Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run in Pink Ombre Style

Hi guys! Happy (almost) weekend! I’ve had a busy night! I came home from work, mowed my grass (errr weeds), did laundry, picked up around the house, ran some errands, plowed through emails and now I’m sitting down to catch up on Nashville and blog. I love productive nights! 

So, let’s get to the race recap! This is the 2nd year my girlfriends and I have gathered in DC to run the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run. I fueled before the race with a big bowl of cereal and coffee (and allowed enough time for things to, ahem, move through).

During the race, I fueled at mile 4 with a little gatorade (because I couldn’t’ get my Shot Blok package open when I was running through the water station and I NEED water with those things), and then again at mile 7 with one blok and a little water (after I ripped open the package with my teeth). 🙂 I love Shot Bloks but they are way too hard to open in the middle of the race; lesson learned – open the package before the race next time.

This year, one of the girls (can’t remember who!) suggested we all wear pink/coral shirts. TOTALLY a good idea – look how cute! We’re like a human ombre! 

We took a group picture and split off to find our corrals. I was in the 2nd corral, the red wave, this year. While I wasn’t weaving nearly as much as last year when I started with the wrong (slower) wave because of darn porta-potty lines, I still had to navigate around the crowd for the first 4-5 miles to get up to my comfortable speed. Finally it opened up and I could run my own pace. Being held back by the crowd was probably a good thing so I didn’t go out too hard and crash later in the race.

After last year when I had some frustrations with the race, I vowed to just enjoy the race and enjoy the sites! Last year, I barely saw the scenery and I needed to fix that this year. I ran with my iPhone in my FlipBelt and used Pandora for my music. Pandora kind of sucked that day because I just couldn’t get songs going that I liked (next race, I’m buying music!). But the good part was whenever I pulled my phone out to thumbs down a song/change it, I would take a picture of the scenery. So many sights along this (flat, fast) course!

Even a few Cherry Blossoms! 🙂

I finished strong and felt GREAT! Chip Time: 1:13:01, Average Pace 7:18. [last year’s time: 1:19, average pace 7:54]

I had signed up my mom and a friend to get text alerts on my splits and finish time, so I knew my results almost instantly after finishing. [My garmin had me clocked an extra 0.11 miles.]

I was THRILLED with my time! (I sometimes still can’t believe I’m running this fast!) I knew I was running strong and even at the end, on the yucky hill right before the finish, I wasn’t spent. I felt like I could have kept running…so I probably could have pushed my pace a little more. But hey, I enjoyed the race this time! AND I had a great pace! It’s so funny – my best races are usually the ones I don’t stress about. 

I’m so glad I paid to get the medal. It is so pretty!

 We ladies gathered at the finish line to wait for our other friends to finish, dance to the music, and take loads of pictures. 

I love DC. I can’t wait to go back when I have more time to explore! (But I got in a little sightseeing with Crystal; pics later – this is getting long already!)

After heading back to the apartment and taking much-needed showers, we headed to brunch at Scion. Bottomless Boozy Brunch – Mimosas, Beermosas, Bloody Marys, or Poinsettias (champagne + cranberry juice). Poinsettias for me! Scion also had a fruit bar included all entrees which was fun and refreshing. I got the Huevos Rancheros – hold the cheese – and it was delicious. I cleared my plate. 

And then we went home and took loooong naps before heading out to dinner at Matchbox. I got the salad with rib eye. Matchbox had a great ambiance and the food was fantastic. Plus, it was very reasonably priced. My dessert, sorbet, was only $3!

After dinner, we came home and crashed. Sleep feels so good after races. 🙂 It was the perfect last night before we all had to head home the next day.

Do you stress out before races? If so, how do you calm your nerves?

What’s your favorite race fuel? I like Shot Bloks and Chomps best, then GU, then Honey Stingers.