Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Bloomin' Terrific - Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler Race Report

When my alarm went off at 4:45 on Sunday morning, I'm not sure I knew where I was.  I dragged myself into the shower in an effort to shake off the last vestiges of sleep, and ran through a mental list of what needed to be done before I toed the line at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in DC. 
  • Get dressed 
  • Find watch and Road ID
  • Eat something
  • Walk the dog
  • Figure out what metro stop I needed
  • Find cash for the metro
  • Tape up my shin
  • Question my sanity
Once most of those got done (I didn't manage to walk the dog - she's old and sometimes just doesn't want to cooperate!), I got in my car and headed to the Metro station.  I still wasn't really thinking about the race.  I was just kind of on auto pilot.  Some part of my brain knew that I wasn't ready for this.  I hadn't been running as much or as often as I should have been, and hadn't run more than 7 miles at a time since October.  My calves were tight, my shin hurt.  I was running (literally!) on no sleep.  Blah, blah, blah.  But all that stayed in the back of my mind and mostly I was just calm.  

Then I got to the Metro, which opened early on Sunday just for the race, and I saw other runners getting out of their cars, talking, laughing, pinning on their bibs, and I started to get excited.  "These are my tribe," I thought.   We all got on the train and it was just us.  I think I counted two people who were not headed to the race, but the other couple of hundred that I could see when the doors opened were all going to the same place.  This is my tribe. 

Arriving at the race after a short walk from the metro, I immediately hopped into one of the super long lines for the porta potties.  I'd had an entire bottle of water on the train and knew I'd be hating life if I didn't take care of business before hand.  The line was so long that I was still waiting when the first runners started the race.  Sometimes it pays to be in the last corral! 

Once I was finished I popped over into the purple corral to wait for our turn to start the race.  Everyone around me was in great spirits, and I was starting to get more excited.  I turned on my watch and set it for 2/1 run/walk intervals since I knew I wouldn't get through the race just running, given how craptastic my training had been.  (Plus, I did this race last year doing 2/1 intervals, and it went pretty well.)  



We slowly started to move forward towards the start line and the announcer was doing his bit and then he said something along the lines of "Give it up for the party wave - these runners really like to maximize their racing time, it's the PURPLE WAVE!"   We all cheered and laughed, though technically not all of the runners in the purple corral are slower runners.  If you don't have a previous 10 miler time to give at registration, I think they automatically put you with purple.  But nevertheless, we did all seem like a fairly happy crowd.   And then... we were off. 

The first bit of the race is really crowded, so I didn't get into my run/walking until almost the first mile mark.  My pace for that first bit was relatively slow, though, so everything felt fine and my legs were cooperating.  At one point, there was a trio of young guys behind me singing "Do you want to build a snowman" from the movie Frozen.  I spun around and said "Please, oh please tell me you're going to do the whole movie!" They laughed and began a conversation about how they should bring a boom box next year.  Soon they passed me and I never saw them again, but the definitely put me in good spirits for the first part of the race. 

(I think this was near the Kennedy Center -it was just after this that there was a turn-around and I saw the local guy who juggles while he races.  This time he was juggling 2 small balls and 1 basketball, and he was bouncing the basketball as he juggled.  That guy is amazing, I should have taken his picture. I didn't want to slow down, though, because if he'd gotten ahead of me I would have been really mad. LOL) 


(Walking and taking pictures at the same time is not as easy as you might think!)

Along the way I was a little disappointed that the Cherry Blossoms weren't actually in full bloom (or much of any kind of bloom), but it's still a fairly pretty course (for DC).  It was the perfect temperature, and things just felt good.  I was tired, sure, but didn't really struggle at all until about mile 6.  Mile 6 felt really, really hard.  I didn't know why until later in the day (more on that later).

One of the great things about this race is the spectators.  Funny signs, people with dogs, little kids, etc.  Plenty of people out there cheering, giving high fives, etc.  Another great thing is that this race puts your name on your bib, so I got six (yes, I kept count) personalized shout-outs.  One of them made me really happy, actually, because it was towards the end of the race and I was really tired by that point and this little boy, maybe 8 or 9, said "Whoo! Diana! You can do it!" and gave me a fist bump.  Tears, people.  

My time for this race last year was 1:59:32, and my original plan (way back in the fall when I signed up) was to beat that time.  Race morning, I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen, but somewhere around mile 8 I realized that it could happen.  Unfortunately, by mile 10 I was so tired that I let my walk breaks go longer than they were supposed to.  I ended up finishing in (an unoficial) 2:00:22.   Looking back, I'm a little peeved that I gave up on myself and didn't fight for a PR.  On the other hand, considering my lack of training, my painful shin, and the fact that I hadn't had a decent night sleep in a week, I am incredibly pleased with my time. 

(Man, I get red-faced when I run!)

