Leading up to MCM I had decent training, supplemented by swimming and cycling (i.e. triathlon training), so I felt pretty good going in. I didn't have any high expectation of running a PR, but it wasn't out of the question. My family flew in a couple of days early and I had Friday off (due to my work schedule), so we hung out Friday and then left for DC on Saturday afternoon. We stopped for breakfast on the way, where I also picked up some girl scout cookies for myself (yum), as they were selling them outside Bob Evans.
When we got to the expo at the armory it was really crowded and the weather left a lot to be desired. It was cold and rainy, so my dad and I (my sister and brother-in-law had gone to the expo Friday) wanted to get inside quickly as possible. However, due to security (I guess because it's an armory?), we waited in line for a few minutes outside - and then once inside we learned that we had to go across the drive to the tent to pick up our numbers first! When we got out of the tent it was sleeting. Needless to say it wasn't very fun waiting outside another couple minutes in the security line again. Finally we did the whole expo thing, I took a picture with the Geico Gecko and we were ready to leave. Except my mom was driving around and couldn't find her way back :)
Eventually she did find her way back and we made it to my mom's cousin's in VA, our gracious hosts for the night. We visited for a little bit before the pre-race dinner, and noted the comical situation - it was SNOWING outside...and sticking!
Luckily, it didn't stay overnight or anything, but it was quite amusing. Speaking of amusing...we went to this Italian place for dinner (duh), and we must have gotten there right when it opened for dinner because the place was completely empty and they were all putting up Halloween decorations. After we had been seated we heard some Christmas music and then learned that they serve Bolivian food for lunch. What a strange place. But not a bad meal.
Race morning came quick and we got in our "taxi" (my mom's cousin drove us) and headed to the start, which was near the Pentagon. We drove around to get closer, but actually ended up getting out on the other side of the Pentagon, so we had to walk all the way around! The crowds before, and the walking, were a little bit of a pain, but at least the crowd is to be expected for this size of race (20,000+). They did a flyover of some military helicopters (cool and different, since they usually use jets!) Since we had to walk so far, we were a little late getting to the start, so after a "quick" port-a-potty stop, we shed our sweats and handed them off to my brother-in-law, who wasn't running due to injury (Thanks Alberto! Hip better yet??), and ran off to the start. My sister and I didn't get quite to where we should have started, but sort of close I guess. I had to do a little weaving the first couple miles, but not an exorbitant amount (am I allowed to use that word if it's not money-related?).
I started off gunning for that 7:15 pace and PR because I knew that if I didn't give it a shot I'd be upset with myself. It was that or run an 8:00 pace pretty consistently. I felt great through the first half and barely noticed the couple little hills in the first half of the course. The next couple miles went well too, but by Mile 16 I knew that the PR wasn't happening. I really started to hurt around 21 and the last 3 miles or so were pretty painful, but oh well. I ended up averaging an 8:00 pace anyway (go figure), and finished in 3:29:34. All-in-all, not bad.
It was inspiring to be running around, past, and up to some of the different monuments in DC, and to have the whole Marine/military "aura" around the race. It's a flat, fast course and has a fair share of both natural scenery and monumental (?) scenery, which starts at the Pentagon and ends at Iwo Jima. They do throw in a tough (steep) little hill at the very end. And I mean very end. The crowd support was fantastic, as was the overall support. The logistics are not great, as usual with a large marathon it seems, particularly the expo (I think they may have had to move it to a smaller place this year for some reason?) and the mile you had to walk after the race to get to your bags and meeting spots. The medals are great! Very attractive and unique - and my first spinner! Bonus is that a Marine puts it around your neck and shakes your hand. One of the other advantages of MCM for me was that it was nearby and I didn't have to spend money traveling. I took Monday off anyway to spend time with my family. I'd say it's a "do once" type of marathon, at least for me - but then, most of them are I suppose, given my goal...
Congrats to my sister and dad and friends, and all the other finishers! No plans on the next one yet... 15 down, 35 to go!
