The race wasn't exactly comfy. There were a ton of hills - long, gradual ones that don't seem as bad when you run down them, but are killer on the way back.
Some water stops weren't very organized, but it was really only a problem at mile 4 where there was one poor woman trying to pour out water as dozens of runners ran past. There were plenty of them on the way back, though. I ended up hydrating a lot, because it was so hot, my clothes were sopping at the end of the run.
The post-race party was good. Wedges of watermelon (yum - the watermelon juice stained my face orange for a bit), water, post-race beverages right out of an ice-water bath (2 per adult... I can never drink them anyway, I sipped at one and gave the other to Matt), and some Quaker-Oak granola bar type snacks that I didn't touch. They were just at one table, and it didn't seem worth it to fight the crowd. There was live entertainment and a beautiful area (in Druid Hill Park/by the Zoo) to sit and listen or socialize.
The premium was a fleece vest. I'm not yet sure how I feel about it. The 10 miler was hyped because of its super premium, but a vest isn't for everyone (and by everyone, I mean me. And possibly others.). They also ran HUGE. I ended up with a small after trading, and still am not sure how it's really going to fit (it's sitting in the clean laundry pile post-wash at the moment).
Afterwards we stopped at Frank's Diner for breakfast. Um. YUM. Great balance of salt, fat, carbs... and coffee. Coffee was had by me.
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| Corned Beef Hash with Eggs and Homefries from Frank's Diner in Jessup. The eggs improve with the addition of heavily-processed cheese. Coffee not shown. |
Jeff 6 does a great job summing up our race day on his blog-race-report. He was super company.
We posted decent times (under 1:30 - not a PR, but between the training, the heat, and the hills, I'm totally good with that).
More importantly, I had virtually no pain the next day. I felt great. I was really happy about that.
This weekend kicks off training for the Marine Corps marathon in October. That's my single remaining race of the year, and I'm really looking forward to it. The future Mr. SwimWriteRun will be doing the 10K on the same day! Hooray!
I know HuskyRunner is running the Marine Corps Marathon (did you know he makes BEER for DuClaw? I KNOW!)... anyone else?
I'm not a great runner by any stretch of the imagination. I also did the 10-miler, also squeezed under the 1:30 mark (though for me that was a PR - as in the only race thus far at that distance), also struggled with the water table at mile 4, and am also doing MCM in October - my first race at that distance.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!