I’d better write up my race report before the half marathon on Saturday!
This is a race report for the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run on April 11, 2010.
I grew up in the DC area, but didn’t start running and joggling until 8 years after moving to Nashville. My friend Stephanie told me she was entering the lottery to run the Cherry Blossom Run, and I realized that the 10-miler would fit in perfectly with my half-marathon training schedule. It would also give me a chance to see my family and an opportunity to run my first race outside of the Nashville area.
Since I started joggling, a couple friends from back home have told me about a joggler they often see at DC area races. I found out his name is Barry Goldmeier, and he runs the Cherry Blossom Run almost every year. I got in touch with him and planned to find him at the race.
I drove all day on Friday, two days before the race, to get to DC. The weather was perfect for driving and thankfully, the nice weather stuck around through the weekend. It was an early start on Sunday morning, since I needed to take the Metro to the starting line. The Metro opened two hours early that morning to accommodate the runners, so pretty much everyone on the Metro was a runner.
Runners on the Metro
Arriving at the race village, I found Barry juggling his trademark 5 red balls at the back of the starting lineup. We chatted briefly, but I had to go line up as the race was starting.
Starting Lineup
With a goal time of 1:45, I was starting in the second to last wave. I tried to be patient and not spend too much energy weaving through the crowded start, but eventually found myself jumping back and forth between the road and sidewalk to find some space to joggle. As I was only a half mile from the starting line, the elite runners were making their way through mile 5 coming the opposite direction on Independence Avenue. It was exciting to see these world-class runners in person.
After the first mile, as the course headed over the Memorial Bridge, it finally thinned out slightly and I could run comfortably at my pace. It was still pretty crowded for the rest of the race (there were over 15,000 runners), but manageable. As the miles went on, I started to notice how flat the course was. It was a welcomed change from the rolling hills of Tennessee. Also, running in a new location was exciting, and despite the fact that the cherry blossoms had peaked the previous week, the course was beautiful.
The last mile
Having waited almost two weeks to write up this report, the miles are all blurring together in my memory. At two of the water stops, I stopped to walk briefly. But other than that, I was able to keep a pretty steady pace through the entire race, which I was very happy about. It wasn’t until the tenth and final mile that my legs started to feel that familiar dead feeling I’ve been experiencing during my long training runs. Luckily, the last mile was lined with a lot of spectators (including my mom!). One of the great benefits of joggling is that random strangers will cheer for you. Not wanting to let them down, I picked up the pace (very slightly) and finished strong. My official time was 1:38:04.
After the race, I ran into Barry again. We were heading in the same direction, so we were able to chat about the finer points of joggling as we took the Metro home.
