Sunrise on the Mall with my brother
March 15, 2014
Weather: 46 degrees early morning, 50’s during the race (not bad for March)
Goal: To have fun with my brother (our first race together)
Result: 2:17:55
Fans: My brother and I were each other’s fan as well as Pete’s wife Yvonne
This was my first race with my brother and I was so excited. We had decided back in the fall to do a race together and this one was the perfect choice. It was in Washington DC where my brother and his family live. My brother had only run marathons so doing a half was a compromise. I had only done two halves but felt up to doing this race.
We had to be at the Mall in DC by 6:30am. Pete’s wife drove us down and dropped us off which was great since parking was a nightmare plus the starting line and finishing line were in different parts of the city. Pete and I hung out together and took some early morning pictures; dropped our bags of at the UPS trucks (who would bring them to the finish line) and chatted. Finally I decided I needed to use the port-o-potty so I told Pete I would meet him in our corral (#11). He was fine with that so we parted ways.
Pete had told me he thought he would run the first couple of miles with me; I warned him I was a slower runner than him but he kept telling me not to worry. Well the universe was at work on this one (as you will see in the end). I headed over to the line of port-o-potties and was surprised to see the length of the lines. I suppose I shouldn’t have been though considering the size of the race. Ever the optimist and knowing that I would not allow myself to stop during the race I decided to wait in line. I passed the time chatting with other racers and occasionally looking at my watch. When it was five minutes to start time I started to get antsy and was hoping people would pee quickly. The line crept along while the time flew…next thing I knew they were playing the national anthem. I finally got into the port-o-potty and was as quick as quick could be. I burst out of the potty and ran to the start line. The Corrals were moving toward the start line and I heard them say “corral 7—away you go!” I jogged through the corrals and finally got to corral 11. The group was slowly walking toward the start line and I scanned the crowd for my brother. I jumped up and down; moved around but to no avail. I finally gave up and decided to concentrate on the race. I plugged in my music and got ready for our start gun.
We took off and started our race heading toward Memorial Bridge. As we ran over the bridge, around the rotary and back over toward the Lincoln Memorial my breath was taken away. It was probably one of the most beautiful and inspirational sites I had seen in a race yet. The crowds running back and over the bridge; the memorial and view beyond was empowering. I wished I could stop and take a picture but I had a race to run and this was only the beginning.
I started at a good pace for myself and was determined to keep my pace steady. Pete and I had driven some of the course the day before so I knew I was headed for some hills. The buzz in the port-o-potty line was all about “the hill at mile 6”. I am not one to listen to rumor but the crowds were right! The hill was crazy hard. I tried to approach the hill with good strategy but by the time I got ¾ of the way up my body stopped running. I had to walk. I had to tell myself that was okay. I just kept moving.
I continued after mile six at a bit of a slower pace as there were more hills to conquer but I continued to feel good. There were several landmarks that helped the second half of the race go by quickly. I was surprised to finally get to mile marker 12; I had totally missed marker 11. That made the last mile a whole lot easier! I pushed to get to the end and, as always, I wanted to be sure my end push looked good. I don’t think I added any speed but I felt good going down the shot to the finish line.
The crowds at the finish line were huge. I was grateful for the chocolate milk at the end (I love that as a recovery drink!) and, of course, the water! I was thirsty. I had no idea how I was going to find my brother but I knew if I got my bag I would have my phone and we would eventually meet up. It took a while to navigate to the right truck but eventually I got my things and a text was waiting for me telling me how we could meet up.
When my brother, sister-in-law and I finally got together we rejoiced again in our success. My brother rocked the race with a time of 2 hours! I was so impressed and I was SO happy that we never met up at the start line. If he had run with me at the beginning he never would have had the excellent time he achieved!
We had a great time; I would totally do this race again. While I do run with my own music it is fun to have bands playing along the route and Washington DC is such a great city with so many interesting things to see. The weather was ideal for a late winter race. I hope my brother and I can make this a yearly tradition!
Ugh Moment: Walking the hill at mile six. It was humbling but a good lesson about how your body will ultimately tell what it can and cannot do. Mine, could not do the top of the hill at mile six. Happily the walk did not affect my time too adversely. I ran this half marathon one minute and 10 seconds faster than the half in February. Hurray!