I was in such a good mood after I crossed the finish line at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler that I decided to pose for a finisher picture.
I’m glad I did, because none of the race pictures turned out–I usually was in the middle of the road and at least partially blocked by someone closer to the photographer.
At least I have this sweaty smile to help me remember my PR!
One of the last things I did to get ready for the Rock’N’Roll USA Half Marathon was to make a 2+ hour running playlist that would get me to the finish line. (Why it takes 3 hours to make a two hour playslit, I will never understand!) Sticking with that routine, one of the last things I did to get ready for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler was to pare that playlist down to about 90 minutes. Here’s what I ended up with:
Can’t Run But — Paul Simon Rhythm Of The Saints (for the pre-start interlude)
Runaway Baby — Bruno Mars Doo-Wops & Hooligans
International Love (feat. Chris Brown) — Pitbull Planet Pit
Evacuate the Dancefloor — Evacuate the Dancefloor
Super Bass — Nicki Minaj
Stereo Hearts (feat. Adam Levine) — Gym Class Heroes
Gonna Get Over You — Sara Bareilles
Nitty Gritty — Kimberly Cole
Hey Mama – Mat Kearney
Johnny Got a Boom Boom — Imelda May
Hello — Martin Solveig & Dragonette
Matador — Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (Sary, I totally thought of you during this one!)
Feel Good Inc (Album Version) — Gorillaz
Party Rock Anthem (feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock) — LMFAO
Sexy and I Know It — LMFAO
Stronger — Kelly Clarkson
Keeps Gettin’ Better — Christina Aguilera
Move Ya Baby — Various Artists/Funky Step
London Bridge — Fergie
We Are Young — 3OH!3
Drive By — Train
Turn Me On (feat. Nicki Minaj) — David Guetta & Nicki Minaj
Too Bad About Your Girl (Radio Remix) — The Donnas
I Can Do Better — Avril Lavigne
Don’t Stop the Music — Rihanna
Good Feeling — Flo Rida
Raise Your Glass — P!nk (I hoped to be done by the time this one came up and I was!)
Walking On Sunshine — Aly & AJ
Glad You Came — The Wanted Glad You Came
Since the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler course is pretty flat, I didn’t worry to much about which songs would come up when, so the hardest part of making this list was deciding which songs to cut from my 2+ hour list. The next 10 miler on my schedule–the GW Parkway Classic–has more hills, so it may warrnt more fine-tuning!
What new songs are on your playlist?
The conditions were perfect for a great run at the 2012 Cherry Blossom 10 miler: it was cool (upper 40s), cloudy, and the course was flat.
After deciding that my husband would drop me off at the race area, I set my alarm for 5:00 (instead of 4:45). That turned out to be plenty of time to get ready. I took a quick shower, took my dog for a short walk to assess the weather conditions, ate half of my PB + honey sandwich and drank one cup of coffee (how I wanted more!).
Look who else is ready to go!
We were out the door by 6:15 and arrived at our pre-planned drop-off spot by 6:25. I decided to sit in the car for a few more minutes, during which time we figured out that my husband could get me closer to the race area and then get home without having to make an illegal left turn.
After my husband dropped me off, I headed to the race area, but stopped to take a few pictures.
That construction zone should be the Reflecting Pool.
The announcer was right–there was a huge bank of porta-pottys with virtually no lines. After taking care of that, I joined the Gold’s Gym warm-up for a few minutes, and then jogged around the Washington Monument for my own warm-up.
They opened the corrals at about 7:00, and I lined up near the front of my blue corral. People around me were talking about hoping to run a 9:00 min/mile pace and I saw the 8:30 pacer (my goal) in the red corral ahead of me. I weighed the benefits of being at the front of a slower corral against the benefits of being with a pacer, and decided to see if I could move up one corral. I saw others with blue bibs in the red corral, and learned that they had figured out that the corrals didn’t match up with the expected finish time they had put on their entry forms (1:25, like me), and had gotten red dot stickers at the expo to get official “permission” to be in the red corral. That made me feel better about moving up, since I wasn’t being dishonest about the pace I expected to run.
The race started on time at 7:30. It was a crowded start with some tight turns, but it thinned out once we got onto Independence Avenue, and I wasn’t held back by the person in front of me for very long. I saw my favorite sign at mile 1. It looked like a computer progress bar:
10% Done
Mile 1-2 was over the Memorial Bridge and back (I did run this one for you, Carly!), mile 2-3 was along the Rock Creek Parkway towards my office, and miles 3-5 were back towards Independence Avenue and then back up Independence Avenue towards the start/finish area. There was lots of crowd support at mile 5, and I’m glad nobody tried to tell us that we were almost done!
From mile 5, we ran around the Tidal Basin and then down around East Potomac Park to Hain’s Point. This would have been gorgeous if the cherry blossoms hadn’t come and gone already, but I did see a few pink trees. Although I’m a D.C. area native, I can’t remember ever having gone down to Hain’s Point before (although I can’t rule out a visit as a child), and certainly not on foot. I was wishing that I had included this loop in one of my training runs because it seemed to go on forever. Part of that was not knowing when it would end (the loop stretched from before mile 6 to after mile 9. and part was the complete lack of crowd support. My Garmin was telling me that my pace was flagging, but I still felt good about my overall time, and I knew it was too soon to start pushing harder.
I don’t know how to write about mile 9, but I know I have to, both to help me process it and because it is a tragic part of running and racing.
Right at mile marker 9, I saw a man on the sidelines being given CPR.
I could see his face.
I always will see his face.
I offered up prayers.
I choked back tears.
I offered up more prayers.
I told myself that my stopping wouldn’t help him–he already was receiving first aid and the volunteers indicated that an ambulance was on the way–but it was hard to keep running.
