After an amazing and very full day in Washington DC with my
BRFF Meg, it was time to settle in, get things prepared for the next day’s
race, and get some sleep!
This is where everything started falling apart for me!
Pre-race I stick to a very strict routine, LOTS of sleep, LOTS of water, and
LOTS of bland food! I pretty much threw all of my rules out of the window, and
did not prepare for this race in the way I would if I were at home.
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I did not sleep very well that night, I was nervous about
the run, and my stomach was acting up – nothing new, as it has been a complete
wreck for about the last 3 weeks! Grrrr.
The alarm clock went off at 4:30, but we stayed in bed until
just after 5am. It was nice not to have to wake up at the butt-crack of dawn
for a race! We quickly dressed and made out way to the metro. It was crowded,
as I suspected it would be, and we stood the entire ride to the race. I ate my
crackers and tried to convince myself that I would be okay without my normal
oatmeal and banana!
Things went really fast once we got to the starting line!
This was definitely my very favorite and least nervous wait for a race I have
ever had! There were so many people to talk to, and so many hugs as friends
found Meg and I. It was really exciting, and my normal corral-panic never set
in!!
We met the 2:30 pacer group, and had a blast chatting it up
with him! This diversion really helped me calm down and not think about the
race! I had decided that I would run with Meg and Carolyn for the entire race,
I really wanted us to finish together. It would be my first ½ running with
someone, and I was excited to have some running buddies!!
It wasn’t long until our corral was at the front of the
start line and off on our journey through Washington DC!
It was a beautiful morning, about 55 degrees, sunny with a
cool breeze. I was loving life for the first 3 miles. I was running slightly
ahead of Meg and Carolyn, trying to fall into a pace that was comfortable, but
allowed me to stick close to the girls.
We had decided on taking “Monumental Selfies” along the
course, pausing, but not really stopping for the major sights! I tried to fall
back and get in the pictures, sometimes waiting for a short time on the side of
the road for my girls!
The first 3 miles flew by! We didn’t walk even once, but I
just couldn’t find my stride. My stomach was acting up by mile 4 and I knew a
bathroom stop was in my future. Even with the pain I was feeling in my gut, I
was loving this race, and the company of Meg and Carolyn!
At mile 5, I decided it was time to stop and use the
bathroom. I told the girls to keep running and that I would catch up. I didn’t
think it would be a long wait, there were about 10 people in line ahead of me.
Unfortunately, the first two people took over 10 minutes to use the bathroom,
and I was getting nervous that I would never catch up, plus I really didn’t
want to lose anymore time! I left the line and started sprinting, this was
probably the second mistake I made during this race! I sprinted until mile 7
according to my Garmin, I was running 9 minute miles!! ACK!!! Sprinting like
this is NEVER good during a ½ marathon…..especially when you are only ½ way
done!!
I caught up to Meg and Carolyn around mile 7, and we took
our first walk break. I was beat and my stomach was screaming at me!! I
actually felt sick, I have never, ever felt like throwing up during a race, but
I was pretty sure that I was going to make this my first. We walked for awhile,
they were so sweet allowing me to catch my breath and relax for a bit, I knew
they wanted to get running again.
Once we started running, I knew I would not be able to keep
up unless I USED the bathroom!! I was bent over in pain, and feeling so sick!
At mile 8, I was lucky enough to find a REAL bathroom and
again told the girls I would catch up! The line I got into was only about 8
people long, YES!! I soon discovered that it was the men’s bathroom and that men
were using it as well as the ladies! Haha! Waiting in line, I was in a lot of
pain, but it was amusing watching the men run to the bathroom and get nervous
when they discovered they would be using the urinals in front of a line of
women!!
The line went fast, and I was quickly out and sprinting
again (didn’t I learn my lesson?). I still felt sick, but I wasn’t in pain.
Sprinting was not as easy as it was the first time, it actually sucked… a lot!
I started panicking that I wouldn’t catch up, and that made me feel even worse.
At mile 10 I was finally able to catch up, it was such a
relief, but I was shot, I was ready to be done.
It kinda put a downer on the entire rest of the race for me. I didn’t
want to hold Meg and Carolyn back, I didn’t want to finish the race without
them but I was feeling so awful, I didn’t think I could keep up.
Mile 11 was the Whole Food’s Chocolate mile! Sounds
wonderful, right? It would have been amazing, had I not felt like throwing up!
Meg and Carolyn enjoyed the chocolate (which was given out the entire mile!! So
cool!!), while I tried to get my shit together and finish the race!!
I know Meg was ready to run faster, and Carolyn was looking
strong, but again, they were so sweet and slowed their pace for me.
The last mile was run in a tunnel, and this is where I
almost lost it completely. In the tunnel there were drummers, and it was loud!!
The beat was fast, causing me to quicken my pace, and the constant pounding was
only adding to my nausea! I wanted out of that tunnel so fast!!
