From Washington to Washington

After 11 hours on my feet yesterday, I’ll shortly be heading back into that fray.  I have moved boxes, directed people, and talked until I’m nearly hoarse.

I am having so.much.fun!

While I’m out having a blast and working my butt off  (seriously, I got both a weight workout and cardio yesterday), I’m handing over the reins of my blog to Meg from Run.Fit.Kin for a day.  Please make her feel welcome!

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MCM Mama is currently working tirelessly to help thousands of runners get their race packets and have a great time at the Nike Expotique in downtown DC, so I’m filling in for her today!  I’m Meg and I blog at http://RunFitKin.com  where you can find me writing about running, crossfit and my life/family in Seattle. I’m running the Nike Women’s Half Marathon and I’m especially excited about it because of my history with DC.

You see, flying across the country to run a half marathon is not something I regularly do. Now that I’m a West coast girl, I usually don’t travel more than three hours to get myself to a start line. But the Inaugural Nike Women’s Half in DC symbolizes a lot more than just a half marathon, it’s a homecoming.

I used to run all over DC eight years ago. I went to college at American University and was a member of the cross country and track team. I was faster back then, mainly focusing on the 800m and 1500m.

After completing my very last 6K in a XC meet in college I was sure that I would never run that far in a race again. Since I wasn’t dedicated or talented enough to hit any Olympic trial times, I figured there were no other options for a washed up, burnt out, 800m runner who hated long runs; so I quit running.

I started working full time and went to grad school. I picked up some bad habits and some bad boyfriends. When I felt like it was finally all too much, I left DC and moved across the country to Seattle to figure out my life.

What I found was that I was still a runner! Albeit, a cocky and injury prone one (I thought I could run 10 miles easy on my first run back, that didn’t work out so well). My return to running after the 2 years hiatus was not smooth sailing. I ran slower than ever, and I was embarrassed. When I upped the mileage, added in hills and then track workouts I found myself actually enjoying runs over 6 miles. I challenged myself to my first half marathon in 2009, and with a time of 1:47, I realized I could potentially be competitive again.

At this time I also found myself missing my old teammates so I reached out to them to form a team for the Hood to Coast Relay. We were spread all throughout the country, but many of us had continued running, and stayed in touch. I got 12 girls interested in making a trip to Portland to race the Mother of All Relays. While it took three years to finally win the lottery and get into the race, seeing my teammates together again was an amazing and unforgettable experience.

When I heard that Nike was putting together a Women’s Half Marathon in DC, our old stomping grounds, I got very excited and asked a couple of my teammates if they’d want to join in and enter as a team. I got two yeses, and we were very lucky to be chosen in the lottery, no three year wait this time! Reunion and homecoming wrapped in one!

While my training for this race has been minimal due to injury and my focus on the CrossFit Open, I am so thrilled to be back in the city that challenged me the most in my running career. I may not run a PR, but I will enjoy each step in this city that I can now fully appreciate again.

Do you have a running history in any particular place? What would make you travel far to sign up and run a race?

You can find my recap of the race on my blog http://runfitkin.com and find me on twitter @meggayman!