Five Great Things About The 2021 Parkway Classic

Last weekend I ran my one and only race of 2021. Today I’m joining the Fit Five Friday Link-Up hosted by Darlene, Michelle, Renée, Jenn, and Zenaida to share five great things about the 2021 Parkway Classic.

Spoiler alert: I crushed my goal!

This was my first IRL race since I did this same event in April 2019. I did not expect to be emotional about that, but what else can explain the tears I had to choke back as I crossed the starting line?

Five Great Things About The 2021 Parkway Classic

1. The Logistics

The Parkway Classic usually is a point-to-point race from Mt. Vernon to Old Town, with most participants taking a bus ride from the finish area to the start. Probably due to the enduring covid-19 pandemic, this year the course was an out-and-back. Even though my husband usually drops me off, having it start a bit closer to home made the logistics that much easier. We left the house by 7:15, were parked a block away from the start by 7:30, and I stayed in the warmth of the car for 10 more minutes.

My neighborhood is in the northwest corner of this map. 

2. The Weather 

The weather was perfect for the first weekend of November. It was in the low 40s at the start, and climbed into the low 50s by the finish. Thank goodness I thought to add a hat to my race gear, because it was a lot sunnier than the Weather Channel App had predicted.

I shed my throwaway sweatshirt a few minutes before the start.

3. The Scenery

The Parkway Classic has a pretty course along the George Washington Memorial Parkway (an actual national park), which parallels the Potomac River. The race usually is held in the spring, when everything is green and all the trees are in bloom. It’s pretty then, but it also was really pretty with fall colors last weekend.

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I’ve run this route in the fall a few times–including for a birthday 12K–and this time was one of the best.

4. My Achilles, My Pace, My Finish Time

The big question of the day was my Achilles, so maybe the best thing about the 2021 Parkway Classic was that my Achilles held up. I hedged my bets by taking an anti-inflammatory, taping it, and wearing compression socks. I’m not sure if any or all of those measures made a difference, but I’m happy with the outcome! On the other hand, my right hip flexor got cranky around mile 7–probably a symptom of the little training I had under my belt–but luckily it only slowed me down a bit.

I went into the race with a vague goal of a 9-ish min/mile pace, and lined up with that pace group. I started off faster than I intended, but a short hill just before mile 1 slowed me down–although I cruised through mile 2 as well. That 5th mile was a gradual but steady climb, which means that 6th mile was a nice long downhill stretch. After that, my splits inched up, but I’m pretty proud of them–especially when my longest “training” run was 8 miles, and I only covered that distance once.

I didn’t have a lot left in my tank, but when I spotted 1:2x on the finish line clock, I gave it my all to cross the line in under 90 minutes. #nailedit

5. The Post-Race Festivities

I think it was at that birthday 12K when I first discovered the joys of a post-race IPA. Since then, I’ve always looked forward to the Port City Brewery beer tent at the Parkway Classic finish area. This year they eased alcohol restrictions, so you could carry your beer around the park instead of having to stay within the confines of the beer garden. There also was a live band that made the atmosphere even more festive.

The t-shirt was bland, but the medal was hefty.

A recap of the 2021 Parkway Classic would not be complete without a shoutout to Erika, who put in a lot of effort behind the scenes and on race day. Congrats on pulling off a great event!