I ran the DC National Half-Marathon this weekend while DH ran the full. It was an awesome weekend! Here is my report:
Andy and I started our little race-weekend getaway with a trip to the Washington DC Temple. It was a great way to start our weekend. We felt such calmness and peace in the temple until. . .
. . . Andy realized that he had forgot to pack his running shoes! Here he is digging through his suitcase. He had everything else for the race, except for the most important tool a runner needs. Luckily, our friends who were meeting us in DC hadn't left yet so they were able to stop at our house and pick up Andy's shoes. Good grief!
After dropping our stuff off at the hotel, we rode the Metro over to RFK Stadium to get our race packets. Crowds of people and excitement were everywhere.
Here I am trying to pose in front of a billboard. Seriously, I was so excited for this race. This was my first official post-baby comeback race since having Abric in 2008. I was ready, but hadn't trained. (There's an oxymoron for you!) Due to 2 back injuries and a stressful move, I think my longest run the past 4 months was 5 miles. I was just planning on going out there to have fun.
We had gone to a restaurant with our friends. We ordered dinner at 8pm. We chatted, laughed, told stories, etc. By 9pm our food still hadn't arrived. Andy went to talk to the waiter. He kind of brushed him off. At 9:15pm we all got up and walked out. After 4 loaves of french bread, butter, and water, we felt quite full.
Not! After the dinner fiasco of the decade, Andy and I shared a $20 plate of room-service spaghetti at 10pm that night. Just the stress you want the night before a 7am start-time race!
We woke up at 5:30am to put our gear on. Andy is getting his headphones placed just right.
Putting my trusty shoes on. I was a little nervous for the race, but the adrenaline had already started pumping through my veins. I was ready to go!
Our friend Christine took this picture just before the race. We were actually in line for the port-o-potties, but had to bail because the race was going to start.
I swiped this picture from my friend, Shawn. This was after the first mile, just as we turned the bend from RFK and headed toward the mall. You can see the sun rising on the Capital Building. It was awe-inspiring. Probably one of the most beautiful things I have seen on a race course.
Remember my mention of lack of training? Well, whatever I lacked for in training, I made up for with adrenaline and with sheer happiness at being 'officially' back after baby #4. I was hoping to eek out a 2:15. Mentally, I was already settled on it. I was feeling so great that I managed to run the half in 1:57. Because the marathoners ran the first half of the race with the halvers, I was able to run with my honey. That alone helped keep me motivated. I loved that I was able to run with him, finish my race, hop on the metro and still go cheer him on for his marathon finish. What a perfect day!
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