Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile

I guess it's about time I wrote about my race on Sunday. My dad and I headed down to DC for the weekend for a little father/daughter quality time. We arrived late Friday evening and went straight to the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. While convenient for sightseeing and getting to my race, it was not a place I'd stay again.

Triceratops love.

Saturday morning my dad and I went to the Natural History Museum before going to the race expo to pick up my packet. I got to take a picture with the triceratops. 

Line for packet pick-up

The line for packet pickup was absurd. I sent my dad into the expo and waited outside for over half an hour. The line wrapped around the building and continued inside, up the stairs, and around the balcony. I should've waited until the morning if the race.

The expo crowd

We spent the rest of the day at the National Gallery. After a lovely Italian dinner, we went in search of a grocery store so that I could buy my breakfast staples. Five hours later I was thawing frozen peaches with the hair dryer. I felt like I hadn't slept at all. As you can see, I also looked like it.  

Color-coordinated hairstyle and outfit.

I was able to enter the subway station from the hotel (awesome) and rode one stop over to the National Mall. We runners gathered at the National Monument for pre-race activities. Naturally I got on the porta-potty line immediately.

The Cherry Blossom is divided into waves to regulate the flow of people. The elite runners set out at 7:40am. Then the yellow wave started. I was in the red wave, and we left next. I met two nice girls standing with the red wave. They're from DC and had run the Cherry Blossom before. They cleared up some misconceptions I had about the course.

The day turned out to be a beautiful one. It was sunny and brisk - perfect for running. The first 5K went by pleasantly enough. I felt sleepy but I kept a good pace. I tried to avoid weaving except when necessary because it expends a lot of energy. I packed a KIND almond and coconut bar in my Spi-Belt because I was hungry during my 25K. Kelly, one of the girls I met at the starting line, said she refuels at miles 3, 6, and 8, so I ate a bite as I passed the 5K marker.

The halfway mark took us over a bridge lined with spectators. They were all bundled up, but I felt fine in my tank and shorts. I was feeling tired, but from a lack of sleep. Did I mention I received a few it's 4:30 am, come party! phone calls? I knew I just needed to keep at it.

I really tried to avoid a bathroom pitstop, but it was slowing me down. I just can't run farther than 5 miles without having to pee. Thankfully I spotted available porta-potties at mile 7. I added probably 45 seconds to my time, but it was worth it.

I made sure to drink a little water and Gatorade at each refreshment station, but I kept moving. I felt like I was keeping a steady pace, although I know I slowed down between mile 6 and 7. When nature calls...

My D-Tag

I finished the race in 1:15:47, with a 7.35 per mile pace. While nothing to sniff at, and better overall than my 5 mile and my 10K, I just didn't feel too great about it. I never unleashed the beast. With less than a mile to go, I started to fire up, and I sprinted across the finish line. I heard my name and hometown announced as I yelled for this moron woman to get out of my way. Dumbass actually bent over one foot passed the finish line with thousands of people coming behind her. It felt anti-climatic and I had no idea where my dad was. I had to head over to the bag check to get my cell phone to call him.

My dad and me in front of some cherry blossoms.

The rest of the day was awesome. We went back to the National Gallery to see the Chester Dale and Gauguin exhibits before heading over to Zyntainya for a delicious brunch. We took a leisurely walk past the Capitol Building and took some pictures outside of the Supreme Court. Basically if you can do all that after a race, you didn't race that well.