LSUlakes
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2015
Apparently I did not make it down enough pages or misunderstood what I was looking at.Thanks
Not sure where you're looking? I was definitely well over 100 miles a month during marathon training.
You must be swift as the coursing river (as long as it's the Lazy River) - comments welcome
- Thread starter WillRunForPizza
- Start date
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
Race recap: Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon
Washington, DC | March 18, 2023
Finally getting around to a race report after a busy week. I signed up last-minute for this race because I had to run 12 miles anyway so why not.
Expo
I picked up my bib on Friday afternoon (I had taken the day off anyway so I didn't have to worry about work). It was a little busy but not too bad. Vendors were pretty limited, though - there was a lot of empty space in the (relatively small) non-RnR area. However, they did have a stand with discount running products, including clothes, shoes, and fuel/hydration, so I picked up a few things there. But nothing else seemed particularly interesting.
Race day
Conditions were pretty decent, if a little chilly for my preferences (around 42º at the start and overcast). For once, I managed to leave mostly on time. I ran to the start, which was about a mile from my house, and stopped at a Starbucks nearby. Coffee! I dropped off a sweatshirt at the gear check so I wouldn't be chilled after the race. Without the sweatshirt, I had on a long-sleeved shirt, leggings, gloves, a Buff around my neck, and a fleece headband for my ears. Have I mentioned that I don't like the cold? @striker1064 and I tried to meet up before the start, but we failed, again. Someday!
ID: Slowly making my way towards the start line.
They divided the race into two starting groups, red and blue, and had all the blues go to their corrals first and reds wait outside the starting area. (Clearly not everyone understood this process.) I didn't actually have a corral number, I assume because I signed up six days before the race, but I was blue so I went first. I wasn't planning on racing, so I hung towards the back and didn't end up starting until about 8:20.
I had a slightly rocky start. First, after finishing my coffee I kind of had to pee, but by the time I realized this it was too late to get out and use the port-a-potties at the start, so I had to wait until I got to the first ones on the course (a little after the first mile marker), which ate up some time. Second, my watch was stubbornly cadence-locked for the first several miles. No, Apple, my HR is never going to be 182 in the first couple of miles of a half marathon that I'm running at LR pace. Then around mile 4 I realized that I hadn't switched my watch band from the everyday notch to the running notch. Oops!
That fixed the problem.
On the bright side, the first few miles did have my favorite sign, which said, "Due to inflation, this race will now be 14.2 miles." It made me laugh.
ID: Course map
RnR has my favorite course in DC because it actually runs through the parts of the city where people live. Drivers hate it because of all the road closures, which also gives me a little bit of vindictive glee - a tiny taste of revenge for all the terrible drivers who try to run me over when I'm running/walking my dog.
I did okay keeping my pace easy for the most part. I was a little fast at times (and occasionally a little slow), but that's not a surprise since there was no pace groups to keep me on track. Towards the end of mile 7 is a giant hill, which I happily walked as a drill sergeant yelled into a megaphone to keep moving. I don't know if he was a real drill sergeant, but he certainly could have played one on TV, and it was an entertaining way to pass the time on the dumb hill. There was also a fife and drum quartet dressed in revolutionary garb there, which I appreciated as well.
ID: The fife and drum group taking a short break
There are definitely other hills on the course, but that's by far the biggest one, so I was very happy when it was over. Shortly thereafter we passed my favorite restaurant, so I stopped to take a photo and post it on IG, as one does in the middle of a race
ID: IG story featuring my favorite restaurant, Reveler's Hour
At some point around here I took my gloves off for a couple of miles, but then my hands got cold again and I put them back on. There was some sun I think, but it was still fairly chilly.
I brought my handheld water bottle, so I wasn't making too much use of the aid stations, but it did seem like there weren't a lot of volunteers. I don't remember what it was like last year, though, so maybe it was normal. I liked that they had big coolers at the stations with a lot of spigots, so it was really easy to refill my water bottle when I needed to.
I had been thinking about doing the last 5K at marathon pace or something a little faster. When I got to mile 10 I still had plenty of energy, so I decided to go for it. That happened to be right around where we turned onto North Capitol running down towards the Capitol building, which was fun both because every once in a while I get to experience these little reminders that I live in a pretty cool city with some great landmarks, and because it's mostly downhill from there. Partly because of the downhill, my "5K at MP" ended up being more like "5K at 10M pace", but I had fun.
This year they changed the course so that instead of going all the way out to Stadium-Armory, we ended up in front of the National Archives, which was much better for me. And really for everyone, because when we ended at Stadium-Armory, the last quarter of a mile was uphill, which was not very fun. Here we got to come in on Pennsylvania with the finish line right in front of the National Gallery. I hope they stick with this finish in future years.
The one thing I didn't like about the finish line was that gear pick up was a while away, with no signage pointing you in the right direction. But one of the volunteers showed me where to go. The other issue was that I had to juggle all the post-race food and drinks until I could get to my bag - they should really hand out bags in the finish chute so you can carry everything! There was beer at the finish line also, and this year they opened the cans before handing them out so I had to drink it while I was stretching. Only at a race!
Anyway, unofficially my running time was 2:02:22, but with my stops I actually ended up at 2:09:30 for my slowest official HM time ever!
