The BF and I woke and headed out to the race early, as recommended by Rock N Roll Marathon organizers. Anticipating high metro traffic, we headed out a little after 6am (race started at 7:30). The Metro was fine. There were a number of runners, sure, but plenty of empty seats to choose from. Cool. Things were looking good.
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| Our view walking to the start line after the Metro |
We got to the start line to scope it out. We had one of the last corrals, because I had an estimated finish time of 3 hours. The BF also wrote that as his time, so he could start with me. It wasn't until we were about to start that we realized they didn't put us in the same corrals anyway. Whatever. The corrals turned out to be kind of a joke anyway. People all moved forward slowly as the waves went out, and all the lines blurred. I'm still not sure what corral we actually ended up starting in.
Anyway, the corrals had port-a-potties right in them. This turned out to be one of those good thing/bad thing deals. It was nice that you didn't have to leave your corral to use one right before the race, but the lines also got in the way as the waves headed out and people moved forward. Nonetheless, we made use of them while waiting for our wave to start, so I'm thankful.
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After finding our corral, we headed to the gear checks, (by way of some snack tables). I grabbed a banana and two little water bottles. I had my protein bar packed, but I was glad to add a banana to my morning meal. It was nice that they were full bananas, rather than cut in half like some races (and thus brown and slimy). I also ended up carrying the second water bottle for the first three miles or so, which was nice (I'll get to the water stop mess in the race summary).
Gear Check
So, we got VERY lucky with regard to the gear check. Arriving as early as we did is clearly a MUST. I'm guessing using the BF's last name initial (S) was helpful, too. After we dropped our gear and headed back around to the starting corrals, we saw the lines get longer and longer. They used buses for gear check. Because it was so early in the morning, it was hard to see the letter groupings labels on the buses, which was a bit annoying. The only signs we saw were on the back doors of the buses, where they loaded. It would have been nice to have a bigger sign on the sides as well.
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| Gear Check near the Washington Monument
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Starting Line
I was very cold at the start, and freaking out a little bit about the gear I chose. Almost everyone around me was wearing way more layers than I chose. I was wearing my skirt (of course) (http://www.sparkleskirts.com/) and my long sleeved shirt. That's it. No gloves, no knit hat, no tights. I HATE getting over-heated, so I usually err on the lighter side gear-wise, but I was worried about almost everything before this race. Why not gear, too?
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As I said, the corrals were each started a few minutes apart. We were supposed to start in corrals 32/33, but I think by the time everyone pushed ahead, we started in maybe corral 30 or 31. Either way, we crossed the start line at 8:19am. (The first corral started at 7:30). Being so far back, we barely knew when the anthem was being sung, much less heard it. That bummed me out, because I really like the anthem.
And we're off!
I fully intended to follow my training by running 4 minutes, walking one minute, and repeating for 13.1 miles. But forget that! Early on, there was no way you could walk if you wanted to. Even in our ridiculously late-starting corral, there were too many runners for the first couple miles to make room for anyone to walk.
That was fine. I didn't feel like walking anyway. The weather was perfect. It was supposed to be cold and rainy, but it turned out to be 40s with little to no wind and overcast. It even got warmer and clear skies by the end. Beautiful! Of course, this Wisconsin girl, who has been tethered to a treadmill for months, would've been pretty good with anything snowless. :)
Prior to the race, I put on the temporary "pace tat" to keep me at my nice, slow pace. With it, I was aiming for 2:52 (I told you it was slow). Early on, my Nike+ told me I was pushing more at a 12:20 pace.
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I got mine on Amazon, but their web site is www.pacetat.com
But I felt so great!!! I couldn't believe it! A nice, slow, steady 12:20-12:40 pace felt perfect- like I could go for hours. And so I did!
The hill at mile 6ish was tough. I had read about it, so I knew it would be my biggest challenge. Here's the cool thing, though: you can see it coming. I mean, quite a time before you're there, you know it's coming. Perfect! I walked a little bit right before to store some energy, because dang if I was gonna walk that hill. I am a runner!!!
So, I dug in. Head down, shortened stride, I ran, (very, very slowly) up that whole hill. It wasn't even possible to count the number of people I passed who were walking it. In fact, I only saw a couple other people who WERE running it. Crazy. After the hill was the only time in the run where I debated taking a puff of my inhaler.
