Lifetime Half Marathon #47: RNR DC 2016

RNR DC Half Marathon
March 12, 2016
2:18:42

Temp: mid 40s to low 50s and cloudy
What I wore: hat, tank top, arm sleeves, Skirt Sports Happy Girl skirt,
compression socks, and my Altra Ones.

My training for this race was somewhat pathetic. I just couldn’t get my act together and overcome the various obstacles that were thrown in my path. Sure, 23 inches of snow, 8 days of missed school, and old treadmill dying before new treadmill arrived didn’t help my training, but if I’d really wanted to, there were solutions to that. I apparently didn’t really want to. So, I went into this race expecting to fade around mile 9 or 10.

Race morning was chilly, but not bad and there was no precipitation in the forecast (Yay!). I had splurged and bought the VIP pass, so we had parking right at the finish. (And I do mean right at the finish.) My friend and I headed over around 5am and I promptly got lost. Thanks to my GPS, we were able to get close to the parking and then the cops helped us find the actual lot. We jumped on the metro and ended up being at the start an hour and a half before the race. Yawn!

Finally, we got going and I started off with a goal of staying just under 11 minute miles for the first 6 miles (until the big hill.) I was remarkably consistent and my average pace for the 10K was 1o:44. I decided to actually run up the big hill, which I’ve never done before and I made it up without stopping. Since I kind of suck at steep hills, this was amazing! I continued to run strong and finished the first 10 miles with an average pace of 10:40. Apparently I sped up after the hill LOL.

Photo Credit to Andrea

At mile 10, I felt better than I had any right to, so I decided I’d just try to hold my pace as long as I could. Shockingly, I not only held my pace, but managed to do mile 13 in 9:40! I swear I hit mile 10 and my body said “Ah, now I’m ready to run, the rest was just warm up.” Apparently the previous 46 half marathons conditioned me for the long run, despite my lack of training.  My overall average pace for the race was 10:35, so I managed a nice negative split.

Now to decide if I should just sign up for the race while it’s cheap and risk losing $50 or wait and end up paying a lot more LOL.

The good:

• This is still one of my favorite courses. I love the views at the beginning and the rolling hills at the end.
• The medal is lovely again.
• The VIP parking was really close and easy to get out of to go home.
• I was able to change my corral assignment at the Expo.
• A friend joined me, so I had company for the commute in and the wait beforehand.
• My body surprised me with its performance.
• Glukos – I’d never had this before, but it went down great and gave me energy when I was getting hungry.
• The yummy food at the VIP tent at the finish.

The bad:

• I still don’t like starting and ending in different places.
• The corrals take so long to start.
• I didn’t see a single person I knew during the race.

The ugly:

• Getting lost on the way in.

Would I do it again?

Probably. I seem to run this every year now. I do love the course and driving rocks. It seems I’m always juggling kid activities on this weekend though.