It beat out my other catered long run (Orlando HM) by a whole 4 seconds. But also just for comparison, I did this race only a couple of minutes faster last year and was trying really hard and felt terrible afterwards (this is because I didn't train). Consistency FTW!
After I finished my beer and my stretching, I headed to the bus stop a few blocks away so I could go home. Unfortunately, when I got there, the app showed no scheduled arrivals. So I just started walking. Then I was cold/tired and wanted to go home, so I ended up jogging the rest of the way back, bringing my total for the day to just over 15 miles, which thanks to marathon training seemed perfectly reasonable.
ID: 2023 medal featuring the Washington Monument surrounded by cherry blossoms
ID: L to R, 2021, 2023, and 2022 medals. The 2023 medal is definitely a shift in style. Also the lighting is weird.
If I am in town (and the weather isn't terrible), I'll definitely do this race again next year. I love the course and it's always a fun run with lots of entertainment.
Washington, DC | March 18, 2023
Finally getting around to a race report after a busy week. I signed up last-minute for this race because I had to run 12 miles anyway so why not.
Expo
I picked up my bib on Friday afternoon (I had taken the day off anyway so I didn't have to worry about work). It was a little busy but not too bad. Vendors were pretty limited, though - there was a lot of empty space in the (relatively small) non-RnR area. However, they did have a stand with discount running products, including clothes, shoes, and fuel/hydration, so I picked up a few things there. But nothing else seemed particularly interesting.
Race day
Conditions were pretty decent, if a little chilly for my preferences (around 42º at the start and overcast). For once, I managed to leave mostly on time. I ran to the start, which was about a mile from my house, and stopped at a Starbucks nearby. Coffee! I dropped off a sweatshirt at the gear check so I wouldn't be chilled after the race. Without the sweatshirt, I had on a long-sleeved shirt, leggings, gloves, a Buff around my neck, and a fleece headband for my ears. Have I mentioned that I don't like the cold? @striker1064 and I tried to meet up before the start, but we failed, again. Someday!
ID: Slowly making my way towards the start line.
They divided the race into two starting groups, red and blue, and had all the blues go to their corrals first and reds wait outside the starting area. (Clearly not everyone understood this process.) I didn't actually have a corral number, I assume because I signed up six days before the race, but I was blue so I went first. I wasn't planning on racing, so I hung towards the back and didn't end up starting until about 8:20.
I had a slightly rocky start. First, after finishing my coffee I kind of had to pee, but by the time I realized this it was too late to get out and use the port-a-potties at the start, so I had to wait until I got to the first ones on the course (a little after the first mile marker), which ate up some time. Second, my watch was stubbornly cadence-locked for the first several miles. No, Apple, my HR is never going to be 182 in the first couple of miles of a half marathon that I'm running at LR pace. Then around mile 4 I realized that I hadn't switched my watch band from the everyday notch to the running notch. Oops!
That fixed the problem.On the bright side, the first few miles did have my favorite sign, which said, "Due to inflation, this race will now be 14.2 miles." It made me laugh.
ID: Course map
RnR has my favorite course in DC because it actually runs through the parts of the city where people live. Drivers hate it because of all the road closures, which also gives me a little bit of vindictive glee - a tiny taste of revenge for all the terrible drivers who try to run me over when I'm running/walking my dog.
I did okay keeping my pace easy for the most part. I was a little fast at times (and occasionally a little slow), but that's not a surprise since there was no pace groups to keep me on track. Towards the end of mile 7 is a giant hill, which I happily walked as a drill sergeant yelled into a megaphone to keep moving. I don't know if he was a real drill sergeant, but he certainly could have played one on TV, and it was an entertaining way to pass the time on the dumb hill. There was also a fife and drum quartet dressed in revolutionary garb there, which I appreciated as well.
ID: The fife and drum group taking a short break
There are definitely other hills on the course, but that's by far the biggest one, so I was very happy when it was over. Shortly thereafter we passed my favorite restaurant, so I stopped to take a photo and post it on IG, as one does in the middle of a race
ID: IG story featuring my favorite restaurant, Reveler's Hour
At some point around here I took my gloves off for a couple of miles, but then my hands got cold again and I put them back on. There was some sun I think, but it was still fairly chilly.
I brought my handheld water bottle, so I wasn't making too much use of the aid stations, but it did seem like there weren't a lot of volunteers. I don't remember what it was like last year, though, so maybe it was normal. I liked that they had big coolers at the stations with a lot of spigots, so it was really easy to refill my water bottle when I needed to.
I had been thinking about doing the last 5K at marathon pace or something a little faster. When I got to mile 10 I still had plenty of energy, so I decided to go for it. That happened to be right around where we turned onto North Capitol running down towards the Capitol building, which was fun both because every once in a while I get to experience these little reminders that I live in a pretty cool city with some great landmarks, and because it's mostly downhill from there. Partly because of the downhill, my "5K at MP" ended up being more like "5K at 10M pace", but I had fun.
This year they changed the course so that instead of going all the way out to Stadium-Armory, we ended up in front of the National Archives, which was much better for me. And really for everyone, because when we ended at Stadium-Armory, the last quarter of a mile was uphill, which was not very fun. Here we got to come in on Pennsylvania with the finish line right in front of the National Gallery. I hope they stick with this finish in future years.
