Yesterday I ran my 10th half marathon and it was definitely my best yet!

As I discussed earlier this week, I focused on cross training and speed training this time around versus just running a lot. This change has made a big difference in my running, my weight loss, and my body. My legs are more powerful than they’ve been historically thanks to spinning and weight lifting, my core is regaining some of it’s lost strength due to daily ab workouts, and my arms are finding shape due to pushups and lifting two times per week.

This new strength and speed meant I was very excited for this race and new that I wanted to PR with at least a 2:15 race time.

Yesterday morning, I woke up at 5, ready for a great race. Even with all the excitement I slept through the night and woke up excited versus nervous. We organized our race gear the night before which made getting ready very easy.

I was very happy I brought my own peanut butter, bread, and banana because this meant I didn’t have to worry about finding it at our hotel or in DC. This weekend, Ali and I both did a great job of bringing more than enough supplies which is one of my biggest recommendations for an out of town race.

By 5:45 we were downstairs ready to take advantage of our hotel’s shuttle. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriot Capitol Hill which was also an official race hotel. This meant that they went out of their way to serve the runners including morning race breakfasts, knowledgeable staff, and shuttles to the race. They had three shuttles running, which should have been more than enough for the race. The only issue was the traffic they weren’t expecting! The traffic caused each shuttle run to take more than 30 minutes, 3 times the normal length. There were over 40 runners downstairs waiting for the shuttle!Luckily, Ali and I were aggressive and were able to get in the first shuttle we saw since we promised “we’d squeeze.”

When we arrived at the race site we first took advantage of the empty porta potties! It was still quite cold and dark outside but luckily everyone was in good spirits!

Our next stop was the warmth of the armory where the expo had taken place the day before.

The race organizers were nice enough to have the armory open before the race since it was so cold outside. We spent the time stretching and saying hello to other runner friends.

At 6:40 we headed out towards the stadium and corrals, ready for the big race!

Luckily, I found Theodora’s friend Tamsin which meant I had a friendly face to hang out with until we made our way to the start line. I was in corral 8 due to my projected time. I am not sure why this race had so many corrals as 7,8,9, and 10 were all visibly empty when the race started. Hopefully next year the race officials will improve this system.

By 7:10 I could see the start line and was ready for the running to warm up my body. I can’t thank the organizers enough for including throwaway gloves in the swag bag as these kept my hands warm in the corral and for the first few miles of the race.

At 7:12 on the dot I was off and ready to set a new PR!  Going into the race, I knew I wanted to achieve two things and decided to focus on that the entire time:

• I wanted to burn out by mile 13.1
• I wanted to start out fast.

These may sound like odd goals but they made sense in my head. I told Ali on Friday that I’ve never been excessively sore after a half marathon and I believe it’s because I’ve never pushed hard enough. I’ve never pushed myself hard enough because I was scared of burning out too early. Now that I have a full marathon on my belt, I know that my mind and body is powerful and able to carry me at least a mile or two on fumes, if necessary.

Therefore, I started out very fast, trying to pass the joggers and walkers who were in my corral. I wanted to weave as little as possible while also seeing the few spectators I knew were on the course. Therefore, from the beginning I hugged the right as much as possible which made turns very easy.

I felt amazing my first four miles, racing past the historical sites such as the Capitol and the Washington Monument.

This was exactly the race I’d planned for- beautiful and flat. My splits for these miles ranged from 9:09 to 9:40, very fast for someone trying to run a 2:15.

As you can tell from my face, I was very happy around mile 3.5 when I saw Emily and Caitlin!

Luckily, minutes after, the race’s surprise hills quickly slowed me down.

Miles 4-8 were nothing but hills. The neighborhoods were cute but a few of the inclines were killer on my legs, especially the 1/2 mile gradual incline and one steep climb after the underpass. Around mile 4 I took my first shot block, after dropping two by accident.

I focused on jogging up each hill, not willing to walk a single mile during this race. The technique worked as I was able to maintain under a 9:45 pace on most of the hills and a 10:02 on the steepest hill. These hills also helped me realize that I still have work to do when it comes to hill training.I know my weight work with my trainer will help, but I am also going to start incorporating hills into my treadmill runs during the week after talking to Becca last night who rocked the marathon with 85% treadmill training.

Most of the course is a blur, but I remember taking my other Shot Blocks at mile 8 and 10. I only had a single pack accessible because normally that’s all I need for a half marathon. But, dropping two meant that I was now running on less fuel than normal while also pushing my body harder than I ever have before in a half.

I know I was still feeling strong around Howard University and the river. It wasn’t until we passed the Capitol again, around mile 11 that my energy levels dropped. I suddenly hit what runners often call the wall. I found myself weaving a bit and I saw my pace drop from a solid 9:56 to around a 10:33. But, I also knew that I had plenty of Nuun electrolyte water left in my CamelBak and only two miles left to run. I started playing a mental game with myself and my body. I put on my current favorite song on repeat and started learning the words. This took my mind off of the lack of energy I had and helped the time pass. I also promised that unless pain set in, I’d continue running because I knew walking would only mess with my rhythm.

My trick worked perfectly! I was able to keep a 10:02 pace on mile 11, 10:01 on mile 12, and then took a deep breath before gearing up my legs for the last mile. My Garmin told me that I had to run a 9:42 in order to come in under 2:13 what had become my new goal during the race. My adrenaline and music pushed me through the finish, keeping a 9:43 pace for the last mile and a 8:02 pace for the final 2 tenths of a mile!

I immediately knew I had PR’d and secretly hoped I’d made the 2:13 time I had aimed for during the race. Regardless, my eyes were elated to see that my final stats, 13:26 miles in a 10:02 pace!

Unfortunately, the finish line was very poorly organized. Instead of enjoying my strong finish with a medal and a banana, it took me 15 minutes to weave through the runners and medal area. The organizers were searching for more medals and asked finishers to come back in a few minutes. Really? By the time I reached the medals I realized I had passed the entrance to the food which was gated by a fence. I finally convinced another runner to pass a banana through the gates before I headed back over to the medal area.

By 9:45 I had my medal in hand but couldn’t find Ali. In all our excitement, we had never chosen a meeting place, instead saying that we’d just call each other when we finished. Unfortunately, the area was so crowded that reception was impossible and I also couldn’t find her in the crowd of people. I headed over to the Armory, hoping to get signal away from the crowds.

Success! A few minutes later we were reunited and smiling ear to ear! It’s amazing how quickly we forget our pain or issues when you’re celebrating two PRs!

We spent the next few minutes inside the Armory stretching our tired legs and tight hamstrings. The hills left both of our legs screaming but luckily Ali insisted on a stretching session.

Overall, I would recommend this half to anyone who is looking for a scenic half marathon in a wonderful city. Hopefully in the future the organizers will only improve upon some of this year’s flaws such as the lack of GU, empty corrals, traffic, lack of mile markers, or length of time it took to post the results. But. every race has it’s flaws and at least this course and city made up for the flaws.

Question: What is your favorite race you’ve ever run?

*Thanks to Ali and Tina for some of these pictures as I didn’t use my camera during the run since I was focusing on my PR!