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Our journey began with an early wake up call and off to the airport for our flight to Baltimore. From there we hooked up with a couple of other people and shared a cab into D.C. where we then took the metro to the expo. Whew!!<br><br>
Wow, the place was packed! However everything went smooth and after spending quite a few bucks, we headed for our hotel.<br><br>
We couldn't be in D.C. and not explore, so off we went to Capitol Hill. We did way more walking than we should have and were exhausted when we returned to the hotel.<br><br>
Marathon day started early. We took the metro to the Pentagon where the runners village is. So many people and the excitement in the air was contagious. They had Krispy Kreme donuts which I did indulge in. Yum! No problem with the porta potty lines. There were zillions of them.<br><br>
We made our way to the start thankful that we had our long sleeve shirts. It was 49 degrees and windy. We couldn't wait to go. I had my picture taken with a guy in a devil costume whose race number was 666. Turns out he's actully a Lieutenant Colonel in the marines and was featured in the official program.<br><br>
Finally, the gun! I ditched the shirt around mile 3. I wore an orange singlet with my local running club name on it and heard quite a few cheers for me along the way. Getting through the initial crowd I felt good and kept a good pace. Never having been to D.C. before, this race, for me, was a marathon to experience, not to PR. It was so cool to pass the monuments and I did stop to take some pics.<br><br>
I did great until mile 24 when I hit the wall big time. I hadn't<br>
crashed like that since 3 marathons ago and have to think all the walking we had done the day before had something to do with it. The last 1/4 mile had a hill, which I knew was coming but was still tough.<br><br>
As I neared the Iwo Jima statue I was thrilled to have been part of such a great marathon. The finish was a bit slow ( no where as bad as I had heard ) but I got my goodies, had the best banana of my life and stood off to the side to wait for my husband. He came through, we enjoyed more post race stuff and went back to shower.<br><br>
My goal was to finish under 4 hours, his was just to finish. My time: 3:54:45, his 4:17. Goals accomplished. A great experience, best of all shared with my sweetie!
Wow, the place was packed! However everything went smooth and after spending quite a few bucks, we headed for our hotel.<br><br>
We couldn't be in D.C. and not explore, so off we went to Capitol Hill. We did way more walking than we should have and were exhausted when we returned to the hotel.<br><br>
Marathon day started early. We took the metro to the Pentagon where the runners village is. So many people and the excitement in the air was contagious. They had Krispy Kreme donuts which I did indulge in. Yum! No problem with the porta potty lines. There were zillions of them.<br><br>
We made our way to the start thankful that we had our long sleeve shirts. It was 49 degrees and windy. We couldn't wait to go. I had my picture taken with a guy in a devil costume whose race number was 666. Turns out he's actully a Lieutenant Colonel in the marines and was featured in the official program.<br><br>
Finally, the gun! I ditched the shirt around mile 3. I wore an orange singlet with my local running club name on it and heard quite a few cheers for me along the way. Getting through the initial crowd I felt good and kept a good pace. Never having been to D.C. before, this race, for me, was a marathon to experience, not to PR. It was so cool to pass the monuments and I did stop to take some pics.<br><br>
I did great until mile 24 when I hit the wall big time. I hadn't<br>
crashed like that since 3 marathons ago and have to think all the walking we had done the day before had something to do with it. The last 1/4 mile had a hill, which I knew was coming but was still tough.<br><br>
As I neared the Iwo Jima statue I was thrilled to have been part of such a great marathon. The finish was a bit slow ( no where as bad as I had heard ) but I got my goodies, had the best banana of my life and stood off to the side to wait for my husband. He came through, we enjoyed more post race stuff and went back to shower.<br><br>
My goal was to finish under 4 hours, his was just to finish. My time: 3:54:45, his 4:17. Goals accomplished. A great experience, best of all shared with my sweetie!