It was hard to imagine celebrating a finish when this man–and his family–would be lucky if he finishes out the day. I am still thinking about him and praying for him and his family, as I look for news about what happened.
I got my head back in the race when I saw the sign that marked 1200M to go. I told myself that was just 3 laps around the track, and I tried to pick up my pace again. Of course, there was a small hill before the finish line (do race organizers do that on purpose?), but the finish itself had a downhill approach. I tried to look up for the photographers and show them my Jazz Hands before I stopped my Garmin.
I was thrilled to see 1:22:25! My first thought is that it was a PR, but then I remembered my first running of the GW Parkway Classic, when my finish time also was in the 1:22 range (officially 1:22:38). As soon as they post the official results for today, I’ll let you know if it was a PR.
I walked through the finish area and got a bottle of water, a banana, and a muffin. As soon as I saw the medals I wished I’d ordered one. They are gorgeous!
(Thanks to @Sammiterp for sharing her picture!)
I called my husband who was surprised that I was finished so early, and headed over to our designated pick-up spot. He got there pretty quickly, and I was enjoying a grande bold from my neighborhood Starbucks by 9:30!
After my shower, I fixed myself a bagel and fried egg to refuel. And then the GI rebellion started. I am jealous of my friends who can enjoy a post-race brunch, but my body just can’t take too much food after I race. If anyone has any tricks for post-race tummy troubles, please help! It’s almost enough to make me want to stop racing.
Garmin Data: 10.12 miles, 1:22:26
Splits: 8:21, 8:07, 8:05, 7:58, 8:12, 8:14, 8:12, 8:17, 7:58, 8:08
Offiical Cherry Blossom 10 Miler Finish Time: 1:22:22!
Our Sunday church service is centered around Holy Communion. As outlined in the Book of Common Prayer, we hear the Word of God (readings from the Bible), listen to a sermon, affirm our faith by reciting the Nicene Creed, offer Prayers of the People, confess our sins, and exchange “the peace,” all to prepare for Holy Communion.
The Communion prayers lead us through the events of the Last Supper:
On the night he was handed over to suffering and death, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said, “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”
As we say in the Rite II service, “[we]e celebrate the memorial of our redemption,” by offering the Communion bread and wine as a “sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Recalling his death, resurrection, and ascension.” After receiving the bread and wine, we give thanks to God, and pray for “strength and courage to love and serve [God] with gladness and singleness of heart.”
On the whole, the Holy Communion service focuses on Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer
–we confess our sins, ask for forgiveness, and remember the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us by dying on the cross.
A few weeks ago, my priest invited us to look at the Gospel in a different light. Instead of focusing on the message of Jesus as our Redeemer, he asked us to think of the message of Jesus as Immanuel—God with us. Instead of thinking of the “good news” of the Bible as being that Jesus paid for our sins so that we may one day enjoy eternal life, he invited us to think of the “good news” as being that God is with us, here and now.
That got me thinking about Holy Communion in a new light. Instead of approaching it as a memorial of the Last Supper, what if I approached it as a Sunday supper?
(source)
I started imagining a family holiday gathering. We tell stories. We talk about our accomplishments, shortcomings and fears. We gather around the table and share a meal. We leave feeling like we have strengthened our family bonds, with new memories and experiences to carry us through the days ahead.
Wouldn’t that be a great way to celebrate being in communion with Jesus?
Do you have a family dinner tradition?
My friends and I entered the lottery for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler as a team, so we would be able to run the race (or not) together. Since the event is on April 1 and many of us were planning to squeeze it in between the Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon and the GW Parkway Classic 10 Miler, I picked “April Fools” as a fitting team name. By the time the lottery entry closed, we had about eight people on our team. Now that it is race weekend, I am the only fool left!
The friend I’ve done so many training runs with decided that she couldn’t pass up the chance to take her son for a ski weekend out west. The friend I’ve signed up for other races with just hasn’t been keeping up with her running. Several friends at work have been having knee issues that seem to kick in after 5 miles. So, I will have to set my own goals and run my own race.
I’ve had a good week of workouts this week–solid weight training on Monday and Wednesday, a tempo treadmill workout Tuesday, a nice outdoor run on Thursday, and yoga on Friday (now that I’ve figure out how to use the XBox to play DVDs). I feel pretty good, and I am definitely getting psyched to chase that 1:25 goal.
I made it to the expo this afternoon (I shared a cab with someone at work who is doing the 5K, so instead of paying $20 to have our stuff mailed to us, we each paid $15 for cab fare. ) The expo was great. We quickly got our bibs and t-shirts and then browsed the exhibitor booths. I loved race merchandise (t-shirts, running skirts, and jackets with the Cherry Blossom logo) but really could not justify another purple top or another purple skirt–but they are soooo cuuuute! My co-worker got a neon yellow jacket, and we laughed at the One More Mile t-shirts. But the race t-shirt is so pretty, I didn’t feel like I need to buy anything else:
Last weekend I finally found the water bottle/fuel belt I’ve been looking for:
It’s by Ultimate Direction and it holds one full-size water bottle and has two very roomy pockets that easily fit my iPhone, car key, lip balm, etc. The belt adjusts easily, and stays in place with no annoying bouncing. (Does anyone want my Nathan? It would be fine if I didn’t ever want to carry my iPhone–or anything more than my car key!)
So, I think I am about ready for the race. I need to delete a few songs from the playlist I made for the Rock’N’Roll USA Half Marathon, and finalize my transportation logistics. I’ve got the drop-off figured out, but need to decide when/how to rendez-vous with my husband afterwards.
Do you have a favorite slogan t-shirt?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