When I got home from the race, I uploaded my Garmin data and I realized that I ran crazy inconsistent splits.  Not only that, but I realized why mile 6 felt so hard.   Check it: 


Uh, yeah.  Sub-11?  For me?  That's darn fast.  No wonder it felt hard. Also, it slowed me way down in the subsequent miles, but oh well.  I do find it kind of cool that I can bust out a 10:59 mile in the middle of a 10-miler, though.  =)

After going over my splits I got cleaned up and headed out to meet friends for Bingo.  Not just any Bingo, mind you, but Bingo where you win Coach and Micheal Kors purses.  And they serve booze!  Really, what more could you want after running a 10 mile race?  (Well, I would have liked to actually WIN something, but whatever.) 

(Both Cokes were mine, but only one of them had rum in in, I swear!)

When I got home from Bingo I pretty much collapsed. I was so tired that my husband says I was talking to him when he came up to bed, but he could tell I was asleep, and I made no sense.  I have no memory of that at all! 

Today I'm a bit sore, but mostly I feel good - and I am anxious to sign up for this race again.  Entry is based on a lottery system so I'm not guaranteed to get in, but I'll try.  Hopefully I'll actually manage to train next year.  Either way, I'm hoping that I'll be back in the fray, surrounded by 17,000 other people out to enjoy the day.  My tribe.









18 comments:

  1. Congratulations on getting through that long race and almost beating last year's time. Don't you love the point when you've finished a big race and can finally say to yourself, "I've done it, it's over" and enjoy that great feeling for the rest of the day?

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    1. Yes! I love feeling like I actually did something, especially when it's over by 10 a.m. and I have the rest of the day to be a slug. LOL

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  2. BINGO SOUNDS SO FUN!!! :D hehehehe. I have often had that moment where I went - man this feels hard - and then looked at my Garmin and realized I'm running way faster than I should be. Whoops. What a weird thing to do - why the sudden urge to run faster? Why not notice except for "suddenly everything got hard"? I have no idea, but it happens to me, too, sometimes. hahahaha.

    I had a similar Metro experience in Montreal when I ran that half marathon - riding public transport PACKED full of runners was amazing. The start was on this little island that would be extremely difficult to get to/from on race morning by car since part of the way in/back was the start area. So I think EVERYONE takes the metro - plus the finish is in a park on the main island of Montreal. So it's not like you want to leave a car there to get home anyway - if you're going to park anywhere it'd be near the park. But anyway - rambling. Very cool experience. I might do that race again someday even though it's an RnR event.

    Awesome job hitting 2hrs for 10 miles, that is great. I haven't run long since my last half marathon in November. I've been barely running at all. Granted I got pregnant in December, but still. I feel so nostalgic about running these days only running a mile or a mile and a half or two here and there. :) I think I need to start trying some set runwalk intervals.

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    1. I had my watch set to just show how much time I had left in each interval - I never saw pace the entire race. I did check time once or twice, but never pace. Maybe I should pay more attention to that next time? LOL

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  3. Aw, I'm so glad you had a good time! I've been reading recaps of this race all morning, and I want to sign up for the lottery so badly. I have family local to the race, so I could totally tie it into a visit, if I got in. But I really want to see the cherry blossoms - I was in the area last year during the festival and they weren't blooming yet. So sad.

    Rest up and feel better!

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    1. It seems to be hit or miss with the blossoms and this race, but it's only ever off by a few days, I think. So if you came into town to visit family, you could probably do the race and see the blossoms, even if not on the same day. You should totally enter the lottery for 2015! =)

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  4. Great job on the race!! I ran it as well and was just checking out other recaps :) Glad I stumbled across yours!

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    1. Thanks! I just read your post, too. You are speedy! =)

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  5. This is one of my favorite recaps of Cherry Blossom! I love the way you write! :)
    Great job and those are some nice looking splits! (MILE 6!!) I hope your shin is feeling okay today. :)

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    1. How sweet, thank you so much! My shin doesn't like me. I keep telling it to shush. LOL

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  6. It sounds like you did much better than you might have under the circumstances. I think Hains Point lasts forever!). I must have lucked out with the potty lines. I only was #4 in line when I went.

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    1. You either got there really early or went really late. There were probably 50 people in line (in every line!) when I went! LOL

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  7. Oh - so close to a PR!!! Great job!
    I love that you called them your tribe - so true!!!
    And, that kid cheering you on - awesome!!!
    Love the idea of BINGO for purses - especially if Rum & Coke is involved!!!

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    1. They have all kinds of drinks, and the bartender has a heavy hand. It gets pretty interesting by the end - you can tell who's had a few. LOL

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  8. Awesome job girl! I can't believe that guy was juggling and bouncing a basketball at the same time. That is amazing. I would love to do this race sometime. Love the bling!

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    1. Thanks! I know, that guy is crazy amazing - I've seen him at a few different races around here. You should totally do this race! =)

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  9. Great job with the race! Considering your running up to that point, I think you did awesome!

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