Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run - Run10 Mile


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Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C.
United States
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 48m 30s
Overall Rank = 6680/8996
Age Group = F 30-35?
Age Group Rank = 1368/1857
Pre-race routine:

Run late - as ALWAYS. Other than that, I blatantly broke metro's rules & chugged my travel mug of coffee & a liter of water on the metro. Ate a banana walking from the Smithsonian metro to the race start area by the Washington Monument.
Event warmup:

Sprint up 15th to the START line. I think I made it w/ about 20 seconds til they sealed off the start. Mostly due to the porta potty line. I actually arrived on time for bag check & everything.
Run
  • 1h 48m 30s
  • 10 miles
  • 10m 51s  min/mile
Comments:

I kept up the sprint to the start line for 3-4 miles. I felt okay at the time, but really paid for in the 6-7th miles. The run up along Hains Point felt like FOREVER til the turn around. Not bad once I finally hit the end (just before the mi 8 marker) & headed back for the finish. I had the same thought I always have about bribing the race director to swim in those last 3 or 4 miles in the Ptomoac rather than running them.
What would you do differently?:

I have to learn to deal better w crowds. Not like a race strategy or anything athletic, just the mentality. I don't like crowds, and get VERY cranky. I need to learn to accept that it's going to be like that in HUGE races like this & Nation's last year. Or just stick to smaller races.
Post race
Warm down:

Walk to the Metro. Metro really wasn't as bad as I feared after reading about people's past experieinces. HUGE crowd, but it seemed to be headed mostly to VA v MD. Once the train came I didn't even have to wait for 2 or 3 trains like after a National's game. Wasn't a crowded train either! The organization was truly impressive w/ bag check, metro, starting waves etc. Way better than w/ Nation's last year.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

That sprint for the first 3-4 miles. I probably could have kept up stronger through the rough middle miles. Running to weave through the crowd getting back to people from my start wave & running at my pace felt a little like a Tri swim start! I'm a swimmer, so running faster at the beginning wass kind of fun at the time! But I paid for it!

Event comments:

Great Big Run Race. I am not a runner, & not built for HUGE races. But anyone else reading this who 1) is a runner, & 2) likes the huge races w/ tons of crowd support should really enjoy this race, & know that this is probably just what they're looking for! I did it to keep me consistently running longer, I love a nice flat course, and it's local to me. Someone else like me should know that there was still good reasons to do it!




Last updated: 2011-01-28 12:00 AM
Running
01:48:30 | 10 miles | 10m 51s  min/mile
Age Group: 1368/1857
Overall: 6680/8996
Performance: Good
Course: Flat other than ramps for the access roads to rock creek park and the rotaries at either end of Memorial Bridge. One hill at the end coming up from the Jefferson to the finish.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4