The one thing I didn't like about the finish line was that gear pick up was a while away, with no signage pointing you in the right direction. But one of the volunteers showed me where to go. The other issue was that I had to juggle all the post-race food and drinks until I could get to my bag - they should really hand out bags in the finish chute so you can carry everything! There was beer at the finish line also, and this year they opened the cans before handing them out so I had to drink it while I was stretching. Only at a race!
Anyway, unofficially my running time was 2:02:22, but with my stops I actually ended up at 2:09:30 for my slowest official HM time ever!
It beat out my other catered long run (Orlando HM) by a whole 4 seconds. But also just for comparison, I did this race only a couple of minutes faster last year and was trying really hard and felt terrible afterwards (this is because I didn't train). Consistency FTW!After I finished my beer and my stretching, I headed to the bus stop a few blocks away so I could go home. Unfortunately, when I got there, the app showed no scheduled arrivals. So I just started walking. Then I was cold/tired and wanted to go home, so I ended up jogging the rest of the way back, bringing my total for the day to just over 15 miles, which thanks to marathon training seemed perfectly reasonable.
ID: 2023 medal featuring the Washington Monument surrounded by cherry blossoms
ID: L to R, 2021, 2023, and 2022 medals. The 2023 medal is definitely a shift in style. Also the lighting is weird.
If I am in town (and the weather isn't terrible), I'll definitely do this race again next year. I love the course and it's always a fun run with lots of entertainment.
Last edited:
striker1064
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2018
YES! Preach!
Also I have never been to Reveler's Hour but I would eat that entire menu.
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
The garlic knots are truly the epitome of bliss.
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
March 20 - 26, 2023
Spring training week 8 of 16 | 6 days until Cherry Blossom Challenge
In which I learn zero lessons
Monday
Planned: 4 miles @ EA (10:46)
Completed: 4.77 miles @ 10:20
Total: 49:20, 148 bpm
How hard is it for people to pay attention to what's happening around them? I feel like I was constantly dodging people who weren't looking where they were going or who just stopped in the middle of the sidewalk for no reason. This is the problem with doing runs in the afternoon when it is not freezing.
Anyway, I should theoretically have slowed down a bit but I didn't feel like it. So there.
Tuesday
Planned: 5 miles @ EB (10:03) + strides
Completed: 5.25 miles @ 10:19 w/ strides
Total: 54:08, 152 bpm
Did this one at lunchtime. I didn't write any notes. I assume it was fine.
Wednesday
Planned: 1 mile WU + 4 x 1 mile @ 10M pace (8:28)/1 min RI + 1 mile CD - BLIND
Completed: 1 mile WU + 4 x 1 mile @ 10M pace/1 min RI + 0.61 mile CD
Interval splits: 8:32, 8:28, 8:19, 8:18
Total: 5.93 miles, 54:19, 162 bpm
Plus: lower body strength
For my first official blind run, this went...okay? I had some logistical issues, which is to say that I manage to turn off the voice alerts for the workout, but that meant the alerts were just from my watch vibrating. I failed to consider that my watch vibrates for things other than completing an interval, so when my watch vibrated in interval #2, I figured it was time for my recovery. But after definitely more than a minute, there was no new vibration to mark the beginning of the next segment. So I checked my watch (sorry) and saw that I still had 0.2 miles to go. Boo. I will have to see if I can fix it so I don't get other notifications on these runs.
Also: should I be looking at actual pace or GAP for pace intervals? Actual pace I wasn't far off; GAP was off by more (8:29, 7:54, 8:12, 8:09). I would guess actual pace since that's what I would be seeing if I could see anything, right? Funny how it only occurs to me to consider GAP in my intervals when I can't see any pace at all. (It does explain why my legs felt tired after only 4 miles, though.)
I liked the combination of strength and mobility exercises in the routine that I did, but I didn't like that there was no time to transition between exercises.
Thursday
Planned: 4 miles @ EA
Completed: 4.02 miles @ 10:56
Total: 43:45, 153 bpm
Plus: core
Thursday is normally my rest day, but I looked at the weather for Friday (chilly and rainy) and said "no thanks". So I ran Thursday morning instead.
Friday
Planned: rest
Completed: rest
It didn't rain the entire day, but it certainly wasn't very pleasant.
Saturday
Planned: 2 mile WU + 6 x 800 m @ 5KP (7:54)/2 min RI + 1 mile CD
Completed: 2 mile WU + 6 x 800 m @ 5KP/2 min RI + 1.79 mile CD
Interval paces: 7:50, 7:42, 7:46, 7:42, 7:38, 7:43
Total: 7.78 miles, 1:14:14
Plus: upper body strength
I signed up for a Women's History Month-themed social run on Sunday, so I moved my 5KP workout to Saturday. I am happy with how it went - it never felt really hard even though I was (surprise) running a little faster than I was supposed to. I don't like turning around in the middle of an interval unless I absolutely have to, so that's why the CD was long. I liked this strength workout as well (and I did it before my run because I wanted to wait as long as possible for weather reasons).
Sunday
Planned: 5 miles @ EB + strides
Completed: 2.05 miles @ 10:36 + 3.52 miles @ 10:21 + 2.01 miles @ 10:51
Total: 7.58 miles, 1:20:03
I ran a couple of miles to the social run, did the social run, had a mimosa, and then ran home
The social run was okay - I thought the way they divided up the pace groups was weird, and I thought the lead pacer in the 10+ min/mi group ran too fast, but it was nice that they added a stop at the Mary McLeod Bethune statue and talked a little bit about her impact.
