Cherry Blossom 2011

After the race

It was an early morning and a brisk one. We were up at 5 so we could get to DC before 7. The early rise was so we could Metro to DC and then have time to find Laura a Starbucks :-)

Until the sun rose over the Capitol it was very cool - high 30s and then when the wind kicked up it was even colder as it was out of the northwest - but once we started to line up for the start it was much better. I guess anytime you put 16,000 people onto a city block it starts to get warmer, even if you are in shorts.

We kicked off at just after 7:40 with the first regular wave starting. I was in wave 3 with a plan to better my 88 minutes from 2009. The first few miles were painfully slow though. It appeared there were lots of people that were either saving themselves for the end of the race or seeded themselves in a faster category than they were as I was running almost a minute slower than I wanted to be. It was a nice morning for a casual run - sunny, clear skies, only occasional breezes - but this was supposed to be a race.

After the first two miles I got used to the crowd and did manage to snake my way to open ground occasionally. After mile 5 it opened up a bit more and infrequently did I find myself having to slow down. The last 3 miles were quite nice running through Hanes Point, past the blossoming cherry trees with the DC Marina across the river.

As I came up the last rise towards the monument I decided to pick up the pace as the street opened up and I crossed the line at 1:23:46 (unofficially), which was 4:23 better than the last time in 2009. That put me in the top 24% of all runners, up from the top 29%. Check out the running page link on the right - there is a video of me crossing the finish line :-) I felt great and had a good time, even though I wonder if I could have taken another couple of minutes off that if the field had opened up a bit earlier - oh well - there is always next year :-)

I wanted to thank Laura for all her support - in tolerating my morning runs and sweaty running clothes, and for getting out of bed at 5 on a Sunday to head down to a cool morning in DC. A hug at the finish line is something I will always look forward to :-)