I started in the 3rd section of Wave 1 towards the front. For the most part it was a good place to start. I only had a few bottlenecks in the first mile and at few turns in the third mile.

So my strategy was to start running and see what I had in my legs. I also had decided to run as hard as I could for as long as I could. I had no reason to pace myself or pick a specific pace. It was just go til I could go no longer. Turns out the strategy worked. I had done a nice 2 mile warmup up over the race from where I parked. So the legs were ready to go.

I settled into a nice pace and keep going. At one point I thought I might actually break 1:20 but realized at the 10k split that I wasn't quite at the pace I needed for that. My slowest miles were the 1st and 3rd miles with slow traffic and/or a steady low grade climb. This is where I also saw more team members. Our team leader was carrying his division flag - OUCH!!! He had it on a large, heavy looking poll. I don't know how he did it. Shortly after saying hi, I was under a long section of the Kennedy Center where the building hangs out over the road. I lost satellite connection and it messed up my watch time/distance.

The rest of the race went smoothly. It's amazing how quickly the time and miles went by. The crowds were great on the up and back section along Independence Ave. Once I made the left turn towards the 14th street bridge, I knew I was home free but in for a little pain. I think this is the hardest part of the course. Constant rollers running up and down on/off ramps and crossing the Potomac River. We even had to cross the Pentagon pedestrian bridge this year. One of my fastest miles was my last (7:50) which even I find surprising b/c I was tired and my cardio was giving out.

At the finish line, I had a new 10m PR by exactly 2 min and my fastest paced race at any distance other than a 5k. My watch had me a minute faster but I knew I had some watch problems (lost GPS) when I ran under bridges and buildings. I waited at the end for other team members. Once we all finished we got a nice group photo with some Reserve personnel.

I learned a lot from this race not so much the prep and taper since that was kind of out of my control. BUt I do understand how thoroughly exceeding the race distance in training makes holding a faster pace so much easier. I know that is kind of a DUH thing but there are different approaches to PRs and not all plans believe in that. So I learned that if I want to PR for Boston, I need to train like I am now for my 50 miler minus the few 6 and 7 hrs. run I have planned. But certainly 5-6 four to five hour runs would be good AND have enough training time to build endurance and get in speed work. So far in my various training for races, I've been able to hold an 8:15/8:20ish pace for 15-16 miles but I need to get strong enough to hold it together for 26 then I'll have my BQ time.

Get some more sleep!

At the finish line, I hung out with my team. We finished 9th out of 39 teams. Pretty cool! After pictures, I ran back to Rosslyn. Got in a good 15m for the day.


Lack of speed work

other note: female overall finish: 816/9645


Great race as long as you start in the first wave. Terribly crowded otherwise.