ID: Statue of Mary McLeod Bethune
Totals
Distance: 35.34 miles
Running time: 5h 55m
Strength time: 1h 5m
Total time: 7h 1m
Coming up
Race week! I will NOT add a whole bunch of extra miles for no reason...
Spring training week 8 of 16 | 6 days until Cherry Blossom Challenge
In which I learn zero lessons
Monday
Planned: 4 miles @ EA (10:46)
Completed: 4.77 miles @ 10:20
Total: 49:20, 148 bpm
How hard is it for people to pay attention to what's happening around them? I feel like I was constantly dodging people who weren't looking where they were going or who just stopped in the middle of the sidewalk for no reason. This is the problem with doing runs in the afternoon when it is not freezing.
Anyway, I should theoretically have slowed down a bit but I didn't feel like it. So there.
Tuesday
Planned: 5 miles @ EB (10:03) + strides
Completed: 5.25 miles @ 10:19 w/ strides
Total: 54:08, 152 bpm
Did this one at lunchtime. I didn't write any notes. I assume it was fine.
Wednesday
Planned: 1 mile WU + 4 x 1 mile @ 10M pace (8:28)/1 min RI + 1 mile CD - BLIND
Completed: 1 mile WU + 4 x 1 mile @ 10M pace/1 min RI + 0.61 mile CD
Interval splits: 8:32, 8:28, 8:19, 8:18
Total: 5.93 miles, 54:19, 162 bpm
Plus: lower body strength
For my first official blind run, this went...okay? I had some logistical issues, which is to say that I manage to turn off the voice alerts for the workout, but that meant the alerts were just from my watch vibrating. I failed to consider that my watch vibrates for things other than completing an interval, so when my watch vibrated in interval #2, I figured it was time for my recovery. But after definitely more than a minute, there was no new vibration to mark the beginning of the next segment. So I checked my watch (sorry) and saw that I still had 0.2 miles to go. Boo. I will have to see if I can fix it so I don't get other notifications on these runs.
Also: should I be looking at actual pace or GAP for pace intervals? Actual pace I wasn't far off; GAP was off by more (8:29, 7:54, 8:12, 8:09). I would guess actual pace since that's what I would be seeing if I could see anything, right? Funny how it only occurs to me to consider GAP in my intervals when I can't see any pace at all. (It does explain why my legs felt tired after only 4 miles, though.)
I liked the combination of strength and mobility exercises in the routine that I did, but I didn't like that there was no time to transition between exercises.
Thursday
Planned: 4 miles @ EA
Completed: 4.02 miles @ 10:56
Total: 43:45, 153 bpm
Plus: core
Thursday is normally my rest day, but I looked at the weather for Friday (chilly and rainy) and said "no thanks". So I ran Thursday morning instead.
Friday
Planned: rest
Completed: rest
It didn't rain the entire day, but it certainly wasn't very pleasant.
Saturday
Planned: 2 mile WU + 6 x 800 m @ 5KP (7:54)/2 min RI + 1 mile CD
Completed: 2 mile WU + 6 x 800 m @ 5KP/2 min RI + 1.79 mile CD
Interval paces: 7:50, 7:42, 7:46, 7:42, 7:38, 7:43
Total: 7.78 miles, 1:14:14
Plus: upper body strength
I signed up for a Women's History Month-themed social run on Sunday, so I moved my 5KP workout to Saturday. I am happy with how it went - it never felt really hard even though I was (surprise) running a little faster than I was supposed to. I don't like turning around in the middle of an interval unless I absolutely have to, so that's why the CD was long. I liked this strength workout as well (and I did it before my run because I wanted to wait as long as possible for weather reasons).
Sunday
Planned: 5 miles @ EB + strides
Completed: 2.05 miles @ 10:36 + 3.52 miles @ 10:21 + 2.01 miles @ 10:51
Total: 7.58 miles, 1:20:03
I ran a couple of miles to the social run, did the social run, had a mimosa, and then ran home
The social run was okay - I thought the way they divided up the pace groups was weird, and I thought the lead pacer in the 10+ min/mi group ran too fast, but it was nice that they added a stop at the Mary McLeod Bethune statue and talked a little bit about her impact.ID: Statue of Mary McLeod Bethune
Totals
Distance: 35.34 miles
Running time: 5h 55m
Strength time: 1h 5m
Total time: 7h 1m
Coming up
Race week! I will NOT add a whole bunch of extra miles for no reason...
Last edited:
striker1064
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2018
Are you running the 10-miler? I look forward to just missing you again!
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
I would say the pace and GAP of blind runs both have relevancy. The purpose of blind runs is to hone in your ability to feel pace. Because on race day for a myriad of reasons having the ability to feel pace is a useful skill. So GAP of blind runs is important because it is a good measure of even effort. Pace is also important though because on race day that value is what ultimately matters towards the final race time. When evaluating a blind run the most important thing is whether you truly believe you were running at the same effort level as you do during the same type of run and when you can see the GPS pace.
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
I am racing both the 5K and the 10-miler. Fun times!
This is the thing I am still working on
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
And it takes time to hone that skill. Some take weeks, others months, others years, and some just never seem to find that skill.
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
Lol it was only because the bus wasn't coming and walking was taking too long!just casually adding in an extra mile after a 2:09 race for a 15 mile day
Thanks!
avondale
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2017
Congratulations on a great race! Sounds like you had a good time.Race recap: Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon
Washington, DC | March 18, 2023
Finally getting around to a race report after a busy week. I signed up last-minute for this race because I had to run 12 miles anyway so why not.
Expo
I picked up my bib on Friday afternoon (I had taken the day off anyway so I didn't have to worry about work). It was a little busy but not too bad. Vendors were pretty limited, though - there was a lot of empty space in the (relatively small) non-RnR area. However, they did have a stand with discount running products, including clothes, shoes, and fuel/hydration, so I picked up a few things there. But nothing else seemed particularly interesting.
Race day
Conditions were pretty decent, if a little chilly for my preferences (around 42º at the start and overcast). For once, I managed to leave mostly on time. I ran to the start, which was about a mile from my house, and stopped at a Starbucks nearby. Coffee! I dropped off a sweatshirt at the gear check so I wouldn't be chilled after the race. Without the sweatshirt, I had on a long-sleeved shirt, leggings, gloves, a Buff around my neck, and a fleece headband for my ears. Have I mentioned that I don't like the cold? @striker1064 and I tried to meet up before the start, but we failed, again. Someday!
View attachment 748743
ID: Slowly making my way towards the start line.
They divided the race into two starting groups, red and blue, and had all the blues go to their corrals first and reds wait outside the starting area. (Clearly not everyone understood this process.) I didn't actually have a corral number, I assume because I signed up six days before the race, but I was blue so I went first. I wasn't planning on racing, so I hung towards the back and didn't end up starting until about 8:20.
I had a slightly rocky start. First, after finishing my coffee I kind of had to pee, but by the time I realized this it was too late to get out and use the port-a-potties at the start, so I had to wait until I got to the first ones on the course (a little after the first mile marker), which ate up some time. Second, my watch was stubbornly cadence-locked for the first several miles. No, Apple, my HR is never going to be 182 in the first couple of miles of a half marathon that I'm running at LR pace. Then around mile 4 I realized that I hadn't switched my watch band from the everyday notch to the running notch. Oops!
On the bright side, the first few miles did have my favorite sign, which said, "Due to inflation, this race will now be 14.2 miles." It made me laugh.
ID: Course map
RnR has my favorite course in DC because it actually runs through the parts of the city where people live. Drivers hate it because of all the road closures, which also gives me a little bit of vindictive glee - a tiny taste of revenge for all the terrible drivers who try to run me over when I'm running/walking my dog.
I did okay keeping my pace easy for the most part. I was a little fast at times (and occasionally a little slow), but that's not a surprise since there was no pace groups to keep me on track. Towards the end of mile 7 is a giant hill, which I happily walked as a drill sergeant yelled into a megaphone to keep moving. I don't know if he was a real drill sergeant, but he certainly could have played one on TV, and it was an entertaining way to pass the time on the dumb hill. There was also a fife and drum quartet dressed in revolutionary garb there, which I appreciated as well.
View attachment 748749
ID: The fife and drum group taking a short break
There are definitely other hills on the course, but that's by far the biggest one, so I was very happy when it was over. Shortly thereafter we passed my favorite restaurant, so I stopped to take a photo and post it on IG, as one does in the middle of a race
View attachment 748752
ID: IG story featuring my favorite restaurant, Reveler's Hour
At some point around here I took my gloves off for a couple of miles, but then my hands got cold again and I put them back on. There was some sun I think, but it was still fairly chilly.
I brought my handheld water bottle, so I wasn't making too much use of the aid stations, but it did seem like there weren't a lot of volunteers. I don't remember what it was like last year, though, so maybe it was normal. I liked that they had big coolers at the stations with a lot of spigots, so it was really easy to refill my water bottle when I needed to.
I had been thinking about doing the last 5K at marathon pace or something a little faster. When I got to mile 10 I still had plenty of energy, so I decided to go for it. That happened to be right around where we turned onto North Capitol running down towards the Capitol building, which was fun both because every once in a while I get to experience these little reminders that I live in a pretty cool city with some great landmarks, and because it's mostly downhill from there. Partly because of the downhill, my "5K at MP" ended up being more like "5K at 10M pace", but I had fun.
This year they changed the course so that instead of going all the way out to Stadium-Armory, we ended up in front of the National Archives, which was much better for me. And really for everyone, because when we ended at Stadium-Armory, the last quarter of a mile was uphill, which was not very fun. Here we got to come in on Pennsylvania with the finish line right in front of the National Gallery. I hope they stick with this finish in future years.
The one thing I didn't like about the finish line was that gear pick up was a while away, with no signage pointing you in the right direction. But one of the volunteers showed me where to go. The other issue was that I had to juggle all the post-race food and drinks until I could get to my bag - they should really hand out bags in the finish chute so you can carry everything! There was beer at the finish line also, and this year they opened the cans before handing them out so I had to drink it while I was stretching. Only at a race!
Anyway, unofficially my running time was 2:02:22, but with my stops I actually ended up at 2:09:30 for my slowest official HM time ever!
After I finished my beer and my stretching, I headed to the bus stop a few blocks away so I could go home. Unfortunately, when I got there, the app showed no scheduled arrivals. So I just started walking. Then I was cold/tired and wanted to go home, so I ended up jogging the rest of the way back, bringing my total for the day to just over 15 miles, which thanks to marathon training seemed perfectly reasonable.
