Race Report - 2015 Rock 'n' Roll DC 1/2 Marathon

Travel

The race was on Saturday, so I needed to be at the Expo on Friday. Although the Expo was open until 7 pm, I decided to arrive on Thursday to allow time to recover from the travels. I took the first flight out on Southwest Airlines, but had to stop over in Austin, TX. Arrival time at DC was at 4:15 pm at Reagan National, close to the race area. A friend I am staying with in Arlington picked me up and we went out for dinner. Although I could have flown in on Friday and made the Expo, the flight was much cheaper on Mon-Thurs.

Expo

I woke up at 4:30 am (Eastern) like I normally do. I guess time zones don't make much difference to me. The expo opened at 10 am, so I relaxed in the morning before heading over. I used the Metro subway so that I would be familiar with it on race day. The house I stayed at in Arlington is actually pretty close to DC, only 4 miles from the western edge of the race course. I took Metro to the Mt. Vernon Sq. station near the Convention Center where the expo was located. There were several other events going on at the same time, so it wasn't easy to find the Rock 'n' Roll Expo. I talked with another runner as we were trying to find the expo, and was just about to ask someone when I saw the sign. A quick duck into the restroom to change to Elvis, and the exploration begin. I found another Elvi working in the registration area. He had been here all morning greeting and working the media for the event. He was also wearing a Half bib, and said he was running the race the next day, but I never saw him or his race results. I sure there were lots of people who canceled due to rain.

I had several hours to explore before heading back to home base. I walked a little through Chinatown, and visited the National Building Museum. The Gallery Place Metro station was right across the street, and I was getting a little tired from walking. When I saw the Smithsonian station, I exited, since this is close to the race start area. I visited the National Museum of Natural History, and saw the Hope Diamond. The wind picked up a bit, and it was more cloudy than in the morning. I headed back early since I did not want to wear myself out before the race. I estimated I walked less than 3 miles.

Race Day

Forecast for race day was rain. When I woke up at 3:30 am, then looked out the window, there was rain. My friend gave me a ride to the Ballston Metro station since even though we are close to the start, traffic would be a mess with the rain and closed roads. Only a few riders at 5 am (normal service on weekends is 7 am), and we picked up only a few more riders before exiting at the Federal Triangle Station. As we headed up the escalator and arrived at the top, the rain was still coming down. I wore a yellow hooded rain jacket over my Elvis outfit. The polypropylene tights (under my costume) would keep my legs dry, but I didn't have anything similar for the top, so I used 3 layers that would keep me warm, wet, but warm. Not as many pre-race photographers as in other RnR races, but I'm sure the rain turned some away. Runners were crowded under buildings to stay dry, and those out in the rain had umbrellas or rain gear. I was reluctant to take off my rain jacket, but as the start time was approaching, I knew I had to. Elvis wouldn't look right in a rain jacket. Rain was not heavy, but steady, ground was very wet, so I kept on my Xero Shoes sandals until race start. The wig kept my head dry, but the sunglasses were covered in rain drops making poor visibility even worse. I walked from the front to the back corrals to allow people to get photographs with Elvis. I photobombed as often as I could. I made it to back to corral 25 (mine was 23) before I had to line up for gun time. Just after the National Anthem, I tucked my sandals in my waistband just in case things got too dicey for my feet.

Race Begins

The Washington Monument was visible (at least the bottom part) from the beginning of the race. The rain made for poor visibility, and rain drops on my sunglasses did not help. Even though I used the Porta-potty (PP) several times in the morning, I still felt the need right before the race started. I often start many races where I'm in line (or in the PP) during the singing of the National Anthem. The first PP line just after the start was long, pass. There were several at mile 2 (also shared with mile 3, due to the out and back loop), but the line was extremely long. After mile 3, we headed into a park along Rock Creek, and a slight elevation gain. At mile 5, I had to stop, and lost 4 minutes. Just after we completed the steepest of the hills and the area flattened out, a guy riding on the back of a motorcycle passed me, and shouted out "I gotta get a picture". He stopped up ahead, and I got a nice race course picture that would end up on the Competitor Photo Gallery, and later on the RNR DC Facebook Cover Photo.

Race to the Finish

Because of the rain and my unfamiliarity with the course, I took it very easy. I had problems with toe blisters when I ran in the rain last month, and it just healed before this race. Because I have several more races this month, I didn't want to do any major damage. The rest of the course was through neighborhoods with lots of people cheering from their porches. A few more rolling hills and at mile 10, I checked my watch and my time was 2:30. Today was Pi Day (3/14/15), and I originally thought it would be nice to finish in 3:14:15. I realized that I would need sub 15 minute miles to get to that goal. As I approached the finish, I adjusted my speed and stopped my watch at 3:14:19. My official clock time was 3:15:03, missed it.

Finish Area

We have to thank the volunteers, not only for participating in the rain, but being short handed as well. There seemed to be less volunteers than I've seen at other non-rain races. RNRDC had both a Marathon and Half, so when I finished, there were still lots of runners on the course. It was unusual to see a line to get a photo holding your medal at the finish. Normally photographers are everywhere. With the rain continuing, most runners just wanted to get home. The lines for the PP were long, mainly because people were using them to change clothes. I got my gear, put on my rain jacket to keep warm, and my flip flops to give my feet a rest. The line for the Metro was extremely long. The finish in RFK Stadium is in the eastern part of DC, so nearly everyone was headed west. I saw the east bound train, and got on to head to the next stop so that I would be able to switch to a nearly empty westbound train. It was then that I noticed some blood on my left toes. Examining the area, my troublesome fourth toe had a blister. Odd, since I didn't feel any pain during or after the race. I got off at the Capital Heights station, hoping that because there was a parking lot that they would have a rest room. That's when I noticed that there was maintenance going on, and they were running single track, which meant I was stuck there for a while. After a long delay, I was finally able to get back and I had a nice steak for lunch and change out of my wet (but warm) clothes.

Tourist Time

With my return flight on Monday, Sunday was a free day. I had a chance to visit the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum and ate at Shake Shack (I crave beef after a race). My blister wasn't that bad, and did not hinder my walking. Such a nice day on Sunday, compared to the rainy Saturday race day.

Return Home

I wore my DC race shirt to the airport, so that people would recognize me as a runner. Turns out the person in front of me before boarding also did the race, so we sat together and talked. She also was from San Diego, and was on the same flight over. Always nice to talk to a fellow runner. Hope to see her again, as she also signed up for the Hot Chocolate 15K next weekend. So nice to make new runner friends.

Back home around 4 pm, just in time for dinner at El Indio. One thing DC lacks is good Mexican Food, which we have plentiful choices in San Diego. I'll be back next year, hopefully it will be clearer, so I can see more.