As usual, you can just skip all the "weekend in D.C." stuff and drop down to the Race Report Section, below.
Expo:
The expo was held in the Armory next to RFK stadium. A pretty stupid idea considering that the Armory has some crazy homeland security rules with metal detector wands and going through your bags and such. 8 thousand people arriving, mostly from out of town with bags and luggage all had to go through two lines of this. Ugh, anyway. If I can use the word, the expo was 'whelming.' You get your shirt, your bib, a few (less than 4) stands selling discount equipment and gu's and that's about it. Race Gear was limited to some t-shirts and hoodies which was disappointing, I'd have liked a race mug or hat or some such. For a race with 8k people, this wasn't exactly a terrible expo, but it was sub-par to say the least. Oh, and save for a bag of peanuts the entire schwag bag was filled with applications to for insurance programs, advertisements for other races, a stick of women's deodorant and a random 2-pack of AA batteries. I have to admit, by the time I left expo I was in a pretty bad mood, what kind of race would this herald? I spent $75 on this?
We traveled via metro to my Aunt and Uncle's home in Capital Hill and WOW was it a nice area. This part of D.C. is just plain gorgeous, good looking restaurants & bars and the homes were very well taken care of. You could tell it wasn't an uber-rich community, none of the homes were opulent but they were all very well taken care of. Well maintained gardens and fences, very nice. That night was a relaxing evening around the fireplace with a delicious dinner of baked chicken parmesan (oh yeah, it rocked) and plenty of bread.
Pre-Race:
Due to some last minute jitters, I don't think I've ever slept worse before a race. I doubt I got 2 hours of sleep all night. Of course come morning I'm so wound up it doesn't really even matter. I pound a bagel, have some water and I'm out the door. It was a gorgeous, silent morning in Capital Hill. By 6 I was jogging to the race start and it was maybe 45-50 degrees, not exactly beach weather but very comfortable for jogging. Dawn was still about an hour away and I had brought my headphones but it was simply too nice and silent. In fact, I never actually put them on for the whole race, a first for me.
The pace leaders for the run were all marines corp cadets and they were some pretty lean looking guys. They held their balloons high but said nothing, as I'd come to realize, marines don't exactly make the best conversationalists let alone race motivators.
Race Report:
The sky was only beginning to lighten when we crossed the starting line. My charming marine pace leaders (3:10 by the way, with no other big races coming up, why not aim for a BQ?) ditched their balloons before the first mile let out so it was bit hairy trying to keep up with them at first, running in and out of people. Keep in mind, in addition to 2k marathoners there were about 4k half-marathoners and our 7:11 min/mile pace is a very common half-marathon pace so we were in the middle of a sea of runners. The first mile was actually pretty tough, the pace felt fast and I didn't know how long I could keep up, turned out our first mile was 8:05, almost an entire minute slower than our race pace... That didn't make me too happy.
After a few blocks the sun was finally starting to rise over the trees behind us and just as we crested a hill, all of central D.C. gained that kind of hallucinatory/glittery early morning glow. We ran up Capital street, so called because it brings you directly to the capital building, so the first 3 miles its right in front of you. Such a gorgeous start and then you curve around it and alongside the mall until mile 5 or so.
But then, without warning.... WHAM!, you hit the hills and from miles 6-9 you better have eaten your breakfast because they were intense. On a normal day I wouldn't want to have walked up them let alone run them for 3 miles but just when you think you've had enough you arch back around and have a long slow downhill back to the capital building. By this time the sun is up, the streets are starting to wake up and the Capital just looks inspiring. The marine cadets were clearly very moved (as were we all) the entire way back to Capital Hill. Once down from the hills we looped back towards the race start and soon were back at RFK where we dropped off the half marathoners and started back (for the third time) towards the Capital. At this point I noticed the youngest of the marines starting to move ahead and pick up time. By this point we were all warmed up and a little chatty-er so his classmate explained to me that he had just run his first half-marathon in 1:20 and volunteered for this race. He had never run a marathon before. We let him pull ahead of us at his own risk. Around this time our little pace group started to break up, one of the cadets had to use the bathroom, 2 people were just doing the half , etc so by mile 14 or so I was running alone.
I passed Alicia and my Aunt Clare still feeling very strong, and even as I entered downtown DC a second time (miles 15-19) I felt great. Of course hearing people saying "Wow, 18 miles and he still looks so fresh!" does wonders for your morale. Mile 20 brought us out of the city and over a bridge to a perfect little riverside jogging lane. We ran alone this path, about 4 feet wide of iffy condition asphalt, through miles 20-24 and I crashed. Miles 21-23 were pure torture. I was still pacing about 7:25 at this point but my legs were hating every step of it. I stretched, I walked, I drank a two cups of gatorade at mile 24 but nothing helped, I just needed to not be running anymore.
Around mile 24 I ran into what was left of the ambitious young marine pacer, conspicuously without his 3:10 bib on the back. He was barely shuffling along in such a way that it looked like he just kept tripping and was trying to prevent a fall. He recognized me and with a look pure pain and misery said "I didn't know it would be so far!". We shuffled together for another 100 yards or so when he fell back into a walk, a victim of the race.
In a final perfect course choice, from mile 25-finish you are running on another straight away towards RFK stadium. Seeing it right in front of you for those miles, gradually coming closer, and closer....and closer... and a little bit closer. It was impossible not to savor the feeling, the joy, the misery, the I'm almost there-ness. The cheering crowds, the cow-bells, the whistles, the car horns, the screams and cheers of finishers gradually getting louder and louder. Approaching the finish line in a marathon is the most powerful experience I've ever had and approaching the finish line having put in my second best time made it even sweeter. I crossed with 3:18, a mere 3 minutes off my personal best. A terrific race, with beautiful sights. This is going to be a very good season.
Final Results: 3:18:45 162/2059
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