Short story:  I finished in 1:31:03 and PR'd by at least three minutes.  I was around 1400 out of 4000 runners and finished in the top 25% for women and for my age group. The rest of the story: The GW Parkway race begins at Mount Vernon and ends in Old Town Alexandria.  Like many point to point races, this means a shuttle.  I got up at 5 am in order to leave the house by 6 for an 8 o'clock race.  I was already tired (Jones woke up twice and Shoo wet the bed 5 minutes before my alarm went off) and in a fragile emotional state (due to the death of our friend), so when I realized how hot it was going to be, I seriously considered going back to bed. Instead, I took a quick shower, coated myself in sunblock, and had a peanut butter … [Read more...]