I had already run one half marathon, back in October of 2010. It wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences. I had IT band issues in my left knee/hip that left me hobbling from about the 10K mark through the finish line until a few weeks after the race. But me and my odd love for that kind of pain continued running and did some stretching and icing and even a jingle bell 5K with some friends. And that is where the idea of doing another half marathon got solidified. See, I had never crossed it off my things-to-do-again list, but that conversation after the jingle bell run with a couple friends actually led to the decision to do this one last Saturday. Seriously, I was more than half joking when I asked P to do a half with me, but she and her husband both said yes. So I guess I had to, too. It’s called the running bug. And P and I both love going to DC.
What this meant, though, was that we had to train for a half marathon in the winter in Northeast Ohio. Now I’d rather do almost anything than spend any kind of time on a treadmill, so the training running was done outside. This was tricky. But really it was mostly the ice that made it difficult. I actually enjoyed running in the snow as long as it wasn’t too wet, and you learn how to dress for such occasions as well and it is a lot more difficult to overheat in below freezing temps. I could probably write an entire entry on just the weather I trained through, but most of you know what weather is, one extreme or another.
So on to race day! Races typically start early, so that means you are lucky if sunrise is before you cross the start line.
But I didn’t really feel tired. I felt ready to accomplish what I set out to accomplish. The weather was great for running. No rain (or other icky precipitation) and the temperature was between 35 and 45 degrees. The first several miles we ran by The Mall.
There were several cheering sections that actually helped. We ran through Dupont Circle with a lot of support and music. We ran through Howard University and they were literally having dance parties to keep us pumped up throughout the run. Who doesn’t run faster to “Superfreak”? And we got to count Starbucks on the route. The total was 3, I think, and several other independent coffee shops. Running through tunnels is pretty cool, too. I could’ve done away with the hills in the middle of the route, but they were ok. We trained on some pretty nasty hills. But someone remind me to get my inhaler refilled before my next race!
Seriously, I felt really good for the entire race up until just after mile 11. It came all of a sudden, but then I wanted to just be done and cry and hit things. My body hurt and my mind was giving up on me as well. But I stuck it out until the end. It is amazing how that feeling just went away as quickly as it came on once I crossed the finish line.
So after a shower and inhaling lunch we set out to explore DC (again, actually since we’ve all been there several times). It was right at the beginning of the Cherry Blossoms. Either the trees were blooming or they weren’t, but it was still really pretty and a taste of spring.
-A
