Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run - Run10 Mile

Went into today treating it as a training run for Big Sur. Since I didn't start with my actual wave, I was weaving around people from the start. I tried to hug the side of the road or the curb since that seemed to be the most clear. When I saw mile 1 split, I was thinking a PR could be possible, but didn't want to jump the gun as there were still 9 miles left. About half of the run was probably spent up on the curb/grass. Weaving around people, while annoying at times, helped make the miles go by quickly. I felt good the entire run. My legs felt surprisingly good especially after the ride the day prior. I took a GU at mile 6. It started to get warm at this point and I was glad I decided to go with a short sleeved shirt.

I carried a water bottle with me and found myself almost rationing towards the end. Was happy to avoid the water stops as they looked hectic.

At mile 9, I scrolled through my Garmin settings to see my overall time. I wanted to see what I needed to run the last mile in to PR. There was a small hill to run up before the nice downhill to the finish. I had a good kick at the end to PR by 1 minute 36 seconds. Garmin had the course as 10.2, which could be a mix of the weaving through the crowds and the GPS getting fussy while going through the tunnels.

Get to the race site earlier. We thought we had enough time, but we obviously need to allow more time next race. It would have been nice to start with my assigned wave.

Found Brad, Tim and Doug. Actually ran into a friend from HS. Met up with BTers and walked to the metro to head to brunch.


Not starting with my assigned wave.


Pros:
local race
good course
good weather this year
lots of people we know who ran

Cons:
they moved packet pickup from Arlington to DC. Quite hectic to get in/out on a beatiful Saturday during the CB festival
they ran out of shirts and bags at the expo.
they should have had more volunteers directing people to the open port-o-potties
I never got a bottle of water at the end. Granted, I didn't look very hard, but they should have had them available in the finishing chute.
Crowded course. They may want to consider smaller waves with more time in between. I am guessing they need to open the streets.


Overall, a good race that I am sure I'll do again. While I have more cons than pros, I still enjoy this race. I can only imagine the production it takes for how many runners there are.