles cooled down it was much harder to get started again but the MCM is such a wonderful race and is full of wonderful runners and has awesome crowds cheering you on that I pushed my way through the remaining 18.2 miles and crossed the finishline in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington in about 4 hours and 15 minutes…I think if I hadn’t stopped to walk so much and used the restroom like 5 times I could’ve possibly gotten close to my sub 4 hour marathon but what really would’ve helped me was properly training for  a marathon.

 

The starting line...very cold that morning but warmed up

My finisher medal!

Last year (2014) I had planned to do the Richmond Marathon and actually train for it but due to a crossfit injury that got worse when I refused to not run one of my halves at the end of May I ended up not being able to run comfortably and without pain again until October and when I did begin to run again man! was I out of shape compared to before my injury…my pace had slowed by about 1 min/mile and my endurance had gone down significantly to where a 3 mile run in the past would have been sooo easy and now I was dying trying to get through it. Slowly but surely I kept running and now have regained some speed and endurance but not to where I was before. I think one major thing was that back when I was faster I had joined Potomac River Running’s Running 201 program that focused a lot on speed work (track workouts, fartleks, etc…) and hill work. This program was several weeks long and I found that it really helped improve my speed and I was also doing crossfit…despite the injury which was attained by me being careless the strength I gained from weight training also really helped.

Now in 2015 I am determined to get another marathon…well two marathons…under my belt and reach my goal time of sub 4 hours. So what am I going to do differently this time? I am joining a training program…Potomac River Running’s Distance Training Program… but one that isn’t virtual…this one has me meeting up with a coach and other runners on Sunday mornings around 6:30AM in Georgetown to do our long runs and also has weekly track workouts with a coach and the other runners. My hope is that by having other like-minded people around me I will be pushed to actually train…this was the case when I did Running 201…by myself I probably won’t do track workouts but with a group I most certainly will. I’m also re-joining crossfit because here once again I need the community motivation…this time I plan to train smart and not try to lift a weight I know I can’t do. I being the training program on June 14… the day after I do Tough Mudder so that should be fun…and I start crossfit on June 9^th and I’m starting from the beginning again since I’ve been out a while.

So to conclude if you are planning on doing a new race distance especially a long one TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN it will really help. Once I’m a few weeks into training and crossfit I will let everyone know how it’s going. As I get closer to race time I’ll post a recap of the 2013 MCM.

Mother's Day Weekend

So this past weekend I ran one race and attempted to run another. Let me start by saying that the past week has been much hotter and more humid that it has been in the past this time of year…it seems like we went from winter straight to summer but with a lot of pollen.

This past weekend, Mother’s Day weekend, I was scheduled to run the Maryland Half on Saturday and Potomac River Running’s Mother’s Day Four Miler Sunday with my mom before brunch. That week I had run pretty much every day except Tuesday with a total of 20 miles. Most days were pretty humid and got hotter as the week progressed. I normally run in the morning because it’s cooler yet sometimes more humid but most of last week was mid 50s low 60s but Fridays I run in the evening with  the Argonaut Running Club…they are a great group that meets every Friday 6:00PM by the Argonaut back patio. If you live in the H St NE/Capitol Hill area check them out….so this Friday was pretty gross and I had the half the next day and I hadn’t been feeling well most of the week so I ran the 4 mile route. During my run I felt off and had issues with breathing but I chalked it up to the hot weather.

Saturday Morning I got up at 640AM and drove from down town DC to the Maple Lawn community in Fulton, MD where the Maryland half was to take place. It was about 63 degrees out and quite humid and had been sprinkling on and off. I wasn’t feeling my best….morning digestive issues and allergies?...anyway there was plenty of parking at the race which was awesome and there didn’t seem to be an overwhelming number of runners which made the porta potty situation quitter favorable especially since I was in there a bit. The race was to begin at 8:00AM but I guess there was some sort of delay because we didn’t start until about 15 after. As I began to run my legs felt heavy and my stomach unsettled and I felt quite dehydrated. I pushed along and about a mile in discovered this race was much much hillier than the elevation map lead you to believe. My pace, endurance, and mental state quickly deteriorated and around mile 4 I had to stop and sit for a minute as I was now starting to feel dazed. I nice runner provided me with a salt pill and some water and I attempted to continue on the next two miles were much slower and my mental demons got the best of me. I located a police officer who flagged down the EMTs who took me back to the start…this is my first ever DNF…the whole ride back to the start I struggled with the disappointment of not finishing a race…last year I ran Zooma Annapolis where I aggravated my piriformis at about mile 3 and ended up sidelined for 5 months after the race but I still willed myself to go those remaining 10 miles but this time it wasn’t pain I had to deal with but the possibility of losing consciousness and ending up in the ER still I could not help feeling the disappointment.

Now let me tell you about the race minus my DNF…the race is on the Saturday before Mother’s Day in Fulton, MD…the packet pick up is a week long but it is all during the week so if you full time M-F 9-5 like I do and do not live in Fulton or near Baltimore this is extremely inconvenient…I had to take off a half day of work and even so ran into traffic going to MD from DC around 1PM on a Friday. They had race day packet pick up but only if you registered at the race…I think this was unfair they should let no one or everyone have race day packet pick up because some people like myself just don’t have the time to drive that far out. The race shirt was from Under Armor and was a very nice grey color and material with lovely simplistic design on the front …I’m pretty sad I can’t wear it (I don’t wear race shirts I don’t earn). The medal also looked pretty cool and I am also sad I didn’t earn mine. The race starts in the Maple Lawn Community area and makes its way around Fulton, MD…I wasn’t too fond of this course not because the hills…I usually quite enjoy them such as when I rant the 17.75k…but because there really are no spectators and it’s just boring rural roads no woods no nothing…or at least the part I ran was like that. The finish line party seemed like it would have been quite nice. All in all if this race was located closer to home and during a time of the year where the weather could be great or terrible I would try it again.

