Girls’ Weekend in D.C.

Last Friday evening I headed up to D.C. for the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Race. This was the third year my girlfriends and I have run the race together! I look forward it all year; it’s always such a fun weekend and it’s a great race.

I said goodbye to this little crazy pup on Friday afternoon and dropped her off at the kennel. She looooves the kennel; they spoil her rotten, she runs non-stop and she comes home exhausted.

I got to the airport and snapped a picture of my parking spot since I always forget where I parked. And then I strolled into the Greensboro airport and was through security in 5 minutes. I love our tiny airport!

When I got off the Metro in DC, there was a Whole Foods right where I got off so I went in to get a snack. It was packed and I was maneuvering a suitcase so I skipped a snack. But, I HAD to buy this gluten-free beer, obviously. I had never seen the Omission IPA – didn’t even know it existed. So I toted this 6 pack to Gabi and Allison’s house. It was really good. I wish I could find it here or that I could have taken the other 5 bottles back with me. I should have bought a single bottle considering how pricey it is…whoops!

On Saturday, I hit the treadmill for a quick “shake out” run. I took Friday completely off and then did a short run on Saturday to keep my legs fresh and awake for race day. John’s running coach, Chuck Engle, says that 48 hours before race day is more important than 24 hours before, so you should take a complete rest day two days out (i.e. don’t workout!), be careful about your food two days out, and get solid sleep two nights before. I did a 1.5 mile warm-up, two 0.5 mile repeats at goal race pace (~7:10/minute mile) with a 2 minute jog in between, and a 1 mile cool down. I reallllly struggled with the run even thought it was short and I set the incline lower than normal (1.0 instead of 1.5). I barely slept the night before and just didn’t feel great while running. It made me a little nervous for the next day’s race, but afterwards, I felt great and was glad I ran.

Late in the morning, we all headed to the race expo. I say this every year, but seriously, it’s the prettiest expo spot! I love the tech shirts this year – hot pink! Gabi, Allison, Jill and I ran the 10 mile race and Crystal, Candace, Michelle and Victoria ran the 5K. (Candace, Michelle and Victoria are Allison, Gabi and Leslie’s moms. 🙂 ) We snagged sparkly red headbands to match our “uniform” the next day and I bought a race poster to frame too; it was so pretty this year!

After the expo, we headed to Scion for lunch (but I ordered off the brunch menu 🙂 ).

I skipped the bottomless bloody marys/mimosas and stuck to water to get hydrated for race day. But I enjoyed plenty of girl talk and a giant plate of huevos rancheros.

On Saturday evening, we stayed in and cooked chicken and bean tacos, and tucked in early for race day. I’m getting sleepy (still catching up on sleep from the weekend!) so I’ll blog about the race next time! 🙂

Do you take any days off from working out before a race? I used to always rest the day before a race, but I’m intrigued by the two-day theory. It’s worked really well for John for multiple races since he’s been training with Chuck, and it seemed to work well for me the Cherry Blossom this year!!