I got off work early on Thursday and we left for DC at around 12:30. For some reason we were thinking it would be a loooonnnngggg drive and we'd get there around midnight. It wasn't bad.
We got there by around 8:15 or something like that. Lisa and I rode up there with our friends Scott and Jenna Smith and their three kids. It was a fun drive. I watched Spirt of the Marathon on the way and read a lot from Jenna's book A Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer. I was pretty inspired to possibly train for a marathon. Or not. One thing it did do was make my 13.1 miles look like a piece of cake! Lisa and I stayed with her dad in his studio apartment on G Street in DC. It was tiny but cozy and he was super nice to let us stay there with him. So much better than having to get a hotel!
Okay, so Lisa goes to bed early. Her dad goes to bed even earlier. Many of you know that I definitely do not go to bed early. I might nap for a little bit, but I rarely actually go to bed (lights-out-in-the-bed) before 2 or 3 am. As I mentioned, it was a small place and we were all in the same room, so I really felt like I should go to bed early, too. Can y'all picture this? I was asleep in bed by 9:30 on Thursday night. 9:15 on Friday night and 10:30 on Saturday night. CRAZY! I got 3 consecutive nights of 8+ hours of sleep. It was awesome...I should do that more often. (As I sit here at 12:30am no where near ready for bed). Mayby I'll start tomorrow...
Friday was fun, but stressful. Everything I did I had this question in my mind...how is this going to effect my race tomorrow? What kind of sandwhich should I get for lunch? Walking around for 4 hours has worn me out. Am I going to be sore tomorrow just from walking today? Have I had enough water? I'd love an ice cream cone, but it might not set well for the race. It's always there. Despite that, I still had a fun day. We rode Metro a few times (they don't say "the metro" here...just "Metro"). Aside from the train at the Atlanta Airport, it was my first time ever riding on a subway, so that was pretty cool. We were tourists all the way and took pictures on the subway.
We started the day out at Arlington. It was pretty chilly, but not miserably so. In 5th grade we took a field trip to DC and I remember vaguely a lot of places, but nothing stands out. This trip was great because I appreciated things much more. Arlington was very cool and sombering. We saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and I visited the grave of my friend Eddie Heselton. I grew up with Eddie at church, but he was killed about 4 years ago in Afganastan. I was very grateful for the oportunity to visit his grave while I was there.
Later in the day we visited the Air and Space Museum which was very cool and walked around the Mall just a little bit. At that point Lisa and I decided that we were pretty burnt out and just didn't want to site-see anymore. We met her dad and went to the Race Expo at the Armory to pick up our race packets. We were there for awhile and the Smith's met us there so we could go eat at a little Italian restaurant in the Asian Market for dinner (spaghetti...loading up on the carbs). After that we called it a day.
Saturday was race day. The race started at 7:00 am so I got up at 5:15 and we left afound 5:45.
We got there about 6:15 and waited inside the Armoy gymnasium for awhile where it was warm befor heading outside.
We waited in line at the porta potties and then went to get in line for the race. It took about 7 minutes after the race started before we actually made it to the starting line because there were so many people there.
I so wish that I'd been able to carry a camera with me! It was so cool to run by the Capitol and the Washington Monument. The sky was blue and since it was so early there weren't any tourists standing around. Would have been a great time for pictures. The race was better than my first half-marathon. More hilly than I thought it would be, but not as hilly as the race in TR. Although it was about 35 degrees at the start of the raece, beween the sunny weather and no-wind, it was perfect for running. Also, in the first race I did, there was less than 300 people total. At times during that race it was so spaced out (and I was so close to last) that at times it felt like I was running by myself. I really liked being around so many people the whole time. During the second mile my foot started hurting. KILLING me. I was really thinking that I'd have to stop running and walk the entire way. But, I just kept saying to myself that it didn't matter and it eventually stopped hurting. Thank goodness! It might have been the 4 ibprofins that I had that morning. And the night before. So helpful.
(this was around mile 11 or 12)
My time for my first marathon was 2:35:10. I was hoping this time to finish faster than that. Under 2:30 would have been okay, too. Amazingly, I finished in 2:25:18! I was so excited! That was an average 11:05 minute mile. Slow for many, but amazingly good for me to keep up for that long. After I finished I got some water and powerade and a banana and giant pretzel. Then I waited for Scott to come in. He was trying to qualify for Boston and finished in plenty of time: 3:21:44. After he came in we milled around and then waited for Lisa to come in. She did awesome as well and beat her previous time with 4:18:19.
Our friend Tyson met us after the race and hung out us the rest of the day. We went back to Lisa's dad's place and Lisa and I took showers. Then Lisa, her dad, Tyson, and I went for lunch at this Mexican place. I don't remember what it's called now, but it was delicious! They had this thing for dessert: vanilla bean ice cream rolled in toasted coconut and walnuts with whipped topping. Wow. Loved that! Then Lisa's dad's went home and the three of us went walking/site-seeing. We walked and walked and walked. Like pioneer children. Haha.
We went to the Library of Congress,
the Capitol,
the Washington Monument,
the Lincoln Monument,
the Korean War Monument,
the WWII Monument,
and Tyson's office. Okay, so Tyson's office wasn't exactly historical or touristy, but it was pretty darn cool. We walked about 7 miles or so total. Fun, but exhausting. Who knew that the Lincoln Monument was so far away from the Capitol?? It was a great day.
Sunday we left around 8:00, stopped for Sacrament meeting at a little branch near Richmond Viriginia, and got home around 6:15. I had a great time and am so glad to have Lisa and the Smiths for friends! : )
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5 comments:
I've been checking daily for this!
I had so much fun. You're amazing for shaving off 10 minutes! You know what that means? ...
Marathon. I remember when a marathon finally seemed possible for me. Now that you've done 2 half marathons, you're more than ready. We have to do one together! Just let me know when and where... :)
What an amazing thing you did! Your time was great & you looked strong!!! SO much fun to hang out with you & have you be part of our family.
Whenever y'all decide to do a marathon, I will come & cheer for you. And if it's someplace with parking, I'll cheer for you at a lot of places!!!
What a fabulous experience! Believe it or not, I used to run, but I never got beyond a few 5Ks. I loved seeing your pictures of D.C. My daughter lived there for a couple of years until last fall and it was fun to see again all those places we saw together. By the way, please contact me. You are the winner of the most recent contest on my blog.
Nice posts, Crystal! Fun to read!
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