Now after the race I had to go play softball…social not competitive thank goodness because I was still feeling terrible and every time I had to run I felt sick but my team was short players so I went. After the game I went to my mom’s house and just rested and hydrated the rest of the day to prepare for my next race.

The Mother’s Day 4 Miler was located at Baron Cameron Park in Reston, VA. The packet pickup for this race was either the Friday or Saturday before at the Potomac River Running store in Reston or race day at the race site. We elected to pick up our race packets race day because Reston was not close to us. We got to the race at 7:20AM and were able to easily get our race packets…parking was a bit tricky and I think if we would have gotten there any later we may not have found parking. The weather that day was a bit warmer than the day before and just as humid but I was feeling better and it was only 4 miles. I began to run and still felt a bit out of it but I continued on the course was a large loop that went around Baron Cameron Park. The course like MD wasn’t too scenic but there seemed to be a bit more spectators and while there were hills especially right at the start the course wasn’t too hilly. Each mile went by slower than they normally would but I continued along. When I finally crossed the finish I drank lots of water and had to sit down. I finished in 30:46 about 2 minutes slower than last year. Once I felt rested I ran along the course to look for my mom and my aunt so I could cheer them on. When they crossed the finish line we looked at the results and I saw that I had finished first in my age group which was very surprising to me since last year I finished 3^rd and was much faster. Overall I still think this a great race and I will probably do it again next year unless I find another Mother’s Day 4 miler closer to home.

My mom and I post race

The 2015 North Face Endurance Challenge DC-10K

So this past Sunday I ran The North Face Endurance 10K in DC. This race series’ main focus is ultra-marathons with a 50 miler, 50K, and Marathon held on Saturday and a Half Marathon, 10K, and 5K held the following day all on trails.

Last year the DC races were held in June and I had registered to run the 10K but due to getting injured during the Zooma Annapolis Half a few weeks before I was unable to participate and my little cousin ran in my place. This year the race was moved to mid-April because June got too hot…the issue with this April…lots of rain = lots of mud.

I have never run trails before but I decided to run the Half Marathon with my cousin…yes I signed up for the half and yes my first paragraph says 10K…keep reading…

Packet pickup for the race was the Thursday or Friday before at the North Face stores in Georgetown and Tyson’s Corner or on race day at Algonkian Park. The race packet included a North Face tech shirt that you could have plain or screen-printed at the race and a pair of Smartwool running socks.

So anyway the race took place at Algonkian Park in Sterling, Virginia so I decided to spend the night at my aunt’s house since it was closer to the race and I was running with my cousin. Apparently I did not read the directions very well because come race day my cousin and I arrived at what we thought was the start for all the races but after seeing no one with half marathon bibs discovered we were at the wrong place and that the half started about 30 minutes away at Great Falls Park…so we had no choice but to switch to the 10K since our moms had dropped us off and headed to get some breakfast and the race was starting in less than 30 minutes…so the day before the race I was trying to figure out where the race was because I did not want to take the shuttle to the race start since I did not have to park…I looked online and I guess I rushed through it because all I could really find was a map with the Finish Festival Location and the parking lot for the shuttles so I figured the website said Algonkian Park it must be there…if I would have taken the time to open the Half Marathon course description PDF booklet I would have seen that it started elsewhere…I did come across a sentence saying that the half marathoners should take the shuttle to Great Falls Park but after finding no address and Apple Maps showing several locations for this park I figured it would be somewhere close to Algonkian not 30 minutes away…oh well now I know for next time.

So the 10K ran us around Algonkian Park and the terrain was a mix of grassy muddy rain soaked fields, golf cart paths through the local golf course, and the actual dirt trails. I had never run trails before but I had heard that they are much more difficult than street running and they were right. Our course was supposedly not too technical and it probably wasn’t for an experienced trail runner but I for me I was pretty darn hard. In the first mile we ran through a rain soaked field where several people lost their shoes to the mud and you had to push extra hard to get through then around mile 4 you ran through some trees and more thick slippery mud…a few people wiped out but I managed to stay upright after skidding a few times. We jumped over small ditches and ran in some puddles with many rocks that caused some people to almost roll their ankles…like my cousin…I literally stopped and walked gingerly over these rocks to avoid any such injuries…I need to be intact for my summer marathon training J

I eventually crossed the finish line in 49 minutes flat and according to my Garmin the 10K was actually 5.9 miles…later on when I checked my results they indicated that the official distance was 6 miles… 0.2 short of a full 10K.

My muddy ankles and shoes...they got a little less muddy when I ran through the puddles

The finishers’ village was pretty fun with massage tables for runners and a Sierra Nevada beer garden. We stuck around a little while since our moms like to collect all the free goodies…including our free beer…neither of us really felt like a beer that morning. Overall I thought the race was pretty fun but I think it was probably a blessing we did not do the half as both my cousin and I (she finished about 9 minutes after I did) found the 10K to be much harder than we thought.

Me with my 10K finisher medal and my post race beer

I’m planning to run the half next year but this time I will probably do some trail running along with my normal street running to better prepare and I will also read the course for the half start more carefully…I still don’t plan on taking the shuttle…I find shuttles to be stressful as you have to wait in line and get there extra early and then stand around at the start for about an hour…I usually avoid  races that require you to take a shuttle unless a friend or family member can take me to the start or like the 17.75K where the prize at the end is something I really want (MCM entry). So I suggest if you are adventurous and don’t mind mud or potentially tripping over roots and rocks try this race out it’s lots of fun and trail running is pretty awesome…just make sure you know where your starting line is and perhaps get a few trail runs in before race day.