St Patty's weekend 2013 was my first double of the year. I head to DC Friday afternoon for the Rock 'n' Roll USA Half Marathon. On the way I decided I REALLY wanted a white Lululemon skirt for the race. I called my usual Lulu store and found they were out of my size. I called one in DC and found they had it so I asked about parking - not much, but close to the DuPont Circle Metro stop. After checking into the hotel I headed to the Metro. Using my iPhone I found the store was .7 miles from the metro exit and began my walk...immediately wishing I'd changed out of my dress shoes. As I approached the store I noticed the Whole Foods across the street and IMMEDIATELY decided I needed a watermelon and this could be a dangerous place for me to live - Lulu & Whole Foods!! In a matter of minutes I'd bought 2 new skirts and a headband and was standing admiring the fruit in Whole Foods...
I soooo wish we had a Whole Foods nearby! I purchased a whole watermelon and started heading back to the metro. It didn't take too many odd looks on the .7 mile trip back to realize I had CLEARLY not thought this through! But, I still had no regrets in purchasing the watermelon...though my arm did get tired by the time I finally reached my hotel!
As I sat having a snack while waiting for Sherry and Raf to join me at the hotel (they were both on their way) I couldn't help but get irritated by the slamming, banging, yelling, and running from the children in the room next to me and across the hall from me. By the time Raf arrived just 15 minutes of so later the look on my face said it all...he immediately went to the front desk to request our room be changed. I was ready to give the parents a lesson in parenting as their children played tag up and down the hallway. Settled into our room - separate from the children by several floors and on the opposite side of the hotel - we got ready to head to the expo. Sherry arrived within mintues and we were off.
At the expo we took a few photos, did a little shopping, and visited with many friends.
Afterwards we headed to the hotel to drop our stuff and then off to Olive Garden for dinner. In bed by a decent time, we woke up groggy and Raf decided to be a spectator for this one. We headed to the start and visited with friends.
Then took to the course. I'd liked the Rock N Roll USA in 2012, but had believed the course could have been a little better given the landmarks, etc. Rock N Roll believed so as well and the improved 2013 course was amazing! I really enjoyed the beautiful and variety on this course and am already looking forward to 2014! I am, however, still not sure where all of those hills came from!! They were challenging and though at times I felt like canning the race, they spurred the competitve sdie of me to accept the challenge and beat it! Still not totally well and given the hills, I was thrilled with my 2:18:13 finish.
A quick bit of time visiting with friends after the race; and I headed back to the hotel to shower, pack, and take a nap! I managed to get about 45 minutes before Sherry and Ethan were back, showered, and ready to go. We checked out and hit the road to Massachusetts. Along the way Sherry slept while Ethan and I chatted. When we hit NJ we hit horrible weather with freezing rain and icing roads. There were several BAD accidents and we had to slow considerably to be safe. From NJ to MA we went through waves of bad weather/driving conditions mixed with not-so-bad rainy conditions. The drive was not amazing and I was thrilled to arrive safely, check in, and get to bed.
The New Bedford Half Marathon has a start time of 11AM - to allow it to warm up! Sleeping in a little was nice, but also stressful because I knew after the race I face an hour drive to Boston to drop off Ethan and Sherry and then a 9+ hour drive home, not to mention time to eat. I was already stressing about not getting home until after midnight and driving tired - I hadn't noticed the 11AM start time until Sherry mentioned it Saturday. We arrived at the start line a little late, grabbed our numbers, and got separated for a bit; but fell back into step and got to the start line minutes before go time.
Sherry gave us a few words of warning as she'd run this many times...I heard - hills in first few miles, cold wind off water and we were gone. The first few miles were miserable. It was colder than I'd imagined and my coldest race to date. The wind whipping off the water cut right through you. The hills...yup, Sherry was right...there were hills. My hamstrings were tight before I got started, I wasn't feeling a race, and the negative mental chatter was running rampant. Around the third mile I made myself suck it up and quit with the walk breaks. Around the fourth mile we turned into a residential area and the hills subsided and the wind was blocked. I started to take a look around and enjoy the race. I realized the crowd support was phenomenal. There were people everywhere and for the first time I realized it had been like this the entire way. That never changed. It may have been a small town race, but it definitely did not lack in crowd support!
People lined every street we ran down and cheered us all the way. There was also a large number of participants invovled with various charity organizations and teams. I really began to take stock on how fortunate I was to run this race and enjoy it. As we approached the last few miles we came back out on the water. I was simultaneously happy to see the sites and dreading the cold wind.
The last few miles were indeed very chilly - ok nearly brutal - and also hilly, but the crowd support never waivered and the scenery was amazing. As I approached the finish I realized this was my 50th half marathon in 3 years. I finished strong in 2:18:05
and took a moment to celebrate number 50
Then I headed into the Y to grab my New England clam chowder and warm up!
After a quick shower we hit the road to Boston where we had dinner at the Hard Rock, then began a disasterous evening/night that resulted in enough negativity to ruin anyone's weekend - but I refuse to allow it to ruin mine as I had 2 great race experiences and will likely repeat both of these events in the future! I recommend both to everyone - and assure you the chaos that was my Sunday night/Mondy morning had NOTHING to do with the races and everything to do with a combination of idiots and dumb luck. If you are looking for a St. Patty's Day double, this one is a bit of a drive, but well worth it!
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