Race Report: Cherry Blossom 5K Walk

This past weekend I was in DC and participated in their Cherry Blossom 5K walk with my brother and sister-in-law along with her mom and brother. My sister also traveled to DC with me but decided that the comfy hotel bed was a much more enjoyable option than spectating. Lame-o! (She doesn't read this, so it's OK.)

Now if you a regular reader of this blog (which I doubt since I don't exactly regularly update this), you may recall that I had actually planned to run the 10 miler which is the big event. But as the race got closer, it felt weird to be doing the 10 miler when everyone else in my family was doing the 5K. And it's not like I get to see them that often so it would be cool to actually walk with them, especially since my brother and sister-in-law were there to see me finish the Disney marathon (and thus, the Goofy Challenge) this past January.

And of course, if I'm being really honest, I just didn't want to run 10 miles. Running hasn't exactly been one of my priorities since Goofy.

So really it was a win win! ;)

The Cherry Blossom 10 miler/5K is a really popular event so you have to get in through the lottery. My family and I all registered under the same team name and I was pleasantly surprised that we actually got in since normally I completely fail at race lotteries. (Case in point: I was once again denied an entry for the 2010 NYC marathon, marking my third year in a row. 2011, it is!)

The expo was held at the National Building Museum which as you can see is pretty nice inside. Definitely the fanciest expo location I've been to. The usual suspects were there and I was pretty pleased when I left with only one purchase. A chocolate chip cookie.

The race tee - both the 5K and 10M got the same one.

As I got my race gear all ready the night before, I briefly scanned through the race instructions and had to snicker at this: "Please do not even think of fouling the Washington Monument Grounds or the National Mall." Felt like I was 5 years old being reprimanded by the school teacher. Not that I ever needed to be reprimanded. Well, now that I think about it, there was that one time in first grade when we were all playing on the lawn outside my church and...

*snicker*

Oh, sorry, I digress. Anyway, back to race morning... we headed to the race start which was located right by the Washington Monument. Pretty cool, right?

The 10 mile run started an hour before the 5K so they were just getting started when we arrived (again, another solid reason to switch to the 5K). It was a pretty big race so they started in waves.

My pre-race fuel. No, not the best idea but I always hated when I saw people with their Starbucks when I was getting ready to run a race. So now I could be the annoying one with their tasty coffee treat!

Here's my brother doing some pre-race hip stretches. I told him I'd block out his face before posting. (He doesn't read this either, so this is also OK.) And no, I don't think those are proper workout pants and now I've got the perfect present idea for him for his upcoming birthday!

While waiting for the 5K to start, I watched the kids race which as usual is just the cutest thing in the world! And you can't tell from the pic, but all of their bib numbers had the number "1" on them. LOL!

And now it's our turn - off we go!

Although our course wasn't nearly as scenic as the 10 miler (which includes passing the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, the WW2 memorial, the reflecting pond, tidal basin, etc), it was still quite pretty and it was a beautiful day out. Here we are about to cross the Memorial Bridge.

And if you turn around, you see this. You know, the sweep vehicle. Poor thing - followed us for the entire walk waiting for us to finish. My brother cracked me up at the start of the race by saying, "Hope you like the view - of my butt. You're going to be seeing this for awhile."

Here are some of the runners we got to see on their way back.

The finish line in sight!

My finish line photo - happily clutching my baby, aka my iPhone. (As you can see, I wasn't kidding about the sweep vehicle.) My bro is right behind me.

And because I know you're dying for it, here are my race stats:

Official chip time: 1:01:24

Pace: 19:46

Gender place: 1242/1246

Division place: 243/243 (HA!)

All in all, it was a fun morning. My sister-in-law finished the 5K walk almost 20 minutes faster than the Turkey Trot she did last Thanksgiving which is a HUGE achievement and we were all so proud of her. Hopefully, we can do more events like these.

After the race, I was able to briefly catch up with an old college friend, D, who I hadn't seen in years! D ran the 10 miler with her friend and I had originally planned to try to run with them but they did such a great job, I don't think I would have been able to keep up anyway. It was really funny talking about the old days though. D told her friend how I was the one that was pretty much allergic to the gym back in college (only went once and that was just during the orientation tour) and now I'm doing marathons and stuff. We also laughed about how I barely wore makeup then too and now look what I've been doing.

Anyway, I'd definitely recommend this race if you can get in, especially if you're from out of town. It's very scenic and fun seeing all the DC landmarks.

P.S. In case you're curious, yes, I still plan to post race reports from the Goofy Challenge - eventually. ;)