Finally, the crowds started picking up. That was nice, because the race was pretty quiet up until then. It was nice to get some energy from the people cheering and playing music. The bands on the course were fun, but just too infrequent to really keep you going. I was glad I had my headphones.
Finish Line
Miles 10-12 had mile markers that were difficult to find. I was glad I had watched the video laying out the course at the expo, because I had a decent idea how far I was. I also had my Nike+, which was off about .2mile, but still helpful.
Like too many races I've run before, I thought the finish line was difficult to see. The BF spotted me about .2mile before the end and was there for encouragement. Didn't need it. I rocked this dang thing. Slowly, but it was MY race. I passed a lot of t-shirts that read "I got this" and I thought, "no, I got this!" All I wanted to know was where the line was, so I could kick it up a bit at the end, without killing my asthmatic lungs. The BF told me where it was (around a curve, you couldn't see it until you were almost there), and I headed off to finish.
After the Finish Line
Unfortunately, it was a long time before I would see the BF again. What a mess!!!
Finishing was sadly anti-climactic. No BF in sight, some little girl handed me my medal all wrapped up tight in plastic, and I shuffled through with the other cattle to get some food and drink. Supply was fine. Obviously, they used more of their volunteers in the chute than they did on the course. Still, it was a mass of humanity.
I couldn't find the BF, and I was starting to feel junky. I wandered, slowly and in a haze, looking for his red shirt and white hat. Nothing. So, I started looking for the reunion spots.
Not only could I not find the reunion spots, I couldn't find a volunteer anywhere to ask. When I finally found some medical volunteers, they only had a guess as to where to send me. So, I slowly wandered farther, chugging Gatorade, toward the incredibly loud band.
Praise God, I started seeing reunion letter signs! I aimed for the "C" as planned, and stood there. I stretched a bit, ate a power bar, and stood there. I looked around, my stomach turned, and I stood there. No BF. Where's my BF? I want to see my BF! I just finished my first freaking half marathon, where is my BF?!?!?
Yeah, the poor BF was stuck in line at Gear Check for an eternity. What a mess. When he found me, we high-tailed it out of the noise and crowd. Forget the free beer and "after party". Too much noise for us.
Apparently, many other people agreed. We didn't get far before we realized the huge block FULL of people standing around near the bus stations was actually the line for the Metro!!! FORGET THAT!!
We decided to walk a bit and try and hail a cab. So did many other runners, unfortunately, because any cab we saw was either full or not stopping. So, after my first 13.1 mile race, I walked another 2.2 miles back to the hotel. Yikes.
And yet, I survived. Thrilled at my accomplishment.
After we got showered and settled, the BF gave me a card. Inside, was a magnet bumper sticker for my car. I got weepy. (sniff sniff) I had always said I wanted a bumper sticker, but not until I could run the ENTIRE 13.1 miles. The BF thought I needed one when I finished, regardless of how I did it.
Well, here I am, with great pride, holding my medal and bumper sticker (thrilled that I ended up running it all in 2:44):
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I DID IT!!!!!!
In SummaryA List of Pros:
1) Port-a-potties a plenty.
2) The bands they had were fun.
3) Location, location, location... running in D.C., past Lincoln, the White House, etc. was incredible!
4) Metro in the morning was well run and not too crowded.
5) Photographers were everywhere. I am already tagged in about a dozen pictures. Fun for my first half, even if they are NOT flattering at all. :)
6) Expo was fun, but plan for Homeland Security to slow your entry.
A List of Cons:
1) Not enough volunteers! The water stops were poorly staffed, and there didn't seem to be enough Gatorade. Major fail. At some points, they were dipping cups in buckets of Gatorade to fill them, and using hoses to fill water. I felt bad for the very few people there were, trying to keep up. They had no chance.
2) The corrals were a joke. Nice try, though.
3) Post-race chaos was out of control. Better signage would've made a big difference. The BF said it was VERY congested when he finished (about 2 hours) and it took him forever to get through. That's why he figured he would have time to get to Gear Check while I went through the chute.
4) Transportation after the race was a NIGHTMARE! Plan something else, or have a cab company in your phone to call... something! Walking back to the hotel afterward was less than ideal, but it was better than standing still indefinitely waiting for the Metro.
5) Gear Check lines were incredibly long. Expect to spend a lot of time there.
But did I mention I ran the whole thing???!?!?!??
:)
Thanks for reading.
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