National Half Marathon

This race is in Washington D.C. I have run many races there before. I live about 35 miles west of DC and my friend Jeanne and I left home around 5:30. One quick stop to get coffee and we were on our way. The race started at 7:00 and we thought that we had plenty of time. Two wrong turns later and we find ourselves in downtown DC at about 6:45. To complicate matters, I had the bib # and chip of Jeanne's friend, Tatiana, who was running the full. ( her 2nd marathon) So, we're trying our darnest to get there, DC cops are yelling at us to get off the roads that are closed, totally crazy. At 7:05, Jeanne ends up pulling up alongside the start, totally illegal, and I just jump out, Tatiana's bib and chip in hand. Jeanne goes off to try to park somewhere. I realize that I don't even know what this girl looks like. I'm weaving through runners trying to get to the other side and screaming "TATIANA!!!" She turns around and says " Here I am!"
So, after she gets her stuff on, we just start running. I felt kind of guilty for her rough start, so I stayed with her for the first 5 miles. I then sped up and was able to run another negative split race. It was a very fun race. What other time are you going to see this section of DC? There was a group of high school dancers that were so great. They yelled my name and even put it in their rap. At the finish, which is all up hill, I set my sights on a woman to pass. I came up alongside her and she turned and saw me and poured it on. That was awesome, even though I couldn't catch her. I love pretending that it really matters whether I finish in 1:57 or 1:58. True sprinting at the finish. :) Which is always great after you've run 13 miles.


What a morning.... Jeanne ended up having to park a great distance aways and jumped in at mile 17 to run the last 9 miles with Tatiana. Next time, we'll METRO it in.


Here are my stats:
Mile 1- 9:00
m 2- 9:09
M3- 9:05
M4- 9:13
M5- 8:55
M6- 9:33
M7-8:48
M8-8:42
M9-8:35
M10- 8:26
M11-9:33 (taking my jacket off- really slowed me down)
M12- 8:17
M13-8:07

Final time: 1:57

Next up... . the LAWS Half Marathon on April 20th where I'll target a sub 1:50!