View attachment 748753
ID: 2023 medal featuring the Washington Monument surrounded by cherry blossoms
View attachment 748754
ID: L to R, 2021, 2023, and 2022 medals. The 2023 medal is definitely a shift in style. Also the lighting is weird.
If I am in town (and the weather isn't terrible), I'll definitely do this race again next year. I love the course and it's always a fun run with lots of entertainment.
That hill toward the end of mile 7 is why I stopped running the RnR HM. I just can't seem to get recovered after that and it's too frustrating! Otherwise, I completely agree that it's a really nice race and course.
Good luck with the Cherry Blossom races! I'm not running the 10-miler this year.
LSUlakes
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2015
Looks like a nice race and always fun to get a training run in with a large group with aid on the course. I have never run a RNR race yet. Theres one in New Orleans which is only a hour or so away but I hear horror stories about the pot holes. It's been a while through since I heard anyone running it and its possible the roads have been repaired.
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
It is quite the monster hill. In the past I have run up it and it took me some time to recover. This time I walked (aided by the fact that I didn't care about my time) and felt a lot better - although even walking, it's still not nothing!
DC is the only one I've done, but I've run it three times and it's been fun and generally well-organized, so it might be worth a try!
LSUlakes
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2015
I think I'm going to save my DC running trip for the MCM one day. Thats a long trip for us, but if ever find myself there during RNR I'm sure that would be on the list! It looks like a good course.
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
Race recap: Cherry Blossom 5K
Washington, DC | April 1, 2023
In which everything is a mess, and then...good?
Race weekend! I have the 5K today and 10M tomorrow.
Expo
So, things did not start off well. Because I was doing the challenge, I had to go on Friday to pick up my bib. I left work a little early hoping to beat the crowds...which did not work at all. The lines were ridiculous. They had separate lines for each of the races, and if you were running both you had to wait in BOTH lines, which I found offensive. It took about 45 minutes to get through the line for 5K pickup, although by that time the line for 10M bibs was pretty short and I only had to wait a few minutes. Then I had to wait in another line to pick up my shirts, and I didn't get home until after 6. It was very frustrating (especially since I was already stressed out because my dog decided to lose his mind on his afternoon walk and bark at everything). So much for my plans for a relaxing day and an early dinner. Yuck.
Race day
The morning began mostly as planned. The weather wasn't looking great - rainy and windy, albeit with comfortable temperatures. There was a chance of a torrential downpour right at race time, but fortunately we never saw anything worse than a light drizzle. And while traction was a little iffy on parts of the sidewalk on the way there, it was fine on the roads for the actual race.
The race started at 9:15, so I left my house a little after 8:30 to do my warm up on the way to the start line (only about a mile away). Everything was pretty good until I tried to do my strides, and I just could not find space for them. It was super crowded, and it was good that I had waited in the long long line for pickup at the expo, because the race day pickup line stretched around two corners of a very long block 20 minutes before the start time. I hope everyone was able to actually run. Anyway, I ended up doing almost my scheduled 2 miles for my warmup including about half a stride before getting in line for the bathrooms.
By the time I finally made my way through that line, the race was about to start, so I worked my way up as far as I could in the corrals, which still wasn't where I was supposed to be. What time do you have to get to the corrals to be in a reasonable spot? I don't want to stand around forever with no room to move, but also spending the first half of the 5K trying to dodge people is very much less than ideal, as I quickly discovered.
ID: Here I am behind the 10:30mm pace group - not good for me. Looking down Pennsylvania Avenue at the start line with the Old Post Office building on the right and generic office buildings on the left, plus many many people ahead of me.
Originally I had been hoping to PR this race. My PR is from when I ran cross country in high school, and part of my problem is that I don't remember exactly what it was. I was pretty sure it was 24:XX, though, so I was looking for anything sub-24. Going into the race, I thought that was pretty achievable based on how my training had been going. But at this point, looking at all of the crowds I was going to have to work my way through, not to mention potentially slick roads, I was thinking, "no way".
I spent the first half of the race trying to keep up the pace anyway, which involved a lot of dodging, weaving, and frequently just being stuck with no room to go around. Lots of fun. I almost got knocked over at least three times when people in front of me moved suddenly, and hopefully I didn't do the same to anyone behind me - I was trying to be aware of my surroundings - but I can't make any promises. I ran the first mile in 7:59, slightly slower than my training pace of 7:54 and significantly slower than my goal pace of 7:42.
As I made my way through the course, things finally started to open up a little, although it was still pretty congested. By about halfway through, I at least wasn't getting stuck as much, even if I was still doing a lot of zigzagging. Mile 2 came in at 7:42 and I still felt surprisingly decent, so I started to think "maybe?"
Unfortunately the first mile still had me well behind my overall pace, so I had to work to make up for it. I was still feeling okay until about half a mile from the finish. That's about when I started to feel like I was going to throw up and/or die. I basically just willed myself to keep going (and also not throw up and/or die) and finished mile 3 in...7:14. And then you're pretty much there anyway, so I did the last 0.1 miles at 7:02 pace, which was exactly everything I had left to give.
I was only barely aware of the time at that point, so I truly did not know whether I was over or under 24 minutes, but I thought it was close. When I stopped my watch and looked at the total time, the only thing that registered was the seconds - :38. For a moment, I was disappointed, thinking I had come just a bit short. But then my brain took in the rest of the time and I went, "Wait...oh. Oh." And my watch had me finishing in 23:38. When I checked the official time, it was actually 23:36 - an actual, believe-it-or-not PR.
