DC Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon

So I'm finally writing this recap! You can thank the dishes in the sink that I don't want to do.

I came into this race with very little mileage under my belt and with my longest run being seven miles. I struggled with IT band issues starting in January. At the start of this race, my head was all over the place. I went from dreaming of a PR to thinking I might have to drop out and everywhere in between. I'm a planner and HATED not being able to really plan. I was assigned to corral 19 but started in a corral farther back with my dadoo.



Thrilled, obviously.

It took us somewhere around 40 minutes from the time the race started to actually cross the start line. I'm pretty sure I started out too quick because I got caught up passing a lot of people. A little after the first mile I was hit with that stinking side cramp that got me during the Patrick Henry Half. I attribute these cramps solely to nerves. I get nervous and it throws my breathing off and the result is a cramp that almost impossible to run through. I walked for half a mile before I was able to run again. I seriously considered hanging out and waiting for my dad (read: throwing my race) but luckily I didn't see him.

At this point, I still had no plan. Once the cramp went away I was making great time and dare I say, enjoying myself? I walked at every water station just because I could. I completely forgot about the fact that there was a good chance of my knee acting up around mile 8. I even walked a lot of uphills just because. I'm not entirely proud of all the walking but it was a nice feeling to have no pressure and just do whatever I felt like doing.


"I'm just a bill, on Capitol Hill." -School House Rock

 Just before I hit eight miles, I felt my knee and slightly panicked. It wasn't bad enough to stop running, but once I feel the beginnings of it, it's not long before I go from running to strangely galloping and relying on my left side. I was able to keep my pace up to mile 9, where I was still on track for a slight PR. I knew that if I didn't start walking a lot more, I was going to be in big trouble. So, that's what I did. I thought it would hurt more to let my good time slip away but I guess in the back of my mind I never really expected to PR so it wasn't as big of a deal.



So pretty.

 I was nearing the end, walking, and a girl asked me how much farther until mile 12. I looked at my Garmin and told her .2. She started running and I couldn't let her pass me so I started running too. I ran most of the last mile. Once I could see the finish line, I kind of blanked out and just ran. I had so much energy (I would hope so, after walking so much). I finished with an official time of 1:22:01, which is about 1 minute and 30 seconds better than my worst time to date. I felt FANTASTIC afterwards. Almost no pain at all.

Overall, I was fairly pleased with how I did. Great weather, scenery, and I got to run with my padre and John!