The tunnel ends at a hill, and even though I had powered up
each and every hill before then, my legs were just dead. I had to walk. It was
depressing.
I don’t really remember the rest of the race, besides Meg
actually stopping before the finish line to wait for me. I was focusing on not
passing out in a pool of my own vomit! Meg and I crossed together, holding
hands. It was an amazing feeling! I was beyond emotional that she had waited
for me, it was a really special moment.
I was so happy to be done! It was finally time to collect
that Tiffany necklace!! Woo! We were first handed chocolate milk – my favorite
post race recovery – and then we picked up Nike bike bottles of water. There
was all kinds of food to pick up, and as we moved through the line, we received
space blankets to warm up in. The
volunteer who wrapped me in my blanket, was the only one to see my complete
break down! I just started bawling as he wrapped me in my blanket!! I have no
clue what triggered that response, but it was such a release of emotions!
I think the epic-ness of the entire weekend hit me all at
once, with this man’s kind act of wrapping me in a sliver blanket. It was truly
a dream-like weekend, something I never thought I would experience, the wealth
of friendship, the ability of my body to carry me through, and the sense of
accomplishment. Words fail me when I try to express how much this weekend means
to me, it was honestly that awesome.
Luckily, I was able to pull myself together, the sun glasses
hid my tears, and no one knew about the embarrassing break down I just had!
We made our way through the finish chute, and collected our
Tiffany medals/necklaces! I still wasn’t feeling the best, but I was living in
the moment and soaking in the experience! It was so much fun receiving our
little Tiffany boxes from the tuxedo-clad men!
We waited in a photo op line to get lifted by two of the men
and hold a platter full of Tiffany boxes, this line took FOREVER!! I started
feeling sick again, and drank my chocolate milk. I knew the sickness was partly
being hungry! I had not fueled well before the race, and it was a good part of
the reason I was so sick. The milk
helped, but I was getting impatient and just wanted to get back to the hotel
room.
The next part of the finish chute was the ONLY part that I
disliked. Finishers were funneled through a “Finisher’s Tent”, and everyone was
excited, saying that we were getting finisher shirts, this was not the case,
the tent was packed with women using foam rollers, stretching and freshening up
at the mirrored stations. We were like a herd of cattle moving through the
tented tunnel, it was hot and sticky and stinky!! We did not take part in any
of the stations in the tent, and I wished we would have been given the opportunity
to walk around the tent. The tent, however was BEAUTIFUL!! Again, Nike really
knows how to impress and there were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and
the atmosphere was really posh/VIP.
After exiting the tent, we got in the HUGE line for finisher’s
merchandise. This was again, not the best use of our time, as we found out (after waiting in line for about
25 minutes) that we could just go to the Nike store (on even online) to buy our
finisher’s merchandise!!
We met up with some #Runnerslove ladies, and congratulated
everyone on their finish! It was nice to end the race in the way we started!
After saying “hi” to a few more people we know from various
facebook groups, we made our way back to the metro and back to our hotel room.
Meg showered right away and I ate my cupcakes from the previous day. I was
starving!!
We ended our day by visiting the Nike store in Georgetown
again, and eating lunch at a WONDERFUL Irish Pub! Yum!!
We then made the LONG (9 hours!!) drive back to Meg’s house
in CT. While the drive was super long, it was nice to have time together! J
Overall this race was fantastic!! I made some mistakes that
hurt me (not fueling properly before the race, and sprinting!!), but the race
itself was amazing! There were water/Nuun stops every 2 miles, orange slices,
ShotBlocks, and Luna bars were given out along the course, and then there was
the chocolate mile!!
The weather could not have been better and there were
spectators at all points along the course. The course was beautiful, and the
on-course entertainment was really fun! This is one of my very favorite courses
ever! It was well organized, and the
finish line moved quickly!
I am so sad that this race is over, even though I felt
really sick on the course, I have quickly forgotten the pain, and only re-live
the pleasure it was to run this race! I would go back in a heartbeat!! I highly
recommend this race to anyone looking for a beautiful course! It would make a great first ½ marathon!!
This race has inspired me to put my name into the lottery
for the Nike Women’s ½ in San Francisco! I cannot wait!
Thank you to Nike for giving me the ability to run this
race, you are an amazing company and I am truly grateful for this opportunity!
I have to thank Meg and Carolyn for hanging in there with
me, even when I felt like I couldn’t finish. I had a blast running with you
two, and hope we get more opportunities to run together in the not so distant
future!!
Meg, my RBFF, you made this weekend so special! Thank you
for everything, and for being my friend! You are my inspiration! Love you
girl!!
Thank you to all of the #Runnerslove ladies, you are an
amazing group of women to call friends! I love you all so much and cannot wait
for our next meet-up (where ever that may be!! J)