My brain was still in super-stressed-out mode, so I was kind of having trouble processing sudden, unexpected success. Also there was what seemed like a very long walk from the finish to the area with the snacks and water and even though I no longer felt like I was dying, I didn't feel what you might call good. But I finally got some water, animal crackers, and a banana, picked up my medal, and jogged home (on purpose this time - I needed a cool down). When I got home I shared my banana with my dog, who loves them far more than I do, stretched, and had a smoothie. I also checked out the full results: 27/607 in my age group, 91/3791 among all the women, and 372/5848 overall. Not bad!
ID: I tried to get a picture of my dog getting the last bite of banana, but it was hard. This is the best I could do. He was very happy even though he looks like a dinosaur in the midst of murdering another dinosaur.
I'm happy with that result, but I'm also a little disappointed because I feel like I could have been faster if I'd gotten to the corrals early enough to start where I was supposed to. Maybe I should plan on another 5K just to see what I can actually do? I could plausibly fit something in during marathon training...
Coming up
10-miler tomorrow! I was thinking I would start with the 1:25 group (8:30 pace) and see how I felt around halfway. But maybe I should be faster? McMillan gives me a 1:21:55 (8:12 pace) equivalent and Luke Humphrey/Hansons says 1:21:29 (8:09 pace). Decisions... And speaking of decisions, I still don't know what I want to wear for a 10-mile race when it's 42º, sunny, and windy. But apparently whatever I do, I should get there early.
TL;DR
I ran a 23:36 5K - a lifetime PR - but still wasn't satisfied because I could have been faster
ID: A not-very-exciting 5K medal - I think I'm biased because my last several races have had fancy ones.
Washington, DC | April 1, 2023
In which everything is a mess, and then...good?
Race weekend! I have the 5K today and 10M tomorrow.
Expo
So, things did not start off well. Because I was doing the challenge, I had to go on Friday to pick up my bib. I left work a little early hoping to beat the crowds...which did not work at all. The lines were ridiculous. They had separate lines for each of the races, and if you were running both you had to wait in BOTH lines, which I found offensive. It took about 45 minutes to get through the line for 5K pickup, although by that time the line for 10M bibs was pretty short and I only had to wait a few minutes. Then I had to wait in another line to pick up my shirts, and I didn't get home until after 6. It was very frustrating (especially since I was already stressed out because my dog decided to lose his mind on his afternoon walk and bark at everything). So much for my plans for a relaxing day and an early dinner. Yuck.
Race day
The morning began mostly as planned. The weather wasn't looking great - rainy and windy, albeit with comfortable temperatures. There was a chance of a torrential downpour right at race time, but fortunately we never saw anything worse than a light drizzle. And while traction was a little iffy on parts of the sidewalk on the way there, it was fine on the roads for the actual race.
The race started at 9:15, so I left my house a little after 8:30 to do my warm up on the way to the start line (only about a mile away). Everything was pretty good until I tried to do my strides, and I just could not find space for them. It was super crowded, and it was good that I had waited in the long long line for pickup at the expo, because the race day pickup line stretched around two corners of a very long block 20 minutes before the start time. I hope everyone was able to actually run. Anyway, I ended up doing almost my scheduled 2 miles for my warmup including about half a stride before getting in line for the bathrooms.
By the time I finally made my way through that line, the race was about to start, so I worked my way up as far as I could in the corrals, which still wasn't where I was supposed to be. What time do you have to get to the corrals to be in a reasonable spot? I don't want to stand around forever with no room to move, but also spending the first half of the 5K trying to dodge people is very much less than ideal, as I quickly discovered.
ID: Here I am behind the 10:30mm pace group - not good for me. Looking down Pennsylvania Avenue at the start line with the Old Post Office building on the right and generic office buildings on the left, plus many many people ahead of me.
Originally I had been hoping to PR this race. My PR is from when I ran cross country in high school, and part of my problem is that I don't remember exactly what it was. I was pretty sure it was 24:XX, though, so I was looking for anything sub-24. Going into the race, I thought that was pretty achievable based on how my training had been going. But at this point, looking at all of the crowds I was going to have to work my way through, not to mention potentially slick roads, I was thinking, "no way".
I spent the first half of the race trying to keep up the pace anyway, which involved a lot of dodging, weaving, and frequently just being stuck with no room to go around. Lots of fun. I almost got knocked over at least three times when people in front of me moved suddenly, and hopefully I didn't do the same to anyone behind me - I was trying to be aware of my surroundings - but I can't make any promises. I ran the first mile in 7:59, slightly slower than my training pace of 7:54 and significantly slower than my goal pace of 7:42.
As I made my way through the course, things finally started to open up a little, although it was still pretty congested. By about halfway through, I at least wasn't getting stuck as much, even if I was still doing a lot of zigzagging. Mile 2 came in at 7:42 and I still felt surprisingly decent, so I started to think "maybe?"
Unfortunately the first mile still had me well behind my overall pace, so I had to work to make up for it. I was still feeling okay until about half a mile from the finish. That's about when I started to feel like I was going to throw up and/or die. I basically just willed myself to keep going (and also not throw up and/or die) and finished mile 3 in...7:14. And then you're pretty much there anyway, so I did the last 0.1 miles at 7:02 pace, which was exactly everything I had left to give.
