Sometimes I wonder if one reason I love running so much is because of where I get to run. When I started running I mostly ran on the Mount Vernon Trail, along the Potomac River between Mount Vernon and Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. My first race was the 5K of the George Washington Parkway Classic which now follows the same route, but on the road. It deserves its accolades as the “Prettiest run this side of the Potomac!” (And I want to know, what race is prettier on the other side?!)
It’s also one of most well-organized races I’ve run, which is another reason I keep signing up year after year, even when it means back-to-back race weekends with the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler. This year Pacers offered packet pick-up on several days at any of their stores, which made it easy for me to get my race shirt and bib despite my hectic schedule.
Clearly this is a unisex shirt design in contrast to my blossom-colored CUCB shirt!
Do you see that Port City beer tent ticket? Yum!
Race morning was very similar to last weekend, before the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler, except we didn’t have to leave the house until about 7:00 am. I was having a hard time resisting a second cup of coffee, so we let early, and my husband dropped me off at the race start area at about 7:20. On the way, I checked my Race Recaps page on this blog to figure out some sort of goal pace, and settled on 8:15, which would beat my previous two years’ 1:24-ish finish times.
After my husband left, I got in the porta-potty line “just in case,” but when I saw the time getting closer to the MRTT group photo time without me getting much closer to the front of the line, I decided to skip it. After the group photo, I headed towards the corrals and lined up. After the National Anthem we waited a few more minutes to start, and then we were off.
The first mile of this race is downhill and fast. I tried to keep my pace closer to an 8:00 min mile, but I hit mile 1 at 7:41 on my Garmin. The next few miles have rolling hills, but it was still relatively cool and shady. 7:56–7:58–8:11 I was looking forward to mile 5 and the long down hill stretch that would come after that, but I kept encountering “one more hill.” 8:25
During mile 6 I tried to recover from the hills and pick up my pace–I knew the rest of the course was going to be mostly flat, but also sunny. 8:13 The race had a 5K that the 10 mile course overlaps with, so I was looking forward to getting to that point, where I would only have 3 miles to go. 8:25–8:26 The last mile into Old Town was sunny, and I could feel my energy flagging. I remembered past years where my calves seized up at this point, and was grateful that I was just tired. 8:40 Um, yeah.
Mile marker 9 comes 3/4 the way up the last short but steep hill. I had contemplated walking the hill, but since I’ve never done that I decided to run it slowly. I chugged along and then tried to pick up the pace again for the last mile. At this point, I was near a very enthusiastic runner who was high-fiving and thanking everyone who lined the course. I told him he was awesome and wondered how he still had so much energy.
I’ve run this race enough times (this was my 8th!) to know how to pace myself for the finish. I knew the Starbucks was about 1/2 mile from the end, so I used that landmark to start pushing myself even harder. 8:36 That’s all the strong I had left!
When I crossed the finish line I was pretty sure I had beat my 1:24 finsih times, but I didn’t expect to be dead on my 8:15 pace goal!
I got my special 30th anniversary edition finisher medal, and headed to the beer garden to enjoy a Port City Monumental IPA.
Since I’ve never had a post-race beer before, I was a bit cautious at first, but it went down quite nicely! Between that and the fresh bagel, both me and my stomach were very happy. 😉
So, my pacing was pretty uneven, but I might be OK with that. The first part of the course is easier, the rolling hills do take their toll, and the last few miles were hot and sunny. I’m not sure that if I’d started out slower I would have been able to finish stronger. If you are a running guru and have any insight on that, I’d love your feedback! Anyway, it’s hard to be too critical when I’m pretty sure this is a PR for this race, beating the best time I can find (from 8 years ago) by 1 min, 20 sec.
Have you ever enjoyed a post-race beer?
Do you think you should aim for even split times in races?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
Wow.. never a post-race beer?! Shocking! I truly think a light beer is the perfect post race hydration! On pacing.. negative splits are best.. and more fun to run, but it really depends on the course! Hill (and downhills) must be taken into consideration! But I think all my PR’s are negative splits, including the marathon (slightly).
I can see how it would make sense on this course to go slower on the hills and faster on the last flat miles – especially on a cloudy day.
Back in my racing hey-day I loved the races that were a huge party after!! (So, yes, many post-race beers!)
Great job on back to back 10 mile races!!
Thanks! I guess I’ve always focused on post-race Starbucks instead.
I try to be pretty even, but it does not always happen that way.
And no post race beer for me… I always want water, water, and more water.
I’m so in awe of you and your running.
I’d say WE CAN RUN TOGETHER WHEN IM IN DC–but I’d rather have coffee 🙂
Coffee any time. and my favorite gluten-free pizza if I can snag you for lunch or dinner!
Congrats! I’m not a big drinker (and in the morning – gasp!), but I’ve always found the beer after a warm race is soooooooo good!
I had no idea! But, I did really want to take a nap later! 😉
Way to go on an awesome race time!!
Nice race! I’ve never done that one but it’s on my list for next year. Post race beer is not my thing I often feel a little nauseous after a long run. Super impressed that you did the killer spin class after this. Nice to meet you there and hope we “run” into each other again maybe at an MRTT event.
I do worry about post-race GI issues, but the beer didn’t cause any trouble! Hope to meet up with you again soon!
Congrats on a great race time! And on back-to-back 10 milers too! Awesome!
It only took me like several hours to read this because I’m at work, and keep getting interruptions. Derp. So.. your last question.. Good one.. I generally always make a point to start out too fast, that way the pace that I actually want to run in feels more comfortable than the too-fast one. It’s probably not the best strategy, but it’s worked for me more often than not. That’s pretty awesome that it ws your 8th time doing that race! I don’t have any races that I can say I’ve done that many times! Even my favorite Crazy Legs I ended up skipping it in 2012, breaking my streak.
I think I missed this one three times, once for a friend’s wedding (shame on them for not checking my race calendar!), once for an ITB injury and once for my DVT recovery.
Congrats on the PR! Ive never had the post race beer (I know my stomach is sensitive after a run), but Port City is delicious.
Congrats on a fantastic race! I’ve never had a post race beer. It’s the furthest thing that sounds appealing to me. Although I have run a few humid summer races when a margarita sounds amazing!
The most delicious beer I’ve ever had was after my first half marathon last fall!
It seems to be a great way to celebrate!
Nope. Never had a post-race beer. But a post-dessert dessert would go down nicely.
I love that gray shirt!
I have always run negative splits. It’s not intentional. Post race beer? No way. I always give my beer ticket away. It’s the last thing I want after a race. That and pizza. No thanks 🙂
Post-race beer never has appealed to me, but I do love Port City and it was such a surprisingly warm day … it did make me want to take a post-race nap though!
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