Cherry Blossom Ten Miler!

Today was the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler, and despite most the cherry blossoms being gone due to the crazy weather we have had, it was an awesome race.

On Saturday we picked up my race packet. My girls came with me, and my brother and sister. We parked at the greenbelt metro station and took the metro in. This was the girls first ride on a "train" and they loved it. After we picked up the packet and made a lap around the expo, we headed to Dupont circle to have lunch at my sister's work, Flippin Pizza! LOVE their pizza, and it was a good carb load! Headed home and attempted to rest my legs the rest of the night.

Race Day: I live in Baltimore and figured it would take me 30-35 minutes to drive to the metro, and then I allotted for 30-40 minutes on the metro, figuring their would be delays. My alarm went of at 5:30 and I was out of the door by 6:00 AM. I didn't want to spend too much time waiting for the race to start, because it was on 40 something degrees. I debated on what to wear and which layer to place my bib on, and later wished I had done it the other way, but oh well. I got to New Carrollton station around 6:40 and boarded the train. I arrived at the Smithsonian exit at 7:10. Some people on the Metro were worried about getting to bag check, which closed at 7:15, but I had planned ahead and did not need to check a bag. My water bottle ouch fit my key, license, money and some GU chomps. I did attempt to go to the bathroom but MAN the lines were long, and I wanted to make sure I found my pace group! I found him and introduced myself. The Corrals were very crowded and I was a bit concerned when we began to get closer to the start time that I would lose him. As we walked towards the start, I realized my watch had gone into some menu I wasn't familiar with. I attempted to fix it as we were starting. I was frustrated and pissed that it wasn't working! I couldn't remember how to fix it, and it kept telling me the GPS was off. (When I got home I realized it was a very easy fix, but I was just flustered and couldn't figure it out). The pace guy, Jeff, had on two watches which were working fine so I gave up so I could enjoy the race! Running through DC was awesome. It was a very flat course and we started on the grounds of the National Monument, passed the Jefforson memorial, ran over a bridge (lol can't remember which one) and saw other various sites. I was feeling good running with Jeff and other people in the pace group, and he was hitting the splits right on target. One of my favorite moments was at mile 5 someone said we are half way there. A kid (lol, probably 19 year old boy) sang "Woah were half way there" and we sang back "Woah, living on a prayer." Along the way we did see a few cherry blossoms still in bloom, it was kind of like a game to find them. I started to doubt myself around mile 7, wondering if I could still keep up the pace, and that's when Jeff told me I was doing great. Gotta love that positive motivation. At mile 9 Jeff was encouraging people to go ahead if they felt good. I waited til about 9.5 miles and pulled ahead a little. My official time was 1:39:44. Jeff's was 1:40:05. A mear 5 seconds above the goal! Pretty damn good, and he was my lifesaver since I screwed up my Garmin. Food & Water distribution was very organized, and I was able to get my medal (first medal!!!!) fairly easily. A stop at the porta potties, a walk around the grounds and I headed to the metro. I stopped for a soft pretzel on the way which was so yummy! The metro back was very slow, with lots of delays, but I made it to my car by 11:00 and home around 11:45. Steve had left with the girls so I was able to shower and relax before they got home!

An absolutely wonderful race!