The expo was at a beautiful place right on the water. I had never been there before and it was nice to see a new part of the city. It wasn't a typical expo like I'm used to with a bunch of different vendor booths, samples, and opportunities to purchase things. Luna bar, which was a huge sponsor, had an area set up with samples of their bars and Nuun was there offering samples of many of their flavors. For the record- I don't care for Nuun! The majority of the expo was all about shoes which, surprisingly, didn't interest me. They did have a bra fitting area which I did and I left with the name and size sports bra I liked the best. Paul Mitchell and Bare Minerals had set-ups and were giving hair and make-up tutorials. They really did a good job gearing it towards women and tried to make it a fun girls weekend!
I ended up making an unexpected trip up to NY for my uncle's memorial service which was held on Saturday morning. After getting home on Thursday I headed out for a 6 mile run then home to eat dinner, pack, and go to bed. We were on the road by 9am Friday morning. Saturday morning we went to the service and after enjoying some time with my extended family, we got back on the road. It was around 2:30 and we got home after 9. I wasn't nervous to run the race itself, but I was nervous about waking up early and getting there in time and then being too tired to run well. I'm really glad we were able to go and be with family though, even for such a short amount of time. And if I had had to, I would've missed the race. I'm grateful it worked out that I could attend both.
The race started at 7am and I was out the door super early. This was the first race I've run in DC where I didn't have anyone waiting for me afterwards. After spending 2 days in the car and because the race started so early, I left my family at home. I didn't want to check a bag so I could only bring what I was willing to carry. I didn't want to freeze while waiting for the race to start, so I went with a short sleeve Under Armour shirt with a fitted long sleeve on top and of course, my Nike capris. I also wore my water belt without the bottles. This was so I had some place to put my key, cash, cards, fuel (including post-race protein bar), etc. I still carried my hand-held bottle with Gatorade and my phone.
After getting there and using the port-a-potty, I entered my corral and was happy I didn't have to wait too long. It was chilly and I was glad I had worn the long sleeves. Despite starting in waves, it was very congested and we couldn't do much more than a walk-jog starting out. I was able to weave through some of the crowd to get into a comfortable jog. It stayed pretty congested throughout the entire race though.
Despite the crowds it was a very enjoyable race! It was pretty flat and there were a good amount of spectators cheering us on. They had Clif Shot Bloks and mini Luna bars at a couple of the water stops which I loved. It was absolutely beautiful and the only part I could've done without was when we went through a long, creepy, smelly tunnel. In the last 2 miles we came up on the Capitol Building and we ended up running right up to it. I hadn't expected to get that close. Despite being a local and having been to DC many times, I was amazed at the course. It seriously couldn't have been better. And for anyone traveling from out-of-town, they really got a good view of the city. If you want to come to DC for a race, this is the one to go for!
As I got into the home stretch, I did what I do best- sprinted! I heard my name and saw one of my running friends cheering me on. So nice to hear "Go Rene!" during those final steps. I crossed the finish line at 2:30:56, taking almost 7 minutes off of my Rock n' Roll time! I was surprised but very happy with the new PR!
Then it was time for the real fun to begin (aka the main reason to run Nike):
After receiving your goodies, there was a finish line boutique where you could purchase limited edition Nike items. There was a long line but I waited in it and ended up buying a cotton shirt and a very nice hooded sweatshirt. There were quite a few complaints on their Facebook page about various things, the wait for the boutique being one of them. I chose to wait and it didn't bother me. It helped that I was there by myself and didn't have anyone waiting for me. If Sidney and Jack had been there I wouldn't have waited for it.
Posing on the red carpet in my "Finisher" shirt (this was after waiting in line for the boutique so the runners were done and the crowds had cleared):
I'm not sure I will sign up again because the entry fee is a bit high. But if that weren't an issue I'd do it a dozen more times.
Wearing the shirt I bought along with my new necklace (and a "Mind over Muscle" tattoo on my arm courtesy of Luna Bar)
And before anyone asks, I am planning to take close-up pictures of the necklace. Just haven't gotten around to doing it yet!
Stay tuned for a recap of this past weekend's Nut Job Challenge (5K Saturday night and a half on Sunday). :-)
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