I was only barely aware of the time at that point, so I truly did not know whether I was over or under 24 minutes, but I thought it was close. When I stopped my watch and looked at the total time, the only thing that registered was the seconds - :38. For a moment, I was disappointed, thinking I had come just a bit short. But then my brain took in the rest of the time and I went, "Wait...oh. Oh." And my watch had me finishing in 23:38. When I checked the official time, it was actually 23:36 - an actual, believe-it-or-not PR.
My brain was still in super-stressed-out mode, so I was kind of having trouble processing sudden, unexpected success. Also there was what seemed like a very long walk from the finish to the area with the snacks and water and even though I no longer felt like I was dying, I didn't feel what you might call good. But I finally got some water, animal crackers, and a banana, picked up my medal, and jogged home (on purpose this time - I needed a cool down). When I got home I shared my banana with my dog, who loves them far more than I do, stretched, and had a smoothie. I also checked out the full results: 27/607 in my age group, 91/3791 among all the women, and 372/5848 overall. Not bad!
ID: I tried to get a picture of my dog getting the last bite of banana, but it was hard. This is the best I could do. He was very happy even though he looks like a dinosaur in the midst of murdering another dinosaur.
I'm happy with that result, but I'm also a little disappointed because I feel like I could have been faster if I'd gotten to the corrals early enough to start where I was supposed to. Maybe I should plan on another 5K just to see what I can actually do? I could plausibly fit something in during marathon training...
Coming up
10-miler tomorrow! I was thinking I would start with the 1:25 group (8:30 pace) and see how I felt around halfway. But maybe I should be faster? McMillan gives me a 1:21:55 (8:12 pace) equivalent and Luke Humphrey/Hansons says 1:21:29 (8:09 pace). Decisions... And speaking of decisions, I still don't know what I want to wear for a 10-mile race when it's 42º, sunny, and windy. But apparently whatever I do, I should get there early.
TL;DR
I ran a 23:36 5K - a lifetime PR - but still wasn't satisfied because I could have been faster
ID: A not-very-exciting 5K medal - I think I'm biased because my last several races have had fancy ones.
Last edited:
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
Oh, I forgot one additional so-dumb-it's-funny-but-actually-not thing from today: my watch somehow recorded the race at 3.09 miles...so no Strava PR 
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
Congrats on the new official 5k PR!!!
Alright, time for some veteran talk. I know the feelings you’re having about the race experience. I’ve had them before, most of us had. We finish a race, we PR, and then we feel like we could have done more. This leads to feelings of happiness and disappointment simultaneously. Take it from me, push out the disappointment as much as possible. Really soak in the PR. They don’t happen often and they get rarer and rarer the more you do this. Treasure the moment. I’ve had similar races, felt like I could have done better than just the PR, and now 8 years later have still not beaten that PR. I didn’t really enjoy and appreciate it at that moment as much as I should have. There will be more races and more chances.
As for pacing tomorrow. The race equivalency is a good barometer, but remember that you did run a 5k PR today too. While the long lasting effects of a 5k race are short, and it may have minimal effect just keep that in mind. With that being said, the 5k doesn’t preclude you from necessarily hitting that time. So maybe start at the original goal time and then after 4-5 miles reassess. As you saw today, despite the weaving at the start it is kind of fun to crush the back half of a race.
striker1064
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2018
Oh gosh, we were at the expo at the exact same time yesterday! Have we upgraded our status to "Missing each other by nanoseconds at races AND expos???"
That expo was total nonsense. I was super glad to only be running the 10-miler. Who thought it was a good idea to make double-blossom entrants stand in line twice? This is how you lose business in future years. And I don't know if you heard, but the 5k line was so long all evening they shut down the line and wouldn't let anyone else line up at around 7 PM, a full 45 minutes before the expo closed!
I don't know about the 5k, but for the 10-miler tomorrow the email says they recommend getting there at 45 minutes before race start. The corrals open 30 minutes before race start. The race starts at 7:30 am. Which means I have to drag myself out of bed around 5 or earlier. Yeah.
And congrats on the PR!!!!!
I concur with Billy's advice - soak it in. I'm still buzzing about my RnR PR. My friends are very sick of it. Too bad!
Tomorrow for me is an M Tempo run, which means I'll be going around an 8:40/mile pace. I'll pace you if you want and you can dust me in the second half if you feel good.
That expo was total nonsense. I was super glad to only be running the 10-miler. Who thought it was a good idea to make double-blossom entrants stand in line twice? This is how you lose business in future years. And I don't know if you heard, but the 5k line was so long all evening they shut down the line and wouldn't let anyone else line up at around 7 PM, a full 45 minutes before the expo closed!
I don't know about the 5k, but for the 10-miler tomorrow the email says they recommend getting there at 45 minutes before race start. The corrals open 30 minutes before race start. The race starts at 7:30 am. Which means I have to drag myself out of bed around 5 or earlier. Yeah.
And congrats on the PR!!!!!
I concur with Billy's advice - soak it in. I'm still buzzing about my RnR PR. My friends are very sick of it. Too bad!
Tomorrow for me is an M Tempo run, which means I'll be going around an 8:40/mile pace. I'll pace you if you want and you can dust me in the second half if you feel good.
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