Pacers Running Festival - Half Marathon - Race Report

Even though this race is run practically right outside my door, it took me awhile to sign up for it.

First, Pacers, a local running store, in year's past put on a 10K at the beginning of May with a challenging one mile climb to the finish. It was a tough ending but I always enjoyed the race. I was disappointed that instead of the 10K this year, Pacers decided to replace it with a Half Marathon/5K and eliminated the tough climb at the end. Wusses!

Well, that's how I felt at first. I looked forward to the 10K and was bummed that it had been taken away (from me). Out of spite, I was reluctant to embrace the new event.

Looking at my training schedule, I noticed I was scheduled to run 12 miles the weekend of the new race so my feelings of betrayal quickly faded to excitement as I realized I could get in a good training run on a supported course. I'm not one to resist a race, especially one so conveniently located.

This year, the new Running Festival had a Mother's Day theme so I convinced my Mother-in-Law to sign up for the 5K and we could participate in the "Mom and Me" challenge. She would do the 5K and I would run the Half. Our times combined would be ranked with other such teams. In turn, she convinced her daughter (my sister-in-law) to do the race as well so they could walk it together. It was a great way to celebrate Mother's Day in such an active way, to see so many mothers and their children, young and old, out celebrating the beautiful day was encouraging.

The half marathoners began their race a half hour before the 5K participants so I said good-bye to my family and waited for the race to start. Standing in the large crowd of runners at the beginning of races I was amazed that there could be so many area runners when comparatively the bike paths are practically deserted in the mornings when I run.

There was a slight delay at the start but soon enough we were off and running, with a downhill first mile as we ran from Clarendon to Rosslyn and then on to the highways around the Pentagon. I felt very sluggish at first but I told myself to just relax, it was just a training run and I would find a groove in time.

The course itself left a little to be desired with several twists, turns, out-and-backs, and double-backs as the race organizers managed to squeeze 13.1 miles out of an area without ever getting more than 4 miles from the finish line. As a result of retracing our steps constantly, the mile marker placement (or lack thereof) was not consistent or as clear as I would have liked. There were few spectators but the course marshals and volunteers at the aid stations brought a welcomed enthusiasm and spirit.

My favorite part of the course was the long, steady climb up the road to the Air Force Memorial, then loop through the Memorial grounds and back down. I know a lot of people struggled with this part as it was later in the race (Mile 7 - 8) but it felt good to conquer that hill and be rewarded with a run by the Memorial.

Miles 11 through 13, finally finished with all the turns was a straight shot down the highway to the finish line in Rosslyn. However, the wind really started to pick up at this point and I was faced with over 2 miles of a constant and strong headwind. At first, I was almost defeated (the last time I faced off against the wind in a race, it quickly and assuredly kicked my butt) but I told myself that I was a stronger runner now and I could handle a little wind. To my surprise, the mental pep talk worked and although it was a struggle and harder than I would have liked the last few miles of the half to be, I kept going at a strong and steady pace.

As I started getting close to the finish line, I was pleased to see that the finish line would be slightly uphill and rounding the last turn - I charged!! I finished strong and happy.

I quickly met up with the family and heard about the 5K from my MIL. They had a good time out on the course. I snagged some food and water and we headed home. It was a good day.

Splits (sorta):

Miles 1-3 : 29:37
Mile 4 : 9:03
Mile 5 : 9:33
Mile 6 : 9:44
Mile 7-8 : 19:15
Mile 9 : 9:04
Mile 10-11 : 19:05
Mile 12-13: 18:35
Finish : 0:50

Chip Time : 2:04:46
Average Pace : 9:31

The Spiering "Mom & Me" team placed 6th with a combined time of 2:57:03.

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms!